Angela Slatter's Blog, page 67
December 1, 2015
And Then interviews: Jack Dann
Clan Destine Press is bringing out a new anthology And Then, and you can read interviews with the authors here over the next few weeks. There is also an Indiegogo campaign, to which y’all can contribute here.
Jack Dann, Australia’s Godfather of Spec-fic, answers a few questions.
What inspired “The Talking Sword”?
Well, the excellent author, editor, publisher, and pal Paul Collins asked me for a YA story for his anthology Fantastic Worlds, which was also bought by Bruce Coville for his Shapeshifters series. Commissions usually wake me from my sleep of procrastination. Anyway, I thought it would be fun, so I started noodling with ideas; and, somehow, I kept hearing the voice of my pal Harlan Ellison. (That happens sometimes .) And then I had the idea of the hero’s journey done as Jewish schtick and … well there was this sword and it just starting talking. So if you wanted to be an Arthurian hero and earn your, er, spurs; and if you were given such a miraculous sword … what can I say, but “Oye Vey!” Well, actually, I did say a little more than that in the story.
What appealed to you about this project?
In a word: “fun”.
What advantages does a long-short form offer?
It’s a difficult form of fiction to write. It’s compression, creating a universe in a shot-glass; but, whoo-boy, when it’s done right, it kicks. Read Salinger’s “A Perfect Day For Bananafish” and tell me you didn’t take a quick intake of breath after reading that last sentence.
The future of short fiction is …
Everyone says they love short fiction, but it’s always been a tough sell. (That spoken by an inveterate anthologist.) But it’s a delicious form, and I would suggest it will live on and retain a small but discerning audience.
What’s next for you?
Just about finished my PhD. (Telling people I’m a ‘mature-age student’ usually elicits a belly-laugh, but it’s nice to be able to ask: “Which is the best discount: student or senior?” And thanks to the good offices of the University of Queensland, I have a novel finished which will be sent to my agent in New York next week. (And, eventually, there will be a nonfiction book on counterfactual fiction.) A collection of my holocaust stories entitled Concentration is forthcoming: in her introduction to the volume, critic and scholar Marleen Barr writes: “Dann is a Faulkner and a Márquez for Jews. His fantastic retellings of the horror stories Nazis made real are more truth than fantasy.” (I do like the Faulkner/Marquez bit .) Also forthcoming is a showcase anthology entitled Dreaming in the Dark, which will launch the new imprint PS Australia, of which I’m the publishing director. And I’ve got a terrific story in the anthology by a terrific writer named … Angela. A collection of poetry entitled Poems From a White Heart is also in the cooker.
Jack Dann is a multiple-award winning author who has written or edited over seventy-five books, including the international bestseller The Memory Cathedral, which was 1 on The Age Bestseller list, and The Silent, which Library Journal chose as one of their ‘Hot Picks’ and wrote: “This is narrative storytelling at its best… Most emphatically recommended.” Locus called his novel The Rebel: an Imagined Life of James Dean “a significant and very gripping novel…alternate history with passion and difference.” A companion volume of stories entitled Promised Land has been published. This collection, as well as The Rebel, The Silent, and The Man Who Melted are also available as audio books. His other short story collections include Timetipping, Visitations, The Fiction Factory, and Jubilee, which has recently been published in ebook format. Satalyte Publishers have just released a new ‘unexpurgated’ edition of The Rebel entitled The Rebel: Second Chance.
Other publications include: the short novel The Economy of Light; the autobiography Insinuations; and a special edition reprint of Dann’s 1981 novel Junction. He is the co-editor, with Janeen Webb, of Dreaming Down-Under, which won the World Fantasy Award, and his anthology Ghosts by Gaslight, co-edited with Nick Gevers, won the Shirley Jackson Award and the Aurealis Award. His Magic Tales anthology series, edited with Gardner Dozois, is now available ebook format. A collection of Jack’s holocaust stories entitled Concentration is forthcoming. In her introduction to the volume, critic and scholar Marleen Barr writes: “Dann is a Faulkner and a Márquez for Jews. His fantastic retellings of the horror stories Nazis made real are more truth than fantasy.”
