🎧 Or listen to the episode HERE
Interview overview
In this episode of The Writer’s Chair, Daniel Willcocks sits down with writer and filmmaker J.D. Parker for a wide-ranging conversation about discipline, ambition and the long road to a debut novel worth standing behind.
Centred around Parker’s epic historical horror Ignis Sacer, the discussion digs into the crucial difference between a first novel and a debut, the patience required to shelve early work, and what it really takes to commit to a book over multiple years. Parker opens up about moving from screenwriting to fiction, resisting distraction, and learning when an idea deserves full attention — and when it needs to wait.
Along the way, the pair explore deep research into medieval France, ergotism and historical accuracy, the challenge of balancing horror with hope, and the influence of writers and filmmakers like Dan Simmons, Robert Eggers and Ari Aster. It’s a candid, thoughtful conversation about restraint, trust, long-form storytelling and why writing bigger — and slower — can sometimes be the bravest creative choice.
Transcript (cleaned up)
Daniel Willcocks (00:38.094)
Welcome back, wordsmiths and story seekers. I’m your host, Daniel Willcocks, broadcasting from the shadowy halls of Devil’s Rock Publishing HQ. Tonight, I’m thrilled to share the writer’s chair with the incomparable J.D. Parker.
J.D. is a writer who struggles with the idea of calling himself one. He has a BA in Media Production from the University of Lincoln and now works in digital forensics. He currently resides in Birmingham, England with his two cats and one wife. He will likely end up with more pets, but is perfectly satisfied with his current number of wives. Ignis Sacer is his debut novel, not his first, and that distinction is important.
J.D., Jonny, welcome to the show.
Jonny P (01:31.386)
Hi, thanks for having me. Pleasure to be here.
Daniel Willcocks (01:34.062)
Thank you so much for coming on. I haven’t prepared you for this and this is going to be fun because my recording style is quite off the cuff.
A bit of housekeeping before we jump in. Number one, it’s very, very hot in this room, so if I start sweating, that’s why. I may be pawing at my forehead. Number two, this is the first podcast interview I’ve done in quite a while. It should be fine, but I’m a little rusty. Number three, Jonny is a personal friend as well as an incredible author.
Part of the reason I have him on the show is because he’s been a big influence on my writing life, and he does not know that. Seeing Jonny write, and do films, and do media, and be awesome at all the things he does, has definitely been a launch platform for me having the confidence I do as a writer.
Also, we go back to the days of parkour. So for people who have followed me for a long, long time and have heard my stories about parkour, Jonny’s one of those weird jumping kangaroo men. Jonny, welcome to the show.
Jonny P (02:27.491)
Thank you so much, there’s a lot to take in there.
If I start sweating during the interview, it’s because your questions are too tough. And no, you’re absolutely right, I didn’t know that I influenced your writing at all. I know for a fact you influenced mine, but tell me more.
Daniel Willcocks (02:36.267)
Okay, gotcha.
Daniel Willcocks (02:46.765)
That’s what I was angling for! No, I’m only joking. But yeah, welcome to the show.
So, Ignis Sacer is your first published book. Tell us a little bit about your writing journey and how you got to the point where you’ve officially published your debut.
Writing journey: from scripts to novels
Jonny P (03:02.603)
Okay, gosh. My writing journey started long, long ago. I guess you could split it into before deciding to do books, and after.
I tried writing film scripts for a long time. That’s where my love of writing was born. And I do think there was an inherent safety in writing film scripts, knowing I would likely never get them made, because you’d need an entire crew to bring your vision to life. There’s a safety in going, I can write whatever I like and no one’s ever actually going to see it because it’ll never turn into a film.
It was maybe ten years ago now that I decided: if you want writing to be a serious part of your life, you’re going to need to write something that gets released and potentially read by people. The best avenue for that was novels.
So I wrote my first novel… which very few people on this planet have read, you being one of them. And that’s where the distinction comes in between first and debut. I wrote an entire book. I enjoyed the journey, and I’m proud to have written it, but I often compare it to the first pancake. You’re often going to mess it up. You can enjoy it yourself, but you’re not going to serve it to your friends and family.
