Talk about yourself—Who are you? Where are you located? Anything you feel mentionable here. Drop your links as well!
Right! So my name is Cody Mower. I am a writer from Maine who happens to be a retired Marine. I think my favorite description of myself comes from my friend Alin over at The Dread Machine, who came up with this biography:
Cody Mower is a writer, veteran, and shaman based out of rural Maine, where he can be found casting runes, carrying boulders, or practicing ancient warfare tactics with a sword forged by a 9-fingered blacksmith. Zero percent of this biography is a lie. To verify for yourself, follow him on Twitter @HeavyistheC.
What are you currently writing, and what inspired it?
I always have so many projects going at once because I constantly fall in and out of love with my work. One is called “Just Us Alone,” about a boy named Noah who gets hit by a car and ends up falling in love with the girl who saved his life, Cossette. Who may or may not be a 97-year-old ghost.
What inspired that piece was I used to be a sucker for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Trope back in high school, which has long been dead. However, that whole trope was problematic, one-dimensional, and I wanted to see if I could rework that formula. I wanted to retell that story where the foil to the boring guy has her own motivations, ideas, and personality that can stand on its own.
What genre do you write?
I started writing non-fiction work. I have been working on my memoir of post-military life for two years, for example, and taking publishing bits out of that. I started writing fiction to take a break from myself because my mind could only handle so much introspection. Plus, it’s no fun having to go over the worst years of your life with a fine-tooth comb over and over again.
So I started writing horror! And that branched out into writing well, a little bit of everything! Except for poetry. As hard as I try, that seems like the one area I’m having trouble breaking into.
Have you been published/are you working towards being published?
I’ve been published across various places on the internet for both my fiction and non-fiction. I currently have two things in print with two more coming out later this year!
Online I got my start with Moxy Magazine, which published an excerpt from my memoir about a life-changing hangover I had in Portland back in 2017. My horror stuff can be found on The Dread Machine, Ghost Orchid Press, and Love Letters to Poe.
What author inspires you the most?
My peers inspire me the most. One of my friends, MariscaPichette is just a talented fiction/fantasy writer and a poet. She is one of the most driven people I’ve ever met, and I find myself constantly a better person and writer for trying to match her drive.
What books are your favorite, and what would you recommend for others?
I love stories that feel like they’re being told to you by a friend. I love voice-driven work, and so books by Gaiman and King are constantly littering my desk. But also work by Mary Karr, Jo-Ann Beard, Tobias Wolff….all of them tell stories in the way I want to tell stories.
Also, House of Leaves.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write! But more importantly, read and read well. Reading well doesn’t mean read the classics, but read things that you enjoy reading. Read work that inspires you!
Keep in mind even if you’re not in front of your computer, you are ALWAYS writing. Because all of those experiences you have throughout the day, from the blinding pain of stubbing your toe down to the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, will find a way into your work. In this way, I write for days before I actually sit down and get the words out on the screen.
What is your perfect setting for writing?
It’s Thursday morning, the sun is out. I’m sitting in my office with a fresh pot of coffee ready and lofi playing in the background. In this perfect world, I’ve also replaced my worn-out writing chair that has seen (according to Grammarly) over a million words, and I no longer have to sit back on a couch pillow.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I have “arcs” that I follow in longer pieces that sets the limits on where to start and end, but no rules exist on how to get there.
What is your favorite written piece, and if it’s published, where can one find it?
My favorite piece that I’ve written so far is called Satan’s Ridge and is coming out May 4th on The Dread Machine. Maine is one of those states that is just absolutely riddled with secrets, especially in more rural parts. Satan’s Ridge tells one of those secrets that have been kept within Greene’s borders for years. Until now.
Echoes of Oddities 