by M. Stephen Lukac

arry Shannon has been an actor, a singer, an Emmy-nominated songwriter, a recording artist in Europe, a music publisher, a film studio executive and worked as a free-lance music supervisor on films such as "Basic Instinct" and "Universal Soldier."

Loni Anderson with Harry Shannon at the Country Gold premiere.

He is currently a counselor in private practice. Although primarily a novelist, he has sold short fiction to several magazines including "Cemetery Dance," "Horror Garage," "City Slab," and "Gothic.net." He recently contributed a 25,000 word novella to a new Cemetery Dance limited-edition collection called "Brimstone Turnpike," as well as short fiction to several anthologies, including "The Night Has Teeth," "Family Plots," "The Fear Within," and "The Decay Within" (co-written with interviewer, M. Stephen Lukac).

MSL: Harry, many people (including yourself) have commented on your striking resemblance to Kenny Rogers, but you actually have a connection to the music industry that precedes your writing career. What's the flip side to the Harry Shannon creative coin?

HS: Yeah, I'm on that site "Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers" as 'counselor Kenny.' Funny thing is, I left high school in 1966 and went on the road playing guitar and singing with a group called 'The Kids Next Door,' which was an off-shoot of an anti-hippie bunch called 'The Young Americans.' We did Dean Martin's show a number of times, as well as other variety shows all over network television, and played Las Vegas and college concerts. It was a great training ground, actually. A couple of the girls from our group ended up in The First Edition with Kenny Rogers, whom I met and picked with. Kenny actually stopped by my 21st birthday party for a jam, according to several friends of mine who remained sober that night. From there on I did commercials for Ford Motors, wrote some country hits and a few movie songs. Eventually I became a music-publishing executive at ATV Music Group. That's when I grew the beard. It was red at 25, honest. I left the music business to take my first shot at writing in the early 80's, then went back into the movie music for awhile before becoming a therapist. Obviously the urge to write never left me.

Which authors have been your biggest influences?

I have asked this question of others any number of times, because it's something interesting to know about a person, but now I also see why it's a hard one to answer. Once I'd graduated from superhero and horror comics, I loved Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, A.E. Van Vogt, Richard Matheson, Robert E. Howard, E.R. Burroughs, Tom Swift and Hardy Boy mysteries. I read Andre Norton, Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, Mickey Spillane, Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series, Richard Prather, all the Lancer and Gold Medal and Ace books and a ton of westerns. I inhaled almost all of the early James Michener novels, then "Shogun" (read it three times) and "King Rat;" also Ian Fleming, damned near every spy novel written in the sixties and seventies. Then I went on a rampage reading military history, particularly WW2. By the early 80's it was King, McCammon, Straub and all the 80's horror pulp folks too numerous to mention. Then in the 90's Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Connelly, George Pellicanos, Barbara Seranella, Ed Gorman, Bill Pronzini, Doug Clegg, Jan Burke, and now some of the newer folks like John Connelly, Boston Teran and Dennis Lehane ring my chimes. Every single one has influenced me in some way. If I had to guess, I'd say the wonderful John D. McDonald, Ray Bradbury, my friend Richard Matheson and the early Stephen King eventually burned their way into my brain more than the others. I only wish I had a fraction of their brilliance.

Your first book was the collection Bad Seed, published by Medium Rare. How did that come about and how did you hook up with John Turi?

Harry Shannon (left) with author David Morrell at Dark Delicacies.

John and his wife had attended couples workshops I did with a counseling partner, Angela Dorio, here in the Los Angeles area, so he first knew me as a therapist. Much later on, when he admitted that his dream was to run a small publishing company and have his own book store, I dared him to use me as a test case. The short stories in "Bad Seed" had been up on the web and in a few paying markets, so we slapped them together and John designed the cover and went into the small-press business. Neither one of us knew what the hell we were doing, so the first edition (now out of print) is filled with mistakes that slipped past him after I'd proofed it. Although I also have to admit I can't proof worth beans, so that may not be saying much. Ironically, that first edition became a bit of a collectors item from what I hear. The second got a lot of HWA Stoker recommendations, and made some noise, so John signed a few writers. He's done an amazing job starting from nothing and with very little money. Medium Rare Books is probably the hottest new entry in the horror derby, and they're growing larger every year.

