Novelist. Musician. Publisher. Filmmaker/producer. For Jeremy Wagner, there’s little he’s not interested in or hasn’t done. With his new novel Wretch (Dead Sky Publishing) publishing in January 2026, PW spoke with this modern-day Renaissance man about the appeal of splattercore fiction, working in multiple genres, and why writing lyrics is harder than writing prose.
You’re originally from the Midwest. Where did you grow up, and when did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I was born in the northern Chicago suburb of Libertyville, Ill., and then moved to central Wisconsin as a child—that’s where I grew up—and then I moved back with family to Illinois at around age 16. I actually lived in Waukegan, Ill., for a bit—that’s the hometown of Ray Bradbury. I realized that I wanted to be a writer as a child. I was already an avid reader by age three, and in a few years I went from reading Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss to reading novels from my mom’s library—my mom was a constant reader. By age six or seven, I was writing my very first stories thanks to my maternal grandmother, who got me a hardbound journal to write in—and that’s when I first realized that I wanted to be a writer. I can recall being in grade school, telling Mom that I wanted to be a writer and work in a bookstore. I was fortunate to have people like my mother and my school librarian encourage my love of writing and my love of reading and books. Getting that kind of support goes a long way for a kid.
Your first novel, The Armageddon Chord, was a bestseller, peaking at #4 on the Barnes & Noble paperback bestseller list. What inspired you to write it—and how did it set the tone for your career?
As both a writer and a guitarist, I was always into the power of a loud, distorted guitar and the power of music. So with almost every story idea I get, it starts with “what if?” and goes from there. My inspiration for The Armageddon Chord came from a few things, like, that power of music I mentioned and I thought, “what if a guitarist transcribes a piece of music that opened up the gates of Hell?” and I was also thinking of how blues legend guitarist Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil to become the most talented blues guitarist in the world. Plus there’s all this history involved: ancient Egypt, World War II, the Book of Revelation, and so on that inspired me—I’m a real history nerd. So I took all that and came up with The Armageddon Chord. You could say it’s part of that old adage writers are told: Write what you know.
Just before I got a publishing deal, I got published in an anthology with St. Martin’s Press that kinda put me on the map. Then I got the book deal for The Armageddon Chord, and it did so well right out of the gate that it set me up as a “new and known horror/dark fiction writer” and it set the tone for my “arrival,” if you will, within the horror/thriller genres and launched my career as a writer. From there, I just kept on going.
You’ve written multiple novels in the horror/splatterpunk genres. How would you describe the genres, and what do you like about them as a storyteller?
Horror fiction elicits all kinds of feelings of fear, dread, shock and can be about anything, be it psychological and supernatural, reality-inspired by serial killer or animals gone bad, or ghosts, monsters of all kinds, lore and legends, you name it.
Splatterpunk is like horror fiction on steroids. This brand of fiction is one of my favorites as it graphically describes scenes of excessive violence, sex, and horror—all that mashed up to give readers a visceral, sometimes super-shocking reaction.
I like both genres as a storyteller because I’m fascinated with taking disturbing ideas and themes and escalating them to another level. To be clear: I don’t write to shock people. I write for myself as I’m into the macabre and twisted tales, and if my stories give readers a solid jolt or even a reaction of “what the hell did I just read?” I’m delighted. Yes, I’m happy to get that reaction from others as I get the same reaction from what’s in my head.
Your new novel, Wretch, comes out in January. What can readers expect?
Wretch is a bit more extreme than my previous novels. It mixes splatterpunk with dark crime fiction, which is a new genre for me to tap into. It was really fun to write and I think I’ve hit my stride with this one. It’s kinda funny to me that Wretch comes hot on the heels of my bestselling nonfiction book, Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef, which I wrote with Chef Curtis Duffy, because Wretch is a much more brutal book, and anyone who thought Fireproof was an inspiring read are gonna be in for a shock with Wretch.
