Anne Michaud's Blog: Musings & Little Obsessions, page 7
November 22, 2012
Chatting with…Colin F Barnes, take two
My good friend Colin F Barnes (writer and Anachron Press editor extraordinaire) has a new book coming out, so I invited him to talk about it – and you lucky peeps have 2 chances to win the ebook by tweeting about the giveaway (with a @ColinFBarnes mention, so he can track it). The winners will be picked next week, good luck ♥
Tell us about this new book of yours, Mr. Barnes.
CFB: Artificial Evil (Book 1 of The Techxorcist) is a story of origin and what makes us human. It’s set in post-cataclysmic 2153 where the last remaining population exist within a dome city called City Earth.
To manage resources, the owners of the city—the shadowy benefactors ‘The Family’—have implemented a death lottery to control the population and limited resources. The book is from the point of view of family man Gerry Cardle. He’s the lead algorithm designer for the death lottery, but somehow, inexplicably, his numbers have come up despite him being on the exemption list. A malicious Artificial Intelligence has broken into City Earth’s network and ‘possessed’ Gerry. He has just seven days to live, to find out the truth, and save the city.
He does this with the help of two criminals who live ‘off-the-grid’ within the dark corners of the city. A teenage girl (Petal), and an ageing priest (Gabriel) help Gerry in his search and reveal a much wider, more dangerous plot and reveal a horrifying truth.
Sounds awesome, dear friend – but tell me, I’ve noticed many horror writers (which is a genre I know you love to write) also dab into Sci-Fi, dystopian worlds, I wonder if it’s because genre authors like to write genre in itself or is it because horror and Sci-Fi are linked, somehow?
CFB: Thank you, Anne. I think it depends on the writer. I personally like to blur genre lines because I like the added flavours that horror, and SF bring. Together they work well because of the fear of the unknown. And with regards to dystopian societies, they bring their own horror. So for me, they are easy bed-fellows. I do think, however, that horror although can be considered a genre in of itself, it’s also a flavour that can be given to many of other genres such as SF, Fantasy, Crime etc…
So what would be the inspiration for this new book – I want names, book titles, etc.
CFB: Initially I wrote it as a short story. It was really just an experiment. I dreamt up the dome city and the character of Gerry and wanted to see it where it went. In terms of what was behind the ideas I would say it’s probably the influence of Blade Runner and Neuromancer, as well as playing Shadowrun as a kid amongst myriad other inputs. This is the closest to my ‘truth’ in terms of writing as I can currently get to in terms of outlook, themes and subject matter.
What’s next for the writer and editor? Any cool projects coming out??
CFB: So many things, my head spins just thinking about it. From a writer’s perspective I have a gothic novella coming out later in December by Fox Spirit Books called ‘Heart for the Ravens’, and I’m releasing a horror novella around march time titled ‘of Darkewood & Ivory’. Beyond that I’m also working on the two follow-ups to Artificial Evil (Assembly Code and Alpha Omega) and hope to have those ready for mid 2013.
As an editor, things are super busy. I’ve got an anthology due out in February (Urban Occult), and 6 novellas in my new Pulp Line range of stories. You can find more details on these at
www.anachronpress.com.
Follow Colin on his blog tour!!
Ebook:
Print:
Amazon: US | UK |CreateSpace
***
Colin F. Barnes is a writer of dark and daring fiction. He takes his influence from everyday life, and the weird happenings that go on in the shadowy locales of Essex in the UK.
Growing up, Colin was always obsessed with story and often wrote short stories based on various dubious 80s and 90s TV shows. Despite taking a detour in school into the arts and graphic design, he always maintained his love of fiction and general geekery. Now, as a slightly weathered adult, Colin draws on his experiences to blend genres and create edgy, but entertaining stories.
He is currently working on a Cyberpunk/Techno thriller serial ‘The Techxorcist.’ which combines elements of Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Horror.
Like many writers, he has an insatiable appetite for reading, with his favourite authors being: Stephen King, William Gibson, Ray Bradbury, James Herbert, Albert Camus, H.P Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and a vast array of unknown authors who he has had the privilege of beta reading for.
