Q&A WITH J.H. MARKERT
We were so excited to get the chance to chat with thriller/horror writer, J.H.Markert, whose latest novel, DIG, was released on March 24th! Find out about the creepy new thriller, and the writer himself, below!
Katherine Greene: Hi James! We are so excited for your new book! It sounds spooky and creepy, which really are the best kind of stories. If you could describe your novel, DIG, in three words, what would the be?
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James: Island. Shovel. Honey.
Katherine Greene: Ooh, we like the sound of that. Consider us intrigued! So what inspired you to write DIG?
James: The original inspiration came from seeing a dinosaur skeleton excavation in a magazine. It got me thinking of writing a horror dig, and about someone buried, and what might happen if they kept growing underground.
Katherine Greene: Okay, we really want to know about your writing process. Is it a set routine or does it change with every book?
James: I'm a pantser for sure, and don't do any sort of outline. So I usually spend a lot of time early on thinking, not writing as many words as I should, but then once I figure out my POVs and characters I start to cook. It's not uncommon for me to spend as much time on the first 50-75 pages as I do on the rest of the book. But to me that "thinking" time is crucial, and thinking is a way of writing. Otherwise, I do write every day, for several hours. And in between books I've been known to take a few week off just to reset my brain.
Katherine Greene: Now, for the question readers really want to know the answer to: when you're not writing, what can we find you doing?
James: I used to be a tennis pro, so it was that, until I retired during Covid and haven't really played since. I've switched to some golf instead. I love reading, of course. Walking. Hanging with friends and family.
Katherine Greene: We know writers are often the biggest readers. Is there a book you're reading now or have read recently that you want to shout from the rooftops?
James: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan was amazingly well written. The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb was heartbreaking, but so good. Angel Down by Daniel Kraus was phenomenal.
Now's your chance to win a copy of J.K. Markert's phenomenal new book, DIG.
Click the link below and enter!
Eight years ago, a boy took up an axe and slaughtered a dozen people. That odd, troubled boy, Jericho Dodd, has been dead and buried in his father’s yard for years, but ever since that massacre, Crow Island has been a dark and unsettling place.
When Jericho’s father begins digging up the past he buried, a compulsion to dig sweeps over the island and soon everyone else is obsessively churning up dirt, desperate to uncover buried secrets. The compulsion leads to violence and as neighbors turn against each other, the island’s famous tupelo honey, harvested from trees deep in a swamp, changes too.
As dread and paranoia seep up from the ground, it becomes clear that the island itself needs something from its residents–before it digs itself apart for good.
Be careful what you unearth from the dirt before this surreal horror novel can worm its way into you too.