Paul Tremblay answers your questions

Are you working on a new project now?

Paul Tremblay i just finished up my book DEAD BUT DREAMING OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, which will be out June 30, 2026

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What do you like to eat or drink when writing?

Paul Tremblay I like drinking tea (if it's the morning, my favorite is Scottish Morning tea).

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Where is a good place to start for someone who has never read your work?

Paul Tremblay Sorry for the late reply. Probably A Head Full of Ghosts, or The Cabin at the End of the World.

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Paul Tremblay Thank you for reading and I'm so pleased your class enjoyed the book, and the ending in particular.

I hope that you and your classmates are inspired to look up more horror/dark fiction as there's so much great work out there.

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I read Horror Movie and I absolutely loved it. The book was so delightfully meta! Do you have any advice for aspiring horror writers?

Paul Tremblay Hey, thanks!

Read and read and read some more. Of course there's writing too. ;) Give yourself permission to be patient and kind to yourself as the rejections inevitably pile up (we all get and got them). Don't focus on the market (whatever that is) and focus on writing the stories that move you emotionally.

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I just finished Disappearance at Devil's Rock. I grew up in the area (Stoughton) and I think you really nailed the setting, and also nailed the teen boy characterizations. Are the teen boys in your story modeled after your students?

Paul Tremblay Thank you, Jenn! I didn't grow up in Stoughton but I've been living here for a while.

Yes, the teen boys are an amalgam of students (especially their 'hardo' lingo) and of some of my sons friends. Tommy was sort of me as a kid, though.

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Hi Paul! Thank you for sharing your talent with us! Pallbearers Club was such a fun read. I adored Art so much. My question is this: Do you wish you had started a club like this in high school? I do!

Paul Tremblay Thank you, Lisa, and sorry for not seeing this question before. Nah, I don't wish I'd started a club. Though I do wish I had a friend/frenemy like Mercy. or mostly like Mercy. ;)

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I loved Horror Movie so much I finished 80% of it in one night, finished it the next morning, and then started it again. I loved, loved the characters. I hope this one is made into a movie. Do you have any say in that, or is that totally out of your hands?

Paul Tremblay Thank you so much, Elizabeth! No plans yet on a film version.

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Been hooked on your work since I picked up a copy of A Head Full of Ghosts. Super excited to start on Horror Movie! Any plans for more tv/film projects? Like saaaaay, Horror Movie?

Paul Tremblay Thank you, Heather! Well, there's this on AHFoG: https://bloody-disgusting.com/intervi...

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Hi Paul! You've probably heard from me on Twitter once or twice; Mark Genevich and I have something in common and it's NOT Lithuania. Since getting my narcolepsy diagnosis 10 years after adding The Little Sleep to my list of favs, I've had warm-fuzzies about having a character that so accurately portrays narcolepsy and the effect it has on the psyche/self-esteem. How did you get it so right? Research or experience?

Paul Tremblay I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis, Lexis. I appreciate the kind words for Mark and the book. When I wrote the book in 2007, there was very little out there concerning narcolepsy. One of my primary sources was a self-published book about a woman and her experience with it. I do not have narcolepsy. I did have terrible sleep apnea in the late 90s for which I event got surgery. I experienced some of the symptoms (crushing fatigue and falling sleep) during that time though.

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What is your most memorable fan moment? I wish I had the extra funds to makePaul Tremblay in conversation with Joe Hill Event on Saturday, July 15, 2023 - 6:00pm At the Water Street Bookstore 125 Water Street Exeter, NH 03833 But NH is far from me. But one day soon rather than later I will be there.

Paul Tremblay Hi, Laura. Oh, i've been quite lucky to have so many kind readers that have shared stories about the book, etc. I was at NYC comic con once a woman told me about her father who was a reader but stopped/couldn't after his wife died, and about a year later he read The Cabin at the End of the World and that broke the reading dam for him. That any of my books can bring a moment of joy or peace (along with scares?) is an amazing thing. Other readers have given me some fun t-shirts and things, and one guy, George, made me fake concert tix to see Antigone and Art Barbara.

