NAME: Miranda Kate/MK Boers
CREATIVE FIELD: Author
WEBSITE: mirandakateboersauthor.com
AUTHOR BIO:
I write dark stuff, sci-fi stuff, paranormal stuff, psychological stuff and a mixture of all four.
I wanted to be a film director. I could see it clearly in my mind throughout my teenage years. Then I went to college to study Theatre and realised it wasn’t going to be quite that easy, so I turned to directing words on a page instead. And it works – most days.
Under the author name Miranda Kate, I have been featured in several Flash Fiction anthologies, and write sci-fi fantasy, horror and dark paranormal fantasy.
Under the author name M K Boers I write dark psychological thrillers.
I originate from Surrey, in the south of England, but spent my teens moving round the country and travelling to other countries. Since 2002 I have lived in the Netherlands.
INTERVIEW
What got you into horror to begin with – what’s your core Horror memory?
One of my core horror memory is of James Herbert books being passed round at school, when I was around 11/12 years old.
In The Dark by James Herbert there was a sex scene with a woman and an old man which caught people’s attention. So I read the book, and I became a fan. I also read a lot of Guy N. Smith too. And then I read Firestarter by Stephen King and that was that, I was hooked for life.
And I also used to watch a horror film every friday with my stepbrother. It was a sort of ritual in the early days of video (when you had to choose between Betamax and VHS – those who know, know).
We watched so many popular and cheesy horror movies. I remember laughing my way through the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it was so ridiculous. I also remember mocking the original Evil Dead, which I watched it at a Video Birthday party (that was a thing when video came out).
But I also remember going to a friend’s house for a sleep over and we watched The Entity and were so terrified we had to switch all the lights on in the house!
Do you have a favourite horror subgenre (or more than one) and if so, what is it? What/Who are your favourite books/films/podcasts/artists/creatives working in that subgenre?
A subgenre within horror that I really enjoy is paranormal horror. I’m a big fan of Mark Cassell’s Shadow Fabric series of books, which encompass the idea of a dark fabric that takes people and leaves them ‘stitched’. I loved Anybody True by James Herbert that is about a man who is astral planing and his body is murdered while he is away from it, so his spirit doesn’t pass over and goes about finding out who murdered him.
I also like Fantasy mixed with horror, which Stephen King does so well especially in The Dark Tower series. And Clive Barker’s Weaveworld which was very much fantasy mixed with horror, with a fae world being wrapped in a carpet and kept safe until someone unravels it.
And sci-fi horror, a more recent one that covered that was Mythily by Michael Wombat, which involves alien species. I’m a huge fan of the Alien move franchise too.
What is the horror project of your heart – perhaps something you’ve already got out there, something you’re working on now, or something you’d like to do?
I have two currently sitting in my head.
I have an occult horror, based off something that I experienced in my teens which I hope to get to within the next couple of years. And also a book which I envisage more as a psychological thriller, but will probably be quite dark as it is about sex trafficking. I have been doing some planning and researching for the latter.
But I have just finished a two year collaboration of a dark fantasy trilogy with 3 other authors, which we are currently in the midst of releasing (2nd book on the 6th of Feb, 3rd book on March 30th (books.bookfunnel.com/summerrealm), so I am not currently focused 100% on either of these.
Which 5 horror books can you not stop thinking about, or have influenced you most in some way? (If not books, you can pick 5 films, 5 pieces of art, 5 songs… or mix & match!)
The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
The Jaunt, a short story by Stephen King
Satan’s Snowdrop by Guy N. Smith
If you had to describe the tones and themes of your own work in terms of movies, books, songs, or art, what would you choose and why?
Jumper is probably the only movie that comes to mind that reflects my horror sci-fi fantasy 2 book series, The Jester & Pool of Players.
The main character, David is falling through parallel times trying to catch a depraved man called the Jester, trying to get back to his own time. The high speed chase through different times and places reflects the pacing of the books, tough the story is far more complicated and more in the league of say Tenet.
Introduce us to something you’ve created, and pitch it to the audience!
On a landmass broken by man, a corrupt network grows, and a witch vows to take it down. Dead Lake is the first book in a thrilling new dark paranormal fantasy series, set a few hundred years from now in a post-apocalyptic world. For those that enjoy new-age witches, strong female characters and dark dealings in a dystopian world, Tricky’s fast-paced adventures will capture the imagination.