“There are different layers of honesty—the truth of what you said and the truth of what was in your heart when you spoke the words.” TruthHonesty Book:The Prophet Source: The Prophet
“We find people of value,' she said, speaking like a teacher addressing a small child, 'and we determine what story they need to hear. It's the story that they're already telling themselves, don't you see? It's the nightmare they believe in. Once you understand that nightmare, you join them in it. Their fear becomes your fear. It's all a shared experience then. And once you have that, once they feel that is the truth, all the way down to their core, then your coping strategy becomes theirs. It's a natural progression. This is the power of a shared narrative. Of the echo chamber.” TerrorismPsychopathsRecruitingAlt Right Book:Rise the Dark Source: Rise the Dark
“I made a very conscious effort to finish 'The Cypress House' before 'So Cold the River' launched, because I thought that would help build a buffer between my writing and any impact that came from either the success or the failure of that first book.” WritingFirstsMadeBookHelpingHouseEffortColdConsciousRiversImpactCypresses Author:Michael Koryta
“We understand tornadoes scientifically, but it still feels supernatural. The randomness makes it feel supernatural.” FeelsStillsRandomnessTornadoes Author:Michael Koryta
“Band of Skulls is joining Cage the Elephant as my new musical caffeine.” BandMusicalElephantsCagesJoiningSkullsCaffeine Author:Michael Koryta
“In terms of characters I wish I had created - just because I haven't dealt with anything like them - I'm really impressed by characters who can endure over time, whether that be a long series run like a Harry Bosch, or a character who endures over generations and continues to please readers: Sherlock Holmes.” LongCharacterRunningWishTermGenerationsHavensReaderPleaseSeriesEndureImpressedHolmes Author:Michael Koryta
“Horror and supernatural novels give you a lot of what you look for in a crime novel, just with a twist that was very fresh for me as a reader.” GivingLooksNovelCrimeReaderHorrorTwistsCrime Novels Author:Michael Koryta
“What I love is the writing, it's not having written. I like the process of it.” WritingProcessLove IsWritten Author:Michael Koryta
“I think if you looked at the kind of ebb and flow of supernatural fiction and horror fiction, it does seem to be more popular in times when were hammered over the head daily with threats from all angles, very real threats.” IfsThinkingKindDoeRealSeemsFictionHorrorFlowThreatAngleEbb And FlowHammered Author:Michael Koryta
“You have only so many chances to tell stories. I didn't want to be forever wedded to one form of storytelling when there are so many out there.” WantStoriesFormChanceForeverStorytelling Author:Michael Koryta
“For 'So Cold the River,' I'm actually working on adapting the book with Scott Silver, who was just nominated for an Oscar for 'The Fighter,' and who also wrote '8 Mile,' which I think is a terrific screenplay. The chance to work with Scott is a tremendous pleasure and I'm learning a lot.” ThinkingBookChancePleasureColdRiversMilesFighterSilverOscarsTerrificScreenplaysAdapting8 Mile Author:Michael Koryta
“I've never really found inspiration for story ideas in the news, but I'd say it certainly affects our lives in so many ways. I would say that certainly the stories of the day appear in the work - I just have never gone so far as to say, well, this particular event could influence a plot of an entire book.” WayWellsBookIdeasStoriesInspirationFoundGoneOur LivesInfluenceEventsParticularNewsPlot Author:Michael Koryta
“You should be writing for the love of the story, and when it comes time to return to the manuscript, everything else belongs behind a closed door.” ShouldWritingStoriesBehindsDoorsReturnManuscriptsClosed Doors Author:Michael Koryta
“I think anyone who writes suspense fiction and says that King isn't an influence is either lying or being foolish.” ThinkingWritingLyingInfluenceFoolish Author:Michael Koryta
“I think pressure can be an incentive toward improvement, and while I'm not denying that I feel some, I will also stress that it is self-inflicted and hopefully can be channeled in a healthy way.” ThinkingHealthyStressImprovementHopefully Author:Michael Koryta
“'Envy the Night' was my first stand alone, the first book I'd written in the third person and I loved the feel of that, and it was different but it was also the same. 'So Cold the River,' I knew, was going to be really different, and that's why I thought about doing it as a novella under a pseudonym, because I didn't want to damage my career.” WantFeelsFirstsPersonsBookDifferentNightCareersWrittenColdRiversThirdsEnvyDamageStand AloneThird PersonPseudonyms Author:Michael Koryta
“Adam Nevill a spine-chiller in the classic tradition, a writer who draws you in from the world of the familiar, eases you into the world of terror, and then locks the door behind you. The House of Small Shadows grows darker and takes on more menacing life with each step forward.” WorldHouseGrowsBehindsStepsDoorsDrawsShadowTraditionTerrorFamiliarEaseClassicAdamLocksBehind YouSpineSteps Forward Author:Michael Koryta
“I'd worked at a small town newspaper, and I was thinking of all the strange stories that I had seen float through the newsroom in my time there that were dismissed as kind of amusing curiosities. Somehow from that I got to this idea of an eccentric alcoholic who built a lighthouse in the woods.” ThinkingKindIdeasStoriesStrangeBuiltTownsCuriosityWoodsNewspapersMy TimeSmall TownFloatsAlcoholicsAmusingEccentricLighthouseStrange Stories Author:Michael Koryta
“Stephen King, by far, is the standard-bearer. I think anyone who writes suspense fiction and says that King isn't an influence is either lying or being foolish. I read his book 'On Writing' before I read pretty much any of his fiction.” ThinkingWritingBookLyingFictionInfluenceKingsStandardsFoolishSuspense Author:Michael Koryta
