Indie Author Spotlight, Episode 35

Hello! Jennifer Martin here! I'm a budding short story writer and a new volunteer at The Writer's Workout as well as a recent graduate. I have learned that breaking into the literary world can be daunting feat and so I am taking every opportunity to meet new and interesting people in the literary community, like today's guest Simon Collinson.

A lover of the strange and unusual, Simon is a writer of gothic literature at first inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and now spends his time working on several ideas at a time. Make sure to check out his website and socials, which are linked below, so you don't miss out on any of his future work. I was very pleased with the opportunity to meet Simon. I know you will be too.

Hi Simon! Thanks so much for meeting with me today. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I suppose the stories were always there but I could never finish any of them. They were fragments that were lost. But two things occurred at about the same time in 2021. I read a book of short stories by Lovecraft and I thought this is similar to the weird stuff that flashes through my head, maybe I should have the courage to put my strange ideas down. I’d always lacked the confidence to do things in life. Then I found out I had cancer. My world collapsed and I thought I could die. I had an operation and in the follow ups I was clear. This I suppose gave me the spark, the mission to write my stories down. You never know when the shadow will call so you’d better get a move on and finish those stories before I am finished.

I wrote my first complete story in 2022, “Nilos”. I knew that I could write many more. Within a year or two it became a new obsession, to write and write. I think that is part of my personality as I’m ND. I joined the All Seasons writing group in 2023 and contributed to their yearly anthologies. I started submitting stories to lit mags in 2024 and have managed to get a few stories and poems published since then.

Tell us about your writing style.

I tend to write short stories, poems and prose poems. These tend to be contemporary Gothic, though some can be humorous. I tend to write whatever comes into my head. I think there’s a lot of horror, but also humour in my head. I like to convert the dread through atmosphere, to get at the mind of the character, to show that the monstrous resides in the everyday mundane and within us all. It's not the far away and exotic  monsters to be afraid of, it's the ones that live next door and those that exist within you, which in a way is far more frightening.

Tell us about a project you’re proud of and link it. 

I am most proud of my poem, “Milgritoel”, published in Blood+Honey in 2025 and my story, “The Strawberry” in Punk Noir.

Spill the tea, what are you currently working on?

I tend to have several projects on the go and write them as they fire into my head. So I'm working on a story about crows. (I see a lot of crows), but also writing about someone called Death Fingers, a disused fairground attraction, an angry bird and leaving Sunset Boulevard. I am due to publish a collection of contemporary gothic poetry later this year called, “Deadlands”.

What is your biggest/best piece of advice for other Indie Authors?

Just write, every day write and write, write as if it were your last.

Who is your favorite Indie Author? 

Sreelekha Chatterjee. I love the way that she weaves a story from the everyday episodes of an ordinary life and makes it magical. I also like the way that she writes about the interaction between humanity and nature.

Where can someone find your work, social presence, etc. drop some links. 

My X account is @simon_coll87859.

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