Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 58

Too weird to live. Too rare to die – Alex Laybourne Interviews Collette Von Tora

Collette von Tora is a star in the making. succesful model and budding movie star. It was my absolute pleasure to be able to sit down with this stunning English rose for a chat about her life, her passion and goals for the future. One thing is for sure, she has what it takes; the drive, the ability and the intelligence to climb right to the top.

Can I start by saying I am a big fan of your work, you really do take a great picture.

Thank you very much.

At what age did you decide that you wanted to become a model?

I tried initially getting into modeling, when I was 21. My first photo shoot was with a student friend of mine, who was studying photography. We had a good time, and came up with a few good poses. I sent the images off to various model agencies around that time, but this was before certain laws were in place, so I ended up being charged a considerable amount of money to join these, so-called agencies.

This put me off for a while, up until the age of 27, when I thought I would give things another go. I went to a professional photography studio, paid money to get some professional shots done, with a makeover and posing advice and used those images to make my start.

Was there a particular figure that inspired you to head down this career path?

I have to say, there have been a number of inspirational figures during my time, down this career path. My main inspiration was actually Dita Von Teese. I admired her for her attitude, her class and style and always found her stunning. She also inspired me to add the ‘Von’ to my name

It is a nice touch. One of those additions that adds something different without making it seem false.

How about now, who do you find influences you the most?

Oddly, Johnny Depp, I love his chameleon like approach to his work and how selective he is of projects that he gets involved with.

You have a very broad portfolio, and have a very wide range of talents, what is it about latex and fetish modeling that attracts you so?

Latex looks stunning, and you can do a lot of cool and interesting things with it. I love the feel of it, against my skin. I also love the type of imagery you can get with fetish work.

I simply find latex designs stunning to look at.

You are based in the UK, Lancaster to be precise; would you be willing to relocate for your career, to London for example?

Yes, that is very much my plan. I would love to move nearer London. It is something I have wanted to do for a number of years now. I am frequently asked if I will be moving to London at some point, and get a good number of work offers from the area. So yes, I do plan to move, as soon as I am able.

What about further afield, the States for example?

I have always wanted to move to Japan, I adore the culture and the attitude of the place. It has long since been something that I have wanted to do, but it would be a very long-term plan of mine.

I too have a fascination with Japanese culture;

You have done some movie work in the past correct?

This is correct. I have so far worked on two feature films, those being; Slasher House, which is released on DVD on the 6th of May and the sequel to Zombie Women of Satan.

Is this an avenue of your career that you would like to pursue more aggressively?

Indeed it is. I have always wanted to gain more acting work and have always longed for a career in movies.

Is that one of your 2013 goals?

Yes, now that I have my acting and modeling show reel together, the plan is to start submitting my work to casting agencies to gain more feature film work.

What movie or TV show character do you think you would be best suited to play?

I think a lot of people would agree something like Ripley from the Alien saga, or G I Jane. Although, I would be happy becoming a famous horror film monster, maybe like a cenobite.

Cenobites are awesome, aren’t they? I should have an interview coming up with Barbie Wilde, who played the female cenobite in Hellraiser II

What sort of movies would you like to make?

Horror movies. I love horror movies with a passion. I would also like to have a go at sci-fi, or fantasy movies. I am a bit of a geek.

Geeks are the best kind of people.

What about on the other side of the camera? Do you see yourself directing or running the photo shoots?

Yes, I have always had an interest in the other side of things. Obviously, I won’t be able to be a model forever, so along with getting more involved with acting, I would like to look more into photo shoots and directing and look at the other ways of creating the magic that people see.

You have done a lot of collaboration shoots in the past twelve months. Is this something you enjoy or do you prefer to model alone?

It really depends on the concept. Collaboration shoots are an excellent way of meeting new people, exchanging ideas, and it’s nice to share the end results with more people. Makes for good memories too. Working alone is also good fun, but it all depends on what the project is.

Who has been your favorite person to work with?

I adore working with TwistedPix, Bekah and Shaun, they are like family to me, we always have a really good laugh, we find it very easy to share ideas and we always produce excellent results.

Do you have a favorite shoot?

One of the shoots I really enjoyed, was the Care Bears shoot that I did with TwistedPix, Rubber Monkey Latex and a host of stunning models. It was a really good fun day all round and some excellent results were produced.

It was also good to see that all the proceeds from the sales of the calendar that was made from the shoot, went to the charity MIND.

Who would you most like to still work with; on both sides of the camera?

David LaChapelle, I adore his photography work, and of course, Johnny Depp… One can dream.

Let’s take a few moments and talk about C.V.T as a person. What does Collette like to do for fun?

I am a gamer girl, I like to play Xbox games, I play WoW and watch a lot of Anime and horror. I am also quite bookie, and enjoy reading a lot of horror and fantasy books. I enjoy country walks, socializing and good nights out, with excellent music.

What is your favorite way to let of steam after a bad day?

Usually, in a nice hot bath, I get my kigu on, fuss my cat Fizz and spend the night watching horror.

You mentioned earlier that you are a bookie. What is your favorite genre to read?

Horror, unsurprisingly. I also enjoy autobiographies, and sci-fi.

What was the last book you read, and how long did it take you to read?

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, and it took me a month.

Do you think you will ever write a book?

If I ever find the time, or get inspired to, then maybe… of course it would have to be a horror. Although, I think that my memoirs would also make for interesting reading.

You made a music video last year right?

I have made quite a few for quite a few bands. Are you asking about the music video I did for Mortad?

That’s the one. What was the name of the track?

The track was called Waste of my Rage.

Was the single released? How was it received?

Yes it was, and it was very well received on the whole. The band has gone on from strength to strength.

I will certainly check them out.

What was it like, the experience of working behind a ‘rolling’ camera rather than posing for photos?

It’s exciting, it is a totally different experience, you have to remain focused at all times that the camera is rolling, be more aware of how you stand, move and your facial expressions, and make sure that you remain in character. I do enjoy it,

You had to shave your head for the video, didn’t you?

I did.

Was that a tough decision for you to make? I know some people would freak out if they were asked to do something that drastic to their appearance.

It took me a while to consider the implications of this decision, and I did stress about it for a while, leading up to the day of the shoot. I was pacing back and forth on set for a while. But I am forever glad that I took the plunge.

Are you planning on growing it back or do you like it as it is.

For now, I am happy to say that I will be keeping it shaved. It looks good, carries across a good message to women, is very low maintenance and I like it. It’s very liberating.

You certainly pull it off as a look.

Thank you.

What is your big goal for 2013? What one event could happen at any time and leave you thinking ‘yeah, this year is THE year; the year of CVT?

More significant roles in film. If I can start making serious progress in acting work, I will be very happy.

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions; it was a privilege talking to you.

     

To find out more about Collette, check out her website at www.collettevontora.co.uk or follow her on Facebook

Imagination Knows No Bounds – Alex Laybourne Interviews Joe Mynhardt

I am once again delighted to be able to sit down and chat with a special guest; Joe Mynhardt is an author, editor, publisher and all around hard-working guy, who is doing his best to help introduce the world to new authors.

We share a love of horror and enjoy the things that go bump in the night, but don’t worry, we kept this interview away from the shadows… or did we?

To start the ball rolling, why not tell us a little about yourself?

Let’s see, I was born in Walvisbay, Namibia, in 1980. I was pretty much an introverted loner, until I started taking Karate, which really boosted my self-confidence – thank goodness for that. We moved to South Africa in 1992 after Apartheid ended, and now I find myself living the grownup-life in Bloemfontein. I started teaching in 2005 and writing horror in 2008. A lot of doors opened up after that; I guess all the hard work and networking really paid off. I pretty much spend every second of each day writing, reading or thinking about writing. I do whatever can make me a better writer, editor and publisher. Yes, that includes acting like an idiot sometimes – I call it research.

 

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

Since my days of playing alone in the backyard, I had this weird tendency to want to create things out of almost nothing. It was so frustrating to want to create something and not know what or how. The nice thing about growing up that way is that my imagination now knows no bounds. My parents allowed me to watch Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and all the Friday the 13th movies, so I grew up a huge horror fan. And I always had a comic book close by. Since I can remember, becoming an author was always a pipe dream, but I had no idea how to get started.

