Interview with Rose Zolock…..

For those who don’t know already, could you tell us about yourself and your book(s) please?

ABOUT ROSE ZOLOCK

Welcome to the world of Rose Zolock.

A world where the supernatural may be just a step away; behind a door, beyond a curtain, in the darkness, waiting. A slight movement, shimmering, indistinct, glimpsed out of the corner of your eye. But when you turn to look… it’s gone. A change in the air: unexpected. A suggestion of a creeping chill or a hint of musty smell: inexplicable. The ghost stories, the flickering candlelight, the ancient relic which lies in a dusty cabinet, all may reveal a history of the unspeakable.

My Irish grandmother first told me about the Banshee when I was just a small child. How the wailing sound of the spirit of the dead and dying could be heard when someone was about to pass. It was family folklore that the women in the family had ‘the touch’, the ability to see spirits and other dimensions. I listened and grew up fascinated by those who claimed to have supernatural or psychic abilities.

I do not claim to have those powers. Take me to Venice in February when the mist swirls over the canals, walk by my side along the darkened streets of Greenwich Village in New York City in high summer, listening to a ghost walk tour guide tell the stories of death, murder and the unexplained – I would say those stories, and our belief in them, gives me a power to see into the shadows within our imagination.

As a journalist, I take every opportunity to explore and investigate strange stories, myths and folklore. Living in rural Yorkshire, with a rich library of ghost stories and literary tradition, I also have a sceptical and forensic insight into those who peddle the stories which feed our imagination, but of which we have yet found no proof. I have listened to the debunkers who argue against those believers who are convinced that sand the dark side exist. My mind is open. Is yours?

MEDIUM WAVE

‘This thing has no defined shape. Whatever energy exists within it, it cannot settle on a shape. The strands of darkness curl out and then wrap back inwards. The bulk of the shadow becomes concave, then bulbous, the height building in on itself but lacking any skeletal structure to wrap itself around. There are no eyes, no clearly defined head shape. It is creating itself from darkness, like a swirl of ebony ink dropped into a vat of putrid water, spreading silently….’

Until, one night, something supernatural, inexplicable, breaks through live in air as she is broadcasting. Becky Moran discovers the paranormal is real, the dead can indeed speak and she is being pursued relentlessly towards a battle

Where did/do you get your ideas from?

Oh, dark places, my imagination and the things which frighten me. I also research a great deal. I have based the stories in Medium Wave on real places, or objects which have a paranormal history. I use those as inspiration and then let the story take me somewhere else. When I talk about being frightened, I have a totally irrational fear of photographs – stills – of aircraft. I have no idea why. I had been fascinated by stories of restored World War Two bombers which were said to be haunted by the crews which flew them. I faced my fear and used it to create one of the most frightening sequences in the book. There are several very challenging and frightening encounters in Medium Wave – including a very well researched section on near death experience. But, ultimately, I write to entertain and allow you to make up your own mind if the paranormal is real.

Are any of your characters based (however loosely) on anyone you know?

If I were to say yes I could possibly end up in all kinds of trouble so I’ll say no, but they have been great fun to create. I set the story in the world of radio and television, as this is a world I know well. In Medium Wave, the character of Becky Moran and those of her close knit team are a blend of characteristics of people I have met or worked with along the way. There is an element of satire and humour in Medium Wave, a reflection of how self-serving and manipulative the media can be. I have also met many who tell me their stories of the supernatural and they are genuine in what they believe. I have used their sincerity and their fear to create the characters and narrative. I would hope anyone who reads Medium Wave will make their own mind up about supernatural encounters.

How do you pick your characters names?

They just come to me! I ‘see’ the character and the name is magically there.

Can you share your writing process with us, in a nutshell?

I usually start with a picture in my head, a moment caught in time. By the time I begin to write, I have been researching the hauntings or objects which interest me and they set my mind working. I write for hours, rewrite and then edit. Medium Wave has an element of thriller to it, and it was a pure joy to see that play out as I typed the words.

On my desk I keep a skull, encrusted with diamante, for inspiration. It sits by my computer. I can tell by its hard, bony stare when I have not met the mark. I imagine that exposed, glittering jaw smiling when I do.

Who are your top 5 favourite authors?

Stephen King, Daphne Du Maurier, Graham Green, Jilly Cooper and Edgar Allan Poe.

If you could meet any author, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Only one? I shall be sneaky here and have two quick ones. I would ask Stephen King how it feels when he looks at the huge body of his work, lined up on the shelves. Charles Dickens would be next and I would ask him where his ability to create supernatural characters came from and if he wished he had lived now, to chronicle our world instead of the squalor of Victorian England. Oh, and can I ask the Bronte sisters if they ever had any fun? That’s three authors, three questions, three apologies from me.

Were you a big reader as a child?

Voracious. Enid Blyton at first and then I consumed anything I could lay my hands on. I was never out of my local library and one of my greatest pleasures is seeing my walls lined with books. They are my treasures and it was the first thing to be assembled when I moved house last year.

