She was making up stories before she’d learned to write, and keeps two favorite stuffies - a bear called Crumble, and a red Welsh dragon called Idris – close at hand. Meet Sara-Jayne Townsend, y’all!
GL: Welcome, Sara! Please tell us a little about your books.
SJT: I am a writer of crime and horror, two genres I think have a lot in common in spite of first appearances. They both feature horrible deaths (well, they do the way I write them). Both genres deal with the things that people are afraid of, be they real life fears or imagined. And both deal with the darkness of the human psyche.
My first novel, SUFFER THE CHILDREN, is a horror novel. The main character, Leanne, has come from a very deprived background and finds herself orphaned at eighteen. Potentially on the slipperly slope to self-destruction, she is saved by her aunt, who lives in a middle-class suburb and takes Leanne in. As Leanne struggles to adapt to her new environment, she finds herself facing a new danger – an ancient supernatural evil creature has taken up residence in this town, and is targeting displaced and neglected young people – people like Leanne.
I was a big fan of Stephen King in my teenage years, and SUFFER THE CHILDREN was influenced by his books.
My recently released second novel, DEATH SCENE, is a bit different as there are no supernatural elements whatsoever in it. My main character, Shara Summers, is a Canadian actress. Originally from England, she’s summoned back home when her sister Astrid is stricken with a mysterious illness. Then Shara pays a visit to an elderly relative to find her lying dead at the bottom of the stairs. Did she fall or was she pushed? Is there any connection between her death and Astrid’s mystery illness? Shara turns amateur sleuth and unearths some family skeletons, all the while dealing with a few personal demons of her own and family tensions.
DEATH SCENE’s only been out for a couple of weeks, but I hope Shara is received well because I’ve got a lot of other books planned about her.
GL: They sound fascinating.
I lurve Stephen King. Which of his books is your favorite?
SJT: I think it has to be IT. I first read that one when I was fourteen. The concept of a Big Bad that could take on the form of whatever scares you the most is just fabulous.
Close second, though, is jointly THE STAND and NEEDFUL THINGS. I love the way Stephen King populates his books with ordinary, flawed, characters. Sometimes they are very annoying, but they always feel like they could be real people.
GL: High five! IT scared the holy snot out of me when I was 16. Christine ran over me earlier than that.
What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
SJT: Writing can be great therapy. I’ve worked through a lot of issues by writing about them. I’ve also occasionally based characters who I kill off on people who are causing me a great deal of stress in my life. Much better than indulging in real-life violence, and it’s very therapeutic!
GL: So, you’re in the middle of a huge writing binge. What’s your fuel of choice (snacks)?
SJT: I have a weakness for anything chocolate. Especially bars of chocolate. Dairy milk, Galaxy, whatever’s in the house.
I’m also fond of chocolate chip cookies, but then I have to contend with crumbs all over the keyboard…
GL: Crumbs are dangerous! What would be your weapon of choice in the Zombocalypse?
SJT: I play a lot of Resident Evil, so it has to be the Infinite Rocket Launcher. Does the most damage.
Barring that, a decent shot gun seems to be effective also.
GL: Have you tried Left 4 Dead yet?
SJT: No, I haven’t, but it sounds good. I am fond of computer games, especially zombie blasting ones. But they often distract me from sitting down to write!
GL: I know that feeling, and have made game time a reward for getting work done. Speaking of getting back to writing…thanks for joining us today, Sara!
SJT: Thanks for having me!
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Find Sara-Jayne Townsend at her website and blog.
Click on the covers to view her ebooks’ pages:
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