Cont . . . long as it's got something to say. Using it for its own sake is pointless, like killing, gutting and cooking a chicken without eating it¾you get all the visuals but no taste of what it's really about. As to how horror has changed … well, even in the 6 years since I had my first story published in the small press (in Psychotrope), there's been a definite trend towards more professional, slicker looking productions. Technology is responsible for a lot of this, but I think it's also the editors taking more pride in their work. Editing a small press mag is a thankless task, but thank God those chaps do it! Content-wise, I think we're seeing more intelligent horror hauling itself away from of the slew of pulp produced in the seventies and eighties. A lot of it ends up not being marketed as horror, but that hardly matters. As a genre horror is at its lowest ebb for many years sales-wise, but there are some stunning talents out there, just waiting to lead the resurgence that must surely come. People talk of publishers looking for the next Stephen King, but I'm certain we'll never see his like again. King is still king in my book, but his phenomenal success is unlikely to be repeated.

What's your favourite Tim Lebbon story so far?

If I can include novels in this, it's The Nature of Balance, my novel that's under consideration at the moment. But I guess you mean stuff that's been published already... Mesmer has a permanent place in my heart, for obvious reasons. It was my first book, and although I can now see its faults it did so much to help me along. I had a whale of a time writing it, as well. I suppose the story I'm most pleased with for overall effect is From Bad Flesh (from Faith in the Flesh). I wrote this novella in three days, it fell out fully-formed and I've still no idea where the hell any of it came from. I had no inkling of the plot or the idea when I sat down to start writing something on a Thursday evening, and by Saturday I had this 24,000 word novella staring up at me. I think it manages to convey a big feel in a very personal story, as well. White I'm also very happy with, as I tried to approach the horror element from several different angles. There are the things in the snow, the isolation, the world going mad at a distance, the manifestations … I like to think I succeeded in some small way. Short story-wise, I'm very happy with The Butterfly, a story due to appear next year in 'Judas Street' from Nightshade Books (edited by Steve Savile).

And which success (whether large or small) gave you the most satisfaction?

Well, like your 'favourite story' question above, I can't give you just one answer. My first ever acceptance (First Taste for Peeping Tom) was a blast, it seemed to validate everything I was doing. I can still remember Mesmer being accepted over the 'phone... wow, a novel accepted for publication! I felt drunk for days. Or maybe I was? An even better feeling was when I saw it on the British Fantasy Awards shortlist. The be-all and end-all is, hopefully, yet to come: an acceptance from a major publisher. Who knows...


After MESMER, FAITH IN THE FLESH and WHITE, what's next?

My new novel Hush (written with Gavin Williams) is due out from Razorblade Press next autumn. We're hoping it will be ready for FantasyCon. It's a full-length, action-packed horror, lots of exciting stuff going on, intrigue and paranoia and chaos and apocalypse. What more can you wish for in a novel? I've done some work on a fantasy book called Dusk (The Dead of Night: Book One), and I'm hoping to start a new novel, Face, in the new year. Other than that, I'm writing short stories for several anthologies and working on a couple of anthology proposals (in an editorial capacity). There are lots of exciting things going on.

Finally, how would you like to be remembered?

Hell, another difficult one! Obviously I'd like to leave something behind when I go, and I think all writers achieve that to some extent with everything they publish. I love the idea of someone browsing a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye in a hundred years time, and sandwiched in between the priceless Carrie first edition and the 21^st Century best-seller Tales from the Lewissian Dimensions, a battered and well-thumbed copy of Mesmer is found. 'Garish cover', that person may think, 'but I'll give it a go.' That sends a chill down my spine, the fact that what I'm writing now could be read long after I'm gone. What messages could I send? 'Hello, I know you're there?'. Over and above this¾and to get even more serious¾I'd like to be remembered as a decent Dad. It's an enlightening, exhausting, exhilarating and wonderful experience. I hope I'm good at it. �