A Word Please

My guest today is bestselling author Scott Nicholson. For many readers, Scott requires no further introduction. I’m embarrassed to say that I only recently discovered Scott’s work. I know, where have I been? Assuming I am not the only one who took forever to stumble upon Scott’s words, here is a quick summation of this prolific author and his writing:

Scott Nicholson is author of Creative Spirit and more than 20 other books, as well as children’s books, screenplays, and story collections. His thrillers Liquid Fear and Chronic Fear will be released by Amazon on Dec. 20. Connect with Scott on Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Twitter, blog, website or Amazon page.

I recently read Scott’s novel Creative Spirit, which is what we’ll be talking about today. First, here’s a look at the book:

“Scott Nicholson explores the dark legends of the southern end of the Appalachian mountain chain, a nightmare country that ends in Stephen King’s yard.”– Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Ballad novels

CREATIVE SPIRIT
A paranormal thriller by Scott Nicholson

After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost at Korban Manor. She’s compelled to visit the historic estate to face her destiny and the fate of her soul.

Sculptor Mason Jackson has come to Korban Manor to make a final, all-or-nothing attempt at success before giving up his dreams. When he becomes obsessed with carving Ephram Korban’s form out of wood, he is swept into a destructive frenzy that even Anna can’t pull him from.

The manor itself has secrets, with fires that blaze constantly in the hearths, portraits of Korban in every room, and deceptive mirrors on the walls. With an October blue moon looming, both the living and the dead learn the true power of their dreams.

View or sample it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Kobo, Smashwords, BN.com, or Goodreads.

CREATIVE SPIRIT is Scott Nicholson’s revised edition of the 2004 U.S. paperback THE MANOR

After I read Creative Spirit, Scott generously agreed to spend some time answering my questions, and now I can share that conversation with all of you:

You were inspired to write Creative Spirit after visiting a place called Cone Manor. Can you tell us about that?

As a reporter, I always had to do the Halloween ghost stories and folk legends, so I started using them as inspiration for novels. The actual Cone Manor has ghost stories about its founder, who was an art collector, so I turned the place into a remote artist’s retreat and went from there. There’s an article about the real manor on my website.

You mentioned that you wanted to do a ghost hunt at Cone Manor but were unable to at the time. Have you ever seen or heard a ghost or unexplained paranormal activity?

I hosted a couple of paranormal conferences with ghost hunts, and aside from one perception of being “touched,” I have never really had any encounter I would consider supernatural. It’s a really complicated field because so much of it relies on our unreliable subjective perception.

Creative Spirit was optioned for a movie. Has that movie been made? If so, where can readers find and watch it?

It never got to formal option stage, but a producer chased my script for a year or two. I enjoy screenwriting as a way to develop my storytelling skills. I put the screenplay in a “bonus edition” if anyone wants to see the difference between the two formats.

Too bad they producer didn’t use it. The book would make a fantastic movie!

You have written an impressive amount of titles that draw on paranormal and horror. What is it about this genre that attracts you?

I grew up with the old mountain folk tales, many of which involve magic or the supernatural. I feel like I am telling modern folk tales, updating them in novel form.

Aside from your own work, what is your all-time favorite horror novel?

That’s a tough one, as I could give a dozen different answers. Stephen King has some great ones, but my favorite of his is Misery and it may be a suspense or thriller novel instead of horror. I also love religious horror like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Sentinel. But I’d say Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite paranormal novel.

I read The Haunting of Hill House for the first time a couple of years ago. Great book!

Thank you, Scott, for hanging out with us!

Now for a look at some of Scott’s books on Amazon, in both print and Kindle format:

Tags: Creative Spirit, horror authors, indie authors, indie books on Kindle, Indie Horror Books, Indie Paranormal Books, Kindle Books Under $3, Kindle books under $5, New Indie Releases, paranormal authors, Scott Nicholson, Scott Nicholson Interview