Writing Horror on Your Own Terms: Independence, Obsession, and Craft with David Sodergren

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Tim Lebbon — award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels across horror, fantasy, thriller, and tie-in fiction, including The Secret Lives of the Dead, The Silence, and novels set in the Alien, Predator, Firefly, Conan, and Halo universes.Tim returns to the chair for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about building a long-term writing career, finding community in horror, and staying creatively sane in an increasingly noisy, online world. They discuss book tours, conventions, imposter syndrome, drafting chaos, novellas versus novels, and why horror writers might just be the nicest people you’ll ever meet.This episode is a grounded, generous look at the realities of writing over decades — the wins, the doubts, the friendships, and the work that keeps you going.In this episode you’ll discover: • How The Secret Lives of the Dead evolved from a crime novel into folk-tinged horror • Why horror conventions and community friendships can make or break a writing career • How Tim navigates imposter syndrome — even after thirty years in publishing• The difference between writing novels and novellas (and why novellas may be his best work)• What drafting actually looks like for a “panster” — and why the first draft is really the plan• The realities of writing tie-in fiction for Halo, Alien, and Conan• Why social media is becoming less useful — and how to protect your creative focus• Tim’s advice for new writers trying to find their place in the horror communityLinks & Resources:Tim Lebbon’s website: https://www.timlebbon.netThe Secret Lives of the Dead (Titan Books): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Lives-Dead-Tim-Lebbon/dp/1789099732British Fantasy Convention: https://britishfantasysociety.orgStokerCon (Horror Writers Association): https://www.horror.org/stokerconFrank Turner (mentioned): https://frank-turner.comSubscribe to The Writer’s ChairIf you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow horror fan or writer.📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@devilsrockbooks🎧 Listen on your favourite app: https://pod.link/1829723468💬 Join the community: https://www.devilsrockbooks.com/podcast📚 About the GuestTim Lebbon is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author with a career spanning over three decades. He has written more than fifty novels, dozens of novellas, and hundreds of short stories across horror, fantasy, and science fiction. His work includes original novels such as The Silence (adapted into a Netflix film) and The Secret Lives of the Dead, as well as tie-in fiction for Alien, Predator, Hellboy, Star Wars, Firefly, Conan, and Halo.Tim lives in South Wales, writes daily, walks his dog every morning, and firmly believes horror is where we work our darkest thoughts out — so we can be kinder everywhere else. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.