I only decided to really become a writer when I got internet access at home and realized how many online resources there were for writers. Mywriterscircle.com is a great place to start for anyone interested.

 

Was there any one moment that you can remember where you thought… horror, that’s the genre for me?

I didn’t even waste a second thinking about what genre to write in. I grew up reading, watching and loving horror. Horror has no borders – anything can happen. And it’s that uncertainty, that fear of the unknown, which makes horror so damn great.

 

The change in the publishing industry has allowed people to experiment much more with mixed genre pieces, and writing books in multiple genres. Do you think this has helped or hindered the industry?

In my view, anything that gets more people writing and reading, is great. With so many online outlets (Amazon, Createspace, Smashwords etc.), writers don’t have to worry so much about where their book should be on a bookstore shelf. Bookstores invented names for the genres, not writers. We write stories, and sometimes those stories want to go wherever they need to go. I can’t tell my imagination, “Sorry, but we’re not allowed to go in that direction.”

But, I’d say stick to one genre in general, because you will let your readers down if you don’t. Lots of writers use pseudonyms so they can write in other genres. My stories are horror, or just plain weird, but there’s always room a bit of romance, comedy and so on.

The main problem is marketing. When a reader looks at a cover, they should know immediately what waits for them inside.

 

You have had a lot of stories published. Do you still remember the first piece you ever sold?

Definitely. It was in the middle of 2009, after I’d been writing for a few months. I’d won a couple of flash fiction challenges at Mywriterscircle.com, and decided it was time to try my luck with a few markets. I had no idea where to start, until I saw a publisher looking for a few stories on Mywriterscircle. I polished one of my Flash Fiction winning stories and sent it off. A bit of editing was necessary between me and the editor, but the story, ‘Daddy’, ended up being not only my very first published piece, but also my first sale. I think I received about $50, and that’s for a story of about 130 words. Not bad.

Not bad at all. I have never been to Mywriterscircle before. I will have to check it out tonight.

 

Do you prefer writing short stories, novellas or novels?

Definitely short stories. I enjoy novellas, but they’re a lot of work. I guess that’s why I stay away from novels for now. I’m pretty much an idea factory, so I have to keep pushing out stories. I can’t spend months on a novel. My brain (imagination) just wouldn’t allow it. There are just so many things you can do in a shorter piece. Especially in horror.

Perhaps one day, when I write full-time and start running out of short story ideas, I’ll tackle my first novel.

 

What sort of characters are your favorite to write?

That’s a tough one. I have to say I have two favorites at the moment. The lonely outcast looking for his place in the world, and the quiet person who ends up surprising people with his hidden talents. I get one hell of a kick out of seeing characters realize their destiny, whether it’s to sacrifice themselves, save countless lives, or even become a serial killer. This is horror, after all.

 

Would you say you are filled with the stereotypical idiosyncrasies that go with being a writer, or are you one of the sane ones?

Sane? Yes. Normal? Not quite. I am a bit on the weird side, since I’m always lost in my thoughts, travelling through distant, imaginary worlds. I think I’m pretty normal, but my friends, family and wife just chuckle when I try to persuade them otherwise. I don’t really care. As long as I can keep writing and creating, I’ll be happy.

I have to say, I’m a pretty decent guy for someone who wants to write horror. To my surprise, I found out that most horror writers are amazingly friendly people. I guess we get all our frustrations out on paper before going out into the world. Perhaps it’s a good thing we spend so much time on our own.

I would be inclined to agree with you on that one.

 

Which writers were your biggest influences when you were younger?

I wasn’t a huge reader growing up. I actually struggled to sit still long enough to read anything other than a comic. I was however a big fan of stories, be it movies, comics or whatever forms they came in. I can’t recall seeing a lot of short story collections in libraries back them. I was, however, a massive Asterix and Tintin fan.

I eventually got hooked on Stephen King, thanks to my sister. IT was the very first King book I read, and except for Dracula, it was also the thickest book I ever took on. I especially enjoyed weird stories like the Twilight Zone episodes, and Hitchcock Presents played a very big role in my love for horror and all things dark.

 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Not sure if all writers experience this, but for me each story needs to be approached differently. It’s like the octopus circling the corked bottle until it finally finds a way in, or a rock climber approaching a mountain. Sometimes I need lots of planning, sometimes I just have to write, and other times I write different scenes every day until the story fits together like pieces of a puzzle.

 

Do you like to do all of your research upfront, or do you sit and write, then mark the areas that need more specialized attention for the second run through. 

I have the apparent weakness of wanting to edit when I write, but I’ll never stop to do research. I’ll just highlight whatever I’m not certain of in red and continue. Next time I go online, I’ll sort out whatever needs to be double checked.

 

When it comes to writing, do you have a set schedule that you like to follow, or are you a free spirit?

I write whenever my schedule allows it. I’m a teacher living on the school premises, in a small flat below the hostel, so time is a bit limited. I normally write between 3pm and 5pm each day, then another hour or so in the evening. I do tend to regularly change my writing schedule or the order in which I do things, especially weekends and holidays, just to keep things from getting monotonous. I don’t want writing and editing to become a chore.

 

How does the working day look like for Joe Mynhardt?

Okay. I get up at 6:24am, breakfast bell rings at 6:45. Because I live at the school where I work, I walk to school in under a minute – awesome. I get to school at 7 but only start teaching at 7:40. School comes out at 13:40, so I rush to get lunch, then greet my wife and dogs, as well as change clothes, before going to sport at 14:00 (what a rush). I coach soccer and cricket, depending on the season.

After hours of standing, marking, arguing and solving problems, I finally go home at around 15:30. Some days I come out a bit earlier. I do my best to put on my writer or editor hat as fast as possible, so I can get some work done before my wife comes back from work at 5. Believe it or not, the hostel serves dinner at 5pm as well.

Then, on three nights a week, I’ll sit in study hall from 6 to 7:20. After that I get a bit more writing done, and hopefully I’ll be done by 8pm so I can watch some TV or read.

Then I hit the sack at 10:30.

All this happens on a good day. On a crap day I’ll have a cricket match till 5, or I’ll have to drive around and do errands. I normally leave errands for Fridays, but things just don’t always go according to plan. Some nights – like tonight – I only leave my laptop at around 10pm.

 

Editing – Pleasure or Pain?

It’s different for each story. Every good story has a hard part I need to crack through, and for some stories it occurs during the writing process while in others it’s definitely during the editing phase. I try not to think about it. I just keep the final product in mind and plough forth.

I tend to celebrate quite a bit when a first draft is done, so editing doesn’t seem to bother me as much as it used to. It’s where the magic happens. The only problem with editing is rereading the same story over and over.

 

If you could pick any one of your characters come to come to life, which one would it be?

Jasper, from the title story in my Lost in the Dark collection.

 

Why?

Although he was just a side-character in the story, Jasper ended up being the hero and giving a couple of bad folks what they deserved. He has a lot of mystique surrounding him, and he also has a couple of curious talents. He’s a travelling collector of oddities, who’s capable of reading people’s destinies, amongst other things. I really feel, as did most of the readers, that Jasper really needs his own story. I’d also really like to meet him myself.

 

To be a writer you need to be a reader. Do you agree?

Definitely. There’s no way around this. Unless of course you’re writing screenplays, but even then it’s always wise to know what’s being written and read throughout the world.

I always find it funny when someone says they want to be a writer, but they don’t like reading. If  you love something, you’d better love all of it.

 

What are you currently reading?

Tales of the weak and the wounded by Gary McMahon. I’m a huge McMahon fan, and it’s a real privilege to work with him on several projects this year.

After that I’ve got Brian Hodge’s Picking the Bones and Stephen King’s IT waiting for me. I last read IT when I was in primary school, so I think it’s about time for the nightmare to begin again.

 

I believe that to be successful, reading outside of the your chosen genre is crucial, because you learn more about the craft that way. Is this something you would agree with?

I definitely agree. But do I do it? Not really. I like to read a non-fiction book every now and then. I’ll even read a mystery or thriller, something inspirational like Life of Pi, but that’s about it. I stay far away from Romance and most Drama stories. There’s enough drama in horror stories, and most of them have some degree of romance in them, anyway; writers tend to use it for sexual tension or making the readers care more for the characters.

