Withersin’s Damned Interview with:

Patrick Rutigliano

I live with my fiancée in Fort Wayne, Indiana where I work as a grocery store clerk. I stumbled into writing first as a hobby and then as a profession after Permuted Press accepted one of my short stories for an anthology. I am constantly working on new material during my days off and fervently hoping to make writing a full-time gig one day if the stars align just right.

List published works:

“A Touch of the Divine,” published by Permuted Press in the anthology, History Is Dead, December 2007.

“The Forgotten House,” to be published by Withersin Magazine in the anthology, Withersin Anthology #1, in January/February 2009.

How can we contact you? prutigli@yahoo.com

In your own words, define Withersin.

A relatively new horror publisher that was kind enough to give the time of day to a starving writer such as myself.

If you were a sideshow act, what would you be?

I would probably be the sword swallower. I never manage to do things the easy way, but I never give up either.

What is your greatest non-literary influence?

The X-Files was the first ongoing horror influence on me growing up, and I credit it with giving me much of my passion for the genre.

Describe your most irrational fear.

I always found the idea of confinement in a room so small that it is impossible to move an inch particularly disturbing.

How about your most guilty pleasure?

Playing with kittens. Their cuteness borders on the hypnotic.

Name the most disturbing nursery rhyme/fairy tale you can recall.

The original version of Little Red Riding Hood is a good candidate. They cleaned that one up a lot for general consumption.

Do you eat meat?

Constantly.

What were the skies like when you were young?

The clouds in my hometown were parted to allow the forces of the cosmos unobstructed access to my brain.

Name your favorite garden tool.

The chainsaw. Chainsaws can be used for gardening can’t they?

Name your least favorite color, first job and worst job.

Pink, assistant custodian, and stockman.

Favorite:  Author, Movie, Music Group, Song, and Quote.

H.P. Lovecraft

In the Mouth of Madness

The Sex Pistols

“Do the Evolution”-Pearl Jam

“Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”-Johnny Rotten

If you were a loaf of bread what kind would you be?

The kind that Vlad Tepes used to dunk in the blood of his enemies.

Weirdest news you have read in your local newspaper:

I seem to recall stumbling upon a very old local article detailing the exploits of two lions supposedly running amok in Indiana…

Why horror?

I like horror because it allows me the creative flexibility to taunt and tear at the fabric of a reality I find sorely lacking in wonder thanks to human domination.

Here's a photo. (seen on Interview main page)

“INEDIBLE NOT INTENDED FOR HUMAN FOOD”

You have 112 words. Go.

From the bar, Dale found his vision shifting again to the truck outside. The way the thing’s shadow stretched over the stool made him grateful for the distraction while Travis rambled on.

“You can’t trust your eyes at midnight friend, but I tell you, I could hear it coming. I was pulling over for a break when the sound of a dog’s nails clicking on asphalt made me check my mirror. I was nearly asleep at the time, so it didn’t immediately register how big that dog would have to be to be detectable over the engine. ”

The next shot came with a conspiratorial grin.

“Fortunately, the furry bastard couldn’t read.”

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