Chantal Boudreau's Blog, page 36

Vicarious Dreaming

I took my daughter to see The Rise of the Guardians today and found myself swept up in its totally unbelievable tale. Why? Because the holiday myths act like superheroes in the story and I adore superheroes.

I grew up wishing I could be a person who protects others. I would have loved to have joined the military, the police force or become a firefighter, but my back injury and reflex issues, thanks to a car accident when I was five, ruled those things out. I’m too squeamish at the sight of other people’s blood to be a savior of the medical kind. I settled on being a civil servant where I try to help people, but the rules I have to follow don’t always allow me to give them as much help as they need, unfortunately.

So my desire to be the guardian, to come to others’ rescue, has been relegated to dreams – and often times to delving into dreams manifested by other people. I have to experience the superhero life vicariously.

I have watched the majority of the superhero movies out there. I have played every superhero RPG I could get my hands on, starting with Villains and Vigilantes, moving on to DC Heroes and Marvel Superheroes and finishing up with GURPS Supers and Champions (the best one, in my opinion.) I have an eclectic collection of comic books with obscure supers like Flare and well-known favourites like Iron Man. I devoured the Wild Cards series with great gusto. I’ve even dressed up as She-Hulk before.

And now, thanks to the Masked Mosaic, I now have my own superhero story published.

The surprising thing is that despite my love for superheroes, I’ve only written two stories of that type – the one now published, “A Face in the Wind,” and a darker tale I submitted to a charity anthology (I’m still waiting to hear if it will be used.) I’ve had plenty of ideas, but none I could see making into a full novel and there aren’t that many venues out there looking for a superhero short story.

What sort of characters have I created in the past?

Well, there was Epoxy, a chemist who had created a super-suit and gadgets all fabricated from her own variant of super-glue; Cypress, a shape-shifting archer with divine powers; Finder, a super-detective whose skills proved to be the basis for the Finders in my Fervor series; Silver Bullet/Silver Jet, who had super-sonic flight and could shrink to bullet-size; Jackpot, a superhero with extraordinary luck, and many others. I love coming up with new concepts and themes.

Will I ever write a full superhero novel? Maybe, if I can come up with a solid story idea for something that length, one that is truly original. I don’t want to rehash something that has been done before.

Until then, I’ll stick to the odd super short story and enjoying the dreams of others.

Women Can’t Write Good Horror?

I don’t have my review ready this week – still immersed in Deep Cuts. I’m reading every little nook and cranny to the book, including the intro and all of the recommendations, in very careful detail. I guess I’ve been lingering so much on this because I was distraught and bewildered by something Lisa Morton says in the intro… that in almost every horror writer’s forum out there, there seems to be a thread running on the inability of women to write good horror.

Hunh? Really?

I was also disappointed to hear that only 30% of the submissions for a pro-rate anthology honouring women in horror actually came from female writers.

Have I had blinders of some kind on? Because I’ve never run into anybody who has told me I can’t write good horror because I’m a woman. I’ve had some people decide they didn’t like my writing in general, but I’ve never had anyone suggest that any problems they’ve had with my stories was a result of my gender. Do people actually think that way?

I decided to do a search on the internet to see if this was truly a common sentiment. Initially, I found a lot of postings defending female horror writers, most of them associated with Women in Horror Month. Most of them seem to be offering counter arguments or excuses surrounding the notions that female writing is too sappy and emotional for horror, or they don’t write anything that’s effectively scary or gory. I’ve never been accused of any of that either, so once again, I’m scratching my head.

By the time I was done my search, I was pretty upset. While I don’t give much heed to the odd forum entry that “chicks can’t write horror” (because I don’t value the opinion of anyone who would refer to me as a “chick” unless in jest), the reports of people on panels at conventions saying things like women were less effective at writing horror and suggesting we should stick to fluff and paranormal romance made me want to string the buggers up and whack them repeatedly in their scrota with a stick laced with rusty nails (pointy ends to flesh, of course). While I wouldn’t actually do anything like that, I was pissed off enough to consider the fantasy – not to mention it would certainly show them I mean business when it comes to horror.  I’m sure I have several female horror writer friends who might contemplate joining me.

