An Audience with Joseph D'LaceyAcclaimed horror writer Joseph D'Lacey shares his secrets to successful self-employment and tells us what it feels like when you make it to the top of your game. Joseph D'Lacey exploded onto the horror scene with his visceral novel Meat in 2008, garnering not only great reviews (including a recommendation from none other than maestro Stephen King) but a fair amount of controversy along the way. The book, set in a post-apocalyptic English town entirely dependent on its foreboding slaughterhouse for food, is a master class in horror writing, and the underlying subtext drew very strong (and polarised) reactions. In fact, some readers found the exploration of factory slaughter, even in a fictional setting, so brutal that they converted to vegetarianism as a direct result. You can read more about this aspect of the book in this interview between D'Lacey and Free From Harm - today however, we chat to the UK author about life as a successful novelist, the state of the book industry, movie adaptations, and why the threat of having to get a 'real' job is never too far away... |  |
money.co.uk: Hi Joseph. Firstly, thanks for taking the time to shoot the breeze with us. You regularly conduct interviews with writers yourself on Horror Reanimated - is it odd being on the other side of the desk?
Joseph D'Lacey: Not at all, I like it both ways! [laughs]
M: I guess a good starting place would be to tell us a bit about the Horror Reanimated site.
JDL: Horror Reanimated was initiated as a platform where [fellow author] Bill Hussey and I could promote our work in a blog-ish style. At the same time, we were acting as a mouthpiece for Bloody Books, our publisher. Most of the content, though, has always been aimed at bringing the best of the genre - in whatever medium - to the horror-loving public. Running it has been fun but it's time consuming too when I ought to be writing fiction.
M: Indeed - given the amount of time and love which clearly goes into Horror Reanimated and your own individual work, how many hours are in the average D'Lacey day?
JDL: Well, that's a difficult question. My writing/working day is usually quite short. I get 2-3 hours in the morning and then go home to look after our daughter. That's three mornings a week. But I go to work every day and tend to spend more time there on days when my wife is in charge at home. If I'm writing a novel, I go to the office every day until it's complete. But interviews for Horror Reanimated, teaching novel writing and other things do get in the way of the most important thing - creating new stories.
M: I'd imagine the business, self-promotion and financial stuff also eat a big chunk of your time?
JDL: Yes, self-promotion, the unavoidable bane of every writer's life, does take time. The 'business' side is fairly minimal, actually - an occasional contract to look through, or getting advice on and chasing payments… that’s about it. I love promotional stuff though, especially when it works out well - and these days, I even get fan mail from time to time; that can be a boost when I'm wondering why I bother.
M: Speaking of which, as a pretty macabre writer have you had any insane fan encounters?
JDL: Not completely insane.
I was always paranoid about being attacked by meat industry workers when I first went on tour launching Meat. I used to request that any table I was signing at wasn’t positioned against a wall – that way, I always had an escape route if someone turned up with a meat cleaver. I was therefore terrified one evening when splattering fake gore into the Meat Wagon [a theatrical advertising vehicle used to tour D'Lacey's first novel]: I turned around to find myself face to face with a huge, scarred man. I knew in my gut that he was a butcher. He was. He questioned me at length about my novel and what I thought I was doing. I told him the truth and he was quite friendly about it… didn't kill me even a little bit.
M: That brings us onto Meat. It was something of a breakout success and, off the top of my head, is the only debut novel I can think of which received a massive thumbs up from Stephen King.
JDL: To see that book take flight was so good for me in so many ways. It was my sixth novel and I'd already spent years wondering if 'it' would ever really happen. The book still sells well, has been translated into five languages and optioned for film to boot. From April, both Bloody Books titles [Meat and Garbage Man] are going to America and I hope they'll be just as popular there.
The Stephen King quote remains the pinnacle of my writing experiences so far. It was a miracle he received the copy my publisher sent, and a miracle he read it, but to know that he enjoyed it that much blew my mind and it still does.
God, Meat won me the BFS [British Fantasy Society] award for best newcomer in '09 - forgot about that!
M: How did that come about?
