Aaron Polson's Blog, page 30

Five Question Friday: Sean P. Bridges

Five questions with Sean P. Bridges...

What do you think makes a good story?

A story that makes the reader want to continue to turn the page. You have to craft a plot that's interesting and moving. If you can keep a reader curious enough to keep going, you're doing your job. Is the book always better than the movie?

Not always, my favorite example is the graphic novel, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. I think the screenwriters took the basic concept and crafted a much more interesting story than the author of the original material. What is the hardest part of being a writer?

To keep moving forward. Sometimes there's a lot of interest or heat around you, and it's easy to keep going. Other times, you're on your own, and you question if it's worth it to keep striving. I think it's the hardest part for any creative individual chasing any creative desire. What is the last book you read?

HIGH COTTON, by Joe R. Landsdale. He's a tough, no holds barred writer, and some of his material is gritty and hard to get through, but you have to find out how things are going to end. Just an amazing writer. What do you keep in the dashboard of your car?

The car manual for my Jeep, a couple fuses, tire pressure gauge, and I have a photo of Morgan Freeman, taken at his club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. So whenever I open the glove box, I always say hi to Morgan.

Roll the Dice on Amazon and Smashwords.

Now for Something Really Scary...

Quake! Quake in your shoes! Lock the doors!

WIP Wednesday: Weeding the Word Garden

I'm slashing and hacking through the latest Sons of Chaos novella. The first half--el stinko. I've spent plenty of time and ink getting it close to "okay". The second half, mostly action, chase scenes, and killing monsters, is much tighter. I'm also about halfway through a beta read of a rather strange novella for a delightfully strange writer.

But am I writing?

Yes. A little. I've taken characters and situation from one of my previously published stories and started to expand (it might grow up to be a novella some day). The first line:

Jack's dreams brought monsters of steel and rubber and glass, hulking things which screamed and cried frigid tears.

Today's writing prompt: You hit your head while running through the woods. When you wake, you are tied down and surrounded by a group of woodland creatures discussing ways in which to kill you...

Top Five Frankenstein's Monsters

I haven't done a top five in quite some time. It's not much of a secret I love Frankenstein and his monster. Here are my favorite from film and TV:

#5: Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster - Scary? No. But Herman was made of awesome.


#4: Robert De Niro - Branagh's movie has flaws, but when De Niro ripped out Elizabeth's heart, mine almost stopped.


#3: David Prowse - Prowse is best know for his role as Darth Vader (the body not the voice) in the original Star Wars trilogy. But he gets the bump above the others because he played two very different monsters, from the hunk in The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) and the furry beastie in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), both from Hammer.



#2: Christopher Lee - Lee would win every monster contest if it wasn't for Karloff and Lugosi. His staggering monster from 1957's Curse of Frankenstein (Hammer) was truly grotesque.


#1: Boris Karloff - My first love. Could there be any other #1?


Who is your favorite monster?

What to Do When Your Publisher Dies

My Friday morning started with a deluge of emails from the Virtual Tales authors' group. Two of the four board members had resigned. My contract was declared "NULL and VOID". A year ago, I would have been devastated. The House Eaters has traveled a rough road. I thought it would be the book to land an agent--in fact, it came close. But that was a long time ago.

The world of publishing has seen many changes since then.

Instead of being paralyzed with frustration, I went into action. With my rights returned, I released The House Eaters this weekend for Kindle with a new cover. Smashwords and POD versions are forthcoming. For now, I'm offering the Kindle edition for the low price of 99 cents--a temporary sale for the re-release.

I love this book, and I hope many more people have the chance to love it, too.

Devastated? No. Not anymore.

I'm empowered.

The Saints are Dead

I'll tackle the debacle regarding The House Eaters on Monday, today belongs to The Saints are Dead.

Pre-orders are up through Aqueous Press and if you order during the month of April, you can enter a sweet contest (in which everyone who pre-orders wins a prize).

I love this book. I've worked ridiculously hard on this book (and the editor has, too). Some of my favorite stories are included ("Gary Sump's Hidden City," "Dancing Lessons," "The World in Rubber, Soft and Malleable," "Reciprocity" the entire list is here). I love those freakin' stories and I want you to love them, too.

So I'm offering an incentive to pony up for a copy.

Here are the rules:

If you pre-order The Saints are Dead (or order if it goes live before April 30th) , please forward me a copy of the receipt (or a snippet at least--I don't need all the financial details) and I'll put your name in a drawing (actually I'll add it five times). Each pre-order will also receive a free story in his/her mailbox, a previously unpublished story. Now that's exciting, right? But you must send me an email to enter: aaron.polson[at]gmail.com I promise not to spam you. Scout's honor.

You may also enter the drawing with a tweet (just be sure to direct folks to the pre-order url: http://aqueousbooks.com/publications.htm) or a mention on a blog/facebook. Make sure to tag me or use the @aaronpolson handle on Twitter and I'll find your entry.

1st prize: American Fantastic Tales edited by Peter Straub (slightly used but in pristine condition--I received a second set when I subscribed to the Library of America)

2nd prize: Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters by John Langan

3rd prize: Northern Haunts edited by Tim Deal (paperback--and signed by yours truly if you like)

Entries are welcome from around the world.

You have until April 30th.

I thank you and my stories thank you.

Five Question Friday: Edward W. Robertson

Five questions with Edward W. Robertson...

Is the book always better than the movie?

