Kevin Lucia's Blog, page 40
March 29, 2013
Horror 101: THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and WITCH HOUSE
The next edition of "Horror 101" for
Tales to Terrify
is up, and this time - in an episode whimsically entitled "It's Alive!" - I'm looking at houses that seem to have a frightening, foreboding sentience, haunting wills of their own. This time around, we're looking at the seminal The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and Witch House , by Evangeline Walton. Heads up to writer J. F. Gonzalez for directing me towards Witch House in his quarterly Horror History column in Lamplight Magazine. I know I'm prejudiced - because my serial novella has been featured there - but you should check JF's column. Definitely must-read material for aspiring horror writers.
I'm still ferreting out which books I'm going to feature next time, but at this point, I think I'm going to examine the development of the gothic novel, as it evolved in its separate - but related - branch.
The works I'm considering for this are, once again, Shirley Jackson in her wonderful We Have Always Lived in the Castle; some Young Adult fare in Blackbriar , by William Sleator and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare, and maybe even The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane , by Laird Koenig.
And hey, until next time: KEEP READING!
March 28, 2013
Teh Facebook Page: Clifton Heights, NY - A Nice Place to Live. Sorta.
After several years of debating, I've finally decided to launch a Facebook "Author" Page...but, like my forthcoming collection, Things Slip Through, I hope that it'll be something different, something more than just a page on which to pimp myself and my writing. Clifton Heights is my own little world, almost five years in the making. Several stories that are pending publication, my serial novella at Lamplight Magazine, other short stories that didn't "fit" this time into the collection's meta-story, and stories I'm working on right now happen in this town.
I'm still playing with how to utilize this page, but along with self-promotion, I'd like "share" the evolution of this spooky little town, somehow. Still working out how that's going to go.
So anyway, for now - if you're inclined, show me some love and hit 'Like.' Clifton Heights is a strange town, and I'm never bored when there.
And hopefully, you won't be, either.
March 11, 2013
Cover for Things Slip Through
The publisher for my forthcoming short story collection,
Things Slip Through
, released the cover yesterday, then I released it on Facebook, and everyone seemed to like it. It really is some wonderful work, by the uber-talented Ben Baldwin. The collection will be officially released at AnthoCon 2013 this year. Take a gander, and here's the synopsis below:
Welcome to Clifton Heights, New York. Just another average Adirondack town, and nice enough in its own right.
Except after dark, or under the pale light of the moon. Or in a very private doctor's office at Clifton Heights General Hospital, where no one can hear you scream. Or on a road out of town that never ends, or in an old house sitting on the edge of town with a mind - and will - of its own.
Maybe you shouldn't have left the interstate, my friend. Maybe you should've driven on to the next town.
But you didn't. You saw our sign, turned down our road, figuring on just a short stay. And maybe it will be.
Or maybe you'll never leave.
Anyway, pay a visit to The Skylark Diner. I'll be there. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about our town. It's nice enough, it really is.
Except after dark. Or on cold winter days when no one is around, and you're all alone...
Welcome to Clifton Heights, New York. Just another average Adirondack town, and nice enough in its own right.Except after dark, or under the pale light of the moon. Or in a very private doctor's office at Clifton Heights General Hospital, where no one can hear you scream. Or on a road out of town that never ends, or in an old house sitting on the edge of town with a mind - and will - of its own.
Maybe you shouldn't have left the interstate, my friend. Maybe you should've driven on to the next town.
But you didn't. You saw our sign, turned down our road, figuring on just a short stay. And maybe it will be.
Or maybe you'll never leave.
Anyway, pay a visit to The Skylark Diner. I'll be there. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about our town. It's nice enough, it really is.
Except after dark. Or on cold winter days when no one is around, and you're all alone...
