Thomas Ha is a Nebula and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated writer of speculative short fiction. His work has been published in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Weird Horror Magazine, and The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, among others. Thomas grew up in Honolulu and, after a decade-plus of living in the northeast, now resides in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
His story, “In That Crumbling Home”, was originally published in Bourbon Penn, and will appear in BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror Volume Two, available to preorder now.
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Give us the elevator pitch of your BNW-nommed story, please.
A girl and her little brother plan an escape from their strange, murderous parents with the help of an outsider.
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have an office? A preferred coffee shop? The back of the bus? Standing under your neighbor’s eaves, avoiding the rain? Are you one of those true modern Weirdos who write your entire novel on your phone?
It's a little less "routine" and more "when the stars align." I have three young kids, so most of my day revolves around pick-ups and drop-offs and keeping up with things around the house. But during the rare moments when inspiration strikes and things aren't on fire, I'm usually hunched over my laptop at our kitchen counter with a cup of coffee!
What does “Weird” mean to you, in the context of storytelling? And what creators/experiences/influences helped sculpt this definition for you in your creative journey?
Boy, I am extremely not qualified to answer this question. Weird fiction, to me, usually deals heavily with the numinous and inexplicable, and, more often than not, intentionally plays with the borders of other genres. Writers I tend to think of who sculpt my concept of the weird are Gene Wolfe, Robert Aickman, Kobo Abe, Richard Brautigan, China Mieville, William Hope Hogson, and Clark Ashton Smith. But I tend to just read what I read and write what I write and let editors and critics interpret what the genre-lines/definitions are!
On the Tenebrous Discord, we ask everyone to introduce themselves as a Film-meets-Music Artist (Citizen Kane x Metallica, f’rinstance). It doesn’t have to be your favorite, and don’t spend too much time overthinking it; now GO.
Fire Walk With Me x The Flashbulb.
What’s the Weirdest thing—capital W—that’s ever happened to you (that you’re comfortable sharing)?
I plead the fifth.
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BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Two, is out June 26th.
