An Interview with Eric Still

Eric Still is a young, black, and neurodivergent author who specializes in horror and fantasy but dabbles in various other genres of writing as well. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, and has always enjoyed writing and envisioning stories to transcribe onto paper/computer screens.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I always enjoyed writing and reading, especially the works of R.L Stein and Rick Riordan. I also watched lots of anime as well, so there was that to inspire my imagination as well. I felt writing was something I became genuinely good at, so I really decided to commit to it.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

What made me truly commit to a career as an author was my artist, Anna, who illustrated various characters for me. With how wild my imagination went, I just knew I had to give it my all in writing my very first series. I had imagined the world for several years and only shared it with a few other people up to this point, but now, I want to share it with the world.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The series title came easily, as I knew the outline of the entire series and the themes I would tackle. Once I established my lore, it was really easy to come up with the series name. The book title, however, came far later in the process, and I took lots of biblical and philosophical inspiration in choosing the names. Also, I love sentiments, and I feel the title, Blood Creed Genesis, is appropriate for my first book for pretty obvious reasons.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Ha! Too easy. I have playlists already, and it’s pretty lengthy to list all of them, but lots of Hiroyuki Sawano’s songs from the anime Guilty Crown come to mind—“Bios,” “Hill of Sorrow,” “Free My Soul,” and so many more.

Describe your dream book cover.

My dream book cover is my current cover, which was designed by Anna! She really captured everything, even beyond what I had expected, and my expectations for her were already really high! I think it perfectly captures my book while being simple.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I have worked security professionally for almost seven years in the entertainment industry, and that’s pretty much my bread and butter.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I read a lot of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman to sort of mold my omniscient writing style and have an idea of establishing a firm narrative voice. Also, they are both hilarious!

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

Honestly, I want to tell an engaging, character-driven story that delves into the fantastical, but ultimately, I want people to take away just how arbitrary race and creed truly are in the grand scheme of our self-actualization. The meaning is up to every individual person to garner, but I hope that sentiment transcends all others, personally.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.