The book was read by a 'secret' panel of UK judges, all of whom were writers or editors in their own right… and it won. I had no idea the award existed or that I'd been put up for it - I'd planned not to go to the award ceremony and have a curry with some mates instead. They were in the know, however, and steered me to a position outside the banqueting hall where the ceremony was taking place. When they called out my name, I went into an altered reality and babbled some nonsense at the podium. I then made everyone drink caipirinhas with me until about 5 in the morning. That – winning the award, not the cocktails afterward - vies for position with the Stephen King quote. As a 'peak experience' it was right up there with watching my daughter being born.
M: How about seeing your name in bookstores? That's the experience so many people yearn for. Is it as satisfying as we all imagine?
JDL: Totally.
It was something I think I either wanted or knew would happen from a very early age. Each time I see a new book on the shelf, I just want to get another one up there. Not because I'm egotistical, but because I know this is what I'm meant to do. Such a relief after so many years spent casting around for my true self! I don't think I could have a better or more satisfying job… when it's going well, that is!
M: When it's not going well, do you ever consider jacking it in and getting a conventional job? Could you ever do a conventional job after a decade of writing?
JDL: I've been a practicing acupuncturist for fifteen years and before that all kinds of other weird things - funny you should ask about this because I'm being kicked out of my practice right now; the owner of the building wants to use the room for other things. I'm unlikely to set up again now. But yes, I often think about quitting writing when it's not going well – in other words, when the financial reward doesn’t match the time and effort I put into it. I’m sad to say that’s the case most of the time.
And yet, deep down at the very heart of things, I know I'll never stop writing. How could I? It's where I lose and find myself each day. And you know, having worked for myself for so many years now, there's no way I could handle someone telling me how to do a job. So, I could give up, but I'd be living a lie if I did and no - unless my family’s lives completely depended on it - I couldn't work for anyone else. Exceptions to this are teaching writing, which I do, for the extra money it brings in, and writing books to order, which I've never done and would hate to have to do. I may yet have to give in if things get too tight.
M: Any real danger of that happening based on current circumstances?
JDL: Yes, it's a possibility. If it happens, I'll make the best of it, you understand - I'm not going to write bad books just because it upsets me to work in someone else's universe - but I'll probably write them quicker and with less concern, especially as I probably won't own the copyright or even the characters. Anyway, God forbid, eh?
M: Absolutely. Earlier you mentioned the foreign language rights to Meat and even the film rights being sold - that must have been a pretty big deal, especially the latter?
JDL: A bid deal in spirit more than in actuality. It was two and half years ago the film was optioned and there's still no film. I'm actually more excited by each new translation that comes in - once again it means more people around the world making contact with my fiction. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Meat hit the big screen - if it does it will be one of the most harrowing, disturbing films ever made - but you have to be circumspect. In the 'movie business' so many things have to happen with so many people all at the same time, it's amazing any films ever make it into cinemas.
M: Alongside those you've also got your eBook versions of Meat and The Kill Crew. Do you see them dominating the industry going forward? eBooks in general, I mean, not just your two novels.
JDL: I'm not sure about domination but there's a place for them in this world, for sure. I think at the moment there are around 20 e-reader formats available and, as I understand it, the e-book market accounts for about 1% of the whole. That might seem insignificant now, but it is bound to grow. And let's face it, any reading is good reading.
What concerns me about electronic formats is issues like the Google book settlement, whereby Google tried to take ownership of all published content and digitize it, merely by saying to authors worldwide 'if you don't opt out, you've opted in'. I suspect their plan was to make all literature free online and take money instead from advertising alongside it. Very cynical, verging on criminal, and frightening because the corporation always beats the individual. Scary times.
M: That is a scary prospect.
JDL: Worse, I think they were just testing the water to see what they could get away with. It’s not as though they can’t afford the legal fees. There'll be more of this nonsense to come.
M: Finally, any relation to novelist Chris D'Lacey?
JDL: No, none. But – another ‘signing story’ - I went into a Waterstone’s one time (other bookshops do exist!) and said “I'm Joseph D'Lacey, may I sign any copies of my books you have in stock?” The lady sales assistant was very excited and drew me into the depths of the shop - to the children's section. My face got redder and redder because I knew what was coming. There were dozens of Chris D'Lacey's titles on the shelves, to which she pointed in delight. I then had to whisper my name again. We left the children's department, her face deepening into a disappointed frown, and proceeded to the diminutive horror section. There was one copy of Meat. I signed it and left in a hurry.
Thanks go to Joseph for taking the time to speak with us. His work is available through Amazon, with his Kindle titles currently discounted both in the UK and US.
