Larry: Yes, Enter the Realm-featuring fiction from some of the hottest horror fiction published by Sells Publication and edited by me. Each story is about a realm that encourages the imagination. Dancing Shadows -poetry anthology published by Lulu edited by me. This book features horror poetry from horror poets that’s been published by Lulu.
Vampire Nights-a vampire anthology that I had written and will explore all different kinds of vampires. Also, the book will introduce some characters that I’ll feature in later books.
Louise: How old were you when you started to write, and what drew you to horror?
Larry: I always wrote horror stories as far back as kindergarten. It was drawn to horror stories when I started school. The bigger kids teased me and told me that they were going to carry me into the woods and eat me. I became scared and ran home from school. Also, my mother would bring boxes of books home from her job cleaning an apartment building. I picked out the horror books because these books fed my imagination. I was also intrigued by Creature Features, Ray Bradbury Theater, Dark Galley, Twilight Zone, Dark Shadows, Forever Knight, and many horror programs and movies.
Louise: You write a great deal of poetry as well as horror fiction. Which do you enjoy writing the most; horror fiction or poetry? Which would you say gives you the greatest creative release?
Larry: I love both about the same. In my fiction, I’m exploring the supernatural or the spiritual realm. I’ve always loved stories dealing with vampires, werewolves, demons, devils, tormented souls, ghosts, and other creatures that fed off of humans.
Louise: You recently had a story accepted by Cyber-Pulp Halloween Anthology, didn’t you? Can you tell us a bit about the tale?
Larry: Yes, it was a short, short story exploring nightmares. I placed a little spirit with a black bird like a raven or crow the black bird gives the dreamer nightmares. But the little spirit and bird entered my mind, a horror writer, so the bird was eaten by an invisible object forcing the little spirit to leave my mind.
Louise: You lived in a haunted house growing up. What was that like, and did it affect your writing a great deal?
Larry: Yes, I lived in a haunted house in New Hartford, IA. It was on the corner of York and East streets. It was 303 East Street. The ghost was named Edgar, not Poe; he was alive during the later 1800’s and early 1900’s. Both of us loved ghost stories and tried to out write each other. He would type up a story then I would. I learned a lot from him. I sometimes go to the empty lot that once stood 303 East Street, but I could never feel his presence. I think he moved on. 303 East Street appeared in some of my fiction like The Headless Ghostman and 303 East Street and Other Stories. I lived in another haunted house in Mason City, IA. It was 814 North Federal. Here no appearances of ghosts, but plenty of strange sounds like people climbing up or down the stairs and nobody would be there. An occasion tap on the shoulder, you turn around and nobody there. Sometimes there would be voices in the hall at all hours of the night when no one else would be in the building. I wrote a story exploring a moving bathroom with 814 North Federal as a drop off. Many of my stories are ghost stories. While I was attending college at UNI, University of Northern Iowa, I lived in a haunted dormitory. The ghost’s name was Augie, who turned on facets, radios, TV’s, closed doors, open doors, and walked down the halls of Bartlett and Lawther Halls.
Louise: What are your writing habits like? Do you write everyday?
Larry: I write mostly in the evening hours usually after I get all of my errands done and a nap taken. I am always taking a Creative Writing Course from the Hearst Center in Cedar Falls, IA. Basically, it’s a workshop, where I get my stories and poetry critiqued. I also belong to a writers group called TWIG. Again, getting good feedback on what’s working and what’s not. I do write at least a little every night.
Louise: What projects do you have scheduled for 2005? Can you give us a sneak peek?
Larry: I plan to edit a poetry anthology called Poets Against Suicide this will be published by Sells Publication and by Lulu. I plan to write a book about my faith. Another story about Harvey, the Headless Ghostman, a couple stories featuring the Midnight Rambler, Frank Crow, a story about Noir, a story dealing with the Nightmare Lounge, and other stories dealing with Hooterville.