LEA: Apocalyptic scenarios seem to be rather vogue at the moment, not only in horror and science fiction, but in various mediums and genres a great many of the larger network shows currently making waves either have apocalyptic leanings or tackle the notion of apocalypse directly as their principle subject. I just wrote stories about characters and about something. I never really thought of zombie stories as a horror subgenre at first. I would expand out into other genre and other types of horror as I grew professionally. My first paid published story was a zombie story. The first stories I wrote were zombie stories. I wouldn’t write apocalyptic stories until later, but I imagined scenarios constantly. WILBURN: The Stand changed the way I thought. LEA: Is there a point at which you recall deciding that you wanted to make such material yourself? Was it as the result of a particular work or experience? That would last a while and then the boundaries would expand again. There were times I had wide latitude and then something would click with him and he’d say, “We better change the channel.” Or why don’t you read something else for a while. Were you, like me, fairly uncensored in what you were allowed to watch as a child and a young man? You mention your dad enjoying horror movies. LEA: King does some to have a particular place in the seeding of an entire generation (or generations) of horror writers I’m certainly no different (for me, it was The Mist, which I read my mother’s copy of whilst on holiday as a child). Writing it in any serious way or professionally would come much later. I saw all the slasher movies and my dad enjoyed horror movies, so that opened me up to those tropes. It, by Stephen King, was the first true horror book I read.

WILBURN: I started out reading sci fi and fantasy as a kid.

LEA: Could you tell us a little about your background in horror? Where do you feel that the fascination for the subject began, what influenced it etc? Jay was kind enough to provide a little elucidation on his life and work, as well as the beliefs and perspectives that inform them: It was my pleasure recently to catch up with Jay Wilburn, a prominent writer in independent horror circles (as well as other arenas), whose work ranges from novels such as Time Eaters and Hollywood Hellmouth to short story collections such as The Dragonfly and The Siren. Interview conducted by George Daniel Lea on April 20, 2016.

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