Bram Stoker Award and Richard Layman Award winner. Model maker for the movie STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. Author and director of seven theatre productions. Movie director. Song writer. Special effects artist. Extra "momma" in THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN. Author of thee nonfiction books, three-dozen short stories and, recently, two new novel manuscripts... And this is just the beginning of Lisa Morton's extraordinary resume.

Few people can say that they have had the amazing and diverse professional experiences that Morton has over the past twenty years. However, such a prestigious career was the result of a steel dedication to her craft and a stalwart refusal to allow the pessimists and skeptics she encountered early on hold her dreams hostage. Her talent and her creative drive is an inspiration and, thus, it was a great honor to have the chance to interview Lisa Morton recently via email. From her initial interests in the horror genre to her views on the evolution of the horror industry to its present state, Morton graciously took the time to share her thoughts with the Fear Zone audience. This is what she had to say...

Let us start at the beginning. When did you first realize your passion for writing? Was horror always your genre of choice or did your path as a writer begin in another vein and evolve towards the darker side of literature?

I've always written. I actually had my first piece published at the age of five (a poem about my pet turtle). I grew up reading all kinds of stuff, and by the time I was in high school most of what I was writing was comedy, strangely enough. It wasn't until I was in my twenties and discovered the work of Dennis Etchison that I thought, Wow, THIS is what I want to write.

As a female author myself, working in the horror industry, I am fascinated by the incredible career you have made for yourself in not only one cut-throat industry, horror, but also theater, movies, and special effects to name a few. What were some of the struggles you faced when first starting out, making your name in Los Angeles and how has it shaped you professionally and personally as a writer over the years?

During my teens I really wanted to be a screenwriter/director, so I was hungry for any job I could get in the film industry. I had some friends who were modelmakers, so that was my entry point. Getting my first few jobs in the industry turned out to be easy; but selling a screenplay was the hard part. That took about ten years and a dozen scripts and a few options that went nowhere until one finally got produced.

I think disillusionment might be one of the things that anyone first starting in the film industry struggles with. You learn pretty quickly that getting that next gig has almost nothing to do with talent (hey, I truthfully wasn't a particularly talented modelmaker, but I could get the jobs!). I also had to contend with the handicap of being a terrible schmoozer; that's one reason you'll note a co-writer credit on my screen work (because I partnered myself with somebody who was better at networking than I was).

Looking at your resume, you've worked on projects that range from theatrical one-act plays that you've written and directed to model makers, special effects artist, actress, director, award-winning short story author and, novelist. How have you found yourself in so many varied roles over the years and have you found any of the projects you've worked on, or positions you've held, to be more challenging than others?

Well, as I mentioned already, the modelmaking thing was just a fluke. Because I didn't mind hard work and could keep my temper on those frequent all-nighters I could get work, but it wasn't really what I wanted to do. Later on I got interested in small theater because it gave me a chance to try some new things in my writing and to learn how to direct actors.

I think the most challenging thing I've done was finally writing that first novel. After years of writing screenplays and short fiction, the idea of coming up with 90,000 words of compelling prose just seemed impossibly daunting to me! When I finally sat down and did it, though, I realized that, although it was obviously more difficult than short fiction, it wasn't impossible and offered its own unique satisfactions. Now I'm hooked.


From what I have read, you began your career, after leaving San Diego State University, in the movie industry. What made you leave the movie industry and return to the writing and directing of theatrical productions?

Well, it was basically that disillusionment I mentioned above. I had a couple of produced screenplays under my belt, but I wasn't really happy with the final product on any of them. Doing theater allowed me to see my scripts brought to life the way I envisioned them.

Would you ever consider returning to the movie industry as either a writer or director if the opportunity presented itself?

Hey, I'd never turn down a paying gig! Let's just say I'm not exactly deluging my film agent with spec scripts these days.

What are the projects/pieces you've completed, thus far, that you are especially proud of and why?

I'm very happy with my short fiction. A couple of pieces in particular - "Pound Rots in Fragrant Harbor" from The Museum of Horrors , "Black Mill Cove" from Dark Delicacies , and a forthcoming story called "The Devil Came to Mamie's on Hallowe'en" (it'll be in an issue of Cemetery Dance)- gave me that, "Wow, did I actually write that?" feeling that's just unbeatable.

I'd also have to mention my stage adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Radio Free Albemuth . Dick is probably my favorite writer, and that was one of those magical productions where everyone committed fully and the end product was just what I wanted.

Are there any other authors, besides Philip K. Dick, whose work you would like to see adapted into a theatrical production? Do you have any personal plans of for future plays, either original or adaptations?

Sadly, my last play, an original three-act science fiction comedy called TRASHERS, was such an unmitigated disaster in every possible sense that I've basically sworn off theater. If I ever did go back to it, I'd probably be interested only in doing original material.

To date, asides from the plays and movie scripts under your belt, you have published three nonfiction books and at least two-dozen short stories, including the recent Bram Stoker Award winning short story "Tested". Have you found it easy to move back and forth between the styles of writing or have there been challenges to tackling such diverse projects? What is your strategy for, shall I say, switching gears and turning your attention from one format to another?

I know I probably shouldn't say this, but...I do find it easy! Nonfiction, of course, does have the added difficulty of research ( The Halloween Encyclopedia took two years), but the writing itself isn't significantly different. At least not for me.

What type of research do you conduct for your nonfiction books? On average, how many months of preparation happens before you sit down and begin to actually write the book?

I can't imagine writing a nonfiction book about a subject I don't already have a great interest in, so a lot of the research is done before I even think about my own book. In terms of the types of research - heck, I'll do anything from go experience something for myself (like a Halloween event) to check out obscure references and items on ebay to roam the most forgotten library stacks. The staff of the main downtown Los Angeles Public Library got to know me pretty well when I was working on The Halloween Encyclopedia!