Website: www.colinfbarnes.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ColinFBarnes
November 12, 2012
Chatting with… Rosanne Rivers
This week is a double treat: interview + cover reveal of Rosanne Rivers, a debut YA author!
After the Fear
In Sola’s city, everyone obeys the rules. Stay away from the trigger cameras and regularly update your Debtbook, and you just might survive. But having to watch the way criminals are dealt with—murdered by Demonstrators in the Stadium—is a law Sola tries to avoid. When a charming Demonstrator kisses her at a party, however, she’s thrust into the Stadium and forced into the very role she despises.
Armed with only natural resourcefulness and a caring nature, Sola narrowly survives her first bout. Her small success means she’s whisked off to a training camp, where she discovers a world beyond the trigger cameras and monitoring—a world where falling in love with a killer doesn’t seem so terrible.
Yet life as a Demonstrator has no peace. Sola must train her way through twenty-five more Demonstrations before she can return home to her father. At the end of each battle, only one survivor remains.
Sola could face anyone in the Stadium . . . even a loved one.
Ladies and gents, here’s Rosanne Rivers.
RR: Hi!
What’s your book about and where did you get the idea for it?
RR: Well the book is set in England in the year 2099, where Roman-style gladiatorial battles are the government’s way of raising money to pay off the nation’s enormous monetary Debt. It follows Sola as she trains to become one of the top fighters (Demonstrators) in England, falls in love, discovers unlikely secrets and deals with the oppressive society she lives in.
As mundane as it sounds, I actually got the idea from the huge deficit England has at the moment! Politicians are always going on about it over here. I liked the idea that when you’re born, you’re already born with a personal debt that you can be called upon at any time to pay off. When it came to how someone was going to pay this off, I looked to football. There’s so much money in it, it’s crazy. No matter how much debt we’re in, we’ll always find a way of spending money on the things we like. So I made football matches into Roman-style one-on-one battles, and in my book that’s the hobby which everyone loves and is willing to spend money on.
For the rest of the society, (trigger cameras/ a mandatory social networking site called Debtbook etc) I just looked at the world we already live in. When I started writing, the government in England were talking about introducing cameras which activate when they hear certain ‘trigger’ words. And then there’s Facebook, which fits so perfectly into a dystopian world that it’s scary! Every element in my book is from something which I could see happening in the future, but sometimes it’s an augmented version.
Love this – you actually pluck inspiration from actual events…oh so scary, we’re this close to a dystopian world coming to life, me thinks.
My favorite movies/books have always been dystopian: 1984, Blade Runner, Brazil, Hunger Games trilogy…which stories would you consider your favorite and how did they play in your own writing for this book?
RR: Yeah it is a bit scary . . . yet so much fun to write about!
Oh I haven’t read Blade Runner or Brazil, I’ll have to check them out! My favourite dystopian books have to be The Hunger Games, The Handmaid’s Tale and Delirium, (with Inside Out and Uglies coming in very close, too!). I’m a bit slow to the game but I’ve just start reading Divergent, which is awesome. I think the dystopian trend certainly gave me the confidence to write and finish this book. Before The Hunger Games, I would have worried that no one wanted to read about a killer teenager! Once I had the idea, a lot of my inspiration came from history books and tales of gladiators. The camp in ATF is very much based on a Roman ludus, with lots of the training techniques being adapted versions of those used by gladiators.
Cool beans, bringing in History into your books…which makes me wonder, what’s your next project? Will you stay in the futuristic genre or jump trains?
RR: I’m so glad you asked. I’m just in the research and plotting stage of my next book . . . It’s a YA fantasy following a young woman who is part of an all-female organised crime gang. So it’s a detour from the futuristic genre, but there will still be lots of fighting. This time though, I’m hoping to get the reader on side with the ‘baddies’, because let’s face it, we all have a dark side!
Rosanne lives in Birmingham, UK and considers it one of her favourite cities, second only to Rome. She delights in writing for children and young adults and hopes to bring readers to an unfamiliar yet alluring setting. Rosanne was inspired to write when she read the Harry Potter books, and at age fourteen, she wrote romance fanfiction on just about every pairing you could dream up from the HP series.
