A visual brain is a crucial asset to the writing process. Many authors love other fields of creativity, such as art and film, because that visualization is hardwired into them. Joshua Radburn is one author who takes visuals very seriously. As a result, he was able to turn his short film series into his horror novel, Shells. Below is my interview with Radburn where he discusses his writing process, inspiration, and hopes for his writing career.
About Joshua Radburn and Shells
Genre: Horror Noir
Author Links (links will open in a new tab)
Book summary
Shells, set in 1971 London, follows the story of Joe, a grumbling cockney detective tasked with recapturing a prolific mass murderer who—quite incomprehensibly—has escaped from police custody. Haunted by the death of his partner a year prior and unwilling to let old vendettas die, Joe brings his past with him, muddying a case that veers into the ostensibly supernatural. At its core, Shells is a love letter to three iconic cinematic topics: Film Noir, Shocking Cinema/Video Nasties, and the Nouvelle Vague.
Book excerpt
‘This is big…’ Jones repeated.
‘Come on. Just another sick fuck.’
‘Yeah, right. Let’s get it over with.’
They took the plunge.
The door swung open by the grace of its own weight. It felt like they had entered a gaping cavern, one that might collapse at any moment. In reality, it was a box room, no larger than ten by ten feet, and the monster they expected to meet had been replaced with a man sat motionless at a table. His head hung forwards under a sharp spotlight above, which drenched his sloped shoulders but shrouded his face. His hair was long and reaching, wet and tickling the table with its fractured ends. Below them, the man’s fingers rested on the surface, flexed but frozen, elbows hanging off the wooden edge, which meant gravity robbed his knuckles of colour; they were cracked open, ready to bleed.
The detective constables sat down opposite and shuffled their folders like A4 sized decks of cards, for no reason beyond hoping old age might take them before they had to say anything. Then, an inordinate amount of time was spent clearing their throats. Since hearing the door click behind them, the will to speak had fluttered out of their mouths and left a feathery dryness. All focus was on the detainee’s heavy inhales. His breaths were slow and far away, like some great subdued beast of the stars—subdued, like a mouse leading a lion by leash.
‘Charlie Blue,’ Williams said, expecting a line of questioning to roll off his tongue. It didn’t. Charlie Blue reacted like stone.
Review excerpts
“Events take Joe from one dark place to another, reaching a deafening crescendo.” – Horrified Magazine“A beautiful tribute to classic horror and mystery that stands solidly on its own merits and foundations.” – Horror Fuel“Perfectly paced despite its length, imbued with a superb sense of atmosphere that draws the reader into the murky depths of 1970s London and its criminal underbelly, and littered with cinematic and highly memorable action sequences, Shells is an absolute masterpiece of modern Noir fiction.” – The Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviewer
Talking Shop
Name a fact or detail about your story that readers will never know is there.
Because Shells is based on the merged diegesis of three short college films, almost all of the characters have existed before in some form or another (and I’m sure if you’re a masochist, you can find those films looming in the dark corners of the internet somewhere!)
In Shells’ first chapter, for example, we meet two gangsters, one of which I played in our short films! Funnily enough, the other gangster was played by one of Shells’ BETA readers, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to picture his face when he reached the end of the book and came across our two A-level Film Studies teachers brought to life! The third mastermind behind those college films gets to die a rather brutal death, which I’m sure he’ll be thrilled about.
It was really fun reviving these characters and developing them as far as they needed to go. In fact, every character you come across in the novel is either based on one that already existed or is named after somebody who worked on or acted in those three college films. I hope a few of them pick the book up and get to see themselves immortalized.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
Shells has gone though many iterations. First, it was three short films. Then, those three stories became a single 3-4 hour long screenplay. Several years later, after feeling a bit more confident in my writing ability, I transferred the story over to the more appropriate novel format. All in all, we’re looking at about eleven years since me and my college buddies started jotting down ideas for our first short film, Shell, the film noir that became the spine of the story in its current form.
If you don’t make a living exclusively writing, what is your day job? How, in any way, does it relate to your life as a writer?
