Dissecting Jacob Ransom
Welcome back to the Black Hare Press Dissecting Author interviews, where we dissect an author to find out who they are, what they write, and what keeps their creative juices flowing.
Today, we slice open speculative fiction writer, Jacob Ransom, to spill his writing secrets and learn more about his new release, Nocturnal Limbs.
Welcome Jacob!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacob Ransom writes speculative tales of the odd, the eerie, and the downright terrifying.
Jacob is also a cryptid enthusiast, husband, and two-time award-winning dog dad. When he’s not assisting his wife on her cross-country cemetery research expeditions or battling their pups for the best spot on the couch, he is likely to be found wandering the aisles of his local library and indie bookstores in search of new horror stories and old volumes of local folklore.
Bibliography
Nocturnal Limbs, Short Reads Series (Black Hare Press)
"Mile Marker 13", The Stygian Lepus Magazine
"The Mad Gaul’s Dinner Coat", Imps & Minions (TDotSpec)
Connect
Instagram/Threads: @orange_ransom
Bluesky: @ozarkergowrow
What drew you to your preferred writing genres?
In short, I write what I read. And to a lesser extent, what I watch. My media diet is, and has always been, heavy on horror, folklore, spec fic, and crime. What can I say? I love the idea of a world whose parameters extend well beyond the grasp of modern science. As far as crime/noir, I guess I’ll say that as much as I enjoy a setting with elastic physics, I love the characters of Elmore Leonard and William Michael Boyle. Solid, red-blooded characters who live complex and messy lives, fueled by desperation and cursed by short-sightedness.
What elements from your real life creep into your stories?
The life circumstances of my characters often mirror the lives of the people around me. There’s a reason all my stories from my twenties were about hard-drinking youngsters trying to find their place in a frustratingly adult world. In my thirties, all my characters seemed driven by their careers or by their alienation from the realms of their youth. Now that I’m in my forties and married, my stories seem to find their emotional weight from more domestic sources (family crises, mortgage payments).
What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?
I firmly believe writer’s block is a misdiagnosis. Unless you are facing extreme upheaval in your day-to-day or facing tragedy, I think your writer’s block is probably the result of your inner critic recognising some flaw in your project that your ego isn’t ready to acknowledge yet. Whenever I experience writer’s block, the first thing I do is reframe and ask, “What part of this story have I screwed up? Where did I go wrong? And how do I fix it?” Hard truth: sometimes the answer is to bin the story.
What’s your favourite or least favourite part of the writing process?
Self-promotion. I’m mediocre at maintaining a social media presence and find constantly pitching myself or my work to be enervating. Every minute I spend posting about my latest story feels like a minute that could be spent dreaming up the next one. That said, this is definitely a “me” problem, not a social media problem. No shade on writers who are better than me at utilising social media.
How do you come up with character names for your stories?
This is both weird (and probably dumb), but a lot of the time I use headstones to find interesting surnames. My wife is big into exploring old graveyards and cemeteries that have been largely forgotten. These old, overgrown cemeteries are everywhere, and she works with some websites that are dedicated to cataloguing those interred and preserving their names and locations for future generations. When I tag along, I always keep an eye out for interesting names. It’s especially useful for writing historical fiction.
Do you have a furry friend writing assistant, i.e., dog, cat, bird, hellhound, and how do they help?
First, a toast to the memory of my long-time writing buddy Rigby. The old guy passed away from cancer last summer, but he truly was the best, laziest, lab-pit mix in existence. I spent countless hours over the past decade writing with him lounging by my feet. We have a new shepherd/boxer puppy now named Lemonhope, whose favourite spot in the house is next to the window in my office. I tend to leave that window cracked, and even though I know Lemonhope is primarily there to imbibe the sights, sounds, and smells of the neighbourhood, he’s still a welcome presence.
ABOUT NOCTURNAL LIMBS
Title: Nocturnal Limbs
Author: Jacob Ransom
Buy Link:
books2read.com/Nocturnal-
BHP Link:
blackharepress.com/products/
Launch Date: 23rd May, 2026
Two patients. One ward after dark. And something waiting.
