For the first of our Hearts Asunder Valentine anthology interviews, StarkLight Press features Robert Mackey.
Mr. Mackey is a retired construction worker and real estate investor turned writer. Robert’s works intended for the mg/ya age groups are free of sex, killing and profanity.
His works for adult audiences can’t even begin to make this claim.
Robert currently resides near the megalopolis of Addy, Washington, a hamlet working desperately to attain the coveted ‘One Horse’ status. He lives there with his lovely wife Janice and his teenage son Joshua who has a vocabulary consisting of two sentences which Joshua feels are sufficient to get him through the balance of his life. They are as follows: “Huh?” and “I don’t know.”
(In case you have any toddlers and are trying to teach them to speak, these few words should be all they need to master in order to make it through high school. Robert has learned these sentences must always be used in conjunction with one another and in the order in which they’ve been presented.)
Robert lives by the following adage: No matter how many heads have to roll in the attainment of you goals, be certain to smile and wave at them as they pass. It’s best to do your beheading on a hill with your opponent uphill from you to insure the head rolls and to prolong the amount of time you get to smile and wave. (Very important.)
After that rousing introduction, here is our exclusive interview with Robert Mackey:
1. Do you have a real life horror story of love gone wrong in your life?
All love stories gone wrong are horror stories, and yes I have many. Love stories gone right also are capable of containing copious amounts of horror. I.e. daily updates on how cute her cat is, unrinsed toothbrush because she forgot hers, little surprises like this:
“Who’s kids?”
“Mine.”
“All six of them?”
“Yeah. Could you watch them for a while I need to go help my mother do some shopping.”
“Uh….okay.”
Returning a week later she says, “Oooh you built some raised bed planter boxes. Where are the kids?”
“What kids?”
2. What do you feel makes the combination of love and horror such a potent one?
This was my first attempt at the genre. I feel I’ve turned the ‘love’ aspect into something more resembling erotica. I was very surprised how stimulating the combination of sex and murder was. Please take a good look at my author photo and watch the nightly news. It’s quite possible I could make an appearance there.
3. What is the source of your inspiration for the StarkLight Press Valentine’s Day anthology?
As with most of my works I take a very obscure idea and just start writing. I usually have no direction whatsoever and am always surprised at where things go. I think there might be some possibility that my character was inspired subconsciously by the main character in my editor Kat Hutson’s Daughter of the Dracken, a character that I fell head over heels in love with because she’s gorgeous, wild as hell, deadly and more often than not, naked.
Check out more our writer interviews right here between now and Valentine’s Day!
Look for Hearts Asunder in our online bookstore by Feb 1, 2016.
Ooooh! Look at this! My first ‘I’ve been referenced as an author whose work has given another some inspiration’ experience! Thank you, Robert! Love the interview. Loved the short story. Can’t wait to get a hold of this anthology (you know me, Starklight)!