Steve Diamond: A Love for Horror
An interview with a master of darkness
Many readers of UpstreamReviews will know Steve Diamond from his dark fantasy collab SERVANTS OF WAR, where he joined his horror powers with Larry Correia’s action powers in a smash-em-up trench warfare epic.
He’s also the co-host of The WriterDojo, a podcast and writing community that teaches some of the practical angles of both the craft and the business of writing.
I recently got to swap emails with Steve and pitch him a few questions about his work and his tastes in the horror genre. He’s so committed to it that he literally owns the HORROR custom license plate in his home state.
Check out the interview below, and make sure you hit the links at the bottom so you can follow him on Twitter and read his other books from Amazon.
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UR: Okay Steve, first things first… WhErE dO yOu gEt yOuR iDeAs nah haha, kidding. You're a big horror guy, we've all picked up on that. Other than this Steve Diamond character, who's a horror author that you wish more people would read?
SD: Ha! I am, indeed, a pretty big fan of the genre! In fact, I think there's now a drinking game relating to my mentioning it on the WriterDojo podcast. For me, it comes down to a couple authors. I love Robert McCammon, and I wish more people read him. He embodies the idea of "hope amidst horror" so-to-speak. And he can actually write endings! If you have to pick a starting place for him, I'd say either SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, or THE WOLF'S HOUR.
Additionally, I want more people to read NECROSCOPE by Brian Lumley. It was one of the main inspirations for my novel RESIDUE, and it has some awesome Lovecraftian inspirations.
UR: Us audiobook fans are looking forward to the re-release of RESIDUE, since we missed it the first time around. Have you been able to find a new narrator yet? And if you could fantasy-cast a narrator, who might you pick?
SD: Man, this is difficult. The trouble with audiobooks is finding a reader who fits with the book. No matter how great your story is, if the read doesn't fit (or is just plain bad), people won't like the book. I think that was the issue with the original audio release - the narrator didn't fit. The challenge for me comes from a couple different angles. First, the cost. These sorts of things are expense. Now, I'm perfectly willing to pay for an awesome reader, but I've got to make sure it makes sense on a financial level for all parties involved.
The second difficulty is finding the right fit. Oddly enough, I'd love Zachary Levi to do the narration. His character in Chuck was one of the main inspirations for Jack Bishop in the novel, and I think his voice would fit perfectly. Now is this realistic? Nah. And while I'd love Bronson Pinchot (that man can do no wrong in the narration game), I think the main key is finding someone who you can imagine as appropriate for two teenagers.
My third option, though I shudder to think how much work it would be, is to narrate it myself. Because of the WriterDojo podcast, I've been gaining confidence behind the mic week after week. I dunno though, would the listeners cut me a little slack since it's "read by the author"?
Regardless, if people have any referrals, I'm all ears!
UR: You've been granted a budget and a stretch of landscape to build your own Mount Rushmore of horror flicks. Which four are you carving up for the world to see?
SD: Alien, The Thing, Rear Window (or I'd cheat and just put Hitchcock on the mountain!), and The X-Files. My fifth honorable mention would be Seven.
I'm not actually a huge fan of the slasher flavor of horror. I'm much more into the suspense aspects of the horror genre, or monster movie romps. I love most movies by Hitchcock, and stuff that fits that mold - like Get Out. Otherwise I love monster films like Antlers, Jeepers Creepers, Cloverfield, etc. I really love the direction horror series have gone on streaming lately with Stranger Things, Archive 81, and especially Midnight Mass.
I personally think SERVANTS OF WAR would make for an awesome TV series. You can't tell me it wouldn't be a killer fantasy-horror show!
UR: Fingers crossed, we here at Upstream are hoping that SERVANTS OF WAR performs well enough for a Steve Diamond solo outing at Baen. I assume you've pitched something to them--are you able to share that with us?
UR: The reviews for SERVANTS OF WAR have been amazing! I'm so grateful to all the folks who have picked it up and have given Larry Correia and I positive reviews and vibes. I'm really looking forward to writing more in that world.
But as for myself, the project that Baen has heard of right now is called ON THE DEVIL'S SIDE. Basically, it's supernatural Bosch where the main character is a werewolf. I finished off a short story called A Devil's Bargain as my first dip into the pool for this world. The short story will come out next year, I think, in a Baen anthology called DOWN THESE MEAN STREETS. I love detective fiction and cop dramas - my dad was a career cop. So I've been dying to write something in this vein for quite a while. So a supernatural cop drama feel like a no-brainer for me, right? Hopefully, after I write the book, Baen will feel that it is up to their standards and pick it up! I'd love for it to be an ongoing series.
UR: As a follow-up to that, I assume you've got something cooking up in your imagination right now. What's the next big project for you, the next big idea you want to tackle?
Oh geez. I have an absurd number of ideas. Now, if Baen comes back to Larry and I and says, "Hey, give us sequels to SERVANTS OF WAR!"... well, let's just say they won't have to twist my arm in the slightest. The tentative title for the sequel would be INSTRUMENTS OF VIOLENCE. I want to write it bad.
Beyond that, it's a toss-up between werewolf cop mentioned above, and a science fiction idea I've been toying with for a while. While I was at a convention in Dallas, TX just a little bit ago, Toni Weisskopf said something in passing that connected a bunch of dots in my head. I think writing a science fiction series with big stompy robots - and with my horror sensibilities added in - could be a ton of fun! I'm actually outlining the series right now.
And between ALLLLLLLLL those things, I still have quite a few short stories I need to get done for various outlets. A little horror here, some Sword & Sorcery there, and even a little cyberpunk thrown in for good measure. Plus, there are a lot of people that want to see one of my joke ideas become a reality: Sparkle Murder Princess.
So many ideas, so little time!
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There you have it! Grab a copy of SERVANTS OF WAR if you haven’t already. Let’s get Steve boosted in the Baen ranks so we can get a look at that Werewolf Cop story on the shelves!
Thank you for reading.