She blogs, she tweets, she has a Facebook page, and so does her book - don’t miss out and subscribe to be notified about After the Fear ♥
November 5, 2012
Don’t Fear Michelle Muto’s Reaper…
I’ve meet her through an online writing group, this girl who writes about death and magic. So I thought you lot would *love* to learn a little bit more about the book that got Michelle on Amazon’s number two spot last Halloween: Don’t Fear the Reaper.
Haunted by memories of her murdered twin, Keely Morrison is convinced suicide is her only ticket to eternal peace. But in death, she discovers the afterlife is nothing like she expected. Instead of peaceful oblivion or a joyful reunion with her sister, Keely is trapped in a netherworld on Earth with only a bounty-hunting reaper and a sarcastic demon to show her the ropes.
When the demon offers Keely her ultimate temptation–revenge on her sister’s killer–she must determine who she can trust. Because, as Keely soon learns, the reaper and demon have been keeping secrets and she fears the worst is true–that her every decision changes how, and with whom, she spends eternity.
And now, a belated Halloween treat – the book’s first chapter…
First Chapter:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for they are with me.
I repeated my version of the psalm as I watched the ribbon of blood drift from my wrist. I’d hoped it would be a distraction—something to stop me from wondering what my sister’s dying thoughts had been. Exhaling slowly, I let the emptiness consume me.
Jordan had kept my secrets and I had kept hers. In the end, it came down to just one secret between us that took her life. Now, it would take mine. I should have said something, but nothing I said or did now could bring her back or make anyone understand what she meant to me.
Are you here, Jordan? Are you with me? Tell me about heaven…
I told myself Jordan was gone, never coming back, but her memories continued to haunt me. I had no idea if there even was an afterlife. If God existed, I was convinced he had given up on me. Not once did I sense he’d heard a single one of my prayers. I wasn’t asking for the world—I only wanted to know if my sister was safe and at peace. What was so hard about that?
She should still be here. It wasn’t fair.
I’d been the difficult one—much more than Jordan. For a while, I’d even gotten into drugs. Mom and Dad had worried I’d get Jordan into drugs, too. But I wouldn’t. Not ever. Besides, that part of my life had been over long before Jordan’s death. A small gargoyle tattoo on my left shoulder was all that remained of my previous lifestyle.
Mom and Dad started treating me differently after Jordan’s funeral two months ago. She and I were twins, so I understood how hard it was for them to look at me and not see her. Sometimes, they wouldn’t look at me at all. Mom went to the psychiatrist, but no one asked if I needed to talk to someone about what happened. No one asked if I needed sleeping pills or antidepressants. Yeah, sure. Don’t give the former addict pills of any sort.
Not one person saw the all-consuming suffering that gnawed at my soul. Why couldn’t anyone see? Jordan had been more than my sister—she’d been my Samson, my strength. I would have done anything for her, and yet, I’d failed her. I wasn’t the one who’d killed her, but I might as well have been. How could I ever live with that? My heart had a stillness to it since her death.
I shall fear no evil.
I couldn’t very well recite the first part of Psalm 23 because it said I shall not want, and I did want. I wanted to go back in time. I wanted my sister back. Clearly, goodness and mercy were never going to be part of my life ever again. In my mind, I saw myself walking through the iron gates of hell with demons cackling gleefully all around.
I didn’t want to die. Not really. I was just tired and didn’t know of another way to stop the pain. Doctors removed a bad appendix. Dentists pulled rotten teeth. What was I supposed to do when my very essence hurt, when the cancer I’d come to call depression made every decent memory agonizingly unbearable?
Before I’d gotten down to cutting my wrist (I managed to only cut one), I’d taken a few swigs of Dad’s tequila—the good kind he kept in the basement freezer. I’d used another swig or two to chase down the remainder of Mom’s sleeping pills in the event I failed to hit an artery or vein. Then I’d set the bottle on the ledge of the tub in case I needed further liquid encouragement. Instead of using a knife or a razor, I attached a cutting blade to my Dad’s Dremel. The Dremel was faster, I reasoned. More efficient.
It would have been easier to OD, I suppose. But I felt closer to my sister this way, to suffer as she’d suffered.
I recited the line from Psalms 23 again. It had become my personal mantra.
