Good morning and happy Sunday! I’m Grace R. Reynolds and today I am sharing a special treat with you: an interview with friend and fellow author, L.P. Hernandez, on his upcoming release “IN THE VALLEY OF THE HEADLESS MEN.”
Nahanni National Park is one of the last truly wild places on earth. Accessible only by plane, and only when the weather cooperates, it’s the perfect place for estranged brothers Joseph and Oscar to have an adventure following the death of their mother. Gillian, Joseph’s first love, invites herself along in the spirit of friendship.
The park is much more than beautiful. It’s mysterious. Legends of giants and hidden, prehistoric animals. And among its few visitors, an outsized number of violent deaths inspiring its second, more seductive name.
While dreaming of the future, the group will find themselves confronted by the past. Far from home and far from help. In the Valley of the Headless Men.
TITLE: In The Valley of the Headless Men
AUTHOR: L.P. Hernandez
PUBLISHER: Cemetery Gates Media
RELEASE DATE: Early 2024
I had the privilege of reading an advance copy of L.P.’s novella earlier this year and can’t wait for readers to get their hands on this one. Fans of Stephen King’s In The Tall Grass will find familiar and terrifying comforts in this one.
Let’s trek into the valley and talk shop, shall we?
L.P. HERNANDEZ
About the Author
L.P. Hernandez is an author of horror and speculative fiction. His stories have been featured in anthologies from Cemetery Dance, Dark Matter Ink, and the Howl Society among others. He is a regular contributor to The NoSleep Podcast and has released two short story collections. His third collection titled No Gods, Only Chaos will be published by Cemetery Dance in 2024. His novella, Stargazers, kicked off the My Dark Library line of novellas curated by Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann and published through Cemetery Gates Media. L.P. also hosts Dog-eared Nightmares, a podcast about well-loved horror. When not writing, L.P. serves as a medical administrator in the U.S. Air Force. He is a husband, father, and a dedicated metalhead.
[GRACE]: Before we get into it, tell me about the fantastic cover art for this book! It's gritty and downright creepy. Who is your cover artist, and can you tell us the inspiration behind the concept of it?
[L.P.]: The credit goes to my now longtime collaborator, Brett Bullion. He provided all the illustrations for my collection, The Rat King as well. The formatting/design credit goes to Geoff Parrell. Geoff is new to covers, but I was impressed with his early concepts. He was very easy to work with, highly recommended! The art captures a scene in the story, which to me represented the undercurrent of the journey - the tension between two brothers.
[G]: Your novella starts off with a snapshot of the aftermath of death: wilting flowers, an abandoned garden, and a heaping pile of paperwork left for the living to go through. An expected estate stale, a somewhat estranged relationship with a brother, and a stack of unopened letters. What about the horror genre makes it such a good home to explore themes of grief?
[L]: Horror is often a jumping off point for emotional extremes. There is the old trope of a family full of hope, moving to a new home that is definitely not haunted despite its bargain basement price. Grief is another emotional extreme. Both open a doorway, I think. As if in those moments of hope or sadness, we are broadcasting on a different wavelength, announcing our unstable dispositions to the Universe.
[G]: One of the things that sets your writing apart is your attention to the minutia of everyday life and your ability to transform the mundane into tiny moments of introspection. How do you navigate grounding your readers in the setting without inundating them with unnecessary details?
[L]: From my early writing to now, I’ve learned the importance of conserving space on the page. I recall feeling as if I needed to describe every element of every environment to fully paint the picture for my readers. In retrospect, it’s pretty boring. But I do put myself, mentally, in my character’s shoes. I imagine walking into my mother’s bedroom after she passes. What would I notice? In the kitchen, what do you do with the things you can’t give away? The half-used bag of sugar? The deli meat in the fridge? Finding moments like these really touches the emotional core of the story I am trying to tell.
[G]: Your main character, Joseph, sets out on this journey with his brother Oscar and friend, Gillian, to Canada’s mysterious Nahanni Valley. Have you been there? If not, will you be planning a trip anytime soon?
[L]: I have been aware of it for probably a decade now. I got as close as Bella Coola, British Columbia. That’s probably still 2K miles away. Even at that distance, the air feels different. I remember the silence. My wife and I went for a night drive, parked, and just listened. We could hear old growth trees creaking nearby, but it was too dark to see them. I would love to go to Nahanni. I might even bring my brother with me.
