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Interview Overview

In this episode of The Writer’s Chair, Daniel Willcocks sits down with David Sodergren, one of the most uncompromising and distinctive voices in modern independent horror.

Across a candid, funny, and often deeply heartfelt conversation, David reflects on his journey from decades in retail to becoming a full-time author, the realities of self-publishing, and why creative freedom matters more to him than traditional validation. They discuss the grind behind prolific output, the discipline required to keep writing when doubt creeps in, and the strange balance between confidence, self-criticism, and knowing when a book simply isn’t working.

The conversation dives deep into The Haar, David’s coastal folk-horror novel that unexpectedly found a wide mainstream audience. David talks about writing an elderly female protagonist as a fully realised human being, blending horror with romance, and why emotional honesty matters just as much as grotesque spectacle. He also reflects on reader reactions, the personal significance of his grandmother’s memoirs included in the book, and what it means to see deeply personal work resonate across cultures and languages.

This is a raw, generous discussion about independence, obsession, routine, horror as rebellion, and the joy of writing exactly the books you want to write — slimy monsters, romance, and all. A must-listen for writers, horror fans, and anyone curious about building a creative life on their own terms.

Interview Transcription

Daniel Willcocks:

Welcome back, wordsmiths and story seekers. I am your host, Daniel Willcocks, broadcasting from the shadowy halls of Devil’s Rock HQ. Today, I’m thrilled to share the Writer’s Chair with the insanely talented David Sodergren.

David lives in Scotland with his wife, Heather, and his best friend, Boris the pug. Growing up, he was the kind of kid who collected rubber skeletons and lived for horror movies — and honestly, not much has changed since then.

His first novel, The Forgotten Island, was published in 2018. This was followed by Night Shoot in 2019, a brutal throwback to the early ’80s slasher movie cycle. Then came 2020 — David’s biggest year yet — with two horror novels: the slasher noir Dead Girl Blues and the blood-soaked folk horror Maggie’s Grave.

But today, we’re picking David’s brain about his twisted coastal horror thriller, The Haar.

David, welcome to the show.

David Sodergren:

Thank you for having me. It’s a real pleasure to be here.

Discovering New Horror Voices

Daniel Willcocks:

I’m very excited to have you here. I don’t know if you find the same, but I tend to discover new authors in weird cycles. I’ll hear nothing about someone, then one person recommends them… then a couple of months later the name pops up again… and before you know it, they’re everywhere.

You were that author for me last year. A friend said, “Have you read The Haar?” I hadn’t, but I saw the cover — gorgeous — and then the Waterstones book club I’m part of suggested it for the month. I was like, hell yeah, let’s do this. And I thought, I’ll bring David on the show and pick his brains.

Do you get that feeling — those cycles where suddenly an author seems to appear everywhere?

David Sodergren:

Just to jump back one bit — is this like Morrison’s, the bookshop? Are they going to start stalking me at any point?

Daniel Willcocks:

Waterstones, actually.

David Sodergren:

Ah, okay.

Daniel Willcocks:

Waterstones in Stoke has their own independent little readers’ club. But I can absolutely ask if they’ll stock your books.

David Sodergren:

Well, yeah — they’re now available on Ingram, so any store in the world should be able to order them. I’ve just never seen one in the UK “in the wild”. I know they’re available — all my books are available across America, and you can get them in shops in Sweden and Denmark — but I’d love to see one somewhere in the UK.

Daniel Willcocks:

That’s like a white whale moment, isn’t it? You’ll know when it happens.

David Sodergren:

It would be lovely. But what was your question? Sorry — I’ll completely go off on wild tangents.

Daniel Willcocks:

I love that. That’s how I work best.

The question was: how do you discover new horror authors? Do you recognise that cycle — someone popping up, then suddenly they’re everywhere?

Social Media, Discovery, and the Modern Horror Scene

David Sodergren:

Yeah, absolutely. The examples I’ll use are people I haven’t actually read yet, but names I wasn’t really familiar with before — someone like Nick Roberts, or Nat Cassidy. I suddenly started seeing their names everywhere.

I know people have had the same experience with me as well.

I do plan on checking them out — I’m just unbelievably slow at reading now. I write constantly, and when I’m not writing, my reading tends to be friends sending me their books for beta reads or edits. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and read purely for pleasure.

I’m really looking forward to maybe going on holiday this year, sitting by a pool, and finally getting through a couple of books — maybe those authors I just mentioned.