IGNIS SACER is the second pancake. The one I flipped. It didn’t get totally ruined. And now I’m very happy to share it.
Daniel Willcocks (05:27.104)
I want to dig deeper into that distinction between the first novel and the debut novel.
Writing is hard. A big hurdle is simply finishing that first book. That moment is monumental because it proves it can be done, and you can do it again. But there’s a reason you didn’t publish that first one.
How did you work through the mindset of: “I’ve written a book, I’m putting it aside, and I’m starting this journey all over again”?
Staying focused when new ideas hit
Jonny P (06:29.077)
It’s a commitment.
The bulk of that first book was written during Covid. I was still going into work, but there was no work to be done, so I made work for myself, and that work was finishing the novel.
Jumping into the next book… if you’re working on a project for a long time, the seeds of the next thing get planted throughout the journey. Something you watch, something you read, something you hear in the news. Once that seed is planted, it’s hard to stop it growing. It can be annoying when you’re trying to focus on the thing at hand.
But I’m good at compartmentalising. I’ll occasionally let ideas in when there’s nothing else to think about, but I can push them aside and go: “No, you’re for later.”
And I know that when I get to the point where I can give time and attention to something else, those ideas I’ve suppressed will flourish. Either they become something I’m pleased with, or they get cast aside.
During the writing of my first book, I was getting deep into horror, and that’s when the idea for Ignis Sacer was born.
And then while editing Ignis Sacer… editing is gruelling and creatively muted. Your mind is begging for something creative to chew on. That’s when the seeds of the book I’m currently writing got planted. Again, I pushed them aside. And now I’ve been able to let that creative side explode again, and I’m enjoying being at the start of the process.
Daniel Willcocks (09:36.564)
I can hear listeners leaning forward going, “That sounds well and good, Jonny. How the fuck do you do that?”
A lot of writers battle discipline and commitment. Where has that come from for you? Is it innate, trained, or something you haven’t thought about?
Jonny P (10:11.725)
The resilience… I don’t start writing a project until I know it’s something I want to at least semi-commit to.
I’m not someone who writes the first chapter just to see if it works. I do meticulous planning in my head. By the time I’m putting fingers to keyboard, I know I’m in it for the long haul.
So when the next idea creeps in, I’m already deep in the process. I tell myself: if you’re serious about the project you’re working on, you will not half-ass it. You will not give attention to another creative endeavour, no matter how badly you want to, until you’ve done this.
I’d love to say there’s secret sauce, but it’s looking back on how much time I’ve committed, and reminding myself this is how I once felt about this project too. You owe it time and respect.
I’m only two-and-a-bit books into my journey as a writer, but that’s how it’s worked so far. It could change, but right now it works.
“First book” vs “debut” and the fear of accidental similarity
Daniel Willcocks (12:34.93)
For context, how long have you had that mindset, shifting from film scripts to books? How long have you been working on these projects overall?
Jonny P (12:44.099)
Good question.
The first big project I finished was at uni, a script for a graphic novel series called Stan. Nothing to do with Eminem, I’m afraid.
It was a killer robot story. And then I realised Marvel had basically done it first: Ultron.
As I kept writing, I kept having this “Simpsons did it” thing. The further I got, the closer to the present the “already done” thing would show up.
I wrote a film script, then realised a Johnny Knoxville film was similar.
I wrote another script, then the film Dope came out. Similar premise.
And my first novel… there were uncanny similarities to a major film that came out after I’d finished it, but before I ever released it. Part of why I didn’t release it, besides it being the first pancake, is there would have been questions like: “Mate, have you ripped off this film?” The few people who read it know I was writing it long before the trailer.
I wrote Ignis Sacer fully expecting something would release that was uncannily similar. And as far as I’m aware, it didn’t happen. I’m hoping I’m finally half a step ahead of the zeitgeist.
A lot of avoiding that is market research. Some of it changed the course of the book. There’s a film called Black Death with Sean Bean (and I believe Eddie Redmayne). There were nagging similarities to what I’d planned, and I thought: you can get weirder with it. Steering into the strange direction made the book what it is.
Writing a long horror novel and interweaving plot lines
Daniel Willcocks (18:35.301)
I was an early reader, and it’s a beast of a book. For fans of fantasy, dark stuff, and historical overtones, it’s got a lot going on.
