Assembling the anthology "The Earth Bleeds At Night", has been an immense undertaking, yet the effort pays off magnificently with the opportunity to reveal that author of Maxwell I. Gold's will also be gracing our pages.
Maxwell, thank you so much for joining us! Please tell us about yourself.
I’m not the best at these since I feel like I miss several other things after it’s all said and done. I’ve been writing professionally since 2017 with over 300 poems and short stories in print. I write mostly prose poetry and free verse with a focus on weird fiction and cosmic horror, but I’ll write in any genre as I enjoy the challenge and I’m always looking for ways to test my writing ability.
How and why did you pick up the pen and start writing? Have you always been drawn to the creative arts or is this something that started later in life?
This is a complicated question, so I’ll try not to ramble too much. I had always wanted to be a writer ever since I was young. I carried around a little black velvet notebook where I wrote stories and created all sorts of characters. I loved art, music, and books from a young age. The drive was always there, but I also attribute it to my grandparents, particularly my Papa (my mom’s father) and listening to his stories growing up.
How do you balance creating suspense and terror with developing your characters and plot?
I wanted to answer this question because with dark poetry it is slightly different. Creating a sense of terror and dread is important, however, when writing poetry character and plot is less important compared to mood and rhythm. I try to keep a steady pace throughout the piece especially if it’s a longer poem, but if its shorter the immediate rhythm of the piece will be more important than the mood.
What are some of the tips or advice that you would give to aspiring horror writers?
Find a mentor. Finding a mentor was one of the best things that happened to me as an aspiring writer trying to navigate the ins and outs of the writing world.
What are some of your writing rituals?
I tend to handwrite my poems first. I have a plethora of notebooks with handwritten drafts and usually when I am starting a new poem or collection, I will write them by hand.
How would you survive a zombie apocalypse with only a spoon and a roll of duct tape?
I probably wouldn’t.
Tell us about your recent works, where we can find them and all of your social media details.
My poetry collection Bleeding Rainbows and Other Broken Spectrums, a cosmic horror and homoerotic poetry collection was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award and more recently an Elgin Award. Additionally, my prose poetry chapbook anOther Mythology, which is a collection of poems that look at myth and legend through a queer perspective was nominated for the distinguished Eric Hoffer Award. I’ll have poems in several upcoming anthologies including Where the Silent Ones Watch, a tribute to William Hope Hodgson from Hippocampus Press, Dark Spores Stores We Tell After Midnight Volume 4 from Crone Girls Press, Shunned Houses: An Anthology of Weird Stories, Unspeakable Poems, and Impious Essays, from Hippocampus Press to name a few.
My forthcoming cosmic horror poetry collection Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self Destructions is scheduled to be released on August 22nd from Raw Dog Screaming Press.
I am @cybergodwrites on all social media handles as well.
Instagram: @cybergodwrites
Bluesky: @cybergodwrites
Linktree: @cybergodwrites
Website: www.thewellsoftheweird.com
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