Don’t think I can write horror that’s scary or gory? Think my work will be sappy because I’m a woman? If that’s the case, I’d advise you to check out “Wrigglers” when it comes out in the soon to be released Midnight Movie Creature Feature II from May December Publications. I don’t shy away from cruelty, gore, death or violence when it comes to my stories and I challenge anyone to give an example of a horror story I’ve written that’s “sappy”. Containing irony – yes. Offering dark humour – at times. But sappy? Never.

When I write horror, I write horror, and I mean business.

Busy Week…

Happy International Women’s Day!

I’ve been guilty of neglecting my blog, caught up in a multitude of book associated tasks and trying to give my family some of my attention too. I hope to spend much more time with them over the coming March Break if my back agrees. My thirty-six-year-old injury has been playing up lately, reminding me I need to be more active in a low impact way and to cut back on the sweets and starchy foods. Winter tends to make me less inclined to do either of those things, and a desk day job and an obsession with becoming an established writer doesn’t help.

So what have I been up to? Not the things I had been planning for the month.

Instead of the research I was planning to do, I’ve been reading Deep Cuts, a horror anthology with a smidgen of its content attributable to me (none of the stories, however.) I won’t say anything more about it because I plan on reviewing it on Monday.

I’ve also been distracted by a debate/discussion amongst Horror Writers Association about the new Hydra e-book imprint from Random House and its controversial contract offering for writers. After having reviewed what people had to say about it, I wouldn’t sign it – just sayin’.

Instead of working on my latest novel WIP, Sifting the Ashes, I took a break to write a short story “Velveteen.” I have only a week left to the submission deadline so I’ve been rushing to get it done and test-read. I then had to rewrite the ending, but I’d like to have it tweaked, polished, prepped and submitted this weekend. I’m hoping it’ll have a shot (albeit a miniscule one) at making it into the Glitter & Mayhem anthology. At least I had fun writing it and it was worth the try.

On the release front, I *finally* received my print proof for the second book in my Snowy Barrens trilogy and now the print version of The Blood Runs Deep is finally live (I’ll be adding a link button to my page.) I also reduced the prices of both my ebook and print versions of book #1, to celebrate its release (yay!) This means I now have to start working on the cover art for the last book in the trilogy, and planning the formatting and final edits. As well, I had news that the Midnight Movie Creature Feature II anthology will likely make an appearance this month (it will contain my story “Wrigglers” – I’ve been waiting for this one for a while.)

I wish I could say I’ll be more diligent about my blogging next week, but the majority of the week will be reserved for family time. I’ll try to at least post on Monday/Wednesday /Friday, more if things run smoothly with regards to the family outings.

Anyway – back to my busy week J

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Mistresses of the Macabre

I’ve been reading an interesting assortment of anthologies lately, this one amongst them. I consider myself fortunate to have shared pages with many talented writers in the past, and this compilation of ghoulish tales from great women is no exception to my good fortune. Every story from my seventeen cohorts in horror had something of merit to offer and while the themes and styles of some of tales appealed more to my sensibilities than others, I didn’t dislike a single one. It was interesting to see the spectrum of chilling fiction combined here – some focussing on very womanly topics from a strongly female perspective, others tapping into less gender specific fears and disturbing concepts. As a whole, it had a notable flavour that set the anthology apart from your typical horror offering. Specifically, there were powerful emotions other than terror or despair, several tales based on personal connections, and many of the characters demonstrated a strong sense of self with much of the horror internalized. Not that there wasn’t gore and action, but there was a lot more than that.

My three favourites in the anthology (in order of appearance) included “The Mistakes”, “Black Bird”, and “Sometimes Monsters are Real” – the other stories certainly had their value and were entertaining, but these three grabbed me in particular:

Hollis Jay’s “The Mistakes” was gruesomely eerie and thoroughly disturbing, offering a tale of the taboo that jars the senses. It’s a story presented in bits and pieces to reflect the thoughts of the narrator, not a linear retelling of events in their entirety – the format used better suits the narrative, in my opinion.

In Nikki Hopeman’s “Black Bird”, a woman is haunted by her past, an obsession that plagues her in a physical form and refuses her any escape or solace. I loved the way the author captured the protagonist’s mind-set and blended her phobias with her remorse. Great imagery and flow.

Kelli A. Wilkins’s “Sometimes Monsters Are Real” is a twisted and complex story that had some things in common with the classic “The Monkey’s Paw”. I think many a mother could relate to the protagonist and the kind of choices one might make given similar circumstances.