As for what readers can expect, I’ll leave you with these blurbs I’ve received: crime author Laura Caldwell says “Jeremy Wagner's gory and violent novel, Wretch, uses horror to explore timely, broader issues. In this Frankenstein meets The Godfather mashup, Wagner tackles everything from how it feels to be a cop in today's world to addictions at every level—booze and drugs, body sculpting, and workouts. But where Wagner's novel really shines is calling out Big Pharma’s own addiction to creating the next little blue pill.” The legendary horror/splatterpunk author Edward Lee says, “Three words: Horrifying, relentless, and original. Wretch is a multi-genre masterwork that struts its stuff with superior storytelling and deft characterizations while keeping the sick-in-the-head throttle stomped to the floor from start to finish. If you only read one more horror novel this year, make sure this is it.” And bestselling author, Rio Youers says, “Wretch is a blood-soaked, drug-fueled spectacle of relentless carnage and chaos, with some of the most violent, off-the-wall characters I’ve ever encountered in a novel. Nightmarish, unapologetically brutal, and packed with shocking moments. All the triggers.”
Those blurbs really say it all!
Over the course of your career, you’ve published short fiction, nonfiction, and novels. Do you have a preferred area in which to work?
I’ve had the luxury of writing what I want. You couldn’t pay me to write in a genre I’m not into. I say that because I’ve been hired to write screenplays, TV series, and memoirs like Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef. But I took on those projects because I was really into the material/subjects. I love writing short stories, but out of any genre or area, I’m gonna say that I prefer to write NOVELS most of all—dark fiction/crime/horror/splatterpunk all the way with my novels. That’s my style.
What is your writing process, and do you write every day?
My process is to isolate myself in my home office and write without any distractions. I try and write every day, at least a thousand words... and I try to start writing in the morning into the afternoon—but sometimes life gets in the way, so I don’t always reach my daily writing goal, but I do my best to stick to it.
As a storyteller, you have a dark sensibility. What themes and subjects do you enjoy exploring, and why?
I was born a horror kid. I was always interested dark fiction. My mom read a lot of mystery and horror—still does—and that stoked my fire for the macabre.
Themes and subjects I like to explore have a common theme: the dark side of human nature, putting people in insane situations and not always with happy endings, and the monsters—both human and otherworldly. I enjoy these things because I’m fascinated with abnormal psychology, true crime, and tapping into why bad things happen to good people. Fear is a motivator... there’s something about exploring that emotion on all kinds of levels that appeals to me. And when I explain why I enjoy all that, I kinda laugh as think that I must sound like a monster myself for being into all these dark things, while in reality, I’m always spreading love best I can in this world and roll as a nice guy. My dark and overactive imagination contradicts the real-life Jeremy, y’know?
But there’s a reason why horror culture is so popular. Be it a movie or a novel, people enjoy being scared and are probably relieved they didn’t have to experience what characters in novels and movies do. I think a byproduct of my dark sensibility is that a part of me is also a fan of horror culture and I enjoy a good scare.
You’re the coauthor, with Michelin-starred chef Curtis Duffy, of Duffy’s USA Today bestselling memoir Fireproof. What was your experience collaborating on the book?
Writing Fireproof: Memoir of a Chef with Chef Curtis Duffy was a great experience. I had never written a memoir before, but Curtis’s true-life story was too incredible to not do. I’m honored that Curtis approached me to write his memoir. Curtis is a very close friend of mine, so the experience was comfortable as we did this book together. I think I did some 60 hours of interviews with him and we cried a lot, laughed a lot, and it was such an incredible experience for me overall. I learned a great deal along the way as well, and it was great for me as a writer to broaden the scope of what I write while using my skills as a novelist to take Curtis’s words and voice and place the reader in Curtis’s shoes through all the stages of his life. The experience was positive and changed my life for sure.
In addition to being a fiction writer, you’re also a musician who has released 10 albums across multiple bands. When did you start making music, and what’s more challenging: writing books or songs?
I was a writer before I was a musician. When I first picked up a guitar, I devoted myself to mastering the instrument the same way I worked on my craft as a book writer/storyteller. I started writing my own music and lyrics when I was around 16 years old and never stopped, while also writing short stories and eventually novels.