David Sodergren:

That’s where all the advertising and marketing comes from nowadays anyway — social media. Instagram. TikTok, I believe… I don’t use TikTok. I have one, but I don’t use it. It’s a terrible place.

That’s really how I find new people now. I honestly don’t know how else I would find out about them.

Daniel Willcocks:

Yeah, that’s fair.

Rubber Skeletons and Childhood Horror Obsessions

Daniel Willcocks:

I’ve got a lot of questions about The Haar. I’ve also got some questions from the Waterstones book club. But I want to start with the big one that’s been on my mind since I read your author bio.

What the hell are rubber skeletons?

David Sodergren:

Well… the clue’s in the name. I had a suitcase full of skeletons made of rubber — varying sizes, lengths, levels of detail.

You used to be able to get them everywhere. I don’t really browse children’s toy departments much anymore, but back then, if I saw a rubber skeleton, I’d buy it and hoard it.

They all lived in an Action Force suitcase. So it looked normal — like I was collecting army figures — but when you opened it up, it was just hundreds of skeletons.

Some were plastic, some were like Transformers — a rib cage you’d open and a skeleton would unfold from it. Absolute magic.

I even had a little bank where you’d put in — probably a penny, maybe 20p — and a skeletal hand would come out and drag the coin inside.

That was a fun time. Yeah, I collected them.

Daniel Willcocks:

I’ve seen those!

But I can’t say I’ve ever seen a rubber skeleton.

David Sodergren:

You are missing out. If I find one, I’ll send it to you.

Daniel Willcocks:

Okay, yeah — I’m definitely Googling this after.

David Sodergren’s Writing Journey

Daniel Willcocks:

For people who aren’t familiar with your work or your journey over the last eight years or so, can you give us an overview of your background and how you got to where you are today?

David Sodergren:

Yeah, absolutely. I’d always written, even as a very young child — I’m talking eight or nine years old. I used to write sequels to horror films I liked. I’m pretty sure I wrote Child’s Play 3 before Child’s Play 3 existed… or maybe Child’s Play 4. It was a page long and absolutely dreadful.

I’d always written, but what I really wanted was to make films. I’d get a camcorder with my friends at the weekend and we’d semi-improvise films based on my ideas. Sometimes the idea was literally, “Let’s just remake The Evil Dead.” Incredible ideas, obviously.

I wanted to be a filmmaker — to tell stories that way. That led me to university to study film and photography, where I discovered I didn’t really like working with other people at all.

So I moved into editing, which I loved. But after that, trying to find work, I ended up doing music videos for bands. And I don’t know if you’ve ever worked with musicians — but they’re very protective of their image. I get it, completely. You want to look cool. But I found them difficult to work with.

Eventually, I realised the only way I was going to tell my stories was through my other love: reading. I’d been a voracious reader since I was very young. I used to memorise scary poems and things like that — The Highwayman was a favourite. I don’t remember it now, unfortunately. I remember bits of it… but—

Finding the Confidence to Keep Going

David Sodergren:

Yeah, I had an Instagram at the time where I was just posting pictures of my book collection with my pug, Boris. That sort of gave me the idea that, you know, I love these books, I love these stories, and I’ve always wanted to tell them myself. So I thought I’d just try my hand at writing.

That probably started around 2017. I did NaNoWriMo — however you want to pronounce it. I did write a novel during that. It wasn’t good, but it was good enough that I thought, okay, I do have some understanding of how to tell a story and how dialogue works.

That gave me the impetus to try again. I think I wrote a second one after that — my chronology’s a bit fuzzy — and that also wasn’t great, but it was okay. Then the third one I wrote was The Forgotten Island. That was the point where I thought, oh… I’m actually onto something here.

I self-published that in September 2018 and I haven’t really looked back since.

Control, Collaboration, and Creative Independence

Daniel Willcocks:

I love that journey. There are definitely parallels between yours and mine. Mine was less music and film — I came from acting, playwriting, theatre. I did drama at uni, and I had that same experience of being tired of relying on other people to make something creative happen.

I moved into proofreading and editing after university because I liked that it was just me. No egos, no drama — ironically. There’s something really rewarding about having full control and being able to bring something to life from start to finish that’s entirely yours.

You mentioned that The Forgotten Island was the point where you thought, “Okay, this is ready.” Do you remember what specifically pushed that book over the line compared to the first two?

