Today on MASTERS OF HORROR we meet a fellow Canadian C.M. Forest, also known as Christian Laforet. His amazing novel INFESTED is a finalist for the Benjamin Franklin Award for the best new horror fiction novel of 2022!
He’s the author of the novella We All Fall Before the Harvest, the short story collection The Space Between Houses, as well as the co-author of the short-story collection No Light Tomorrow.
He’s a self-proclaimed horror movie expert, and spent an embarrassing amount of his youth watching scary movies. When not writing, he lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, kids, three cats and a pandemic dog named Sully who has an ongoing love affair with a blanket.
Let’s get to know Christian a little bit more…
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in Windsor, ON. An automotive city that sits on the border with Detroit. I currently reside in LaSalle, ON, which is a suburb of Windsor. I do still have a day job but it is far too unexciting to talk about.
Why write horror? What is it about writing terrifying scenes that excites you?
My love of all things spooky can be traced back to my older brother. He would babysit me when we were kids, and even though I was far too young for such things, he would insist we watch whatever demented horror movie he had managed to rent form Applause Video (RIP). There is almost nothing greater than having a reader say you scared them. That your words gave them nightmares. It always makes me smile.
What’s the scariest book you’ve read? And why?
Tough question. I devour so much horror that not much scares me any more. But I will say, I got chills reading Dean Koontz's PHANTOMS back in the day. It is a fantastic book.
What are you working on now? Is it a standalone? Part of a series?
I'm working on several projects, but the two vying for the biggest chunk of my time are a cosmic horror/dystopian novella and my second full-length novel. The former is for a shared universe anthology I am a part of. The book is supposed to be sci-fi, but I couldn't resist and had to bring the scary stuff. As for the novel, it's an idea I've been playing with for a while. Putting on my Hollywood hat, I would describe it as: The Ritual meets You're Next meets a forest fire.
Where can we find you?
I'm smeared across the internet like roadkill. You can find bits of me everywhere. The most obvious being:
I want to thank Christian Laforet for being kind enough to share some of his life with all of us. In a very short time he’s amassed awards, been a best-seller and he’s become a rising talent in the horror market that cannot be denied. If you haven’t read him yet, do yourself a favour and grab INFESTED right now! It starts fast and just keeps picking up speed, and trust me, it’s one hell of a ride! But don’t take it from me…
"A claustrophobic chamber piece set inside a modern apartment tower, C.M. Forest's Infested has the gritty feel of early Cronenberg and Romero. The wild, fast-moving plot and gruesome set pieces will delight readers with a taste for the strong stuff." —Nick Cutter author of The Troop and The Deep
I love learning about the lives of fellow horror writers. Where they grew up, what jobs they do to keep the lights on while they toil away on their next classic horror novel. What scares them? What they’re reading? What drives them to create the stories we all love to devour? So thanks again to Christian for letting us peek behind the curtain on the life of an amazing talent!
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