Today’s episode features a short story read by the author, Robert E. Stahl.
Hungry Waters was originally published as the winner in the November (Halloween) 2024 issue of Flame Tree’s Flash Fiction Newsletter Contest
Robert E. Stahl recently released his first collection of short stories!
We chat about the publishing process, the world of short (and long) story writing, horror movies, and meander down other ghoulish paths of creation.
Learn how he made an award-winning short horror film, “Trick” for $2000!
You can even watch it free, here.
I provide most of my insights and interviews for free, but there are goodies for those who join a paid tier.
Put on your swimsuit, and grab a tin foil hat. We’re going swimming in some dangerous waters.
An interview with Robert E. Stahl
Horror author and movie producer
AF: You're a full-time writer?
RES: Oh, literally, like all day long.
AF: That's hilarious. You must really love writing to then sit down and spend your extra hours back at the keyboard.
RES: Oh, must I? Yes, I do. Sometimes the challenge is after a full day at work to find that urge to come home and do more writing. But that is why I'm here. I think that's why God put me on Earth is to write. So it's a blessing that I have that problem.
AF: “Hungry Waters” won the Flame Tree flash fiction prompt, didn't it?
RES: It did win. I submitted that for an open call that was called Monsters and Masquerade. It’s about a killer wave pool that's actually an alien in disguise and it's eating people. So yeah, I was happy to have that one picked up by Flame Tree. Super excited. That was my second win. Back-to-back in two months with Flame Tree. Which is an anomaly that I think rarely happens. And I've sent stories into Flame Tree since then and have not had them picked up. So my streak is officially over.
AF: So let's talk about your collection. What made you choose a more traditional route versus indie?
RES: Probably ever since I was a kid, I wanted to connect with a publisher. That was the white whale I'd built in my head of what I wanted for myself. I think a publisher can also give you a little gravitas when it comes to marketing—a little extra boost. They’re also a source that vets the stories. So they're curated.
AF: So let’s talk about the incredibly visceral art you chose – or they chose – for it.
RES: That is all me, girlfriend.
AF: You have lovely teeth, and those teeth are pretty horrific.
RES: You have to read the collection to understand why I chose teeth for the cover, but I was looking at some of the covers that JournalStone has done in the past. They do a great job with covers, but I wanted something a little different—something that would stand out, just being simple, a graphic and scary. So I landed on this idea of the teeth.
AF: Have there been many pre-orders or how are sales so far?
RES: I'm trying not to look at sales so far. It's only been on sale for about 10 days. So I'm trying not to just bog myself down with all that stuff. I'll check eventually, but right now I'm not really worried about it.
AF: Let's talk about the movie making... tell me how that happened.
RES: Sure. So I'd always been interested in filmmaking and I love movies and I love to write. About five years ago I started playing around with screenplays—just turning some of my own stories into screenplays just to see what it felt like. And then I got wind of a local film competition. It's in Dallas and for beginners. So, basically it's a competition where they give you a certain amount of time to make a movie. For example, three months. A short film that’s less than 10 minutes. So I started networking with some people that I met there, and all of a sudden I had a script. Then I had a director and a team. So the group of us just busted our butts. And in three months came up with a short film called Trick. We entered the competition, and to everyone's surprise, including mine—we won first place.
AF: What sort of budget do you look at to make these kinds of movies?
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