Paul Truther, also known as Paul Webster, is an American author born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was 10. He was born March 25, 1995 and attended high school at both Mill Creek and Collins Hill High School. He is a poet and a writer in which you can see in his various writing styles in his book Extraordinary Brown Skin From the Dark Side of the Rainbow.
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Questions:
1. Tell our readers a little about yourself and your writing (including publications).
Well obviously, I’m an author but I also write poetry, horror, and I also superhero stuff. I am a very nerdy person, and I love comic books and horror. My favorite movie villain is Freddy Krueger, and my favorite Gothic film is The Crow with Brandon Lee (and the second movie after the original). My favorite scene in The Crow was the guitar solo. I’m a huge Hellboy fan, mainly for the B.P.R.D., and I also love H.P. Lovecraft. I’m into quantum physics, mythology, weird facts, and I’m basically Pandora’s Box so I know just about a little bit of everything. I’m more of a hamburger than a hot dog person, but I dislike tacos. I’m a musician and a huge wrestling fan, with my favorite wrestler currently being Rhea Ripley. I also am an entertainer, and I also have the mouth of a sailor. I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or as I like to call it, the “state of Dahmer,” because I used to live down the street from Jeffrey Dahmer. Oh, and I’m also related to Martin Luthor King Jr. There’s a documentary on my family called Murder in Black and White about a man named Lamar Smith who fought for voting rights and how they solved his case.
2. What writing projects are you currently working on?
I’m working on a dark fiction novel that is not horror related that’s about the Multiverse, and I’m also working on a poetry book as well as the sequel to my Reflections novel that came out last year. My Reflections novel is a four-part novel series, and it is very graphic, very detailed, and it has a lot of explicit content. The novel is also about mirrors. And my Imp King novel, which is is a three-part series, is about monsters. Hopefully this year I can actually get my superhero novel completed because it was supposed to be done last year. My Imp King novel only has one page to go, and then I’m submitting it to Amazon. I I also write poetry, and my recent poetry book is actually almost 400 pages, so that’s almost done. So, in total I really have two books to release this year because the rest are mostly done. I tend to write and type fast and mostly all my books I have outlined and everything a year or two ahead of time.
3. Are you a daytime writer, a mid-day writer, a nighttime writer, or just someone who writes when the mood hits you?
I’m more of a mood writer. But I’ve noticed I am a night owl when it comes to certain things, because that’s when it’s mainly quiet.
4. Do you have a writing “Bucket List” (goals you want to accomplish as a writer)?
Yes! And it is to make a comic book.
5. Who is your favorite author and why?
Dante Alighieri. The divine comedy as a whole is very interesting not just from a religious perspective but from a literature perspective as well. And the illustrators’ illustrations are phenomenal! I fell in love with the whole series when I was 15 as a sophomore. Still irritated they never came out with a sequel to the game that was supposed to be about purgatory. I’m also a huge fan of stories that tell about the main character’s adventure for answers and the ultimate quest. That actually just so happened to be the first story I came across as a book and I loved it. It helped me develop an obsession over every culture’s depiction of the afterlife as well.
6. Who/what first inspired you to write?
For who, it was Wes Craven and also, believe it or not, Alvin Schwartz and his book In a Dark Dark Room. My daycare teacher read it to me and the class when I was in pre-k or 1st grade.
For what, it was Nightmare on Elm Street 2. Specifically, the scene where Freddy Krueger comes through the main character’s stomach and slices his stomach. I saw that when I was nine or ten and then in 5th grade I wrote a short story about a guy that’s a werewolf eating his girlfriend.
7. What are your favorite book genres?
Mainly comics, horror, anything pertaining to mythology, and books that pertain to the dark side of history.
8. What is the worst horror movie you have ever seen?
JEEPERS CREEPERS 3! THAT MOVIE SUCKED! I HATED IT! It didn’t even tell you where he came from! There’s a comic that explains where his origin, but even that butchers it, and it’s better than the movie. Gingerdead Man franchise is better than that garbage. Ladies and gentlemen, yes, there is a horror movie franchise based off the gingerbread man.
9. Do you have any “rules” when you write? (EX for me: the dog never dies!)
No one is off limits and don’t repeat the same trope (depending on the context and story) over and over again.
10. Speaking of animals, do you have any pets?
No, I do not. But somewhere in the multiverse I own a pet wolf. I have a wolf tattoo, and I absolutely love wolves. They’re really friendly. I met one in person once.
11. When you are in a writing funk, how do you find your way out?
I either pray since I’m Christian, but if that doesn’t work, I normally eat and watch cartoons then take a nap as funny as that sounds.
12. What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
Being a writer takes a lot of alone time, research, reading and writing depending on what it is. If you want to write music, my suggestion is to write whenever you have free time and don’t stress over how off beat it is. At least you got it done. Poetry is the same. But, if you’re a novel writer, you have to learn not to be a mood writer and just learn to be consistent no matter what. Learn how to market and don’t ever give a novel that’s finished to ANYONE before publication. Just publish it and let the criticism come afterwards. Also, as long as you like what you wrote, who cares what people think. Don’t back down from what you believe in and never compromise yourself because of people’s feelings.
Eric Woods, Author 