Learning Craft Through Feedback

David Sodergren:

Partly because that was the first time I actually sent a book to someone else to read. A guy called Bradley Freeman — an author I’d discovered through Instagram — read it. He wrote a horror novel called Reek. He’s from New Zealand but was living in Japan at the time.

Reek was this brilliant mix of ’80s splatter, found footage, and J-horror ghost girl stuff. We became friends, and I sent him the book. He was the first person to give me genuinely good feedback — both encouragement and proper criticism.

He pointed out things like head-hopping POVs mid-chapter, randomly jumping from one character to another — things I hadn’t really clocked despite reading horror all my life. Once he pointed those out and I fixed them, everything started to click.

That was the moment where it really began to read like a novel. I did multiple drafts on that one — far more than the earlier books. And every draft improved it. I really do owe a lot to Bradley for that.

He’s actually re-releasing Reek very soon, I think. Your listeners should definitely check that out when it comes out — it’s a fantastic book.

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Unpublished Books and Recycled Ideas

David Sodergren:

The first two books had good ideas in them, but I’ve since taken all the good ideas from those books and put them into other novels. So they’ll never see release.

I’ve written about 20 novels now. Those early books were just containers for ideas. I took the best bits and reused them elsewhere.

The Power of Finishing a Book

Daniel Willcocks:

I think a lot of people underestimate the power of simply finishing a novel, even if it never gets published. I coached authors for a few years, and my number one piece of advice was always: finish the first draft.

The first novel I ever finished has never seen the light of day. I haven’t revisited it, but finishing it gave me the confidence to say, “I can do this again.”

You mentioned you’ve written around 20 books now. What are the biggest lessons you feel you’ve carried forward from those early books to where you are now?

Planning, Perspective, and Knowing the Book’s Needs

David Sodergren:

I think it’s mostly technical lessons. My stories themselves haven’t changed much — I still love exploring different horror sub-genres.

The biggest lesson has been learning to do what’s right for each book. Knowing whether a book needs heavy outlining or a looser approach. Whether it should be first-person or third-person. Making those decisions early has helped massively.

My writing style… I don’t know if it’s changed. The problem is I write a book, publish it, forget it exists, and move on to the next one. If you ask me questions about The Haar, that’s fine — I reread it recently. But if you ask about anything else, I’ll be like, “Did that happen? Who’s that character?”

I don’t dwell on the past. I try to keep moving forward and doing something new within my own parameters.

What The Haar Is About

Daniel Willcocks:

Let’s test your knowledge of your own book then. For people who haven’t read it yet, can you give a quick overview of The Haar?

David Sodergren:

Sure. I describe The Haar as a Scottish folk horror fairy tale. It’s based on a real incident where a small village in Scotland was forced out by a tyrannical billionaire so a golf course could be built.

That’s the backdrop. There are only a few people left in the village, and they’re trying to fight back.

One day, the protagonist — Muriel Margaret Macaulay — finds a strange creature on the beach. That discovery begins to change her life in very unexpected, and often very gory, ways.

Naming, Alliteration, and Rhythm

Daniel Willcocks:

That nailed it. And just out of curiosity — Muriel Margaret Macaulay. I noticed the alliteration. You’re wearing what looks like a superhero shirt — am I right?

David Sodergren:

No, it’s Universal Monsters.

Daniel Willcocks:

I was going to say, it sounded a bit like Stan Lee-style naming. Was that deliberate?

David Sodergren:

No — for me, alliterative names come from John Waters.

Daniel Willcocks:

Interesting. Fair enough.

David Sodergren:

As soon as I say that, every John Waters character name drops out of my mind. But he does it a lot. I don’t usually use alliteration, but in this case it worked.

The book opens with: “Muriel Margaret Macaulay was 84 years old the first time she saw a man turned inside out by a sea monster.”

The rhythm of that sentence just flowed beautifully with the alliterative name. I focus a lot on rhythm.

Rhythm, Emphasis, and the Music of Language

David Sodergren:

…of the words and things, which is why I do things that some people tend not to like. I use italics for emphasis a lot, because it’s really important to me that the rhythm — and the specific word the character is emphasising — comes across properly.

That word is the word. That’s the beat. That’s the emphasis. So I want that to be clear on the page.

So yeah, not Stan Lee — John Waters. But I’m sure those two would’ve got along anyway.

Covers, Iconography, and Visual Identity

Daniel Willcocks:

We’re now four years on from when The Haar was first published, and from what I can see it’s one of your most successful books. It’s got insanely striking artwork from Trevor Henderson on the front — which we might need to talk about after the show, because I’ve been trying to get Trevor on here for ages.

