Troy Barnes | Australian Author of Dark Fiction

THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF TROY BARNES
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR OF DARK FICTION

Welcome to the mind of
Troy Barnes - Australian
Author of Dark Fiction.

Who is Troy Barnes?
Read his Biography and
find out for yourself.

Find out the latest News
& Info at the Troy Barnes
MySpace website.

Books written / contributed to
by Troy Barnes;
Deadlight, Concrete Blood, Monochromacy.

Feedback from Newspapers
and fans on the first book by
Troy Barnes; Deadlight.

Helpful links for those
interested in writing or
reading Dark Fiction.

Troy welcomes feedback
on his works and correspondence
from interested publishers,
agents & book stores.

Troy Barnes - Australian Author of Dark Fiction

My name is Troy Barnes. I live in Tasmania, Australia with my gorgeous wife
and our three furry feline children, Wesley, buffy and Neo.

Writing and creation has been a part of my life since a young age. Memories stream back
to a small alien cartoon strip series I created when I was around ten, called The Moonies.
I then photocopied it and tried to sell to neighbours on the street.

It went amazingly well. I think I sold around three copies.
I celebrated by buying some lollies at the local shop.

Then of course there was the small book I wrote when I started high School called Golfex. It incorporated my two great loves of the era. Golf and Star Wars. It was Sci-Fi at its best with ships looking like golf bags and the characters were all golf balls with legs.

I still have it under my house in a box somewhere, and it was such a fun and exciting time when I found it again and opened the pages.

Deadlight - The first novel by Troy Barnes

The cover for DEADLIGHT was created by an incredibly talented graphic designer Jess Turale.

It was a silly book to look at now, but the smile on my face when I found it was priceless. The past can be a fascinating thing to find in a dusty taped up cardboard box.

Horror became a vital part of my life from an early age along with the Sci-Fi elements. I can still remember the night I peeked through the door to the living room to see a frightening movie being watched by my two older sisters and their friends. A possessed woman was struggling to escape from a trap door and she had the most terrifying laugh. I later found that the name of the movie was Evil Dead.

As I moved on with age I discovered the horror movies that would become my classics;
A Nightmare on Elm Street. Halloween. Friday 13th. Hellraiser.

Deadlight on the shelves of Angus & Robertson Bookshop

Copies of DEADLIGHT lining the walls of
Angus & Robertson bookshop in Burnie, Tasmania.

The discoveries didn’t stop there. I found myself wandering around in a bookstore wanting to read my first adult book. No, not that type of adult book. I walked around for quite a while and then I saw something that focused my full attention. On the cover was a picture of a woman with shocking teeth. The title was Misery. The author, Stephen King. I had found a treasure that would hook me in and keep me trapped for the rest of my life.

Before I knew what had happened I owned nearly every Stephen King book from that time. The beanbag in my bedroom turned into a reading chair and I constantly pushed myself into other worlds of terror.

As time moved on I started working in the retail market and currently manage a hardware store, which I really enjoy. This means that all of my writing is done of a night time.

I made a decision two years ago to follow a lifelong dream and turn one of my own short stories into a novel. I had a few shorts as well as poetry hidden away, and most of them revolved around the genre of dark fiction. It was harder than I thought it would be.

Motivation came in ups and downs, yet I was determined to finish what I started. One night at around three in the morning I placed the final full stop at the end of the first draft. As I rushed in and woke up my wife to help celebrate the achievement, I was met with a half asleep reply of nothingness. It was then that I noticed the time and understood the lack of mirrored excitement. I sneaked out of the room quietly, but still managed to do a personal little happy dance with a grin.

Deadlight was officially released on March 30th, 2007 to a group of around 140 friends, family and guests.

Before I knew what had happened there were emails coming in from people I had never met, telling me how much they loved the story, and pleading for a sequel. Deadlight was being read all around Australia as well as other countries around the world.

Deadlight Launch photo

The DEADLIGHT launch - Jess Turale, the cover designer and Troy signing books.

Concrete Blood

There were even more highlights to follow as my short stories started to appear in print alongside some great names. Blender was the first to be published in the horror anthology, Concrete Blood. Alley Kat followed soon after in Darkened Horizons:Issue 2. I was then invited to submit to the invitation only, Darkened Horizons:Halloween Edition. Extracts from the Diary of Norman Dicker was the chosen story. My bloodiest short story, Family Matters, was then accepted into a brand new magazine called The Ashen Eye. Writing short stories is something that I enjoy, and will continue to do in the future.

Then the opportunity appeared to pass a copy of *Deadlight* onto some well known people and I grabbed the chance with both hands. *Eric Bana* was in the state for the Targa Tasmania Rally. I tracked him down and gave him his own copy of *Deadlight*.
A few months later I found out that *Leigh Whannell* would be in Tasmania to film a lead role in a small budget horror film *Dying Breed*.
	For those of you who don’t know the name, he is the co-creator of the *Saw* movies and also the lead role in the first *Saw* film. I drove deep into the Tasmanian wilderness and with a little luck and a lot of determination, I found the film crew. He signed my Saw DVD’s and during a fifteen minute chat, he showed an amazing amount of interest in the copy of *Deadlight* that I gave him. He is honestly one of the nicest guys I have had the honour of meeting. Thanks mate.
A promotional pack including a copy of Deadlight was also passed in to the hands of the great man himself, Stephen Spielberg, while filming The Pacific in Melbourne. This was a moment to celebrate because so many Deadlight fans, including myself, would love to see Deadlight on the big screen one day.

Monochromacy by Troy Barnes.

My second full length novel, Monochromacy, was released on Halloween, October 31st 2008. There were so many fans waiting for my next book and it was a proud moment to see it being enjoyed by so many people.

The future is going to be incredibly bright, and insanely busy.
I am looking at releasing my own anthology that will include all of my published short stories, as well as a few surprises. One of these surprises will be the short story that gave birth to my debut novel, Deadlight. It is called Ample Sacrifice, and features Sarah as a blonde.
Look out for this in Early 2009.
There are many ideas racing around at the moment for my next novel.
The main one is of course Deadlight 2.
I love the characters in this book and I have found it hard to let go of Sarah and Nate.
Late 2009 will be the expected release time for my next novel.

Visit the AHWA website

I am also a member of the Tasmanian Writer’s Centre and the Australian Horror Writer’s Association.

I created my own business, Troy Barnes Publishing to distribute my work, and will continue to do so until I find a publisher and/or agent.

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