PUMPKIN GUTS
Winner of the 2026 IndieReader Discovery Awards in Gift/Holiday/Speciality, Fiction
What’s the book’s first line?
“October 31st Halloween. Trick-or-treat!”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
In this Adventure/horror story Nancy and her gang of teenage friends (who call themselves “The Ravens”) attend a mysterious Halloween carnival where an ancient evil sorcerer (who is connected to the origin of Halloween) transforms the costumed actors and festival goers into an army of monsters and demons. When their friend Katrina is kidnapped, the gang must fight through hordes of zombies, vampires, clowns, witches and every imaginable monster to save her very soul from hell itself.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I used to work as a scare actor at a local renaissance festival ground that had been converted to a Halloween carnival with top notch special effects. One night I was waiting to have my make-up applied so that I could play the werewolf. Just then an idea struck me as I watched the unsuspecting festival goers enter through the gates. I thought …”What if these people weren’t walking into a fun carnival, but instead a slaughter. What if we weren’t actors? What if we were real monsters?” That was the spark that would ultimately culminate in my 300-page graphic-novel over a decade later.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
This book is for lovers of all things Halloween and horror movies. Each page is a fully illustrated and colored work of art that drips and bleeds the very feeling of the Halloween season. It is a horror adventure with smart characters that celebrates the tropes and trappings that we’ve come to love within the genre while being entirely new.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Nancy is a take charge character, who with the help of her ensemble of rambunctious teenage friends, manages to take on and outwit an army of monsters at every turn. She is courageous in the face of overwhelming odds, all while overcoming grief. If I had to compare her to anyone it would be Heather Langenkamp’s character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise mixed with a dash of The Lost Boys and Scooby Doo to round out her gang of friends.
When did you first decide to become an author?
My whole life I’ve always wanted to be a film director. I chose to become an author in order to bring my visions to life. Making movies requires a ridiculous amount of money and resources. For as long as I’ve lived, I have always been an artist and a storyteller. Graphic novels are essentially visual movies on paper. Using my illustration skills, I was able to project my story exactly as I envisioned it for film on the printed page.
Is this the first book that you’ve written?
This is my first ever written and published book. It has been nearly thirteen years in the making. I consider it my magnum opus. I’m very honored and proud of the outstanding recognition and praise it has been garnering, having now received several awards (including a best graphic novel, and a best debut author award). It is my greatest aspiration for this book to go far and reach wider audiences.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
Outside of writing and illustrating I am a working artist. During the school year I am the woodshop and metal shop instructor at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. I manage the wood/metal shops in the theater department and the art department of the University. I teach students how to use machines, power tools, and think creatively. Outside of woodworking I am proudly a jack-of-all-trades having worked professionally as a carpenter, actor, mural artist, and dance instructor among many other hands-on professions.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Writing and illustrating a single page of a graphic novel takes significant time. Once my stories have a solid outline and script, I need to figure out how to convey whole scenes in the form of sequential art. planning the layout of a page or sequence of pages can have me pacing the room and scribbling thumbnails for a couple hours at a time. Once I’ve locked down my panel layouts, I can spend two days at the table illustrating a single page. When I hit my stride, I can produce a quality page of fully inked and illustrated art in an average of sixteen hours.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part of being an indie author is that I get to make my own schedule and I get to tell the story exactly the way I want without compromise. The hardest part of being an indie author is the marketing. I am my own marketing team. The book only reaches readers as far as I can shout.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
The best piece of advice that I can give to my fellow indie authors is to persevere. Treat your story like your job. Discipline yourself. Show up every day and keep making progress. The end goal could seem years away, but if you keep making a little progress each day you will reach the finish line in time.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
If a traditional publisher came calling, I would answer the phone. This story has been my life’s passion project, and I want to share it with the world. I want it to reach wider audiences. Traditional publishers have the means and the resources to better market a book. That’s what this book needs, the means to reach the world.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
I’ve always wanted to be a film director. I love telling visual stories. Transforming my story into a graphic novel served as the storyboards for the proof of concept for such a film. The idea of making this a movie (even in the form of the printed page) has been the driving force that motivates me. I want this book to open new doors and create new opportunities. I would absolutely love to adapt this story to film.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I have been a fan of both film and classical literature since childhood. At a young age I loved the works of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, H.G. Wells, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Stephen King is the undisputed King of horror fiction. Boy, I wish I could have a coffee with him. As an avid film lover, I have the utmost respect, and admiration for the works of John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, and Wes Craven. All of these film directors and writers started from nothing and became legends of their craft within their lifetimes. These are the writers that inspire me the most.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
If I were to pick an existing book that I wish I could have written, it would be Stephen King’s Christine (the one about the haunted car). As an avid car enthusiast, that book is ever relevant. However, the real book I wish I could have written the most is my next one. I have many more stories I wish I could share with the world, but they take so much time to write and illustrate. Time is ever fleeting, and in between the time life happens, and when I catch a spare minute, I write.