At some point, I will be featuring an interview with an author or industry professional who isn't named James *see earlier interview/debut blog post with author James Lovegrove for more!* However, that day has not yet come; I am pleased to present the following interview with not only another James, but another "JL:" James Longmore, someone who is both an author and industry professional!
Sean Michael Malone: Please share with us a little about your background. I understand you are originally from the UK?
James Longmore: Yes, I’m originally from Yorkshire, England – I moved here in 2010 and I should be a US citizen by the end of August 2022! I have a degree in Zoology (honestly!), former careers in sales and marketing (Toyota, Duracell, Lo-Jack to name a few), and I’ve been writing in earnest since arriving in Texas.
SM: What was your path to becoming an author?
JL: It’s a cliché, but I’ve always wanted to write – when all the other elementary school kids had ambitions to be firemen, astronauts, cops, and chartered accountants (yes, really!), I wanted to “write books.” I’ve written on and off over the years – a dreadful collection of short stories, a bunch of half-finished novels, and even one I finished and sent off to Clive Barker’s agent (she said it was “pedestrian”).
Undeterred, I knuckled down when I got to the US and put in my time writing free screenplays for promises of vast future royalties (still waiting) – it was a terrific way to hone my craft. Then, I made the leap into writing short stories and then novels, and never looked back.
SM: What books have you written and what are they about?
JL: I have nine horror books published to date (including my shorts collection, Blood & Kisses) – all of which can be found on my HellBound Books author page (my agent suggested I get the rights back from the original publishers and bring them under HBB): https://www.hellboundbookspublishing.com/authorpage_longmore.html
My books are:
The Erotic Odyssey of Colton Forshay (A bizarro novel about a guy who is sucked into a weird dream world beyond his wildest imagination)
Pede (A creature feature novel about giant centipedes and a bunch of students trapped in an abandoned, radioactive hotel)
Tenebrion (A demon stalks film makers in an old elementary school with a tragic past)
Flanagan (Fifty Shades meets Straw Dogs – a terrifying road trip tale)
And Then You Die (A fecal demon hounds the woman who “created” it)
Buds (Time travel meets body horror – humanoid beings from a parallel universe reproduce, hydra-like, by budding new people. Their universe encroaches on ours with each use of the hero’s time machine)
Feeder (A bizarro trip into the all-too-real world of feeders and their muses)
I Am Joe’s Unwanted Penis (A darkly comedic take on the well-loved “I Am Joe’s…” books of the 70’s and the Bruce Jenner story.
Blood & Kisses (Collection of shorts – originally published in anthologies around the horror genre)
SM: Let me say that my career didn't start out in the publishing industry, and I know that is further true of a great many in the field. How did you get into publishing?
JL: Pretty much by accident! I had a few bad experiences with publishers with my first books and wanted to offer indie authors something better. Plus, my now-business partner, Xtina Marie, bullied me into it! But, with HellBound Books doing so well and garnering an excellent reputation in the industry, I reckon it’s the best bit of bullying ever!
SM: Tell us about HellBound Books! How many titles have you published now?
JL: Our origins lie in the dim and distant past (2015 to be exact) when HBB was first launched onto the marketplace with five books (2 of which were mine!), we became an official LLC on Jan 1 2016, and now we have around 120 titles and have published some of the greats in the horror industry (Richard Chizmar, Guy N Smith, Jack Ketchum, Graham Masterton, Bentley Little, Ramsey Campbell, to name a handful). We also have our very own podcast (The New Panic Room – Thursdays, 9:30 CST) which actually predates HBB by six months!
SM: I already know a bit about your audiobook services, given your assistance with finalizing the sound files for Spring City Terror- how did you end up getting involved in audiobook production?
JL: It was a simple expansion of our offering to our authors and readers – audiobooks are a fast-growing segment of the book market and HellBound Books wanted to be in on the expansion. It puts our books into the hands (ears!) of a whole new bunch of fans!
SM: What goals do you have going forward, as an author and
as a publisher?
JL: As an author – I’m aiming to have more time to work on my own books – I have three just crying out to be finished!
And, for HellBound, we will continue to publish exemplary horror and expand into the indie horror market. We have big plans – so watch this space!
James Longmore is the founder and owner of HellBound Books LLC,
host of the New Panic Room Podcast, and the author of nine horror titles. For more information about James, visit his personal website.