I was also interviewed by author, Paul Cude. You can see that interview here.
Showing posts with label interviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interviews. Show all posts
Friday, August 9, 2013
Blog Tour Continuation
Author, T.J. Loveless, was kind enough to have me on her blog the other day. You can find that interview here.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Another interview for the blog tour
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Interview with Author, J. Thomas Powell
Your book, Vermont Voodoo, features both zombies AND voodoo. What was the reasoning behind combining such distinct supernatural concepts and creatures?
I knew I wanted to write about zombies from the beginning, but with all the TV and movie versions out there I knew I'd have to do something unique. The idea of the zombie originates from stories about voodoo in the New World, and early cinema used this trope often. Since George Romero we really haven't seen much of the voodoo zombie, and it was a lot if fun bringing that monster back to life (heh heh). The problem was that most portrayals of voodoo are laced with racist stereotype, and it was a challenge to work against the stereotypes while keeping a light, campy tone.
Cool. Now let's talk about location. The story takes place in Vermont. Why Vermont? Is there any specific reason why you chose that specific location to tell your story?
I set the story in Vermont for two reasons. First, it was thematically important to s set the story in a dying industrial city, and you see a lot of that in New England. Second, I thought it would be a lot of fun making my heroes flee from the undead in a snowstorm.
Indeed. That does sound pretty fun (and scary). Next question, and it also pertains to location. According to your website, you were born in Upstate New York and studied at Syracuse for a film degree, but now you live in Texas. What's wrong? Were you trying to escape the terrible snow storms here on the east coast?
I'm so happy that I'm living in Texas these days, and yes, a big part of that has to do with the weather. That being said, I've always enjoyed moving around and seeing different parts of the country. I spent every summer as a kid traveling up and down the East Coast, and living in Texas had made it easy to explore the South, especially places like New Orleans. I get a ton of inspiration by travel. This year I had an opportunity to go hiking in Nepal, which, let me tell you, was a trip and a half. Hopefully there will be lots more international travel in my future.
It's interesting that you got a film degree. Do you also dabble in film?
dabble. I worked at a production company in NYC straight out of college where my job was to read and evaluate screenplay submissions. After doing that I got into writing screenplays, and then writing novels. I still do some video editing on the side, and my screenplays are being submitted to festivals, so who knows? Maybe you'll see some of my work on the big screen. My dream job would be to write and produce independent movies, but whatever happens I hope to stay balanced between my film life and my literary life.
Nice. Now, back to your book. Where did you get the inspiration for it?
Vermont Voodoo is the first book I've ever written, and going into it I knew my biggest challenge would be finding the material and the stamina to write something that long. That's why I choose zombies; there's lots of material to explore and I could keep myself entertained with my monsters the whole way through. The fictional city of Frostbite is very similar to Syracuse, where I grew up. But my biggest inspiration may have come from my friend Daniel Cailler and his novel, Waking. Also set in a gritty industrial city, Waking is about a group of vampires and a hunter on a quest for revenge; I had the pleasure of writing a screen adaptation of Dan's book, and Vermont Voodoo has plenty of winks and nudges aimed at Dan. We work pretty well together, and if you like my book you should check his out, too.
Groovy. Now, can you tell us about National Novel Writing Month and how you're connected to it?
National Novel Writing Month, which is more commonly referred to as NaNoWriMo, is organized by the nonprofit Office of Letters and Light. Basically it's a challenge issued every November to write 50,000 words in one month or less, which is a short novel. You log your word count into their web site each day and if you reach the 50k goal by the end of the month you win... Bragging rights! And a novel. Which you wrote. It's wildly popular for writers and writing enthusiasts and a great educational tool, as well as a support system for getting that first draft on the page, as I did with Vermont Voodoo. I love NaNo.
Sounds legit. Okay, two part question. If you could have any super power, what would it be, and with said power, would you be a hero or a villain?