Since leaving university—which was much like jumping out of plane and hoping I catch a parachute at some point before I splat on the ground—I’ve had a lot of jobs. Collecting money for charity, cinema attendant, photo technician, graphic designer, art and design teacher, personal trainer… Basically, I’ve been flailing around desperately, searching for a job that gives me enough time to write!
It’s been… tough. But it’s not like the journey has been a wasted one. I’m grateful that I don’t have to pay someone to design book covers, or format print interiors or ebook files, because my history lends itself really well to those disciplines. After all, I’m working on a budget. A very small budget. That doesn’t exist.
Currently, as a personal trainer, I’m in charge of my schedule, which I’m incredibly grateful for. Because although I only get an hour or two a day, that’s time I know I can commit to writing.
How well do you handle criticism, either while writing, editing, or reviews? Do you ever use that criticism to change your story?
One of my old photography tutors used to throw our work on the floor if he didn’t like it, so I think that kind of experience hardened me to criticism. I’ve always been involved in art and design, and I’ve always collaborated with people, so being criticized is just a part of life. An essential part. If you don’t have a thick skin, or if you’re not pliable or receptive, you’re not going to improve.
And sure, I still get anxious when my phone pings and I see an email from a BETA reader. Who wouldn’t? But at the end of the day, if you’re surrounded by people you trust, where can you go wrong? It’s not like you’re beholden to their criticisms either. Sometimes you simply might just not agree with them – and that’s okay! Unless an issue props up for a majority of your BETA readers, then sometimes it’s okay to stick to your guns.
Once I realized I could be malleable, that I could take the good feedback and leave the bad, then the process becomes much more of a collaboration, and much easier to traverse and implement effectively.
What is the most fun part about writing? The most difficult?
Can I say finishing? Finishing. Nothing beats the euphoria of shutting the laptop lid after you’ve completed that last chapter. Particularly of the first draft, because after that, it’s pure drudgery to get the book up to publication standard.
Equally, there’s no greater thrill than sitting down at the very start of a fresh project and hashing out the bare bone acts and chapters of a story. The beginning is a very innocent time, when you feel like nothing can go wrong. Shockingly, the story always seems so perfect in vague, bullet point form.
The only downside with that is losing focus on the projects you’re still deep in the trenches with. I find what helps a lot is being able to design covers and miscellaneous marketing stuff. Anything visual. It’s a fun and relaxing way to preview and keep the end result in mind.
“What If” Scenarios
Your favorite character that you’ve written comes to life for one day. What do you do together for 24 hours?
My favourite character, Charlie Blue, probably wouldn’t be the kind of person you’d want to hang around with for 24hrs. I very much doubt I’d survive the day. He seems to be very much into destroying whatever is in his path, but maybe I could last a few hours by taking advantage of the layers that exist under that seemingly soulless mask. That’s as much as I’ll get into without spoiling the book, although I will say, when he kills me, I hope my death is a fairly inventive one.
You are transported into your book for one day. What role do you play? How do you alter the events of the story?
I’d hopefully be a background character who stays well out of the way of the main events of Shells. I just think that’d be the safest option. These are extraordinary circumstances, which is the reason we write stories, after all. In Shells’ case, they’re also dangerous circumstances, and I can’t picture one scene or event I’d really enjoy being a part of. I’m a fair-weather kind of guy. Wouldn’t mind hanging out in the Live and Let Live pub for a night with a glass of unlabelled wine, I suppose. Seems cosy.
Your book becomes a best seller. What do you do next?
I leave my job and write full time of course! I think I’ve spent way too much trying to create a life where work doesn’t have to feel like work just to quit and live off the immense riches of my bestseller. I’ve got more stories in mind than I’ve got years on this earth, so I’m going to keep busy! Personally, I’d love to get into screenwriting too. If my bestselling author clout would allow me, I’d want to dive into far more established franchises and play around in those worlds for a decade or so.
You have the means to hire a full time assistant to help you with your writing. What tasks do you give them to do?
