Genre & Character

Joshua Skye

 

I’ve dabbled in many genres: erotica, drama, science fiction, fantasy, and my one-true passion – horror. I find I enjoy the writing process most when I blur the lines of genre, mix them up, and give a new bloody heart to them. Over the years it took to write The Angels of Autumn, I found a kind of giddy elation in twisting elements, weaving a story of murder, revenge, small town bigotries, and horror with a budding gay romance. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but Sirens Call Publications saw the potential and published it. I remain very grateful. The slow yet steady responses from readers have been very encouraging. People definitely seem to be getting it and understanding my perspective as a writer.

I love to write hardcore horror stories inspired by the foreign genre movies of the late seventies and eighties, but with contemporary themes. My protagonists tend to be LGBT. I’ve gotten great feedback for a transgendered character I created that wasn’t hindered by any stereotypical trope. She was emotionally complicated, brimming with confidence one moment and then uncomfortable the next, independent and commanding but tempted endlessly by the false boost of alcohol. She was profoundly feminine, yet sexually forceful. She was a vivid and complex character.

I wanted Radley in Cradle to be similarly drawn, not a stereotype, but a broken soul plunged into the depths of darkness by the loss of his partner. There is beauty in melancholy, and an intimate intricacy in the horror of it. I expose Radley in all his flawed glory and detail his misery with unflinching honesty. His story is not just about his emotional turmoil, but also about the gruesome fiend that haunts his house, one spoken of in whispers around town. And then there is Scotty, another broken soul but one twisted by abuse and neglect. He’s fascinated by the legendary ghoul in Radley’s house, a fascination that haunts him as much as the phantom haunts Radley. The two worlds will converge in shocking ways.

I strive to be different, and Cradle is definitely an unusual creation I’m very proud of. It doesn’t play by any rules and is unapologetic in its depictions of horror, sadness, and familial disregard. I pull no punches. I hope people will love the tragic beauty of it and appreciate the disturbing nature of it. I can’t wait to hear what readers think.

 

Cradle

Joshua Skye

 

In the deepest vale of Crepuscule’s Cradle, in the cul-de-sac at the end of Direful Hollow Road, is a once grand Folk-Victorian home known as The Habersham House. It’s a place haunted by far more than rot and neglect – evil dwells here, an evil that craves children.

Eight-year-old Scott Michaels-Greene has a fascination for tales of the strange and unusual, especially local folklore. His favorite story is the one about Habersham House; a ruined old place where many curious children have disappeared.

Hours away from Crepuscule’s Cradle, in Philadelphia, author Radley Barrette has just lost the love of his life to a random act of violence. Amongst his endowments from Danny’s estate is an old house in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, Habersham House. Though grief stricken at leaving behind the only home he and Danny had ever known, he knows he cannot remain in the city. Besides, the isolation may be just what he needs to clear his mind of the writer’s block he’s suffering from.

Crepuscule’s Cradle is not as he imagined. The locals are inhospitable. The skeletal forest surrounding it is as unwelcoming as the town. And the house itself – there is something menacing, something angry inhabiting it with him, and it’s hungry. Radley’s world slowly begins to unravel; the fringes of his reality begin to fray. In the midst of his breakdown, a local boy with an unhealthy fascination for Habersham House begins sneaking around and the evil residing within has taken notice.

Blending fantasy with horror, Crepuscule’s Cradle is the darkest of fairy tales. The morbidity of classic folklore and contemporary style weaves a web of slowly encroaching unease. Radley Barrette’ winter bound home is more than a haunted house, and Crepuscule’s Cradle is more than a mere horror tale. It’s a bedtime story that will pull you into its icy embrace, lull you into a disquiet state, and leave you shivering in the dark.

 

Cradle is available online at:

 

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About the Author – Award winning, bestselling author Joshua Skye was born in Jamestown, New York. Growing up, he split his time between Pennsylvania and Texas. Ultimately he settled in the DFW area with his partner, Ray – of nearly two decades, and their son Syrian. They share their lives with two dogs, Gizmo and Gypsy, and a chinchilla named Bella. Skye’s short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies including Childhood Nightmares: Under the Bed, and periodicals such as The Sirens Call. He is the author of over ten critically acclaimed novels, among them The Angels of Autumn that takes place in the same nightmarish universe as Cradle.