But across your books in general, there’s a very clear visual identity. You can see a book and instantly know it’s a David Sodergren book. I work in digital marketing and branding, and I have to applaud that.

How much thought goes into your covers? Where did that visual language come from?

Movie Posters, Frames, and Contained Images

David Sodergren:

People often say my covers remind them of ’70s and ’80s horror novels. But for me, the biggest inspiration has always been movies — specifically movie posters from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.

There’s something I really love about an image contained within a square or a circle. Especially when the image is slightly bursting out of that frame. That gives it a visceral feel.

For example, Maggie’s Grave — her arm is puncturing the box. I love that kind of thing.

So for my first couple of books, I leaned heavily into that style. Then I did a book inspired by Italian giallo films, which were based on these ’30s paperbacks — gialli mondi d’oro — with yellow covers and circular images. So I did that for that book.

Then I went back to my black covers with a central image.

Reader Expectations and Matching Spines

David Sodergren:

People will tell you if something doesn’t match. I’ve had people say, “I didn’t buy Dead Girl Blues because it doesn’t match the others.”

And you think, God — are you really that person? But… people do care.

I do try to break out sometimes and do something different, but generally I’ve accepted that this works. People can see the book and immediately know it’s mine.

I’ve actually re-released a couple of books with black covers so people can have matching spines on their shelves. You really can’t underestimate how important that is. If someone just wants to read the story, they’ll grab the Kindle edition. But if they’re buying paperbacks or hardbacks, they’re collectors. They want the set to look right.

So yeah — I’m sticking with it. It works for me, and I like it.

Learning Design and Owning the Process

David Sodergren:

That said, there’s still a lot I can play with. The artwork itself is always up for grabs. Fonts, colours — I’ve started experimenting more with that in recent books.

My wife designed the covers for the first three books. Then for Maggie’s Grave, she showed me how to do it in Adobe Illustrator. After that, I just took over.

She’d already given up loads of time helping me, and I’m the kind of person who’ll sit there for three weeks tweaking tiny details, adjusting things, going back and forth. So I wanted to learn how to do it myself.

Independence, Control, and Creative Freedom

Daniel Willcocks:

That’s one of the real pleasures of being independent — you can learn those skills, tweak things endlessly, and adjust based on your audience whenever you want.

David Sodergren:

Exactly. The independence is perfect for me. I can do whatever I want, when I want, and that suits how I work.

Choosing Indie Over Traditional Publishing

Daniel Willcocks:

Since we’re here, let’s talk about the choice to self-publish. It’s one of the biggest questions early writers ask: indie versus traditional.

One argument I heard years ago that stuck with me is that you can choose to self-publish, but you can’t choose traditional publishing — you can only choose to pursue it and hope someone says yes.

Have you ever considered going more traditional, or are you happy staying independent?

Turning Down the Big Five

David Sodergren:

I’m very happy staying independent. I actually turned down one of the Big Five last year — or the year before.

I always want to say “Big Four” because I think of the thrash metal bands — Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax. But yes, the Big Five publishers.

I turned one of them down. I know that sounds insane to some people.

When I started out, self-publishing wasn’t really a choice. I looked at what I was writing and thought, nobody’s going to want this. Horror wasn’t “in” again at that point. And honestly? I didn’t care. Horror’s always been “in” in my house.

Sending it to big publishers felt like a waste of time. I could’ve gone small press, but the thing is — I enjoy every part of the process.

Loving Every Stage of the Work

David Sodergren:

I love coming up with ideas. I love outlining. Writing. Editing. Designing covers. Marketing — okay, nobody loves marketing — but I still enjoy being involved in it.

Even with a traditional publisher, you still have to do a lot of the marketing yourself now. They’ll help, sure, but it still comes down to you.

Financially, self-publishing can make more sense. You earn more per book. But traditional publishers can get your book into every bookshop in the country. So maybe you sell fewer copies but earn more per copy — or vice versa. I don’t know.

But for me, it comes back to something simple.

No Deadlines, No Filters, No Compromises

David Sodergren:

I don’t like working with other people. I don’t want deadlines. I don’t want someone telling me, “You shouldn’t do that.”

The reason readers like my books is that they’re very clearly me. They’re unfiltered. They come straight from my head. And I worry that would get diluted if someone was constantly looking over my shoulder saying, “Maybe you shouldn’t include that.”

Maybe horror would be better without a four-way monster sex scene. Maybe they’d be right. But that’s the book I wanted to write.

