Terry J. Benton-Walker grew up in rural GA and now lives in Atlanta with his husband and son, where he writes fantasy and horror for adults, young adults, and children. He has an Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Georgia State. When he’s not writing, he can be found gaming, eating ice cream, or both. Blood Debts is his first novel. Terry is also the author of Alex Wise vs the End of the World and editor and contributor of The White Guy Dies First anthology, which he recently talked about with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What inspired the anthology The White Guy Dies First (Both the obvious reasons and, if possible, beyond the obvious reasons)?
I talk about this a bit in the Editor’s Note at the start of The White Guy Dies First, but I’ve always been a fan of horror for as long as I can remember. My mom planted the horror seed early on when we’d spend late nights in bed together watching scary movies until waaay past both our bedtimes. And no matter how terrified I was after the credits rolled, I couldn’t quit horror.
Horror has always been around and will always be around, but I like to think that horror has been having a bit of a resurgence as of late, which I’ve really been enjoying. Especially with the emergence of impeccable talents like Jordan Peele, Misha Green, and Guillermo del Toro, just to name a few whose work has recently impacted me. After seeing films like Get Out and Us in theaters, watching characters who looked, talked, and thought like me going up against supernatural odds as leads in my favorite speculative genre, something woke up inside my creative brain. I wanted to create something extraordinary, too.
And like the creatives mentioned above, I wanted to curate an experience that was much deeper than just superficial scares or gore or monsters, which many horror stories accomplish when done well. As editor of this anthology, I had an amazing time discovering the beating heart of each story and helping them each standout and beat even stronger.
What was your process for putting together this collection? Did you ask specific writers for stories that fit your theme, open up a submission process, or did you approach it in a different way?
I kicked off the work on this collection by sharing the details of the frame story, which involved unsung filmmaker Jakobi Warren, who created a series of 13 films he titled The White Guy Dies First, which are believed to have been inspired by true supernatural events.
I then created a list of 20 classic sub-genres of horror, from which I tasked each contributor with choosing one for their story. Full list and contributor choices are below:
Aliens
Body Horror = Naseem Jamnia
Cannibals = H.E. Edgmon
Creature Feature (monsters, vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc.)
Demonic Possession = Karen Strong
Evil A.I.
Found Media (incl. digital and hardcopy documents) = Tiffany D. Jackson
Gore Galore!
Haunted House = Terry J. Benton-Walker
Home Invasion = Mark Oshiro
Killer Clowns = Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Mad Scientist
Nature’s Revenge = Kalynn Bayron
The Occult = Lamar Giles
Paranormal (ghosts, spirits, entities, etc.) = Kendare Blake
Post-Apocalyptic Survival = Adiba Jaigirdar
Psychological Horror
Slasher = Chloe Gong
Southern Gothic = Alexis Henderson
The Supernatural
I then tasked everyone with subverting their chosen sub-genre in a new and exciting way and also instructed them that a cishet white guy has to always die first—and their body must disappear for “reasons” that’ll be revealed when you read the collection.
I was ecstatic when everyone chose their sub-genres because I think they each selected one that matched their author brand and strengths masterfully. And every contributor turned out their concept and story, and I’m so very proud of the work everyone’s put into this collection.
Were there any surprises for you amongst the contributors (names you were not expecting to participate or writers you were certain would but were not able to contribute)? Are there any authors that you were hoping to include but were unable to for some reason?
There weren’t any surprises for me amongst the contributors. I have a working relationship with each of them and was thrilled that they all signed onto this project with great enthusiasm.
I would’ve loved if we could’ve gotten Stephen Graham Jones or Victor LaValle to contribute as well; however, I am very satisfied with the final contributors and the work they’ve done.
Your contribution to The White Guy Dies First is about a haunted house. Are they your favorite type of horror story? What drew you to write about a haunted house for your anthology? If haunted houses aren’t your favorite, what is?
Haunted house stories are actually not my favorite, haha. I’m a fan of zombies and post-apocalyptic, and psychological horror. However, I chose the haunted house sub-genre because I am rarely scared by haunted house stories (with the exception of the Netflix adaptation of the Haunting of Hill House—now that was a masterpiece). Right before I started work on The Road to Hell (my haunted house story for The White Guy Dies First), I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and no shade to the author, but I didn’t enjoy it as much because I wasn’t scared. However, I was inspired. I did appreciate how the house took on a personality and almost became its own character in the story. I wanted to do something similar with my haunted house story, but I stretched the concept a lot farther—which I’m coming to realize is part of my author brand—and not only made the house a true character, but I also let it narrate the story.
The Road to Hell is told in second person past from the perspective of a centuries-old, haunted house that wants nothing more than to find its forever family to love it unconditionally. The house becomes enamored with a queer teen boy and his dads after they move in one summer to rehab the property and the grounds. The house will stop at nothing to get them to stay—despite it being terribly haunted. When things get out of hand, the family is subjected to a night of unbridled terror, which will ultimately teach the house why the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
This story is an allegory about domestic abuse survivors and how sometimes our trauma manifests in our pursuit of love—and how dangerous that can be for us. I had a lot of fun writing this one and editing it with Ali Fisher. I hope you enjoy it.