When did you start to write?

I have been writing, in one form or another, all my life. I work as a journalist and broadcaster and Medium Wave is my first fictional novel. I had to learn that writing fiction meant learning new techniques and I beat myself up a great deal over ‘show not tell’ and ‘point of view’. I found a very good editor to help me learn properly. I loved it.

If you could re-write the ending to any book what would it be and what would you change?

I love Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin. A perfect horror story, a time capsule of the 1960’s combined with ancient witches, creepy apartment buildings and a tale of Devil worshipers. Rosemary, an innocent victim with a Vidal Sassoon haircut, betrayed by everyone she loved, all but one. We witness her descent into hell – literally – whilst doubting her own sanity.

The book ends with Rosemary accepting her devil child, smiling as the demonic eyed baby rocks in its cradle under an inverted cross. Of course, that is the true horror, where we either accept Rosemary’s insanity or we are witnessing her absorption into evil. Either way, we are sympathetic and horrified.

I always wish Rosemary had fought back. The truly unthinkable would have been for her to destroy her own child – and by doing so, saving herself. I wanted the coven which had used her to suffer, rather than stand around drinking sherry and being self-congratulatory. I also wanted to believe that the devil’s baby wasn’t growing up in New York City’s Upper West Side, waiting for daddy to call round.

Levin’s ending is perfect but think how truly horrific it could have been if Rosemary could have destroyed all of them. I can’t pass The Dakota Building in NYC without wondering what happened to all of them and hoping I don’t hear a baby cry…

Is there a book you wish you had written?

Practically every book I have ever enjoyed.

I think the Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James, his collection of fine supernatural and frightening stories.

If you wrote an autobiography, what would your title be?

In Search Of The Paranormal Truth.

If you could invite any fictional character for coffee who would it be and where would you take them?

I would invite my guest, after sundown, to a table laid out in the ruins of Whitby Abbey.

There would be fine china and a cloth on the table. I would offer cake, but my companion would decline. My guest is Count Dracula, as created by Bram Stoker. This character launched a thousand versions of the vampire, has his origins in the historical figure of Vlad the Impaler and Transylvanian folklore, before evolving into the movie legends such as Bella Lugosi and Christopher Lee, both of whom dressed their Counts for a night at the opera.

I want to talk to the original, Stoker’s creation.

Naturally, I am clutching a large crucifix and have garlic strewn everywhere. A vial of Holy Water sits in my hand and I have notes from Professor Van Helsing to assist during my encounter. A wooden stake is propped up against my chair.

There are some practicalities I wish to discuss with him. I am curious as to how he keeps his clothes clean, sleeping by day in a coffin filled with the soil of his homeland. And who is the tailor who keeps the Count in his usual sartorial elegance and does he deliver? Is there a have a barber who cuts his hair after nightfall? Does Dracula finish off the poor barber after each trim, because he cannot resist? Being one of the undead, can he get hired help to assist with his day to day needs, the cleaning, the laundry, the gardening? How does he interview them? My eyes are firmly on this creature of the night as we sit, framed by the majestic arches of Whitby Abbey. I will be careful not to look him in the eye, just in case.

We could discuss why he makes immortality so attractive and ask if he ever gets fed up, knowing his existence is eternal but dependent on killing humans. Does Dracula ever dream? And of course, what it felt like – choosing and drinking the blood of that first victim.

Of course, if he were charming and courteous, we could talk a while. One twitch of the sharp pointed teeth, I may ask if he had ever thought of the benefits of being a vegetarian.

Finally, that bat thing. I would ask for an assurance that he won’t appear as a bat, tapping at my window. I suspect he would assure me that I was perfectly safe. I have a feeling I may not believe him…

What are you working on right now?

The second book in the Medium Wave series. This is a three book series.

Do you have a new release due?

Book one of the three part Medium Wave series was published by Caffeine Nights on 6th April, in Book, eBook and Audio Book.

What do you generally do to celebrate on publication day?

For any writer, the day their book is published and unleashed on the world is a major landmark. All writers know the hard work which has led to that point. I celebrate with my family and close friends and ask them to keep calling me ‘author’ or they don’t get any more champagne. Any writer of novels can ask for that for one day only…! Then it’s back to the blank page.

How can readers keep in touch with you?

Please follow me on twitter @rosezolock

Find me on Facebook rosezolock.9

Visit my website – http://www.rosezolock.com – you can email me from there, read my blogs and link to my podcast, The Guttering Candle

Is there anything else you would like us to know?

My mind is open on the paranormal. Is yours?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Rose 🙂

Medium Wave

Becky Moran has built a career claiming to talk to the dead. A successful clairvoyant medium, a Cambridge graduate with her own radio show ‘Medium Wave’ and a team dedicated to crafting the celebrity myth – because Becky Moran is a fake. Until, one night, something supernatural, inexplicable, breaks through live on air as she is broadcasting. Becky Moran discovers the paranormal is real, the dead can indeed speak and she is being pursued relentlessly towards a battle for her very survival.