TJ Payne on How American Pie Accidentally Made Him a Horror Novelist

TJ Payne joins Talking Horror to talk Intercepts, the self-published thriller that just landed him a two-book deal with Crown at Penguin Random House, and the strange road that took him from Hollywood romantic comedy screenwriter to acclaimed horror novelist. Rachel Redd sits down with the author of In My Father's Basement, Intercepts, and The Venue, and a TV writer on Netflix's The Burrows and Little House on the Prairie, for a conversation about self-publishing, Hollywood bureaucracy, and why the nicest people always seem to write the darkest books.

Grab your copy of Intercepts: https://amzn.to/4vA1IKb

Timestamps:

00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting TJ Payne

02:13 – From Romantic Comedy Screenwriter to Reluctant Horror Writer

04:42 – Jaws, Aliens, and How American Pie Sparked a Screenwriting Dream

08:32 – Stanford, a Film Program That Wasn't, and a Korean War Screenplay

09:52 – Driving Down the I-5 to Hollywood and Seven Years Fetching Coffee

17:11 – Ghostwriting Other People's Dreams and Hitting a Breaking Point

19:37 – The Self-Publishing Itch That Became In My Father's Basement

39:26 – Waking Up to a Stranger Who Read His Debut Overnight

41:11 – Writing Intercepts and the Slow-Burn Word of Mouth That Followed

43:14 – The Cold Email From a Literary Agent That Led to Crown

47:25 – Turning Hollywood Bureaucracy Into a Terrifying Government Facility

48:49 – The Absent Father Story Hiding Inside a Sci-Fi Thriller

55:31 – Table 19, Weddings, and the Slasher Comedy Born From The Venue

1:01:30 – A New Two-Book Deal and His First Novel in Six Years

1:04:06 – Deep-Diving 1980s Satanic Panic Books for Research

Connect with TJ Payne:

Website: https://tjpayneauthor.wixsite.com/tjpayne

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tj.payne.author

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd

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