AMES: I heard you teach film studies.
How do you think teaching that class helped prepare you for the writing of this
book, and actually all your books?
Janz: On a general level, teaching
film keeps me immersed in the world of storytelling several hours a day. I'm
constantly mindful of what makes a great story, and though the two
mediums--fiction and film--are different, they share a striking number of
similarities.
Studying film editing makes me a more
efficient storyteller, as does examining the structure of a screenplay. The
manner in which we study framing and cinematography reinforces the need to
constantly select powerful and/or atypical visual details in order to paint my
picture.
Even the acting in films helps inform
my writing. Stage business is so important in every medium, and just as every
gesture or facial expression helps create a character on screen, so too do
these mannerisms and expressions develop a character on the page.
So, yes, teaching film brings with it
some serious opportunities for me, and I try to maximize those opportunities by
being just as attentive to our content as my students.
AMES: You write about kids that can
be very cruel. The main character, Will, is hounded at every turn by some very
mean kids. Did this happen to you?
Janz: I'd like to say I never got
bullied, but yeah, I got bullied, and pretty mercilessly. From being hit and thrown
down to being excluded and mocked to someone pissing in my football helmet for
a joke...yeah, I know very well what it's like to be bullied.
Essentially, Will is me. There are
some differences--my mom, for instance, was very much involved in my life
instead of being a burnout like Will's mom; also, I was an only child, so Peach
is based on my two daughters--but in his experiences, his poverty, and his
attitudes, I am Will.
AMES: Your description of the
relationship between Will and his mother seemed very on point, particularly the
prescription drug use and how that tainted the relationship between the mother
and son. Did you draw on real life for any of this?
Janz: As I alluded to in the last
answer, I didn't experience this from my mom, but I've seen friends go down
that road of prescription addiction, and it's heartbreaking to watch.
From there I basically put myself in
Will's shoes and felt what he'd feel and thought what he'd think. But that
real-life knowledge really was helpful in developing those interactions.
AMES: The story ends in a way that
can easily lead to a sequel. You’ve said you are writing part two very soon.
Could you let us know a little about your thoughts on part two? Will it have
the surviving members of these young kids as the main characters? How far into
the future will we be going?
Janz: Yes! I'm so excited about the
sequel. It will indeed feature the surviving cast members, as well as at least
one character from another of my novels, SAVAGE SPECIES (which is referenced in
CHILDREN OF THE DARK).
The way I've been thinking about the
sequel is a bit like ALIENS, in that a survivor from the first horror has to
return to face her/his worst fears. There's a militaristic element to COTD 2,
and like ALIENS, the threat will be amplified and multiplied. I'm having a
blast writing it!
AMES: The Children (Wendigos) were
fantastic monsters. There were hints of winged monsters as well. Can you
elaborate on what those winged beasts are? Will they have a major role in the
sequel?
Janz: I'm glad you brought those
creatures up. They figure strongly in SAVAGE SPECIES, and they'll play a huge
role in COTD 2. They're called the Night Flyers, and they're just as lethal as
the Children.
Their first attack in COTD 2 will be awfully memorable.
Thanks so much for the interview, Draven. Talk to you soon!
Bio: Jonathan Janz grew up between a
dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his
debut novel The Sorrows "the best horror novel of 2012." The Library
Journal deemed his follow-up, House of Skin, "reminiscent of Shirley
Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Peter Straub's Ghost Story."
Since then Jonathan's work has been lauded by writers like Jack Ketchum, Edward
Lee, Tim Waggoner, Bryan Smith, and Ronald Kelly. Novels like The Nightmare
Girl, Wolf Land, Savage Species, and Dust Devils prompted Thunderstorm Books to
sign Jonathan to an eleven-book deal and to give him his own imprint, Jonathan
Janz's Shadow Side.
His most recent novel, Children of the Dark, received a starred review in
Booklist and was chosen by their board as one of the Top Ten Horror Books of
the Year (August 2015-September 2016). Children of the Dark will soon be
translated into German and has been championed by the Library Journal, the
School Library Journal, and Cemetery Dance.
Jonathan's primary interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing
children, and though he realizes that every author's wife and children are
wonderful and amazing, in this case the cliché happens to be true. You can
learn more about Jonathan at http://jonathanjanz.com. You can sign up for his Shadow
World newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cKLKt5. You can also find him on
Facebook, via @jonathanjanz on Twitter, on Instagram (jonathan.janz) or on his
Goodreads and Amazon author pages.
