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We chat with author Glenn Rolfe about his new novel, August’s Eyes [Flame Tree Press, August 17, 2021]!
We have already reviewed your novel from 2020, Until summer arrives [Flame Tree Press, May 2020], and were too excited to get our claws on a first copy of your most recent, August eyes. The two books are very different: one is a coming-of-age horror / love story of vampires, and the other a more adult tale reminiscent of the terrors of childhood. Can you tell us more about how you view these two books and how the concept of coming of age plays out in both stories?
It was largely unintentional, but certainly something I heard from readers. In Summer, there was certainly a coming of age aspect, but I think it was more subtle in August and motivated both by the experiences of my own life and by the characters themselves as they began to grow and take shape on the page. For example, in August eyes, Patrick’s character is kind of a pivot as he grows and develops throughout the story, inspired, ironically, by my reading Magnolia’s story by Chip and Joanna Gaines, then influenced by the stories I heard about disadvantaged young people overcoming the hard knocks they took. You could argue that the book’s main character, John, although an adult, also has a “coming of age†arc in the story, as he faces a long-buried childhood trauma.
Ultimately, looking back, I see a lot of my own experiences – and a lot of my own catharsis – creeping into the story, but I think that’s part of the job of a writer: to smear your own guts. on the page and be honest with his art.
Horror readers might be surprised to find “Easter egg” references from other writers in the genre, for example Gwendolyn Kiste and Todd Keisling. It is common for writers to appoint other writers. How did you choose the other authors to include in your story?
Again, it’s about bringing the staff into the story and repaying the impact that some of these writers and their work had in their life. I read that of Gwendolyn Kiste Rust maidens and rushed outside and bought an album referenced in his book. I’m not even sure Todd knows I mentioned it, but he’s a good friend and I loved making some sort of obscure reference to his book, Devil’s Creek.
Serial killers terrorize alongside curses August eyes, making this book so much horror, real crime, and even sprinkled with a little folklore. How did you come up with this combination?
Three words: SHOCKER by Wes Craven, who was such an inspiration when I started the original draft of the story that would become August eyes. John de Graveyard Land’s dream of opposing the real world, and how to make the two work together, began when I first posed this idea in 2014. I put the original concept aside and let it simmer until 2019 until I really understand how to put the ideas together while enjoying the recent wave of real crime / serial killer documentaries. I wanted a story that involved a warped and tainted mind that could coexist with our reality, but it was in the twisted motivations of the real-world serial killers that I found the glue to combine the two pieces.
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Okay, tell me the truth: nightmares while writing John’s story?
No, I have enough of my own nightmares to experience John too. But I certainly found inspiration for John’s nightmares in unexpected places. In fact, my son was instrumental in this – the spiders that sprang out of John’s dream journal were the product of his imagination.
What can we expect to see next from Glenn Rolfe?
My third collection of short stories, NOCTURNAL PURSUITS, comes out November 30, followed by my short story, SOMETHING IN THE GROOVE, which comes out January 11 (both via Silver Shamrock Publishing). Beyond that, there are far too many projects to mention. I have plenty in store for the next two years. Stay tuned!
