Weston Ochse (June 20, 1965 – November 18, 2023) was an American author and educator. He won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for his short fiction. His novel SEAL Team 666 is currently being shopped by Seven Bucks Productions. Dwayne Johnson has attached himself to the film to executive produce as well as act in a leading role.

Biography

Early life

Weston Ochse was born in Gillette, Wyoming. By the time he was ten years old, he'd lived in ten states including South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio, New Jersey and Tennessee. He spent the greater part of his childhood in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he graduated from Tyner High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school and became an intelligence officer. He was stationed in the Republic of Korea, Fort Jackson, Fort Gordon, Fort Bragg, Fort Carson, Fort Huachuca, Presidio Monterey and Los Angeles Air Force Base. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 with an Honorable Discharge.

Career

Weston began writing professionally in 1997. He won the Bram Stoker Award for his first novel, Scarecrow Gods, in 2005. Since then he has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, received five additional Bram Stoker Award nominations, won four New-Mexico Arizona Book Awards, with five total nominations. Weston's work has appeared in comic books (IDW Publishing and DC Comics), professional writing guides, magazines, anthologies, as well as his own novels. He has been widely reviewed and has been hailed by his contemporaries as "one of the few new writers who will help redefine the field of dark literature for the future" (Edward Lee (writer)). In 2002, an independent film company attempted to create a feature film based on his short story "Catfish Gods" (appeared in Scary Rednecks and Other Inbred Horrors). The film reached primary shooting before it folded. In 2013, MGM optioned the film rights to SEAL Team 666 from MacMillan Films Division. Dwayne Johnson has attached himself to the film to executive produce as well as act in a leading role. His company, Seven Bucks Productions, which he owns alongside Dany Garcia, has the shopping agreement and is actively seeking interest. SEAL Team 666 and the ensuing books was inspired by the U.S. Navy SEAL take down of Osama Bin Laden and the idea of "What if there's an even more special SEAL Team that protects America from supernatural attack". In 2017, he appeared in a DC Comics Special, DC House of Horror Vol 1, where he wrote a story about a possessed Shazam. Weston held a Bachelor of Arts in American Literature from Excelsior University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from National University. He traveled extensively to book signings and conventions where he has been Gross Out Contest bouncer, toastmaster and guest of honor. He was a frequent speaker at libraries and schools. He was an adjunct faculty member for Cochise Community College, and associate professor for Southern New Hampshire University, and had run the online Guerrilla Fiction Writing Workshop. He lived in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, and fellow author, Yvonne Navarro.

Death

Ochse passed away on November 18, 2023.

Awards

Comics