#BadMoonRising SurReality by Matt Doyle #horror #paranormal #shortread

On By Teri PolenIn Bad Moon Rising

Today’s author is certainly no stranger to BMR having appeared here numerous years, and possibly from the start. If you’re a sci-fi/thriller fan, I highly recommend their Cassie Tam Files series, and if you’re looking for a quick read to put you in the Halloween mood, check out today’s featured book. Visiting a haunted house or haunted graveyard? Not even a challenge. Matt is debuting as an actor in a haunted fort this Halloween. Welcome Matt Doyle!

Would you rather visit a haunted house or a haunted graveyard?

I could go one better: a haunted fort. See, the fort near my house is a well-known haunted spot. Which is why they do Halloween tours there every year. I’m actually debuting as a scar actor there this year. The cool thing with it is that it’s the longest running tour in Europe at almost 40 years now, and a few of the staff have been there since the beginning. Will something legitimately ghostly happen during the tour? I kinda hope so!

Have you ever said Bloody Mary three times in front of a mirror?

Yup! Alas, it didn’t work. It was a big thing when I was a kid though, and I think it was an introduction to creepy rituals for a lot of people who were kids around the same time as me. When my own kids came home with the same thing too, it did make me a smile a little. Bloody Mary seems to have some real longevity as spooky tales go.

Do you believe in any ‘mythical’ monsters like chupacabras or shadow people?

So, this always makes me happy as a question, because I have an interest in cryptozoology. The way I see it, there are three possible types of people who say they’ve seen monsters like this. The first is the person that makes the story up because they think it’s funny. The second is the person who saw something, has mistaken it for a mythological beasty, but was terrified. The third is the person who saw exactly what they claim they saw. See, I do believe that a lot of these monsters probably do exist in one form or another out there. It really isn’t hard to believe that something hasn’t been discovered yet. Angler fish, for example, would have made people think of horror movies if they saw a picture of one before they were discovered. Are they exactly like the stories we hear? Probably not. We do tend to exaggerate things, and fear does funny things to you. Does that mean shadow people, dogman, and so on doesn’t exit at all; though? In my opinion, no.

How do you use social media as an author? 

Very poorly. LOL. I’m on there a fair bit, at least on Twitter, but I want to start trying to make use of Facebook and Instagram a bit more too. I tend to use it all for a mix of stuff though. Book promo, of course, but also just random posts about stuff. I feel like readers want to know you, not just the story you’re selling. So, I try to be fairly open on there.

If you could be mentored by a famous author, who would it be? 

That one’s easy: Terry Pratchett. He was such a big part of my reading journey, and I’m really sad I didn’t get to meet him. The thing is, he was notoriously nice too. He was so open to people and always took time to speak with fans at signings. Not to mention that his writing was just so, so good. I’d love to have had the chance to pick his brains about how he created the balance he did with his stories.

What are you working on now?

A couple of different things. I’m currently pushing The Beast of Loughby Island out to a few publishers. It’s a werewolf novella, and probably both the bloodiest, and the angriest book I’ve ever written. It really came from a dark place in terms of the point I’m making with it. I also wanted to put a new twist on werewolf stories, so once it’s out there, I do hope people can get something new form it in that regard.

I’ve also just finished the first draft of Malfunction, which is a rewrite of the first story I ever wrote. I won’t say too much about it just yet other than to give you a three word preview: Robot. Clown. Horror.

Tony Cork and Benny Marks were ‘The Princes of UK Paranormal Television.’ Then, while investigating an urban legend for their 2015 Christmas Special, the couple found themselves torn apart by tragedy. Told through a series of blog posts written by the fans that loved them, this is Tony and Benny’s story.

Three murders over three days, the same time every year. These were the final days of the paranormal investigative show, SurReality.

Purchase Links

https://ninestarpress.com/product/surreality/

https://www.amazon.com/SurReality-Matt-Doyle-ebook/dp/B0B355BSMJ

Author Bio and Social Media

Matt Doyle is a speculative fiction author from the UK and identifies as pansexual and nonbinary. Matt has spent a great deal of time chasing dreams, a habit which has led to success in a great number of fields. To date, this has included spending ten years as a professional wrestler, completing a range of cosplay projects, and publishing multiple works of fiction.

These days, Matt can be found working on multiple novels and stories, blogging about pop culture, voice acting, and plotting and planning far too many projects.

Website: www.mattdoylemedia.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattdoylemedia

59 thoughts on “#BadMoonRising SurReality by Matt Doyle #horror #paranormal #shortread”

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  6. Pingback: #BadMoonRising SurReality by Matt Doyle #horror #paranormal #shortread – Matt Doyle Media

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  10. Victoria Zigler

    My brother got to meet Terry Pratchett. When Terry saw my brother was blind, he let my brother wear his hat. Actually said, “Let me assist you,” and put it on my brother’s head himself. I didn’t get to be there, unfortunately, but I know from my Dad that there was a very jealous room full of people at that moment. I wish I’d had that opportunity too. I’d have even settled for just being one of the people in the room at the time.

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  11. Loved your answer to the monster question, Matt. Teri knows I’m a huge cryptozoology fan, and have even included a famous beastie or two in my novels.

    Congrats on SurReality and also on making your debut at the haunted fort. You’re far braver than I am venturing in there! 🙂

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    2. Thanks Chuck! I need a few more editing passes on that one before I start shopping it around for a publisher, but it really is a twisted one. I have a feeling a few of the clowns in there will be well loved, especially the one named The Boozle.

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  15. It was nice to meet Matt here, learn something about him, and read about his book. I really liked his “three types of people” who’ve seen creatures, and also think the third is a possibility. Not that I want to be one of them. Great cover too for Surreality. Thanks for another fun one, Teri.

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  18. I loved Terry Pratchett’s Discworld video game. He was such a talent. Excellent answer for the “who I’d like to meet/mentor me” question.

    I love horror, but clowns FREAK ME OUT. So does AI, so robot clowns would probably give me nightmares.

    Best wishes, Matt. Thanks for hosting, Teri.

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      1. Remember a few years back when there were clowns everywhere trying to scare people (if not worse)? That was the nail in the coffin for me. We saw one on the side of the road, and it was the scariest thing I’d experienced in recent memory. I didn’t like clowns before, but after that? Forget it.

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      1. I think that depends what you read. According to Wikipedia, the game is based on one of three people, one from the UK, one fro. Hungary, and one from USA, so it seems like it’s an international phenomena.

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  21. Pingback: #BadMoonRising SurReality by Matt Doyle #horror #paranormal #shortread – Craftyourfandom

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