Right now, I’ve got a new book I’m about to announce. I’ve just finished the first draft of another one. I’ve also got a completed draft of another book sitting there.

I don’t know which will be my October release and which will be my May release. Maybe neither. I’ll decide that myself.

If I’m not obsessed with the book I’m writing at that moment, it won’t be as good. If I’m forcing it to hit a deadline, it’s going to feel forced — and nobody wants that.

So yeah. I love being independent. I really do. I’m a pretty square guy, honestly — but this is as close as I get to being punk rock.

Writing as Rebellion and the Reality of the Grind

David Sodergren:

…churning out my little independent, grimy, sleazy, but heartfelt horror books for some like-minded freaks.

I do love the idea of writing as rebellion — especially when you realise that it’s essentially just you, tapping away at keys and staring at a screen for hours on end.

For people who aren’t yet fully in the throes of writing a book, there’s this romantic vision of sitting in a coffee shop, everything being very nice and aesthetic and fun. And sure, sometimes it is like that. But a lot of it is the grind. The routine. Getting the words on the page.

Daily Routine and Writing Full-Time

Daniel Willcocks:

What does that routine look like for you?

David Sodergren:

I was very lucky — and I say lucky, but it’s been an unbelievable amount of hard work to get there — that about eighteen months ago I was finally able to quit my day job in retail, where I’d worked for twenty-four years, and write full-time.

So now I’ve found my routine perfectly.

I still get up at the same time as I used to — around seven o’clock. At about eight, I’ll watch a film. Not always horror, just a film. That really gets my mind thinking about stories and characters.

Then I write. Write, write, write. That’s basically it.

I can be fairly prolific in terms of releases, but that’s because I love it and I’ve found what works for me.

The Physical Reality of Writing

David Sodergren:

My actual writing setup is very simple. I sit on the settee with the dog next to me and the laptop on my lap. It’s terrible for posture. I need to change it soon because I’m starting to feel it in my shoulders and arms.

Let that be a lesson for aspiring authors: get a comfortable chair and a desk.

But that’s where I’ve written every single book. I once tried sitting in a different room and it didn’t work. I can edit on my phone outside, but I can’t write on my phone outside.

Daniel Willcocks:

Editing on your phone sounds horrendous.

David Sodergren:

Yeah — and I wouldn’t do it until very late in the process. Just reading through, catching little things. Nothing structural. God no. That would be an absolute nightmare.

Finding Time When You Don’t Have Any

David Sodergren:

Back when I was working retail, I’d do that on my lunch break. Go outside, have a cigarette, and make edits. Then it’d be like, shit — gotta go back to work.

You just find the time wherever you can.

I think a lot of people want to write, but what they discover when they start is that it’s a tremendous amount of work. And it is. So if you don’t love it, maybe it’s not for you.

But if you do love it, it’s just about carving out that time. If that means not going to the pub that night, so be it.

I’m a hermit. I barely leave the house. I go to the cinema occasionally. That’s about it. And it works.

Creative Confidence, Doubt, and Walking Away

Daniel Willcocks:

I was doing a bit of research and saw you featured on my buddy Dan’s blog last year. You said something there that really stuck with me:

“I tend to write with swaggering self-confidence, then halfway through a story I think this is shit and scrap the whole thing. Taking a month away and coming back with fresh eyes usually puts things in perspective.”

I love that, because it shows that no matter how many books you’ve written, that dip still happens. Can you talk a bit about what that moment looks like for you?

David Sodergren:

For me it’s usually hitting a certain point in the story.

I’ll have outlined it chapter by chapter, structurally. And then I reach a point and suddenly realise: that’s who these characters are. And I think, for god’s sake — scrap the whole thing. This is shit. These characters aren’t right.

My outlines are very structural — here to here to here, this happens, then this happens — so I don’t get stuck plot-wise. But they’re less character-focused. I let the characters reveal themselves during the writing.

That moment usually comes halfway through, sometimes three-quarters of the way through.

Rewriting and Letting the Book Breathe

David Sodergren:

It absolutely happened with Maggie’s Grave. I was about three-quarters of the way through and it just wasn’t working.

Then we went to Tenerife over Christmas. I sat by a swimming pool with a notebook and rewrote the entire outline — figuring out who the characters actually were, what they wanted, what they were doing.

After that, everything worked.

As for imposter syndrome — I wouldn’t say it hits me during the writing itself.