Yes, with the exception of the Godfather Corollary. And the Jaws Exemption. And the Bladerunner "Not Exactly Better, But Probably as Good in Different Ways" Theorem (still under argument: The Lord of the Rings). Generally, though, even when a movie is extremely well adapted, it can't include all the dimensions that made a book great. Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly is remarkably faithful to its source and nails Dick's sensibility, but it's still not quite as satisfying as the book.

Never mind stuff like Never Let Me Go. The movie does its best to get Ishiguro across, but the book is so definitely a book that trying to translate it into the language of cinema is the act of a crazy person. It's like trying to transfer Jello to Tupperware via mallet.

If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any job on their planet, what would you choose?

Food critic. Assuming these aliens have discovered the eldritch secret of vodka--I'm no fool. I know there will be some dishes I can't swallow with an unaddled mind. But yeah, alien food. You'd never get bored.

Cats or dogs? Why?

I used to be a cat person. I like that they don't listen to anyone and will scratch you if you pet them in the wrong place. Cats have a good sense of identity. You have to respect that.

I still like cats, but lately, I've been warming up to small dogs--I just brought one home from the pound last week. He's baffling. Every morning, he drags his blankets out of his crate, then steals the bath mat from in front of the shower. So far, I am unable to deduce his motivations. He's not chewing on them. He's not using them as a depositing pad for substances that properly belong on the neighbor's lawn. He's just rearranging the room according to some internal mutty feng shui. I like that I can't understand him.

If you couldn't write, how would you spend the time you now use for writing?

Practicing more kung fu. And searching for a job. Possibly as a stuntman or a Jet Li-defeater, if I had that much time to practice.

If you couldn't drive a car, how would you get from place to place?

I don't like driving, actually. (Wisely, I just moved to the LA area.) I'll do it, but if I can walk, I will, whatever the weather. I was special buddies with the subway when I lived in New York. I've taken the bus/train in LA a few times and enjoyed it much more than driving: no worries about traffic or those dorks who apparently started driving before the invention of the turn signal.

I take a note pad with me and write. A 90-minute bus trip into the city proper isn't a pain when you arrive in Beverly Hills with a couple new pages in hand. Sometimes I'll wish the ride were still going.

Edward W. Robertson's books available on Kindle.

Website.

Redundancy and Self-Promotion: Now with Coupons!

Twitter. Forums. Facebook. This blog.

I've kicked up a little extra self-promotion of late, and, like many authors, fear I've talked about my "stuff" too much. But have I? Who knows. I hope you, dear readers, will tell me if I'm being a boar. Really.

What I do know is that, when marketing, one must put something in front of potential buyers for them to know about it. Most buyers must see a product several times before they purchase. I haven't mentioned Violent Ends on the blog yet, but I am now. Yes, it's another e-book endeavor, but this time I'm pricing it $1.99 (after much soul-searching and self-debate). Of course, the coupon code WY56K will score 50% off at Smashwords. Violent Ends is also available for Kindle at Amazon.com. This is part of the big experiment. This is about planting seeds rather than leaving them in their little paper pouches (see Monday's post).

These are some of the most...well, violent of my stories. Three of them are brand new/never published before including "The Hustle", a story originally slated for an ill-fated anthology. I hope you enjoy.

The Bottom Feeders is *almost* available in print, too, and I've put a fairly reasonable tag of $7.99 on the dead tree edition. Of course there will be a discount on copies ordered directly through Createspace; details to follow once I've approved the proof.

Thanks for your support. Now go hug a writer.

WIP Wednesday: Killing My Darlings

I don't find myself as attached to particular words, sentences, or even stories as I once was. This helps when I'm faced with the undesirable task of cutting chunks of flesh from tales which just aren't "getting the job done".

I finished drafting three stories in the past week (2,700 words, 900 words, and 1,500 words), and each needs a fair bit of trimming. An older piece has also staggered from the grave, begging for a new coat of paint.

I'm going to prune a bit today, and then move on to my first round revisions for The Sons of Chaos and the Desert of the Dead.

And from that story which wouldn't stay dead:

Her stare rested on the blade, watching it glimmer as the sun caught its edge.

"Give me your hand," he said.

She sniffled, but sucked in a deep breath, pushing out her chin in mock courage. "I ain't too afraid of dying, mister. I buried two brothers already. Earl Ray was only two weeks old when the fever got him. Dean got kicked in the head by a horse at five."

Watcher held the knife to her skin, but his eyes were locked with her face.

"Figure I'll see them soon enough."

Digital Killed My Stapler

When I was in college, I had some buddies who wanted to form a subversive anti-government group. It was all the rage in '93. I blame it on grunge music and flannel shirts at The Gap.

They weren't really serious, of course, and the Oklahoma City Bombing in April of 1995 put the squash on anything of the sort. Like I said--they weren't really serious.

The point is, everybody had a 'zine back in the day. Photocopies, staples. Mine was called The Killing Field and I published essays by my "radical" friends. That all seems so long ago, but I'm a little misty for the days of staples and photocopies. That's why the Sand chapbooks have been decidedly "old school". I feel like I missed out because I came to writing after the era of fiction 'zines hand-assembled in someone's basement. Easy to use blog sites and POD have really changed the nature of punk-rock publishing.

I know there are 'zines out there, but it just isn't the same era.

(One of my poems did appear in The Nocturnal Lyric #68 way back in the Fall/Winter of 1908--er, 2008. They knew how to use staples for sure.)