Author Focus – David M Barnett
In Author Focus this month I’m delighted to meet English author, journalist and comic book writer David M Barnett. David writes commercial fiction for Orion Books, including Calling Major Tom and There is a Light Which Never Goes Out. He’s also the author of Alien: Colony War, an original novel set in the movie franchise universe, and the Gideon Smith series of Victorian fantasy novels.
As a freelance journalist he writes for the UK press including the Guardian, Independent and Telegraph. His comics work includes, Books of Magic, for DC’s Sandman Universe, 2000AD, and work for Archie comics and IDW in the US.
Tim – Hi David and welcome to Author Focus. You’re obviously a very busy man, so thanks for finding the time for this interview!
David – Yeah, as you well know, the writing life is busy, especially when you're trying to fit it in and around other work that pays at a quicker rate than writing books does!
Your latest novel, Withered Hill, was released on 26th September 2024. Can you tell us a little about that book and why you wrote it?
Although for the past few years I've mainly published what you might call commercial fiction – rom-coms, comedies, that sort of thing – my roots have always been in genre fiction. My first novels were small press dark fantasies, I did a steampunk trilogy for Tor. Between the rom-coms I wrote an official Alien novel, Colony War, in 2022. So I've always had a dark heart, I suppose!
What in your view makes a good horror story?
I think for me, it's less about the monsters and more about the people. The best horror turns a light back on human nature and we see ourselves through the lens of something horrible and fantastic. I like there to be a strong supernatural element, and a growing sense of unease. Prose is different from movies, and in a film it's a lot easier to shock someone with a jump scare than it is with the written word, though not of course impossible. But I like a book that takes its time immersing us in the horror and gives us time to think what that really means.
Withered Hill first came out as an independent release under the title of Hob in 2022. Why did you do that and what was the story behind it subsequently being picked up by your publishers Canelo?
My agent had sent Hob out to a lot of editors and the responses were almost unanimously positive... but it didn't seem to fit into publishing plans anywhere. I briefly decided to self publish, because I thought the story should be out there, and in the meantime there seemed to be a bit of an explosion in folk horror so I pulled it and decided to work on it a bit more, and at that point Canelo got in touch with my agent Laura saying they were looking to start a new Horror imprint, and did she have anything? So it all came together quite nicely. Kit at Canelo loved it and we decided to expand the story quite a bit and give it a title change. It's the same basic story as Hob but much expanded and revised, and all for the better.
Your writing career has been varied, to say the least. Many authors focus on one genre but yours is very hard to pin down. What draws you to a particular project when you’re deciding what to write next?
The likelihood of someone wanting to buy it! Seriously, though, if it was that easy to fathom we'd all be selling a couple of bestsellers a year. I suppose I write whichever story lingers with me and hope that it's going to be of interest to publishers.
Do you think that eclectic approach helps or hinders you in finding your audience?
It's hard to know. There are people who pick up Withered Hill who would probably hate my other work, and vice versa. Then again, there are readers who have a wide-ranging and eclectic taste themselves. I think if I'm happy that I've written a good story with great characters, I feel like it can take its chances with any sort of reader. And who knows, after reading Withered Hill some people might need a palate cleanser with a more gentle book... I've got you covered!
Withered Hill is a standalone tale, but I understand you have another folk horror novel coming out in 2025. Can you tell us a bit more about that book?
Yes, it's called Scuttler's Cove and is released through Canelo on February 13th. This one is set on the Cornish coast, where a group of Londoners have bought up some land, which also comes with... let's say a sitting tenant. It very much explores the themes of second-homers, and the environment, and how ancient customs and folklore linger in out of the way places.
It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope Withered Hill proves to be a great success, as it’s a fantastic novel and certainly one of my favourite reads so far this year. Scuttler’s Cove sounds really interesting too, so I’ll look forward to that when it comes out!
Thank you so much, Tim!
Find out more about David at his website https://davidbarnett.wordpress.com/
