Kentville’s Adam Myles fell in love with all things horror when he was young and has now turned it into a careerPublished Oct 06, 20267 minute readAdam Myles has always been interested in the horror genre. He’s now an author in the horror genre. ContributedArticle contentIf it has anything to do with horror, then Adam Myles is in.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentHorror, says the Kentville, N.S. resident, has always been a part of his life. He always craved the weird, the ugly, and the scary.Article contentArticle content“From watching scary movies, way younger than I ever should have, it is the genre influencing my love of reading,” says Myles.Article contentMovies, however, were the biggest part of his love for the genre. He could lose himself in the story and the visuals quite easily and watch the same scary scene on repeat and never get sick of it.Article contentArticle contentBooks, too, provided the same escape, but allowed him to set his mind on providing the visuals himself, he explains, as the reader imagined the scene.Article contentAll this inspired him from a very young age to create.Article contentAt first, he thought he wanted to be a visual storyteller, so he wrote scripts and started up a small production company. He directed short films, starring friends, family and random strangers he hired online. Things didn’t go the way he planned, and he ended up with a lot of stories yet to be told. Therefore, he decided to novelise the concepts.Article contentThat’s how Myles ended up becoming an author in the horror genre.Article contentAlthough he had been writing all his life, he’s been writing with a purpose for the past 20 years, with the last three spent really being focused on being a novelist.Article content“When the feedback and reviews came in stating that my stories were very movie-like and people had no trouble visualizing the concept and scenes, I knew I was on the right track,” he says.Article contentArticle content Adam Myles says his first novel, Homecoming, is a love letter to classic slasher films like Scream. ContributedArticle contentArticle contentWhat has he written?Article contentMyles’ first novel, Homecoming, is what he calls a love letter to classic slasher films like Scream or My Bloody Valentine. The novel takes place in a rural town, located in the Midwestern United States, and centres around the yearly homecoming festivities of the local high school. A killer adopts the appearance of the beloved local high school mascot, stalking and killing teenagers and anyone who gets in their way.Article contentIn the novel, Myles uses a few twists and turns in the story to leave people guessing as to the identity of the killer, and he even implemented a slight supernatural element which always seems to surprise folks when it happens.Article contentEarlier this summer, Myles released his second novel, June, which he calls an eco-horror, where nature strikes back, similar to Eight Legged Freaks, Anaconda, or Arachnophobia.Article content Adam Myles’ books, Homecoming and June, are both available through Amazon in paperback and on Kindle in e-book format. ContributedArticle contentThis novel is set in a fictional version of Nova Scotia, where things may appear familiar, but are not exactly as you would imagine.Article content“It asks the questions around what would happen if man messed around too much, causing an ecological problem that affected the three- to five-year underground life of growing and aging June bugs. Large, bloodthirsty, carnivorous June bugs are what we would end up with,” he describes.Article contentMyles says he wrote this story mainly to satisfy the itch that exists with the yearly memes we all see floating around social media where people proclaim that the “Nova Scotia Horror Story” has started when they find June bugs sticking to their screen doors and windows at the end of May.Article contentOriginally, Myles had hoped to release June in the same month, but it was unfortunately delayed. The early readers, however, did get to read it in June, and according to Myles, they said it made the month worse.Article contentFor example, one reader noted that they would take the dog outside and end up freaking out at every sound they heard. Others reported throwing the book at an actual June bug that got into the house while they cried.Article contentArticle content“The story seemed to heighten people’s awareness of the actual creatures, which nobody really likes anyway, causing them to react in an even worse way when they were encountered,” he says.Article contentHow do independent writers market their books?Article contentAs an independent, self-publishing author, Myles says writing the story is just the beginning of a longer journey.Article contentOnce he has the basis of the story written, he then edits, tracking down mistakes and fixing as much as he can. By the time he hits the tenth revision, with lots of fixes and a bunch of rewrites, he then starts asking outside readers who love reading horror to give feedback.Article