Meet Thomas Mavroudis | Horror Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas Mavroudis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
I wouldn’t call this a habit, but pushing through laziness has helped me succeed. Pushing through in general, actually, whatever the reason is that keeps me from writing. When I don’t feel like writing what I’m supposed to be working on, I’ll write something else. If I have a limited window of time to work, I used to think, oh, I can’t write because I won’t have enough time. in forcing myself to use every free moment I can, I’ve created a habit of getting words on the paper no matter how short or long of time I have, which has led me to getting more stories completed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I tell people I write horror, but that’s such a broad category that I usually add my stories are not scary so much as they are unnerving and a little depressing. They are ghost stories, but not all of them contain ghosts. They are haunting stories, I guess. I write a lot about change, which is the scariest thing about life, I think. Most of my stories take place in Colorado. I hope readers recognize my settings. I think it adds to the uncomfortableness of my work.

I’ve always loved monsters. I think for most kids, their first exposure to fantastic creatures is dinosaurs and that was true for me. I had a much older sister who was really responsible for paving my path towards the strange and unusual. Sure, I was a chicken for a long time. I didn’t see a real scary movie until I was 12 or 13. This was the 80s, so you know, my peers had a jump on me. E.T. scared me when I saw it in the theater. But my sister tested different levels of spookiness on me, knowing that I liked Godzilla, the aliens from Star Wars and the Universal monsters a lot. Horror was like spicy food; it took some conditioning for the sting to become pleasurable.

I started reading horror around the same time I started watching scary movies, and naturally, I tried to write my own stories. I’ve been doing it for almost four decades, except I get a little bit of money now on top of accolades from my friends. It certainly wasn’t easy at all. The stories are, but not the actual writing them, or getting someone to read them, or buy them when they are polished. Writing is very hard. Would not recommended, unless it’s something you can’t help but do. Writing is the same as drinking water to me; I have to do it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friends are all from Denver, where we all grew up! So let’s say I make a strong connection with a writer from someplace else. Since they would most likely be a horror writer as well, Riverside Cemetery and Fairmount cemetery would be on the list. On another day, we’d cruise around Colfax, check out Wax Trax records in Capital Hill and Fashion Nation on South Broadway. Casa Bonita is a must! Up until COVID, I went to Casa Bonita at least once a year. I’m very happy it still exists, even with its tremendous glow up. We’ll probably eat the rest of our meals at Pete’s Kitchen. Aside from that, the unique Denver that I grew up in is long gone. I guess we could explore what outsiders think are the not to miss places.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost is my wife, Lisa. She has long been the champion of my writing. Of course, your loved ones will always say you are the best, and while Lisa has showered praise on my work for decades, she also lets me know when a story isn’t working. Not only that, before writing became a habit, Lisa would give me writing exercises, just so I had something to keep my creative soup bubbling.

Additionally, the Denver Horror Collective (DHC) is invaluable to my writing. The DHC is a group of Horror creatives that developed out of a very humble writing group. Although the group serves many functions now, at its core is the critique group, which there are now three: in-person, virtual and novel (also virtual).

Image Credits
All pictures are by me.