Are you a fan of the Horror genre? What are some of your favorite novels, films, and/or series? Who are your favorite authors and/or filmmakers?
I’m most definitely a loyal fan of the Horror genre. I have been since I was a kid.
I have a ton of favorite Horror books. Here are some of my recent faves: Your Lonely Nights are Over by Adam Sass, The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, The Troop by Nick Cutter, The Changeling by Victor LaValle, I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea, Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis (I blurbed this one!), and The Influencer by Adam Cesare.
I’ll put film and TV in the same list, so here are some recent faves:The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix, Everything by Jordan Peele (Us being my favorite of his films thus far),The Skeleton Key, The Descent, and 28 Weeks Later.
What do you think it is about Horror that draws you, as an author and/or reader, to these types of stories?
For me, Horror is a fictional escape from the real horrors of our everyday world. However, it transforms those everyday horrors into fictional monsters and villains and other evil forces that we get to witness our favorite protagonists conquer—or not. Either way, it’s a cathartic exploration of some of the more uglier parts of our world, of society, humanity. These are the best scares because they do more than entertain. Some can even prepare you for the real-life ones.
Is there a theme/idea for another anthology that you would like to pursue or wish you had pursued in the past (and can talk about)?
I do have an idea circling my brain for a queer horror anthology, but it’ll honestly be a while before I have the bandwidth to curate another collection like The White Guy Dies First. However, I am in the beginning stages of putting together my own short story collection, which I am very excited about. It’s not sold yet, so I can’t say anything else about it other than "stay tuned." ( :
Is there a common mis-perception about what you do as an Editor that you would like to explain/correct?
Publishing is such a subjective industry, meaning there are so many different ways to do things, many of which are "right." No two editors are created equal; everyone has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, but I like to think that we’re all deeply and intensely committed to storytelling. I put a lot of energy and effort into editing The White Guy Dies First, as did Ali Fisher, who co-edited with me. Ali and I make an outstanding editorial team, and we both rolled up our sleeves and dug into each story and worked very closely with each contributor, deconstructing and dissecting concepts and characters, and scenes to understand what made every story click and how it fit into the broader collection.
Ali and I also planned enough time in the production schedule to do a few editorial rounds with each contributor to make sure we got the best stories possible and that everyone had ample time to do their best work. Every contributor leveled up their stories in new and exciting ways for each round. Ali and I both have personal connections with every story in this collection, and we’re both incredibly proud of what we’ve all created together.
As an Editor, what do you wish writers, especially newer ones, knew or understood about the process of submitting a story for possible inclusion in an anthology on which you are working?
Writing a short story is difficult—but not impossible. As an anthology editor, I’m looking for complete stories with three-dimensional characters and reasonable word counts.
If you’re working on a short story submission right now, I’d suggest focusing on three primary areas: (1) concept/execution, (2) writing/voice, and (3) length/wordcount.
Make sure your concept is something new and exciting and, most importantly, subversive. Give us a post-apocalyptic zombie short story from the perspective of a zombie. Reconstruct the world-building of demonic possession, like Karen Strong did in “Hell is Other Demons”) and tell a completely new supernatural story. And then give us a compelling character with whom we can navigate this new world.
Don’t be afraid of your voice. Have confidence in yourself and your writing skills. Give your characters space to come alive. Become them. I personally find method writing to be very cathartic. I’m a heavy planner and a habitual over-writer, so this process may not work for everyone, but I’d like to share my planning process for my short stories to maintain control of my wordcount.
I begin by dividing my desired word count by the number of acts for the story I want to tell. For example, if my word count allowance is 8,000 words, and I know my story has four major acts, that means each act needs to be complete at less than 2,000 words. Then, I outline what happens in each act while being mindful of that wordcount restriction. For example, 2,000-words is about 4-8 pages depending on fonts, margins, spacing, etc. Then I ask myself if everything I’ve planned to take place in that act can comfortably fit in the space of 4-8 pages. If not, that’s how I know I’ll need to simplify my plot and/ or trim some scenes from my outline.
Hopefully, that info helps. Good luck on your short stories! I can’t wait to read them.
What’s currently on your nightstand?
I tend to read three books at once, a digital, a physical, and an audiobook.
I’m reading a digital advanced copy of Shanna Miles’ new middle grade fantasy, The Rise of Issa Igwe. I’m also reading a physical copy of Nightmare King by Daka Hermon, and I’m listening to the audio of The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, which is narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, who also narrates Cristina Trudeu’s perspective in my young adult fantasy series, Blood Debts.
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
My top 5 most influential authors are: Tim Floreen (Willful Machines), Adam Sass (Cursed Boys & Broken Hearts), Jordan Ifueko (Raybearer), and Victor LaValle (The Changeling).
