Feature & Interview : Author Cristopher DeRose

Cristopher's writing spans over 30 years and I especially enjoyed his collection of short stories in Zombie Shuffle. Read on to discover where you can obtain his plethora of pencil scribbles. Cristopher is also a musician who's compositions are definitely worth a listen, as well as giving a read to a very interesting interview. Make sure to check out all of Cristopher's offerings darklings, it will be worth it. (Author photo by Cristopher DeRose/Post Effects by Bruce S. Larson)

Bio

Father, writer, photographer, and musician, Cristopher has had over 100 works published in the likes of Filmax, Cemetery Dance and was a Staff Writer for the (then-spelled) Sci-Fi Channel for several years. He worked as Editor for Dark Matter Magazine: A Chronicle of the Speculative Mind for its three-year run. His books range from the non-fiction as the Scribes of Speculative Fiction Series The Starsky and Hutch Trivia Quiz Book and the MASH Trivia Quizbook as well as fiction including Black Moon, Immortals, Quicksilver Waltz, The Quality of Mercy, the Valentine Series, and Zombie Shuffle. He lives in Los Angeles.

Cristopher's collections include the following 

Short Story Collection: Quicksilver Waltz 

A collection of S/F stories spanning over the course of 30 years.

Novel: The Quality of Mercy

A homicide profiler faces the challenges of impending retirement and the only killer he wasn’t able to catch returning after years of inactivity. 

Short Story Collection: Zombie Shuffle

Zombie stories exploring the humanity in ourselves as well as the shambling horde. 

Novella: Valentine, Book One

An ongoing series detailing the mystical and occult in modern day Los Angeles seen through the eyes of an Irish Minotaur named Valentine. 

Quiz Book: The MASH Trivia Quiz Book

A collection of questions spanning the entire run of the TV show 

Quiz Book: The Starsky and Hutch Trivia Quiz Book

A series of questions covering all four seasons of the TV show. 

Amazon Author Page

Music: A collection of compositions, most in the Ambient genre

Interview

Lili's Lair: Why do you write?

Cristopher DeRose: I’m not sure how to answer without sounding like a pretentious artiste, but that said, I think it’s like anything else that someone feels driven to do – they simply must do it. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have some kind of creative outlet to express myself. It’s as much a part of me as my physical body. Muting creative drive, in my opinion, doesn’t get rid of it, it just helps turn them into a bitter person. There are plenty of people who are already miserable and determined to stay that way. We don’t need more of that.

Lili's Lair: How did you get your start writing?

Cristopher DeRose: I just started doing it. The only way to get better or closer to a goal is that first step. The love and the passion for what you’re doing ideally carry you through the mountain of rejections that come with the territory of being drawn to any creative endeavor.

Lili's Lair: What do you feel is the hardest part of writing a story or novel?

Cristopher DeRose: I’m my own worst critic. I try to make sure dialogue sounds authentic to the character. That may seem like an easy thing to conquer, but you have to be sure the dialogue and language isn’t interchangeable with any other character. And making sure the ending is sound is something I’m very aware of.

Lili's Lair: Where do the ideas for your stories come from? 

Cristopher DeRose: I really don’t know. Sometimes it can be a spark from a line in a movie or something misheard in a store. Music does that, too. Sometimes, for both writing and composing, something will just spontaneously appear in my head. When that happens, it can be either a slightly detailed sketch of a story or character or something fully formed.

Lili's Lair: What is your favourite genre to create stories in, and why?

Cristopher DeRose: I don’t know that I have a favorite. I write in Horror or Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction for the most part, and I love them both for much the same reasons; they can provide a backdrop for bigger themes I explore in the respective story. The human condition fits very well in Science Fiction and Horror better than I think a lot of people think.

Lili's Lair: What work to date are you most proud of and why?

Cristopher DeRose: In the Dark Fantasy category, I’d say I’m most proud of The Quality of Mercy. That’s a very personal book and kind of different from what I’ve been known for. And I’m very proud of the Science Fiction stories collected in Quicksilver Waltz. But I wrote The MASH Trivia Quiz Book with my son Ryan, so I think that one means the most.

Lili's Lair: What other authors, if any have inspired you and why?

Cristopher DeRose: Authors like Rod Serling, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont and William Goldman would be at the top of that list. William Gibson and Phillip K. Dick for sure. Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil was pretty much the catalyst for me to think to myself that I wanted to write. A lot of J. Michael Straczynski’s work like Babylon 5 was huge for me. Still is.

I’m sure I’ll remember a bunch of others after the interview (laughs.) It’s important to read and continue to read throughout your writing career.

Lili's Lair: How would you like to be remembered as a professional writer?

Cristopher DeRose: I think I’d like to be remembered as someone with something of substance to say at the heart of my stories and that I did it with my own style. That’s probably what most writers want. I guess it may not a terribly original wish, but it’s mine. And I’d like my characters, or at least some of them, to outlive me.

Lili's Lair: Can you tell us about any future projects you are working on?

Cristopher DeRose: I’ve been trying to step up on producing more music, so there’s usually a new song or two uploaded on my YouTube channel as often as I can, which I’m probably jinxing just by mentioning. And I’m currently working on Valentine Book Two and a Horror novel that I hope to be finished with by the end of the year.