As horrific as Bad Seed was, there are several stories lacking anything that goes bump in the night. Tell us about your obvious love for noir.

Oh, as I said that began with the early stuff by John D. McDonald. I remember sneakily reading the novel that became the classic film "Cape Fear" when it was still in paperback in the 1950's or early 60's. I was too young for crime books, and it scared the crap out of me. I also stole several of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer books and some Richard Prather stuff from my Grandpa's bedroom---I always stayed on his Nevada ranch during the summers. I adored science fiction and fantasy, but later I also haunted the local library as a teenager and soaked up all the great pulp crime writing I could find. It just naturally found its way into my own writing; first by blatant imitation and then assimilation.

In 2002, readers were introduced to Night of the Beast, a buffet of the best dishes horror has to offer. What was the genesis of this novel?

Harry Shannon with author Feo Amante at Dark Delicacies.

As you know, I wrote a pretty extensive introduction to that book because I was worried it would be misunderstood. Fortunately, most reviewers 'got it.' NOTB really paid homage to the glory days of the genre, the late 70's and 1980's, when horror dominated the book racks at airports and in the grocery stores. The assignment I gave myself was to re-visit all the classic 'pulp' tropes and spin them in a slightly different way. The book began with some odd pages in the early 70's, helped to contribute to my sobering up in the 80's, and was finally rewritten and submitted to Medium Rare Books in 2001. One hell of a lot happened, both to me personally and the world in general, during those thirty years. Yet the basic idea--an aggressive, affectionate romp through our beloved genre's oldest traditions-seems to have held up fairly well.

To say the least. However, the one horror staple absent from Night of the Beast was the werewolf, but I understand you've corrected this omission. Tell us about Night of the Werewolf.

Funnily enough, you're exactly right. I was casting about for what to do next when it hit me that I'd forgotten to put werewolves in NOTB! I emailed John Turi and half-jokingly said I might be doing something like 'trailer park werewolves.' He thought that was hysterical and said to go ahead. As the idea took shape in my mind, most of the humor dropped away and it formed into a nasty, scary little 'B movie' of a novel, again set in the Nevada of my youth. I'm very proud of it now, and thankfully the advance word from respected peers like Doug Clegg, Tom Piccirilli and Ray Garton is that I've managed to produce something pretty good. I am so grateful to the real professionals that have been so encouraging and supportive of me, I can't begin to tell you. Incidentally, an agency is currently at work trying to attach a director to NOTW. I can't say more than that at this point, but there could be exciting news just around the corner. Of course, that's the writer's lot in life, isn't it? Something is always just about to happen.

The third time's the charm. Will readers get to experience another Night in your mythic Nevada?

Perhaps because we've known each other for so long, John tends to pull tricks on me. I found out 'Night of the Werewolf' was the second book in a trilogy when he announced it and took out an ad! I'm working on a new novel and no matter how hard I try to steer it away from the trilogy, it keeps coming back to being that third 'Night' book. I don't want to say too much about it yet, but I'm very happy so far. After that I may hang up my 'pulp' spurs for a while.

That noise you hear is from your rioting fans. How hard would it be for you to stay out of the deep, dark woods?

Actually, it would probably be damned hard for me to quit writing noir and horror stuff. And I've grown fond of the small-press community. Still, the 'Night' books are a particular kind of fun, somewhat trashy writing. I just wonder if it might be time for a change at that point, something a little more off the beaten path. Perhaps I'll even do something under another name for the hell of it. But believe me, I couldn't lose my love for dark fiction, even if I wanted to, and I don't.

In addition to your novels, you've been very prolific with the short form. Where can readers find some new Harry Shannon short stories in the immediate future and what beans can you spill about them?