Also forthcoming is a showcase anthology entitled Dreaming in the Dark, which will launch the new imprint PS Australia, of which Dann is the publishing director; a collection of poetry entitled Poems From a White Heart, and a new novel (which is still under wraps).
Jack lives in Australia on a farm overlooking the sea. You can visit his website at www.jackdann.com and follow him on Twitter @jackmdann.
And Then interviews: Maria Lewis
Clan Destine Press is bringing out a new anthology And Then, and you can read interviews with the authors here over the next few weeks. There is also an Indiegogo campaign, to which y’all contribute here.
Today, author Maria Lewis chats about her And Then project.
What inspired “The Bushwalker Butcher”?
“The Bushwalker Butcher” was inspired by a trip I took up to the Blue Mountains to interview a real-life Yowie hunter (a Yowie is Australia’s version of Big Foot). I wanted to do a grown-up riff on Scooby Doo, complete with the ‘you damn meddling kids!’ angle, but it’s obviously a lot darker given the serial killer and body count.
What appealed to you about this project?
Generally speaking, I like to write what I like to read and an adventure anthology was so up my alley it’s down my street. Specifically though, I wanted to create a mystery tale that centred around two female leads who worked in a newsroom together. Having started as a police reporter and grown up in a newsroom for over a decade, I wanted to capture that camaraderie and special bond that develops between colleagues in a high-pressure environment like that. Crime-fighting lady best friends are also my jam.
What advantages does a long-short form offer?
It’s a great way to taste-test characters and a world with an audience, gauge their reaction and decide whether there’s the potential to expand it in further works. Some of my favourite fictional heroes started in long-short form tales as it’s a great bite-sized version of the wider themes you want to examine.
The future of short fiction is …
Multi-media: embracing the plethora of ways there are to tell stories.
What’s next for you?
I have another anthology coming out on December 14 with Harper Collins – Hot Stuff: Surfer Love – where I wrote a story about an all-girl surfing gang. My main thing though is my debut novel Who’s Afraid? which is released in Australia in January through Hachette and worldwide in July with Little Brown Books. The sequel is set for release in 2017.
Maria Lewis is an author and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. Getting her start in a newsroom covering police rounds as a teenager, she soon moved into writing about entertainment with her work featured in The Daily Mail, Empire Magazine, Huffington Post, The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Penthouse, New York Post, Daily Life, Junkee, News.com.au and many more. She has appeared as a pop culture commentator on SBS, ABC and Nine. The co-host and producer of the Eff Yeah Film & Feminism podcast, she also contributed a story to Harper Collins Hot Stuff: Surfing Love anthology. Her debut novel Who’s Afraid? is released in Australia in January through Hachette and worldwide in July with Little Brown Books. The sequel is expected in 2017.
November 30, 2015
And Then interviews: Jack Dann
Clan Destine Press is bringing out a new anthology And Then, and you can read interviews with the authors here over the next few weeks. There is also an Indiegogo campaign, to which y’all contribute here.
Jack Dann, Australia’s Godfather of Spec-fic, answers a few questions.
What inspired “The Talking Sword”?
Well, the excellent author, editor, publisher, and pal Paul Collins asked me for a YA story for his anthology Fantastic Worlds, which was also bought by Bruce Coville for his Shapeshifters series. Commissions usually wake me from my sleep of procrastination. Anyway, I thought it would be fun, so I started noodling with ideas; and, somehow, I kept hearing the voice of my pal Harlan Ellison. (That happens sometimes .) And then I had the idea of the hero’s journey done as Jewish schtick and … well there was this sword and it just starting talking. So if you wanted to be an Arthurian hero and earn your, er, spurs; and if you were given such a miraculous sword … what can I say, but “Oye Vey!” Well, actually, I did say a little more than that in the story.