I also have to mention the final story “One for the Road” because I found it dizzying (in a good way) and I have to wonder how the author, Joanna Parypinski, kept her head on straight while writing it.

I highly recommend these tales from such talented and scary ladies. Two trembling thumbs up here.

Inspiration and Motivation

I received an e-mail today with a thank you and a free copy of an e-book in which I had participated in a very small way. The anthology, Deep Cuts, is a tribute to female horror writers and I contributed a short blurb about how my favourite female horror writer, Tanith Lee, had inspired me, along with a recommendation of one of her short stories.

I’ve read a lot of horror in my day, despite being primarily a fantasy reader in my teens and as a younger adult. I’ve indulged in some of the well known horror writers like Stephen King, John Saul, Anne Rice, Peter Straub and Dean Koontz, but I think I drew more inspiration from some of the lesser known horror talent. I have a fine collection of horror anthologies and short story collections (Tanith Lee’s and Frederic Brown’s are the most worn from being re-read.) The influence was there before I started trying to write horror, it just took me a decade or two to realize my writer’s brain works the way it does.

The inspiration has always been there but the motivation has been harder to come by. I used to write when I didn’t have much going on while I was between jobs or semesters. I wrote to keep from going crazy on maternity leave. I wrote to try to make sense of things when I had two friends commit suicide within a year. But I also wrote, once my life got too busy to offer any sense of ennui, because I had a dear friend who has read everything I’ve ever written, given me constant feedback, both good and bad, and pushed me when I wasn’t up to pushing myself. Even my husband hasn’t managed to keep up with her (although he tries).

Now she’s facing challenges of her own, and it’s up to me to do what I can to inspire and motivate her. I can’t begin to understand what she’s going through. Offering her a similar amount of encouragement is going to require tamping down my typically pessimistic nature. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I’m certainly going to try for her sake. It also means finding motivation for myself elsewhere because she won’t be available at times for various reasons. I haven’t figured that one out yet either.

And speaking of motivation, I have my winner for my contest to help me choose my next project. I did go with “Sifting the Ashes” and the winner is atalantatheargonaut – I’ll be e-mailing to find out your prize preference. Congrats J

It’s not all Bad News…

For all the bad news February has brought with it, there have been a few good things that have come my way. The first is the fact that my husband has his armouring business “Alchemy Armory” up and running again. That should help ease financial stresses.

The second is the release of not one but three anthologies containing one of my stories. Out earlier this month, Zombie Lockdown from May December Publications contains my story “Life and Undeath on the Chain Gang”. I actually did quite a bit of historical research for this zombie tale and learned a lot about chain gangs in the Old South, so I was pleased to see it find a home.

Just yesterday, Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories from Tyche Books was made available, containing my flash super-hero tale “A Face in the Wind”. I also had to do historical research for this as well, and I can proudly say that this is my first contribution to a Canadian anthology (although I have another Canadian acceptance that should be out within the year.)

And today marked the release of Mistresses of the Macabre, an all female writer anthology from Dark Moon Books. I contributed one of my favourite creations, “Orbs” to this horror compilation and I’m grateful to be included amongst a very talented group of ladies.

This is my second appearance in a Dark Moon Books anthology, and I’m happy to say that Slices of Flesh, my first appearance, has been included on the final ballot for the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards (for Superior Achievement in Anthology).

So as you can see, things aren’t all bad, and here’s hoping they’ll only look up for the rest of the year. Fingers crossed.

Apologies

So I haven’t been feeling my usual self lately, and my blog has suffered for it. There will be no love or Hawthorne in this entry, I’ve skipped a few posts, and some may have noticed there was no review posting on Monday. The situation is personal, so you won’t be getting an explanation in detail. Let’s just say that there is a strong possibility of a negative outcome to a nasty situation, one that I’m not sure I’ll be able to cope with all that well. It has me very sad, at a moment when someone needs me to stay positive, and I’m terrible at managing those kinds of conflicting emotional pressures. I want to just crawl into a hole somewhere and make it all go away. At the best of times, I’m feeling kind of empty.

It probably doesn’t help that the WIP I’m working on is more than a little grim, and I haven’t reached the pivotal point in the book where things start looking up for my protagonist. I could use a hefty dose of hope right now, even if it happens to be the imaginary kind. I usually write dark stories because it helps me to shine a more positive light on my own life. I don’t think that’s going to work in this case.

