Today I’m thrilled to introduce my first horror writer to the Lunchtime Poll, Joey Powell.

Joey, it is great to have you here. Let’s jump right in: Why horror?
Horror always felt like a happy place to me. When I was a teenager, I had a Blockbuster Pass and my brother and I would always go and swap out movies. The staff knew us so they would let us rent the R rated stuff like Friday the 13th and Halloween.
I also enjoy the fun of the culture – the dressing up, the feeling like you’re getting away with something when you experience horror. I’m a “fun horror” kind of guy.

What book first turned you into a horror fan?
PHANTOMS by Dean Koontz. He has a cinematic style of writing that I enjoy. My uncle was a Stephen King and Dean Koontz fan and gave me those books to read waaaay too young.

Growing up, I wanted to be a filmmaker. I wrote slashers, and short, horror-focused films. Eventually, I came to the realization that filmmaking was nearly impossible to break into without the right connections and resources, so I shifted from screenwriting to prose. I started my first book, NIGHTMARES FROM THE GRAY, in 2021, and published in 2024.  

What is NIGHTMARES FROM THE GRAY about?
I created Nightmares From the Gray as my love letter to Stranger Things. It has cults and demons and witchcraft, but at its core, it’s about a found family of weirdos realizing there’s a hidden world that threatens their town’s existence and that they alone must band together to save it. The term “square peg” is a recurring theme in the book. Each character has a certain seemingly predetermined path to follow, and throughout the course of the book they learn to buck culture, stereotypes, and expectations to tap into the most heroic versions of themselves.

What is your writing process?
I start with the hook; I need something that I’m interested in, that I want to know more about to get going. Next, I need to know the ending. From there, I outline aggressively from Z back to A.
For me, knowing the ending helps me set up details from the outset. I feel like pantsing leads to more rewriting. I’d rather spend the time up front outlining. It probably works out to the same amount of time, but the focus is different.
When writing, I start with what I call a “Zero” draft. It’s not even a first draft - this is where I tell writers, “Let it be bad.” After that, I go back through until I have a good-ish first draft to send to my beta readers. Then I do another draft to incorporate feedback. The outlining and zero draft can take anywhere from 4-6 months; I don’t have a daily wordcount goal that I work to. After that though, everything goes much quicker.

You and I talked recently about how the horror genre was one of the first to really embrace YA in the late 80s/early 90s. Why do you think that is and what do you think the positive lessons are in YA horror?
Horror is an outlet for people. Back in the 80s and 90s there was a lot of suburban fear 

Like the Satanic Panic?
Yes. Adults were spooked and it impacted their kids. With no social media, kids turned to horror to help them process.
Nowadays horror is an outlet for people to process grief and trauma. You’ll find on the shelves books dealing with topics such as racism and gender identity, as well as a lot of LGBTQ themes about body horror and dysphoria.

You started your own horror imprint. What was the thing that most surprised you?
I’ve learned that writers really appreciate good communication. Many authors I’ve worked with aren’t used to having a collaborative relationship with a publisher (especically with a small press). I’ve also realized how enormously expensive it can be to publish books. There’s a big waiting game in terms of profit, which is why many small presses go out of business is one-to-three years after their origins. In addition, I’ve learned that in today’s market it is easier than ever to publish, but harder than ever to get noticed. These two things are, obviously, correlated. The easier it is to publish, the more books you have to compete with. The questions become, “How do we make these books standout?” “How do we give readers the feeling that they have to read this book?”.

Who is your favorite horror villain?
Michael Myers. I think those movies (the original John Carpenter series) hit at just the right age for me. Plus I like the fact that he doesn’t talk. He’s just a walking embodiment of evil. Some movies in the series have gone to great lengths to strip away some of the mystery, but to me, the less we know the better.

Which horror story villain would you like most to see get the ‘Wicked’ treatment and get their own hero origin story?
If you’re familiar with the backstory of Pennywise the Clown in IT, you know that his origins are absolutely wacky (I believe this was in the prime of King’s drug use era). Sure, the adults comes back to town and defeat Pennywise at the end of story, but extra-dimensional evil never truly dies, right? What if Pennywise had to enlist the help of the Losers Club to defeat an evil greater than himself? I have no idea how you’d do it, but would love to see it.

What scares you?
As a parent, I find anything involving child endangerment scary. I’m cautious in my own writing about avoiding triggers involving children.  The Georgie scene in the opening of IT hits differently now.

And PET SEMATARY.
Stephen King really has a thing about putting kids in danger.

Besides being an author and publisher, you also act in short films. Which horror role would you like to play? Pennywise.  

Bill Skarsgård or Tim Curry?
Bill Skarsgård. Tim Curry’s version scared me as a kid, but was a bit more of a goofy take. Bill Skarsgård always carried this underlying sense of urgency, like he was starving and desperate. The way he played him is so good.

You confided a fondness for Hallmark movies –got any top recommendations for fall?
I usually don’t start watching them til mid-November, but there’s a Thanksgiving-themed movie called Holidaze starring Jennie Garth. That’s a good one.  

Can you give me a Hallmark spin on one of your books?
Hmmm, okay….
This is based off THE TERROR AT LOVE LAKE. The original storyline follows a cheerleader and a football player who go to a cabin and cosmic horror ensues.
The Hallmark version would feature a hotshot lawyer who doesn’t like Christmas traveling to her football star boyfriend’s hometown to meet his parents. But surprise! The parents have a resident staying in their home who is enraptured with Christmas and offended by the lawyers’ disdain for the holiday.
After a series of incidents, you find out that the resident is actually the spirit of Krampus who has been sent to punish those who do not love Christmas.
Of course, the lawyer eventually learns that she needs more holiday cheer in her life and everyone lives happily ever after.  

Bravo! That was an impressive off-the-cuff story. I think we need to call Hallmark.
I would love to write a series of Hallmark horror movies.  

I fully support that plan. Until then, what are you working on now?
I always have a few projects going on that I rotate between. My current work-in-progress is an untitled thriller about a woman who finds herself institutionalized by a cult. I’ve also got another project about a character trapped in a found footage movie.  

What is MadAxe releasing next?
We released Damien Casey’s Church of Skatan on September 24
Next up is Hiding Lies by Stephanie Rose in October and Pageant by Wendy Dalrymple in December.(Interview pauses as Joanna adds all to her Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf)

Where can people find you and your books?
My personal site is https://joeypowellcreative.mystrikingly.com/, where you can find information about my books and view my cover design portfolio (I’ve always love artwork and do most of the exterior and interior design for the Mad Axe Media titles.
Information on Mad Axe Media can be found at www.madaxemedia.com
My Instagram accounts are as follows:
Author Account: @wowcooljoeywrites
Podcast Account: @creativesgettingcoffeepod
Mad Axe Media: @madaxemedia
The Mad Axe Media Newsletter can be found here: https://madaxemedia.substack.com/

Joey, thanks so much for being here today. It’s been all treat and no trick!
Happy Halloween, everyone!