Hi Darren, I'm thrilled to have you as one of our featured creators on Haunted Trails' #31DaysofHaunting!
Tell us about yourself!
Hi, I am a self-publishing dark fantasy, sci-fi, writer who dabbles in other genres but tends to
mix them together like food in a blender, adding a little bit of everything, a prime example of
this is my latest short story novel - From Reality, We Stumble - where a selection of short
stories cross multiple genres.
I love the difference and see stories in pictures, and that is why I love the 31DaysofHaunting!
As this allows me to string together one sentence to alight peoples imagination.
I always enjoy your contributions on #31DaysOfHaunting each year! It's impressive how you create compelling micro stories within such a small word limit.
We'd love to hear about any recent projects you released or completed.
I have written three Sci-Fi novels, one collection of short stories spanning multiple genres,
two poetry novels and are currently working on three novels, all at different levels of work in
progress, one of which is a dark fantasy/supernatural thriller that is a slow burn of an epic
story. My main aim with each story I write is to try and create a twist towards the end, no matter
how subtle, to tell a story different from any other.
My proudest work to date has to be my collection of short stories, two to be exact, “Echoes”
purely because it’s a different take on a ghost story and opens up such huge possibilities for
future stories (one of which I aim to write for the next short story collection). The other is
“The Devils Scream” this is a snapshot of what will be an epic saga spanning multiple books
and to be honest has been bubbling for many years in the background. It was the first novel I
ever wrote way back and never published, now slowly being rewritten.
I have a website www.darrenedden.co.uk where all my work is showcased and available
linked directly to Amazon, most of my work is both on kindle and softback.
What's next for you? Are you working on anything new right now?
Well, three novels in work, a thriller, a new collection of short stories and my epic dark
fantasy/supernatural/thriller/action novel.
At the moment where I had originally was hoping to release one novel in January 2025 will
now be towards the latter end of that year as I have been focusing on other projects that life
has temporarily thrown my way.
Horror is widely varied with a variety of sub genres that includes supernatural, folk, psychological, slasher and many more. Which sub-genre are you most drawn to and why?
Oh this is a good question, I love the supernatural and folklore, the different elements and
stories that can be manipulated or used even in the smallest of capacities and woven into
fresh new stories and ideas. I am a huge fan of the brilliant and sadly missed author James
Herbert, a great Scooby Doo fan and a lover of Supernatural spanning its entire life from
season one through to the end! Added note: Good Omens is another one I adore.
I am drawn to the supernatural element for a variety of reasons, but mainly links nicely with
my style of writing and love of the unusual, the gothic and the Victorian period specifically
with a touch of Steam Punk thrown in (I am as complicated with my writing as I am in my
personality).
Within - From Reality, We Stumble – there is one particular story “Echoes” where I blend the
supernatural with dark fantasy and elements of horror whereby what you think are ghosts are
actually so much more sinister.
Is there anything you'd like to see more or less of in the Horror genre, and is it something you try to reflect in your own work?
I would love to see more writers like Edgar Cantero, whose excellent and unique “Meddling Kids” novel was a breath of fresh air, taking an albeit faint copy of Scooby Doo and
reworking into a fresh idea.
Also a platform somewhere where writers like myself who cannot afford the costs for advertising, who has to rely on publishing through Amazon to reduce costs for actual publication, can flourish. Where a co-operative can exist where everyone can publish on a wider scale into book shops and get their names known through book signings etc.
I'm so glad I could share more about you and your work with our readers. Having read some of your work, I know that they will enjoy reading your stories!
Since we're Halloween obsessed here on Haunted Trails, there's a few more things we need to know!
Favourite films and books for the spooky season?
There are four completely different films: Nightmare on Elm Street, Exorcist, Beetlejuice and
the original Omen.
.
Books: Rats by James Herbert, the first book I ever read of his, followed by Once by the
same author.
Who would be your perfect squad to go trick or treating with?
Sam and Dean Winchester along with the Scooby Gang.
Forget costumes, you can swap bodies with your favourite horror character for
Halloween. Who is it?
I would love to dress up as Van Helsing.
What's the one Halloween candy that you'd rather fight the scariest of monsters than
hand it over?
Anything with dark chocolate as its main ingredients.
Give us one song that should be on everyone's Halloween playlist.
Oh this is hard…much like the Kate Bush song on Stranger Things, I would curveball and
say Peter Gabriel “Solsbury Hill” it has that tune which would lend itself to anything horror,
dark fantasy or supernatural related.
Finally, what's your ideal way to spend All Hallows' Eve?
A glass of red, a bowl of sweets and a lounge chair to sit in and watch the kids go by dressed up,
full of life, enjoying themselves.
Thank you so much for being a part of our Halloween celebration on Haunted Trails' #31DaysofHaunting! We enjoyed chatting with you and look forward to seeing you on Haunted Trails!
Happy Haunting!
You can check out all of Darren's previous and future work as well as keep up to date with the latest news via www.darrenedden.co.uk or find him on Twitter @DarrenEdden
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