Andrew, congrats on snagging a spot in the anthology. One of the things I loved about Where Dreams Die is how the corruption and the city itself seemed to be a living, breathing thing. It definitely lent the piece that noir vibe. Do you remember the first time you encountered the noir style? How did it affect you as a writer?

Hee-hee thanks it's been an amazing side project and I'm thrilled to be included. Some of these entries have literally blown me away with their unique styles 😝 Oh I'm thrilled that saw it that way. 😊 Ah tricky question my first experience with Noir was when I stumbled into the living room as a child and stared open mouthed at The Evil Dead, my parents were quick to turn off the film but it was too late, I remember sneaking downstairs to watch It on my own at stupid O clock in the morning... Ever since then I have been an avid fan of Neo Noir and Dark Horse Comics Specifically Hell boy and Sin City 😝 I then became crazy about dark narrative / Anti Heroes and found Hell blazer, Preacher, The Punisher, Dead pool, Daredevil etc. etc. etc.

How did it affect me as a writer? Well 'Where Dreams Die' was modelled from a Max Payne, Punisher and Sin City blend. I had those three works deeply in mind when I was writing the story. The whole being thrown out of a 5th story window from the percussive force of grenade was taken directly from Max Payne. The way that Alec improvises and uses whatever he can for a weapon was modelled from The Punisher. And Sin City... well the over the top action, gothic environment and general unsettling vibe from the City of Limbo was modelled from that 😝 But yeah enough rambling... Noir has allowed me to better develop dark, flawed and sometimes, downright insane characters. 😝

I noticed a lot of the chapter titles were also song titles. Was that a purposeful decision? I also love soundtracks. Are there any particular noir films whose soundtracks inspired you?

Yes!!! I'm glad that you noticed that 😝 ALL of my chapters were named from song titles. I can't write a single character of text without being plugged in to music. Even now whilst I'm typing this I have Green Day blasting through my ears. Music is what allows my mind to build scenes etc. etc. In fact, the entirety of the plot of 'Where Dreams Die' came from one song. Green Day – Say Goodbye. It's crazy but I had zero plans for this piece until my mind's eye began to conjure that scene with Alec dispatching the SWAT team with nothing but improved chaos. I'm not really a movie soundtrack guy to be honest, I find the movie adaptions of Noir Comics to how do I say this... Musically Suck Balls. I mean come on look at Suicide Squads Soundtrack! It's all over the damn place. So, no I don't pay much attention to music in films, but my musical taste is eclectic enough to inspire me.

https://youtu.be/aV_ygnRNeI0

Well, we can always just re-watch The Crow, hahaha! Which elements of noir do you find the most satisfying to weave into your stories?

Hmm again this question is hard. For me I personally give more credence to Narrative tone and Dialogue I think if you have those two your character could be the most average Joe in the world and would still be making your readers smile and cringe as he travels on his macabre journey.

Do you see yourself coming back to the noir/hard-boiled style in future works? And speaking of future works, what projects have you got on deck for your readers?

'Where Dreams Die' has a lot more to offer readers, we've barely scratched at the surface of Limbo and already we have stepped through so much blood and stepped over so many nameless corpses. I think I would very much like to continue Alec's tale but I think I will play this one smart. I'm going to wait and see if this tale has an audience/ if there's a demand before I continue expanding. So plainly spoken will I come back to Noir? Probably, but as any writer should know we must select our projects carefully. Projects? Well with Gast at the conclusion stages of the tale I will soon find myself with a lot of free time to work on other projects. I will be 100% coming back to The Dying Of the Light, previously known as Dying Embers. I'm determined to finish that project next but I will be picking up a few others. I'd like to keep them close to my chest at this moment though mainly because I'm still trying to decide what my second project should be 😝

I'm sure whatever project you choose will be stick with the blood-letting. Thanks for taking a chance and putting up an entry to join our anthology!

Check out more of @MrCrowley667 's terrifying tales, including Gast