Wooley's passion rooted in fantasy and escapist literature
JUDY RANDLE, World book editor, 10/21/2001
John Wooley modestly deflects reference to his diverse background with a quip: "Jack of all trades, master of none."Only the first half of the equation is correct. But it is typical Wooley.
His life and career are full of surprises -- horror and fantasy author, Tulsa World entertainment writer, radio deejay, comic book creator, film writer, biologist, Vietnam veteran, English teacher, father, church elder, Western swing music historian, lover of rural life and fifth cousin of Lord Byron.
Wooley takes his work seriously, but he is quick to crack jokes at his own expense, if he feels the attention getting too intense.
Right now his focus is on horror. His latest book, "Awash in the Blood," (HAWK Publishing, hardcover) is out in time for the Halloween season, and is getting a good buzz.
Writing is his first love.
An early influence was his Minnesota grandmother, Mary M. Wooley, through whom he is related to Lord Byron. She was a poet first, but also wrote confession stories for magazines.
"The first thing I ever sold was horror," said Wooley. The first writing I ever got money for was in 1970." He was working on an undergraduate degree in biology from Oklahoma State University when he sold a comic book story to a magazine called, "Eerie."
But he also remembers his first rejection slip came at age 14, for a fantasy and science fiction story.
Wooley isn't sure where his early interest in horror came from but said his mother always believed it was his way of coping with his Dad's death.
The family lived in St. Paul, Minn., where Wooley was born in 1948. His father was a school administrator.
"My father died during that polio summer in '53. I was four years old. I remember the iron lung and being quarantined and all that. After he died my family moved down here because that's where my mother was from."
But as for accepting her psychological explanation, he is not so sure.
"I just remember I had a terrific passion for horror, monsters, Edgar Allen Poe, fantasy literature of all kinds . . . just escapist stuff," he said. In high school he wrote stories about horror movies and comic books for publication in what were then called "fan-zines."
The late '50s were also a time of shock theater. "All the horror films that Universal Studios made in the '40s -- Frankenstein and Dracula -- were made available on TV. We had never seen those before.
"Then at the same time, American International had started to make teen- age horror films. It was a good time to be around, if you liked monsters. And I did," he said.
His interest in comic books and horror came together when he sold the Eerie Magazine story. The editor coincidentally was a Tulsan, Archie Goodwin, who was "kind of famous in the comic book business. But I didn't know that until much later," he said.
Wooley sold two more stories and then was drafted for the Vietnam war. "I joined the Navy reserve and had active duty for two years. I figured the Viet Cong didn't have a big Navy, so it would be a little safer," he said, as he casually recounted what he actually really did, that also earned him "a couple of medals and stuff."
"I was on a helicopter carrier. We were carrying Marines into Vietnam. We were shot at and went through mine fields, but it wasn't that bad. There were guys who had a tougher time than I did."
When Wooley returned from Vietnam he had the G.I. bill to pay for education. His undergraduate degree in "something that was not frivolous" was what his Mom wanted him to do, he explained. "It's that old depression era thinking." So, this time he went back to study what he wanted -- writing. He earned a Master's Degree in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis from Central State University in Edmond.
"My thesis was a novel," he said. Which one? "Well, one that I hope nobody ever sees! It was juuust awful," he moaned. "The only copy is on the fourth floor at CSU because they bind all the theses. I hope it has a huge layer of dust over it."
It was a horror story and he admits he learned a lot by writing it. "You learn from your mistakes," he said.
While in graduate school he put together a group of writers who would read their works-in-progress to each other. They called themselves the Robert B. Leslie Foundation. A lot of good writers came out of the group, including a later book collaborator, Ron Wolfe.
Wooley married his wife, Janis, and moved to Tulsa in 1979 after graduating from CSU and teaching English at Oscar Rose State College.
Wolfe stayed in Oklahoma City but the two worked together long distance on a novel that would become "Old Fears."
"And damned if we didn't sell it," said Wooley. "It went at auction in 1980 for $15,000 and that was a lot of money back then."
At the same time he also sold a collection of pulp stories from the '30s and '40s that he had edited, called "Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective," which was later turned into a movie.