My superpower would be to invent doughnuts without any calories. Wait, that's not a superpower. Okay, my superpower would be hyper intelligence, and I would use that power to invent doughnuts and possibly funnel cake without any calories. That also cures diabetes. The hero part should go without saying.
Best. Power. Ever! Okay, is there anything else you would like to talk about or plug? Another project?
Of course you can buy my book, Vermont Voodoo, on Amazon in paperback or kindle format. But you should also follow me on Twitter @knid44 for updates, giveaways, promos, and general musings. I am working on a new sci-fi novel titled The Geneticist's Son, which should be out next year.
Excellent! Okay, thanks for the interview.
My pleasure. Thank you.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Interview With Author, T.J. Loveless
Please tell us about The Fortune Cookie Diaries and how you got the idea for them.
The Fortune Cookie Diaries is a series of six novellas, located in New Orleans, and a look at how we would react if something were to put myth into our modern world. Add in a duck that gets out of a padlocked enclosure, various holidays, and let the chaotic hijinks ensue!
I got the idea over a few months. I’d been talking to a hybrid author who self-published all of her novellas. She talked about the way commuters liked the shorter read time, enabling them to get from point A to point B (in real life and in a book) quickly.
My daughter, Teen Extraordinaire, asked when I was going to write about myth coming into our reality. She thought it would be funny to have a pet unicorn.
The idea really formed when a friend, married to a SWAT officer and she’s in a high stress position in the medical field, asked when authors were going to put humor in Urban Fantasy – her favorite genre. Then we proceeded to talk about our, uh, exploits in NOLA during Mardi Gras.
The Fortune Cookie Diaries was formed.
Pretty cool. :) Your blog is called "Writing From the Padded Room” (Nice blog name, by the way). Why did you decide to call it that? And while you're at it, could you tell us about your blog?
My grandmother, Stella, was a huge influence in my life, along with her older sister, Judy. The two women used to say life was like a huge padded room, and the only way to keep your sanity was to be insane. It was their favorite saying when crazy things happened. Considering the size of our family, it happened quite often.
Before my grandmother died, she made me promise to pursue a dream from when I was little, to be a published author. Made me promise to be myself, to quit worrying how others saw me, and doubting my abilities. She said, “Find your padded room, and write. For heaven’s sake, child, write.” My blog is a salute to them both.
For the most part, a lot of my blog has been aimed at other writers, with the odd blog about something off the normal path. But as I’ve grown, and now with fans of Lucky Number Six, I’m pushing more towards readers. I also like spotlighting self-published authors, as I see so many great books that should be read for various reasons.
Can you tell us why you decided to self-publish your work? I did as well, and was just interested to know what led you to the decision.
I wasn’t sure at first, I won’t lie. It’s scary, no matter the route you take towards publication – traditional, indie avenues, self-pubbing.
I have one book, Going Thru Hell, out on query. But The Fortune Cookie Diaries is another monster all together. I knew they weren’t going to be full length novels, making them extremely hard to have published traditionally, or even by small pub houses. Not to mention, Humorous Urban Fantasy is unheard of.
But I wanted people to laugh. Good grief, we’ve forgotten how to laugh with everything happening and it seems like we are getting hit right, left and center all at once. Since that is the point of TFCD – to make people laugh – I really wanted to get it out there. My only option? Self-publishing. Could I take on everything? Was I willing to? Did I really believe in the option?
Yes. I had several friends who’d already ventured into the arena, and were more than willing to talk and answer some of the dumbest questions ever. I researched, researched and researched. Read articles, looked up the numbers, created a game plan. And jumped in.
What's it like being a mother, a wife, and a writer?
In one word: crazy. It helps the family is always willing to help with brainstorming, talk about plot holes, and put up with rapidly procreating dust bunnies. They don’t even look twice when I yell at a character on the computer screen. My daughter thinks it’s funny. Hubby says I’m just plain happier when I have a story brewing. Both are used to me saying, “Oh, I so could turn that into a storyline …” We could be walking through the grocery store … although I recently found out they bet on how long we can be in a new place before I’m tapping a note in my Razr Maxx about a possible story/plotline. Daughter is up $122.