contentAfter getting feedback, Myles says the next stage is to fix more mistakes and then do all of the actual design work, including book measurements, sizing, and setting document margins.Article contentHe hires a cover artist — his friend Tim Johnson of The Misunderstood Art Company has done both of his novels — and also brings in other artists as needed, including Alex Mosher, who sketched the June bugs for his second novel.Article contentArticle contentFollowing design, the next step is to work with the tools provided for self-publishing on the platform and, hopefully, it all works out. Otherwise, he says, there is a lot more work to be done to adjust and fix things.Article contentOnce the book hits Amazon and it is officially published, the next phase is marketing and more footwork.Article content“People need to know your book exists,” he explains.Article contentBesides posting on social media and buying targeted ad space, Myles says there is literal footwork to be done to make sure the product is registered with bookstore chains like Indigo and that it is physically in stores with commission contracts.Article content“It’s a non-stop thing, and you quickly see why having the chance at a traditional publish, or a literary agent, is a dream,” says Myles.Article content To aspiring writers, Adam Myles says not to let others influence your vision and be proud of what you accomplish. ContributedArticle contentWhat’s the best part of being a writer?Article contentFor Myles, his favourite part of being an author is story creation and seeing the world come together.Article contentFeeling bad for what you do to the people in the story can be part of the rush, he says.Article contentThe least favourite part, however, is the anxiety around everything after creating the story. For example, when he put out June, he was convinced people would not like it until the reviews and feedback started to roll in, and that anxiety quickly went away.Article content“Getting through the negative feelings around putting yourself out there are a big part of it,” notes Myles.Article contentIs he involved in other horror-inspired activities?Article contentBesides his love for writing horror, Myles also has a love for the paranormal.Article contentHis love for all things horror, scary, macabre and dark led to another interesting part of his life, where he joined a paranormal research group in his early 20s. With this group, he spent a lot of nights in dark, scary places, listening to things going bump in the night, he says.Article contentIn recent years, he worked in the Phantom’s Freakshow Haunted House in Kentville as an FX apprentice under Aaron and Jaimie Peerless. Through that, he eventually got pulled into working behind the scenes on a locally-shot paranormal show titled Maritime Haunting by Jeff DeEll of Paranova Productions.Article contentArticle contentDeEll ended up doing an investigation portion of the show to enhance and add to the overall feel of each episode. Myles was part of this and spent two seasons crawling around some very dark and scary places, at all hours of the night, to ensure they got the best feeling and footage possible for that show.Article contentMyles still helps behind the scenes, when possible, with the new shows DeEll is producing; however, as he has been quite busy with his writing, ghost hunting has been put on the back burner.Article contentWhat’s next?Article contentIn the future, Myles plans to keep writing. Because his biggest inspiration comes from the subgenres and tropes of the horror genre itself, his plan is to write as many of them as possible, without often crossing back into familiar territory.Article contentRight now, he is currently writing two projects. The first one is a top-secret collaboration project that he is extremely excited for it and cannot wait to share It with everyone when the time comes.Article contentArticle contentThe second project is his next novel, which will be in the cult and cosmic horror genre. Once again set in rural Nova Scotia, it will tell the story of an unlucky couple who move in from out of province, after purchasing an old apple orchard in the Apple Valley. The locals are nice, but a little odd, and strange events eventually turn deadly as they uncover secrets of their new home.Article contentFor now, Myles writes part-time but would love to write full-time. He spends his time working full time as a product manager for a satellite communications and product development company, based out of Dartmouth, called MetOcean Telematics.Article contentMyles’ novels are available to purchase through Amazon, in paperback and in e-book format. He can also be found in many bookstores across Nova Scotia.Article contentAnyone interested in carrying Myles’ novels in stores, purchasing a copy, or learning more can find him on Facebook under Adam Myles Horror or on his website, adammyleshorror.ca.Article content
MEET THE MAKERS: From scary movies to ghost hunting to horror novels, NS man passionate about everything that goes bump in the night
