Author Interview: Staci Layne Wilson

Exploring The Music World's Darkest Corners With 'Rock & Roll Nightmares'

Staci Layne Wilson was born to write about the darker side of rock and roll.

The daughter of founding Ventures guitarist Don Wilson and pin up model/gossip columnist/author Nancy Bacon, Staci grew up in the heart of Hollywood celebrity culture. So it’s no surprise that she went on to be a successful entertainment reporter and a rock-obsessed author.

A former Hollywood Reporter journalist, Staci Layne Wilson has published 20 fiction, non-fiction and movie guide books (including editing her mother’s tell-all memoir, Legends and Lipstick). Her Rock & Roll Nightmares series currently features three curated short story collections and two works of non-fiction. She also hosts the Rock & Roll Nightmares podcast.

The three horror-themed short story collections—Rock & Roll Nightmares: Gory Days: '80s Edition Short Stories, Rock & Roll Nightmares: Do You Fear Like We Do: '70s Edition Short Stories, and Rock & Roll Nightmares: Along Comes Scary: '60s Edition Short Stories—feature a variety of notable contributors including Wilson, Mark Wheaton, Ruthann Jagge and Jeff Strand, among many others.

The two non-fiction books—Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Vol. 1: Fascinating Facts & Disturbing Details About Famous Rock Stars and Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Vol. 2: True Crime & Strange Stories About Rock Stars—focus on the heartbreaking real-life tales of rock stars ranging from Marc Bolan, Dee Dee Ramone and Wendy O. Williams to Michael Hutchence, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. Subjects covered include ‘The 27 Club,’ suicide, murder and devil worship.

“(F)rom the days of Christians vs. Lions as entertainment in the Roman Coliseum to the latest Jeffrey Dahmer documentary on Netflix, we like to delve into the darkness. It’s a way to experience living on the edge vicariously, from a safe distance,” Wilson says in the interview below.

I caught up with Wilson by email to find out more about her background, the inspiration for the Rock & Roll Nightmares series, and what she’s working on now.

Congrats on the success of your Rock & Roll Nightmares series. What was the initial inspiration to embark on this multi-book journey?

Thank you! It’s been nice to see that my months of research, writing, fine-tuning, double-checking, etc., are well-received.

I had been concentrating on novels and short story anthologies (horror) for quite some time but it’s more difficult for an indie author to build a fan base through fiction; when a potential reader is looking for a novel, they tend to go with writers they are familiar with or have heard of. But non-fiction is much more subject-based—if someone wants to read about their favorite rock stars or music genre, they’ll get whichever book fills that bill and it doesn’t matter so much who wrote it.

Credentials are helpful, though. Throughout the course of my career as an entertainment reporter and journalist, I covered a lot of music and have interviewed everyone from Paul Williams to Rob Zombie.

The idea for the Rock & Roll Nightmares books came to me as a reader looking for books like these, and not finding many. The first three books in the series are rock & roll horror stories, and the current two are nonfiction, concentrating on strange incidents, tragedies, and true crime.

I like that this series includes both fiction and non-fiction—something "writing experts" often advise against. Was branching out into non-fiction always the plan?

Ha! Well, they could be right. But I like to find a balance between enjoying what I’m doing and making a living at it. So far, so good—but I don’t just write books, I also work as freelance writer for websites like Culture Sonar, Red River Horror, and Really Rather. Anything music or/and movie-related, and I’m your girl.

I would say that even though it seems like I’m straddling two worlds, the thing that ties them together is rock music. Even my paranormal romantic thriller series, Immortal Confessions (published by Third Street Press), features a vampire who became a rock star in the early 1970s.

I’m big reader and podcast listener. I like how the Rock & Roll Nightmares series brings them together. Was that by design?

I started the Rock & Roll Nightmares podcast to bring attention to the books. When I lived in Hollywood, I was an entertainment reporter (from 2001 to 2020) and I interviewed literally thousands of musicians, writers, actors, directors, and others in the entertainment industry, so doing a podcast is second nature to me.

It’s intermittent, though. I have about 30 episodes out but haven’t recorded one in a few weeks. The podcast comes second to the writing, and right now, I’m in the middle of a new book.

The Rock & Roll Nightmares books definitely dive deep on the darker aspects of music. Why do you think people are fascinated by tales of self-destruction and hedonism?

That’s nothing new—from the days of Christians vs. Lions as entertainment in the Roman Coliseum to the latest Jeffrey Dahmer documentary on Netflix, we like to delve into the darkness. It’s a way to experience living on the edge vicariously, from a safe distance.

In Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Vol 2, I explore this question in the introduction and use a quote from John Lennon:

When asked by Rolling Stone how he felt about The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein’s premature death at the age of 33, John Lennon said, “There is a sort of little hysterical, ‘hee, hee, I’m glad it’s not me’ or something in it, that funny feeling when somebody dies. I don’t know whether you’ve had it… I’ve had a lot of people die on me. And the other feeling is, ‘What the fuck? What can I do?’”

While I don’t believe in sugar-coating anything—and yes, I do look at crime scene photos whenever possible to make sure my reporting is accurate—I did omit one rather gruesome detail about the burning of Gram Parsons’ corpse (which happened during a ‘cremation ceremony’ after his body was stolen by drunken friends). It’s not germane to the story, so I chose to leave it out.

Also, I have had to include unflattering items about some people I know (or have interviewed on my podcast)… But, those things are out there; it’s not like I’m telling on them! What I am doing is putting these stories in order and adding different details, as well as my own point of view (in rare moments—mostly, the nonfiction books are objective; I’m easily able to separate the art from the artist).

Which is harder for you—writing/curating the fiction collections or researching/writing the non-fiction?

They each present their own challenges. While I do enjoy the freedom prose allows with descriptions and dialogue, there’s a purity to nonfiction that cannot be denied. I’m creative but am more driven by facts and truths, so nonfiction is “easier” for me to write in that sense.

Based on your extensive research and personal experience, were our parents right to warn us away from the evils of the rock & roll lifestyle?

Well, this question doesn’t apply to me—my dad was a recording and touring musician! (He’s a founding member of The Ventures) And my mom was a pinup girl, then a gossip columnist. However, having wild parents means that I actually went the opposite way. I’ve never had a drinking problem, never got into drugs, and haven’t been arrested… yet.

But to answer seriously, I think it all depends on the person—for example, Gene Simmons of KISS has never even so much as taken a drink (and he’s just one of many similar examples).

What’s next for you?

My next book is called RockTails and it features fun cocktail and mocktail recipes from several well-known musicians, podcast guests, my co-authors from the Rock & Roll Nightmares fiction books, and others in the music world. The recipes are real but most of the drink names are tongue-in-cheek—Wasting Away on Margarita Bills, Proud Bloody Mary, Rummin’ With the Devil, etc. As with all the books in the series, a portion of the profits goes to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund charity.

After that, I’ll be challenging myself and my readers with “sort of” nonfiction books in the series which cover paranormal experiences (haunted recording studios and nightclubs, and the accounts of musicians who’ve seen or communicated with ghosts), and conspiracy theories (there are so many, from Jim Morrison faking his death to Courtney Love having Kurt Cobain murdered).

I have lots of other Rock & Roll Nightmares books planned—enough for the next few years. And it’s going to be fun—“It’s only rock & roll, but I like it!”