Nicholson, Scott 1962–

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Nicholson, Scott 1962–

PERSONAL:

Born June 24, 1962, in Mooresville, NC; son of Robert L. (a rock-crusher worker) and Delores Glazebrook (a physical therapist) Nicholson; married Angela T. Owen (a copy editor), May 18, 1996; children: Brian Myer, Miranda Claire Owen. Ethnicity: "Multi." Education: University of North Carolina, bachelor's degree, 1984; attended Appalachian State University. Religion: Taoist. Hobbies and other interests: Playing guitar, art, gardening, books, little league coach.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Boone, NC. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. WATA, Boone, NC, news director, 1996-98; Mountain Times, Boone, reporter, 1998—. Operator of Web site Haunted Computer.

MEMBER:

Horror Writers Association (vice president), Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Hubbard Gold Award, 1999; Darrell Award, Memphis Science Fiction Association, 1999; Stoker Award for best first novel, finalist, 2003; North Carolina Press Association awards (three).

WRITINGS:

FICTION

Thank You for the Flowers (short stories; suspense), Parkway (Boone, NC), 2000.

The Red Church, Kensington Pub. Corp. (New York, NY), 2002.

The Harvest, Kensington Pub. Corp. (New York, NY), 2003.

The Manor, Kensington Pub. Corp. (New York, NY), 2004.

The Home, Kensington Pub. Corp. (New York, NY), 2005.

The Farm, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 2006.

They Hunger, Pinnacle Books/Kensington Publishing Corp. (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to numerous anthologies, including Writers of the Future Vol. XIV, 1998; Writers of the Future Vol. XV, 2002; Small Bites, 2004; Corpse Blossoms, 2005; Monster Noir; Poe's Lighthouse, 2006; Exit Laughing, 2006. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Spacesuits and Sixguns, Crimewave, Aegri Somnia, Black Static, Cemetery Dance, Red Scream, Third Alternative, Midnight Street, Black October, Flesh & Blood, Future Orbits, Altair, Carpe Noctem, and Madness.

SIDELIGHTS:

Scott Nicholson once told CA: "I often write about matters of faith and the strange workings of the human heart. I work mostly in the genres of suspense, horror, and fantasy, with a little science fiction and mystery on the side. Nothing is more fascinating to me than people, so all of my fiction is character-oriented. My goal in life is to someday tell the perfect story."

Nicholson has developed a strong following over the years for his horror novels and short stories, which Really Scary Web site contributor Elaine Lamkin noted, "has put a frightening patina on his own home state" of North Carolina. Nicholson's first book was a collection of short stories titled Thank You for the Flowers. In his first published novel, The Red Church, the author tells the story of Archer McFall, who returns to his hometown of Barkerville in Appalachia. McFall begins attending the Red Church, where his ancestors' once sacrificed a child. When people begin dying in Barkerville, the local sheriff and his deputy find that they and their town may be facing an apocalypse and suspect that McFall is involved. "The Red Church is a taut novel of terror, written with enough familiarity to make it accessible to a huge number of readers and enough skill to make them want to come back for more," wrote Rick Kleffel on the Agony Column Web site.

Nicholson's second novel, The Harvest, also takes place in a small Appalachian town and features outer space creatures and zombies. "Throw in a classic B-novel plotline (the character with mysterious psychic powers), and you've got what should be a throwaway piece of fluff," wrote Adam Lipkin on the Bookslut Web site. "But Nicholson populates his town with the best ensemble group of characters seen in a long time, and that makes the novel work." Rick Mohr, writing in Reviewer's Bookwatch, noted: "Why this author's name is not up there with the likes of King and Koontz is beyond me—he is that good."

In The Manor, sculptor Mason Jackson receives a grant to work at Korban Manor, where its previous owner, an art enthusiast, committed suicide. Once there, Mason meets a varied cast of characters, many with secrets they do not want to reveal. Before long, Mason and Anna Galloway, a parapsychologist, discover that there is an entity at the house willing to go to any length to regain life. "The Manor … should be required reading by not only every fan of horror out there, but by any who fancy themselves a writer of the genre to see how it should be done," noted Mohr in Reviewer's Bookwatch.

The Home features twelve-year-old Freeman Mills, who can read minds and is sent to the Wendover Home, part mental institution and part religious retreat, in the Appalachian mountains. Mills tries to hide his power but soon finds that many of the children are undergoing experimental shock therapy that sends them to a parallel universe inhabited by ghosts of the former mental patients at Wendover. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author "offers plenty of faith-challenging questions as the tale moves briskly to its unexpected conclusion."

Nicholson told CA: "I always loved books and a stack of clean paper. Maybe it was escapism at some level, but I still get that same thrill even after all these years. The blank page is like a key to a door that doesn't exist, a world waiting to be created.

"All artists inspire me, because it's so challenging to make something out of nothing. Storytellers go out to the edges of the world and bring those lessons and tales back to the tribal campfire where we share them and learn how to live. As a writer, I know I am standing on the shoulders of giants, and because of that trust and the gift of talent, I must do the best I can with patience and a willing spirit.

"When I'm writing, it takes me a while to get warmed up and break through that veil into the subconscious, where the words flow more easily and truer. In a way, it's like falling asleep. Once I enter that state, I can be gone for hours and feel refreshed when I'm done."