For many people, the chill of icy fingers crawling down the spine as horror clenches their heart is a thrill. To some it is a fancy, a momentary buzz and then it is gone. To others, horror is an obsession, a draw that is penetrating and arresting. This is where horror connoisseurs are born and Tim Lebbon successfully feeds that insatiable hunger for terror. With a style that the New York Times likens to The Twilight Zone stories in its irony and eerie way of creating a mood through his words, Lebbon creates vivid, horrifying images with his words.

Lebbon’s fans are drawn to his high brow style of intellectual horror and the way that he spins a tale that causes them to question their own beliefs. In his own words, Lebbon sums up his style of writing as “dark fiction to make you think, not vomit.” His fans respond to that and are attracted to his ability to cause his readers to wonder “what if?” as they realize that what happens to the characters in his stories could happen to them in the world beyond the pages – the real world. But what really makes Tim Lebbon tick?

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In the early days of his career, Lebbon sold (He refers to it as “placed” because he rarely got paid) about forty stories to various British small press magazines. He cites that experience as a vital learning process due to the editorial input that he received from the indie editors. That was a time that was highly productive in shaping his craft and skill.

Lebbon manages to pack tension, suspense and nightmarish surreality within the pages of his books. Whether the antagonist is human or supernatural, there is still the element of realism where fiction overlaps reality. Inside the pages of his worlds is no safe place for the reader to hide. You can not shield your eyes from the horrors because the words will not allow it. They engage and wind the reader into a web that mixes reality with nightmares. He plays upon the primal fear of the unknown, what can not be seen, what lurks just out of your range of vision then disappears when gazed upon directly.

Tim Lebbon’s love affair with the macabre began when he was a youngster in grade school, perhaps it is just a part of his psyche, born into him like any other aspect of his personality. The first story that he recalls writing was about a group of people who hijacked a train for ransom and contained many elements of blood and gore. He was nine years old at the time. His talent for the horrifying and terror were displayed early and as he grew up, he shared that talent with others, developing a loyal readership that thrived on his war stories, crime stories, horror and dark fantasy. He tells his own story as if writing was just a part of him. He loved books and had an “urge” to write, even from a young age.

Born in London in 1969, Lebbon has lived in the UK his entire life. As his works are discovered by American audiences, the UK influence is evident with a more highbrow horror and a closer connection to the characters than is seen in the U.S. Where the U.S. tends to focus on the blood and gore with little depth to the characters except for when they are attacked and killed, stories and movies from the UK tend to have more of a psychological and emotional connection to the characters. His novel, White has been adapted for film by screenwriter Stephen Susco and will be made into a movie. His novelisation of the hit movie, 30 Days of Night, is yet another testament to his talent.

Lebbon has made the jump from writing novels and stories to writing screenplays. He finds the transition very exciting and stimulating. He has written original screenplays and screenplays for several of his novels.

Lebbon did not embark on a full time writing career until 2006, but he reports that it is going well. In the States, his brand of horror is a refreshing change from the typical gratuitous blood and guts. He treats his audience like a thinking, imaginative people – and they seem to like that. To aspiring writers, Tim Lebbon imparts this advice, “Write what you need to write. Some ideas are plainly short story ideas, some are novels…They’re different disciplines, but a story will find its own length. Don’t force it. And don’t hack it down.” Good advice from a writer’s soul.