Today on MASTERS OF HORROR we have another fellow Canadian and one that lives a short drive away from yours truly!
Theresa Jacobs is the author of THE GHOST IN ME and has contributed to a number of short stories to a bunch of horror publications. THE GHOST IN ME is her latest novel.
According to her Amazon profile she believes in magic, fairies, dragons, and ghosts. Yet she trusts science and thinks that aliens know way too much. When she is not at work she spends her time, reading, writing, exercising her dog, and binge-watching TV shows, with her longtime partner and fiancé. She is also a big movie buff and a sci-fi nerd at heart.
Let’s give a warm welcome to this amazingly talented Canadian, Theresa Jacobs!
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. When I was a baby, my parents moved us to Prince George BC and I grew up there, so it's always home to me. At nineteen we migrated back to St Catharines, for their families, though after 32 long years here, I still miss BC. I've been working at a locally owned office supply company for twenty years now and only began writing in 2015. Thankfully, my co-workers are so supportive of my writing. I set up my debut novel, Cataclysm at the local chapters and many of them came out to buy my book. The manager said I was their top selling indie author, and I was welcome back anytime. If she only knew!
Why write horror?
I began writing horror because it is my favorite genre and my first book (which took 25 years to write) came from being momentarily terrified of my cat in the dead of night. I enjoy the creep factor of the unknown. Like what is causing that noise in the basement, or the sound of footsteps in the attic? Because we experience joy, sorrow, boredom, anger daily, I thinking adding some fear, without the obvious presence of real danger, keeps the blood pumping. However, having a vivid imagination, I've branched off into writing science fiction, crime, YA and more. I haven't written a horror novel in a few years, but my short stories are always dedicated strictly to horror and I drop as many as I can.
What’s the scariest book you’ve ever read?
No books are truly scary. I enjoy the creepy feelings during the haunting moments of Stephen King’s The Shining. He really knows how to get you on edge before the other shoe drops. And following in his footsteps is Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box. His writing is much like his fathers, where the ghost moments leave the reader unsettled. Though I am going to drop a plug here. Sometimes when I'm focused on the computer, or tv, I'll catch shadows in my peripheral vision. Trying to glance directly at these shadows set my mind off and racing. I wrote about shadows that kill in The Cimmerians, and while writing I kept creeping myself out!
Describe as best you can the first or most significant success you’ve had in your writing career.
After I dropped my novel in Dec of 2015, I decided I needed to make my passion a career, and I began blogging and meeting tons of writers through social media. A peer asked me if I would write for an online magazine, 1428Elm.com. I'd never considered writing anything other than novels, and this idea made me nervous. I had to write a fake article as part of the interview process. I was both shocked and thrilled to pass the test. I began writing about my favorite TV series, Znation. One day out of the blue I decided to see if I could find any of the cast to interview. It was easier than I could imagine and I found Karl Schaefer the creator. He agreed to an interview, and I was over the moon! Eventually, I left that gig to dedicate more to my novels and short stories. My next splendid success where I said "my dreams have all come true" was when I had a story accepted to an anthology alongside the master of horror himself, Ramsey Campbell. Now I am in books with him, Bentley Little, Graham Masterton, and others. While I'm not yet famous, I love looking back at the growth and constant change my writing path has taken.
What are you working on now?
I am writing book three for my detective Gagon crime series. I set the stories in Toronto (my only books that are Canadian) with a gay female detective. Book one titled Handsome, detective Marcy Gagon, searches for the strangest serial killer of her career. At least she thought so, until book two, The Cleaner where the murders are so random, the only thing tying them together is the missing eyeballs. Now in book three, The Widow, men are being poisoned, and she needs to find out by who before more of them die.
Where can we find you?
A special thanks goes to Theresa Jacobs for spending some time with us here at MASTERS OF HORROR. Her writing talent and her range is impressive, and so far she’s garnered some pretty incredible reviews across multiple genres. Check it out!
“This is a really tense thriller that grabs you by the throat right away and doesn't let go. An intense ride, full of great descriptions and a complicated main character detective. It's the kind of book where the antagonist really carries it and you're consumed by his charm and his deception. A fun read and just dark enough!” - Amazon Reviewer (for Handsome)
“The theme of The Ghost in Me is so incredibly clever it held my attention from start to finish. Besties yes, but in one body??? Horror - mystery - murder - vividly drawn characters...” - Amazon Reviewer (The Ghost in Me)
I love learning about the lives of fellow horror writers. Where they grew up? What jobs have they done? Or still do while they create these amazing stories? What scares them? What they’re reading? What drives them to create the stories we all love to devour? So thanks again to Theresa for letting us peek behind the curtain on the life of an amazing talent!
If you are a horror writer who would like to be featured on MASTERS OF HORROR for some free publicity just click the link below, answer the 5 Questions as fully and completely as possible and soon, you too, will be a MASTER OF HORROR!