Imposter Syndrome and Reader Response

David Sodergren:

The imposter syndrome only really kicks in when people message me directly.

When someone writes and says something unbelievably kind — like, “You reawakened my love of reading,” or “You made me want to write,” or “This made me cry” — that’s when I go, oh my god.

Because I put these books out and then I move on. I don’t think about them again. I haven’t read my reviews in five or six years. I’m always working on the next thing.

So when people tag me or reach out, I’m like, really? Are you sure? I did that? I’m just some arsehole sitting at home.

That’s where the imposter syndrome creeps in.

Confidence Without Ego

David Sodergren:

In terms of the writing itself, I do think I’m a good writer. I write stuff I like, and other people happen to like it too.

When I think a book is shit, it’s not self-doubt — it’s more like, I’ve fucked it up. I’ve done something wrong.

I just scrapped forty thousand words of a book recently. Completely scrapped it. I don’t know if I’ll go back to it. Maybe in six months I’ll see what I did wrong and fix it. Or maybe not.

So yeah — it’s less imposter syndrome and more just, “How fucked is that?”

Reader Response and the Passage of Time

Daniel Willcocks:

You’re now almost four years on from first publishing The Haar. What’s surprised you most about how readers have responded to it over that time?

David Sodergren:

Honestly? I’m just surprised it’s been four years.

When I first wrote it, I think I was subconsciously aiming for something a bit more mainstream. Moving slightly away from the more ultra-extreme moments of some of my earlier books.

What is time?

Mainstream Success, Extremes, and Staying True to the Book

David Sodergren:

Then I was like, fuck that, and I just added the stuff in.

It’s still — I think it’s still a fairly mainstream book, but, you know, the aforementioned slimy monster sex is… which is always brought up in every conversation about that book.

If people haven’t read it yet — read it and you’ll know what we’re talking about.

Yeah, it’s sexy.

I’m constantly surprised by how mainstream it’s become. That’s the amazing thing for me. I thought I was just writing for my usual oddballs — love you guys — but it’s gone much further than that.

Sometimes I think maybe I shouldn’t have put that stuff in. Maybe it would have been a mega hit. But it’s exactly the book I wanted to put out, and I’m happy about that.

Emotion, Representation, and Unexpected Reader Responses

David Sodergren:

I love it when people say the book made them cry. I really enjoy hearing how much people appreciated having an elderly female protagonist, because that’s extremely rare in horror.

I’m always surprised when someone says they couldn’t relate to her because she was older. That always baffles me. She’s just a human being. I get confused when people say they can’t relate to someone because they’re older, younger, a different skin colour — it’s just people. They have the same struggles, loves, hates, and desires as you. Just slightly older or younger.

But whatever. At the end of the day…

Grief, Memory, and the Power of Personal History

David Sodergren:

My favourite feedback is when people talk about my granny’s memoirs at the end of the book.

I get messages from people who’ve lost a grandparent, or someone close, saying that the ending really affected them — that it made them think about someone they’d been trying not to think about. They had this big emotional moment.

When I get messages like that, I’m just like, oh my god. I’m so happy — and also sorry — but it’s wild that you can make someone feel that way with a book where a monster dissolves someone’s cock.

Isn’t it great?

For me personally, that’s my favourite part of the reception to The Haar. It’s my bestseller by a considerable margin. It outsells everything else by miles. But the thing that means the most is that so many people have now read my granny’s memoirs.

Global Reach and Legacy Beyond the Horror

David Sodergren:

Some of this hasn’t even been announced yet, but it’s been translated into Spanish, Italian — although the publisher ripped me off — Vietnamese, German… I think it’s seven languages in total.

My granny’s dead now, obviously, but if she knew that a teenage boy in Vietnam was reading her memoirs, she’d be absolutely thrilled. It would blow her mind.

That’s my favourite part of all of this.

Daniel Willcocks:

I love horror so much.

Reader Questions: Age, Defiance, and Muriel

Daniel Willcocks:

We’ve got a couple of questions from the Waterstones reading club. The first one’s from Cheska, who says:

Aging women are rarely centred in horror unless they’re villains or victims. Was Muriel written as an act of defiance, and how did you go about making her feel real?

David Sodergren:

I’ve never thought of writing as an act of defiance — but actually, that’s a really great point. And in a way, yes.

Some of my favourite books are from people like Graham Masterton, Shaun Hutson, James Herbert — that pulpy, fast-paced, gory stuff from the 70s and 80s. I love it.