What I do know is that if the person involved in this situation asks for anything, I’ll be dropping whatever I’m working on to try to fulfill their wishes. That means I won’t guarantee anything for the next little while. Marketing and promotions definitely are not at the top of my to-do list, this blog included. I may even set aside a WIP if necessary, not something I normally will do.

This is an unwelcome reminder that I need to be grateful for everyone in my life. I’m not always good at expressing it, but I do care about the people around me who make my life seem worth living. So I’m sorry if I neglect things a little and I wax a tad gloomy for a while. Please accept my apologies ahead of time.

-And go hug somebody for me, will you?

Love and Hawthorne – Dark and Dismal

I started working on my post-apocalyptic crow novel (thanks to all those who sent suggestions – I’ll be announcing my contest winner at month’s end) and the dark and dismal theme reminded me of the stories that first drew me in to reading Hawthorne’s work and becoming a fan. The Scarlet Letter presents the concept of staying resilient in the face of adversity and persecution and becoming a better, stronger person for it, but it certainly is not a light and cheery tale, the protagonist enduring a great deal of suffering for the sake of love. The House of Seven Gables embodies a spirit of vengeance that will not end until love brings a conclusion to the curse. And several of his Twice-Told Tales have a gloomy plot that gives them a horror ambiance. I consider Hawthorne one of my darker classical influences and maybe that’s why I love his stories so much.

What you do find in his books, despite the dreary circumstances, is that the heroic characters in his stories show true perseverance, and there often seems to be an element of hope – a beacon shining somewhere in the darkness. I aim for that aspect as well in most of my darker tales. Despite the difficulties, despite the tragedy, I want to maintain some sense of hope – be it a distant saviour who is striving to reach my heroes if they can just hold on long enough, or a promise that tomorrow will be better if they can just make it through today.

The novel I’m working on now probably has one of the darkest storylines I’ve ever tackled and to make it even more difficult, I’m writing it from a first person perspective, something I’ve never attempted with a novel. It taps into many predicaments that worsen the protagonist’s circumstances. As a result of the devastation of the apocalypse, he faces illness, death from environmental factors, predators, starvation, bullying and a loss of almost everything he has known and understood. An underdog amongst his kind to begin with, he has to adapt to a new and incredibly hostile world and eventually finds himself separated from the only family and security he still has.

But it doesn’t end there, and once the character hits rock bottom without dying, the only direction he can go is up. Add a hearty dose of hope and some new allies after the character has refused to give in, and suddenly the story takes on a whole new spin. We’ll see how it goes once I get there and if I can get everything to come together the way I want it to.

The Blurb on Other People’s Words – The Onion Girl

The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint

As I’ve mentioned before, while I’m a fantasy fan, I am very much a selective fantasy fan. Mr. De Lint is one of those fantasy authors – in his case urban fantasy – whom I have read before and I will definitely read again. There is a solid dose of realism to his fantasy fiction, the type of gritty biting edge, in places, that I adore. His characters are far from perfect (as characters should be in order for me to be able to relate to them), they go through great struggles and pain and they don’t always come out on the other end smelling like a rose. There is solid substance to this fantasy, not just spectacle and pageantry.

That being said, while I loved this book, it may not appeal to everyone. It is not a fast-paced read, nor is it a whimsical or flighty adventure filled with action. It certainly has its tense moments. It opens with a terrible accident and there are multiple incidents involving crime and violence, but much of the book is placid, emotional and introspective. It can also be a little difficult to follow at times because the narrative jumps around from real world to dream world and follows more than one character and chronology. I read it in drips and drabs between other things I was reading for review purposes and sometimes I found myself a little lost when I returned to it, having to back track a little to figure out where, when and with whom I was.

As a whole I think this is a wonderful book and well deserving of the World Fantasy Award. I’m fortunate enough to have a signed copy which I bought when Mr. de Lint made a local appearance here. The story is as multi-layered as the onion mentioned in the title and in my opinion, a firm five-star read.

Romance of a Different Kind

Reblogged from Guild Of Dreams:

Valentine’s Day had me thinking about love and romance and all those other fluffy, happy things (which as a mostly dark fantasy and horror writer, I’m not normally prone to do.) It also brought up the idea that one of the great things about writing fantasy is that it allows you to explore unusual relationships and all their quirks and questions that you could never explore in mundane literature.

Read more… 497 more words