The words resonated in my parents’ oversized bathroom. I’d chosen theirs because the Jacuzzi tub was larger than the tub in the hall bathroom. Jordan and I used to take bubble baths together in this same tub when we were little.
Innocence felt like a lifetime ago. I searched the bathroom for bubble bath but came up short. Soap might have made the laceration hurt more so it was probably just as well. Besides, the crimson streaming from my wrist like watercolor on silk was oddly mesmerizing.
The loneliness inside proved unrelenting, and the line from the psalms made me feel better. I prayed for the agony inside me to stop. I argued with God. Pleaded. But after all was said and done, I just wanted the darkness to call me home.
I tried not to think of who would find my body or who’d read the note I’d left. I blamed myself not only for failing Jordan, but for failing my parents, too.
My lifeline to this existence continued to bleed out into the warm water. Killing myself had been harder than I’d imagined. I hadn’t anticipated the searing fire racing through my veins. I reached for the tequila with my good arm but couldn’t quite manage. Tears welled in my eyes.
Part of me foolishly felt Jordan was here. The other part feared she wasn’t.
Give me a sign, Sis. Just one.
I imagined seeing my parents at my funeral—their gaunt faces, red-eyed and sleepless. How could I do this to them? Wasn’t the devastation of losing one child enough?
No. Stop. A voice in my head screamed. Don’t do this. Don’t. Please…
I shifted my body, attempted to get my uncooperative legs under me. I could see the phone on my parents’ nightstand. I could make it that far. Had to. The voice was right. I didn’t want to do this. I felt disorientated, dizzy. Darkness crept along the edges of my vision. Focusing became difficult. A sweeping shadow of black caught my attention. Someone stood in the bathroom—not my sister. A man. Had I managed to call 911? I couldn’t remember getting out of the tub. And why’d I get back in? Did I use a towel?
Mom is going to be pissed when she sees the blood I’ve tracked all over the bedroom carpet.
“I’m sorry,” I told the man in black.
“It’s okay, Keely. Don’t be afraid.” Not my father’s voice. It was softer, with a hint of sorrow. Distant. Fleeting. Later, I’d feel embarrassed about this, but for now I was safe from the nothing I’d almost become. My teeth clattered from the chill. My eyelids fluttered in time with my breaths. The tub water had turned the color of port wine. The ribbons, the pretty, red watercolor ribbons were gone.
Dull gray clouded my sight.
A voice whispered to me, and my consciousness floated to the surface again.
“—okay, Keely.”
Cold. So cold.
“I’m right here.”
There was no fear in me as the man bent forward, his face inches from mine. He was my father’s age, and yet strangely older. His eyes were so…blue, almost iridescent. The irises were rimmed in a fine line of black, and the creases etched at the corners reminded me of sunbeams as he gave me a weak smile. The oddly. Dressed. Paramedic. A warm hand reached into the water and cradled mine. My fingers clutched his. I sighed, feeling myself floating, drifting. Light—high and intense exploded before me. No! Too much. Too much! I shuddered and labored to catch my breath, but it wouldn’t come.
Finally, the comfort of darkness rose to greet me.
Don’t forget to buy the book, visit Michelle’s blog, and follow her on Twitter and Facebook 
October 31, 2012
And the Skellies go to….
I’m very happy to announce my Marriage Cures Love couple of Skellies will be heading to Lauren McKay’s home on Halloween’s day ♥ Congrats, Lauren:)
For the sourpusses, I’ll be giving away a series of Monsters Skellies for my upcoming book launch, GIRLS & MONSTERS, so keep your eyes opened - and beware, they’re behind you….
And now for zombie fans, my very first anthology published short story BLOOD on the BEACH is now available to read for free on Tales of the Zombie War.
Halloween is my favorite time of year, it involves spooks, candy and tragic skies…but please enjoy safely, no one likes a *real* corpse ♥
October 23, 2012
Halloween Delight: The Coffin Hop
For a second year, I am participating to the amazingness that is the #Coffinhop Halloween blog hop, where horror authors and fans can win scary books and ghoulish prizes! Hop on and hold on to your cape and fangs:)
Wanna win my Marriage Cures Love couple of Skellies? It’s so easy: follow this link. The contest starts on Wednesday 24th and ends on the 31st at midnight, the winner will be picked on November 1st and notified by email.
