A master of crime and horror, and an all-round amazing guy. I've seen Ben's writing first hand when he was good enough to take part in The Hunt as a guest writer, and it is sublime. Check him out and thank me later!

When did you start writing, and what made you pick up the pen?

It's cliché, but I always wanted to be a writer. I knew it as soon as I figured out you could be a writer. My first complete work in elementary school was about a shoe with magic powers. Not a pair of shoes. One shoe. I peaked early.

How far would you say that you've come since then?

The little kid version of me is happy with what happened later in life. I hope I don't disappoint him.

What is your favourite thing about Wattpad?

Those reader comments! They're like little shots of espresso that keep you moving forward. That's why I try to be thoughtful with feedback that I leave on others' stories.

Why horror?

I started out as a crime fiction writer, and I suppose I still am in some ways. I like poking at the moral quagmires of life where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, which is a natural fit for crime fiction. I found out later that horror does a fine job of that, too, and better accepts extraordinary events. I suppose I'm cutting from the same cloth as William Peter Blatty. He originally wrote "The Exorcist" as a detective story, but what came out was horror. That's me, too, and it's probably why I enjoyed "The Exorcist" so much.

How do you go about scaring people just with words on a page?

It's like writing comedy, which I tried to do for a bit earlier in my fiction career. If it makes me laugh, it's comedy. If it freaks me out, it's horror. I'll write what makes me scared, and hope there are readers out there feeling the same way.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

The nagging feeling that whatever you're doing, it isn't enough.

Talk me through your writing process. How do you start? Where do you write? How long for? Noise or silence?

I used to write in a feast-or-famine cycle, but that's since changed. The more serious my fiction writing became, thanks in large part to Wattpad, the more structured my process became. My current WIP had a complete log line, synopsis, character outline, and comp list. I can write much faster that way.

How and where I write depends on whether my kids are in bed, but lately I've found more success writing standing up. I don't know what it is. Blood flow? Attention span? It works, though.

I don't leave the WIP without knowing what happens next. There are no dead ends. I'll quit early if I need to, because it's much easier to jump into a manuscript knowing what the next paragraph looks like. If there's any process technique I can recommend, it's that one.

What are you currently working on?

It's a novel about artificial intelligence, and that's all I can say at the moment, because of some things cooking behind the scenes.

Which project are you most proud of?

Oh, I don't think I could answer that one. Everything comes with context. What I wrote six years ago was the best for the version of me six years ago. A lot can change in the course of a year, or even a month.

What are your writing goals for the next year?

It's the same as every year: be in a better spot than I was one year ago.

Can you name your favourite published book, and your favourite Wattpad book?

This is always hard to answer, because genre matters quite a bit, but if it comes down to it, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is my favorite outside of Wattpad. On Wattpad, it's usually whatever I'm reading right now, and that's the "Oh No!" anthology by @OmaimaAkbar.

What is your favourite and least favourite book to film adaptation?

"The Shining" is tops for me, with apologies to Stephen King and his attempt to do it better with that TV movie. My least favorite? Probably "The Hunger Games."

What do you like to do in your spare time, besides writing?

I'm not sure anymore. The last time I had spare time, I started a DTC glove business.

What advice would you give to writers who are just starting out?

Fail hard and fail often.