March 10, 2013
ON A MIDNIGHT BLACK CHESSIE, And Developing My Voice
In April, my newest short story - "On A Midnight Black Chessie" - will appear in Crystal Lake Publishing's anthology, For the Night is Dark, edited by Ross Warren. Here's the cover, synopsis and TOC:
Twenty tales to ward off sleep. Twenty tales to keep you company by candlelight while the world plummets into darkness. Dive into this collection of dark fiction by twenty of the world’s most gifted and disturbed minds, and we’ll see who makes it through the night - for the night is dark. Release is scheduled for April 2013.
Gary McMahon, Jasper Bark, William Meikle, Armand Rosamilia, Jeremy C. Shipp, G.n. Braun, Stephen Bacon, Tracie Mcbride, Mark West, Robert Walker, Tonia Brown, John Claude Smith, Joe Mynhardt, Blaze McRob, Ben Jones, Kevin Lucia, Daniel I Russell, Ray Cluley, Scott Nicholson and Carole Johnstone.
Now, I'm very pleased about my story appearing in this collection for a number of reasons. First of all, it's a step up for me, in terms of the roster. Climbing the ladder, slowly, but surely.
Most importantly, though, is that like another short story of mine - "Almost Home" - which will be in ANOTHER awesome lineup in Nightscape Press/Cutting Block Press' Horror Library, Volume 5, and my serial novella "And I Watered It, With Tears," Part One of which is in the first (and free) issue of Lamplight Magazine, this story marks for me a shift in voice towards something that's much closer to ME, much closer to the kind of fiction I want to write.
Recently, author Gary McMahon (ironically in this TOC with me) posted a Facebook status about "developing your own voice." Feels like that's what I've been doing, in particular, for the past two years or so. Ironically enough, those two years saw quite a drought in acceptances.
To make it short and sweet - because I've posted about this before - in the very beginning of this "career" I tried to write very obvious "horror" stories. And hey, some of them sold. All well and good.
And to be honest, writing something like Hiram Grange & The Chosen One - full of monsters and a monster killer with fast-paced, pulpy-action, with lots of explosions and guts flying - was a lot of fun. I hope to return to the Hiram Grange universe eventually. AND, I feel like I did make my version of Hiram truly mine.
However, things changed dramatically for me as a writer when, in expanding my reading diet, I discovered the works of Charles L. Grant, T. M. Wright, Alan Peter Ryan, Al Sarrantonio, Ramsey Campbell, Ron Malfi, Rio Youers, Norman Prentiss, Mary Sangiovanni and others. Their work was subtle, well-crafted, quiet, eerie, atmospheric, emotionally-charged and darn-near poetic.
Their work really GRABBED me. Not blood'n guts and splattering horror filled with raping monsters and evil, satanic incantations (thanks, Hollywood, for all of those), but tense, emotionally-charged stories built on substance, subtlety and well-crafted prose. THIS was something I wanted to write. I've tried to avoid COPYING their styles (because I've already been down that road with Bradbury and Lovecraft), but I've sought their work out these past two years, eagerly.
And then, this past summer, after reading Dean Koontz's biography, I decided to take a chance and ADMIT the truth: I'm an Idealist. There. I said it. I know I'm writing in the horror/supernatural genre, one that seems awfully pessimistic and nihilistic at times, but in the end, I'm an Idealist. I believe in certain things: love, hope, faith, redemption, forgiveness, recompense, justice, the triumph of good over evil - and I'm going to write about those things, one way or another.
Now, this doesn't mean my stories will always end HAPPY. Especially short stories, because their function is much different than novels, and they don't always offer the same kind of resolution. "On A Midnight Black Chessie" is NOT a happy story, at all, and doesn't offer the same kind of resolution that "Almost Home" does or "And I Watered It" eventually will - but it IS subtler than what I've written in the past, hopefully atmospheric, eerie, with a good deal of emotion.
And that's the kind of stuff I want to write. Now, there's still plenty of room for action-packed, monster-killing fun. For example, Billy the Kid: Down in the Dark (which I WILL be finishing, soon) is basically going to be Hiram Grange on steroids. LOTS of monsters getting blown away, with blood and guts flying. But I think that, like my Hiram Grange novella, my Billy novel will offer some compelling character development along the way, simply because Billy the Kid himself is so intriguing, simply as a human.