For extra entries, you may need to visit Hypnophobia, The Birdman and Heather. And in case you haven’t read these creepy anthologies, maybe you should: Tattered Souls volume 2 and City of Hell Chronicles : volume 1.
For cool swag, #Coffinhop also has a store!
October 17, 2012
The Next Big Thing Blog Tag
My new Twitter friend Linda Bloodworth tagged me with this blog hop and I’m happy to oblige:) So here we go….
What is the working title of your book? KILLER GIRL
Where did the idea come from for the book? AN AMAZING DREAM I HAD A MONTH AGO.
What genre does your book fall under? YA/NA THRILLER
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? CHRISTINA RICCI, JENNIFER LAWRENCE, MARK STRONG, ALAN RICKMAN, JOHN CUSAK…
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A GIRL MUST BECOME A KILLER TO AVENGE HER PARENTS’ DEATH.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? WHO KNOWS? IF I WISH UPON A STAR…
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? ERRR…NOT DONE, YET.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? GILLIAN FLYNN’S TRILOGY, TANA FRENCH’S IN THE WOODS, KENDARE BLAKE’S ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? THE CHARACTERS KEEP POPPING IN MY HEAD.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? IT’S DARK, TWISTED, SCARY, FUNNY, HEART-WARMING, FAST-PACED AND SHOCKING.
In the spirit of this blog hop, it is now my turn to nominate 5 bloggers who will answer these questions:
Don’t forget to hop to their blogs and meet their WIP:)
October 15, 2012
Drum-roll, please…
I fell in love with writing in my tiny flat in Zone 2, London. It was a freezing cold night, a draft came from the single-glazed bay window of that old Edwardian front room I called my home, my fingers danced on the keyboard as words flew out, when I realized: I wouldn’t be doing anything else, right now.
Then came the Master’s in screenwriting diploma a year later. When people asked if anything happened with the scripts I’d been writing, I replied of course not, I knew no one in Montreal, had been gone too long, lost touch, etc. So, during the two next years, I made my own short films: produced, directed, wrote – and hated it. They never were as good as what I had written, even if they were distributed and sold to TV.
Novels, I told myself. I’ll write novels, get them published, and be happy – but agents got in the way. Five years, seven projects, and about 500 rejection letters later, I still haven’t found one. Oh, I’ve gotten advice and cheers and encouragement, some said my writing was beautiful, I knew how to build up a scene, they admired me and loved my work…but no one wanted to represent me.
What is a girl to do? How do I get published without waiting another year or two to get an agent, then the rewrites, then the submission to publishing houses? Well, I sent my query to the best small publishers my research provided…
AND GIRLS & MONSTERS IS GETTING PUBLISHED BY DARKFUSE IN 2013!!!
Cheers to you all, I’m having a drink right this moment I never thought *this* could happen that fast.
Oh, what is Girls & Monsters, you ask? It’s a collection of 5 novelettes about, well, girls and monsters. It’s dark, gloomy, aimed at the young-adult/new-adult gap, it’s scary and funny and I’m in love with each of my characters and their monsters – because don’t be fooled, we all have one waiting in the dark…
Happy Goth dance♥
September 28, 2012
Body for Body
Well. It took me 8 months to finish the dystopianly dark I WAS HERE trilogy – do NOT judge, things got in the way, like they tend to do when you least expect them to. So here’s the third and final installment, after Bullet for Bullet and Blood for Blood. Enjoy, Friday flashers 
Body for Body
Water dripped on metal, rusting the air. Before my eyes, steel twisted intricate patterns to form my cage. Four walls, a hole in the ground. The old warehouse housing men, killers and fathers, and me.
The night started with drunken victory chants from the Amazons on their way back from another attack. The rhythmic rhymes could be heard for miles, with the thick fog hanging low and the imminent splashes of rain overhead. They didn’t care – they’d won, always did.
“Soldier or breeder?” I asked no one in particular, scared of who they brought back. I wondered if it’d be a girl, rebelling against their ways like me, choosing this instead of killing or reproducing. “Soldier or breeder?” I asked again, wanting to know if I’d make a friend or foe.