Christopher Lewis, who had a television program in Tulsa at the time called "Tulsa Afternoon," interviewed Wooley about "Old Fears." Lewis went on to option the Dan Turner book for a movie. Seven years later it was filmed in Tulsa with some great B actors, Wooley said.
The Wooley-Wolfe combination didn't sell another book for six years but then they sold two, "Full Moon" and "Death's Door" to Dell, which published a line called "Abyss." The publisher didn't want two names on the cover of "Full Moon" so the team went by the pseudonym, "Mick Winters," who was also the protagonist in their first book, "Old Fears."
"But we dedicated the book to ourselves. Kind of a little in-joke," Wooley chuckled. "To John Wooley and Ron Wolfe, who led me out of the cellar," it read.
After Abyss folded Wooley's book career was put on hold. He got into writing trading cards, creating comic book characters and, after the Dan Turner movie, began writing documentaries with Christopher and Linda Lewis, including a Halloween thing for the Learning Channel, called Hauntings Across America.
"The one I am proudest of is called, "Still Swinging." It was a documentary on Western swing music and was shot at Cain's Ballroom. I was really proud of that, and it's still selling. It was recognized as one of the tops in the genre, which is kind of cool," he said.
In the '90s Wooley teamed with popular radio station deejay Billy Parker of KVOO (1170 AM), in a weekly show called "Swinging Country." It plays Western swing music as the deejays talk about its players. The show airs from 7-9 a.m. Saturdays and is re-run 10 p.m. to midnight on Sunday. "We were the top-rated show in Tulsa for its audience last year," said Wooley.
"And then, God Bless Bill Bernhardt." The Tulsa bestselling author of legal thrillers, who started HAWK Publishing several years ago, came to Wooley about reprinting "Death's Door" and "Old Fears."
"Then he uttered those words that you only hear a few times in your life: `Have you got anything else?' " Wooley was ready.
HAWK published "Dark Within" last year and now, "Awash in the Blood." In the next two years he has contracts to do two more, a non-fiction book on "biker flicks" (motorcycle movies) and another fiction book, "Ghost Band."
Wooley and his wife, Janis, make their home on 13 acres near Foyil, north of Claremore. He has a pond, raises chickens and sells the eggs, and has a mowed spot where he and their two boys, Jonathan, 17 and Steven, 14, play touch football and baseball. She is special services director for Chelsea schools.
Wooley is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Chelsea, but says that since they are only 20 strong, everyone gets to be an elder if they stay long enough.
Wooley joined the Tulsa World in 1983 as an entertainment writer. He doesn't know how he finds time to do everything, he says. But he does.
Actually, he works on his outside writing for at least two hours every morning before he comes to the paper.
"I'm just a popular culture kind of guy. I love old music. I love old literature, and I always have. I just have an appreciation for the antiquated pop culture of generations before me. I love old comic books, old movies, all the old stuff.
"I don't know why. I'm kind of a historian in a way.
"I'm a small town, rural guy. I think if everyone lived in towns of 5,000 I think we wouldn't have any problems.
Meet the Author
Barnes and Noble and HAWK Publishing have joined forces for a Halloween Celebration, debut party and book signing for author John Wooley's new horror book, "Awash in the Blood." It all happens Saturday at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. 4th St.
The public book signing is from 7-9 p.m.. While fans buy books and have them autographed, sponsors will serve refreshments and show continuous footage of trailers from horror movies, displays of classic horror movie lobby cards and posters. An exclusive showing of John's film, "Cafe Purgatory," is also planned.
There is no charge for the event, which is open to the public but an RSVP is appreciated to 665-4585. Guests are encouraged to "dress up and come as you dare!" After the public signing, the party continues into the evening.
"Awash in the Blood" tells the story of the Rev. Mo Johnston, a small- time televangelist, who gets bitten by a vampire while preaching in Transylvania. At first, Johnston fights against the transformation that threatens to bury his soul in darkness. Bur gradually, he begins to wonder: Isn't eternal life what people want? And isn't one way of giving it to them just as good as another?
The book gives a terrifying twist to and old legend. Happy Halloween!