And that's what it comes down to, for me. Horror is not (for me, anyway) about zombies and vampires and blood and gore and monsters that eat your intestines, or things like that. It's another genre with staples, yes, but the stuff that rises above the rest - just like in ANY genre - is the stuff that examines and comments on the human condition. It asks questions, it wonders "why?" and shows humans at their worst and best. In other words it says something about this terrible/awful/hard/wonderful/unique/damning/uplifting experience of being human.
And that's what I want to write about, in the end. Always.
Twenty tales to ward off sleep. Twenty tales to keep you company by candlelight while the world plummets into darkness. Dive into this collection of dark fiction by twenty of the world’s most gifted and disturbed minds, and we’ll see who makes it through the night - for the night is dark. Release is scheduled for April 2013.Gary McMahon, Jasper Bark, William Meikle, Armand Rosamilia, Jeremy C. Shipp, G.n. Braun, Stephen Bacon, Tracie Mcbride, Mark West, Robert Walker, Tonia Brown, John Claude Smith, Joe Mynhardt, Blaze McRob, Ben Jones, Kevin Lucia, Daniel I Russell, Ray Cluley, Scott Nicholson and Carole Johnstone.
Now, I'm very pleased about my story appearing in this collection for a number of reasons. First of all, it's a step up for me, in terms of the roster. Climbing the ladder, slowly, but surely.
Most importantly, though, is that like another short story of mine - "Almost Home" - which will be in ANOTHER awesome lineup in Nightscape Press/Cutting Block Press' Horror Library, Volume 5, and my serial novella "And I Watered It, With Tears," Part One of which is in the first (and free) issue of Lamplight Magazine, this story marks for me a shift in voice towards something that's much closer to ME, much closer to the kind of fiction I want to write.
Recently, author Gary McMahon (ironically in this TOC with me) posted a Facebook status about "developing your own voice." Feels like that's what I've been doing, in particular, for the past two years or so. Ironically enough, those two years saw quite a drought in acceptances.
To make it short and sweet - because I've posted about this before - in the very beginning of this "career" I tried to write very obvious "horror" stories. And hey, some of them sold. All well and good.
And to be honest, writing something like Hiram Grange & The Chosen One - full of monsters and a monster killer with fast-paced, pulpy-action, with lots of explosions and guts flying - was a lot of fun. I hope to return to the Hiram Grange universe eventually. AND, I feel like I did make my version of Hiram truly mine.
However, things changed dramatically for me as a writer when, in expanding my reading diet, I discovered the works of Charles L. Grant, T. M. Wright, Alan Peter Ryan, Al Sarrantonio, Ramsey Campbell, Ron Malfi, Rio Youers, Norman Prentiss, Mary Sangiovanni and others. Their work was subtle, well-crafted, quiet, eerie, atmospheric, emotionally-charged and darn-near poetic.
Their work really GRABBED me. Not blood'n guts and splattering horror filled with raping monsters and evil, satanic incantations (thanks, Hollywood, for all of those), but tense, emotionally-charged stories built on substance, subtlety and well-crafted prose. THIS was something I wanted to write. I've tried to avoid COPYING their styles (because I've already been down that road with Bradbury and Lovecraft), but I've sought their work out these past two years, eagerly.
And then, this past summer, after reading Dean Koontz's biography, I decided to take a chance and ADMIT the truth: I'm an Idealist. There. I said it. I know I'm writing in the horror/supernatural genre, one that seems awfully pessimistic and nihilistic at times, but in the end, I'm an Idealist. I believe in certain things: love, hope, faith, redemption, forgiveness, recompense, justice, the triumph of good over evil - and I'm going to write about those things, one way or another.
Now, this doesn't mean my stories will always end HAPPY. Especially short stories, because their function is much different than novels, and they don't always offer the same kind of resolution. "On A Midnight Black Chessie" is NOT a happy story, at all, and doesn't offer the same kind of resolution that "Almost Home" does or "And I Watered It" eventually will - but it IS subtler than what I've written in the past, hopefully atmospheric, eerie, with a good deal of emotion.
