Hellbound Bastards author Chris McGuinness shares layers of writing journey

As a preteen, Chris McGuinness began his journey down the horror path after receiving a copy of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot for Christmas. 

“That was the first adult horror book I ever read,” Chris said. “It just blew my mind. I came away from that book as a lifelong fan of horror, especially horror fiction. That’s one of the books that made me really want to be a writer and specifically write horror.” 

Last month, he published his first book—a novella titled Hellbound Bastards. 

Its genre? Horror.

Hellbound Bastards tells the story of an outlaw who cheats death and finds himself in a battle with a detective, a cult member, and a band of otherworldly killers in a remote Southwestern town in 1887. McGuinness said horror’s not the only genre the book incorporates.

“I’ve always been a fan of Westerns,” Chris, a former New Times staff writer, said. “Westerns and horror are two genres that go together well. The story just kind of came together. Once I got going, I had such a blast writing it. I blew through the first draft.” 

The author understands that some readers may see Hellbound Bastards as just another Buzz Lightyear in the toy store of the horror genre. He said he hopes his effort to distinguish his story from the rest will help it stand out on shelves.

“To me, horror is fun,” Chris said. “I wanted to write something—in addition to being dark and nightmarish—propulsive. Hellbound Bastards stands out because you’re getting the horror, you’re getting the tropes that you find in a Western, but it’s also keeping that more pulpy, action-oriented vibe.” 

After spending the last few years writing horror short stories, Chris said he got an itch to write something longer. 

“I really like novellas,” Chris said. “They’re a little bit meatier than a short story, but they’re still something you can sit down, read, and finish in a day or two.”

Chris said Hellbound Bastards was written in conversation with a number of books: including Laird Barron’s Bulldozer, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian.

He may be beaming with accomplishment now, but don’t let Chris’ smile fool you. He’s spent years dedicating grueling hours to reach this stage as a writer. 

Every morning, before he starts his day job as a public affairs and communications analyst for Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Chris wakes up early just to give himself at least one uninhibited hour to write freely.

“That’s all the time I get,” Chris said. “Some days, I’ll come out of that time, and I’ll have written a lot of words. Some days, I’ll come out of it, and I’ll have barely written anything.”

But, as Chris realized, barely anything is better than nothing. As he looked toward his future, he saw two options: pursue his dream or abandon it.

“I knew I could either start getting up early and sacrificing a little bit of sleep to do the thing I love or I could not do it,” Chris said. “I knew I would regret not at least trying.”

No matter how he feels or how much energy he has, he said, forcing himself to write when he doesn’t feel like it has greatly improved his craft.

“The days that make me a better writer are the days when I wake up and I don’t want to write, but I still do it anyway,” Chris said. “A lot of writers get hung up on needing to be in the mood to sit down and write, and they procrastinate. The days when it’s tough but you sit down and do it anyway really build up your ability to endure. The more you do it, the more you realize you actually want to be sitting there doing it, even on the days when it’s tough.”

Chris’ wife, Rebecca, a former arts writer for New Times, has seen his process and dedication firsthand. About 15 years ago, when they first started dating, she and Chris would sit across from each other, she said, writing as reporters in Texas.

As someone who has to wait for inspiration to hit her, Rebecca said it’s fascinating to watch Chris sit down and force the creativity out of himself like he’s pulling his own teeth. She said one of the most crucial pieces of writing advice Chris obtained came from Stephen King.

“You’re a writer, just write,” Rebecca said, paraphrasing King. “Get to the paper and write. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. You don’t have to make it perfect. You’re not writing the next great novella the first time you sit at a typewriter. You’re just writing to get that thing out of you.”

Rebecca, a full-time artist and poet, said Chris is very detail-oriented and also a brilliant painter—he created the cover for Hellbound Bastards.

Rebecca said deciding to embrace the process of writing rather than worrying about whether or not his work will get published helped Chris take a major step forward as a writer.

“It takes a long time to curate your voice,” Rebecca said. “You have to be willing to accept feedback, and Chris is.”

When writing, Chris said he tries to put a modern flavor on his classic influences like H.P. Lovecraft. He said he works hard to balance using modern language and creating an old-fashioned feel in his stories. 

“I love Lovecraft, but, when you read a Lovecraft story, it’s very dense, and it’s written—even at the time he was writing—in a very archaic style,” Chris said. “That can put some people off. I try to balance keeping the feel of a story that occurred in the past and keeping the language accessible to someone who’s reading today.”

Discouraging readers and writers, especially young ones, is the last thing Chris wants to do. He understands that more and more people are relying on artificial intelligence to express their thoughts for them, but urged young writers to avoid taking the easy way out.  

“The thing with writing—especially creative—is … it can be a struggle. It can be a challenge. It’s difficult, sometimes, to sit down, stare at a blank page, and try to get what’s in your head onto that page in a way that other people will understand,” Chris said. “But within that struggle is where you find your voice as a writer—within that struggle of trying to articulate that vision is where you find yourself as a person. You discover a lot about who you are and what you think is important. For me, the joy of writing is in that challenge. When you give yourself a shortcut there, you’re really missing out.”

Some may see getting their first book published as a time to kick their feet up, bask in their success, and celebrate. Not Chris. He said his second book, Be Not Afraid, was already acquired by Cloaked Press.

“Be Not Afraid is a religious cosmic horror story that takes place in modern day,” Chris said. “Both Hellbound Bastards and Be Not Afraid play off the fact that, as human beings, our perception of reality is so limited. The things that can be lurking outside of that perception can be very frightening. I’ve always been fascinated with how vast and unknowable the world and universe around us is.”

Rebecca noted that if you’re from Santa Maria, “Chris is a Santa Maria writer. If you want to read something that’s unique and scary, but not gory and gross, this is the book for you. It’s really well written. It’s really punchy. It’s going to be different than what you’re expecting—but in a good way.”

Staff Writer Reece Coren is always looking for book recommendations at rcoren@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in May 22 – Jun 1, 2025.