 

Can you write multiple projects at once?

Unfortunately, yes. It’s not a wise thing to do, I know. This is especially true when stories are written in different voices. You’ll always find me writing a short story while planning another, while also working on a novella and editing a bunch of other stories for myself or other writers.

 

Let’s talk a little about Crystal Lake Publishing. I don’t think I need to ask where the name came from, right?

I’m so psyched with the name. As I said earlier, I grew up watching movies like Friday the 13th, but not only does the name relate to horror, it also sounds professional enough to be used in any genre. Although I am only publishing horror at the moment, I have plans to publish suspense, mystery, thriller, fantasy and eventually sci-fi in the long run. But only short stories.

The short story is certainly making a comeback, which I think is a great thing, as I can see you do too. 

 

What made you decide to get involved with this side of the business?

I just love working with other writers. It’s one of the best perks of being more than just a writer. Sport injuries also hinder me from sitting hours and hours behind a computer, so it’s pretty cool that I can now work according to my own schedule. Plus, my main goal in life is to create, whether it’s a book written solely by me, or an idea that becomes a great book, like the many anthologies I’m publishing this year. I wish I could tell you how amazing the stories are I’ve read and edited so far. It’s pretty awesome to be able to read top-notch stories months before the world gets to see it – to be part of such an amazing process with other writers. Writing tends to get lonely, but compiling an anthology is pretty damn cool.

 

You are a writer, publisher and editor, three very different hats. Which one fits you the best?

I’d have to say publisher. I’ll never stop writing my own stories, but there’s just no greater reward than working with other writers. I do my best to promote their work, or push them to become better writers by teaming them up or even against other writers.

For instance, I’m starting a Writer vs. Writer series later this year where two (or perhaps three) novellas written by different writers will be published in one book. It won’t be a real competition, but you know each writer will want to outdo the other, thereby pushing their limits, focusing on their strengths and improving their weaknesses. It will also introduce readers to other writers they might enjoy.

So later this year, I’ll contact a chosen writer and ask him who he’d like to challenge. Just imagine the possibilities.

I like the sound of that. It sounds like a great way to use competition to create great fiction. I shall certainly keep my eyes peeled for it.

 

You work on an invitation only submission basis. What was the reasoning behind this decision?

Although I do have a bunch of editors and artists I’m always contacting and asking for second opinions, I’m the only one running this. I really don’t have the time to read submissions. And with the rates I’m planning on paying in a year or two, I’ll be swarmed with submissions. Perhaps one day, if I’m able to write full-time, I’ll do one submission type anthology per year.

Invitation only submissions also allow me to keep writing my own work. I also need time to read, so I can keep updated with the current horror and authors out there. Believe me, I’ve met some of the coolest, most hardworking guys you’ll ever meet since I started Crystal Lake Publishing.

 

Do you think that the doors will open in the future or is the relationship between you and the writers you work with the key to long-term success?

As long as I keep the writers and readers happy, I’m happy. More money will of course mean more projects and better pay for writers, as well as better distribution and marketing.

I have to say, I’d love to move out of this hostel and eventually quit teaching, but that would just be the cherry on the zombie cake. Which ever way it turns out. I’ll never stop doing this – I have to share the amazing array of authors and stories out there with the world.

 

 

For those interested in reading more of Joe’s work, you can grab his short story collection ‘Lost in the Dark’ now at Amazon.

Stay tuned for a second interview with Joe where we will talk ghosts and paranormal activities.

Playing by his own Rules – Alex Laybourne Interviews FANGORIA Editor in Chief Chris Alexander

You don’t get anything if you don’t ask. My guest today is one such example. I approached him via Facebook and simply asked if he was interested in an interview.

Chris Alexander is the Editor in Chief of Fangoria, one of the best read Horror magazines around. It was a real honor for me, as a horror writer to sit down with Chris for a chat. There were a great number of directions I could have taken this interview, and I had *I won’t shock you all with the real number* of questions penned, but decided that rather than focus on horror, I wanted to get to know Chris, and so settled on the broader approach.

Can you remember where you interest in horror began?

Clearly. I saw a copy of the KISS album LOVE GUN at the library. Gene Simmons, with his head back and fangs and all these vampire women draped at the band’s feet. I was transfixed. I was three years old and suddenly I was infatuated by black, silver, fog, and a kind of beauty and the beast thing, eroticism and fright colliding together that fascinated me. Gene was my first monster. That led to Dracula. Then a visit to the HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN wax museum in Canada’s Niagara Falls further pushed me into the belly of the beast, a trauma that turned into a fixation.

Then you have the movies. The 1967 movie SHE-BEAST with Barbara Steele, her double getting dipped while she screamed. It changed me. Then, the 1978 version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. Throw in THE TWILIGHT ZONE, reruns late at night…it never ended, it just got deeper, richer.

KISS and horror movies are still my fixations….why change?

I won’t ask what your favorite horror movie is because I can never force myself to pick just one, but what about era? Is there a particular horror era that you are most drawn to?

I like films that have poetry and real dread. Romantic, Gothic films. Morality tales. Or just plain operatic in their bad taste. The 1960’s and 1970’s, specifically films from Europe of this vintage…sexual, violent, often intellectual and visceral. So let’s say 1950’s to early 80’s. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955). Again, Rod Serling’s THE TWILIGHT ZONE, Hammer Horror films. especially those from Terrence Fisher. Bava. Argento. Jean Rollin, Jess Franco, the moody, existential films of Romero. Dan Curtis. And the brilliant and bold sex and death freak outs of Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell…the list is long. I am often not very fond of slasher films or horror comedies. I like humor in my horror when it is buried, when the stakes are real but the laughter comes from the inherent absurdity of the situation.

Me too, I like to laugh at the darkness of horror, not some crude jokes written for the sake of it.

So it was really nothing more than natural progression that you headed into the world of horror journalism?

Well, I can write. I can also make music. I can draw. I can think in sound and image. And I know how to articulate myself. I am comfortable speaking publicly. Writing was the cheapest and most direct way to reach other people on a mass level. It was an outlet for me to discuss my obsessions and get feedback. Develop a style. And then suddenly there’s a market to explore with other media. To me writing is music…its rhythm, drama, style…all the liberal arts are tied to music.

Who were your biggest influences when you were first starting out?

For journalism, I would be Chas. Balun and Tim Lucas. One was the free spirit, the artist who used horror to weave adventures in wordplay, humor and again, finding that music. Chas. was the beat poet of bloodshed. And Tim’s completist, serious-minded analysis and evaluation of Eurohorror changed my life. I discovered these lads in FANGORIA and GOREZONE, my bibles growing up. That and an early read of Richard Matheson’s I AM LEGEND made up what I think is the blueprint of my style.

 

You began you career writing for Rue Morgue (another very well respected publication) were you sad to leave them behind?

Yes and no. Rue was a social club as much if not more than a magazine. And to quote Groucho, I never really wanted to be part of any club that would have me as a member. I was a bit immature in the way I handled my own exit, but the bottom line was that I was told that I could not freelance for FANGORIA on the side. Other RM writers could. I was a columnist and on the radio, so it was not allowed. When I argued this, when the limitations stopped making financial sense and I was told to make a choice. I chose to leave. It was a struggle and many of the people I thought were friends, well, were not. Such is the nature of “scenes” and social clubs. But the transition was easy. I became the Toronto voice of FANGORIA. I headed the Film History department at the Toronto Film College – I loved teaching – freelanced for The Toronto Star, METRO news and many others. I even had my own radio segment on AM radio in Toronto. I managed to build a little name for myself, on my own. And within 3 years I was asked to take over as (FANGORIA) editor. So I certainly made the right choice for me. Though again, in retrospect, especially in light of my own role as editor, I was a bit hard and self-righteous to the publisher of RM. I wish him and the magazine only the best.

Do you still have any contact with the people there?

I am friends with many of the freelancers, yes. Some of them write for me as well. As far as the core staff is concerned, not really. Though EIC Dave Alexander – for the record, absolutely no relation – did contribute a fine essay for my George Romero tribute issue. Again, I mean them no bad will.

Fangoria is one of the premier Horror publications, surely a sort of Holy Grail for a journalist such as yourself. You must love going to work every morning?