And that's the kind of stuff I want to write. Now, there's still plenty of room for action-packed, monster-killing fun. For example, Billy the Kid: Down in the Dark (which I WILL be finishing, soon) is basically going to be Hiram Grange on steroids. LOTS of monsters getting blown away, with blood and guts flying. But I think that, like my Hiram Grange novella, my Billy novel will offer some compelling character development along the way, simply because Billy the Kid himself is so intriguing, simply as a human.
And that's what it comes down to, for me. Horror is not (for me, anyway) about zombies and vampires and blood and gore and monsters that eat your intestines, or things like that. It's another genre with staples, yes, but the stuff that rises above the rest - just like in ANY genre - is the stuff that examines and comments on the human condition. It asks questions, it wonders "why?" and shows humans at their worst and best. In other words it says something about this terrible/awful/hard/wonderful/unique/damning/uplifting experience of being human.
And that's what I want to write about, in the end. Always.
February 27, 2013
Part Three of "And I Watered It, With Tears" in Issue Three of Lamplight Magazine
Issue Three of Lamplight Magazine is now live, in multiple formats at Smashwords, and on Amazon as a Kindle download. From the publisher's description:Ronald Malfi joins us as the featured artist for issue 3. J.F. Gonzalez gives us a history of scary stories, taking us from pre-history through the Victorian age. Part 3 of Kevin Lucia's serial novella, "And I Watered It With Tears." Fiction from: Matthew Warner, Sheri White, Dinos Kellis and S. R. Mastrantone.
If you haven't read Part One of the novella yet, or tried out Lamplight, the first issue is still free, and the second issue is $2.99.
February 23, 2013
Things Are Slipping Through....
Just got back the final version of the cover - sans title and other credits - for my forthcoming short story collection from Crystal Lake Publishing, Things Slip Through. Cover artist Ben Baldwin did a BEAUTIFUL job, and I couldn't be happier with the final product. In fact, I've just been sitting here, staring at it, off and on, all day.Of course, I'm eager/scared/nervous/interested/obsessed with how folks will receive it, especially because I did something... different with my first collection. Ten stories, but not just stories in a table of contents, to be read one after another. They link together with a framing device to paint a bigger picture. I hope.
And, given my love for works like Dandelion Wine, The Martian Chronicles, Winesburg Ohio, Dubliners, the Oxrun Station and Cedar Hill story cycles, you can probably guess a little bit about the collection. But even so, I still hope it will offer something uniquely my own.
Also, I'm also thrilled to have the collection's introduction written by none other than Tom Monteleone, a legend in his own right in genre fiction, both science fiction and horror. I studied for two years under Tom at Borderlands Press Writers Bootcamp, (which, if you've never attended, you should, RIGHT NOW), he's visited and worked with my students for the past three years, and I've spent so many hours talking to Tom about the genre, about writing and the market, including one awesome night with F. Paul Wilson and Stuart David Schiff that I'll never forget. It made perfect sense to ask him to write the introduction, and I'm thrilled he accepted.
I'm additionally happy that this collection will appear in print and multiple electronic formats. It'll essentially be my first foray into the the digital marketplace, and I'm interested in seeing how that'll all turn out.
Anyway - still working on edits and tweaks. I hope that it's something folks will pick up and enjoy.
February 16, 2013
Bring Maurice Broaddus to Binghamton: Phase III, Book Sale
We're moving into the next phase of fund-raising, and that's a book sale of Cemetery Dance ARCS and books, and other new/read once books. You'll notice the prices on some of these are well below retail value, because I'm not looking to cash in, but to raise funds in as many ways possible to bring Maurice Broaddus to Seton Catholic Central High School. And don't forget, you can still contribute to our Indiegogo Campaign for him, also.
So here's the deal: if you see something on this list you want, send a Paypal payment to:
bringmauricetobinghamton@gmail.com
with the title and shipping info. If you don't use Paypal, send an email to the above address with preferred method of payment - check, money order - with title and shipping address, and I'll send the mailing address for the check/money order.
