JOSHUA ROBINSON is a British author of horror fiction. His work has appeared in Coffin Bell Journal, Night Picnic Journal, and Tales to Terrify Podcast, among others.
Joshua’s coming-of-age horror novella, THE DEVIL’S GIFT, was published by Ghost Orchid Press in April 2022, and Joshua’s short story, “The Dark Gift” can be found in DARK HEARTS: TALES OF TWISTED LOVE.
An Interview with Joshua Robinson
ANTONIA RACHEL WARD: Let’s start with an introduction: can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start writing?
JOSHUA ROBINSON: I’m a horror author based in London, who grew up on a healthy diet of horror movies. I was introduced to them early, around twelve years old, just like Daniel in The Devil’s Gift. But despite always loving the films of the genre, I didn’t start properly reading and writing until 2019 when I was twenty-five. There was a particular horror movie I watched that year which blew me away so much I just had to take a crack at writing a novel. Incident in a Ghostland, the movie was called. It really inspired me and made me want to wow people with a story of my own that hit just as hard. That first novel didn’t quite work out, but readers seem to be loving my debut novella. It’s crazy to think about how far I’ve come.
ANTONIA: Tell us a bit about your novella, The Devil’s Gift.
JOSHUA: The Devil’s Gift is the story of a lonely boy who finally works up the nerve to talk to his crush at the park. Then he learns she’s a killer who eats people. But he still loves her. But she’s a monster. But she only eats bad people. But this, but that, but this, but that—until Daniel’s forced to make the difficult choice: whether to turn Gabriella in, or simply follow his heart… no matter how dark a path it takes him down.
This novella came about because of a conversation me and my dad were having. He’s a writer too and we were just shooting ideas at each other. Then I randomly said “Hey, what about a story with a sweet little cannibal girl who eats joggers in the park?” We just laughed and laughed about it. But then it turned into this wonderful story, so much more complex and tragic than I could’ve ever imagined.
The bulk of the story is set in Stratford, London. Just like Daniel, the main character, I grew up next to that park. I was there every day, as well in the town centre close by. So in terms of the setting, it was all in my head, and that part of writing the novella was an absolute breeze. I think what’s really cool is that when my dad first read the story, he had even more of a blast because of course, he also knew Stratford Park backwards. And he could picture every single location perfectly—visualise where every gruesome kill takes place. Lots of fun.
ANTONIA: Gabriella’s quite a unique character: in some ways a terrifying, demonic killer, and in others just a sweet little girl. What was the inspiration for her?
JOSHUA: When creating Gabriella, I had an existing movie character in mind: Esther from Orphan (2009). In it, Esther was this sweet, angelic girl one minute, and the next she was beating a nun’s skull in with a claw hammer. I loved that mix of cute and deadly. The idea of having a girl who could set you eat ease with her charm and “innocence,” while at the same time being one of the most lethal beings on two legs. Again, I love that combination. On top of that, Orphan is my all-time favourite movie, so part of me also sees Gabriella as paying homage to it through her likeness with Esther.
ANTONIA: Did you have a particular process you followed when writing this novella?
JOSHUA: Nothing unusual from my standard process, which is to plan the story out first, scene by scene before I start writing. Most of the time I do first drafts by hand, and type up the second draft on the laptop. That was the case with The Devil’s Gift too. Also, despite already knowing the park backwards, I remember visiting it a few days before I started writing the story, just to snap pictures of all the specific locations I was going to use. Like the abandoned womens’ toilets, the fountain and the pond. I think I was just so excited about the project that I went and did some unnecessary research.
ANTONIA: What advice would you give to a new writer?
JOSHUA: Read as much as you can—especially in your genre. This gives you a feel for what works, and the more you read the more the kind of writing rubs off on you. Then, when you come to crafting your own stories, you slowly start to see yourself doing similar things to those you’ve read. Over time, you’ll develop your own voice and style. That’s how it worked for me. On top of that, I would also suggest watching tons of movies in your genre. For instance, I’m always watching horror movies, and there’s plenty of inspiration to be had from them, as I’ve said with Orphan and Gabriella/The Devil’s Gift. Some of Gabriella’s powers, such as the ability to possess people with her bite, were inspired by things I’d seen somewhere, in some movie or another, from ages ago. So yeah. Read and watch your movies. And write now and then, of course.
ANTONIA: Is there a particular book or movie that first inspired your love of horror?
JOSHUA: There wasn’t a particular movie. For me it was more a case of the more I watched, the more I loved the genre. And it became like an addiction where I had to keeping hunting down more and more horror films. Later on, the same happened with horror literature, working my way up from classics such as Frankenstein and The Invisible Man.
ANTONIA: Finally, what have you been working on since The Devil’s Gift?
JOSHUA: I’ve been working on two projects. The first is an erotic horror novella titled Before the Rising Sun. It’s basically a more twisted, filthy version of The Devil’s Gift where a not-so-nice main character falls for a vampire named Wendy. It’s my first—and probably last—erotica story, inspired by a movie called Vampyres (1974).
My other project is a horror/thriller novel titled Roscoe, about a married couple who head off for a romantic cabin getaway, only to be harassed by a bear that’s not all it seems. Both projects are nearly polished and complete. With a little luck, you’ll be seeing them real soon.
Get The Devil’s Gift here, or follow Joshua on Instagram @joshua_robinson_author.