Dark Veil Society - William J. Burkhardt

The Dark Veil Society is a collective of independent horror authors united by a shared love for the eerie, the unsettling, and the unknown. Founded by a group of self-published writers, we are storytellers who breathe life into nightmares and find beauty in the macabre. Our mission is to craft tales that linger long after the last page, to champion the dark corners of fiction where others fear to tread, and to uplift the voices of fellow creators walking this shadowy path.

Interview

1. Tell us who you are. William J Burkhardt.   I swear to God this is a real story. I knew a guy (Philly radio station) who had random celebrity phone numbers who gave me Gary Busey and OJ’s number. Busey’s voicemail was full, but me and my drunk friends would legit leave fucked up messages on OJ’s phone. I’m assuming both of these numbers were old or disused but leaving silly messages on a legit murderer’s voicemail is some dumb behavior.

2. What are you currently working on? Can you tell us a bit about it? “Irrational Numbers.” A dystopian cyberpunk. An experimental android and a sex worker on the run after killing her pimp both navigating this crime world. Very dark and sad, some obtuse lessons about what it really means to be alive, yadda yadda.

3. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Movies, comics, the usual

4. How do you make time for personal projects around your other commitments? Order. Regimented, crushing, unyielding order.

5. What do you need in your workspace to write? Just to be left alone

6. What piece of horror (book, movie, game, etc.) has been the most inspirational for you as a horror author? This is a hard one, but honestly, the first 2 Alien movies kind of have it all. An unforgiving monster, lots of great characters, one of the best female protagonists of all time, fun 70s/80s tech, great dialogue, evil androids, forklift battles, company bloodsuckers, great music and atmosphere.

7. What has been the most difficult scene you’ve written? Why was it difficult?  Lizeth’s murder in The Nineteen Doors of Belferith. Neither her nor the main character want this, both want to throw everything away and be together. The way he kills her is terrible.

8. Have you ever written something that changed the way you think about the world or yourself? Yes, unfortunately.

9. What is most challenging about marketing books or building your author brand? The long game involved. Nothing works all the time for everyone, platforms die out. There are a million other people doing the same thing you are. You can’t buy fans or take the quick route. You can’t make sales just happen.

10. What advice would you give to other horror authors? If your horror story starts tilting in a different genre direction, don’t fight it.

11. What else should we know about you? Do you have any other talents or hobbies? Dark secrets? Plots to conquer the world? Christopher Lee is my favorite actor. I hate olives.

12. How do you develop your characters? Are any of them based on people you know?  Yes. Every person is a building block and every great character took after someone.

13. What is your dream project you hope to complete? Create an alternative platform to Audible. I’m not smart enough to take down the monopoly, but I’m crazy enough to get its health bar to 2/3rds. God help them if I get the resources for this.

See more about William and his novels here.