Burning The Witches, slated for release on April 1st 2022, is also the name of a song and album by the now defunct German heavy metal band Warlock. This is not by happenstance. I was already in the habit of sometimes giving the same name to chapters in my books that are the same as songs or albums I dig.

A case in point is, the twenty-sixth chapter of Burning The Witches, entitled, Spirits In A Material World, was inspired by the song, Spirits In The Material World, by the band, The Police.

I entitled the ninth chapter of my first novel, Necropolis, Left Hand Path, which is also the title of a song and debut album by the Swedish death metal band, Entombed.

The first chapter of, The Fourth Tier, the first book of the Underworld series, entitled, Your Impotent Redeemer, was taken from the lyrics of that very song, Left Hand Path.

The dead skin mask that I mentioned in The Fourth Tier, is the title of a song from the thrash metal band’s Slayer’s fifth album, Seasons In The Abyss.

The fifteenth chapter of Burning The Witches, entitled, Cause of Death, is the title of a song and second album of the same name by the death metal band Obituary.

By now you’ve probably figured out I’m a metal head. That, I am, amongst my many other musical interests. It’s accurate to say I’m a fan of all music and art that’s heavy and dark. It is what influences my writing as much, if not more so, than any dark fiction or non-fiction.

Other major influence(s), I mean major, with a capital “M,” is macabre art, paintings, sculptures, album covers, etc.

An example is what’s featured on the Swiss black metal band Celtic Frost’s To Mega Therion album. That art is by HR Giger, who happens to also be Swiss.

I am a big fan of everything Giger. If you saw the movie Aliens and you remember the xenomorph alien, how could you have not watched or remembered that? If you did, then, you’ve seen some of Giger’s work.

Do you remember what the innards of the ship in which the crew of the Nostromo found the alien’s eggs looked like? That too was inspired by Giger’s work which is so dreadful and absolutely horrifying in its beauty.

Paintings by the Polish dystopian surrealist painter, Zdzislaw Beksinski, is my other great love.

Tons of art on album covers, again, mostly by metal bands like Slayer’s Reign In Blood, in particular, comes to mind. Not to mention, the music on that album. That is the kind of material that gets me going. So, for me, it’s not always about books. The visuals I get in my heard from lyrics, again like from on that Slayer, or the Entombed, or the Celtic Frost, or the Warlock, or Obituary album, fires me up.

You can read more my influences from clicking here.

That hyperlink will take you to my “more about me page” which I invite you to visit if you haven’t already done so.

While perusing it, you may encounter links or a graphic like the one below.

I encourage you to click on that provided you’re a kindred soul. By that, I mean someone who is also a dark fiction fan. Or, someone who likes scary movies or art.

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