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by David Zuzelo
I read a LOT of horror fiction, and while some may take it on themselves to complain about the state of the written word in the genre of late, I find that with a little hunting intrepid readers can find untold wealth in the gigantic back catalog of horror novels that have been printed once and forgotten. My favourite writer of this type, though not exactly forgotten, is Guy N. Smith. The man is brilliant in that he crafts short novels that take his own personal interests to the ultimate extremes-and then drops them amidst things like raving nymphomaniacs and giant killer crabs! As an American, I have found myself often importing horror novels from the United Kingdom, and I sometimes wonder how many books by NEL and Sphere I will end up finding in the long run. But this does raise the question of how exactly it is that these slim novels written and meant for quick reading thirty years ago still hold so much power? And why is it so tough to find a new company that thinks the way publishers did back then? Well, I stumbled and tripped through the cyberweb and met Neil Jackson, now the head of Ghostwriter Publications-and after sharing some fun conversation I realized that this man was attempting to forge the NEL of the NOW, as I once quipped. With drive that is as relentless as King Crab on an entrails spaghetti bender and a slate of novels that sound like pure horrorific fun I think that there will be many many new fans of classic monsters and creatures run amok horror.
But the fun does not stop there, oh no.
Neil has taken control of many Guy N. Smith properties, including the beloved Crabs. Yes, and my once thought impossible dream of holding an edition of Crabs' Fury is soon to be a reality! Crabs, Slime Beasts and many more monstrosities will be grabbing you by the ghoulies thanks to this insane venture-we can all sleep better and I may be able to buy many more books written in the current century. What follows is a trip down Ghostwriter Publications short memory lane with a look to the future.
See more on Ghostwriter Publications at the official website and also be sure to visit the re-invigorated and rampaging official Guy N. Smith site as well.
You can order the Graphic novel Crabs' Fury featuring artwork by Charlie Adlard of The Walking Dead and an original story by Guy N. Smith NOW at the Ghostwriter site!
What made you decide to take the leap from filmmaker to publisher with Ghostwriter Publications?
It was a very conscious decision, not one of those divine moments where visions appeared in a dream or whatever. I had just finished editing the first cut of my first feature film, The Toy Room...and it was at the finish of the edit I thought to myself...I miss writing.
I had done a number of screenplays and had been fortunate in having them all optioned at some time or other, and then I found myself in the position of producer. I loved it. And after two attempts to get features shot, I succeeded on the third.
But somewhere during the shoot, I found I missed the 'hand on' part. I wasn't directing...I wasn't behind the camera...and I was watching a good, tight little script being mashed by a grandiose theatre director and a cameraman whose resume was a greater work of fiction than my script.
Still, we had a good local cast who pulled out the stops and in the end produced a tidy low-budget spooker about a trunk of spirit-filled toys.
It was then I decided to get into something that encompassed both the production side with writing...and didn't have the two year gestation period of a feature film...and I decided to go into audio drama. Ergo, turning our scripts into radio plays. This developed into doing audio books and then to printed versions...and Ghostwriter Publications became the vehicle.
Your line-up and titles are a nice look back to the paperback houses of the 80's and 90's - Is that your intention?
Definitely. My personal attention span is not great unless something holds it. A book of fiction with more than 250 pages (200 preferred) or audio book about two hours in length is about all I can take. I hate any book that spends 5 pages talking about the clouds that pass in the night sky...its pretentious bollocks. It was the books of NEL that did it for me...short...to the point...affordable. And if I can make GW the NEL of the Noughties, then Sarah and I will have achieved what we set out to do.
How did you come to work with Guy N Smith?
A lot easier than one would think for working with a best-selling author. I have a natural aversion to agents and managers, due to dealings with them in the past. Night of the Crabs was the first novel I bought as callow youth. When most of my schoolmates were buying up The Rats...I HAD to be different...and bought Night of the Crabs...it never left my head. It was a blog article called Crustacean Domination by David Zuzelo that reawakened the crab fascination. The article gave an irreverent history of the crab franchise in all its glory...I HAD to do it. Later, I wrote and thanked David, who has become a good friend and major part of our marketing drive in the US.
When coming up with the GW concept, I was pointed in Guy's direction...and he manages his own affairs...bliss. We emailed ideas and he liked my plans to develop the crab franchise. He invited my girlfriend and me to his farmhouse for a weekend...and we got on like a house on fire. In all the years I have been in business, I have never met anyone as open and giving...just the nicest man. Jean and he treated Sarah and me like we'd known them for years...and not a hint of pretension...just a nice...Guy.
Sat around his big kitchen table eating fish and chips, Guy gave me the license to develop the whole of the crab franchise, and after seeing that we were spending good sums of money in the development of audio and printed versions...new commissioned artwork etc, Guy has given us more book licenses. GW now looks after more than just the back catalogue...we now develop the GNS websites and are relaunching the GNS fan club with its own website www.thesuckingpit.com.
Not only are you publishing novels old and new, but you are looking at some other venues. Tell us about the audio and graphic line.
Personally, I think a great many writers get shafted by both film producers AND publishers. There are many bone idle versions of both...and I'll gladly tell them to their faces too. I see many publishers who are not yet embracing the digital arena...probably because it's not the 'done thing'. I want to work with my authors, help them build careers and good pay checks.