ALSO: pretty lame incentive, but for the first seven orders, I'll throw in, for free, a copy of Shroud Magazine's Halloween Issue and my novella, Hiram Grange & The Chosen One.
I've provided links for descriptions. NOTE: None of them are selling through the links, though. Just providing them for their descriptions.
Cemetery Dance ARCs:
The Cage, by Brian Keene - $7.00
Torn, by Lee Thomas - $10.00
More Than Midnight , by Brian James Freeman - $10.00
The Woman, by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McGee - $15.00
The Doll: The Lost Short Stories, by Daphne Du Maurier - $8.00 - SOLD
The Buffalo Hunter, by Peter Straub - $8.00
The Circle, by Bentley Little - $8.00
The Back of Beyond, by Alan Peter Ryan - $8.00
Amazonas, by Alan Peter Ryan - $8.00
Homestead, by James A. Moore - $8.00
Tyler's Third Act, by Mick Garris - $8.00
Riding the Bullet: Screenplay, by Mick Garris/Stephen King - $10.00
The Mailman, by Bentley Little 20th Anniversary Edition - $30.00
Other ARCs:
Krampus, the Yule Lord, by Brom - $8.00
Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel, by Richard Kadrey - $5.00
Devil Said Bang: A Sandman Slim Novel, by Richard Kadrey- $5.00
Reboots, by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin - $5.00
Death Warmed Over: Dan Shamble, Zombie PI, by Kevin J. Anderson - $5.00
Brand New, Never Read/Read Once, Gently:
Alien: The Illustrated Story, by Archie Goodwin & Walter Simonson - $8.00
Five Strokes to Midnight, featuring Tom Piccirilli, Gary Braunbeck, Deborah LeBlanc, Hank Schwable, Christopher Golden - $10.00 - Earthling Pub
Hell Hollow, by Ronald Kelly - $15.00 - Cemetery Dance
Waiting Out Winter, by Kelli Owen - $5.00 - Thunderstorm
Take the Long Way Home, by Brian Keene - $5.00 - Deadite
Hadon of Ancient Opar, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
A Feast Unknown, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
Black & Orange, by Benjamin Kane Etheridge - $5.00
Homunculus: A Tale of Langdon St. Ives, by James P. Blaylock - $5.00
By the Blood of Heroes: The great Undead War, Book I, by Joseph Nassie - $5.00
Captain Nemo, by Kevin J. Anderson - $5.00
Time's Last Gift, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
Sherlock Holmes: The Army of Dr. Moreau, by Guy Adams - $5.00
Anno Dracula: Dracula, Cha, Cha, Cha by Kim Newman - $5.00
The Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Houdini Spector, by Daniel Stashower - $5.00
Angel's Ink, by Jocelynn Drake - $5.00
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandemeer - $8.00
Ever After, by Kim Harrison - $10.00
The Buntline Special, by Mike Resnick - $5.00
Wolf's Edge , by W. D. Gagliani - $5.00 - Samhain
Donor, by Elena Hearty - $5.00 - Samhain
PLEASE ADD $2 TO ORDER FOR SHIPPING. AND SHARE AWAY, PLEASE!
So here's the deal: if you see something on this list you want, send a Paypal payment to:
bringmauricetobinghamton@gmail.com
with the title and shipping info. If you don't use Paypal, send an email to the above address with preferred method of payment - check, money order - with title and shipping address, and I'll send the mailing address for the check/money order.
ALSO: pretty lame incentive, but for the first seven orders, I'll throw in, for free, a copy of Shroud Magazine's Halloween Issue and my novella, Hiram Grange & The Chosen One.
I've provided links for descriptions. NOTE: None of them are selling through the links, though. Just providing them for their descriptions.