Yes. FANGO is based in NYC but I opted to stay in Toronto. I have only been to NYC a handful of times. So I oversee operations from my rather spectacular office here. It’s wild, but it works perfectly. And because I have stayed here, I’ve managed to bring some healthy Canadian content into the mag, a unique international perspective. From what the fans say by and large, the changes I’ve made and continue to make are well received.

Can you take us through the average day for the Editor-in-Chief?

Sure. Work like a dog. Take my kids to school. Answer 5billion emails. Write like a bastard (I ensure that I write a healthy portion of the editorial as well as put the content together), interview like mad, travel often, promote the brand relentlessly, design, source photos, talk writers off ledges, try to maintain a budget, navigate diverse personalities…and on top of all that mania, I have made a feature film, travelled with it, write all the music for FANGO’s horror radio drama series DREADTIME STORIES, still write often for The Toronto Star and METRO and do other fun stuff like produced content for DVD special features. There’s plenty more but suffice to say every single day is full and generally amazing, challenging, exciting and incredibly rewarding. I am living the dream and it’s by my rules.

I cannot think of any better way to go through life.

You started as a freelancer for the magazine, did you ever expect to rise to the position you have?

Never in a million years. I was struggling hard with 2 little babies (I now have three), had a house, worked several gigs and almost killed myself in a car accident where I flipped my Saturn and had all the skin ripped off my arm. So there I was with this bloated bandaged infected arm, feeling low, worried about the future when BANG I get a call from FANGORIA asking if I was interested in the job of EIC. It was a shock and really, when I look at the situation objectively, it still is.

How long does it take to put together an issue? What are the processes involved?

The way I see it is every issue of FANGO owes its blood to three people; myself, and FANGO legends, Managing Editor Mike Gingold and Designer Bill Mohalley. Hard working pros who love what they do. We all love what we do. And we all live in different cities and yet we manage to pull it off every month. FANGO is all-consuming, by that I mean, I’m working on the April issue now but I’m planning June and banking content for Halloween! So it’s an ongoing, daily, year round process…

I would be remiss if I didn’t brush over the ‘Raging Boll’ incident. Can you tell us how that all came about?

In short, I was the co-originator of the caustic critics on Rue Morgue Radio (I was the Caustic Critic on radio station AM 640 and I stole that for the show) and Stuart Andrews and I heard about Boll – who we ripped on frequently – putting the call out for opponents and I jumped on it. It was the weirdest, coolest, dumbest thing ever. I did it so Andrews and I could make a movie about critics and filmmakers. We trained with a real boxing coach for two weeks, and all of it was caught on video. Then we flew out to Vancouver, I wore bat wings and a lucha libre mask and fought him. It was a real fight. It went two rounds, the longest of all his fights. I spat fake blood on him. I got a few punches in, but then he KO’d me. The whole shameful thing is on YouTube. Sadly, that was 8 years ago. Andrews has the footage, we’re no longer friendly and he never made the film. Shame, as we had a huge cast of characters in there…Alice Cooper, Verne Troyer, Karen Black, Michael Pare…and of course extensive interviews with Boll himself. I really like the guy. He’s one of a kind…

 

You have been a harsh critic of Boll and his movie making, what made you take the fight against him?

It was bizarre and brilliant. I wanted to jump right in and be part of the mayhem. This was before I had kids. I would never do it now. But back then, I wanted to be part of everything, feel everything. I have never been happy being an observer. I want to be in the eye of the storm, for better or worse.

You ended the bout covered with both fake and real blood. Just how serious were the fights?

They were real. He punched his hardest. That clown Lotax, he wasn’t ready for that. He took it the worst, I think.

Have the two of you crossed paths at all since then?

Sure have. And we occasionally talk on email. He is a brute, but a smart, interesting guy.

Besides from horror movies, music also plays a rather large role in your life. You have been part of several bands and have released several solo albums. What do you prefer bands or solo work?

Solo. I work best alone by my own rules, my own vision, my own speed. I’ve never been an amazing team player when it comes to art because I only do art to please myself.

I have not actually heard any of your music, but could I hazard a guess that it was dark?

Jet black, but in a deep, dark, John Carpenter meets Tangerine Dream ambient way. Drop by 2m1 Records to hear some samples from my last album MUSIC FOR MURDER.

Thanks for the tip. I will head there shortly and have a listen.

You have also composed music for several horror movies and shorts. What is that like? Composing for a movie?

It’s fun. But it was cooler composing for my own movie, BLOOD FOR IRINA. I made the music first (also wrote, directed co-shot and edited) and designed the film around it, like an art installation or a feature length video. The film was bankrolled by Autonomy Pictures, cost little, won 5 awards and screened all over the world. It comes out on DVD and Blu-ray in North America, UK and France on May 13th. And we’re in talks to do another one…

I have it noted down and will certainly keep my eyes open for it.

I guess you have to think about a lot more than just the lyrics, am I right?

All my music is lyric free. My films are dialogue free. To me, sound and image are universal, they know no dialect. I am trying to create pure music, pure cinema. I love all movies, adore good dialogue…but when I create I have a specific sensibility.

What a wonderful idea.

You published a book back in 2010 correct; Chris Alexander’s Blood Spattered Book?

Via Midnight Marquee, yes. It is a collection of personal essays about my favorite horror films and interviews with the talent behind them. My tastes are personal…and many of my favorites are, well, not critical darlings or fan favorites…it’s a good book, I think. It is an extension of my DOA column in Rue Morgue. I’m currently working on my next book, THE TWILIGHT ZONE LEGACY, a TZ fan book/episode guide, due out in 2014.

What is your take on the ‘Indie writing scene currently?

Well, like everything in the social network age, everyone is a rock star, an actor…and a writer. That’s a double-edged sword. I see terrible writing every day. Much of it I have to re-write, re-work. Much of it, I have to scrap. My advice to writers is find your voice, read your own work out loud, diversify your vocabulary…and read. Reading is good

 

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me Chris, I appreciated it immensely.

   

Making It Happen Every Day – Alex Laybourne Interviews James Scott Bell

James Scott Bell is a name recognized throughout the writing world, not just for his range of fiction titles, but also for his non-fiction titles on the writing craft. Earlier this week, I was privileged enough to be able to sit down with James and pose him a few questions. This is a man who has gone from writing awards to courtroom domination and now back to the written word. He builds success wherever he plies his trade. In the original drafting of questions, I had, without even realizing it penned almost 70 questions. I was ruthless however, and whittled it down to the following.

Thank you for taking the time to sit and chat with me James,

I always like to start with a nice open question, so please, tell us about yourself?

Well, I’m an LA boy through and through. Grew up here, lived here most of my life, with stints for college in Santa Barbara and acting in New York. Went to USC law school, practiced with a big firm for awhile, then on my own, then started writing and that gradually grew to the point where I didn’t have to practice law, even though I enjoyed it. But you have to choose the things you want to do. I wanted to spend more time with my family.

You studied with the great Raymond Carver, can you tell us what that was like?

It was during his drunken period, so I got to know the smell of bourbon pretty well. It was a workshop type of environment, so we’d read our work and discuss it, then we’d each get to have one on one meetings with Carver.

Are there any lessons that he taught you that you still use today?

I learned a couple of big lessons. First, the use of the “telling detail,” that one little item that illuminates a character or scene. Absolutely use that, always looking for it in my work. Second, I learned I was not cut out to be a literary writer. I love plot, action, high concepts, stakes. But I also want the writing to be clean and expressive, which is a Carver trademark.

You were working as a trial lawyer, had your own firm which by all accounts was doing very well, and then one day, you took your wife to see Moonstruck. What was it about that film that made you make such a big change?

It was the absolute freshness and originality of the characters and the story. It’s a love story, of course, between two people who think they’re losers. The writing, especially the dialogue, is so good. John Patrick Shanley was a playwright first and a screenwriter second. And there is not a throwaway character in the whole movie. Even the small parts are original. You never knew which way the story would go. One of my favorite parts is after Loretta and Ronny have spent a passionate, moonlit night together. Next morning Loretta (who is engaged to Ronny’s brother!) realizes what she’s done. Ronny tells her, “I love you.” She slaps him across the face. “Snap out of it!” The movie works all the way through, to an ending that knocked me out. It’s about family, ultimately. I came home and said to my wife, “I have got to get back into writing.”

