SLUGS was first published in the UK in 1982. It was my first best seller and I'm still proud of it.
I had no idea it would have the impact it had at the time and I'm delighted it's still gaining new readers more than forty years later.
The fact that I never intended to write a book about flesh eating slugs in the first place just makes the success of the book even more satisfying. I'd written a novel called DEATHDAY when I was 19 that featured a scene with a giant slug and my agent at the time suggested I write a book that centred on slugs.
I thought it was a stupid idea but what did I know? I went off and did some research and discovered there was, in fact, lots of material for a horror novel about slugs.
Not only are there three species of flesh eating slugs in Europe but two people a year die of a disease caused by ingesting slug slime trails, usually on unwashed lettuces.
I loved this touch of reality. I'd never wanted to write a book that resembled a 50's "giant creatures on the rampage" movie in the tradition of THEM, TARANTULA, ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS or THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. The thought of doing something different was very appealing. Over the years it's always amused me that some critics have thought that the slugs in the novel were mutated or the product of too much radiation (like Godzilla). They are not. They are the kind of slugs that can be found in many gardens but something has changed their appetites and their nature. I don't think hordes of slugs the size of cars demolishing towns and cities in their quest for human flesh would have been anywhere near as popular or as scary.
Even before the huge success of SLUGS I was told by my publishers that they would want a sequel in five years (which I duly supplied with BREEDING GROUND) and a third slugs novel five years after that (which I haven't got around to yet!).
SLUGS was filmed in 1988 and has become something of a cult hit. I was asked to do a commentary for the DVD done by Arrow Video in 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed re-watching it. The only other time I'd seen it on a big screen was at a horror film festival in 1988 when the organisers had flown a print in from the U.S especially for the festival. It's not exactly CITIZEN KANE but it's a lot of fun.
The biggest problem with slugs from my point of view is getting characters into a situation where they're stationary long enough to get attacked. Slugs not being the fastest moving creatures in the world! Certainly in BREEDING GROUND, I solved this problem by having one of their victims devoured on the toilet (one of the more notorious scenes).
It's different with dogs, cats, bats or rats. They can chase people. Slugs can't. Well, they can but extremely slowly. It's sheer weight of numbers that tell when slugs attack.
The fact that, in the novel, they also spread a disease that turns people into homicidal maniacs also helps when it comes to creating a horror story.
Due to the extreme violence in SLUGS, I was dubbed "the initiator of the literary nasty" (which I liked) as well as being nicknamed "the Godfather of Gore" and "the Emperor of Excess." Both labels I loved and which have persisted up to now. I think it's fair to say that my subsequent novels confirmed those labels.
I'm very excited about this new edition of SLUGS being published in France.
Historically, the French people are renowned for embracing mavericks and I hope you will embrace both the novel and me.
Some of you may have encountered it already. For those of you who have then welcome back. Those of you discovering SLUGS (and my other novels) for the first time, welcome to the ride. I hope it scares you. It may amuse you. It might disgust you. Whatever it does, I hope it entertains you. The primary motive of any piece of fiction should be to entertain its readers although, of course, as parts of this are based on fact, then maybe it isn't as fictional as some would hope.
The French are renowned for eating snails, well, say hello to my slugs. They will eat you...