Your unpublished first book was about 62,000 words. Ignis Sacer is about 164,000. Going from something smaller to something that big is a challenge. There are multiple plot lines, POVs, and a bigger narrative burden. How did you tackle that?
Jonny P (19:55.546)
I’m a product of my influences. It comes from what I like to read.
I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson. In horror, 164,000 is quite long, but Sanderson’s last book I read was 490,000 words.
There’s something deeply satisfying about interweaving character arcs and plot lines that coalesce into an explosive ending. Sanderson fans call it the “Sanderlanche”, where everything pays off in the final chapters. I wasn’t necessarily aiming for that exact overwhelming feeling, but by osmosis, my plot points wrap up that way.
Endings are difficult. You’re never sure if everything you set up will pay off. But when points start landing and you see synergies between characters and threads… there’s very little more satisfying. It’s addictive.
Outlining vs discovery writing
Daniel Willcocks (23:13.802)
Are you an outliner or a pantser? Where do you sit on that spectrum?
Jonny P (23:30.605)
Boring answer: a bit of both.
I do a lot of outlining before I start. For my most recent project I spent about a month before writing chapter one. But I’m still discovering a lot in the writing.
The world I’m building needs detail: systems of governance, magic systems, things that need proper planning. So the outlining is by no means comprehensive. I think it’ll be writing, then outlining, then writing again, draft by draft.
I’m not someone who can sit down and go, “Time to write” and the world just comes. But it also won’t happen without discovery for me either.
Daniel Willcocks (25:46.336)
I find that when I need to resolve something, a character from twelve chapters back will suddenly become the solution, and those weaves appear as I go.
Jonny P (26:20.067)
That’s one of the most satisfying elements: using someone already in the story rather than introducing a new character. If you can distil a whole cast into a handful, you’ve done well.
It’s not universal. George R.R. Martin has a million characters. But I can’t resist packing more character into one character where possible. I even use dirty tricks. In Ignis Sacer there’s an ale merchant called Mile… Mile the ale merchant. Cheap trick, but it helps the brain.
What is Ignis Sacer
about?
Daniel Willcocks (30:18.142)
We’ll go with Ignis Sacer. What is the book about?
Jonny P (30:25.923)
It’s the story of two characters, primarily.
Daniel Willcocks (31:47.271)
We might cut this bit… elevator pitch?
Jonny P (32:08.875)
It’s the story of a cutty-cutty man.
Daniel Willcocks (32:19.59)
Okay, what is Ignis Sacer about?
Jonny P (32:27.213)
It’s the story of two characters: Estienne and Anne.
Estienne is a surgeon in medieval France helping treat an outbreak of a disease called Holy Fire. Anne wants to be his understudy. Surgery at this time is considered barbaric and unchristian. You’re cutting into bodies.
Estienne struggles with oppressive oversight from the local monastery. He works with a Brotherhood of Laymen who treat sufferers of the disease. The abbot dangles a promise in front of them: “Prove yourselves, and we’ll make you a monastic order.” That’s the vague promotion promise. They labour tirelessly in pursuit of it, hoping to spread their methods of treatment, including surgery, to the rest of France and beyond.
But they’re stuck in limbo.
Anne’s story is different. The only thing she’s ever wanted is to become a surgeon. She respects Estienne and his work, but he’s forbidden from taking an apprentice, and a female apprentice would be the ultimate impropriety. It explores their relationship.
For Estienne, it’s what happens when the carrot you’ve chased your entire life is snatched away. For Anne, it’s more tragic: she’s never really had the carrot dangled at all. She gets hope for one brief moment. Is it more cruel to have that snatched away than never to have had it?
That’s what I’d say it’s about.
Research and historical accuracy
Daniel Willcocks (37:14.029)
You clearly did a lot of research. What was your approach to examining history and choosing what to include?
Jonny P (37:14.029)
Read. Read and read.
My book is set in the 13th century. I read widely around the period, sometimes using 14th century sources where appropriate, being careful about what technologies existed when.
