This post may contain affiliate links. Read more here.
Today I interviewed Ransom D. Coslett, author of After Midnight: 12 Terrifying Stories, a collection of 12 short horror stories published in October 2022! ❤️
Like most authors, Coslett has always had a passion for reading since he was a kid, starting with the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine, which he had all the original 100 or so in the series and went on to read his other works past Goosebumps. Such as, Goosebumps 2000 series, and Fear Street series.
In late High School/ early college he started reading through Stephen King, and eventually started writing his own stories.
Tell us more about After Midnight: 12 Terrifying Stories, and what it is about.
It’s a collection of twelve unique horror short stories I have written in about a 10-year span from 2009-2019! All the stories are unique and different, so it has something for every horror lover. ❤️✨
Tell us more about the process behind writing your book.
A lot of my ideas just randomly come to me, I’ll see something maybe out and about, or something may happen in my life. It just kind of just strikes, and I’ll think that would make a good story. So, I’ll write it and naturally I put a spin on it.
I don’t necessarily have a certain routine. I work plus have a family and 19-month-old son, so nighttime is my only free time to really write. So, I do most of my writing at night.
I just start to write and let the story take me where it’s going to. I have a basic idea of what I want to do, but a lot of times the story starts to flow in its own direction.
I’m not exactly a fast writer so probably the time it took to compile enough quality stories to make up the book.
How much research did you need to do for your book?
Since my book is composed of short stories, I did minimal research. Just basic stuff such as making sure I’m using a word correctly, or a name of something.
What part of the book is your favorite?
As I mentioned before, my book is comprised of 12 different unique stories. It’s a fun, spooky, fast read.
A couple of my favorite stories are “Last Call”, and “The Legend of Leyland Calhoun.”
“Last Call” is about a man struggling with alcoholism and he makes a deal with the devil to quit drinking. Naturally things don’t go as planned.
“The Legend of Leyland Calhoun” is a shoot ’em up style western, but the main character who also happens to be the fastest gun in the west, also happens to already be dead.
In love with literature? Try audio books or writing classes
for free for 30 days.✨
Tell us more about the publishing process behind the book.
I shopped my book around to different publishers around the end of 2019. In December of 2021 it was picked up by a publishing house. So, it was edited, formatted, and cover design was all done by them.
The publishing house was bought out this year and my book was on the release schedule, after being bought out I was dropped from the release schedule. After being dropped I owned the rights to all the files.
With everything already done I took it to Amazon where it is currently available in paperback and on Kindle. I have done a couple of interviews on podcasts. You can find them on my author page!
I have been asked to do some more interviews, they will be posted once they are done.
What are some you relied on to write this book from start to end?
I use Microsoft Word for my writing, then I’m old school with my note taking I use a notebook and pen. I actually wrote the majority of my stories in pen in a composition notebook before transferring them to Microsoft Word.
What have been the most influential authors and shows that inspired you into becoming an author yourself, if any?
Every author has their own influences, including me. For me I have my big three, I mentioned two of them earlier R.L. Stine and Stephen King. The third big influence for me is Rod Serling. I grew up watching Twilight Zone with my dad, we both still love it to this day.
One big thing with Serling is his twist/surprise endings. He’s had a big influence on my writing, a lot of my stories have twists and surprises in them.
What advice would you give to a writer just starting out?
Read. If you want to write, you have to read. Read anything and everything you can. You can learn a lot by just reading, you can see how they set up characters, story, plot, how the story progresses, flow, etc…
Also, just write. It’ll probably be bad at first, but that’s okay!
The only way you get better at something is by practicing, and the only way to start practicing is by just doing it. The more you write, the better you will become at it.
What are your future plans and where can our readers find you?
I’m hoping to get more books out there. I’m currently in the process of my next book. Once finished, I will shop it around. You can find my authors page here and find my books at Amazon by clicking on this link here.
For the readers, I would love for you to check out my book, and I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please take a minute to leave a review on Amazon! ⭐
Have you enjoyed this Q&A? Let me know in the comments below! ❤️