J. Blake Fichera has taught film studies at the State University of New York at Purchase and has contributed as a writer and interviewer to several noteworthy film and music-related publications and websites, including Video Watchdog magazine, Fangoria.com, Dreadcentral.com, Podwits.com, and American Blues News. He has been a professional film/television editor and producer since 2001 and cohosts the film-themed podcast Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers. He is also a gigging musician in the New York City area and a New York Blues Hall of Fame inductee. He lives in Manhattan.

“A fascinating and entertaining deep dive into the creative process of some of the genre’s most talented composers. Blake asks all the right questions. . . . I couldn’t put it down.” —Jamie Blanks, director, Urban Legend and Valentine

“J. Blake Fichera’s interviews with horror’s top composers combine a journalist’s penetrating curiosity and attention to detail with a fanboy’s infectious enthusiasm—and the combination is irresistible for lovers of film, film music, and our beloved genre. If you lie in bed at night wondering about the deadly dangers of ‘temp love’ or Richard Band’s first guitar—or even how composers approach the challenge of creating music for killer dolls—this book is for you.” —Don Mancini, writer-director, creator of Chucky (Child’s Play, Bride of Chucky, etc.)

“Playwright William Congreve wrote, ‘Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.’ And I’m certain if any of the composers in Scored to Death 2 were tasked with ‘soothing a savage breast’ in a scene, their score would do so. In this book, these remarkable artists reveal their influences, approaches to a scene, and secrets that make us care, worry, tense up, and scream in terror. Their music takes us into our minds’ darkest realms. They are the magicians who make what is invisible to our eyes visible to our imaginations.” —Tom McLoughlin, writer-director, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, One Dark Night, and Sometimes They Come Back