Meet Dark Fiction Author Chris Roy

Chris Roy was raised in South Mississippi, in the midst of ugly Gulf Coast beaches and spectacular muddy bayous.

Chris lived comfortably with the criminal ventures of his youth until a fistfight in 1999 ended tragically. Since January, 2000, he's been serving a life sentence in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Nowadays he lives his life  crime vicariously, through the edgy, fast-paced stories he pens, hoping to entertain readers. When he isn't writing, he's reading, drawing or looking for prospects to train in boxing.

My review on Marsh Madness:

A short short chock full of imagery, Marsh Madness is enough to put you right in the bayou. Here, we follow an older man into the bayou as he stalks some of the locals. The narrative is sinister, adding an immense amount of suspense through the use of very few words. If you like dark fiction and have a few minutes to spare, check it out: http://www.close2thebone.co.uk/wp/?p=3352

My review on Re-Pete:

Re-Pete stands as one of the best dark stories I've read in a while. Pete is a little boy suffering from severe OCD. He is left under the care of his mother and her violent boyfriend after his father's death. After a turn of events, Pete's illness manifests into something sinister. This is more than worth a read:  http://www.close2thebone.co.uk/wp/?p=3489

Author Interview with Chris Roy:

What is dark fiction to you? Fight scenes and car chases were my specialty for several years. Action thrillers with anti-heroes. Good deeds were done by criminals. My thrillers contain an enormous amount of arrogance and narcissism. The characters can be real assholes. Then they do something heroic, and all the “bad” suddenly doesn't seem so bad. When I started writing dark fiction I realized I had to go beyond narcissistic assholes, past sociopathic, and enter the land of psychopathic. Cruel, vicious, murderous. My thrillers had those character traits - in the antagonists. My dark fiction is the negative of that; the protagonists are remorseless killers. Immersing myself in dark fiction can be scary. I'll write something that makes me laugh but gives other people chills.

How long have you been writing and why do you write dark fiction? I wrote a series of crime fiction short stories between 2007-2010 titled By Hook or Crook: the criminal ventures of Razor and Blondie. The first stories were read by some guys on Death Row and High Risk. Guys that have read hundreds of books, know good stories, and aren't afraid to smile and tell you your work is garbage. They liked them. The motivation to learn the craft, genre and audience is similar to what I'm experiencing now, with my first dark fiction stories getting reviews. People are enjoying Marsh Madness and Re-Pete. More so than my thrillers. I'm here to stay. You'll see more dark fiction from me soon.

Who is your favorite author? Favorite book? Why?David Gemmell. White Wolf. It has everything. A story filled with action, heroic warriors that make you cheer, evil butchers for antagonists that you’ll fucking hate, love that you feel, adventure, and is such a great escape into imagination. I've read it 5 times so far. Like a favorite movie.

What are your plans in the future regarding your projects? Near to the Knuckle invited me to contribute to The Blood Red Experiment, a Neo Giallo magazine. The first edition is available on Amazon with five incredibly talented writers of dark fiction. I wrote a series titled Waste Management for the project. Part 1 will debut in the second edition of The Blood Red Experiment early next year. I was recently a guest on The Panic Room Radio Show (episode #63) where I read the opening to Part 1. If you guys check it out, I would appreciate some feedback.

How do you get inspired to start and finish a project? Concepts for a story come to me in different ways. Sometimes I'll study books on writing and just start scribbling notes like mad because the prompts are generating great story ideas. I'll hear a song, a joke, have a random conversation about crime or fitness or life and light bulbs go off. Last week I was training some guys on the yard and got the idea for my current work-in-progress, Hunger. Mid workout, we're laying on bird shit covered concrete doing core work, joking, making fun of each other, and somehow I found myself talking to the guy next to me about being stranded on an island drinking urine. Another guy queried the group about eating shit. I said, “You need a dog. The dog can eat your shit. You can cut a little hunk off the dog. Both of you have something to eat.” A What If, survival of the stupidest competition. I felt I won. My comment was pretty stupid. I started writing something when I went back to my cell. Later, I kicked around the idea with my wife who hates when animals are hurt in my stories. She told me “a better idea”. I listened and changed some of my outline, but the dog is still dead meat. By the way, I love animals. I wouldn't really do that. My characters might, though. Be mad at them.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what genre? I spent many years in Parchman’s Unit 32, a supermax in the Mississippi Delta. There are no rock stations. Blues, country, R&B - plenty of that. I listened to a pop station for forever, every day, reading, writing,  working out, whatever. I can tell you here that I know the lyrics to many Katy Perry and Lady Gaga songs. In person… I would deny it. I'm in a different unit now, with access to rock, alternative and music I love. Korn, Evanescence, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Tool - my favorites. Amps me up for anything, especially before and during fiction writing.

Any advice for new writers? Writing what you know can be boring. Try writing what you don't know. And use your imagination to do it. Not Google. Improvisation creations are the most rewarding, beautiful pieces.

***More from Chris Roy: S

hocking Circumstances Book I: Last Shinehttps://www.amazon.com/Shocking-Circumstances-LAST-SHINE-1/dp/1945734078/

Shocking Circumstances Book 2: Resurrection https://www.amazon.com/Shocking-Circumstances-Resurrection-Schocking/dp/1945734167/

Sharp as a Razor Book I: A Dying Wishhttps://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Razor-Dying-Chris-Roy/dp/194573406X/

You can find Chris on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OfficialChrisRoy/ and on Twitter @AuthorChrisRoyFor more info on the author, visit www.unjustelement.com