What appealed to you about this project?
In a woid: “fun”.
What advantages does a long-short form offer?
It’s a difficult form of fiction to write. It’s compression, creating a universe in a shot-glass; but, whoo-boy, when it’s done right, it kicks. Read Salinger’s “A Perfect Day For Bananafish” and tell me you didn’t take a quick intake of breath after reading that last sentence.
The future of short fiction is …
Everyone says they love short fiction, but it’s always been a tough sell. (That spoken by an inveterate anthologist.) But it’s a delicious form, and I would suggest it will live on and retain a small but discerning audience.
What’s next for you?
Just about finished my PhD. (Telling people I’m a ‘mature-age student’ usually elicits a belly-laugh, but it’s nice to be able to ask: “Which is the best discount: student or senior?” And thanks to the good offices of the University of Queensland, I have a novel finished which will be sent to my agent in New York next week. (And, eventually, there will be a nonfiction book on counterfactual fiction.) A collection of my holocaust stories entitled Concentration is forthcoming: in her introduction to the volume, critic and scholar Marleen Barr writes: “Dann is a Faulkner and a Márquez for Jews. His fantastic retellings of the horror stories Nazis made real are more truth than fantasy.” (I do like the Faulkner/Marquez bit .) Also forthcoming is a showcase anthology entitled Dreaming in the Dark, which will launch the new imprint PS Australia, of which I’m the publishing director. And I’ve got a terrific story in the anthology by a terrific writer named … Angela. A collection of poetry entitled Poems From a White Heart is also in the cooker.
Jack Dann is a multiple-award winning author who has written or edited over seventy-five books, including the international bestseller The Memory Cathedral, which was 1 on The Age Bestseller list, and The Silent, which Library Journal chose as one of their ‘Hot Picks’ and wrote: “This is narrative storytelling at its best… Most emphatically recommended.” Locus called his novel The Rebel: an Imagined Life of James Dean “a significant and very gripping novel…alternate history with passion and difference.” A companion volume of stories entitled Promised Land has been published. This collection, as well as The Rebel, The Silent, and The Man Who Melted are also available as audio books. His other short story collections include Timetipping, Visitations, The Fiction Factory, and Jubilee, which has recently been published in ebook format. Satalyte Publishers have just released a new ‘unexpurgated’ edition of The Rebel entitled The Rebel: Second Chance.
Other publications include: the short novel The Economy of Light; the autobiography Insinuations; and a special edition reprint of Dann’s 1981 novel Junction. He is the co-editor, with Janeen Webb, of Dreaming Down-Under, which won the World Fantasy Award, and his anthology Ghosts by Gaslight, co-edited with Nick Gevers, won the Shirley Jackson Award and the Aurealis Award. His Magic Tales anthology series, edited with Gardner Dozois, is now available ebook format. A collection of Jack’s holocaust stories entitled Concentration is forthcoming. In her introduction to the volume, critic and scholar Marleen Barr writes: “Dann is a Faulkner and a Márquez for Jews. His fantastic retellings of the horror stories Nazis made real are more truth than fantasy.”
Also forthcoming is a showcase anthology entitled Dreaming in the Dark, which will launch the new imprint PS Australia, of which Dann is the publishing director; a collection of poetry entitled Poems From a White Heart, and a new novel (which is still under wraps).
Jack lives in Australia on a farm overlooking the sea. You can visit his website at www.jackdann.com and follow him on Twitter @jackmdann and [www.facebook.com/jack.dann2].
