At what age did you see yourself as a writer? 

I began writing in 4thv grade at 10 years old. I got an A+, and received traise from both my teacher AND my parents. My parents had grown up during the Great depression. They did not hand out compliments willy-nilly. So to get that praise was intoxicating. I found myself doing something i enjoyed, and i was good at it.

Did you see yourself writing for horror films? 

Not initially. Having grown up in the 60s and 70s, my dream was to become a "Great American Horror Novelist". I didn't think about writing screenplays until I was 35. But once I realized that was a (somewhat) viable avenue living in Southern California, I dove in headlong. And i wrote a LOT of really bad scripts as I learned.

What was your first project as a horror writer? 

DELIRIUM (2007). I wrote, produced, directed, edited, and supervised all post production. When people ask me where I went to film school, I say, "The University of DELIRIUM".

I would love to hear about your flick Delirium?   

Roger Corman (my cinematic God), once gave his formula for a Corman horror script: "Take half a dozen attractive young people, put them in an isolated location that they can't get out of, and then chop them up". DELIRIUM is a microbudget (well, nanobudget) slasher in the desert story. It's about a group of college students (half a dozen attractive young people) whose car breaks down in the desert on a back road (isolated location), their cell phones can't pick up a signal (they can't get out), and they begin getting butchered one by one (chop 'em up) by a mysterious person shadowing their movements.

What was it like working on this one? Do tell us some gritty details? 

It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. It was EXHAUSTING. Being a Director is a completely immersive experience. You LIVE your movie 24/7. I do remember standing on set one day, looking at the next scene to shoot, and thinking, "Who the hell wrote this bullshit? How do I put this on screen? Fire the fucking writer!". I realised then what I did not know before, which was how to write a scene so a director, DP, lighting designer, production designer, makeup/hair, wardrobe, etc., could know what they needed to do to make a scene go from page to set. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- the best thing I ever did for my screenwriting career was to direct a movie from a script I wrote. 

Your next project was Early Grave. What is this one about and how did things go on this one? 

Not well. In 2007 (the same DELIRIUM was released), I was riding high. I had lined up investors for EARLY GRAVE, and I was going to direct. I was planning to shoot in east County San Diego. Then the housing market crashed, the economy collapsed, and all my investor vanished -- along with their money. The script languished for several years until a fellow director on the East Coast read it, loved it, and wanted to make it. So we moved ahead. I did rewrites from San Diego as they shot on an island off the coast of Maine. He shot scenes differently than written, simply did not shoot other scenes that needed to be there for story and character development, and did not shoot the bloody, gruesome horror movie the script had been written to be. He shot a low-blood suspense thriller. So all in all, it was a disappointing experience for me.

You also worked as a producer for a couple horrors such as Between the Living and the Dead and Blood on the Bleachers. What was the experience like by doing both of these ones? 

It sounds more glamorous than it is. In all honesty, on those two, I simply donated enough money to get the credit as a perk through crowdfunding. I did it because I believed in, and still believe in, the talent of the filmmaker involved. I just wanted to help him succeed.

You started as a horror novelist. Can you tell me about them? 

I write fast, fierce, gruesome, in-your-face, kickass horror. I take the monster archetypes that would be the villain in anyone else's story, I bring them front and center (fangs and all) and shine a harsh light on them as I tell their stories. They are incredibly lethal creatures. Then I curse them with a moral compass and drop them into dire life and death situations where they must make moral decisions -- not to save themselves so much as to protect the people around them that they love. And that's what makes these novels fun for me. They're trying to be good men, not nice guys. Sometimes they have to defeat the evil in the world; and sometimes they have to overcome the darkness and evil within themselves.  Gee, sounds a lot like people, doesn't it? If you didn't know better, you'd think I planned it that way.

Have you gotten feedback from viewers of the horror films you did? I’d love to hear about all of this.  

Reviews on DELIRIUM and EARLY GRAVE were brutal, harsh, negative. But reviews for my final screenwriting credit, RESTITUTION (2024) have been glowing. RESTITUTION is a good solid movie. The filmmakers understood the underlying message I was trying to communicate. It stands as my crowning achievement as a screenwriter.

Is there any more upcoming horror flicks happening based on your novels that you’d like to share with us? 

I haven't sold the film/ media rights to any of my novels. But that means that, for anyone out there interested in adapting my literary works, call me! Rights are available, and I'm an easy guy to find!

Now here’s some fun stuff:
What are your favourite horror films? 

This is a tough one because I have loved so many! Pretty much ALL the classic Universal monster movies, THEM!; BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS; Any Christopher Lee Dracula film, but especially THE HORROR OF DRACULA; THE HOWLING; AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON; JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES; 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. Oh, and an unpopular opinion: I think Benicio del Toro's remake of THE WOLF MAN (2010) is a masterpiece. Watch the unrated director's cut. You'll see what I mean.

If you were a famous horror writer whether he was alive or dead for a day who would he be? 

Mary Shelley

What horror project have you written that you cherish to this day?

For film, it is RESTITUTION. For my novels, I love them all like my own children. Each is unique in its own way.

Which one weren’t you proud of? 

DELIRIUM, EARLY GRAVE

What is your idea of perfect happiness?  

Perfect happiness is a term I do not believe exists in the real world. Perfection is rarely attainable, and even more rarely maintainable. I've known perfectionists before, and most were actually rather wretched, miserable human beings that others didn't want to be around for very long. I strive for excellence, not perfection, because excellence leads to sustained superior performance, which is often enough to get you over the finish line. Happiness is fleeting, ephemeral, and has different definitions to different people. It is an emotion, and emotions, being temporary in nature, wax and wane. Contentment, however, LASTS. Contentment is a state of mind and a condition of the heart. Contentment arise from being satisfied with what you have and what you've achieved for yourself -- not just in your career, but in all aspects of life.

What are your ambitions in life? 

At this stage of my life (I turn 65 in December), things get pretty simple. I want to love and care for my family, and I want to keep doing good work. When I get to the end of my life, I want to have a body of creative work that I can be proud of, and that hopefully will live on after I'm gone. And if my heirs and descendants can benefit financially from that, then so much the better. I'm good with that.