Featured Interview With Author DJ Slater
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is DJ Slater, and I'm not an actual DJ, despite how cool that career path might be. My legal name is Dennis, but there are three of us (my father and late grandfather), so I had to differentiate myself a little bit. I started going by DJ in 8th grade and it's stuck with me ever since.
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating high school, I went to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, obtaining a double major in journalism and history. From there, my journey took me to Washington D.C. (I won a scholarship that gave me a month-long residency at The Washington Post), Green Bay (Go Pack Go), Madison (Wisconsin's state capital) and eventually Wausau (central Wisconsin) for my first full-time job as a newspaper journalist in 2006. I moved back to Milwaukee in 2010 for a role as a magazine editor. After 11 years, a marketing firm recruited me and I've been doing that job ever since. I'm still in the Milwaukee area, living with my wife and two kids. We have two cats (a mom and daughter pair), and our kids keep begging us for additional animals (snakes, birds, bunnies).
I have lots of hobbies that keep me entertained. Naturally, I love to write. I have my debut novel – Legend Has It – releasing Sept. 16. I'm already plotting out my next novel and working on some poetry as well. I also love acting, having done theater and musicals throughout high school and post-college. I try to do at least one community theater production a year (two if I can swing it). Milwaukee has a great local theater scene and I've met so many talented and amazing people in this circle. Singing is another passion of mine. I'm never one to shy away from an occasional karaoke throwdown, but my favorite is joining friends at open mic events and singing with a musical accompanist. Eventually, I'll improve my skills at playing piano (possibly attempt guitar) add that dimension to the mix.
Other hobbies and interests include playing sports (mainly basketball); watching movies (I grew up in the 80s, so I had a good diet of great films); TV series (nothing will ever top the original Twilight Zone); attending sporting events (Brewers baseball being my favorite); reading; and adequate self care.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I remember reading as much as I could at a young age. I was always fascinated with storytelling and the different mediums used to achieve it, particularly books and movies. Like many people, I would easily get lost in a compelling narrative.
I can pinpoint when I first started writing for fun. I was in third grade and computers were relatively new in schools. After watching my share of monster movies (I saw Aliens way too young), I wrote my first story during one of my third-grade classes. Called "The Alien", the story follows an alien that lands on Earth and goes on an eating spree. Eventually, some random person throws him back on his ship and sends him back off into space. I was so proud of this story – and still am. It was my first documented attempt to let my creativity shine.
I still have a copy of that story. I went on to write an "Alien" trilogy, but the two sequels suffered from the typical Hollywood tropes, as in, it was basically the same story but bigger each time. I didn't stop with these stories, though. I fell in love with the joy of creating my own stories. I went on to write a bunch of stories about dinosaurs. I wrote a trilogy about a Velociraptor running lose in a middle school (aptly named the "Terror School" trilogy); a human-turned-dinosaur that stopped a worldwide threat (The Dinosaur That Saved The World); and a story about a group of kids that travel back in time to Pangera and come face-to-face with dinosaurs (The Prehistorical World).
On the cusp of high school, I wrote my own treatment for the MYST video game. I basically took the game's setting (a mysterious island) and dropped a band of survivors on it with a violent creature. In high school, I wrote my first novel-length story about a detective who saved Detriot from an outworldly foe. I'll hold off on sharing the name of that one for now, but it's a silly name for a story with a grounded, serious tone.
My creative writing took a backseat when I went to college and early in my career. When you're writing papers and eventually news articles for a newspaper, finding the energy for your creative side becomes challenging. But when I moved back to Milwaukee, that creative struggled to stay dormant. New ideas began to flow and I started writing them down.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
This probably isn't typical, but I don't have a favorite author. If I really had to pick one, I'd probably go with Agatha Christie. I love a good murder mystery and have done several play adaptations of her work – And Then There Were None, Murder on the Nile, The Mousetrap. For me, a book's plot hooks me more than the author. That's not to say I won't perk up if I see Stephen King or Ernest Cline has a new novel, but the story is everything to me.
Some of my favorite books have great stories, such as A Christmas Carol (my favorite), Jurassic Park, Of Mice and Men, Ready Player One and To Kill A Mockingbird. When it comes to genre, I have the same feelings as I do with authors – it's hard to find a favorite. If a compelling story is contained within a romance novel, I'll read it. If something intrigues me about a horror plot, that book is going on my shelf. If I had to pick one genre, it would probably be thrillers or horror. Jurassic Park technically falls into the science fiction realm, but I would argue it's a solid horror story.
I don't have a person who inspires me when it comes to writing my stories. I have a few people who have inspired my poetry, but my stories tend to stem from cool concepts that I haven't seen explored or from what-if scenarios that I'd like to see play out. Actually, as I give it more thought, Rod Serling is my biggest writing inspiration. He crafted so many incredible stories for The Twilight Zone, many of which still hold up well today. The reason is those stories focused on the characters and their deep-rooted fears. Sometimes those characters moved past those fears. Other times, they gave in to them. But all of those stories carried the central theme of humanity and how we cope in an ever-changing world. It's why those stories remain timeless classics.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My debut novel – Legend Has It – centers around Seth McCartney, a horror enthusiast who loves visiting haunted house attractions every October. The luster of this childhood tradition, however, has dulled in recent outings, yet Seth isn’t ready to abandon this pastime. He longs for the same euphoric rush he had during his youth when haunted houses felt scary and intimidating.
His usual sidekick on these adventures is Peyton Fischer, who wants to help Seth stop clinging to his past and find new activities that can bring similar joy. His solution is to give Seth one final outing at an extreme haunted house with a group of friends.
One such house comes to mind, yet it is shrouded in rumor. This legendary haunted house is said to be so intense and terrifying that only a select few have been able to finish it. The house moves to a different state each year, popping up in isolated areas. The select few that find it are not contending with a typical haunted house. This one features 10 stories of unrelenting horror in the form of trap doors, hidden pathways and monsters that can not only touch you but also take you out of the house. Only those who are brave and cunning enough will reach the exit on the top floor.
The prospect ignites Seth’s curiosity, especially after his friends receive a tip on the house’s location. Once inside, Seth can barely contain his excitement, but some oddities become difficult to ignore. Why do the blood-splatted walls have a faint scent of iron? Why do those animatronics move so fluidly? Why did those “actors” try to stab us? Why is Peyton bleeding? Why did we come here?
Legend Has It stemmed from a simple idea I had when I was visiting a haunted house attraction in 2013 – what would I do if everything in this house was real and I had to survive it? From there, I recalled the rumor about the traveling haunted house that was too extreme to finish. I learned post high school that this house is just a rumor that has been passed down over the decades. I had real-life lore and I had a cool concept – put six friends in a haunted house with real threats and see what happens.
During the process, I played with the idea of my main character having a particular issue – he holds onto his past a little too tightly. I think we all do this in our lives (I'm more than guilty of this) and this story not only serves as a haunted house story but as Seth's journey to stop letting his past keep him from enjoying the things that are right in front of him. A lot of times, horror stories focus heavily on the monsters or the gruesome moments, but not so much on the internal struggle of the characters. Don't worry. Legend Has It has plenty of monsters and scary moments mixed with smart characters that don't fall victim to dumb mistakes or cliche horror tropes.
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