Interview with M Lovell

Author of  Shadows: A Collection of Short Stories

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

That’s a very hard question to answer. I was born in Central Louisiana; spent my younger years in south Texas; my teenage years in Shreveport/Bossier Louisiana and graduated from a small school in East Texas.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

When I was younger my father was an electrician so we moved where the jobs were. That meant moving from Central Louisiana to Austin,Tx then further south to a small town named Cuero. Then, when I was 11, we moved to the Shreveport area of Northwest Louisiana. My Junior year in High School my family moved onto a farm in East Texas where I graduated.
When I turned eighteen I moved to Chicago for a time then San Diego. Eventually I moved back to East Texas during a family crisis. I stayed there until I married my wife and moved to Austin. After some time we moved back to East Texas so my wife could pursue her master’s degree.
But that’s not the end of it!
Recently we moved to Pennsylvania for a year before moving back home to East Texas.
So, there’s the long, winding road.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

That requires two answers.

The book is an anthology of dark fiction and horror stories I wrote during a dark period in my life. The stories were a form of catharsis to give myself an outlet for the darkness I was feeling.

I decided to publish it in hopes that someone would read the story and enjoy them in a macabre way.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

It’s an anthology of dark fiction and horror. Readers and reviewers have compared my writing to H.P. Lovecraft and Joe Landsdale.
Though it’s an anthology the stories intertwine into one overarching story-line.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Lovers of scary stories, stories that will have you staring into the dark corners of the rooms wondering what’s in there.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

For me the most surprising thing was who well these separate stories fit together. I wrote all of them as stand alone stories yet, when I was done, I noticed they’d written themselves into a cohesive arc.

If you could, what advice would you give to past self yourself before embarking on this journey?

Don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t listen to the negative voices in your head telling you stop; that you’re not good enough; and that you have no talent.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

Ideally? 7 Billion but that might be a bit of a stretch. Honestly,if even one person reads it, enjoys it, and passes it on I’d be happy.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

My biggest challenge was overcoming myself, my own self doubt and sense of self-worth. Every step I took forward I had to fight the urge to give up and trash everything.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Writing. Writing, writing, writing.
I can create a story filled with characters and plot in no time. I enjoy the world building and stepping into the skin of another person to figure out how they think and would react to any given situation.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Marketing.
I abhor talking about myself or promoting something I’ve done. It just doesn’t come naturally to me and makes me, quite honestly, very uncomfortable. Even these questions make my skin crawl as though I’m blowing my own horn.

When do you think you will you write your next book?

I’m finishing up a post-apocalyptic book now and I’m about half way through a fantasy novel. I hope to have both done in the next few months.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I went the self published route, which, I know from published acquaintances of mine is looked down upon by many “real authors” but at the time I felt it was my only option.
The irony is that as I was self publishing I was also being published in e-zines and in an anthology about cursed books so I could have submitted to a larger publisher.
Given the chance to do it over I’d gladly submit to a traditional publishing house.