I’m all about finding new ways to shine the light on my fellow authors. Over the last week, I came up with a fun new piece that I will try to run on a weekly basis. It’s called, Five Tens of a Wicked Mind. I’ll send a writing bud five questions/topics/whatevers and they’ll reply with ten answers/responses. Pretty simple. Could be pretty fun. Let’s find out.

 

 

My first participant is an author who is insanely prolific and constantly working.  She’s the author of multiple published novels, novellas, and short stories, and the Young Adult series, The Darla Decker Diaries. Her name is Jessica McHugh.

1. Movies that you love to watch that a lot of people you know don’t seem to like

1. Very Bad Things
2. Mary Reilly
3. Species
4. Follow That Bird
5. The Mists of Avalon
6. Alexander
7. Antichrist
8. The Tommyknockers
9. Con-Air
10. Striptease

2. Things to do in winter

1. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
2. Eat way too much
3. Drink stouts and porters
4. Indulge in red wine and gluhwein
5. Have sex in a room lit only by twinkle lights
6. Eat cookies non-stop
7. Outline summer novels
8. Hike through the snow to get beer
9. Invent new crockpot dishes
10. Fall asleep at 7:30pm

3. Favorite singers (any genre)

1. Simon & Garfunkel
2. Keller Williams
3. David Bowie
4. Miley Cyrus
5. Carly Simon
6. Pat Benatar
7. Emmy Rossum
8. Florence Welch
9. Freddie Mercury
10. Pink

4. Writers that people should be reading (but probably aren’t yet)

1. Max Booth III
2. Ellie Di Julio
3. Roald Dahl (adult short stories)
4. Jack Gantos
5. Edward J. McFadden III
6. Red Tash
7. John Edward Lawson
8. Stephanie Wytovich
9. Tim Waggoner
10. Lucy Snyder

5. Favorite tricks to kick start your writing juices

1. Go to a bar/restaurant
2. Watch The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, or a comparable anthology series
3. Have sex
4. Drink beer, wine, or a rum-n-cokey
5. Take a walk
6. Watch a historical drama
7. Read the last few pages aloud…with gusto!
8. Do yoga, or play Just Dance
9. Read short stories
10. Start writing, and see what happens

 

I asked Jessica which of her novels was the most nightmare-inducing out there right now: 

“Ooh, that’s tough. I have to admit, writing certain parts of my novel, PINS (Post Mortem Press, 2012), really freaked me out. I had horrible nightmares while writing the end–about the content, and about what people might think of me for writing something so gross.”

Telemarketing is a drag, and serving jobs are exhausting. Luckily, strip clubs are always looking for new blood. Eva “Birdie” Finch is fed up with the slim pickings in local employment, and the gentlemen’s club/bowling alley called Pins seems to be the only option left. But learning how to strip for strangers isn’t Birdie’s only obstacle, especially when fellow dancers start turning up dead. From Jessica McHugh, author of the steampunk adventure The Sky: The World and the bestselling psychological thriller Rabbits in the Garden, PINS is a post-modern coming of age thriller certain to titillate as much as terrify with a candid look at a dancer trying to find herself on a blood-drenched stage.

… fans of horror, pulp, hard crime, depictions of very beautiful young women, hot dialogue and fast, pulpy tales won’t be disappointed!”
– Mark Barry, Green Wizard Publishing, UK

“PINS is a great novel, well written, well paced and absorbing. The writing is very visual and descriptive leaving no confusion as to what is happening…. I could almost smell the blood at times! I loved Birdie’s voice, her sarcasm and humour made her character real and I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a gritty read.”
– Lindsay and Jane’s Views and Reviews

“The dialogue crackles and the drug use is plentiful but this isn’t a whitewashed fairy tale, it’s a gritty story of a young woman seeking peace. PINS works equally as a coming of age, finding your way novel and as a horror. Yes it is that good.”
– Jason Downes, author of Pony Fleming and The Barn

“McHugh wonderfully balances good writing with humor and an easy-to-read rhythm that keeps her audience turning pages until the sun is up.”
– Kira McFadden, Novel Publicity

What can we expect form the “Mchughniverse” in 2015?

“Next year is going to be wacky. I have a few short pieces coming out in the “Book 38 Horror Anthology” and “Choose Wisely: 35 Women Up to No Good,” but I think it’ll mostly be a year for novels. Evolved Publishing is releasing the third (and maybe fourth) book in my edgy YA series “The Darla Decker Diaries,” and BookTrope will be publishing my historical fiction novel, “Verses of Villainy.” There are also a few projects I can’t mention right now, but rest assured, they’re going to be rad. 2015 is going to be a heap of exhausting fun.”

Check her out, folks:

Jessica’s Blog/Website

Jessica’s Amazon Page