KRIS ASHTON

This was the second story idea in a row that I got from reading a Stephen King book (the first one being ‘The Midway Hotel’). In this case, it was King’s magnificent non-fiction book, Danse Macabre (1981) that provided inspiration.

 

In the section about horror on television, King rattles off some of his favourite Twilight Zone episodes. One was about a group of navy divers who investigate a sunken submarine and hear the ghosts of the men who died inside it tapping on the walls. The first time I read that synopsis (I’ve read Danse Macabre again and again over the years) it chilled my blood and filled me with envy at the same time. What a concept!

 

While rereading Danse Macabre (again) in mid 2012, I came across that Twilight Zone synopsis and it gave me the same little frisson. Only this time, the frisson progressed into an idea. What if there were zombies instead of ghosts trapped inside the wreckage?

 

I made a good start on ‘The Devils of Cain Island’ during October 2012, but then put it aside to deal with family issues that left no time or energy for anything beyond my day job. A month or so later I picked up the story again, but it proved a hard slog. Writing Captain Swanson’s journal, in particular, felt more like hammering iron than stitching silk – not least because I had to research 1700s seafaring terminology to make the story plausible. The first draft took three months from start to finish (I’ve written a novel in that time), and upon completion I had a sinking feeling it was a big wad of garbage.

 

But when I came back to the story a couple of months later, it had a flow and balance I hadn’t expected. The final draft, however, was still over 6000 words, which meant markets were limited. But the first one I sent it to, Dark Moon Books (publisher of Dark Eclipse), showed immediate interest.

 

‘The Devils of Cain Island’ has gone on to become one of my favourite stories. I particularly like the shifting perspective narrative and the way it juxtaposes men in the 18th and 21st centuries trying to cope with a zombie outbreak.