But the thing that always made me roll my eyes was the hero: the lantern-jawed, pipe-smoking, tweed-jacket-wearing professor. He’s so boring. So fucking boring.

I never wanted to write that.

Writing Women and Breaking Familiar Patterns

David Sodergren:

I’ve always been comfortable writing women. I’ve spent most of my life around almost nothing but women.

So yeah, writing an older woman felt natural — and it was fun. I like branching out within horror and doing things that keep me interested. Writing an elderly protagonist was a great way to do that.

And making her feel real was just about treating her like I treat all my characters — as a real person. With faults, history, desires.

I based some elements on my granny, but they were very different people. My gran would probably have stepped aside politely if a bulldozer turned up. Making Muriel more of a badass granny was just good fun.

Romance, Genre Labels, and Owning the Story

Daniel Willcocks:

Hannah asks: How do you feel about the book being subcategorised as a romance? Was that intentional?

David Sodergren:

Absolutely. I’m very happy with that.

Horror’s my number one love, but I also adore romance, rom-coms, comedies, action movies, martial arts films — I just love stories.

Romance doesn’t show up very often in horror, and I’m an absolute sucker for sentimental romantic stories. So yeah, I’m very happy for it to be called a romance.

People say, “Hot take — it’s a romance.” That’s not a hot take. Fifty percent of the book is a fucking romance.

Call it whatever you want. To me, it absolutely is a romance.

Quickfire Round Tease

Daniel Willcocks:

Unfortunately, we’re coming up to time, but I’ve got one final section I like to do with all my guests — the quickfire round.

It sounds intimidating. It’s not. Ten questions, fast answers. If you fail, you never come back on the podcast again.

Are you ready?

David Sodergren:

Hit me.

Daniel Willcocks:

Morning writer or night writer?

Quickfire Round

David Sodergren:

Oh — morning, night. I would say morning and night, and watching a film. Literally everything in between. Yeah. Eleven till eleven.

Daniel Willcocks:

Wow. Biscuits or cakes?

David Sodergren:

Biscuits. My God. If we’re counting chocolate chip cookies as biscuits, then yeah — we’ll go with biscuits.

Daniel Willcocks:

I will say, I’ve put a lot of pressure on this, but I’ve had guests previously who’ve turned these into entire answers, so it’s not as hot and precious as I make it sound.

David Sodergren:

I thought you were going to say they stormed off.

Daniel Willcocks:

No — I’ve had five-minute answers to A-or-B questions and it’s delightful.

What’s your favourite non-horror film?

Favourite Film and Cinematic Influence

David Sodergren:

That’s actually an easy one. Bullet in the Head. It’s a Hong Kong film from 1990 by John Woo — who’s probably most famous for Hard Boiled and The Killer.

It’s part of what’s known as the “heroic bloodshed” genre — a term invented in the 90s by a British guy. It refers to Hong Kong action movies, usually about gangsters or triads, that are incredibly emotional. They’re powerful stories about men with very strong ethics and codes of honour, who are also deeply vulnerable. They’re always crying, always looking out for their friends.

I love those stories. I first saw Bullet in the Head in 1994, and it became my favourite film ever. I watched it four times over that weekend. To this day, it’s my favourite film of any genre.

It’s a beautiful story about friendship set during the Vietnam War — around 1967 or 1968. It’s incredible.

It’s out on 4K UHD in America and it’s coming out from Arrow, I think, in about three or four months. Definitely check it out. It will destroy you emotionally.

Daniel Willcocks:

That is some hype — I’ll absolutely be checking that out.

Film Adaptations and Directors

Daniel Willcocks:

If The Haar were adapted into a film, who would you want to direct it?

David Sodergren:

Funny enough, that’s one I’ve not thought about that much — which is odd, because that’s the one we’ve been trying to get made into a film. It’s not happening yet, don’t get excited. It’s difficult.

Some of my other books — like Dead Girl Blues — that would have been Dario Argento or Brian De Palma. But The Haar is tougher.

I think it’d be interesting to go for someone not specifically known for horror. Someone like Emerald Fennell, maybe. I really like the look of her Wuthering Heights that’s coming out — I’ve not seen it yet, so I’ll reserve judgement.

But someone with a strong sense of style and needle drops. Horror’s only part of The Haar, so seeing a non-horror director’s take could be really interesting.

Comfort Choices and Influences

Daniel Willcocks:

Pillow forts or sandcastles?

David Sodergren:

Pillow forts — because then I’m at home.

