It’s not often that an award-winning novelist teams up with an Academy Award winner like Guillermo del Toro to write a novel. But that’s the situation that Chuck Hogan finds himself in with the new novel, The Strain.  As detailed by HarperCollins: “The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth (del Toro) and a Hammett Award-winning author (Hogan) bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy …

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country.

In two months—the world.”

I recently got the chance to do a brief email interview with Hogan about the collaboration. But before launching into it, here’s some additional information about the novelist: “Hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Standoff and Prince of Thieves, which won the 2005 Hammett Award and was called one of the 10 best novels of the year by Stephen King. Prince of Thieves will soon be a major motion picture.”

Tim O’Shea: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is your first foray into writing horror. What was the biggest challenge to writing in this genre?

Chuck Hogan: My biggest challenge, far and away, was getting the book off on the right foot vis a vis my coauthor. Guillermo is an intimidating first reader, so I wanted to make sure I brought it. My anxiety level went down fifty percent once I felt like he liked what he saw, and that our oars were rowing in sync.

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