“Dylan J. Morgan’s stories call to mind the days of such beloved pulp fare as Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. With an awareness of how to employ the right cues to make a hair-raising scare, you can be sure to have a hell of a good time with Morgan’s work.” — Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Kin, Nemesis, and The Turtle Boy.

Described as gory, dark, and haunting, Dylan J. Morgan’s writing has shocked, nauseated, and engaged the reader’s fortunate enough to have stumbled upon his work. A writer of horror and speculative fiction for more than ten years, he has published two full-length novels, a novella trilogy, a separate novella, and a collection of short stories. Currently working on a new novel, he also has two more completed that are going through a rigorous editing process prior to publication later this year. He edits for other writers, writes reviews, works a mundane full-time job, wastes hours on Twitter, tries his best at being a family man, listens to hard rock music, and watches hard-hitting contact sport.

He’s kind of busy.

Born in Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island, his future ambition has nothing to do with the written word and everything to do with returning to his homeland and visiting all those places forgotten by his childhood memories. But that’s for another moment, years down the line

Right now he is marketing and promoting Flesh, his latest horror release. A full length novel, it tells the story of a small town in Wisconsin’s Northern Highlands; a community cowering under the all-to-real threat of an ancient Indian legend. Already called “a horror novel of the truest form”, Flesh contains desperate characters in desperate situations: it contains cannibalism as a starter, a delicious helping of gore, and a delightful side dish of raw sex. Written six years ago, it has fermented and matured into a potent adult-themed novel.

Morgan’s major release last year, in 2013, was a trilogy titled Blood War, which contained the novellas Bloodlines, Monsters and Mortals, and finally The Last Stand. Imagine a secret war being fought in the darkness of mankind’s ignorance, a world where the hulking forms of brutal werewolves linger, fighting a blood-thirsty war against pretentious and cunning vampires. Been done before? Well, imagine the bloodlines being crossed four hundred years ago, and a new race of supernatural monsters emerging from the carnage of conflict—hybrids. This is the premise for Morgan’s books, three fast-paced thrilling reads that span the globe and take you to such exotic places as Rome, London, and Hong Kong.

Finding the time to write isn’t easy, but it’s a necessity. Working an 8 til 4 job that often requires extra hours is not easy, nor is returning home to a family of three women. Seriously though, when not spending time with his family there are chores to be done and meals to be cooked, grass to be cut in the summer and snow to be shoveled in the winter. It’s a job in itself.

At night is when Morgan truly comes alive, when he promotes his work and that of other writers on Twitter before putting in the hours to craft nightmarish tales. Music plays a huge part in this process, as Morgan often shuts out the distractions of his household with the kind of tunes that would normally cause others distraction. His playlist includes such bands as Disturbed, Rammstein, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Foo Fighters, and some other more obscure acts probably never heard of before. Pounding drums, heavy guitars, and angry vocals all put him in the mood to write stories that are neither safe nor blessed with Hollywood endings.

The power of his music, and the power of his stories, is matched by the power of the sport he enjoys watching. Being a New Zealander, it doesn’t take a genius to correctly assume he loves rugby. He’s lucky, in this regard, that he can support teams that are incredibly successful, with the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, being reigning World Champions in the sport—and his home town of Christchurch has produced the Crusaders, the most successful franchise in a competition that also includes teams from Australia and South Africa. A prideful Kiwi, he’s proud of his team’s achievements.

If only the same could be said of the other sport he loves—football (American style to anyone from the UK who might be reading this). While it might have been great to be a supporter of the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1990’s, now it’s just a story of misery, heartache, and horrific endings, much like in Morgan’s books. Thank God he has a thick skin.

Add to this an enjoyment of the TV shows Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Vikings, and I think you have a pretty complete picture of this father of two, hard working, hard hitting horror writer.

Not convinced about the credentials? Unsure that his books live up to this article’s praise? Then check him out yourself on:

Website

Goodreads

Twitter

Google+

Smashwords Author Page

Amazon.co.uk Author Page

Amazon.com Author Page