This week, I'm interviewing four writers about how they cut their teeth on the horror scene, and how to be a horror author in the 21st century.

A few words about today’s featured writer, Joe McKinney… 

Joe McKinney writes what he knows in real life. His first book DEAD CITY is an action-packed zombie thriller set in San Antonio, TX where Joe is a policeman and homicide detective. It’s only natural that his writing feels so authentic. He’s a rising star on the horror author scene and he offers his advice on breaking into the business, and what’s next for his readers...

What motivates you to become a horror writer? What attracts you to the horror field?

I get that question a lot.  In my day job, I'm a homicide detective, and so people always ask, "Why not write mysteries?"  Well, I do write a lot of crime fiction.  But for me, my choice to become a horror writer was a matter of getting back to the stuff I loved as a kid.  Growing up, I read all the Stephen King, Peter Straub, Robert McCammon, Richard Matheson, and Manly Wade Wellman I could get my hands on.  I devoured that stuff, loved it.  These days, the scope of my reading has expanded quite a bit, but no matter how much I love science fiction and urban fantasy and the mean and gritty police procedural thriller, I still find myself gravitating back to my first love, horror.  Maybe it's like the first girl you kissed.  You may run across better lovers in your life, but you'll always remember that first one because you discovered her on your own.

How long did it take before you made your first pro sale? What was it? Where did it lead from there?

I've been writing just for myself since I was about fifteen.  I don't know how many short stories I cranked out over the years, only to set them aside and forget them when I started the next.  Writing was a pleasant little hobby for me for a long time.  And then, in 2003, I decided to see if I could do anything with my little hobby.  I sent off a few short stories, got a few rejections (which I expected), and made a few sales (which I wasn't expecting).  My first pro rate sale was a crime short story called "The Millstone" to the premier issue of Out of the Gutter Magazine.  Shortly after that, I got word from my agent that Pinnacle had agreed to buy my first novel, Dead City.  By the time Dead City made it into stores, I had effectively switched gears from writing as a pleasant little hobby that I did whenever I had the time to writing as a pleasant little profession that I did every chance I got.

How did you go about promoting yourself and your work at the outset? Do you still do those same things or have you modified your self-promotional approach?

My first stabs at promotion were pretty random and done with more enthusiasm than effectiveness.  I contacted the San Antonio Express News and asked if I could get a story to go with my first release.  They liked the local-cop-writes-a-book angle and went with it.  I bought some print ads in various magazines like Subterranean and Realms of Fantasy and a few others.  All of that helped, I think, but it was a haphazard approach.  Shortly after that, though, I joined the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers Association, and through those organizations, I met a lot of great people who had been down the same road I was going and were able to offer quite a bit of good advice.  These days, I use a professional publicist, I haunt a message boards, do regular booksignings and convention appearances, and try to keep in touch with industry professionals.  There is also a widening community of bloggers and reviewers who are, I think, an as yet untapped resource for book marketing.  In the future, I see myself devoting more and more time in that direction.

What was your first big break in becoming a published pro?

My first big break was Dead City.  Getting in with a large publisher like Pinnacle does have its advantages.  There are countless examples of exempliary fiction put out by small presses every year.  Some of the best fantasy and horror every year, in fact, comes out through the small presses.  But the reality is that the small presses just aren't able to get their books in brick and mortar stores like the big dogs do.  Having my first novel readily available through book stores was, I think, a very big break.

Any good rejection stories?

Dead City, actually.  I sent it to Pinnacle, along with about twenty other publishers, and got politely worded rejections.  No encouragement, just "No thanks."  So then I decided to get an agent.  At the time, I had no idea how hard of a thing getting an agent is.  I still don't, not really.  I sent the manuscript of Dead City off to the guy who later became my agent, he liked it, and he said he would shop it around for me.  He did, and Pinnacle, who had rejected it not three months earlier, suddenly said "OK."  Go figure.

Any advice for writers who are starting out?

Yes, treat this as a business, because that's what it is.  That does not mean sell out.  Being business-like and professional is not the same thing as being a whore.  Write every day.  Discipline yourself.  Develop a schedule and stick to it.  Remember:  you're not a writer unless you actually get stories written.  And when you get them written, and you have polished away the errors and the purple prose, send them into the marketplace.  You will need a thick skin, because the rejections WILL come.  But, if you take it seriously, so will the sales.  Oh, and one more thing...never underestimate the value of a handwritten thank you note.

What’s your current release, and what’s coming up for you?

2009 is going to be a big year for me.  I have a science fiction disaster novel coming out in February called Quarantined (Lachesis Press), a collection of three short horror novels coming out in May called Peacekeepers (Magus Press), and another horror novel called Inheritance in late 2009 or early 2010.  In the meantime, I have fourteen short stories and novellas coming out in various anthologies and print magazines.  And I'm blogging regularly over at my website.

Joe McKinney is the author of the apocalyptic novel Dead City and two upcoming books, Quarantined and Peacekeepers, both due out in early 2009.  A homicide detective with the San Antonio Police Department, Joe is an expert in forensics and disaster mitigation, and these topics play important roles in his fiction.  He publishes regularly in the horror, science fiction and crime genres, with stories and novellas appearing in a wide range of anthologies and magazines.  Catch up with him at his website:  http://joemckinney.wordpress.com

Tomorrow’s feature: a q&a with Lee Thomas, Stoker Award-winning author of The Dust of Wonderland!

JOHN PICACIO is currently one of the finalists for the 2008 World Fantasy Award in the Artist category. He has won two International Horror Guild Awards, the Locus Award, the Chesley Award, and the 2005 World Fantasy Award, all in the Artist category. He’s been a Hugo Award finalist (Best Professional Artist) the last four consecutive years. Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio, a lush, 200-page hardcover collection of his work, was a 2007 Hugo Award finalist. This year, Ballantine/Del Rey released a major trade paperback edition of Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Stealer of Souls, debuting Picacio’s all-new cover and interior illustrations. He and his wife Traci live in San Antonio, Texas. For more info, please visit http://www.johnpicacio.com/index2.html, or his blog, http://johnpicacio.com/blog.html.