John Paul Allen is from Michigan, but left home via the navy upon graduating from high school and in the last forty years he’s done his best to remain in the southern states (Florida, South Carolina, Texas and now Tennessee). Right now he’s with his girlfriend, two cats (Sixx and Stella), and a sun conure (Tika) living not far from Nashville.
As for writing, his first (and newest) work is Gifted Trust. This was followed with some shorts – “Hello Neighbor,” “Weeping Mary,” “Prader-Willi,” “House Guest” and a couple of novellas – Monkey Love and Marquee (which is actually a short, but the publisher called it a novella). He’s also got a collection of shorts, Dark Blessings, out there that appears to be getting some attention.
That brings us back to Gifted Trust. About five years after the release Allen convinced Biting Dog Pubs that it needed some fixing. “Great story/terrible writing – I learned to write after it’s 2003 release. So over the last five years, between real life events and other projects, I did some revising … cut 10,000 words … added chapters … changed a few things to fit where I wanted it to go. That’ll be released soon. Also I’ve got a story coming out in the Fresh Blood and Old Bones anthology edited by Kasey Lansdale with some pretty cool writers.”
In response to a question about genre, Allen says, “Dave Dinsmore of Biting Dog Publications once told me I had a romance novel in me – maybe. If I wrote one it would still have a horror connection, because my concept of the genre is broader than most. Pretty much anything dealing with life can be horror related: life, love, Taylor Swift, people – anything.”
You can read the interview in its entirety here: John Paul Allen Interview