Marketing is probably one of the most important tenets of self-publishing. Being able to sell yourself and get the word out is essential! It’s also what I find the most daunting and have the least experience in. If I had someone to help in that regard so I could focus on writing and designing, I think all my life troubles would be over. I’ve tried to convince my wife to take on this role because she’d be amazing at it. Sadly, the request has not been met favourably. Yet…
What famous artist or photographer would you want to create or capture your book cover image?
I don’t like the idea of anyone but me putting together my book covers. I’m just far too protective over that pillar of my life. However, if I had to choose someone else to create the cover for Shells, I’d bring Brassaï back from the dead and ask him. When I was an Art Technician, I ordered a book of his photographs for the students and fell in love with his work. Henry Miller described him as “The Living Eye” and I’m inclined to agree. He can just see, you know? He seemed to naturally seek out and capture stark lighting contrasts that told these gritty, real stories in a single frame.
All that said, I’m happy with the current cover. The mask itself was a sculpture I made a decade ago, and the figure of the lead character, Joe, being overwhelmed beneath it, is actually a manipulated frame from one of the most iconic films noirs in history, The Big Combo.
I am worried about my next project though, which may or may not follow a big red jolly fellow with a sleigh. To my own discredit, I’ve neglected my drawing hand for a couple years now so I might be inclined to seek out the services of the likes of Justin Gerard in the future. For me, no one living expresses an all-encompassing fantasy scene quite like him.
Just for Fun
Your trademark feature.
‘Hey, you cut your hair! Looks good.’
‘Thanks! Who are you?’
I’ve had this conversation a lot over the years. Having blonde hair is hardly a unique trait, and yet it seems to be the one that sticks in peoples’ minds. I only get it cut once or twice a year, so left to its own devices, I suppose it can become quite distinct, or perhaps “crazy” might be a more accurate description. I’m happy to report I’ve passed this trait onto my daughter.
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
I always fret about questions like this, because it’s difficult to sound modest. But hey, at the end of the day, I think there’s something intrinsically human about leaving your own mark in your own way – even if that means not leaving one at all. When it comes to legacy, I hope mine is one of artistic integrity. I am more than happy to receive advice and feedback so long as makes the work better. What I care very little for, is advice that will solely make it sell better.
You hear so many horror stories much scarier than mine about movies or books being butchered by studio/publisher interference. Nothing makes me shudder more.
That said, I’m surprisingly open to the idea of moving onto traditional publishing one day, knowing that the three genres I tend to hop between (horror, sci-fi, and fantasy) have a fairly strong audience crossover.
Favorite time of/part of your day.
I love my daughter more than life itself, but when she goes to bed in the evening, and I’ve got about an hour to myself whilst my wife puts her down and then goes to make dinner (I swear I help out in other areas!), I turn to a ball goop. A horizontal as you can get.
You tell yourself you’re going to write or do something productive, but honestly, I just sit and watch Youtube videos, snacking on whatever dinner my daughter left over.
Favorite place you’ve visited/place you want to visit.
I hate travelling with every fibre of my being! In my opinion, there’s no place on earth worth the pain that it takes to get there, especially via plane. My ideal holiday would be staying at home, alone, playing video games.
With that said, Amsterdam is… pretty nice. I have Dutch blood in my veins, and something about that city and area feels like home. And whilst it would be difficult for me as a bit of a lazy recluse, if the opportunity ever came about, I wouldn’t mind packing up my bags (with my family) and starting again there.
Life hasn’t been easy this past decade or so, and there’s nothing really tying me to our beloved Isle here with how easy it would be for friends and loved ones to visit us. Maybe with my hypothetical bestseller money, I’ll be able to make the jump and fly them all out!
Food you’d like to win a lifetime supply of.
I’m a personal trainer by day, and as such, I work out a lot. I also hate everything to do with cooking and nutrition (I built up some terrible eating habits and relationships at university… Tuna Smoothie anyone??). I’d probably be really boring and practical with this magical power of eternal sustenance and get a lifetime supply of protein powder. Whatever I can do to get down the right amount of protein with the least amount of effort possible.
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