Michaelbrent Collings | |
---|---|
Pen name | Angelica Hart |
Language | English |
Genres | Horror, science fiction, romance |
Years active | 2010–present |
Relatives | Michael R. Collings |
Website | |
writteninsomnia |
Michaelbrent Collings is an American horror novelist. He wrote the screenplays for two horror films: Barricade (2012) and Darkroom (2013). He has self-published many novels, with two of his novels being finalists for the Bram Stoker Award in 2016, and two being finalists for the Whitney Awards in 2014 and 2017.
Collings grew up writing from an early age. His father, Michael R. Collings, taught creative writing professionally and taught Michaelbrent how to write creatively. [1] He attended Pepperdine University, where his father taught. [2] After being rejected by traditional publishers, Collings self-published Run on Amazon in 2010, where it became a bestselling e-book in multiple genres, despite Collings not marketing the book. His subsequent novels were not as successful, but Collings persisted and was able to support his family after publishing over twenty books. [1] [3] He started writing western romance novels under the pen name Angelica Hart in 2017. [1] [4] Collings used a pen name because friends and colleagues advised him that romance from a well-known horror writer who is a man would not be well-received. Collings later openly revealed that he was the author behind Angelica Hart. [4]
Collings submitted multiple screenplays to the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, where four of his screenplays made it to the quarterfinals and semifinals. [3] He had the most screenplays advance to the quarter and semifinals of any writer in the history of the competition. [5] His success in the competition led to his screenplay for Barricade being produced into Barricade (2012). [6] Working with the producers, he changed the original ending to be less dark. [7] He also wrote the screenplay for Darkroom (2013). [8]
He gave a workshop on writing horror and comedy at the 2018 St. George Literary Arts Festival. [9] He spoke at the Winter 2019 Rexberg TEDx conference. [10] He was a special guest at Idaho's Fandemonium in Nampa, Idaho in 2012. [11]
In an interview with Joanna Penn, Collings discussed how he suffers from major depressive disorder. He noted that not all writers are able to write something every day, but encouraged writers with depression to engage with stories during their depressive episodes to help them think about their writing, which is a process. [12]
Critical response to Collings' work has been generally positive, with his genre work receiving "Top 10 of the Year," [13] 5-star [14] and "A" ratings [15] from various genre review magazines and websites. He has been featured in The Big Thrill, [16] and his interview with The Creative Penn was named as one of “The 29 Best Self-Publishing Podcast Episodes of All Time.” [17]
Ralph Peterson at the San Francisco Book Review gave Twisted four out of five stars, noting that "even the resolution does not lessen the creepiness." [18] Publishers Weekly has also given excellent reviews of Collings' work, saying of Darkling Smiles, "These tense, unusual stories are as scary as they are satisfying" [19] and of Stranger Still, "Collings delivers a gripping, visceral horror novel in this standalone sequel." [20]
The Longest Con was a finalist for a Whitney Award in 2017, [21] and was named as one of "9 Incredible Paranormal Mysteries & Thrillers" by Wiki.evid.com [22]
The Deep was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Awards in the novel category in 2016; The Ridealong was also a finalist in the Young Adult Novel category the same year; the latter was the first time any indie novel was a finalist in that category. The books were published in 2015. [23] His This Darkness Light was a finalist for a Whitney Award in the speculative fiction category in 2014. [24]
Scavenger Hunt was a finalist for the Dragon Award in the Best Horror Novel category in 2020. [25]
Collings is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [26] He served a mission in Paraguay from 1993 to 1995. [2] Collings was a construction contract dispute litigator before becoming a writer. [3] One of Michaelbrent's children died, which inspired some of his fiction. [27] [2] He and his wife had four children in 2015. [2]
Series information comes from the website "Book Series in Order." [28]
Stephen Edwin King is an American author. Called the "King of Horror", he has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy and mystery. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections. His debut, Carrie (1974), established him in horror. Different Seasons (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are Carrie, Christine, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Stand by Me, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and It. He has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King. He has also written nonfiction, notably On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
Brandon Winn Sanderson is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, are set. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners, the Skyward series, and the Alcatraz series. He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan's high fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Sanderson has created several graphic novel fantasy series, including White Sand and Dark One.
Joe Richard Lansdale is an American writer and martial arts instructor. A prose writer in a variety of genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense, he has also written comic books and screenplays. Several of his novels have been adapted for film and television. He is the winner of the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, the Edgar Award, and eleven Bram Stoker Awards.
Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Joseph Hillström King, better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American writer. His work includes the novels Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016); the short story collections 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and Strange Weather (2017); and the comic book series Locke & Key (2008–2013). He has won awards including Bram Stoker Awards, British Fantasy Awards, and an Eisner Award.
Tim Waggoner is the author of numerous novels and short stories in the Fantasy, Horror, and Thriller genres.
Anthony McCarten is a New Zealand writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing big-budget biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), The Two Popes (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). McCarten has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including twice for Best Adapted Screenplay, for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes.
Lisa Morton is an American horror author and screenwriter.
George Guthridge is an American author and educator. He has published over 70 short stories and five novels and has been acclaimed for his successes teaching writing and critical/creative thinking. In 1997 he and coauthor Janet Berliner won the Bram Stoker Award for the Year's Best Horror Novel.
The Whitney Awards are awards given annually for novels by LDS authors. Established in 2007, they are named after Orson F. Whitney, a prominent early member of the LDS Church. There are several categories for which novels may be nominated. The Whitney Awards are a semi-independent non-profit organization affiliated with the LDStorymakers, a guild for LDS authors.
Jeffrey Scott Savage is an American author of fantasy, horror, mystery, and suspense. As of 2020, he has published 19 novels, including the FarWorld fantasy series, the Case File 13 series, the Mysteries of Cove series, and the Shandra Covington series, as well as several stand-alone titles. Savage was born and raised in northern California and studied computer science at Sierra College and West Valley College in California and Utah Valley University in Utah. He worked in the software industry before deciding to write full-time. He writes middle grade and young adult fiction under the pen name J. Scott Savage and works intended for adult readers as Jeffrey S. Savage. He won the 2013 Whitney Award for Best Speculative Novel for Dark Memories.
John Everson is an American author of contemporary horror, dark fantasy, science fiction and fantasy fiction. He is the author of thirteen novels and four short fiction collections, as well as three mini-collections, all focusing on horror and the supernatural. His novel Covenant, was originally released in a limited edition hardcover by Delirium Books in 2004 and won the Bram Stoker Award for a First Novel the following year from the Horror Writers Association. His sixth novel, NightWhere, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award in 2012.
Weston Ochse was an American author and educator. He won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short fiction. His novel SEAL Team 666 is currently being shopped by Seven Bucks Productions. Dwayne Johnson has attached himself to the film to executive produce as well as act in a leading role.
Alan Richard Baxter is a British-Australian author of supernatural thrillers, horror and dark fantasy, and a teacher and practitioner of kung fu and qi gong.
Joshua "Josh" Viola is a science fiction/fantasy/horror writer best known for Denver Moon, The Bane of Yoto and his publishing company Hex Publishers. He is a 2021 Splatterpunk Award nominee and a 2022 Colorado Book Awards winner.
Charlie Nicholes Holmberg is an American fantasy writer best known for The Paper Magician series. She is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in English in 2010. Her first novel, The Paper Magician, was released in 2014. Holmberg expanded the book into a series, the film rights for which were purchased by Disney in 2016. In addition to her other book series, Holmberg has published six standalone novels with her seventh to be released July 1, 2024. She is a multi-Whitney Award recipient for The Fifth Doll (2017), The Will and the Wilds (2020) and Star Mother (2021). The Hanging City was a 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist. Many of her other works have been nominated for literary awards as well. In addition to writing, Holmberg cohosts the podcast Your Mom Writes Books.
Jeff Strand is an American author, best known for his works of comedy horror. He has written novels, short stories, screenplays and comedy sketches. In addition to his adult-oriented horror works, Strand also writes young adult fiction. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award five times, winning the award for the first time in the Best Long Fiction category for his novella Twentieth Anniversary Screening (2021).
Maria Elena Alexander is an American writer of horror and dark fantasy stories and poetry, best known for her award-winning novels Mr. Wicker and Snowed.
Patrick Freivald is an American horror and thriller author who has published six novels and more than a dozen short stories. He lives in western New York with his wife.
Michael Bailey is an American writer and editor who primarily works with horror and science fiction. His work occasionally blends into other genres such as mystery, western, and thriller, usually with a speculative angle. Most of his fiction and poetry can be categorized as psychological or literary horror. He has authored numerous novels, novellas, novelettes, and fiction & poetry collections.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help){{cite web}}
: |first1=
has generic name (help)