Interview - John Ward

An accomplished author with one of the most successful indie horror series in the 'Scareville' series of middle-grade books, among other notable works to his name, John Ward has created a strong legacy within the genre. Now, in honor of the release of his latest entry in the series, "Food to Die For," from Crystal Lake Publishing, I talk with him about his early history in writing, the details of the book itself, and upcoming projects.

Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?

John Ward: I got into horror when I was really young. I would say around five or six years old. I can remember the Scholastic Book Fairs that rolled through my school at that age, and I would always be sure to leave with a couple of Goosebumps books each year.

As far as horror films, that is a loaded question. I got my start with little TV shows like the Goosebumps television series or the Are You Afraid of the Dark series. From there, I started to graduate into the movies with pretty much anything I could find on TV at that time. It’s been a growing snowball rolling down a hill ever since!

Me: Who were some of your favorite writers growing up? Do you try to take influences from their style with your own voice in your work?

JW: RL Stine was by far my favorite author growing up. I had a spurt of reading fantasy for a while during middle school and early on in high school, where I fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkien and JK Rowling as well.

Me: What was the starting point of becoming a writer? Were you always into writing growing up?

JW: I started writing very early on. One of my earliest memories was when I was in fifth or sixth grade, and my teacher rolled in one of the TVs into our classroom. (Yes, I am aging myself here.) I had no interest in watching whatever movie he was about to turn on, so I took out a notebook and began writing a zombie story about kids running into a zombie horde out in the woods. A few pages into it, my teacher came over and snatched the paper off my desk and took it up to his. I was afraid and embarrassed. I thought I was going to get in trouble for writing a horror story. A few minutes later, my teacher came back and handed me the paper and mouthed the words “I’m sorry.” That was a pretty cool experience, and one of the first times I can remember writing a fictional work.

Me: Is there any specific genre you prefer to write? Is there a style or format that you find easier to get into, even if you don't have a preference?

JW: I won’t say I will never write anything else, but as it stands, my world of writing revolves around horror. It is where my imagination is having the most fun with creating these stories and building out these worlds.

I have been writing middle-grade horror (in the same vein as Goosebumps) for my series, Scareville. It has been a lot of fun, and I really enjoy that space. I am also beginning to dip my toes into writing adult horror as well, which has presented new challenges and a lot of fun as well!

Me: That brings us to your latest book in the Scareville series, "Food to Die For." What can you tell us about the book? How did you settle on the plot for these novels?

JW: Food to Die For was such a fun book to conceptualize. I had been toying around with the idea of writing a clown horror story for a while. I wanted to do something familiar, but also unique within the clown horror trope. One day, I was at a fast-food restaurant waiting in the drive-thru when an “a-ha” moment struck me. I wanted to incorporate a clown mascot/restaurant into a horror story and make it its own thing, and incorporate a lot of mystery, suspense, and fright into a horror story that packs some nice twists in it, particularly for my loyal readers.

As far as picking plots goes, many of the ideas just immediately flooded into my brain as soon as I made the commitment to bring back fun, spooky stories for young readers in the modern age. I have a notepad app on my phone with over fifty overarching story ideas for Scareville. My goal is to one day have one story for each of the fifty states.

Me: What is your writing process? How do you stay focused on writing?

JW: My writing process is different from a lot of writers. I am big on plotting things out on my dry-erase board. I will pick the location I want the story to be in based on whether I feel it will fit the story. I will think up names for characters and jot down quick notes on their personalities. I will then plot out a high-level overview of the entire story, making bullet points for each spot I want to hit within the story that has already developed into a movie in my head. This enables me to take the time to ensure there are no plot holes, and also gives me the time to ask the question of “why?” – “Why does my antagonist want this?” “What is the goal of my antagonist?” etc. Things like that. It enables me to hit the ground running when I hop on the laptop.

As far as staying focused goes. Sometimes that is easier said than done. Once you hit a groove, though, it’s easy to keep your story top of mind.

Me: What type of concessions, if any, do you make during creating these stories so that they’re appropriate for your target audience?

JW: I don’t think I have any answers to this particular question.

Me: What do you do to ensure the series is connected in a way that fits together in its franchise?

JW: For the most part, my stories have all been standalones within the Scareville universe so far. However, I do plant certain easter eggs occasionally to see if fans will catch them or not. Food to Die For will be one that ties things together a little more between a couple of these stories.

Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process for having it published?

JW: When I began writing, I decided to go the self-published route. I grew it as big as I felt I could by myself with no marketing help. When I saw that Crystal Lake Publishing was beginning a children’s branch of their publishing house, I decided to shoot my shot and reached out to Joe, the owner of Crystal Lake, directly. I showed him my books and what I’d done so far, and it was enough to get a call scheduled. We discussed our visions for the series, and I decided to sign on with Crystal Lake to relaunch the first seven books and continue publishing my series through them. It has been a ton of work, but Crystal Lake’s team is great, and I am excited to be with them.

Me: What do you do to keep your creative energy flowing?

JW: I read a lot of horror books and watch a lot of horror films. Aside from that, I try to do nature walks to clear my head as much as time will allow.

Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!

JW: I am currently working on writing my ninth book in the Scareville series as we speak! I also have a few short stories coming out in anthologies later this year/early next year. I also have my debut adult horror novel coming out in January 2026 with Crystal Lake Publishing. It is a grief/possession horror novel. It is called “A Blackened Heart, A Blackened Soul.”