I have to force myself sometimes to put aside the writing. It’s so easy to get lost in other worlds. But my family does come first, as it does for all of us, I think. The juggling act can be pretty hard, whether you’re a mother, father, single, with or without kids. The days of a writer huddling over a keyboard, pulling a Hemingway never really were. Most of us have lives outside of writing. I have one friend who travels the world, several still in school, more with second and third jobs – all while tapping out the stories in their heads. I have great respect for all of them.
Can you please tell us what you do at Cliffhanger Editing?
I’m co-owner with Robin Alexander. I worked for a small publishing house as a copy/content editor, and learned a lot about what publishers want their books to look like. As I began the journey to jump into the self-published arena, I realized, there are a lot of editors with no real world experience, but are dang good at finding plot holes. At the same time, they miss quite a bit, and the author gets hit in reviews. Robin and I are line editors and proofreaders, we are specifically trained to find the overuse of pronouns, redundancies (the BIGGEST issue I’ve seen), grammar, punctuation, rules of writing, etc. We decided to take our knowledge and experience outside of the publishing house.
One of the things we decided to do was partials. I’d volunteered my services for a few auctions, to do the first fifty pages. The feedback I received told us a lot of authors would love a service of just seeing how to start their own editing and revising.
[End Self Plugging Commercial Here]
Two part question. If you could have any super power, what would it be, and with this power, would you be a hero or a villain?
Oh a superpower? Oooh. Only one? Fly? No, I’d likely run into a building. Superstrength? Bad idea being the klutz I am. See the future? Ack no! Take all the fun out of life. Oh, I know –talk to animals. Especially spiders. I could tell them – “Please don’t spook me anymore. It’s just not funny when I run headfirst into a door trying to get away.”
And I’d definitely end up a mischievous hero with villainous tendencies. I think I just scared my family with that thought.
Nice. I'd likely be a villain, too. Is there anything else you would like to talk about or plug?
First - if you need help with navigating your way through self-publishing, I have friends at Black Firefly who can help – with everything. Most are from various publishing houses, and know just how to help. Even Courtney –marketing guru for a popular, mid-sized publishing house - is part of the crew.
Second – don’t give up. Please. So many do. Writing is hard, and that’s the honest truth. But in the end, it’s worth it. To see your book on virtual/real shelves. To see people pick up your words, read them, sometimes nodding in agreement, or thinking in a whole new way. The writing community, for the most part, is more than willing to help you keep going, to reach your next goal. Don’t be afraid of failing. Be more afraid of never trying.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Interview with M.P. Ness
- Today, I talk to author and artist, M.P. Ness, who recently wrote his novel, White Leaves. Let's hear what he has to say. (To check out my previous interview with Michael Brookes, click here).
Please tell us about White Leaves
Well, Rich, I'd be delighted to. White Leaves originated as a stand-alone, foot-in-the-door novel, designed specifically to adhere to industry standards and allow me to glide into the big publishing house world. Fanciful and dreamy concept, that.
I started with the raw concept being pitched to urban fantasy authors holding an urban fantasy seminar at the PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writer's Association) summer conference, when I didn't even write urban fantasy.
Richelle Mead and another young woman whose name escapes me (as many do) both liked the concept very much, and I was inspired to put other works on hold and focused solely on E.L.F.
I wrote 120k words in the next 30 days flat.
The story just poured out of me as if I'd been holding it back for years. However, I never really submitted it anywhere until I stumbled across Juke Pop Serials, who was taking submissions for their beta launch. After being accepted, E.L.F. - White Leaves ranked consistently in top 10 and won most-voted Serial for two consecutive months (jan/feb 2013).
