Every Friday, we meet a member of the BFS and peer deep into their soul (or, at least, a form they filled out). Want to be featured? Email us: online@britishfantasysociety.org
Name:
Graeme Patrick (he/him)
Which region are you based in?
Some say I have the haunting charm of a discarded shoe, and I always put that down to where they find me – in northeast England. Sunderland, to be exact. They might wonder how I got here, but it’s better left unsaid. Still, it’s an exciting city filled with creeping fog, wailing ice cream vans, and pterodactyl-sized seagulls – all of which do lend the place a certain sense of drama.
If you write, which genre:
I write mostly horror set in Western, Modern, Sci-fi or Fantasy.
Are you drawn to any specific SFFH sub-genres?
I’m a mercenary – I’ll write any genre I’m handed – but my bread and butter is lonesome duels under cerulean skies. Mix that with unfathomable depths brimming with tentacles, and I’m there. If it’s not cosmic horror or westerns, I like a dash of psychological horror for taste; stories are characters after all. Breaking them open to see what leaks onto the floor is always a direction I enjoy trudging toward.
Your influences
Tell us about the book/film/thing that got you into SFFH: What was it? How old were you? What impact did it have on you?
1995, during an English lesson held inside a mouldy shed. X-Files dominated the airwaves, and Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father took up most of my time. I was fourteen, and I wouldn’t shut up. I’m quite dyslexic and struggled a lot with classes. For not paying attention, Mr Summers – my teacher – gave me a book I had to write a report on as punishment: The Wasp Factory.
I devoured it. As he knew I would.
How does that early influence show up for you (in life/writing/agenting/publishing/editing/reading) now?
While The Wasp Factory isn’t strictly horror, its beautifully bleak descriptions give his settings and characters undertones of menace and mystery, which I always strive for. It made me believe in flaws. The cast is odd and unsettling. Like most awkward teens, I found that relatable. I didn’t like plenty about myself, an ear that stuck straight out, and a mouthful of baby teeth – none of those strong nashers for me. So I cling to making my characters richly broken things.
Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?
I enjoy dramatising the mundane and making them absurd, unsettling or both. It could be people, places, objects, interactions – anything, really. Each has their story to tell and twist. I murdered them all on the writing altar to amuse myself, then threw the pieces into a brew with the odd bit of history, science, or even parts of myself. It is all then resurrected into some stitched horror that is hopefully, darkly entertaining.
Ultimately, seek out strange people, wholesome moments, and interesting things, then grind them into your work. You’ll never know what will set your mind racing. Like the other day, I learned about corpse roads. By itself, it’s just stone soup, but keep adding the odd carrot, and you can end up with something divine.
Who do you look to as a genre hero? Why?
Probably Banks for sci-fi, Abercrombie for fantasy, but for horror … Clark Ashton Smith (pictured). But I do like Tim Curran too…
Your Work
You’re stuck in an elevator for 60 seconds with that hero, and they want you to describe your work. Give us the pitch.
So, I’ve already pulled the emergency stop and said, “It’s okay, I’ve done this before.” Putting them at ease.
My work is visceral and cinematic. Imagine if you will that Shirley Jackson was ransomed back to you by Jack Ketchum. The pieces of her might not all come at the same time. Hopefully, the meat is still marbled with intimate dread and personal horror.
What are you working on right now?
I always hate this question as a myriad of deadlines congeal in my guts for a meeting, and the good stuff is pretty hush-hush for now.
Other than that, I’m working on wrapping up Bleeker Trails, an Old West Horror Comedy show for Ain’t Slayed Nobody. I’m writing up that into a real TTRPG campaign. I’m also working on a journaling TTRPG called Neon Gloom, set in a surreal 1950s – think Dark City meets Grease.
I’m pretty new to the publishing prose game, so I’m still trying to find my feet on that front. Right now, I’m working on a collection of short stories, all about death and lineage. What is your legacy?
Thinking about all the stories/work you’ve done, what sticks out most in your mind? Why?
Of Sorrow and Clay; technically, this is a TTRPG scenario. It was for an Ain’t Slayed Nobody’s special crossover with Old Gods of Appalachia, featuring Cam Collins and Becca Scott. It was lightning in a bottle. Bringing Call of Cthulhu (the system I write for) and colliding it with their world, I wrote the whole thing in a few days.
You play as one of the dysfunctional Taft family, called back to the family holler to find your missing father, who has gone off into the woods to die. The Actual Play is funny, dark, and intimate. Everyone did an excellent job on the production.
The scenario has now sold 1000+ copies and is still going.
Where and when do you create/are you at your most creative?
I’m most creative in the morning. Sometimes, when you are early enough to catch the dawn, the sky is still bruised as the sun rises, and you sit down at your PC. It asks me to confirm who I am. Like it doesn’t know, it probably knows better than I do at this point… And armed with a bacon buttie, coffee, and an overly friendly cat or two – Crumble and Custard. I can lock in on those days.
What’s the best advice you’ve received about creativity?
Don’t mimic others nor covet their ideas; your voice is king. It is born from flaws and hardship. Wield them like a cudgel, and break hearts and minds.
What’s your writing soundtrack?
I’m deeply entrenched in Lorn, especially Acid Rain and Sega Sunset. They are played at least a few times a day. The dystopian creep on those songs bleed into my work in a lot of ways, they are perfect for corpse ships and virtual witches.
But it will depend on what I’m writing, like I’d go for Dead South and the Sulphur Band when writing more Western stuff. Yes, I can listen to lyrics and still write. If that makes me an anathema, well, so be it.
The Quick-Fire Round
Sci-fi, fantasy or horror?
Horror
Quiet or loud?
Quiet
Dark or light?
Dark
Strict lines or genre blend?
They are more like gestures at this point.
Awards or bestseller?
Awards.
Fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction
Poetry or prose?
Prose, but…
Plotter or pantser?
I plan out everything and then set it on fire.
Reading or listening?
Listening
Notebook or computer?
PC
Favourite SFFH book of all time?
Use of Weapons – the twist, if you know you know.
Last book you read?
Fever House by Keith Rosson
Any SFFH author on auto-buy?
At the moment, it has to be Adam Nevill. Honourable mention for Hugh Howey though…
Favourite podcast?
Old Gods of Appalachia
The Home Stretch
What’s the best thing about being part of the SFFH community?
The events are fantastic. I’m a bit of a lurker right now, but everyone is lovely, and I hope to do much more in the community soon.
Time to plug your stuff! Where can we find you and your work? What have you got coming up? Consider this your advertising space.
I can be found smeared across the internet. I have been a guest writer on Rusty Quill’s Magnus Protocol, Nine to Midnight, Creepy Podcast, and Kill FM Horror Anthology. I also work with Ain’t Slayed Nobody as a lead writer for their Old West arcs, of which Bleeker Trail season 2 is finishing up soon. I’m also a script doctor on polished sponsored productions, such as Blade Runner RPG debut Electric Dream for Free League featuring Dropout TV’s Ross Bryant.
If you fancy a look at me under the cold, hard light of day, you can find my work in the following links:
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