Interview with J Bridger

First author interview! Yay! Today is J Bridger, author of Shifted Perspective. It looks like a mix of paranormal and humour, and a totally different view on the shapeshifter stories we love!

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Why do you read scary things?

I like to explore things that people don’t talk about every day, things that stay hidden. I feel like horror fits well into that.

-What flavour of scary do you like reading about-paranormal creatures,
serial killers, chill up your spine hauntings, or something different?

I like a lot of anthologies so I love anything that startles me. My big passion is, of course, werewolves. However, I really adore urban legends. Jay Harold Brunvard collects the best from around the United States.

-Out of everything in the world, what do you find scary?

Mental illness. I can’t read or watch things where characters go slowly insane or in mental asylums. It’s too upsetting.

-If you could insert yourself into any horror novel, which would it
be, who would you be, and why?

I’d be Eleanor in Jackson’s The Haunting because I’d like to feel I have a place to come home to, even if it is creepy and haunted.

-Classic (pre-1970s) or modern horror-which do you prefer and why?

I like anything that’ll scare me, and I’d like to say I really put my bar at ’79 and before. I love the older flicks that are lighting, atmosphere, and mood. Hell, I’m even a big fan of German impressionist with Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Still, I actually think the finest decade was the 70s overall where Cronenberg, Carpenter, Hooper, and others got momentum and the game really changed. Also, I love practical effects and they really became amazing in films like the original Dawn of the Dead.

-What's the scariest thing you've read to this day?

I didn’t technically read it, but the audio tape version of Room 1403 as read by Stephen King, himself, really messed me up. Forget the movie, which is middling at best, and just get the audio track read aloud, cut off all the lights and just listen. You’ll be up all night, guaranteed.

-What books scared you most as a child?

The entire Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. They’re terrifying, and the pictures still creepy me out.

-What do you do to celebrate Halloween?

Movie marathon that must include An American Werewolf in London and the original Halloween, accept no crappy Rob Zombie imitations.

-Any fun Halloween stories you have to tell us?

Nothing fun as in hilarious, but I used to also live in the Raleigh area in North Carolina so I’d always go on Halloween day to Franklin Street that is just covered in thousands of UNC students. Additionally, back then, I ‘d do The Rocky Horror Picture Show at a yearly theater showing and get dressed up like everyone else.

- Why did you choose to include paranormal aspects into your novel?

I wanted to write the type of book I’d read, and I love werewolves and shape shifters, as well as murder mysteries so that’s what I went with.

-What's the scariest thing you'd write about?

Not sure yet, I’ll let you know when I figure it out, but I am open to most things besides splatterpunk or torture porn just for blood and shock sake.

-How much inspiration do you take from other horror/paranormal writers?

I think a lot. Stephen King’s On Writing has been a huge influence for me as has his ouvre. I also really love how Jim Butcher has constructed The Dresden Files, and, even if it’s not written in fiction, I adore Joss Whedon’s work on both Buffy and Angel. I really admire anyone who can balance horror and humor well.

-What do you think of paranormal/comedy crossovers?See above, but seriously, I love them when they are done well like Buffy, Dead and Breakfast, or Shaun of the Dead.

-If you could shapeshift, what would you become?

As much as I love werewolves, I think I’d want to be a were-feline, like a cheetah or a lion. I’d love to be like Queen of the Jungle ;)

-Any other spooky books you want to share?

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddon shows horror isn’t just about monsters and ghosts. It’s masterful.

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Shifted Perspective can be found on Goodreads and Smashwords.
J  can be found at her blog, twitter, and tumblr.

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Caleb Byrne is a bright high school senior who has enough to deal with between college choices, taking care of his single dad, and dealing with his headstrong girlfriend Joanna and an eccentric set of cousins in California. He was managing to get by until the day he woke up a Cocker Spaniel. Even if it only happens monthly and is more embarrassing than painful, the so-called ability is something that he's anxious to be rid of.

He didn't realize his transformations would drag him into a hidden society of canine and lupine shape shifters as well as a family legacy he hates. To make matters worse, after moving to Los Angeles to learn more about his heritage from his Aunt Moira and his cousin Kalista, Caleb now struggles through life-and-death matters. He keeps angering the werewolves in charge of the shifter world, especially Kalista's boyfriend Peter, the Southern California alpha's son, who also happens to be grade-A sociopath. Worse, Caleb's floundering to keep his secret from Joanna... (