Daniel Willcocks:

Who’s your favourite author?

David Sodergren:

You.

Daniel Willcocks:

That’s the most boring answer in the world. Can I guess? Stephen King?

David Sodergren:

Yeah!

That’s boring, but in terms of impact on my life, my writing, and my reading — absolutely.

My wildcard answer would be Shaun Hutson. He was the one who made me realise, shit, you can do this — and you can do it in Britain. His book Spawn did that for me.

Pulp, Problematic Classics, and Guilty Pleasures

Daniel Willcocks:

I’ve not read any Shaun Hutson yet, but I’ve collected a few paperbacks from charity shops. My go-to pulp is Richard Laymon. I can tear through those books, even though they’re very similar.

David Sodergren:

Laymon’s a funny one. You can read one and think, this is amazing. Then you read another and it’s absolute garbage. It’s bizarre.

The last one I read, I put down because it got so entrenched in the whole 70s–80s ogling women thing that I thought, it’s a bit much, Richard.

Daniel Willcocks:

That’s honestly one of my favourite things about him. Every character is like a gross teenage boy, and then you realise — oh, he’s just a pervert.

Apocalyptic Scenarios and Staying Home

Daniel Willcocks:

Okay — the world is taken over by mutated zombie snails. They’re just as slow and sticky, but they occasionally groan. Whose house are you hiding in?

David Sodergren:

Honestly? My own.

Movie Collecting and Personal Joys

Daniel Willcocks:

For people listening on audio — check this out on YouTube. David’s behind a wall of films.

David Sodergren:

It’s the one thing I spend money on. All that means for me, doing well in my career, is I can buy a few more Blu-rays every month.

When Vinegar Syndrome, Severin, Arrow, 88 Films — any of them announce releases — I’m like, yep, ordering those.

I don’t drink. I don’t go out. I stay home, watch movies, and write. I’m very boring — but I love movies.

Book Recommendation (With Chaos)

Daniel Willcocks:

One final question. What one book would you recommend above all others — not including your own?

David Sodergren:

That’s horrible.

You know what? I’ll recommend the novelisation of Halloween. I think it’s by Curtis Richards.

It’s not great literature, but it turns Michael Myers into a raging sex pest who gets an erection every time he kills someone. It’s absolutely insane.

It came out right after the first film, before canon existed, before pitchfork-waving fans. It’s pure madness.

It reminds me of Shaun Hutson’s Terminator novelisation, where the Terminator is just called “Terminator” like it’s his name.

“Terminator opened the door.”

Where to Find David Sodergren

Daniel Willcocks:

Perfect. Final question — where can people find you?

David Sodergren:

Instagram and my Patreon.

Patreon’s where you’ll get information way in advance — I actually post there. You also get books two or sometimes three months before release.

Instagram’s the only social media I really use now. I have Facebook — forget it.

David Sodergren:

I don’t have Twitter anymore, or TikTok and stuff. Instagram is the place.

My handle is @paperbacksandpugs — that’s the name of my publishing company. I use it to make myself sound more legit to people who still have a stigma towards independent publishing.

That’s the best place to find me.

I’ll also say — if anyone’s in Scotland, or fancies coming to Scotland — I’ll be at HorrorCon Scotland on April 11th at the Glasgow SEC. I’ll have a table there selling books and stuff.

It’s the one time I actually get to meet readers, and I love it. It’s a great chance to come along, get some signed books. I’ll also have copies of my new book, The Suffering, which won’t officially be out until May, but you’ll be able to pick up advanced paperback copies at the convention.

It’d be really cool to see people there. The last few years have been unbelievably busy — I’ve been absolutely knackered by the end of it — but I always leave on an absolute high because everyone’s been so nice.

It’s just great to meet the people who support me and allow me to do what I do, which is write daft stories for people to enjoy.

Closing

Daniel Willcocks:

Perfect. I’ll put all the links in the show notes.

That is now a wrap. Thank you so much, David, for joining us this week on The Writer’s Chair podcast.

David Sodergren:

Thank you. I had a great time. I’m terrible at interviews generally, but that went okay — so I’ll come back anytime you want me, mate.

Daniel Willcocks:

I’ll hold you to that.

And an especially 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 — why not consider joining 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.

If you’re ready to pull up a virtual chair, head on over to devilsrockbooks.com/podcast for the invite link.

Until next time, my friends — write bravely and dream dark.

Thanks again, David.

David Sodergren:

Thank you. Thanks, everyone.