Q: How did you get the gig for writing the original HALLOWEEN 4 novel?
NG: Back in 1988, my first real novel, Pray Serpent’s Prey, was published into mass market paperback and I was at long last where I wanted to be: right smack next to Dean Koontz and Stephen King along the paperback racks at the corner grocery store. I was elated, to say the least, and it was novels like that along with its successors, The Rag Man and Sweet Dreams Lady Moon that made my name in horror fiction with the help of my pen name, Nicholas Randers. My publisher telephoned me one day and told me the studios were making a HALLOWEEN 4, and that Michael Myers was coming back to Haddonfield. On the strength of my other works, I was chosen to pen the novelization to the final Alan B. McElroy script after its incarnations involving novelist Dennis Etchison and John Carpenter. It was quite an honor. I also had a month to do it, and I busted my ass behind a cheap electric typewriter, turned it in on time. In October of that year when it was released the same time the film came out, the book was so popular that the “big bully” of my high school years had purchased a copy and could not believe that one of the rejects he’d picked on had written the damn thing. Last I heard, he was homeless.
Q: Why was the novel resurrected 15 years later and updated for a “Special Limited Edition”?
NG: I was dabbling in the whole self-publishing phenomenon a few years back and released my baby, the swan song of my career, The Everborn, and I thought hmmmm, I can take this publishing business and do it myself, without all the red tape of agents and traditional publishers. I started my own publishing firm, Diverse Media (based in Antelope CA just near Sacramento), and made a deal with Trancas International Films to revive my Halloween 4 novel as its first official title, completely revised and with all the new material that has since made it a must-have for Halloween fans. That was a great idea, and I’m grateful to everyone who has made it a success.
Q: We hear you’ve written a new book called Diverse Tales. Is it related to HALLOWEEN in any way?
NG: Yes! Firstly, Diverse Tales is a collection of short stories my fans have requested over the years as well as a project I’ve always wanted to do, and includes material that dates back as far as 1975. I created a handful of new stories specifically designed for it, as well as a unique treat of a tale that’s directly inspired by my stay at the Halloween 25 convention. “The Falling” came about by my excursions throughout the hotel I stayed at on the evening of the first night of the con, wandering from party to party with a drink in my hand and finally sitting on another guest’s hotel room balcony and looking down at the city of Pasadena while giving advice about writing and indulging in wild party festivities. I’ll never forget it, and Halloween fans would do themselves justice by buying the collection just for that story alone. If they hadn’t read my other stuff, this book can be considered Grabowsky 101 to Halloween fans not acquainted with my body of work outside of the Halloween franchise. They wouldn’t be disappointed.
Q: Give us an idea of what kinds of stories we can find in the book.
NG: Well, to kind of quote from the back cover: “A young boy on a grocery errand returns with a bag of soil from the Garden of Eden. A wanting seed determines to crawl back into its mother’s womb. A bloodletting grandmother. An enchanted rose hole. Demons protecting a church from pranksters.” There’s so much more, plus poetry and tidbits that would please the most enthusiastic horror buffs as well as those more inclined to appreciate bizarre dark humor and elements uniquely me.
Q: Where can we get it?
NG: My official website at www.downwarden.com, Amazon.com, or most major online bookstores, or ask for it at any book store in your neighborhood and if it isn’t stocked you should be able to order it, or write to me. On my website, I offer autographed copies on my “Books and Merchandise” page, as well as other books and, well, merchandise.
Q: What was your experience like at the Halloween Returns To Haddonfield anniversary convention?
NG: It was incredible! The reception I had in the hotel lobby after I arrived heralded what was to come and then, well, to briefly chronicle my time there, I must say… I set up my table, greeted a multitude of fans not only of my H4 novel but Everborn as well as some that remembered me from the Nicholas Randers days, signed with the great Dennis Etchison, met many a celebrity as well as connections that kept my signing tour that year go way beyond my schedule. My teenage son stole my rental car keys and took the vehicle for a joyride before I knew about it. I drank until the cows came home jumping from party to party and being welcomed as quite the celebrity myself, got the opportunity to be amongst the best names in the series as they cut the anniversary cake for the official party photo op, walked the streets of Pasadena going from club to club (being that it was Halloween weekend and all, which wouldn’t have been the same any other weekend of the year). I also got to take the mike and address the fans on stage. My god, what a time!
Q: Do you receive email from Halloween fans wanting to know more about you and your writing?
NG: Almost every single day. I get a nice amount of fans contacting me just on the strength of my previous works, but being involved in the Halloween series has opened the floodgates since I’d made myself known on the internet with Downwarden.com and particularly since I did the H4 Special Limited Edition and proclaimed the possibilities of doing novels for the rest of the series.
Q: Tell us about opportunities you have for other writers.
NG: I invest a good deal of my time giving writing lectures whenever I’m out and about, and my official website showcases short story and poetry submissions. I also review published novels, especially self-published, as I am and always have been an advocate for promising unsung talent. Write to me for more information.
Q: What do you have in store for fans in the future, outside of HALLOWEEN?
NG: I have many projects in the works, including two sequels for The Everborn, as well as a comic book series and film pursuits. I’m also currently working on the anticipated The Downwardens, and following that, Sirens and Tale of the Makeshift Faire. A few major horror personalities have shown great interest in my work, and I might dabble in directing film soon. Outside of that, my publishing firm Diverse Media is getting involved in other ventures, and I just finished an introduction to a War of the Worlds reprint and a few anthologies. Also, look for me in the upcoming Halloween documentary DVD!