A big one was A Distant Mirror. It gets into the minutiae, not just royalty, but peasantry. My book has no desire to engage with kings and conquests. It’s boots-on-the-ground, ordinary lives.
I read The Last Duel as well. It has interesting detail about knighthood, and I have one knight in the book, so I needed that.
Another was The Bright Ages as a counterpoint. I didn’t want a one-sided “Dark Ages” view. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. There was progress. Humanity wasn’t at a complete standstill. That gave balance.
I can’t remember every title off the top of my head, but those gave me a strong view of the period.
Daniel Willcocks (41:05.337)
You list a lot of those references in the back of the book too, so readers can explore further.
You also balanced historical realism with darker, stranger elements. How did you approach writing darker scenes while keeping a thread of hope through the story?
Balancing darkness with hope
Jonny P (42:01.156)
This will make me sound dreadful, but I wanted more depravity.
I’m happy with how it turned out because every scene served the story and didn’t push further than it needed to. I wrote horror and disgust to the point it served the narrative, then stopped.
I didn’t want to crush characters so hard I didn’t believe they could recover in any satisfying way. Not that everyone recovers. Not that everyone gets a happy ending. But hope had to be there in some form.
If I were aiming for absolute hopeless dread, then maybe I could’ve pushed those scenes further. But for this story, balance mattered. I do look forward to writing something where I can push that terror further.
Substances, ergotism and where the story started
Daniel Willcocks (45:30.398)
There are references to substances in the book through one particular character. What was the research like, within legal boundaries?
Jonny P (45:50.372)
Get a VPN, guys. That’s my advice.
But yes, I can talk about inception because it relates.
One of my big horror influences is Robert Eggers: The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman, and recently Nosferatu. Around the time The Lighthouse released, I watched Mark Kermode’s review of The Witch. He described it like a shared hallucination, and said it feels like they’re suffering a bout of ergotism.
I’d never heard of ergotism. I looked into it. The more I read, the more my heart sank because I thought: someone’s obviously written this book already.
I looked, and looked… and I think because this is a 10th to 13th century plague, and the Black Death hits in the 14th, the devastation of the Black Death dominates stories. There are so many based on that plague, and so few on this one.
So I thought: this weird, esoteric plague needs a story. That drove the book.
Then I had to swot up on 13th century life. Not writing about monarchy helped. People know the kings and wars. Day-to-day peasantry details are where you have to get the technology right.
Like: no one eats potatoes in my book, because potatoes didn’t exist there yet. Little things like that.
Also practical details: journeys across France. Google Maps won’t help because roads didn’t exist. I looked at historical routes. At one point, I moved the timeline from 1202 to 1217 because a bridge I wanted didn’t exist until 1216.
Even if readers aren’t checking bridge dates, I think the trust and realism leach through. If you get one thing wrong, you can lose trust.
I once read a medieval book set around the 12th century and it used the phrase “knocked them for six” in the first pages. Cricket wasn’t around then. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I really didn’t want a “knocked them for six” moment.
Influences and tonal comparisons
Daniel Willcocks (53:04.082)
For me, reading your book was refreshing. It has that bigger fantasy feel but with darker tones. The care and depth stood out.
Is there anything you want to add before we go to quickfire?
Jonny P (54:22.689)
I won’t delve further into story specifics, but in the film sphere, I’d pitch it to people who enjoy what gets called “prestige horror”, as wanky as that phrase is. Elevated horror too.
I like Robert Eggers, as I said. I’m a big fan of Ari Aster. If you enjoyed Hereditary and especially Midsommar, I think you’ll get vibes of that.
Alex Garland’s Annihilation has direct influence. Not a period piece, but the horror DNA, pun intended, made its way into the book.
And that film Black Death as well. If you enjoyed the book, give it a watch.
What’s next?
Daniel Willcocks (56:12.369)
What’s next for J.D. Parker?
Jonny P (56:27.942)
Podcast exclusive: it’s fantasy, not horror.
I originally wanted to write a horror trilogy. I thought hard about what scares me. I think modern horror succeeds most when it isn’t just familiar monster tropes, but when it digs into the human psyche and pulls out taboo fears people don’t want to talk about.
There’s a Black Mirror episode with Wyatt Russell. The horror is dementia and memory loss. That’s genuinely terrifying.