[G]: Loss manifests in different ways for Joseph: loss of a parent, loss of relationships, loss of a child, but also a loss of time and sense of purpose. The latter is more prevalent in Oscar and Gillian, who act as foils to Joseph. I like to think your cast was all working toward the same goal, but I want to know, from your perspective, why the Valley of Headless Men was the ideal setting to bring your characters a step closer to a semblance of closure.
[L]: I’ve played in this setting a few times. This was the first time the setting actually meant something to the story, other than being a platform for weird things to happen. Because it is a place that seems so unknowable, the possibility for anything to happen exists. In my mind, it is a thin place in the architecture of the Universe, a place where intentions and reality become entangled. Joseph, in his way, is at the center of it all, though he does not understand this. Both Oscar and Gillian’s lives have been affected by his choices.
[G]: Some freaky stuff happens in this book and has a cosmic flair. Are there any contemporary works of horror fiction that inspired some of the scenes in your novella?
[L]: One I cannot deny is Event Horizon. I’ll stay spoiler-free in this response, but the machine in Event Horizon is conceptually similar to the, um, place our group eventually reaches.
[G]: You marry elements of psychological horror, grief horror, and cosmic horror in this novella, but it is also a work of survival horror. Did the isolated setting of the Nahanni Valley make it easier for you to explore all these themes?
[L]: Yes, very much so. I’ve always had a strange sense of sadness knowing there are so few wild places left. Anywhere in the lower 48 would have been too close to civilization. Because it is so isolated and infrequently visited, I was free to create as I saw fit. I did exchange emails with a river guide, however. She was very helpful in helping me fill in some blanks about what the characters would have seen, from flora to fauna.
[G]: This isn’t the first time you’ve highlighted a character with a military service record in your work. Does this kind of representation matter to you as a writer?
[L]: I hope readers understand the military is a microcosm of society. For those not affiliated with it, there is generalized understanding of who service members are. Yes, there are many service members who fit a stereotype, but some of the most progressive people I have met are in the military. I’ve had conversations about chakras with commanders. For Joseph in this story and Henry in Stargazers, the military was a period of time. As I near the end of my military career, it is a perspective I am beginning to take, to think of life after the uniform. Joseph and Henry are both impacted by their service, but it does not define who they are.
[G]: If there was one song that could adequately capture the mood of your novel, what would it be?
[L]: I am a metalhead, and I do listen to music while I write. Musically and somewhat lyrically, Prying Open the Jaws of Eternity by the Native American, solo black metal project, Blackbraid.
[G]: Do you have a favorite line from your book?
[L]: There are a few I feel pack an emotional wallop, but I’ll offer this one: “Our son died without a name, and the world could not forget him quick enough.”
[G]: You have a podcast now! Tell us about it!
[L]: Dog-eared Nightmares is a horror fiction podcast. My guests are horror writers who have written books I have figuratively dog-eared. Books I come back to. Recent guests include Sadie Hartmann, Kelsea Yu, Todd Keisling, and Gemma Amor. Next up is V. Castro discussing The Haunting of Alejandra. It’s a bit more writer-focused than some similar podcasts. Starting a podcast is a great way to trick writers into sharing their secrets (writing secrets) with you.
[G]: Where can readers connect with you online?
[L]: I do have a website with links and updates. I don’t update it as frequently as I should, but this interview will motivate me to do that. www.lphernandez.com I am weaning myself off of Twitter. You can find me as AuthorLPHernandez on Instagram and Threads.
[G]: Can you tell us about your publications coming soon?
[L]: We’re hoping for a mid-winter release with Cemetery Gates Media for Valley. In October, Cemetery Dance will publish my third collection of short stories titled No Gods, Only Chaos. That collection includes eight previously published works (Dark Matter, Cemetery Gates, Sinister Smile Press), and five new stories. Currently, I am editing a coming of age novel titled Two Dead Boys. No official announcement yet, but I am working with a publisher on it.
[G]: Thank you for chatting with me about your novella, L.P.!
Are you excited for this coming release? I hope you love it as much as I did!
Thanks for reading! Stay safe, and stay spooky.
-G
He's such a good writer.