Ask the Author: Lee Foust
Answered Questions (3)
Lee Foust
Hiya back. In terms of the kind of thing I think you're getting at, a mix of experimentalism, horror, and human condition drama, I love authors Kathy Acker, Chris Krauss, Alison Rumfitt, Shirley Jackson, and Hubert Selby Jr. with special mention for old favorites like _Wuthering Heights_ and Mathew Lewis's gothic classic _The Monk_. Even the Roman novel by Apuleius _The Golden Ass_ has some surprising takes on the human condition. For straight up macabre-type horror I'm a big fan of Poe and Arthur Machon, as well as Lovecraft and Bloch and Matheson--all pretty standard for my generation I guess as a monster kid of the 1970s. I do love me some _Twin Peaks_ and David Lynch in general so I appreciate your persona! Cheers, mate! PS Hadn't yet seen your comment when I wrote this so some is redundant. You seem far more versed in contemp horror than me so hat's off! I did enjoy _The Cypher_ by Kathe Koja but for sure you should look into Alison Rumfitt!
Lee Foust
Thanks so much, Fergus--I'm blushing! Reading and writing are my passions so I just push on doing both. (I've been enjoying your reviews since we've become friends here as well. Your enthusiasm is infectious!)
Lee Foust
Absolutely! _Inbetween_ is the first of a thematic trilogy of novels I've been working on for the last 33 years inspired by Dante's _Commedia_. the second novel of the set is edited and ready to go. It's called _Here Lies: the Remains of Francesco Castello, AKA Borromini_ and is the first-person narrative of the Baroque architect in purgatory telling his life story and wrestling with the concept of salvation and submission to God's judgement against his own individualistic, artistic temperament. The third installment, _The Three Living Meet the Three Dead_, is a novel-in-frames not unlike Boccaccio's _Decameron_ in which I retell the medieval myth of the three wealthy hunters who encounter three corpses at the crossroads who admonish the rich for their worldly vanity. In my version, the six set up camp and tell stories to each other for 7 nights, tales dedicated thematically to the seven celestial spheres a la Dante's _Paradiso_. Written to completion, with a few of the stories already published in journals, it'll take some editing before it's ready for publication. See my website for links to the tales already published: http://www.leefoust.com/publications....
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Oct 18, 2025 03:02PM · flag