Obviously your fans are glad that you made the switch from law back to writing, but do you ever miss the courtroom?

Oh yes, absolutely. There is nothing quite like a trial, and I loved talking to juries. But it’s also very stressful and time-consuming. I’m actually amazed at those trial lawyers who do this for twenty, thirty years and still look healthy.

You also write under a pseudonym; K. Bennett. Where did the name come from? Does it have any significance to you?

My agent and I discussed this, and I chose a pseudonym to distinguish the new books, as they were so different from my “brand.” Here’s the truth about it: I wanted it to be the letter B in the last name, so I was near the front of the bookshelves. And I always thought it would be cool to have only one initial for the first, not two like so many writers use. I chose K because I liked the sound of it, but also have a name behind it, which I have not yet revealed.

The Bennett books are somewhat different to your other titles. Zombie Legal Thrillers is the genre I see used most to describe them. Was there any particular reason you turned your hand to this avenue of fiction?

Indeed, I invented the “zombie legal thriller” genre. When zombie fiction was starting to take off, I told my agent, “You know what I can do? Combine my legal thrillers with zombie fiction. And I’d like the zombie to be the hero. A criminal lawyer practicing in LA, who just happens to be undead.” I still love the idea. I may do more short stories and novellas under the K. Bennett name.

A quick word if we may on Indie Writers? What is your take on the boom of the ‘Indie’ writing scene?

I have long stated that this is the greatest time in history to be a writer. Because now there are choices, real choices, about where to take your work. Work that has merit, but for some reason is not picked up by a traditional publisher, need not languish. And there is a chance to make some bank, too. We no longer live in a “one size fits all” publishing world.

The opinion is often divided on the whole’ Indie’ scene, and with stories such as John Locke and Amanda Hocking fuelling people’s desire, is there a risks that writers are become a danger unto themselves with the levels of freedom being afforded by self-publishing?

It’s absolutely essential for writers to stop and take a businesslike look at what they’re doing. I wrote a book about that very thing, SELF-PUBLISHING ATTACK! – The 5 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws for Creating Steady Income Publishing Your Own Books. If you lay down a foundation first, you have a better chance of making some real money. But it always starts with a  quality product. Make sure your writing is the best it can be.

You are also a prominent public speaker and run a Seminar for Writers. Do you also do online coaching?

As a matter of fact, I do, via my Knockout Novel program.  Coming soon.

You have written numerous books on the writing craft. If you could impart a single key value into the minds of all writers, what would it be?

The words are everything. Make them happen every day. Write a quota of words every week. Never flag on that. Figure out what you can comfortably do, then up that by 10%. Make that what you strive for. Learn the craft as you go along. Read books, read Writer’s Digest, go to conferences. This is a real job, and it requires skill and ever-increasing quality. But always produce the words. Then you’ll have something to sell.

Thank you very much once again, for agreeing to take the time to answer my questions.

James as a large body of work to his name. All of his work can be found via his Amazon Author Page.

   

 

Telling it Like it is: Alex Laybourne Interviews Les Edgerton; Part 2

My chat with bestselling author and writing coach Les Edgerton was so det ailed that I split it over two thrilling installments. If you missed Part 1, you can read via the link. In part 2 of out chat, Les and I discussed his teachings, and books in general. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this interview.

A number of your teaching methods include online resources such as Skype, is that correct?

Yes. One of the classes I teach is a class I co-teach with author Jenny Milchman for the New York Writer’s Workshop. It’s a fun class.

 

I am a big fan of online communication, but still see the benefit of classroom learning. Would you agree that if it were possible –removing all travel logistics from the equation – face to face learning remains the more powerful tool?

Actually, I’m probably going to surprise you here, Alex, but no. I think online classes, if created right, are far better than “on-ground” classes. I teach an ongoing writing class online and we utilize the workshop method. The reason I feel it’s a better experience is this: One of the things that separate even a good writer from a great writer is the willingness of the artist to go down deep inside for those truths we all try to hide from everyone around us and expose those truths on the page. In a class where we’re face-to-face, that’s often hard or even impossible to do. In an online class, it becomes much easier. Here’s an example. If a young man is in a university class and all around him are comely young coeds, he’s probably going to be very aware of them (and, vice versa). That means that if this guy is burning to write this story about a kid who wet the bed until he was eleven years old (perhaps based on his own experience), he’s very much likely to not write that story or at least to have the kid quit peeing the sheets at the age of six instead. The reason is, he thinks that cute little blonde he wants to get next to in the third row, may think he’s writing about himself. So, he doesn’t get to the truth he initially wanted to. However, if he’s in a class and he lives in Gobler’s Knob, Michigan and the nearest person to him in class lives in Phoenix, Arizona and has never seen his face nor is going to, chances are much better that the kid in his story is going to be turning the sheets yellow until he’s eleven. He’ll write a truer story and he’ll get much closer to that deep part of all of us that we’re normally loathe to expose. That doesn’t hold true in the Skype class, but it certainly does in the online class. I get much better and much deeper and truer stories in my online classes than I ever did in my classes when I taught at the University of Toledo and mostly for that reason. So, I think online classes for writing are vastly superior. However, the way lots of them are taught aren’t worth much. The way we structure our classes, they are. Many of those other classes consist of some exercises and the teach sprinkling little inane comments on their papers like: “Good work.” Or “Less exposition here.” Or some equally nutty, worthless crap like that. The truth is, most writing teachers don’t want to work very hard, so they do all these feel-good, nonsense things like “exercises” and give out little “encouraging” pats to the students. Ours works a bit differently. In ours, everyone sends their weekly work in to the entire class and I comment on each person’s work and so does everyone in class for each other’s work. And, we get candid. If the work sucks, we let ‘em know it sucks. We don’t care about their little feelings. We assume they’re there to get better and not to get stroked. They can join a writer’s group and get stroked. If you get a compliment in our class, you’ve earned it. They’re not passed out that often. We expect a certain standard and don’t fall over folks for mediocrity or even just “good” work. They earn it and they know it and when that rare compliment comes, it means something.

Here’s an example of how tough it is. When a writer first joins the class, he or she is limited to five pages a week until they create the right opening to their novel. That means it can’t begin with backstory or setup or a character ruminating in his pointy little head or any of that crappola, but in the only place a contemporary novel can begin and have a chance at publication and that’s with the inciting incident, that event that creates and/or reveals the story problem to the protagonist. Has to be written as a scene. Until they nail that, they can’t go on, nor submit more than the rewritten five pages. Once they achieve that, they’re allowed to send in up to ten pages a week like everyone else. This is one of the toughest things beginning writers have to learn and haven’t. Contemporary story structure. Just isn’t taught. Well, we do. And, most of the people who take our classes end up getting published. By now, since I have the majority of the class returning each session, they’ve taken to calling this “inciting incident hell.” Many are in it for a long time. No one’s ever accomplished a good one the first week. Our record is an author named Maegan Beaumont. She spent nine weeks in inciting incident hell. Nine weeks in what was then a Phoenix College accredited course that lasted 12 weeks. Same five-page limit each week. Same thing—her story beginning. She came to class with a finished novel of 700 pages. It’s long gone. In the wastebasket. But, several months ago, she sold the book she worked on in class in a two-book deal with an option for a third. Got paid real money in a decent advance. Her book is going to be the lead title for the publisher when it comes out. She had two options when she came class. Give up (it’s hard!) and self-publish and sell 20 copies to friends and relatives… or stay the course and become a good writer. Took her a year and a half and now she’s a real writer. A real author. Has a top agent and all that stuff.

Got a student now who’s just passed her sixth week in inc inc hell. Four weeks to go. She came close this week and I expect a breakthrough next week. Long time, but guess what? Even though she’ll only have her first five pages at that point, she’ll be light years ahead of most of her contemporaries. And will end up with a good chance at being published eventually. It’s not a class for sissies.

How would somebody go about joining one of your classes?

