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With issue 12 of our horror zine series Knock Knock, we’re coming up to the 3rd year anniversary of creating horror zines. to celebrate we thought we’d do a weekly creators spotlight with some of our zine regulars. For our first week we thought it fitting to feature Kevin T. Rogers, the only contributor who has been in every issue of Knock Knock to the date of this article.
Kevin’s darkly humoured stories are always a pleasure to receive. His work strikes the balance of horror and humour perfectly and there is always a clever surprise at the end.
Kevin has recently had his screenplay Once Bitten adapted into a short film currently touring various film festivals around the world.

Below we have an interview with Kevin, exploring his writing habits and influences.

How did you first get into writing? 

 I was given a copy of Richmal Crompton’s Just William, for my fifth birthday & reading it was so fantastic, that I wanted to know how it was done! How did people actually write such enthralling and entertaining stuff? And I’ve been trying to find out ever since! 

Are there any creators who influence your work and how?

Too many to get anywhere near naming all of them – and from all sorts of different genres and fields. But sticking to Horror/Fantasy/ Sci-fi, I’d have to mention the specifically Gothic writers of the nineteenth century – from Mary Shelley (and Jane Austen’s satire, Northanger Abbey) through to the fin-de-siècle masterpieces by Stoker, Stevenson, Wilde. Plus of course the ‘three weird sisters’, the Brontes, with particular attention to Emily (novel & selected poems.) And a whole host of others of the period who were fellow travellers or dabblers – like Poe, Conan Doyle, H.G.Wells, Dickens, etc. 

In terms of 20th/21st Century work, I tend – though by no means exclusively – towards performance media – particularly screen. I’ll watch – and enjoy – almost anything from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s, to all of the post-war ‘biggies’ – Carpenter, Cronenberg, Craven, Romero – and lots more in between.

      I suppose the influence of all of the above, manifests itself in my interest in what I guess are general things like structure, humour, characterisation – and overall great storytelling. Whether I’m a competent student of their example though, is another matter entirely!

Do you have a favourite piece of horror media?

Not really – just anything that I think is great in whatever form it takes.

Do you have any projects coming up? 

I’m always trying to work on something or other – some of which might see the light of day, most probably won’t. But practice is never wasted. I’m currently revising my comic/Fantasy e-book, Carol Starr & The Dump of Discarded Charactersand thinking about a possible follow-up.

You’re the writer of the award-winning short film ‘Once Bitten’, how different is it writing for film compared to short stories?

Well, for me, there is a certain amount of cross-over – most specifically, efficient three-act-structure, getting the characterisation right, and hopefully a story that  draws the audience in.Then with a finished script it’s over to the director – in the case of Once Bitten . . . , Pete Tomkies of Punk Duck who is brilliant! Pete also assembled a fantastic cast – Lauren Ashley Carter, Garth Maunders & Sir Dickie Benson, and an award-nominated-and-winning crew. So I was incredibly lucky with that script. With short stories, I suppose I work more as writer and director.

Which medium is your favourite? 

Whichever of my work that is liked and has any success!

What scares you the most? 

EVERYTHING – I’m the most phobic person you could ever meet! But especially politicians – they actually think they’re doing us a favour. In terms of horror fiction, though – I’ve been terrified both by film and the written word equally.

What’s your favourite story that you’ve submitted to Knock Knock? 

I have a certain soft spot for, A TASTE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE – because there’s a sort of extra, almost hidden, twist-in-the-tail that comes after the main one. The trick is in the switching from third-person to first in the very last line!

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You can check out Kevin’s Ebook, Carol Starr and the Dump of Discarded Characters on Amazon UK. You can also read all of Kevin’s previous stories in our zine archive here.

Kevin can be contacted here: kevint.rogers@virginmedia.com