Cemetery Dance ARCs:
The Cage, by Brian Keene - $7.00
Torn, by Lee Thomas - $10.00
More Than Midnight , by Brian James Freeman - $10.00
The Woman, by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McGee - $15.00
The Doll: The Lost Short Stories, by Daphne Du Maurier - $8.00 - SOLD
The Buffalo Hunter, by Peter Straub - $8.00
The Circle, by Bentley Little - $8.00
The Back of Beyond, by Alan Peter Ryan - $8.00
Amazonas, by Alan Peter Ryan - $8.00
Homestead, by James A. Moore - $8.00
Tyler's Third Act, by Mick Garris - $8.00
Riding the Bullet: Screenplay, by Mick Garris/Stephen King - $10.00
The Mailman, by Bentley Little 20th Anniversary Edition - $30.00
Other ARCs:
Krampus, the Yule Lord, by Brom - $8.00
Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel, by Richard Kadrey - $5.00
Devil Said Bang: A Sandman Slim Novel, by Richard Kadrey- $5.00
Reboots, by Mercedes Lackey and Cody Martin - $5.00
Death Warmed Over: Dan Shamble, Zombie PI, by Kevin J. Anderson - $5.00
Brand New, Never Read/Read Once, Gently:
Alien: The Illustrated Story, by Archie Goodwin & Walter Simonson - $8.00
Five Strokes to Midnight, featuring Tom Piccirilli, Gary Braunbeck, Deborah LeBlanc, Hank Schwable, Christopher Golden - $10.00 - Earthling Pub
Hell Hollow, by Ronald Kelly - $15.00 - Cemetery Dance
Waiting Out Winter, by Kelli Owen - $5.00 - Thunderstorm
Take the Long Way Home, by Brian Keene - $5.00 - Deadite
Hadon of Ancient Opar, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
A Feast Unknown, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
Black & Orange, by Benjamin Kane Etheridge - $5.00
Homunculus: A Tale of Langdon St. Ives, by James P. Blaylock - $5.00
By the Blood of Heroes: The great Undead War, Book I, by Joseph Nassie - $5.00
Captain Nemo, by Kevin J. Anderson - $5.00
Time's Last Gift, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, by Philip Jose Farmer - $5.00
Sherlock Holmes: The Army of Dr. Moreau, by Guy Adams - $5.00
Anno Dracula: Dracula, Cha, Cha, Cha by Kim Newman - $5.00
The Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Houdini Spector, by Daniel Stashower - $5.00
Angel's Ink, by Jocelynn Drake - $5.00
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandemeer - $8.00
Ever After, by Kim Harrison - $10.00
The Buntline Special, by Mike Resnick - $5.00
Wolf's Edge , by W. D. Gagliani - $5.00 - Samhain
Donor, by Elena Hearty - $5.00 - Samhain
PLEASE ADD $2 TO ORDER FOR SHIPPING. AND SHARE AWAY, PLEASE!
February 15, 2013
Tales to Terrify: "The Rats in the Walls," "The Horror at RedHook," "The House on the Borderlands", Liminal Space, and What Lies Beneath
The next installment of "Horror 101" is up over at Tales to Terrify. I'm nearing the end of my examination of "The House" motif in the horror genre, and this time I covered a few stories featuring houses and the THINGS hiding beneath them. Also, I talked about liminal spaces, transgressing boundaries, and how so often in horror, transgressing these boundaries into places we don't "belong" and encountering a terrifying, horrible "Other" is what provides a sensation of horror and displacement.
The works covered this time:
"The Rats in the Walls" by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Horror at Red Hook" by H. P. Lovecraft
The House on the Borderlands, by William Hope Hodgson
And really, I probably could've spent a whole episode on "Borderlands," easily, it being a definite turning point in the "house" motif.
All right, folks - until next time, enjoy, and keep reading...
The works covered this time:
"The Rats in the Walls" by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Horror at Red Hook" by H. P. Lovecraft
The House on the Borderlands, by William Hope Hodgson
And really, I probably could've spent a whole episode on "Borderlands," easily, it being a definite turning point in the "house" motif.
All right, folks - until next time, enjoy, and keep reading...
