I'm often asked--as I'm sure most authors are--where my ideas come from. I tell rhose curious about such things that these ideas come from my "what if" world. This article was originally written for my publisher's November 2007 newsletter and have reproduced it here for your enjoyment.

I live in a world of `what if.' I suspect most writers live in a world similar to mine, but since my specialty is horror, I'm quite certain my world is just a little darker. Most of my stories come from my `what if' world— What if a toaster caught on fire but instead of smoke roiling from the charred appliance, thick black goo seeped from it instead? What if there really was something under the bed other than dust bunnies? What if a family moved from the big city to a small town, but soon discovered they'd purchased more than just an old house and a parcel of land?
Prairie Rest, the setting for my novel, Anathema, came from my `what if' world. Actually, Prairie Rest is a compilation of several small towns found around the area where I grew up. I asked myself, "What if I took the best and worst elements of these towns and created my fictional little village?" As it turned out Prairie Rest was quite similar to any other small town one may pass though on an afternoon road trip—except there's a monster hiding beneath my quiet little hamlet. And that, my friends, brings us to the third question addressed earlier.
Jim Anderson, his marriage failing, brings his family to Prairie Rest and by doing so, endangers the entire town.
Jim, as do all my characters, comes from my special world. He is a mix of those people I know, those I wish I didn't, and those I conjure in my head. They are flawed, but they are strong—physically as well as mentally. They have to be. They fight the unknown. But what if the creature he must destroy is stronger than anticipated? What becomes of Prairie Rest? As the story unfolds, the answers to these questions reveal themselves. Eventually, the characters may take over the story and begin answering questions that never came from my `what if' world in the first place.
Personally, developing stories using this method—one I have dubbed, `what if'—has proved to be most successful. I find the story flows naturally, occasionally moving in tangents the way life tends to do. But each of these tangents must continue to add layers to the story, enriching the characters, settings, or circumstances. If they do not, the delete key is only a key stroke away.
Yet, there are some places in my `what if' world even I dare not enter. Dark cold places that once entered will never let me go. Maybe someday, when the moon is full and I'm feeling adventurous, I'll open that forbidden and sneak a peek of the horrors beyond that threshold. Maybe someday, but not today. No, not today.
Thank you, friends, for reading this article and I hope it gave you some insight of how I construct my stories.
Sleep tight and unpleasant screams.