FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What kind of name is Ayoob?

It’s Lebanese and pronounced like “hey, you.” So, yes, I am of Lebanese descent. As of today, that is not a deportable offense. At least not yet!

2. What is your process?

I have a child and a full-time day job, so I write when I can. Also, I write what I want as well as I can. That is all.

3. Who are your influences?

I wouldn’t be here without Mary Shelley, as I was obsessed with Frankenstein when I was a child. Later, Kurt Vonnegut had a major impact on me, as did Nathanael West, Jim Thompson, Shirley Jackson, and Clive Barker. Also, I’m a Gen Xer, and there were always Stephen King books around the house when I was growing up. Of course he’s a powerful influence, too. Any horror writer my age who claims otherwise is lying.

4. What newer writers are you currently reading?

This is where I need your help. As you can see from #2 above, my reading time is limited, and I have to be extra-selective. So who should I be reading? You tell me. Please use the Contact link. Thanks in advance!

5. How do you deal with reviews?

If you do this long enough — and God help you, if you come up through the undergrad and grad school workshop grind — you learn to not take reviews very seriously. This goes for the raves as well as the savage takedowns. I’ve received a number of positive reviews that made me wonder if the reviewers had actually read the book. I include links to positive reviews on this site because it looks better to have some than none, and such reviews might pull in new readers.

But if I received nothing but scathing one-star reviews, I would still write anyway.

6. Can you explain the ending of In Search of Mercy?

No. I don’t think that’s necessary. It’s all there.

7. With all the awful things happening in the world, why pile on with such dark and miserable fiction? Why not tell happy, sunny stories?

If you can’t see the hilarity and joy in my fiction, you’re reading it all wrong.