JS: Literally the only request they had was that I keep the book as family friendly as the movie (meaning the equivalent of a strong PG-13). Beyond that, I could do whatever I wanted. Because the original filmmakers own all of the rights to the property, there were no levels of approval to go through. I didn’t recycle any of their jokes unless it springboarded to something new, so I think of the book as more of a companion piece than a retelling. The best way to read it is to rewatch the movie right before you dive in!
JS: Ah, Mark Justice! A good friend in the horror community that I never got to meet in person. Here’s the deal: I’m (mostly) allowed to blab about all of my book projects, but screenplay stuff tends to be super secretive. Let’s just say that I’m a full WGA member and that there’s plenty happening that I can’t talk about…
Grab a copy of Jeff Strand’s newest book, Veiled…
https://www.amazon.com/Veiled-Jeff-Strand-ebook/dp/B0C6R4KX66/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YFALRRLE0JTF&keywords=jeff+strand&qid=1687904786&s=books&sprefix=Jeff+strand+%2Cstripbooks%2C146&sr=1-1
JS: Sometimes the deadline chooses for me. For example, as I answer these questions, I’m in the midst of a middle-grade horror novel that’ll be out next summer. Apart from that, I try to mix things up, so that if I write a gory action-packed novel like Demonic, I follow it with a psychological thriller like Veiled. Writing is my only source of income, so I have to think about what my fans are going to buy. I can write occasional non-genre outliers like Kumquat or Bang Up, but I need to keep my primary focus on the horror/thriller stuff that sells. I don’t really have a favorite or least favorite category to write about–I just bounce around to keep things interesting.
Visit the more-or-less Jeff Strand site…Gleefully Macabre…
https://jeffstrand.wordpress.com/
JS: Monty Python and Douglas Adams in a huge way. Not so much Spike Jones, though I enjoyed a couple of his songs on Dr. Demento compilations. Weird Al. Dave Barry for sure, and the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker movies. Bananas and Cracked magazines. All of those weirdos.
Visit the Jeff Strand Amazon page…
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jeff-Strand/author/B001K8D3F0?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
JS: When I was asked to be in the hot wings challenge, I said flat-out that I was going to bail early. I was rooming with Kenzie Jennings and she didn’t need to share a room with somebody who was suffering from agonizing gastrointestinal distress. As soon as it started to burn more than was comfortable, Keith Lansdale and I stepped down without a speck of shame.
On the other hand, I envisioned the thing with Wrath (a trivia contest where wrong answers earned you a punch on the arm) as something where I’d go “Ha ha! You hit like a little bitch!” much to the merriment of the audience. After I got the first question wrong and took my punch, I thought, “Wow, that hurts way more than I expected,” and returned to my seat without a witty comment. With the next punch, the fact that my bony arms have no cushion really worked against me, and my fingers started to go numb. I took one final blow and sat back down in the audience. The punch was way worse than the wings.
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