The man in the next storage unit spat on the ground, mumbling, “Shouldn’t have kept you alive for nothing.” He’s right.
“Survivors, warriors, it’s the same to us,” said the woman in charge of everything. She spoke to a stranger, like she had to me on my first night with the Amazons. “Which path will you take, is what we need to know.”
I thought of Roman, Henryk, the other men – all this time I believed them rapists, but the girls I traveled with had planned their pregnancies from the beginning.
“Here’s our group of male breeders, but we always need more. More women to fight, more men to fuck.” Her voice rang high as she threw me a smile, knocking on my cage door for hello. It rattled, like my bones.
“No more war, no more blood. Enough,” I said.
“Body for body, each life they took we give back.” Automatic, the response she gave to every question about her method. “And we will win the war, with love and compassion, trust and freedom. We’ll change the world, you’ll see.”
The girl next to her had to decide between a crumbling building where the pregnant women waited to deliver in peace and the warehouse where soldiers in training guarded the prisoners they kept.
“I want to fight, I want to make them pay.” The girl chose her fate.
Nothing like mine, where they threw me in a cage, to control me, to make me change my mind, to make me come to them. Once again, they won.
I woke up from tension sifting the air out of the basement. The wave of it woke me up before dawn, when stars diluted the sky. Rushed voices, cracks of rocks under thick soles, then a light sparkled in the dark. The smell of burning leaves mixed with rusty metal.
“Let me out,” I begged. “Set me free,” I cried. I drank my tears, salt better than the sandpaper coating my mouth. “Don’t forget me.” But the Amazons already had, weeks ago, when I said ‘no.’
A ball of fire exploded at the back of the storage units and spread its wings with red and orange flames. Smoke thickened and scratched at my eyes, the welcoming draft bringing danger closer to me. Men screamed in pain as they cooked alive, rattling their cages as they tried to escape the inevitable fire.
I waited for the chaos to pass, crawled in a hole in the dirt. Warmth boiled my back, the walls of my cage fell and protected the little that was left of me. Then, nothing but silence.
My memories of tripping over fried bodies littering the floor were more vivid than anything else. Gunshots and smoke surrounded each step between the dilapidated buildings; screams and shouts of vengeance echoed on the walls around me. But I ran, away from them.
Through the rain, under the sun, splashing through the creek and dusting the road. A quiet place to end my days, to stop my heart from beating. Because to live meant to kill, to take life away; whether by gun or giving life. Not me, never. Like an animal, I’ll die alone.
September 5, 2012
Day of Demons Giveaway Extraordinaire ♥
Colin F Barnes edited the ecclectic Day of Demons anthology with amazing authors, so I decided to pick their brains out with a few questions…
I’m always curious as to how other writers find inspiration, especially when submitting to an anthology which connects its stories with one common subject, in this case demons. How do you approach such a task? Do you have stories stored-up? Do you write on demand?
GARY BONN: All of the above. I think most writer’s heads are like overstuffed attics. If you have a stimulus like a theme, you can dig around dusty old boxes in you head and find something shining. Often, a stimulus gives you the very thing you need to bring a story to life.
KT DAVIES: Hey Anne and everyone:) I’m used to working to a brief having done so writing for various live-roleplaying game systems. I also like having a prompt, (possibly because I’m lazy;p). I have got some short stories that I’ve written on a whim and that I’d like to find homes for, but it’s tricky finding the time to work on them whilst keeping up with more pressing projects.
SARAH ANNE LANGTON: Panicky words on demand! I actually think of a title first. Yup, possibly wierd. I know. Then chaotically wander the internet to start filling in the characters and hunting for demonic little ideas I might like use. DOD was wonderful to write as it was a great excuse to go poking about online into all sorts of dubious occulty places. Good call Mr Barnes : )
VICTORIA GRIESDOORN: That’s an interesting approach, Sarah! I would have never thought to go on the internet to come up with story ideas. I’m usually very thin on the ground with story ideas. So I usually only submit to anthologies if I already have a story idea that fits the theme. They’re few and far between for me. I am even worse at developing an idea past the premise-stage into full story-stage. With me it usually comes down to blank screens, frustration and deadlines.