After being pretty successful there as a free, unedited serial(admittedly with its problems), I grew determined to publish it myself.
And now I'm here today.
The idea for White Leaves, originally titled just E.L.F. came to me from a newspaper stand in Seattle, where the paper's headline and large image was something to the effect of a housing complex aflame beneath the bold text "ELF burns down housing complex". Naturally, as a fantasy and elf-loving reader/writer...this struck me into buying the paper and reading the article. E.L.F. the novel was born...and in the course of writing it, I developed an entire series out of it. I'm presently writing book two, Blighted Leaves. Thus, there was a need for individual titles. White Leaves' title comes from a set of eight special white leaves grown from the Tree of Life within the story.
Cool beans. Next question. Your story features the Tree of Life in it. Mine does, too. What are your thoughts on the Tree of Life and how does it play out in your story?
For me, the Tree of Life is really just a symbol, like a ring is a symbol of marriage.
For White Leaves, however, the Tree, named Addl'laen (addle-lane) is a very real, and very much sentient life-form. Verily, she is the pool from which all sentient souls are derived. She is our mother, and no gods, save her own, exist for us to worship. She bears a leaf for every living person. And as you could imagine, that makes her incredibly huge. So, how could something so tremendous, especially a singular towering tree, escape mankind's notice for all the time we've been on earth? Well, to answer that, you'll have to read White Leaves.
Nice. Will do. :) You started a successful Kickstarter campaign for your book. Can you tell us about that?
Oh yes. Kickstarter was a lot of fun. It was a bit of a challenge as well. Getting everything pulled together was a fair amount of work, but I managed to pull it off. I ran the kickstarter for a very simple reason. I'm publishing a book. I want to celebrate. Who doesn't want to celebrate that sort of a life-long goal, you know? But, I thought, if I can give people books AND a show, and have everyone come together to enjoy a night on the town in Seattle, that's probably the coolest thing I could imagine.
So, I gathered friends, bands, artists, comedians, and spoken word together for one night. It wasn't just about me accomplishing a goal. And it wasn't just about promoting E.L.F. It was a party to celebrate ART in its many forms. This is something patently Seattle, I must say. The artistic community thrives and breeds an ever-expanding sense of diversity and enriches our culture here at an almost exponential rate, because people like myself and those who came to support my efforts by contributing to it are doing what we did that night.
We share each other's joy and help one another's work come into the light. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Mudhoney...these sorts of bands are world famous, and all of them come out of Seattle and its surround. Why is that?
Not just because they're phenomenal musicians. No. Its because they became amazing musicians IN this melting pot of support and friendship in the Seattle area.
The Kickstarter project I ran was set at a very modest goal, the bare minimum I needed to put together the party, just to ensure it was easy to hit, could ensure the event happened, and thus pay it forward, as they say. Kickstarter essentially paid for the venue to hold the party at, and to bring in a pile of books for people to enjoy. The rewards for donating were not as well thought out as I should have considered them, because there are literally so many ways one can reward people for contribution. But it was a learning experience. Next time, it'll be better.
I bet! How did you go about making the trailer for your book? What was going through your head when you made it (Especially the musical selection)?
With the White Leaves book trailer, I signed up for temporary free memberships to stock-video clip websites, downloaded all kinds of footage, and found some cinematic scores and the like. I made sure to download as much as I could within the allotted week long free membership, just to ensure I had enough footage to put together a good trailer.
Now, my original idea was to do as much story-telling with the footage as I could. However, telling a fantasy story with a ton of unreal, impossible-to-film concepts and locations and events and characters...is well, impossible. Its not like making a movie trailer where both music and footage are pre-existing for the story you're trying to tell.
So, after striking out on the footage aspect, I reinvented my initial concept.
E.L.F. - White Leaves is at its heart, a contemporary fairy tale. Fairy tales all have one thing in common. A moral to the story.
