Good Evening Roomies, how are you recovering-? Take a deep breath, and just remember that the first door is always the hardest. The next may be easier…..probably….
To take your mind off the traumas of Venus, we sat down with this week’s knock-out author Jordan Bonn, to talk about the horrors he’s inspired by as we kick off the second episode of season three. “Last Bout” is a one-two punch that will keep you on the ropes and cheering from the stands; just remember to watch out for the teeth.
GR: Welcome to The Grey Rooms Jordan. It’s nice seeing new authors join the ranks. How long have you been writing?
JB: Since I was 7 years old making poorly written picture books, the rest is history.
GR: I think a lot of our authors started that way making little picture books. I know I made a lot of paper books when I was a kid trying to tell scary stories to my brother and sister. What got you into writing? And have you always had a flair for horror?
JB: I’ve always enjoyed acting out and telling stories, I used to be terrified of horror but grew to love it as I matured.
GR: Well we are glad to see you have grown out of that fear, ‘Last Bout’ has been a really exciting episode that keeps you on your toes while you listen to it. What would you say is your favorite kind of horror now?
JB: I love psychological horror due to the philosophical concepts you can explore when examining someone’s psyche, as well as body horror that plays directly into that such as The Thing or the works of Junji Ito.
GR: I feel like Junji Ito would fit right into the rooms. Anytime you have extraterrestrial, mysterious horrors that can’t be stopped until you hit madness– it’s a story that is fit for our guests. Also sounds like a fun Tuesday with the Warden… How do your story ideas normally come to you?
JB: Sometimes it’s through general research such as historical documentaries, sometimes it’s random instances that cause a funny idea to form and become a script concept, sometimes I just force myself to write until something sticks. There’s no right answer for this, just random instances of life.
GR: Is that your best piece of writing advice to for new authors just starting out? Just keep writing until something sticks?
JB: Write at least every other day, it’s a muscle you need to use in order to grow as a storyteller. Same with writing for The Grey Rooms. Follow the guidelines and dig deep into your big book of ideas, look around you and find inspiration. Horror can be made from anything, it just depends on how you execute it.
GR: Speaking of The Grey Rooms, what do you think of your episode? What’s it like hearing your story produced as an audio podcast?
JB: It’s a genuinely thrilling thing, it really motivates me to continue writing as I have and encourages me to continue down this career path.
GR: You should definitely keep writing. This has been a really fun episode for us to produce. Are you working on any fun projects now?
JB: I used to publish my work online, but as of right now I’m working privately on various screenplays and comics such as a Boston neo-noir and historical fiction based on Genghis Khan. I’m always open for freelance work, I love helping others develop their projects to fruition.
GR: I’m kind of surprised Ghengis Khan hasn’t made an appearance yet here in The Grey Rooms. We love playing with historical horrors. It was great taking a moment to sit and talk with you Jordan, and if you see old Khan- you may have to send him our way.
GR⊗