November 29, 2015
Black Static 49
Not only does the most excellent Black Static issue 49 contain wonderful dark fiction by (among others) Thana Niveau, Simon Bestwick, and Erinn L. Kemper, but also a most kind review by Peter Tennant of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, which ends with this:
Okay, having exercised restraint so far, it’s now time for me to gush. This is a collection of stories in which each individual work is a perfectly crafted gem, and the whole is considerably greater than the sum of its parts. Slatter creates a fantasy world, but she populates it with real people, wise women and malicious men, heroes and villains, monsters and magicians. It is history told largely from a female perspective, with the emphasis placed squarely on the preservation of knowledge and reverence for learning, rather than warfare and struggles for power, though those too are represented. As intricately plotted as Martin’s magnum opus, and with similar outbursts of bloody violence (often steeped in misogyny), this is not escapism regardless of its fantasy label, but its diametrical opposite, through the medium of a made up world showing us reality in all its ugliness and beauty. As of today’s date, I rate The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings the best book I have read so far this year.
And if none of that sells you on the collection, by way of bonus material there’s an introduction by Stephen Jones, an afterword by Lisa L. Hannett, and accompanying the text more than eighty line drawings by Australian artist Kathleen Jennings, all of which makes for a very impressive literary package, one that the fictional content more than lives up to.
And Then interviews: Alan Baxter
Clan Destine Press is bringing out a new anthology And Then, and you can read interviews with the authors here over the next few weeks. There is also an Indiegogo campaign, to which y’all contribute here.
First cab off the rank is Alan Baxter.
What inspired “Golden Fortune, Dragon Jade“?
A few converging things. Firstly, Lindy asking me for a buddy adventure story, which is a bit outside my normal style. That made me realise that an idea for a Chinese-inspired fantasy story I’d had in mind for ages, with Shaolin martial arts and spirit magic, would fit the brief. And that meant I could finally write the story with a protagonist loosely based on my kung fu master of the last couple of decades. I even used his first name in homage. For his buddy, I chose his cousin, and she turned out to be a powerful geomancer, trapped in a small village. And because Lindy wanted an Australian connection, that set the historical period I used, as the end of the Aussie gold rush was the perfect setting. It all catalysed into what I hope is an exciting novelette.
What appealed to you about this project?
The big nature of it, and the scope it will ultimately represent. Plus sharing the pages with so many great writers.
What advantages does a long-short form offer?
It gives that extra breathing space over a short story where character and worldbuilding can be more detailed and the plot a little more complex, while retaining the appeal of the short story.
The future of short fiction is …
Exciting and vibrant. Especially with so many small press publishers embracing the form and pushing the boundaries with a wide variety of themed anthologies.
What’s next for you?
I’ve always got a bunch of stuff on the go, currently including a couple of novels, a novella and several short stories out on submission. So I guess what’s next will be whatever sells first! And my dark urban fantasy trilogy, The Alex Caine Series, will see all three books in print in Australia by July and a US release sometime soon too. Exciting times!
Alan Baxter is a British-Australian author who writes dark fantasy, horror and sci-fi, rides a motorcycle and loves his dog. He also teaches Kung Fu. He lives among dairy paddocks on the beautiful south coast of NSW, Australia, with his wife, son, dog and cat. He’s the award-winning author of six novels and over sixty short stories and novellas. So far. Read extracts from his novels, a novella and short stories at his website – www.warriorscribe.com – or find him on Twitter @AlanBaxter and Facebook, and feel free to tell him what you think. About anything.
November 26, 2015
Meanwhile, over at Night Land Quarterly vol.3 …
… my story “The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners” has been translated into Japanese for a special Gothic issue.
How good is this cover??
This story will appear in English next year.
And hopefully one day as a graphic story.
November 25, 2015
Corvidae review
Jorie Loves a Story reviews Corvidae from World Weaver Press, with some love for “Flight” – here!
Have a listen! The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings …
… so Tartarus Press have about 100 copies of the limited edition hardcover of the WFA-winning The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings … next year will see the release of a paperback version … but if you love artefact books now would be the time to get one of the hardbacks … coz the now out-of-print Sourdough and Other Stories is going in some places for about $300.00!
Just saying. 
Look here …
November 13, 2015
So, this happened …
… and I will write a proper con report when the jetlag leaves me. But for now, enjoy the sight of HP with his cocktail umbrella, and Kelly Link and Helen Marshall trying to brain me.
