TJ Payne joins Talking Horror to talk Intercepts, the self-published thriller that just landed him a two-book deal with Crown at Penguin Random House, and the strange road that took him from Hollywood romantic comedy screenwriter to acclaimed horror novelist. Rachel Redd sits down with the author of In My Father's Basement, Intercepts, and The Venue, and a TV writer on Netflix's The Burrows and Little House on the Prairie, for a conversation about self-publishing, Hollywood bureaucracy, and why the nicest people always seem to write the darkest books.

Grab your copy of Intercepts: https://amzn.to/4vA1IKb

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting TJ Payne

02:13 – From Romantic Comedy Screenwriter to Reluctant Horror Writer

04:42 – Jaws, Aliens, and How American Pie Sparked a Screenwriting Dream

08:32 – Stanford, a Film Program That Wasn't, and a Korean War Screenplay

09:52 – Driving Down the I-5 to Hollywood and Seven Years Fetching Coffee

17:11 – Ghostwriting Other People's Dreams and Hitting a Breaking Point

19:37 – The Self-Publishing Itch That Became In My Father's Basement

39:26 – Waking Up to a Stranger Who Read His Debut Overnight

41:11 – Writing Intercepts and the Slow-Burn Word of Mouth That Followed

43:14 – The Cold Email From a Literary Agent That Led to Crown

47:25 – Turning Hollywood Bureaucracy Into a Terrifying Government Facility

48:49 – The Absent Father Story Hiding Inside a Sci-Fi Thriller

55:31 – Table 19, Weddings, and the Slasher Comedy Born From The Venue

1:01:30 – A New Two-Book Deal and His First Novel in Six Years

1:04:06 – Deep-Diving 1980s Satanic Panic Books for Research

Connect with TJ Payne:

Website: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.payne.author

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

Keith Rosson joins Talking Horror to talk Coffin Moon, his gritty 1970s vampire western, and the wild road that took him from legally blind art school dropout to acclaimed horror novelist. Rachel Redd sits down with the author of Fever House, The Devil by Name, and Smoke City for a conversation about grief, addiction, found family, and the recklessness it takes to survive ten books in ten years.

Keith opens up about discovering at age ten that he'd been legally blind his whole life, and how that diagnosis turned into a twenty five year career illustrating punk album covers and band merch. He talks about dropping out of art school twice, getting 97 rejections from literary agents before his debut sold, and writing Fever House during COVID lockdown while fostering and adopting two toddlers during the George Floyd protests in Portland. He breaks down the phone call from Random House editor Caitlin McKenna that changed his career, why he set Coffin Moon in the 1970s so his vampires could still warp in mirrors and cameras, and how he trimmed his cast down to just a handful of characters after Fever House's sprawling ensemble. Plus his unflinching take on killing off main characters, the question his editor asks to keep violence from feeling gratuitous, and a first look at his upcoming novel Crone, based on a real unsolved disappearance that's haunted him for decades.

Grab your copy of Coffin Moon: https://amzn.to/4gLNCBV

Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Keith Rosson

03:34 – How a Stephen King Paperback at Age Ten Started It All

06:06 – Legally Blind: The Diagnosis That Shaped His Art

08:08 – Designing for Punk Bands and the Cover He's Proudest Of

12:06 – Art School Dropout Twice Removed

14:20 – From Punk Zines to 97 Rejections Before His First Yes

26:31 – Fever House: Writing Through Lockdown While Fostering Two Toddlers

31:05 – The Call From Random House That Changed Everything

36:06 – Why He's Not Afraid to Kill a Main Character

37:19 – Earning the Violence: What Makes Brutality Land

40:31 – Coffin Moon: Turning Vampires Into a 1970s Western Revenge Story

48:33 – Trimming the Cast: Why Coffin Moon Went Smaller 5

0:55 – The Redemption Question Running Through All His Books

56:11 – Crone: A Missing Daughter, a Biker Gang, and a Real Unsolved Case

59:09 – His Advice After Ten Books in Ten Years

Connect with Keith Rosson:

Website: https://www.keithrosson.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rossonkeith/

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

In this episode, Rachel Redd sits down with Luke Dumas, the author of A History of Fear, The Paleontologist, and Nothing Tastes as Good for a wide-ranging conversation on obsession, grief, identity, and writing horror that feels deeply human.

Timestamps:
00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Luke Dumas
02:40 – Reading Roots: A Storyteller Before He Was a Reader
03:29 – The Boy Wizard Phase and Falling for Fantasy
04:22 – A Lifelong Jurassic Park & Dinosaur Obsession
06:50 – Discovering Horror: Weekends With Dad and the Haunted Hotel
08:42 – The Comedy Writer Who Wanted to Be David Sedaris
10:27 – Early Writing Dreams and Delusions of Fame
11:55 – Studying Literature and the Master's in Scotland
16:26 – Letting Go of the "Wonder Kid" Pressure
17:58 – The Risk-Averse Path: Writing Around a Day Job
18:29 – Grant Writing, Zoos, and Mining the Day Job for Fiction
21:08 – Book Five: How A History of Fear Found Its Agent
23:00 – The Overnight Offer That Made Him Cry
24:23 – Finding Resilience Through Five Unpublished Books
28:06 – Why Storytelling Is Woven Into His Soul
30:45 – Craft vs. Plot: Refusing to Sacrifice One for the Other
32:46 – The Heavy Plotter Who Loves Outlining Most
34:15 – The Two Wolves: Beautiful Writing vs. Getting It Out
37:37 – "I Hate Research": Faking It for The Paleontologist
40:32 – Interstitial Documents and the Book-Within-a-Book
43:43 – A History of Fear, Edinburgh, and Scottish Demonic Lore
46:02 – The Walk Through the Meadows That Sparked the Story
47:57 – Religious Trauma, Identity, and the Harm of Repression
50:13 – The Paleontologist: Excavation as Metaphor
51:31 – From "I Just Love Dinosaurs" to Ghosts in a Haunted Museum
53:55 – The Grim Ending and the Horror That Makes Him Giggle
56:46 – Raving About Nothing Tastes as Good
59:22 – Knowing When It Was Time (and Stephen King's Thinner)
01:00:20 – Weight-Loss Drugs, Ozempic, and Perfect Timing
01:01:19 – Writing Fatness From a Male Perspective
01:02:52 – Emmett: The Monster You Can't Help Rooting For
01:07:11 – Lisette, Body Positivity, and a Cousin Named Rachel
01:11:16 – Sitting With the Discomfort of "Just Change"
01:12:11 – First Look at We Don't Call Them Cages (Spring 2027)
01:13:53 – "Madagascar for Adults": Rewriting Childhood as Horror
01:14:56 – Wrap-Up & Thanks

Grab your copy of Nothing Tastes as Good: https://amzn.to/4fnO7PY

Connect with Luke Dumas:

https://www.lukedumas.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thenewdumas/?hl=en

Follow Talking Horror Podcast:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!