Brian expects a dull, painful night after his cycling accident—bad wrists, a shattered ankle, and too much time to think. What he doesn’t expect is his teenage roommate, Tanner, insisting that his amputated arm comes back while he sleeps.
At first, Brian chalks it up to trauma and medication. Hospitals do strange things to people. But when the lights dim and unfamiliar sounds skitter across the floor, doubt creeps in. Tanner’s wounds won’t stop bleeding. The nurses are too attentive. And one of them seems especially interested in what Tanner is missing.
As the hours drag on, Brian realises the hospital ward isn’t the safe place he assumed. Something is moving through the shadows—quiet, patient, hungry—and it’s using the staff to get close to the people who can’t run.
Trapped in bed and running out of options, Brian is forced to decide whether to save himself… or stay and protect a boy who no one else seems willing to help.
Nocturnal Limbs is a claustrophobic plunge into medical terror, where sterile corridors hide unspeakable appetites and surviving the night may be impossible.
What sparked the idea for this story?
Memories of visiting the decrepit hospital from my hometown that is so poorly funded and managed, it feels like a post-modern ruin, like one of those defunct malls full of shuttered storefronts.
Did you plot or pants this story, and would you change your process if you had to start again?
Beyond the basic setup and the spec fic reveal, I pantsed the story. Honestly, I almost always do this. I’m a pretty dedicated adherent to the “discovery writing” approach Stephen King outlines in On Writing. The process works well for me.
What came first? The plot or the characters?
In this case, the plot. Specifically, the spec fic mystery around the phantom limb and the reveal of what it actually is
How much research did you need to do for this story?
Usually, when I do “research,” I do it as a matter of general inquiry about a topic without any specific story or narrative idea in mind. This “rabbit hole” research often turns up random, historical tidbits, folk customs or regional lore, or other curiosities that then spark my inspiration.
How long did it take you to write this story?
Two prolonged morning writing sessions to create a lengthy, very messy first draft, followed by several rounds of feedback from my writing colleagues spaced out over the course of a couple of weeks. I think I did a major rewrite and polish afterwards that took the better part of a day.
How much did the story change from first draft to publication?
The first two-thirds of the story stayed pretty consistent. If anything, all I really did was tighten the plot and excise unnecessary characters to help reinforce the pacing and tension. The big climax, though, was largely rewritten, and the ending is completely different from my original draft.
How did you come up with the title?
I really struggled with this one, to be honest. It was challenging to create a title that references the twist without giving too much away, while trying my best to keep the title from sounding like weird Erotica. Nothing against erotica, just false advertising, you know?
What part of the story was the most fun or the hardest to write?
The ending. Not the climax per se, but more the resolution.
What’s your favourite scene? Why?
Two moments really stand out to me. One is where the protagonist is in his hospital bed in the dark and hears someone scuttling around on the tile floor below the bed. The other is when a certain, very nasty nurse begins to squeeze his fractured wrists. Writing that part felt extremely visceral to me. Hopefully, it reads the same.
Is there a particular message that you hope readers will take from the story?
Avoid overnight stays in poorly staffed, decaying hospitals. Also, if you ride a bicycle, wear a damned helmet!
THE STITCH UP
How do you celebrate when you finish a story
I like to hit up my local bar for a beer or a caipirinha.
If you could invite any three authors for dinner, whom would you invite?
Ramsey Campbell, Elmore Leonard, and Rod Serling.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?
A fork. But only until I’d finished a quick conversation. Look, I’m not some maniac who stores their cutlery in their books.
What’s the oldest book on your bookshelf?
Vance Randolph’s Ozark Magic & Folklore (1947)
Describe the perfect writing retreat.
Outdoors in the shade, temperature: mid 70s, brewpub-adjacent
Thanks for chatting with us, Jacob. This interview is all stitched up.
Learn more about Jacob via the links provided, and remember to add Nocturnal Limbs to your TBR list.
Happy reading!
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