Kes on Vanessa Morgan?

Uskumatult lihtne on saada inimesi klõpsima lahti tundmatult adressaadilt saabunud kirja. Minu puhul piisas lihtsalt intigeerivast pealkirjast. Grow 5 inches... oot, ühest teisest kirjast tahtsin rääkida. When Animals Attack: The 70 Best Horror Movies with Killer Animals. Loomulikult ma avan selle kirja. Selle saatis mulle Vanessa Morgan (@eeriestories), kes osutus sellenimelise raamatu koostajaks ja kes minule teadmatul põhjusel arvas, et ma äkki tahan seda raamatut lugeda ja selle kohta oma mõtted kirja panna. Loomulikult et tahtsin. Iga normaalne inimene ju tahab sellise nimega raamatut lugeda. Vist?

Viisaka inimesena suutis Vanessa säilitada professionaalsuse isegi pärast seda, kui algaja intervjueerija minu isikus tema loomingu suhtes täieliku ebateadlikust üles näitas ja vastas neile mõnele küsimusele, mis ma olin talle kirja teel saatnud. Siin on need küsimused ja vastused.

Vanessa Morgan - Obsessed with horror movies, cats, and living my dreams. (Selliselt tutvustab kirjanik end oma Twitteri kontol)

How did you become obsessed with horror? A book you read or a movie you saw?

I must have been born that way. I can’t remember NOT being obsessed with horror. As a child, I went to the horror section of the video store just to look at the gruesome covers and imagine the stories that would go with them. And I may or may not have been torturing my Barbie dolls.

As a writer your stories seem to delve on themes of the darker side of human spirit. Not a fan of supernatural horror?

Supernatural horror is a favorite. I’ve already published several supernatural horror stories (Drowned Sorrow, The Strangers Outside) and I’m currently working on my third supernatural thriller.

„Drowned Sorrow“ was a self published book? As you're still writing – that gamble worked out well?

I tried both the traditional and self-published route. Self-publishing is the most lucrative, but it’s hard work. You can compare it to working for a company or having your own business. The problem is not all self-publishers are willing to put in the work. They write the book, and that’s it. But you still need to pay for professional edits, lay-out, cover design, and promotion.

Moving on to „When Animals Attack„ How did this idea come to life? You woke up one morning and had an eureka moment?

It’s an idea that has been with me for a long time, so I can’t remember how it came about. I probably thought it would be nice to read a book about the subject and then noticed that it didn’t exist.

70 movies made the book. I'd imagine you approached more than 70 writers with the idea. Were they easy to convince?

I know many of the writers personally, so that really helped. However, having them deliver a text on time was a problem. Most writers don’t seem to be familiar with the term “deadline.”

How was it decided who gets to write about „Jaws“? Based on the amount of references at least half on contributors had it as their favourite animal attack movie.

Make that 90% of the contributors. Indeed, I didn’t need a writer to tell us how awesome Jaws is or to tell us some well-known facts. I wanted the reader to learn something new from the essay. So when Warren Fahy mentioned he saw a screening of Jaws in Mexico where the cinema staff put a piece of cardboard in front of the screen each time the movie became too violent, I knew that he was the right man for the job. His essay is overflowing with such original anecdotes.

Jaws was a certain entry, but in your foreword you mention that some of your personal favorites are missing. Now's the chance to name those (I missed „Piranha 3D“ most).

I’m not a fan of Piranha 3D, so I don’t mind that it doesn’t have a place in the book. An animal attack classic that’s really missing, in my opinion, is Tarantula. It’s the first animal attack film I saw as a kid, and it traumatized me to a point that I concocted ways to survive if a giant tarantula would ever attack me. Oh, and The Uncanny, too. Great film. Most of the animal attack films are guilty pleasures, though. You can’t possibly say they’re “quality” but they are fun beyond belief. Some of the “guilty pleasures” I would have loved to see included in When Animals Attack are Snake Island, King Cobra, Octopus, Spiders, and Crocodile.

Which is more fun - to write or to edit?

I like both, but I think I prefer editing, especially when I can assemble a group of such talented writers. I think I’m too hard on myself to really enjoy writing to the fullest.

Can we expect a sequel „When Animals Attack Again“ or are you done with editing for now?

Absolutely. There are still so many fun animal attack movies that deserve their special spot that a sequel is inevitable. It won’t be for this year, but the animals will definitely attack again.

Kes soovib tekste eesti keeles lugeda, siis sellekuises Reaktoris on olemas nii raamatuülevaade kui ka miniintervjuu.

Ja pisikese boonusena, neile kes nii kaugele lugesid By the way, if you want a horror movie with cows, you may want to look into Isolation (2005) ;-)