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Hi Paul. I'm infatuated with Cabin at the end of the world, and only just now realised that the movie is coming out soon. (Excited AF) When I read the book and I was around 30% in I thought to myself, hot damn, this would make a great movie. The pacing and plot development, reveals, are all just perfect for a movie. So my question is, did you write the book with a film adaptation in mind?

Paul Tremblay Thanks for reading, Francois. I never write a book/story with adaptations in mind. I write trying to make it the best book I can. If the opportunity for adaptation comes later, great. If not, that's okay too.

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Hey Paul, I watched Knock at the Cabin on Wednesday and I enjoyed everything about the movie up to the point where I didn´t! I truly love your book, not just the tension but also that beautiful and human message at the end. I know you are probably not allowed to talk about the movie? But I was so angry and hurt by what Shyamalan did with THAT ENDING. It ruined everything, the message was so ideological, so WRONG!

Paul Tremblay Thanks for reading and the kind words for the book. I like the movie but really don't like the ending. If anything his ending is way bleaker. Truly horrifying in its implications. I blab more about the movie here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment...

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Paul Tremblay Hi, Alexandra! I use my family often for inspiration in my stories/books. Also, my parents always encouraged creativity. Say hi to him for me. ;)

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Hello! Just emerging, shaken, from The Cabin at the End of the World, and bought a couple more of your books. Thanks for the excellent writing! I hate ambiguous endings but found this one entirely justified. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie's divergence from the book's plot; from what online interviews I could find, you haven't said much about it? (It seems to me to be quite a different story!)

Paul Tremblay Hi, and thank you for reading. I like the movie but don't like the ending. Removing the ambiguity means we're rooting for the home invaders. We shouldn't be rooting for them, yeah? I think his ending is way bleaker than mine too. More blabbing about it here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment...

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This may be a touchy question, but I only read Cabin after seeing the film and being curious that the director said he was faithful to the book till the halfway point and then had to change things, as your ending was 'too bleak' for the current market. I MUCH preferred the original ending and was wondering how you felt about all the changes made. What did you think of the film as a whole?

Paul Tremblay Thank you! Short version: I like the movie but don't like the ending. I think his ending is way more bleak than mine, which I find defiantly hopeful. I blabbed more about the movie here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment...

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You know I love your books. You are my favorite author Fer reals. I am listening to your Rocktober Poplife Podcast episode. I just can't imagine how anyone squares "best-selling author" with their own biography. Two questions: 1. Did you know you'd be this successful/popular? 2. Do you ever wake up and think...."Naw. This can't be real in a Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" way?

Paul Tremblay Thank you again, Rita, for the kind words.

It's been a long road to here and while I fantasied about selling some books and maybe having a movie, I didn't think it would happen.

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I just finished Disappearance at Devil's Rock. The psychology of the situation was immensely complex. The dialogue between the adolescent boys was spot-on, entertaining, and original. You are a genius. Are you working on something now?

Paul Tremblay Thank you, Chris. That's very kind of you. I stole some of the dialogue from my kid's friends and the students I was teaching. ;)

The Pallbearers Club just came out in July. Otherwise, there will be a short story collection called The Beast You Are that will feature an original novella. And I'm working on a novel that, universe willing, will be published in 2024.

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I love TPBC so much that I may or may not have cried a little when I finished it because it was over. I loved it for a million little reasons, all of which I'd love to talk about, but I won't, mostly because we don't know each other and even if we did, I like to think about talking to/hanging out with people WAY more than actually doing either. The question: What's next and how long do I have to wait for it?

Paul Tremblay Thank you, Rita. I'm so pleased the book worked for you.

What's next: A collection of stories called The Beast You Are in summer 2023. The book will feature a novella/short novel called "The Best You Are" which is 130 pages or so. It's an anthropomorphic animal story with a giant monster and a slasher cat, and it was so fun to write.

I'm working on a novel now that should be out the following summer, 2024.

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Paul Tremblay What is TPC? It's a bit difficult to categorize. A memoir mixed with humor and horror?

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