They’re very welcome to apply, but it’s hard. We keep it to 12 people per class. More and we couldn’t give the kind of care and attention we give to each writer. Currently we have a 10-week class that we’ll be charging $400 for. Usually, one or two openings occur, but most people keep signing on for the next session and there are few chances to join us. But, we do have an alternative. We have a situation where anyone can sign up to audit the class. They’re privy to everything we do—see all the comments I make and the others make and see everyone’s work. What they witness is the same problems they’re having with their own writing and they see the solutions clearly in everyone else’s work. The only thing is they’re not an active part of class. However, folks tell me it’s extremely valuable to them. I had one guy tell me recently that he’d learned more in one 10-week session as an auditor than he had in his entire MFA program. And, it’s where we get our new students when an opening occurs. Depending on their seniority, they get first shot at any openings. And, it’s just a $100 to be an auditor and we can take unlimited numbers for that.

I also coach writers privately on their novels and that’s $150 an hour. Don’t have a spot right now, but may have one in the next month or so. For those clients, I don’t take on beginners. It’s too pricey and I don’t want to waste either of our time on basic stuff they should have learned by eighth grade… at least in the schools of yesteryear that used to actually teach something.

 

People say that Writing is one of those crafts that you can never truly master. There is always something new to learn. Would you agree?

Well, sure. You’ll never learn even close to everything there is in writing. We have a saying: When you’re green, you’re growing… and when you’re ripe, you’re rotten. That’s what’s exciting about being a writer—the learning will never stop and you’ll never get close to knowing even a hundredth of what is to be learned. Interestingly, John Gardner, widely regarded as one of the best writing teachers ever, told his prize pupil shortly before Gardner died, the brilliant Ray Carver, to “forget everything he’d taught him in college. It had all changed.” And, it had. We write in English, which is a living, mutating, evolving language and the only constant about it is that it changes all the time. As do story conventions. What was publishable ten, twenty years ago has changed dramatically… and will continue to do so.

 

What is the most recent writing discovery you have made?

Good question. I have to think a bit. Probably about transitions. Years ago, we used to have these classes in high school and college about how to write transitions. Well, we don’t use them much any more. The reason is movies and television. When movies began, they borrowed story structure from books. The reverse is true today—novel structure borrows from movies. In the “old days” movies would do transitions much like novels did at the time—there’d be this scrolling message when they switched scenes that read something like: “Meanwhile, back at the ranch…” That’s over. It started to be over in the forties when jump cuts became the standard in movies and today’s audiences (and readers) are so schooled in movies that just go without preamble or warning into a very different place and time that we now do the same in novels. We’re still using space breaks to signal such, but those are fast beginning to disappear as well, and in five years we probably won’t even see those. Problem is, like most schools, there are English teachers out there still teaching this b.s. and dooming another generation to unlearn much of what they’re teaching if they want to become a writer. But, I discover something I didn’t know about the craft almost every single day. Every time I pick up a new novel, if it’s any good, I learn something new. Even if it’s bad I learn how not to do something. Reading is the single best way to learn to write. When you encounter something in a novel that affects you emotionally, stop and figure out how that author did that. There are no “secrets” in writing. The secrets are right in front of us, in the books we read. Problem is, most beginning writers read to be entertained only, not grasping that what they’re reading is also a textbook and should also be read on that level.

 

All writers I know are avid readers. Many of them read multiple books at one time. Personally, I cannot do this. Can you?

Absolutely. I’m usually reading 4-5 books at a time. I average about 3-4 novels a week, sometimes one a day. I read very quickly. That’s how we become writers—by reading. When I taught in the university, sometimes I’d get kids in a writing class who hadn’t read a book in a year and when they did, at most they’d read 4-5 books a year. There’s no way they’ll ever become a good writer. It’s over for them. As Jim Harrison, one of our best writers said, when asked about advice on how to become a good writer: “Read the whole of western literature for the past 400 years and if you live long enough, read the same span of time in eastern literature. For, if you don’t know what passed for good in the past, how can you expect to ever know what good is now?” He’s exactly right. The first and foremost requirement to become a good writer is to first be a voracious reader and from about the age of five or six. Now, you didn’t ask that—you asked if I can read multiple books and that’s different. I can and do, but if a person only reads one book at a time, there’s nothing wrong with that. Just as long as as soon as he finishes that one, he immediately picks up another one!

 

What are you reading currently?

Gotta check. Okay. Right now, I’ve got open OUT OF THE GUTTER 8 (a noir collection in which I have a story and just got my copy—btw, my story was just nominated for a Derringer Award), THE DARK MAGUS AND THE SACRED WHORE by my Brit buddy, Mark Ramsden, PIGGYBACK by Tom Pitts (second time I’ve read it and I’m rereading it because I like it and I’m writing a review of it), SACRE BLEU by Chris Moore, DOVE SEASON by Johnny Shaw, and GALVESTON by Nic Pizzolatto. I just opened ASSUME NOTHING by Gar Anthony Hayward and am just 20 pages into it and dipping into it between other books. That’s a normal list for what I have open on an average day. I don’t watch TV except for a handful of sports events, so I’m reading constantly. When I eat supper, I’m reading. When I’m sitting on the “throne” I’m reading. I read for a couple of hours before I go to sleep each night and I read it in bits and pieces all day long.

 

Are there any young /up and coming authors that have caught your eye in recent years.

Quite a few. These days, I only read what I like and what I like are mostly crime and noir—it’s where I see the best writing these days—and there are a bunch of guys and gals who are writing truly gritty and brilliant books. Among them are Frank Bill, Julia Madeleine, Matt Funk, Court Merrigan, Cort McMeel, Heath Lowrance, Eric Beetner, David James Keaton, Tom Pluck, Ian Ayres, the aforementioned Maegan Beaumont… there are dozens of new and exciting writers, too many to begin mentioning and I always leave somebody out and then feel bad.

 

It would appear I have gotten rather carried away, I apologize for the extensive interrogation, I often lose track of myself.

I find it difficult to provide short answers, so we’re both at fault here, Alex!

 

Thank you once again for taking the time to answer my questions.

Thanks so much for having me on, Alex

If you are interested in reading some of Les’s work, then you can find them all via his author page on Amazon:

     

   

Telling it Like it is: Alex Laybourne Interviews Les Edgerton Part 1

Les Edgerton is a man who needs no introduction, a successful author with 15 bestselling titles to his name, including numerous books on writing as a craft, he is a man whose words should not only be listened to, but followed. He calls things how he sees them, and that is a quality I admire in a person. It was my honor to be able to sit down with him and talk about writing, his past, present and future.

Without further ado, here is part 1 on the greatest interview you will ever read.

Thank you for agreeing to answer some of my questions Les, it is an honor having your drop by.

It’s my pleasure, Alex.

 

I like to start with a nice open ice breaker, so Les, tell us, who is Les Edgerton?

That’s kind of tough to answer, Alex! I’ve been quite a few things in my life and to relate them all would take a long time. At present, I just turned 70, live in Ft. Wayne, IN with my wife Mary, and write and teach all day, seven days a week. Among other things, I was in the Navy four years, was in prison for a couple, was a criminal for a long time, worked for an escort service, bartended at the age of 12,  sold and used drugs, was a gambler, was married 5 times, appeared in porn movies, had call girls working for me, was a bouncer, was a hairdesigner, had a TV show on fashion on Cox Cable in New Orleans, was a womanizer for a long, long time, have published 15 books and taught at places like the UCLA Writer’s Program, the New York Writers’ Workshop, Trine University and was writer-in-residence for three years at the University of Toledo. Lived all over the country and consider New Orleans my spiritual home, but also lived in Texas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Chicago, Bermuda and San Salvador, BWI, among other places. Have been shot at, shot at others, stabbed, been in a hundred fights, beaten by cops ala Rodney King, was in a high-speed car chase and got away from the cops, and found out last year that the guy I always thought was my father… wasn’t. Some other stuff. Even sold life insurance at one time and almost died of boredom.

 

You are a best-selling author of both fiction and craft books, a university level teacher and all around writing expert. Yet your rise to the top has not exactly been smooth. Would you agree?

Yep. But, it’s not supposed to be. Anything worthwhile should be hard-won or else what’s it worth? Anything easily obtained is questionable in value and probably not worth much. Not to mention, it would be boring and I hate boring.

 

There is one question about your self-titled Odyssey. Male Escort… tell me, was it really the way most red blooded young men would like to believe?