I started by finding what scares me, but the more I sat with it, it took a fantasy shape in my mind. A different way to explore horror, more nuanced than turning it into a monster. I’m hoping it creates discussion rather than just being spooky.
That’s about as much as I’m willing to share.
Quickfire round
Daniel Willcocks (59:16.368)
Right, we’re going into quickfire. Ten questions, answer as quickly as you can. Ready?
Jonny P (59:40.621)
Ready as I’ll ever be.
Daniel Willcocks (59:41.994)
Number one. Gin or whiskey? Would you rather be cursed or haunted?
Jonny P (59:45.399)
Whiskey.
Haunted… they’re so similar. I was going to say cursed because there’s nuance, but you could be haunted by any number of ghosts. I’m going to say haunted because I reckon I could ghost-bust a ghost. I’d find a professional ghost-buster. Breaking a curse is more boring. So haunted. That wasn’t quickfire.
Daniel Willcocks (01:00:26.479)
What’s your go-to comfort food after writing something grim?
Jonny P (01:00:38.393)
Pizza and ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked. Pizza with goat’s cheese.
Daniel Willcocks (01:00:54.753)
Do you believe in divine punishment?
Jonny P (01:01:01.854)
I don’t believe in divine anything.
Daniel Willcocks (01:01:05.293)
What was your last Halloween costume?
Jonny P (01:01:07.949)
I’ve not done Halloween for ages, so probably back in uni. Maybe El Nombre?
Daniel Willcocks (01:01:26.243)
What’s more stressful, digital forensics or medieval surgery?
Jonny P (01:01:31.865)
Medieval surgery. In digital forensics, you see dreadful stuff, but you only see it. The other senses aren’t engaged. Medieval surgery would be very different.
Daniel Willcocks (01:01:49.312)
Who’s your favourite horror movie villain of all time?
Jonny P (01:01:59.844)
Lupita Nyong’o’s character in Us. Scariest performance I’ve seen in my life. She is haunting.
Actually… I’m changing my answer to cursed. Because if I’m haunted, there’s a chance I’m haunted by her, and I’m not taking it.
Daniel Willcocks (01:02:33.048)
What one smell instantly unsettles you?
Jonny P (01:02:38.189)
Your mum. Next please.
No… smoke, when you don’t know where it’s coming from.
Daniel Willcocks (01:03:01.528)
What’s the most medieval thing about you besides your book?
Jonny P (01:03:07.251)
My hygiene. Or my diet. I’m vegetarian, I eat a lot of… however, I don’t eat potatoes, and we’ve established that’s not very medieval.
Daniel Willcocks (01:03:26.902)
One book you’d recommend above all others, including your own?
Jonny P (01:03:40.29)
The Terror by Dan Simmons.
It’s long. It’s realistic, moody, lonely. The depictions of illness and real problems are haunting, just horrible, but so much fun to read.
Daniel Willcocks (01:04:40.769)
I’ll add one for you and for listeners: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. Ghosts and penitentiary treatment for Black children in, I think, the 1940s. A marvellous book.
Bonus question: where can listeners find you?
Jonny P (01:05:29.241)
My website is wakeandwinslow.com.
You can find Ignis Sacer on Amazon: I-G-N-I-S S-A-C-E-R.
You can follow me on Instagram where I currently have about three posts, so hours of entertainment.
Daniel Willcocks (01:06:13.857)
Feast your eyes.
We’ll put those links in the show notes. And that’s a wrap. Thank you so much, Jonny, for joining us this week.
Jonny P (01:06:27.811)
Thank you so much for having me, Dan. It’s been really fun.
Daniel Willcocks (01:06:30.258)
And a big thank you to you, our listeners, for tuning in. Before you dash off, if you’re craving deeper conversation, writing advice, or just fancy hanging out with fellow readers and storytellers, come join the Devil’s Rock community on Discord.
I’m on a mission to build the largest online space for fans of horror and dark fiction, a home where writers and readers connect, create and thrive together. It’s free, open to all, and always crackling with inspiration.
Head to devilsrockbooks.com/podcast for the invite link. And until next time, my friends, write bravely and dream dark.
