Join Rachel Redd as she chats with Brian McAuley, a USA Today bestselling author whose slasher novels blend cinematic tension, deep emotional trauma, and genuine heart. Brian shares his journey from screenwriter to novelist, his horror origin story, and how his years in Hollywood shaped the characters and settings in his books.
Key Topics:
Brian's horror origin story, from Goosebumps to Are You Afraid of the Dark to Evil Dead
How watching Scream at age ten sealed his fate as a horror writer
His path from NYU film school to working as a WGA screenwriter in Hollywood
Why he thinks the slasher is the purest form of horror
Turning a rejected screenplay into his debut novel, Curse of the Reaper
The reality of querying agents and selling a first book in traditional publishing
Crafting psychological dread on the page without relying on constant action
Using Alzheimer's and addiction as parallel character struggles in Curse of the Reaper
Toxic wellness culture as the setting for Breathe In, Bleed Out
His take on the final girl trope and rewriting it on his own terms
What's next, including his upcoming Renaissance fair slasher, Fairly Bad Ways to Die
Timestamps: 00:01 - Introducing Brian McAuley, USA Today bestselling author 01:37 - Stoker Con and the surprising warmth of the horror community 05:14 - Brian's horror origin story: Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Evil Dead 09:17 - Discovering slashers through Scream at age ten 12:15 - Studying screenwriting and film at NYU 14:04 - Breaking into Hollywood and becoming a WGA screenwriter 17:24 - The transition from screenwriting to novel writing 20:55 - Querying sixty agents and selling Curse of the Reaper 24:35 - How the horror publishing boom has changed since he started 25:43 - Teaching screenwriting at Arizona State University 28:07 - Building Howard and Trevor's relationship in Curse of the Reaper 34:13 - Crafting claustrophobic psychological dread on the page 36:39 - Using Alzheimer's and addiction as mirrored character struggles 41:39 - Writing Candy Kane Kills for the Killer VHS series 49:05 - Toxic wellness culture and the inspiration behind Breathe In, Bleed Out 56:20 - Choreographing kill scenes in novels versus screenplays 59:18 - Rethinking the final girl trope 67:14 - Brian's next book, Fairly Bad Ways to Die, a Renaissance fair slasher
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