INTERVIEW WITH CAMERON TROST, OF BLACK BEACON BOOKS

by Roger Johns

Please join me in welcoming Cameron Trost to the blog today. Cameron is the mastermind behind Black Beacon Books, a very interesting independent publishing house that offers readers quality fiction, in a number of genres, including crime fiction. And, as a publisher of anthologies, Black Beacon is a market for those of us with a penchant for writing short stories.

MB: Cameron, thank you for joining us, today. Please tell us a little bit about the mission of Black Beacon Books.

CT: Black Beacon Books is an independent publishing house and our mission is to bring original and gripping mystery, suspense, horror, and post-apocalyptic fiction to the reader through themed anthologies, such as “Shelter from the Storm”, and genre-specific anthologies, like “The Black Beacon Book of Mystery”. We aim to give you fiction that isn’t formulaic and predictable, as well as quality writing and editing. We believe readers deserve great stories at an affordable price, and although Black Beacon Books is currently a labour of love, the ultimate aim is to become the leading force in the indie revolution. Can we do it? Absolutely—but only with our steadfast readers by our side.

MB: Black Beacon’s Alfred Hitchcock-themed anthology—A Hint of Hitchcock—comes out this month. What inspired you to assemble an anthology based on the works of Alfred Hitchcock?

CT: Mystery and suspense fans the world over revel in Alfred Hitchcock’s ground-breaking films—many of which are based on short stories and novels—as well as the dozens of anthologies he edited. Last year, I decided Black Beacon Books needed to release a suspense anthology in 2022 and that it needed a theme that would get every suspense fan sitting on the edge of his metaphorical seat. That name immediately came to mind…HITCHCOCK, the master of suspense. As a fan of his work—aren’t we all?—I thought it would be great to put together an anthology of stories inspired by his films. No sooner had the idea occurred to me than I told myself it wasn’t really all that original…right? There must be dozens of books like that on the market…right? Wrong! After a few minutes of research online, looking for short story anthologies inspired by Hitchcock, I quickly realised there were none, or at least, none readily available. So, as you can imagine, I took that as I sign. Without getting carried away with myself, I basically decided Alfie was sending me a message from the other side, telling me I had to make this happen. Fair enough? And so here we are; “A Hint of Hitchcock” is about to hatch…oops, bird reference!

MB: Tell us a bit about your own books.

CT: I’ve published two novels and three collections (you can check them out at camerontrost.com), I have one post-apocalyptic novel nearing completion, two mystery novels in the works, and I always have two or three short stories on the back burner. If I stopped publishing anthologies, I’d finish them faster! My writing is atmospheric, mysterious, quirky, and sometimes rather disturbing. If you happen to be an armchair detective—as I suspect most followers of this blog are—my collection of the first four Oscar Tremont puzzles is definitely the best secret doorway to step through in order to discover my mysterious world. Oh, and by the way, I love feedback and reviews, so feel free to get in touch on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and just about everywhere else.

MB: Who are some of your favorite suspense writers?

CT: It’s always hard to narrow it down to a handful of names when it comes to listing favourite writers, and—like myself—many authors whose work I love don’t limit themselves to one particular genre, or their work might bridge genres. The first point I should make is that I only publish stories I truly enjoy in Black Beacon Books anthologies (yes, that’s meant as a compliment) and so each contributor is on my long list of writers I admire. If, however, I have to name one suspense writer whose fiction has left me floored on numerous occasions, it would have to be Ruth Rendell. In many ways, I think she mastered the British domestic suspense story. Likewise, JG Ballard, although not generally associated with “suspense” as a genre, is one of my favourites, and I consider his novel “High-Rise” to be one of the most suspenseful works of fiction I’ve ever read. One more for the road, and to bring it back to Hitchcock and a writer who inspired one of his films, I insist that any fan of suspenseful fiction absolutely has to read Patricia Highsmith’s short story, “The Snail-Watcher”. It may not be the stereotype of suspense, but suspense it is!

MB: What’s coming next from Black Beacon?

CT: Big things! Worldwide success! But more specifically, our next anthology, “Tales from the Ruins”, is already being edited and will be released early next year—stay tuned for more details. It will be our first post-apocalyptic anthology and it’s going to be entertaining but also bloody scary. After that “The Second Black Beacon Book of Mystery” will get those cogs turning in the minds of all you would-be sleuths. We’re taking submissions for that one until the end of October…Halloween deadline. You’d best make room on your TBR pile because the gripping tales are coming at you hard and fast from Black Beacon Books. Visit us now, if you dare, at blackbeaconbooks.com

Cameron, thanks again, for taking time to give our readers a look into the very interesting world of Black Beacon Books. And thanks for the tips on Ballard and Highsmith. I’m a fan of both writers, so I’ll put the stories you mention on my TBR list.

Cameron Trost is an author of mystery and suspense fiction best known for his puzzles featuring Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable. He has published two novels, “Letterbox” and “The Tunnel Runner”, and three collections, “Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable”, “Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales”, and “The Animal Inside”. He runs the independent press, Black Beacon Books, and is a lifetime member of the Australian Crime Writers Association. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Cameron lives with his wife and two sons near Guérande in southern Brittany, between the rugged coast and treacherous marshlands. Visit him at: camerontrost.com