Doreen Petersen
asked
Jonathan Janz:
How did you come up with the idea for The Darkest Lullaby? I'm reading it now and it's soo good.
Jonathan Janz
Hey, Doreen! Thank you so much for saying that and for reading that book!
As with most of my books, the ideas came from several places. On one hand, I had read several "quiet" horror novels that appealed to me, stories that put more emphasis on atmosphere than on plot. A couple examples would be T.M. Wright's STRANGE SEED and Charles L. Grant's THE SOUND OF MIDNIGHT (and, to a lesser degree, Grant's THE HOUR OF THE OXRUN DEAD). I wanted to capture the feeling and mood of those stories. Now that I think about it, another that spoke to me was T.E.D. Klein's THE CEREMONIES. But you get the point.
In addition to the above, I wanted to take the young-couple-purchases-a-potentially-haunted-house story and do something different with it. Hopefully, I accomplished that.
Lastly, I've always loved the notion of the revenant, that vengeful presence whose cruelty defies even death. To have not one revenant, but two, was an appealing and frightening notion to me. In a way, the novel connects to both HOUSE OF SKIN and THE SORROWS, which preceded it.
Thanks again for your question, and I hope you enjoy the rest! :-)
JJ
As with most of my books, the ideas came from several places. On one hand, I had read several "quiet" horror novels that appealed to me, stories that put more emphasis on atmosphere than on plot. A couple examples would be T.M. Wright's STRANGE SEED and Charles L. Grant's THE SOUND OF MIDNIGHT (and, to a lesser degree, Grant's THE HOUR OF THE OXRUN DEAD). I wanted to capture the feeling and mood of those stories. Now that I think about it, another that spoke to me was T.E.D. Klein's THE CEREMONIES. But you get the point.
In addition to the above, I wanted to take the young-couple-purchases-a-potentially-haunted-house story and do something different with it. Hopefully, I accomplished that.
Lastly, I've always loved the notion of the revenant, that vengeful presence whose cruelty defies even death. To have not one revenant, but two, was an appealing and frightening notion to me. In a way, the novel connects to both HOUSE OF SKIN and THE SORROWS, which preceded it.
Thanks again for your question, and I hope you enjoy the rest! :-)
JJ
More Answered Questions
E. Mercy
asked
Jonathan Janz:
First of all, I am a big fan of your work as I own many of your books. I believe we've also met a few times at shows and you've always been super kind and an absolute pleasure to speak with. I have three questions; 1. As a first-time author, what general advice would you give me in terms of the creative process & vending experience? 2. any printing/self-publishing recommendations? 3. next appearances/signings?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more