My Favorite Things with Laurence MacNaughton

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with author Laurence MacNaughton, whose latest book, No Sleep Till Doomsday, comes out Tuesday, October 23rd from Pyr Books (and you can enter to win a free copy here)!

What does Laurence love when he’s not writing about the magical prevention of doomsday? Spoiler alert: an inspirational and iconic villain, music to write to, and the best way to mash gaming and reading together. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!

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Favorite Movie Villain: Stephen King’s Christine

Probably the most terrifying movie villain of all time, at least for a car guy like me, is Stephen King’s Christine. I’ve always been entranced by the idea of a possessed, practically demonic car that comes alive and stalks its victims. Not just because the car is evil, but because it’s unstoppable.

Anyone who has seen the movie will never forget the utterly wrecked Christine (a cherry red 1959 Plymouth Fury) uncrumpling and becoming shiny and whole again. That transformation from junkyard heap to gorgeous classic car is nothing less than iconic. I’m sure that on some level, every car owner out there wishes something like that could happen in real life.

But then there’s the dark side of Christine. Especially the unforgettable part of the movie where an entire gas station explodes, and a burning Christine erupts from the raging fire and hurtles down the road engulfed in a red-hot inferno of flames. I still get chills just thinking about it.

That was a huge inspiration to me. When I sat down to write my Dru Jasper urban fantasy series, I wanted to put some kind of super-cool car in it. But I didn’t just want this car to just look good in the background. I wanted it to be an active character, like Christine.

Maybe not quite as evil. But I wanted it to be fast, dangerous, and spooky. And above all, I wanted it to be memorable.

So for inspiration, I went back to that idea of Stephen King’s Christine. But in my book, I used a possessed black 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona that belongs to one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Its name is Hellbringer. To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be one of the most popular characters in this series. I get more comments from fans about the car than anything else.

But I owe it all to that one chilling image of the immortal Christine charging down the road ON FIRE.

Favorite Album: Crystal Blue by ZXZ

Back in college, I was a radio DJ, and my music tastes range from heavy metal to classical to electronic dance music. Choosing my favorite album of all time would be impossible. But music is an important part of my writing process. While I was writing No Sleep Till Doomsday, I kept listening to one particular album over and over, a dozen times.

Actually, that’s not true. It was probably more like a hundred times.

This album is definitely unique. It inspired me to keep writing. Before I tell you about the music, though, let me tell you how I discovered it in the first place.

In my new book, there is an incredibly powerful and monstrously evil sorceress named Lucretia, who intends to use magic crystals to destroy the world. She’s kind of an evil reflection of the main character.

The inspiration for this villain quite possibly came from the song “Lucretia, My Reflection” by The Sisters of Mercy. (Another favorite band.) Every day, when I sat down to write, I would turn on this song for inspiration. Eventually, I started searching online for covers and remixes of that specific song.

One version in particular really captured my attention. It was performed by an underground Ukrainian electronic artist called ZXZ, on an album titled Crystal Blue.

Wait a second, I thought. Here’s an amazing song about Lucretia (the name of my crystal sorceress), on an album called Crystal Blue.

Was this just some random coincidence, or a strange twist of fate?

Either way, it’s an amazing album. Every time I listened to it, the wall-to-wall ’80s-style synthesizers put me in the perfect writing groove. As if I was somehow immersed in an episode of Stranger Things, or an edgy Movie of the Week from back in the 1980s.

I listened to that album countless times, until I finally wrote The End.

Favorite ’80s Flashback: Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks

Speaking of the ’80s, way back in the Atari era, there was a curious nexus between two of my favorite things, games and books. They were called gamebooks.

In these strange hybrids of games and stories, you’re faced with a decision at the end of every paragraph. Do you want to climb the cliff and explore the hidden cave entrance? Turn to paragraph 79. Would you rather follow the trail into the haunted forest? Turn to paragraph 308.

Sure, it’s hokey, but it’s also unbelievably addictive.

As you explore and battle your way through the story, you collect treasures, solve mysteries, and fight bad guys. Occasionally, you may make a wrong turn and your adventure will come to an untimely end, which can be frustratingly maddening.

But no worries! You can go back and play it again (and again) until you figure out how to beat it. After all, only YOU can save the kingdom from the evil sorcerer, or bloodthirsty warlord, or demonic army of darkness, or what have you.

The best gamebooks, by far, are in the Fighting Fantasy series, which hails from the UK. What sets this series apart from the rest of the genre is the fact that you roll dice to add an element of chance and resolve battles.

Do you spot that trap in time? Roll the dice. Do you successfully swing across the open chasm without falling to your doom? Roll the dice.

Weird psychology fact: studies have shown that rolling dice activates the skilled-activity areas of your brain. Even though the results of the dice are random, it still feels like it’s a test of your skills.

Rolling badly tends to make people feel like they failed, while good rolls make them feel like they succeeded. So it’s kind of a Jedi mind trick. You actually feel as if your heroic prowess is being tested when you roll dice to determine the outcome of a scene.

Weird, but true.

I highly recommend picking up any one of the 60 or so different Fighting Fantasy books and giving it a whirl. They left an indelible impression on me, and helped inspire me to become a writer.

How about you? What are your favorite things?  

Leave me a comment below or connect with me on my author website at www.laurencemacnaughton.com.

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Laurence MacNaughton writes funny urban fantasy novels about possessed muscle cars, magic crystals, and the end of the world. He grew up in a 200-year-old haunted farmhouse, sold his first magazine article at age 19, and has worked as a bookseller, copywriter and professional test driver. His books have been praised by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, RT Book Reviews, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews. He lives in Colorado with his wife and too many classic cars. Try his stories free at www.laurencemacnaughton.com.

CONTACT:  Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter

Author photo © Kelly Weaver Photography

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