Pure Talent

 Hello my little chickadees,

How are you all today? Oh really? Never mind I'm sure you'll get over it in time. I'm wearing my sympathetic coat today. Did you notice?

On my blog today we have the multi talented Rod Glenn. Not just an amazing writer in the crime/horror genres, but a talented actor as well. Oh, and he also owns a publishing house with approximately 90 authors which include, a former X factor finalist, the brother of murder victim Lesley Ann Downey, a former darts champion, a couple of former detectives, and me! He’s also a big Reacher fan. So, let’s introduce him to you.

Thanks Tee. I’m Rod Glenn and I live in Newcastle, in the North East of England and lived equally in the library and on the stage growing up, with an acute love of books and acting (even though, perversely, I was extremely shy). I grew up in the 70s and 80s during the decline of the mines and shipbuilding, which were the two main industries in the area. It was a pretty bleak time, so I lost myself in books, films and television. I started writing short stories from a very young age, usually based on stories I had read or seen on the screen. I quickly discovered H G Wells, Lovecraft, Poe, Tolkein etc and never looked back. Long before I probably should have been reading them, I began devouring the likes of Stephen King, James Herbert and Dean R Koontz. Then later, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Hunter S Thompson, Richard Matheson and then into crime and true crime.

How many books have you written Rod and what genre are they? 

I currently have seven published novels and then short stories in a number of anthologies. My most well known are the Sinema trilogy, based on a film-obsessed serial killer (crime thrillers with a horror edge to them), 

The King of America (an epic sci-fi fantasy inspired by Frank Herbert’s Dune), 

The Killing Moon (a UK-based post-apocalyptic thriller, inspired by I Am Legend and Mad Max), 

Slaughterville (a surrealist re-telling of the first Sinema novel) No Chance In Hell (an action horror taking inspiration from The Magnificent Seven and Aliens).

Tee Edit: Having read most of them, I can highly recommend them and no, Rod didn’t pay me to say that.

UK Crime Book Club mainly focuses on crime novels; how would your books fit into this slot? 

I tend to start writing a story without a genre in mind – I focus on the characters and the plot and then they tend to fall into one or more genres. The Sinema series and Slaughterville are the ones that the UKCBC members will probably be most interested in.

What is your favourite pastime? 

Reading, watching films and listening to music. A good writer HAS to be a voracious reader as well, and of all genres. Read old and new and everything in between. Recent books I’ve read include a Richard Burton biography, a Lee Child, (Gotta love a bit of Reacher) a true crime book on serial killers and some H P Lovecraft.

Have you a favourite food/drink? 

I love all sorts of food dishes and love to cook as well. I do a mean lasagne and chilli, but I guess my favourite has to be a traditional roast dinner (either beef or turkey). Drinks wise, I’m particularly partial to whiskies and bourbons when the light fades and coffee through the day.

You own the Wild Wolf Publishing company, alongside Lupin Publishing Rod; What genres do the authors write in? Do they interact at all and are any of them actually sane? 

I set up Wild Wolf back in 2007 to publish predominantly dark fiction, as I felt that it was being overlooked by the big publishers and there was a mass of unpublished talent out there, who were being ripped off by vanity presses masquerading as traditional publishers. I’ve since opened up the books to anything that grabs my attention. I don’t care what genre anymore – if I think it’s worthy of publication we’ll publish it. We’ve published a lot of crime, obviously, but also sci-fi, horror, fantasy, historical fiction, true crime, biographies and children’s books. Lots of the Wild Wolf/Lupin authors have become friends and interact with each other socially – we like to think of Wild Wolf as being a family community. In my experience (myself included), very few writers are sane. You have to be a little unhinged to create the worlds and characters we create. Probably why I love acting too – I think they go hand in hand.

What do you do to relax? 

If I’m stressed, I like to listen to music. I have a particular playlist entitled ‘Morose’. It is filled with Leonard Cohen, Kate Bush, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, The Cure, Jim Reeves, Pink Floyd, ELO, Alison Krause, Carol King and a multitude of others. I usually sit in the kitchen drinking bourbon or whisky in silence and get lost in the music. Works for me. Otherwise, a good book or film always does the job too. I also like to work out daily – I think it’s extremely important to balance healthy mind with healthy body. 

You have acted with some of the greats of TV and Screen; who was your favourite actor to act alongside. Who was the funniest? 

It was absolutely amazing to work with Michael Keaton on American Assassin – he was a lovely, quiet and humble man. Sheridan Smith, Sally Phillips and Jo Brand were hilarious to work with on The More You Ignore Me.

What was the scariest film you starred in? 

Got to be Monster (2018) – I play the most horrific serial killer in it. It was a hugely challenging role getting inside the head of such a horrible person, but my research into serial killers for the Sinema books helped a lot to ensure that the character remained human and real, rather than becoming a movie monster like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees.

How many different dialects/accents have you achieved? 

I’ve always listened to and tried to mimic other people’s accents since I was a kid. It must’ve annoyed people over the years, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve managed to master a few, like standard American, RP, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cockney, Yorkshire and a few others.

Links to Rod’s books

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rod-Glenn/e/B0034PNPFU

Official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rodglennauthoractor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rodglenn

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm34Rk0Z7JriKLVHokGjRLQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roddglenn/ 

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5406988/ 

So there you have the brilliantly talented Rod Glenn and if you're interested in live author interviews, little known author interviews, with lots of other exciting things going on connected to authors, or just want to read about crime, then join us both at the UKCBC of which we are both members. Here's the door to knock on... https://www.facebook.com/groups/ukcrimebookclub

Laters Potaters