Hey, I’m Johnathan Gonzalez - author of The Listening Room and creator of The Void Case Files.

This is my first published novel, but not the first story I’ve written. I’ve been building toward this one for years, trying to make sure I understood the characters, the world, and what they were truly being forced through. With cosmic horror, I’ve always felt like you have to earn it. The story has to be told the right way or it loses the weight of what makes it unsettling.

What pulled me toward horror is probably not what most people would expect. When I was younger, I hated it. I dealt with night terrors as a kid, and sleep itself could feel like something to survive. Over time, that changed. My mom taught me how to active dream and take back some control, and that shifted my relationship with horror completely. Now I love stories that feel truly frightening, reality-bending, and introspective - the kind that make you feel like you went through something.

That is a big part of what shaped The Listening Room.

I wanted this story to feel impactful. Not just like one strange event, but like something larger has already started - something spreading quietly beneath the world people think they know. I want readers to come away wondering what they would do, what they would become, and whether they could survive the nightmares in it themselves.

I’m writing out of Castle Rock, Colorado, where I live with my wife and our two huskies. When I’m not writing, we’re usually gaming, hiking, paddle boarding, cooking something good, or just trying to enjoy the adventure of life together with a quality cup of coffee.

The Listening Room is only the beginning. This is Book One of The Void Case Files.

Thanks for being here early and following along!