I see publishing as a team effort. They write. We hone together. Publisher markets. But I hear so often that authors are arranging their own press conferences. Therefore I make sure that we embrace the new markets...both digital AND print.
We initially look at a print run of around 500 hardback...to begin with. Then we do an abridged audio book version. If I see an opportunity, I may also develop the story into a graphic novel (gets the film side of me all excited). The printed and audio versions are then made available for internet downloads for the Kindle, Sony eReader and mp3 player etc.
Now this isn't rocket science but it does take a bit of work.
I put a good many hours picking the right font to go on the covers of our books...and each one of them is designed specifically for each story...no art agencies used here (that's such a lazy way of doing things). Publishers...please note...you are shaping and working with someone else's career and livelihood...treat them like gold...not dirt.
I've put together some great audio talent in US for our audio books. Audie award winning engineers too, working alongside top radio and voice talent. Cheap...no...Quality...you bet.
Tell us a bit about your upcoming releases and the people involved.
Probably one of the best parts of this 'job' is giving new people a break.
There is some incredible talent...a lot of it rough and dirty, no shape or direction. I like being part of that shaping process and giving that talent a platform.
It was that desire that Guy and I developed the GNS Signature Series of books. Each of these titles, 12 per year, were selected by Guy and myself as works and authors that would be worth the GW 'treatment'...books, audios etc.
The standards we have received to date are astronomical.
Rakie Keig and Brooke Vaughn are two outstandingly talented young women, who I feel will be snapped up by bigger publishing houses in the future (with my blessing). Their first works with us, The Moths and The Barn, are both disturbing and tight narratives with well developed characters and yet evoke the spirit of those 70's and 80's paperbacks. I'm very proud to have them with us. Then there are two guys, Garry Charles and Shaun Jeffrey, who have both begun to carve a name for themselves in the UK with their own brand of dark narrative. Garry is just another great person to work with, creative, sharp and listens. His tale, Death Tide, is almost like three tales in one...I don't want to give it away aside to say...Rains...Flood...Plague...Death. Shaun Jeffrey came with a story that I just had to have...Fangtooth. Underwater, snorkels and flippers, small fishing village, sea creature...does it get any better? This is a young man who is rising fast in the UK rankings and one who is continually bombarding me with ideas and stories.
Then we have two outstanding gentlemen who have just joined the GW stable...Best-selling author, Scott Nicholson and Fantasy Award Nominee, Simon Unsworth.
Scott is working with us on producing his first European collection...The First, along with the UK release of his first US novel, The Red Church. This is one outstanding talent...and excuse me while I fawn a little. Superlatives have been thrown around regarding this man and I urge you to grab one of his tomes, sit down and digest every word...you'll love it.
Simon is a publishers dream...easy going...full of ideas...not in a hurry...and can write. What I liked about his work was the classic ghost story 'feel' that he is able to conjure with his choice of words. We are producing his first collection next year.
And then there is someone who I have a soft spot for...someone who has raw, undiluted talent in buckets.
We are working with him on a collection of brutal, harrowing shorts that will grab you by the lapels and scream in your face...titled None So Blind. And then we are releasing a cryptozoological novel, Myth.
The authors name...Ian Faulkner...remember it.
I look forward to my Sunday evenings...Ian sends the next chapter of Myth...and it's the anticipation of getting his work that makes it a joy to get. Twenty minutes later...the adrenaline has receded...and I wish it was next Sunday.
Talents all. I'm proud of each one of them.
 We are also doing a couple of non fiction books, that I am talking a more than personal interest in ...Smithisms: A Field Guide to Guy N Smith by David Zuzelo and Revelations: The Art of Steve Crisp (think Richard Laymon cover art) are weighty tomes that are my creative respite from novels of rampaging beasties, countrywide plagues and things that go bump in the night. Again, working with talents like David Zuzelo and Steve Crisp is hardly work...I just take their work and make it mine (thief that I am).
What is the most exciting part of starting a new publisher and the least?
What is the least? Don't know if it's the least, but the thing that grinds my gears is the snobbiness that exists in the literary circles (especially among small presses). I personally couldn't care a toss about literary awards...I have enough sports trophies thanks. And I see these poor as church mice writers looking down at the horror genre, and I think to myself...well its naughty words.
Another one is writers in black leather jackets...stop...it's not cool...you are living a cliché.
The most exciting?...the uncertainty of whether something will work. Remember we are guesstimating that the public will like that we are choosing for their reading and listening pleasure. Meeting new writers and actually seeing a book or project come to fruition.
I want to make horror writing sexy again. To start that, I have writers with great butts. Not great, big butts. We need sexy. And I love encouraging folk to have a go at writing. If a bloke from Milton Keynes can write a novel about killer slugs...anyone can write. I bet the chase sequences in that book take a while.
Who are my favourite authors?
A tough one, as I like certain books rather than authors. But I'll have a go.
Guy N Smith – For the Crabs and Slime Beast
Steve Alten – Because I like any book with an aquatic bent.
Scott Nicholson – Seven books that hit the mark each time...I'm jealous.
Laurence James – Just because
Sarah Whyberd – new author, great butt.
Peter Tremayne – The creature amok books
Douglas Clegg – He could write the telephone directory and I'd buy it.
Al Sarantonio – An all 'round literary talent as both editor and wordsmith.
Richard Laymon – Missed.
But basically if it has a creature in it...or something running amok...I'm game.
an excerpt from Crabs' Fury
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