I have no idea what others think it’s like. What I did was escort older, very wealthy women for money. Which includes… well, you know. You learn to be very creative in the sack… One of my fondest experiences was being taken to Puerta Vallarta by the heiress to a very famous New Orleans restaurant and we stayed in the villa Richard Burton and Liz Taylor used to own.

 

I don’t believe in regrets, I choose to believe that everything happens for a reason. Do you regret your past? Would you do it differently if you could?

Don’t regret much at all. Only that I had been a better father and I wasn’t. But, from the age of five all I ever was going to be was a writer and that’s why I’ve always sought out experiences. I knew someday if I was fortunate, I’d be 80 and sitting in some nursing home with a blanket over my lap and I knew that all the cars, money, mansions, clothes, etc., wouldn’t matter at all, but memories would. I have a bunch of ‘em…

 

You may be best known for your writing craft book and novels, but you first three publications were actually on hair dressing. How did that come about?

Well, I was a hairdesigner for over 30 years (during which I was also doing other stuff) and was kind of a national figure in the industry and was asked to write them and did. Still getting decent royalties each year from them!

 

You most recent novel certainly has an interesting title, The Rapist. Can you tell us a little about the novel?

It’s the best work I’ve ever done, and since it’s not a high-concept story and can’t be told without revealing too much, I’ll just say that we’ve gotten 31 pre-pub blurbs from some of the best writers in the world and I’ll quote one here that pretty much mirrors what most are saying about it:

Les Edgerton presents an utterly convincing anti-hero. The abnormal psychology is pitch-perfect. The Rapist ranks right up there with Camus’ The Stranger and Simenon’s Dirty Snow. An instant modern classic.

Allan Guthrie, author of Slammer and others. Publisher, Blasted Heath Books

 

The way you turned your life around is a remarkable story in its own right. Do you have any plans to write an autobiography?

Not an autobiography—that would take too much space. I do have a memoir written and am currently doing a rewrite on it and then seeing about getting it published. The working title is ADRENALINE JUNKIE. My wife’s not too thrilled about it coming out, but what are you gonna do? Actually, I had it sold years ago to the University of North Texas Press and that deal fell through, but before it did, the president of HBO Films read it, loved it, and called it “a Permanent Midnight but with balls,” and told my then-manager not to even to show it to anyone else, that they wanted it. Unfortunately, the deal fell through with the publisher, but hoping they’ll be interested in it again when it comes out.

 

At what age did you start taking writing seriously?

At the age of five, just after I read my first book. Not being facetious—I knew immediately after reading that book that was what I intended to do with my life—be a writer—and I’ve never wavered from that for a second.

 

I have just today published my second piece of work, and cannot lie I get that fluttering of nervous excitement while I waited for the file to upload onto Amazon. Tell me, do you still get that same rush when you have a new title come out?

Absolutely. I had my fourteenth book just come out from StoneGate Press—a YA thriller titled MIRROR, MIRROR—and when I got my author’s copy I did the same thing I always do when I get the first copy of a new book. I slept with it. Truth.

 

Do you have a set schedule that you like to follow when writing? Do you plan everything out step by step or work from a simple outline and allow creativity to do the rest?

I do have a set schedule for writing. It’s 365 days a year. I never take a day off. What would I do? Watch TV? Have you seen TV lately? No thanks… For novels and nonfiction books, I use a 15-20 word outline. It’s vastly different from what most folks think of as an outline. It isn’t one of those Roman numeral, Comp I thingys. It contains five statements. The first is one describing the inciting incident that creates the story problem for the protagonist. The next three describe the three major turns every novel takes, and the fifth is the resolution. It gives me a road map for where I want to go, but also allows me complete latitude and freedom in how to get there. I have to have a road map. I wouldn’t start out driving to Adak, Alaska without a road map and I wouldn’t begin a 350-page novel without a road map either. I may not look smart but I think I am and that would be kind of asking to waste a lot of time if I didn’t, imo…

 

What does a typical day look like for you?

In Indiana, cold, wet and gray. Flat landscape. Lot of dead stuff out there. Oh! You mean work-wise? I get up around 5 am, take my old-man pills, drink coffee and do the bathroom thing where I get some reading in and then hit the computer. I don’t eat breakfast or lunch—it uses up valuable time I can use writing. I write all day, which includes writing itself, addressing my writing class’s stories and work, reply to interviews like this, read (reading’s the most important part of writing other than the actual writing), and just do all the things writing entails. It’s far more than just sitting there cranking out stories!

 

You are an author in the traditional sense of agent and publisher. What is your take on the independent authors and their rise in recent years? Be gentle now, because I am self-publishing my current novella series.

I can’t speak for anyone other than myself. Personally, I’d never self-publish. There’s a reason most folks’ work is rejected. The truth is, most of it just isn’t very good. Nobody has a right to be published, whereas I guess everyone has a right to be printed, electronically or otherwise, but I don’t regard printing something myself as being published. There’s a reason it’s hard to get published. It takes skill to have knowledgeable people—the gatekeepers—invest money in a writer. It’s not personal—publishers don’t care if they like you or not, but the work has to be of quality before they’re going to put their money into it. It used to be the average cost of putting out a book was around $50,000. It always amazes me when you hear someone say they’re being treated unfairly by publishers for not publishing their work and then when you ask them if they’d invest their own $50,000 in their novel, they give you a look as if you were crazy. But… they expect someone else to invest that much money… Anything worthwhile has a price. There needs to be time and blood and sweat and tears expended to get to the place where the work is good enough to ask someone to invest in it. Most self-publishers seem to me to be from the ranks of today’s generation—they want instant gratification and seem to feel they’re somehow entitled to get published. Same kind of folks who think they’re entitled to a free phone from the government… Alex, I’d like to be positive about this, but I have to be honest. I just haven’t seen anything self-published that I’d actually spend my own money for. That doesn’t mean it’s not out there. It may be, but I’ve seen enough of it to be fairly certain that I’d have to buy an awful lot of those books to find one worth much. I’m sorry if I stepped on any toes, but I’m at a place in life where I feel I have to be honest.

 

If self-publishing had been this big when you were first breaking through, would you have considered it as a viable route?

No. My goal has always been to be an author, not a typist. And, it was available when I began. They just called it “vanity publishing.” I don’t see much difference, to be honest. It’s just a lot cheaper and easier to do. What I see most self—published typists doing is spending most of their time on social media trying to market instead of spending that same time in learning their craft. Or even to learn the language and the grammar and the proper punctuation… Or what a story is.

 

Can you still remember the day you sold your first novel?

Absolutely. It sold after 86 rejections. And, those were the days of snail mail when you had to mail the entire mss in and pay for postage both ways and provide a SASE. And wait. Forever. It’s called “paying your dues” and “learning your craft.” Not done today. People get 5-6 rejections and they’re devastated. Kind of what we called in the joint… “pussies.” It takes guts to be a real writer. A thick skin and a dedication to getting better.

 

You spend a lot of time teaching others about writing. Throughout all of your classes, what is the most important message that you try to impress upon your students.

That good writing isn’t easy and it takes time. That no one has a right to be published. If they want to be printed, that’s easy, but then they’re not writers—they’re typists. That anything worthwhile takes a lot of work. That talent, while necessary, isn’t the deciding factor. There’s a bazillion people out there with “talent.” Big whup… The deciding factor that all good writers share in common is that they didn’t quit or take the easy way out. I tell them to watch people who are successful in other endeavors and look closely at their work ethics. I ask them to watch Gordon Ramsey’s shows on reviving failing restaurants. He teaches the same things I do in our classes. The primary thing these failing places have in common is that their food isn’t very good. Most of the owners are lazy and want to use shortcuts and microwaves. As writers, we get lazy the same way—we use clichés and adverbs and lots of adjectives. Begin our stories with setup and backstory and characters ruminating. On his show, we see chefs who keep putting out the same old crap and expect people to come in and pay money for it. As writers, we do the same thing when we use story structures that were archaic fifty years ago. Or, the kitchen is just plain filthy. (Being clean in a restaurant is the equivalent in writing to understanding professionalism in proper format, proper language use, proper presentation.) Gordon’s one of the best because of one simple thing—he outworks everyone else and he works smart and he doesn’t repeat mistakes. He can do more than one task at a time. He doesn’t keep “hours” but works until the job’s done. I ask my class to watch a good football or basketball team and ask themselves why they think they’re winners. The reason is they work harder than anyone else. Lots of teams have “talent’ and don’t win. The winners have the coach who won’t accept excuses and the players won’t accept excuses for their own behavior and work ethic or lack of it. Look at anybody successful in any field and I’ll bet they simply work harder and smarter than the others in their field. Writing isn’t any different. The person who wants union hours and union pay isn’t going to be much of a writer. The guy who leaves work on the dot is going to pretty much remain where he is and he’ll be the one bitching about the guy who got hired after him who got promoted to manager over him. He’s the guy crying, “It’s not fair” all the time. Forget him. He doesn’t count in the scheme of things at all.