Tales to Terrify: "The Rats in the Walls," "The Horror at RedHook," "The House on the Borderlands", Liminal Space, and What LiesBeneath
The next installment of "Horror 101" is up over at Tales to Terrify. I'm nearing the end of my examination of "The House" motif in the horror genre, and this time I covered a few stories featuring houses and the THINGS hiding beneath them. Also, I talked about liminal spaces, transgressing boundaries, and how so often in horror, transgressing these boundaries into places we don't "belong" and encountering a terrifying, horrible "Other" is what provides a sensation of horror and displacement.
The works covered this time:
"The Rats in the Walls" by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Horror at Red Hook" by H. P. Lovecraft
The House on the Borderlands, by William Hope Hodgson
And really, I probably could've spent a whole episode on "Borderlands," easily, it being a definite turning point in the "house" motif.
All right, folks - until next time, enjoy, and keep reading...
The works covered this time:
"The Rats in the Walls" by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Horror at Red Hook" by H. P. Lovecraft
The House on the Borderlands, by William Hope Hodgson
And really, I probably could've spent a whole episode on "Borderlands," easily, it being a definite turning point in the "house" motif.
All right, folks - until next time, enjoy, and keep reading...
February 13, 2013
Fitting It All In: On Respecting Your "Station" In Life
A fellow writer and friend of mine commented recently that reading my blog was engaging and enjoyable, because if anyone has followed it for awhile - especially WAY back to the original days of www.kevinlucia.net - they'd see, literally, the "story" of my career and the "story" of my life as a writer and dad and husband, as I've progressed forward, step by step, little by little. I was gratified to hear that, because I made a decision about three years ago - when I rebooted my website - that IF I was gonna blog, I was gonna blog about ME. My life, my family, my writing, our struggles as parents of a special needs child, about being a teacher... and how all those things intersected.
I wasn't going to try and find a "niche" market or blog about things that were "trending" or "hot" or try to do anything like build a "readership" through my blog. If I was gonna have a blog, it was gonna be like an online diary, chronicling my - and my family's - journey as, basically, a writer's family, a Christian family, a family with a special needs child, a teacher's family. That it reads like a story tickles me to no end.
This is isn't to say that issues or conflicts I've "resolved" along the way aren't going to reappear, or come back up. That's part of the circular nature of life: we're human, after all, and even after we learn things, we often need to re-learn them, over and over, before they stick. And who knows? Because of our human nature - my human nature - maybe these lessons will NEVER totally stick, and will be something we'll always have to relearn, as long as we're toiling on this mortal coil.
For me, that lesson is this: as a writer, where I am in life right now, in my STATION in life, I can only work on project at a time, especially during the school year. Now, my lesson wasn't all that crippling or terrible - I didn't bail on any contracts, or miss a deadline. But, as the short story collection was out with beta readers, I didn't want to lock back into Billy the Kid, because I knew I'd have to pull out again to go over the collection's edits in a few weeks.
So, I started tooling with an idea that had been percolating in the back of my head for a few months, and suddenly, I was 13,000 words into a novella, cruising right along. See, I'd fallen into a common trap, for me: I thought I could bang out a novella while waiting for the collection's edits to come back, then send that to a publisher - a fine publisher that's asked to see my fiction - then bang out the collection's edits, then jump right into Billy and bang that out, and be super-uber productive.
Problem was, my heart wasn't really into that novella. Not really. Don't get me wrong - 13,000 words is 13,000 words, and like every writer, I never throw anything away. There's some real good bits there, and I'll tuck that away until a "rainy" day. And also, a splash of realism: it was being written "on spec" (like most my work right now, honestly), unlike last June/July's project - a serial novella titled "And I Watered It, In Tears." There was no contract, no promise of payment. If there had been, I'm sure things would've been different.
But, as it was...it just petered right out, because really, it wasn't what I wanted to be writing, at the time. I was killing time, and deep inside, I knew it. Lesson two: I can't write anything - at least, not to the best of my ability - without being fully invested, with my total focus on it, with my whole heart in it.
And a lot of that has to do with my "station" in life.