As for what’s more challenging, I’d say writing music and lyrics is more challenging because in a band, I gotta work with three or four other guys who will either accept what I write or send me back to the drawing board... there’s more complications with seeing my art and vision come to life because of the involvement of my bandmates. That’s not a bad thing because “quality-control” is paramount and we only want to release the best music and albums. However, I prefer not to answer to anyone or battle over my ideas. With writing, it’s nice and solitary and I don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen. Only my editors and publisher are involved with my books, and I’ve been fortunate with them because they support my vision—no matter how edgy it can be. Being a book writer feels much freer and I get my voice heard—both my “voice,” which is the vibe/brand in my stories, and my “voice” saying that it’s my way or the highway if anyone doesn’t embrace my brand of fiction or nonfiction.
You’re the CEO of the TV/film company Aphotic Media and the independent publishing company Dead Sky Publishing. What inspired you to start the companies, and what kinds of projects do you focus on?
First, with Dead Sky Publishing, being a publisher was kind of an accident, actually. I had this guy who had a small press called Death’s Head Press and he was doing really great stuff and was into music as well, like me, and liked bands I liked and stuff. I had an idea to bring him a book I wanted to see published by a photographer in Chicago named Gene Ambo. He’s been shooting metal and rock bands for 45 years or something. And I told him he should do a book because he has an amazing archive of photos of so many bands and images no one’s seen. So, Gene and I came up with this idea to do a book of photos for a venue called The Metro in Chicago. And Gene had been shooting shows at Metro for 40 years. And a lot of huge bands came to the Metro as the first time they ever played Chicago. Like when Metallica first came to Chicago they played the Metro, same with Slayer, Nirvana, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins, and on and on. Gene had all these great photos. So I hit up the guy who owned and ran Death’s Head Press about Heavy Metro and he said, “Why don't you and I do a publishing house together?” And I was like, “No thanks. I’m not really interested in being a publisher. I just wanna write my own books full-time.” My thought was that it’s kinda like being in a band—I love being a musician, but I don't want to own a record label. I want to be on the creative side, you know?
But the next thing I know, I actually DID partner with this publishing guy, we created Stygian Sky Media, we then released Heavy Metro and had the Death’s Head Press line with all those titles, and from there, we made our focus publishing horror novels, splatter westerns, graphic novels, comic books, and all kinds of nonfiction. We also resurrect some amazing backlist titles that have been OOP.
My original partner exited some years back and then I partnered with Steve Wands to create Dead Sky Publishing, and thanks to him and Kristy Baptist—our co-manager and CFO—the company has grown epically. The comic book and graphic novel line really took off under Steve’s watch. We kept signing more and more authors for Dead Sky Publishing and the Death’s Head Press imprint and since then we exploded in a beautiful way. We got really big quick. I always say we’re “the indie publisher with major publisher muscle.” We’ve got the best distribution. We’re in every bookstore now and it’s all just phenomenal. I see our stuff in airport bookstores. And we have a great staff as well—we’ve got employees that work full-time and despite me being a reluctant publisher, not wanting to be the face of the company or on the front lines, I’m really happy to discover and publish exciting authors and talent. And I still get to do my thing, which is write full-time.
I’m really proud of DSP, and once in a while I’ll acquire something I’m into, but my team, they do a great job of acquiring the best creators and building our company up. My team and I all share the same love for these genres and share a vision to be original and high quality and to go where others won’t—and do it with passion and class.
Second, I made Aphotic Media several years ago with my partner Frankie Nasso. Frankie is a longtime video director and filmmaker. Frankie has made award-winning films and documentaries and even got a Cannes Film Festival Award. Much like Dead Sky Publishing, Frankie and I create films and other film projects with that same shared vision to be original with our creations, offer high-quality films, and also to go where others won’t and do it with passion and class. Without passion, you don’t give the world or yourself your best—and I always aim to be the best at what I create, no matter what.