KRISTA WALSH: I think my approach is closer to Victoria’s with the frustrating and looming deadlines…and I also tend to go for anthologies where I’ve had an idea sitting around for awhile but not known what to do with it. DoD was perfect because the premise had been simmering for months. I’m slowly developing the ability to write on a whim. I’ve participated in a number of flash fiction contests the last couple of months where it’s just a matter of closing your eyes and diving in. How successful I’ve been? Guess I’ll leave that up to the readers.
EDWARD DRAKE: I write quite a few short stories and have loads of unfinished ideas, some seeing the light of day on my website while others stay locked away until needed. It was just really lucky and really good timing that I spotted the request for Day of Demons submissions when I did. I had just started drafting Cost of Glory when I saw the shout out, so I already had the idea…kind of. It needed tweaking, mainly the demon aspect, but I was just lucky that I already write a lot of fantasy and I spotted the posting for submissions when I did. The ideas themselves come from anything, a daydream, a line of dialogue or even requests from family and friends that I have run with and expanded upon. Some lead to nothing but luckily others can lead to something more, like a part of the Day of Demons anthology.
LAURA DIAMOND: Hi all! I’m pretty new to the short story scene. I keep my ears open for anthology topics or genres that I enjoy, then I brainstorm a story for that anthology.
Great to see diverse approaches to writing for an antho:) Now, let’s get down and dirty. I’ve heard many times – and have been asked twice – about women and horror: some say the two don’t match, something to which I strongly disagree. What’s your take on it? Can women scare people shitless as much as men? Should women stick to ‘softer’ genres, such as romance and erotica? Yeah, I just vomited inside my mouth asking that last one.
KRISTA WALSH: I think Colin’s already proven that theory wrong with his City of Hell collection. That one kept me up for days! So resounding answer: no! Women may have a different spin on horror but it’s no less effective or skillful. I can’t take credit for itmyself, though. Not so much a one for the creepy.
GARY BONN: I just wish Ren Warom was here to answer you. Her debut novel is with an agent now and will scare people totally… er how do I say this? You know the way people talk about watching scary films whilst hiding behind the sofa? That’s how people will read it – and it’s not even intended to be horror. If she were to write in that genre… Excuse me, I’m off to hide behind a sofa.
EDWARD DRAKE: Trust me, women can scare just as well as men. There really is no gender divide when it comes to genre. Be it horror, war, sport, anything, women can write just as well as, if not better than men.
COLIN F. BARNES: I see no distinction in genders, personally. Women can write equally as horrific stories as men. (Women In Black, and Frankenstein immediately come to mind). I’m not sure why there aren’t more in the mainstream, but I blame traditional publishing for that. Them and their pre-conceived marketing ideas. If more women were given chance to show their horror work, I think the genre would be in much better shape than it is now. Probably less derivative zombie stuff.
VICTORIA GRIESDOORN: I agree with Edward. I think there’s no such thing as gender divide in genre. I think it’s much more determined by personality than gender. But I do think there might be a societal bias. Women in our society are commonly taught to think of themselves as the gentler sex and I think that sometimes shows in genre choices (as readers and writers), not capabilities.
SARAH ANNE LANGTON: Really? People still question this? Erm…. totally amazed folk would even think that chicks writing horror was an issue in genre fiction these days. I can tie my own shoelaces too.
What Mr Drake said
JAMES MAZZARO: I think different things scare women as opposed to men. Take for example Anne Rice. While her vampires are deadly, they use the art of seduction far more than what we saw from Stephen King’s Mr Barlow in Salem’s Lot. Men concentrate on blood and gore and delivering that shock scene in vivid detail. What I see from women is deeper levels of suspense and far more intricate motives for their heroes and villains.
Both methods are extremely effective. The goal is to keep the reader turning the pages far past their bedtime.
KAREN REAY-DAVIES: Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, I count that as horror, indeed, it’s probably the first horror story. as Camilla didn’t come until, what? 1870 something. Interesting to note, the monster made of body parts that embarks on a terrible path of revenge was written by a woman and the two next nearest horror stories about sexeh vamps were written by men : le Fanu and Stoker respectively. Maybe it’s the men folk who lean to the softer types of horror, but are too shy to ‘come out’?;p But to answer the question. Yes, I think women are equally as capable of writing any genre as male writers.
