A Horror Author’s Ascent into Cinema

“Can I look at the monster book?” was my yearning every Saturday when visiting grandma’s house as a little boy.

For hours I’d lay in her den with Denis Gifford’s A Pictorial History of Horror Movies (borrowed from my uncle Bob, a renowned artist and my macabre mentor), slowly flipping through each intensified page and being utterly mesmerized by Frankenstein, King Kong, Dracula and The Abominable Dr. Phibes. A four-year-old not yet knowing how to read, I conjured up my own terrifying tales off the graphic pics of blood and brains, and just as the creature burst out of John Hurt’s stomach in Alien, my love for horror and storytelling was hatched!

Willo Davis Roberts, H.P. Lovecraft, George Romero and Richard Matheson were just a few of my earliest fear smith influences, along with Kubrick’s The Shining, Spielberg’s Jaws and Carpenter’s Halloween. However, Rod Serling will always be a main “go-to” source for me as an author and screenwriter, not only for his keen, well-structured sense of storytelling, but for rich meaning and substance evoked in all his work.

A Stab at Short Stories

While taking a narrative writing class some years back, I discovered the fine art of the short story, but, more importantly, a possible side door to my life’s dream of publishing a novel (and perhaps sparing me from decades of needless toil). After six months of developing my newfound literary craft, I managed to publish a few short tales in small publications which could serve as samples and segues for “potential” novels, while at the same time gaining some exposure and confidence. Aaand the much needed constructive (and destructive) criticisms from peers.

My chosen genre: horror!

My fiction work can be found in numerous anthologies, including All Dark Places 2 (Dragon Soul Press), Dark and Evil (ACA Books), Horror U.S.A.: California (Soteira Press), Twisted Yarns (Sirens Call Publications), Tales of the Undead (Horrified Press), Timeless Worlds (Schlock!) and Submitted For Your Approval by Rod Serling Books (edited and published by Anne Serling and staff). I have also been published in magazines The Literary Hatchet, Bete Noire, Drunk Monkeys, Blood Moon Rising, Dark Gothic Resurrected and Famous Monsters of Filmland, the biggest and oldest horror movie magazine in the world.

Monstering In On Movies

Writing my first screenplay was a crash course, and I do mean CRASH, with lots and lots of mistakes, rewrites, hair pulls, head bangs and more rewrites. But after five months I finished the 12-page script, a short film based off one of my published stories, and I was soon standing on a film set for the first time, surrounded by fifty young professional film students working on something I wrote. Surreal! After filming, I strategically utilized social media to showcase behind-the-scenes pics, photo stills and artwork to promote my upcoming movie, shrewdly attracting indie filmmakers to more of my published work. Thus, the next of my stories to be shot as a short film, which I wrote and co-produced, took me to Houston, TX for its premier at a weekend film festival. I still remember that chest-pounding, palm-sweating moment when the theater curtains drew back and I saw what I wrote and created flashing on the big screen for the first time!

Frames, a short horror film I wrote/co-produced based on my published story, was released in theaters last year and is now streaming on The On! Channel. Two other short films I wrote/produced based on my published stories, The Shell and Imaginist, are currently in post production with an anticipated Fall 2021 release. Check out the trailers for Frames and The Shell at YouTube.com/MichaelALizarraga (Imaginist trailer not yet available). "FRAMES" Trailer - a Short Horror/Drama Written by Mike Lera - YouTube
"The Shell" Trailer - Written by Michael Lizarraga - YouTube

By Way Of Fear

I’m a natural storyteller, but I am not a natural writer. For me, writing will always take practice and work – daily! I could have chosen other vessels with which to tell my stories – painting, music, sculpting, for instance – but instead, I chose writing. Additionally, I’ve picked the horror genre as my vehicle, and I am extremely grateful for both these fantastic arts.

Like other storytellers who use their craft as a means to teach, provoke, empathize, vent or warn, I, too, wish to say something at the core of each scary tale.

Because sometimes, it takes a monster to keep us sane.

Be sure to follow Mike Lera on social media, YouTube and his blog page, and check out his latest published works on Amazon.

Website: www.MikeLera.com
Facebook Author Page: Facebook@MikeLera.Author.Screenwriter
Instagram Author Page: Instagram@MikeLera.Author.Screenwriter
Twitter: Twitter@LizarragasLair3
YouTube: YouTube@MikeLera
Blog Page: LizarragasBogBlog.Blogspot.com
IMDb: Mike Lera
Associate Member of Horror Writer’s Association (HWA) since 2014.