5 Books That Inspired: Marcus Kliewer

We’re asking authors to discuss five works that inspired their newest books.

First up: Marcus Kliewer, author of The Caretaker. 

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt 

I first read this masterpiece of small town horror when I was in the middle of writing We Used to Live Here. The way Olde Heuvelt explores the relationship between humanity and forces beyond our control completely altered my approach to world building. Even the strangest and most horrific traditions can end up feeling ordinary if we spend enough time with them. 

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck 

One of my favorite books of all time. In little more than a hundred pages, this book forces the reader to contend with the overwhelming vastness of time and existence. If you’ve never had an existential crisis before, this book might just give you one. Check your content warnings before going in on this one.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones 

Stephen Graham Jones’ surreal and nightmarish masterpiece has some of my favorite passages ever put to paper. The prose often borders on poetic, and it completely absorbed me into the strange and melancholic world of this book. 

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski 

House of Leaves might just be the most mind-bending, confounding, and immersive “haunted” house book ever written. It confidently asserts its own reality onto the reader in a way that massively influenced how I approach writing found documents. 

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

“The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed.” I still remember being in my early twenties, listening to this audiobook as I mowed lawns to pay rent, getting completely transported to the strange and horrific connected universe of King’s work. The Gunslinger is one of those books that, consciously or not, influences just about every word I write. 

BONUS BOOK: 

Witness to Roswell by Thomas J. Carey & Donald R. Schmitt 

Compiled of real interviews, many of them direct sources, this is truly the seminal book on UFO lore. Whether or not you believe something is truly out there, Witness to Roswell is an undeniably fascinating and journalistic look into human psychology and our relationship with the unexplained. Two things that have become fundamental in my own fictional world building.

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