I've recently had stuff in Horror Garage and City Slab. I don't know how prolific (or good) I am in the short form. I think it might have been Scott Nicholson who suggested that some people are sprinters and some long-distance runners. I think I may be better at the novel length, but who knows. I do have a bunch of stories coming out in various anthologies, although the small press can be notoriously unreliable. I'm in "The Night Has Teeth" from Dark Vesper, two from 3F "The Horror Within" and "The Decay Within" (with some guy named Lukac), "Family Plots" from Wild Roses, and a novella for anthology from Cemetery Dance called "Brimstone Turnpike." Speaking of Cemetery Dance, I'm just thrilled to have my first CD story published just in time for Horrorfind. It's a nasty Viet Nam tale called "Blood and Burning Straw." I just got word today from Robert Morrish that another story of mine has made the cut for CD 47 or 48, so I'm very happy about that, too.

2004 will see the release of your novel Memorial Day from 5 Star Books. What can your fans expect from your first foray into the mystery genre?

Mick Callahan is a recovering alcoholic 'media therapist' on the comeback trail. He does a funky radio show in the desert. When a caller is murdered, he's reluctantly dragged into trying to solve the crime. That was the book I meant to write when I got tangled up in re-doing 'Night of the Beast.' If it goes well, it may be the first in a series. We'll have to see. I did get some cool 'blurbs' from Bill Pronzini, Paul Bishop, Barbara Seranella, Tom Monteleone and a few other nice folks. Ed Gorman, who was very supportive with NOTB, asked if I had any noir work to show. He forwarded it to Five Star/Thorndike and the book will be out next year. I have already completed a sequel, just in case it makes some noise in hardcover. I have retained the mass-market and trade paperback rights, just in case.

We touched on the possibility of a third Night; what other projects are on the horizon?

I just finished a huge, dark, disturbing thriller called 'The Pressure of Darkness.' It is just beginning to make the rounds, so it will likely be many months before it finds a publisher. I think it is by far the best book I have ever done. Author Ray Garton is the only one to have read it through, other than my wife Wendy, and he's pretty high on it. In the meantime, I'm slugging away at the next 'Night' novel because I can't help it! The damned thing wants to be written. After that, who knows? I have several other books lightly drafted. I guess we'll have to see what catches my fancy.

You certainly get a lot of work done for a man with a full-time counseling practice and a toddler. What keeps you going?

Harry Shannon with his daughter Paige at the LA Book Fair.

My wife Wendy and my daughter, Paige Emerson Shannon; they keep me pushing rocks up the hill. As anyone who writes knows, being productive can steal a lot of 'family time.' Wendy has been incredibly patient and supportive these last couple of years, and Paige tells her friends in day care that 'my daddy rights scary books.' She wants the next one to be "The Night of the Skeletons."

You've developed a huge following in a very short time. What advice can you give the aspiring writers among your fans?

Mystery author Jan Burke sent me an email a few years ago, saying "KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN." By that she meant, ignore praise and criticism and reviews and success and failure and other author's success and/or failure. Just keep your head down and keep writing, because the work is the only thing you have any control over. That is a very difficult lesson, and I'm still learning it, but I'm more convinced every day that Jan is right. It's easy to get distracted by promotion and hustle and conventions and hype…but if the work isn't getting better, no one is going to want to read it. That's the bottom line. So my advice is to stick a few reminders above your computer and WRITE. I have a couple there that I'll share with you:

"All first drafts are shit!" (Hemingway)
"In medias res" (begin in the middle of things)
"Show, don't tell" (screenwriting rule)
"Just DO it--You can rest when you're dead."

Harry Shannon, thanks for your time and good luck with "Night of the Werewolf," which goes on sale at Horrorfind, and "Memorial Day" in 2004.

Thank you, Steve. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel to "Oogie Boogie Central" one of these days!

Readers can contact Harry Shannon via his website, www.harryshannon.com or use his Message board at www.horrorworld.cjb.net