SARAH ANNE LANGTON: Yes, Mary Shelley never dabbled in gore & Bram Stoker never touched on the sexual natures of vampires. Really don’t think an author’s approach is defined by virtue of their sex.
I never thought it was an issue until critics and interviewers asked me about it – and that was last year, not in 1954. Depressing. But speaking of writers block (literally), when writing, so you auto-censor yourselves? Have you ever changed entire scenes after realizing you couldn’t let it in? If so, what was the scene and what was the genre?
KRISTA WALSH: Can’t say I have. I’ve come close in the most recent project I’m working on. It’s just a short paragraph that’s sure to upset some people, but I’m standing by it.
JAMES MAZZARO: I have one of those fertile minds where stories are playing all the time in my head. The best way for the story to come out is to put myself in a locked room and write. I wrote a mothers love in the middle of the night in about an hour. The words flew onto the page faster than I could grasp what I was writing. I enjoyed writing it so much I couldn’t wait to see how it was going to turn out. When I sent it to Colin, he asked me to expand on the conflict between mrs Gray and the demon. It just clicked.
VICTORIA GRIESDOORN: Well, I think when publishers and critics talk about a genre being in decline, they mean that there are fewer books of that genre published through traditional houses, fewer bought by readers via traditional houses and it’s rare they’re on traditional bestseller’s lists. Publishers and critics still don’t pay much attention to how many indie authors there are writing in a genre and how much they’re selling, unless there’s an indie breakout bestselling success, in which case publishers will flock. But I can’t remember a case like that in the horror genre.
Since I signed on Twitter, I’ve noticed how many horror writers are out there, promoting or just trying to get published – if not already – and yet publishers and critiques always say the genre is in decline in popularity. I personally don’t believe it, but do you?
COLIN F BARNES: Yes, I do believe it is in decline. You can see it in bookshops; the shelf space is given over to Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. What little shelf space that there is for Horror, it’s mostly stalwarts like King, Lovecraft, Barker et al. Supermarkets, which are selling more books than bookshops these days, rarely have any horror on their shelves of thrillers, romance, and women’s fiction.
If you look at online marketplaces for horror, there’s really nothing of note, hardly any pro markets or zines, just a few smaller token or non-paying ones. Then when we look at Amazon, horror is mostly made up of badly produced derivative zombie, werewolf, vampire fiction and old classic collections. There’s very few top-end horror novels in the marketplace compared to other genres.
But, genres are cyclical. In 5 or 10 years we might see Scifi and Fantasy recede, and PR/UF go the way of the dodo, and Horror return to its former 80s/90s heyday.
This is one of the reasons why I didn’t focus on horror for Day of Demons, instead the focus was on fantasy and dark fantasy with a few horror stories mixed in to give it a wider appeal.
VICTORIA GRIESDOORN: Well, I think when publishers and critics talk about a genre being in decline, they mean that there are fewer books of that genre published through traditional houses, fewer bought by readers via traditional houses and it’s rare they’re on traditional bestseller’s lists. Publishers and critics still don’t pay much attention to how many indie authors there are writing in a genre and how much they’re selling, unless there’s an indie breakout bestselling success, in which case publishers will flock. But I can’t remember a case like that in the horror genre.
KRISTA WALSH: Since I’m not really a horror writer, I can only answer this question as a Twitter observer. Seems to me like it’s still one of the most popular genres among writers and readers. Sometimes hiding under different genre labels, perhaps, but still with a strong presence.
It’s a Day of Demons giveaway madness!!!
The generous editor will ship a softcover copy of the Days of Demon anthology to one lucky (and international) winner as well as choose three others to win ecopies – but you must leave a comment on here and tweet about it (as proof, the link, please) and sign up to Anachron Press to be eligible. Colin will whisper the winners on Friday the 14th of September at midnight.
Good luck:)
August 1, 2012
And we have winners!
My good friend Adam Sydney chose the two winners for his amazing books (the copies are only 2,99$ – get them!): Marianne Su wins Yolanda Polanski and Jason Derrick wins My Heart is a Drummer. Congrats to both, you’ll enjoy these stories so much:)
I’m going back to my writing dungeon…
