Multi-genre author J.R. Turner dabbles into many genres - romance, suspense, character-driven action, horror, and now young adult. Her new upcoming series, Extreme Haunting, soon from Echelon Press, features a smart, tomboy skater heroine out to fight evil. In this interview, Turner talks about the first novel in the series, DDF: Dead Friends Forever, her love for the supernatural, her favorite authors, and about violence in young adult books.
Thanks for being here today, J.R. Why don't you begin by telling us a bit about yourself and the kind of fiction you write?I write character-driven action, suspense, horror and romance - and many times a combination. Right now, I just completed my first YA Horror novel and I found the ride thrilling. As a huge fan of horror and action adventure movies, I tend to gravitate toward that in my writing/reading. Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, Stephen King, Anne Rice--I read them over and over. 
I wasn't always a writer, though. Ten years ago I gave up a 15-year career as a contract artist and craft instructor for the Milwaukee Public School system when we moved to central Wisconsin. Art, for me, was more of the family business, never my first passion. I could never capture the epic quality of the worlds alive in my imagination on a single canvas. When the moment came for me to make the choice between reestablishing myself as an artist, or exploring my writing in a more serious manner - I jumped at the chance. Six or so years later, my first book was published and I've been enjoying writing novels ever since.When did your love for the dark side of things begin?When I was eight years old, I saw The Exorcist. I had never before, or ever since had such a reaction to a movie. It's one of those things you never forget and changes you forever. At that moment, I fell in love with the horror genre. From Full Moon productions to Class of Nuke'em High and other Troma films, of course all the Meyers, Jason, Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, then on to Japanese influenced films like The Ring and The Grudge. I absolutely adore Resident Evil, so I wouldn't want to leave that out. Hostel, Hostel II, the Rob Zombie movies like The Devil's Rejects, House of a Thousand Corpses, etc., are others I own.When I was eleven, I discovered Stephen King's book, The Stand and fell in love with written horror. From there, I branched out into John Saul - who has many teenage proganists. Robert McCammon became another favorite, as well as Koontz, Rice, Douglas Clegg, and Clive Barker. Looking back on my writing now, I'm surprised I didn't try my hand at horror before. It's just amazing writing the supernatural and the intensity those situations have within a character. By far, I'm most excited about this new book and can't wait for it to come out.Tell us about your upcoming young adult horror novel, Dead Friends Forever. What is it about?DFF: Dead Friends Forever is the first book in my Extreme Hauntings series. I am in love 
with Kaylee Hensler, my heroine. She's a tomboy, skater girl with all sorts of real-world problems that at first, she thinks are devestating. Until a dead girl begins haunting her. Things go from bad to worse quickly. It's hard to explain to your psychiatrist father that you're seeing dead people, and that a murdered girl who suddenly wants to be your best friend is turning up at school, in your kitchen, and in your bedroom. Yet it gets even more intense when she discovers who — and what — is keeping this spirit from moving on. Once she becomes the target, events become mortally dangerous for her. I can't say how much I completely loved writing this story. My style is action-based, so I worried that without the adult options of guns, bombs, and military training, I'd be left rather empty handed when it came to those fast-paced scenes. Oh boy, was I wrong! Instead, what I discovered was how very suspenseful and charismatic the supernatural can be. Talk about action - I couldn't stop, the story kept evolving, scene after scene of something fantastic happening. I could barely step away from the computer. This experience allowed me to explore areas I feel silly for never attempting before. I don't know if I'll ever write a non-paranormal/supernatural story again. What prompted you to write a horror novel for young adults?My kids have been bugging me to write a book they would be interested in for years. My publishing house opened a new young adult imprint, "Quake," and invited me to write a series for them. Because my kids had nagged me for so long, I said yes. At the time though, I was just wrapping up an action-adventure series and had to wait until that was complete. At first I thought I would do fantasy, as that's a genre I enjoy as well. However, I knew that world-building would be a challenge and coming off my first series and all the challenges I faced with that (exciting-but in some ways exhausting as well) I wanted something a little more natural to my style, but something I would have tons of passion for.I had picked up a few of my John Saul books from my keeper shelf during a recent move. While waiting for paint to dry at the new house, I read. It reminded me of how much I loved the genre and the younger protagonists were perfect to get me into the right frame of mind. From there, I read a ton of Young Adult horror and mystery books. Then one day, the idea for an Extreme Haunting series just clicked and I could hardly type fast enough.I need to take a moment here, though, and mention a television series I'm absoluetly ga-ga over. CW's Supernatural. It is a phenomenal show and I've been promised the third season for my birthday. I'm recording the fourth season as it airs because it just takes too long to get from one Thursday to the next! Almost more than anything, I think this series really cemented the idea of doing a paranormal book. How much violence is too much violence in a horror novel for the younger market?There's a fine line, there. I think that the violence has to have meaning and be purposeful for it to be within the bounds of making a story great, or it simply becomes shock value that loses what's truly spectacular about this market: the everyday hero/heroine. What I found most appealing writing with a younger heroine was her resilience and how she coped with what was happening to her, whereas an adult more set in his or her ways might have crumbled. If the violence becomes the focus, then the character gets lost and that can ruin any story, for any market. Who are some of your favorite young adult novelists these days?
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