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
I had two favorite series as a kid: The Golden Compass series by Phillip Pullman, and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic series by Betty MacDonald.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
Unfortunately, when I was a kid (long, long ago), there was no young adult category, and there weren’t any books in the genres and age categories I was reading that featured queer characters, which would’ve been the only thing I would’ve had to hide from my parents.
However, I have distinct memories of going on shopping trips to Wal-Mart with my mom and convincing her to buy me the newest Eric Jerome Dickey adult romance, which was straight but also Black and very spicy. I had no business reading those books at that age, haha.
Is there a book you've faked reading?
Nah, I’d just be honest about not reading it. The last time I tried that was my junior year in high school, when I got cold-called in Accelerated English to give my thoughts on a reading I most certainly did not do, so I made something up on the spot (which I’m really good at), and my English teacher let me finish, then promptly called me out for not doing the reading assignment. I learned my lesson that day. (:
Can you name a book you've bought for the cover?
I bought The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste for the cover. It’s absolutely stunning, and it makes me incredibly happy to see so many young adult speculative titles with Black characters front and center on the cover of books by Black authors. I am truly envious of today’s kids, and I am also very happy for them! ( :
Is there a book that changed your life?
Willfull Machines by Tim Floreen. When that book came out, I was struggling to find my way in the query trenches as an up-and-coming author on my third round of querying, this time with a young adult fantasy that featured an all-white, all-straight cast, because I didn’t think publishing would want an authentic—Black and queer—story from me. I remember reading Willfull Machines during that time and being swept away. It was the first time I’d read a speculative story from a major publisher with a gay male protagonist. Even though the main character was white, I still felt seen.
I reached out to Tim via Twitter (he’s no longer there) to tell him how much I loved his work. I’ll never forget the warmth and kindness he showed me. I spoke with him about my query project, the fantasy with the all-white, all-straight cast, and Tim advised me to always write my truth and not to worry about what the industry "wants." After that conversation, I ditched that fantasy manuscript and started another. It would be another four manuscripts and four rounds of querying before I eventually signed with my agent, but I’ll forever be thankful to Tim for taking the time to steer me back onto the right path.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
I’d like to evangelize two very special books, if I may. The first is Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts by Adam Sass. It’s the companion novel to Adam’s first young adult romance, The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers; and in Cursed Boys, we follow Grant Rossi, the jilted love interest from 99 Boyfriends, who’s fighting against depression and some pretty strong inner demons conjured by childhood trauma, which he has to face front and center when he returns to his childhood home and reconnects with his family—and an old flame who’s also responsible for his first heartbreak.
I am such a huge fan of all Adam Sass’s work, but Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts is undeniably his best to-date. And it’s incredibly important to me as a queer man who’s had to find my way after falling hopelessly lost into my depression and trauma many times over the course of my life. Adam Sass is one of the most powerful and important voices in queer fiction right now, and everyone needs to read all his work (including Surrenfer Your Sons and Your Lonely Nights are Over, but especially Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts.
The second is We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds. This is my favorite contemporary book of all time. I am from rural Georgia, so I really connected with the story that Jas painted of the small country town setting, complex and layered family drama, and the coming-to-age of a biracial queer girl reconnecting with her roots and charting her own path in the world. The voice was immaculate, and the story was completely enthralling. I am a huge fan of fantasy and horror, so I don’t read a lot of contemporary; however, Jas Hammonds is an auto-buy author for me because they have a way of crafting words in a contemporary world that’s as captivating as a fantasy.
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
I wish I could read Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko again. That series is my favorite fantasy series of all time. I love it when I read a book that’s so good that it completely rewires my creative brain. I first listened to this on audio, and the narration by Joniece Abbott-Pratt ensnared me from the very beginning—and is also why I specifically requested her to narrate Cris’s POV in the Blood Debts series.
The world, the story, and the characters that Jordan Ifueko created are some of the most captivating I have ever read. Reading Raybearer and Redemptor reinvigorated my love for fantasy and inspired me to continue telling authentic Black stories, no matter what.
I can only hope that my work inspires Black artists the way that Jordan Ifueko has inspired mine.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
Cowboy Carter. I am an avid Beyoncé fan. I’ve been following her career since the early days of Destiny’s Child when she was performing at the malls in Atlanta. I have had the great privilege of always working on a creative project when Beyoncé dropped an album over the last couple of years. It’s been amazing, having been a fan for so long, to see how not only her talent but also her as a person and an artist has grown and flourished. I appreciate the artistry of the music she creates and how she’s constantly challenging herself, trying new things, and pushing boundaries.
Beyoncé’s new album inspires me to creatively take a leap of faith and try something completely new, and scary, and then believe in myself to execute it like only I know how. And again, this album drop is timely because I am working on a very personal, very frightening (for me, it’s not a horror, haha) story in a genre I’ve never written before. Romance.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on two projects right now. I’m drafting the finale (book 3) of the Alex Wise series, and I’m also working on an adult romantasy.
I can’t say too much about the romantasy since it’s not announced at the time we’re conducting this interview, but it’ll be a love story between two Black men in a second-world, science-fiction and fantasy mashup inspired by The Last Unicorn.