Some blogs have popped up recently about pursuing a full-time writing career, and all the realities of that. First came Brian Keene's blog, the speech he presented at this year's Borderlands Press Writers Bootcamp. Bestsetlling author Dan Simmons had a different take on it, in his forum (you may have to refresh the page to get it, I always do, for some reason). Then, author Nate Southard offered a rebuttal, of sorts. Far as I'm concerned, ALL of them are right, and offer valid points to consider. Something that really hit me, however, was author Mike Duran post about the myth of daily word counts, and "the respect of your (our) station in life." (paraphrased)
It made me think, honestly and hard, about my future as a writer, because here are the facts of my station in life:
1. I work full-time, teaching high school ENGLISH, which requires a good deal of job-related reading, writing, and proof-reading. Very draining, at times, and also, I don't have a lot of room left over in my head at the end of the day to do any writing. Over the summer, yes, I'm able to do more. But from September through June, not so much.
2. I have a family. I've seen a lot of things happen to a lot of people in the writing industry over the past few years, and I've got to assume that what I haven't seen is probably even worse. It's made me very protective of my family, wanting to shield them and protect them from the rigors and demands of the writing world. And, quite simply - I'm just not made of the "stuff" to shut my family away for hours, let Abby deal with the kids, while I write.
When Abby and I first met, I told her that, among other things, I wanted to be a writer someday, to be published. However, I didn't end up breaking into the field until AFTER we had kids, after we'd been married for about six years, so I've found I've had to mold my writing career AROUND my family, and not the opposite. And, let's be honest...I prefer it that way. And it's always going to be that way, for the foreseeable future. Writing is a gift, a pursuit, one of my talents.
My family is my life. Not writing. Writing enhances my life, gives me an emotional outlet, keeps me sane, and is lots of fun. But, it's not my life.
And when I first learned of Zack's diagnosis - autism - I knew that I'd radically have to reevaluate my plans, knew that I'd been called to an even higher responsibility, being his Dad, and I knew that would impact any writing career I wanted to have.
So, I get roughly two hours a day, in the wee hours of the morning, to write. Maybe an hour before bed-time at night, if I'm lucky. And that's it. I've tried to work on two or three projects at once....and I just can't. It's something that'll never work, for me. At least, not right now.
3. I need focus. For better or for worse, as I've already mentioned, I can't seem to hold more than one project in my head at a time. I want to be completely, utterly absorbed by the story I'm writing, and that's it. I've tried juggling things, and with the exception of a few special cases, it doesn't work, and I don't like it, at all. SO, like the turtle against the hare, I'm just gonna have to plod along. Finish a project, after devoting all my energies to it, and then turn to another. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to juggle the amount of projects needed to allow me to write full time.
4. I'm not sure if I could write just for money. I say that, of course, without actually having tried it. But I just don't know if I could, at the very least, not for my supper, not to provide completely for our family...if that's even possible, anymore. I hope to someday reach a point when I'll at least bring in enough to HELP our finances. But accepting a project just because of the price tag? I really don't know if I could bend myself that way, and don't want to risk it, honestly.
5. I NEED a real job. For many reasons, one them being the freedom to be able to turn down projects I have no interest in, the freedom to write only what I'm passionate about. Also, however, I have other interests. I teach, and on some days - many days - I LOVE teaching. I definitely want to move on to the college level, enjoy a more flexible schedule, but the bottom line is, I think things would be better, safer, smarter, if I always kept a full-time teaching job, and wrote around that.
Now, of course, all this is subject to change. Amazing things happen in the publishing industry, just as often as depressing and dream-crushing things. But for now: this is where I am. This is the place I live in, my station in life, and this is how writing fits into it. And until that changes...and even if it NEVER changes...I'm happy about that.
Because like Nate Southard said in his post...it's the story. It's the words that matter, and what's most important is that I'm passionate about the ones I write, every day. And, like I've said time and again, I'm one of those curious fellows who simply believes things are meant to be . Right now - this is the way things are meant to be.
And I'm cool with that.
Because I have the words, and the stories. And that's what matters.
