For my inaugural Interview with an Author, I get the opportunity to interview horror and supernatural author James Crawford. Crawford is the author of the Blood Soaked series, Manleigh Cheese, and other works.

“I’ve written zombie-style horror, supernatural horror, and am currently moving into supernatural action and fantasy,” Crawford said.

Stephen King once stated that writers must be able to do two things above all else: read a lot and write a lot. James and I share more than a first name, we share the same appreciation for the same authors.

“I was a huge Jim Butcher fan for quite a while, and loved Laurell K. Hamilton before her work become polyamory and sex with just a splash of horror. I’m pretty keen on Mario Acevedo, Mark Reefe, and Ian Banks as well,” said Crawford. He goes on to say that during his lull in writing, he plans to read more small press authors. For those that are interested in Mark Reefe, James and I are authors with Reefe under the Burning Willow Press umbrella, take a look at my review of his work here.

The inspiration to begin writing is often an unique experience for authors. For Crawford, the inspiration came from designing the perfect weapon against the undead.

“I was having a conversation with other bladesmiths about the ideal weapon to use against zombies,” he said adding that his design for the perfect bladed weapon was beyond his capabilities. “So I looked into how much the individual components would cost. The answer wasn’t pleasant. My response to this news was, ‘Well I’ll just write about it instead!’ Here we are, many years later.”

Crawford doesn’t write with the expectations that he’ll end up living off the income, he writes for the fun of it. If it did become possible to work full-time as an author, Crawford stated that he would want to keep a 9-5 job anyway.

In his spare time, he’s a collector of fountain pens and cartooning. You can find his interesting and amusing works on his Instagram account, pensloth. He also writes and does some light silversmithing on the side.

“I might get back into forging knives, but that’s still under consideration,” he adds.

He’s currently working on one novella as well as working on notes for his first sci-fi venture. Three books are planned as an unpublished trilogy. Crawford is also crafting some sterling silver adornments for his fountain pens.

When you ask a father which child he loves the most, a good father will not give a response. If he did it’d be in the form of one of those dad jokes. Authors are a lot like parents, the books they write are their children. How could an author pick a single work as their favorite? Well, James Crawford can, but it wasn’t an easy question for him to answer.

“Damn it… that’s a tough question. I’m particularly proud of the story “Where You’re Resting” from Crossroads in the Dark III: Monsters Under Your Bed anthology,” he admits.

Besides our fandom of Jim Butcher and our first name, James and I have another thing in common. We both have stories in CRITD III: Monsters Under Your Bed. “Where You’re Resting” is one of my favorites in that anthology. If you’ve never crossed roads with it or it’s predecessors, I’d advise picking them up. While you’re at it, pick up Crawford’s other works if you’re a fan of comedy and horror. Or as the author himself would put it “if they want ridiculous sarcasm, snarky characters, and laughter before and after horrible things happen.”

James Crawford is a life-long resident of the Washington, DC area, currently residing in Maryland. Prior to becoming an author, he graduated with a degree in Fine Art, and worked in the graphic design field for quite a few years. Since then, he’s changed careers, and has collected various hobbies and vocations along the way.

His first novel, Blood Soaked and Contagious, as well as it’s two sequels are published by Permuted Press. Currently, James is working with Burning Willow Press and has published Manleigh Cheese as well as having stories in the Crossroad in the Dark anthology series.

You can find him on Instagram as pensloth or on Facebook at @JamesCrawfordAuthor.