How have you seen the horror industry change, both from a literary standpoint as well as a cinematic standpoint, since you first began your career as a professional writer?

Well, I think it's changing all the time, like any genre. I've always sort of regretted that I came to the horror field after the boom of the '80s; I would have loved, for example, to have appeared in the Charles Grant Shadows anthologies. But I got lucky by coming onto the scene at about the same time that Steve Jones was doing lots of books, and he became my first editor - you can't beat someone like that to break you in!

I do lament the fact that horror is now the "h-word" in publishing, with very few major publishers doing anthologies any more (and movie studios churning out one brain-dead cookie-cutter mess after another). On the other hand, the small press is more vital than ever, and I especially like the novella side of small press, both as a reader and a writer (and yes, I do have a novella coming out in 2009, but the deal hasn't been signed yet so I should stay mum for now!).

Why do you think it is that the horror genre has become the "h-word" in the current publishing industry? Even though it is a multimillion-dollar industry, what do you think caused this change in attitude amongst mainstream publishers?

I know the most commonly accepted theory is that a glut of bad horror books in the '80s resulted in the ghettoizing of horror, but I think there's another factor as well: The movies. No other literary genre is as closely linked to cinema as horror; when the movies are very good, as in the '70s, usually the literature is very good. When the trend is low-budget badly made torture porn that producers throw out for a quick buck...well, you get the idea.

You have been intricately involved in the Horror Writers Association since 1996 and currently hold the title of Treasurer for the organization. What first drew you to the HWA? Why would you suggest a professional horror writer become a member, if he or she has not already done so?

Dennis Etchison was the guy who got me into HWA - he's been a bit of a mentor to me, and urged me to join when he was the organization's president.

I first took on the Treasurer role at the end of '98. My friend Somtow Sucharitkul had just been elected President, and discovered that the organization had had no Treasurer for the prior six months; the financial affairs were an official disaster area, and even though I have no accounting background whatsoever, Somtow knew I was organized and tenacious enough to dig in. I did that until 2000, then I came back to it in 2005, when the Treasurer at the time (Jack Passarella) had a desperately ill child who needed his attention (like I'm going to say "no" to that reason?!). I've had the job since, mainly because it's a ton of work and no one else is insane enough to do it.

And most of the time I enjoy it. HWA can be a wonderful tool for connecting with other writers and learning more about the market, but of course it's like any other organization - you get out what you put into it. I've put a lot into it, and it really has been very beneficial to my career. I'd urge any professional writer of horror to at least give it a real shot.

Two of the popular nonfiction books you have published with McFarland have been on the topic of Halloween: The Halloween Encyclopedia (2003) and A Hallowe'en Anthology: Literary & Historical (2008). When did you first become fascinated with the holiday and why? What is your favorite fact about the history of Halloween?

I've always loved Halloween, and have been collecting vintage Halloween pamphlets and books for a while. After I did my first book with McFarland (on the Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark), they asked if I had anything else in mind. They'd just done The Christmas Encyclopedia , so I told them no one had done a Halloween Encyclopedia . They loved the idea, and I was able to put my collection to good use!

Probably my favorite fact about Halloween history is that trick-or-treat is really a fairly new practice, no more than 70 years old. I've heard some claims that trick-or-treat goes back 2,000 years to the Celts or whatever, but in its current form it's quite recent and is distinctly American (it actually originated in the '30s as a way to buy off destructive Halloween pranksters!).

You mentioned your overview of Tsui Hark's film work in the answer above. How did you come to write the book The Cinema of Tsui Hark and are you still in touch with Hark on his latest productions (he is currently at work on THE EYE 3)?

Back in the early '90s, a local arthouse theater ran a bunch of Hong Kong movies. I went nearly every weekend, and soon realized that the ones I most loved all had this name Tsui Hark listed as either director or producer (or both). At the time information on Tsui was very difficult to track down; there wasn't even a Chinese-language book on him, so I decided to write the first one. I got lucky when, almost simultaneously, McFarland said yes to my proposal and Tsui Hark agreed to be interviewed. I spent a week with him in Hong Kong, and found him to be gracious, funny, and every bit the mad genius I'd hoped for. Unfortunately I haven't really stayed in touch with him.

Recently you finished the manuscripts for two new novels, Netherworld and The Castle of Los Angeles. What can you tell us about these exciting new works?

Netherworld is an epic historical dark fantasy that follows the globe-trotting adventures of Lady Diana Furnaval, a sort of 19th-century Emma Peel. Netherworld is currently out with several agents, and I'd love to continue Lady Diana's story. The Castle of Los Angeles is something that's almost more of a literary experiment - I wanted to take all the tropes of the truly traditional Gothic novel and see if it was possible to contemporize them. Although I'm personally happy with Castle, I also know that it's not hugely commercial so I'm letting it sit until I can find the perfect home for it.

Do you have any advice or industry insight for upcoming new horror writers?

I love working with new writers, so I've developed quite a cache of advice! First off is to read. Read everything - classics, modern fiction, in the genre, out of the genre, nonfiction, you name it. Second would be to polish your work; too many new writers make the mistake of submitting pieces before they're really ready, complete with sloppy formatting and grammar, and that's just deadly. Third would be to befriend other writers; having a good, supportive circle of writer friends can help with everything from critiquing your work to networking to dealing with rejection. Beyond that - just write!

Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers of Fear Zone?

Thank you for reading this all the way to the end!

#

Visit Lisa Morton at www.lisamorton.com