But, I noticed something else. It was in the vagaries of portrayal that rather defines many fairy tales. Imagery is slim and suggestive, not sharp, clear or defined well.
Scott McCloud, I believe, wrote a comic book, on how to write comic books, and in it he had a brilliant suggestion as to how people/readers identify with comics on a fundamental level.
The more detailed and realistic a character is, the less or at least, the harder it is for a reader to identify with that character. This is why simplistic stylized comic strips in your sunday paper are so readily and easily consumed by the public.
Simple, stylized characters are us. We can put ourselves into them more easily than we can put ourselves into a detailed realistic depiction of say, Superman. Thus, more people can connect with Jon Arbuckle and Garfield than Superman.
Just an example. but the point here is this. I retooled the concept of the White Leaves trailer for a sheer lack of existing footage that could be of any real use to me. However, in doing so, I created a better, more successful trailer, in my opinion...because its like those fairy tales. Its like those simplistic drawings of Smiley Faces which more people can connect with because it doesn't give you every tiny detail.
When it came to the music, I decided to go dark and heavy. The E.L.F. world and story are dystopian in nature, and darkness is thick throughout the story and its future releases.
I knew exactly what I wanted out of the sound-scape from the moment I started. I wanted a selection from one of metal band, Machine Head's, albums...as I've been a fan for more years than I can count.
But I also wanted that otherworldly cinematic quality to it.
And I had to tell the sheer epic levels of the story itself.
So, in creating the score for the trailer, I pieced together music that would let the trailer feel as much like an epic movie trailer as I could, whilst also adhering to that vague fairy-tale feeling. The sound was surprisingly easy and quite quick for me (as I've had training in video/audio software) since I knew what I was going for from the beginning.
Nice. Your story features a Eco-terrorist from Seattle. Being from Seattle yourself, how much of your home city did you put in the story?
Initially, I put quite a bit of Seattle details into the story. Little things, like the union of Westlake and 5th avenue near the cop-shop headquarters downtown, and how it forms this little triangle at the junction of Belltown and Downtown at the first of the skyscrapers that make the Seattle Skyline unmistakable across the country, if not the world... The Westin Towers was in there. The white arcs that herald the Seattle Science center. The famed Space Needle, of course. But even more so, I went into the surrounding areas and put small towns and details about them into the book as locations the characters pass through. I even hit up the University of Washington campus, the Japanese Arboretum, and hospitals on Capitol Hill. I went so far as to include the bobbing clickety ride of the raised southern portion of Interstate 5 that runs through the city as it USED to be (its since been smoothed out)
I spared little.
However, during the editing process, it was decided that not all of the details were that relevant to the tale. Some of them were smoothed down by Mrs. Torgerson (editor), but some of them stayed in.
Your story E.L.F. is volume 1. Any ideas of where you are going for volume 2?
Oh yes! Indeed I do.
I'm already approaching half-way through the rough manuscript for volume 2!
White Leaves is named for these little white leaves on the tree of life, as I said. Its all pretty and shiny and new. Its book one.
Now, I did say its dark and dystopian and given the heavy metal I used in the book trailer, it could be said the story is harsh and unforgiving.
It has bite. But bear in mind its just book one.
In my mind there is only one way to go from a dark dystopian world...and it is not upward.
I cannot give away the setting for book two without spoiling the ultimate outcome of White Leaves. It simply impossible. However, I can say it gets darker, harder, and harsher for the characters. I tend to be a bit merciless to my poor fabricated children. The title is, Blighted Leaves, if that's any indication. My editor already despises one character, Moarjin, so much she would probably be happy if I killed him off. But Moarjin is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Some of my favorite characters and most devilish creations have started coming to light with the writing of book two. I dare say I've fallen in love with this series that was only supposed to be a single book. But that's how it goes sometimes. Worlds can end up building themselves if you give them enough time to breathe.
Great! Is the anything else you would like to talk about or plug?
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