 

 

Come back tomorrow for the second part of this interview. Trust me when I say you won’t want to miss it.

OUT NOW: Diaries of the Damned: Jessica for just 99Cents

To keep it short and sweet, the first installment of my Zombie series is out now.

Diaries of the Damned: Jessica is available on Amazon for just 99cents. A perfect short weekend read. If you like the undead, then I am sure you will enjoy this series.

 

 

The dead have risen and a desperate struggle for power has begun. The military are evacuating all survivors in passenger planes. With their destination

unknown, one group of survivors led by a journalist named Paul Larkin, decide to share their experiences with the hope that when combined, their stories will

reveal some answers that the government had not been willing to give themselves.

The first to tell their tale is a Flight Attendant who has found herself in the employment of the military. Stuck ferrying passengers to all manner of

remote locations, she finds herself with just as many questions as the others. Every story must start somewhere.

Her name is Jessica Bough and she is a survivor.

 

 

 

 

So, You’d Like a Job, Then? David Dennis interviews American Mike Mauss on How to Survive Unemployment

 

Mike Mauss was once a successful American. Through fate, recession and bad breaks, he became unemployed. He managed to survive unemployment, however, and kept putting one foot in front of the other as he put his kids through college, paid his mortgage and continued to live his own life to the max. He wrote a great book, filled with practical advice, called The Unemployed Guy’s Guide to Unemployment. In it, he explains where and how to look for work in this dismal economy; what works and what doesn’t; and very practical advice about how to manage with less while you strive for more. I am the author of Disregarded: The True Story of the Failure of the UK’s Work Programme about the unemployment situation in Britain. I wanted to interview Mike about his American-centric book and see if he had any tips that would help the British unemployed.

 

Hi, Mike. I wanted to meet you to talk about your new book: The Unemployed Guy’s Guide to Unemployment. Can you tell me why you wrote this book?

That’s easy. I became unemployed. For the fifth time in my career, I ended up out of work.  I was hoping that a book like this would help others deal with the shock of getting fired, the stress of living without money, and the difficulty of finding a new job. That, and I thought I could make a bit of change with the book, too.

A new study just came out from Pew that said that one out of four people in the US has been out of work at some point in the past four years and over half know of a family member or close friend who’s been unemployed. There are too many people out there who need solid advice and need it now.

 

In England, we currently have an epidemic of unemployment. I, myself, wrote the inside story of unemployment centres here in the UK. The training system is based around the concept of free labour. Would you have taken part in “shelf stocking” schemes for your benefits?

Probably not. I wrote in the book that working at minimum wage is wonderful from an “I will dig ditches to support my family” point of view, but it doesn’t really work. A middle class family cannot survive on minimum wage in the US – hell, a poor family can’t survive on the minimum wage these days. So every day spent working for less than your “Nut” (the basic amount you need to make to keep your family going) is a day wasted. You don’t have time to look for work that actually pays the mortgage and you’re just falling behind a bit less quickly.

 

The problem with that method is pretty clear. So, how do you support your family whilst you search for work?

Well, I didn’t direct my book at the real poor. That’s a very different life and a very different set of realities. I was looking at the middle-class family where you have a mortgage, school, car loans, credit rating, maybe private schools, etc. Unemployment insurance is pretty irrelevant in this case – it would take five weeks of UI to pay four weeks of mortgage ALONE. And that’s without the government taking taxes out, which they do. I basically assume that a middle-class family can get by on savings, credit cards, home equity loans and freelance work.

 

I would say that, in fact, your book is a guide for those who don’t “really” need a job. It’s for those who have independent means and just want to bleat about their unemployment?

No. David, no one in the US middle class can survive without a job and most families have less than four or five months’ worth of savings. But they still become unemployed so the question is what do you do when that happens? These people aren’t independently wealthy. They have been squeezed for decades by the very rich – the 1%. If they get fired, it’s a race between getting a new job that pays enough to keep going and the day that all their money runs out. I just give people the tricks to keep going.

I don’t pretend to understand the problems of those under the poverty line. It would be a bit presumptuous to lecture them.  I’ve been freelancing or basically without a “real job” for nine of the past twenty years. I don’t know about poverty; but I do know about the very real problems of being middle class and without work.

 

Do you feel the “middle class” is neglected, abused? Unable to sustain themselves from welfare and unable to continue their lives until they get back into unemployment? Almost in a “void”?

Very well put, David. It used to be that the middle class had jobs that lasted for life. They had houses at the shore and they took vacations every year. Now, they are paying insurance costs for their kids’ college, getting hammered by the collapse of the housing market and spending more and more on simply getting by. That’s all fine if you’re working at the sort of job you’ve been educated and trained for — a white collar job. However, knock a leg out from under that structure and it can all go to pieces.

Even the lower class (and no one in America will ever admit that they are in the lower class) can’t get by on welfare. Bill Clinton eliminated that back in the ‘90s. It was probably a good thing, as it was insanely destructive to the families caught in it. People took all their time to fulfil the bureaucratic demands of welfare, leaving them no time to get off welfare. It was very similar to the situation in Britain– attend work sessions and classes all the time and have no real time to find the all-important job you need in order to escape.

 

Welfare was destructive? I would have thought the destruction of industry was more apt to the description of “destructive”.

Nope. People are pretty good at finding new jobs–the industrial sector has basically either moved up to the lower-white collar jobs or into service jobs. People who need to make $30 an hour to get by can’t compete in a global economy by making shoes. If you go to the places in the Rust Belt where the big factories closed, you’ll find new businesses, mostly in information technology and services, have popped up.

The industries that are left are producing things that simply cannot be produced in a low-tech society. Things like specialty steel, the first set of computer chips, etc. No, the real squeeze on the middle class has been the insane lowering of taxes on the very rich. That, David, is where the real problems lie.

 

Let us say, for example, the middle class guy gets fired– he needs a job– he’s offered a job making computer chips– does he take it? Or does he turn it down? He has 4 kids, a mortgage, not a quid to his name– credit cards maxed out– what does he do?

Well, he is going to take a big step back, that’s almost certain. The most important thing he must know is that he can’t take a job that won’t cover the ‘nut’. You have to keep looking until you find something that will pay enough to get you by. People say to me, “We can’t do that! How do we survive?” and I always say the same thing in reply. I had two kids, two mortgages, credit cards maxed out and I survived for years. You just have to hustle. The trick is to do it without becoming depressed or breaking up the family. I put two kids through good universities, have a 730 Credit Score and a house with a mortgage– I survived and so can you!

 

Would you say the family unit becomes more important when you are unemployed?

Of course. It’s important because it’s important. That’s where real life is– not at work–  and because you’ll get by a lot easier with someone helping you than on your own. I’m not saying don’t go to work at crappy jobs. You get whatever you can when you can, but your primary focus has to be on getting a real job with benefits (medical costs are the real killer here).

 

Medical costs? Of course, those aren’t taken care of under the US system of unemployment, correct?

No. The main causes of bankruptcy in the US are medical bills and the mortgage. I thought it was wonderful that the Mortgage Bankers Association walked away from its mortgage on a building in Washington, DC; but they tell all the rest of us how paying our mortgage is a “moral duty”. It’s getting a bit better now, but as a responsible family member, you have to seriously consider whether paying a medical bill is worth destroying your life.

 

I take it Michael Moore’s portrayal of families being thrown out onto the streets, evicted, families destroyed is, in all reality, the truth?

Michael Moore is a lying bastard who uses TV techniques to twist the truth. It’s bad, but there aren’t families on the streets. Everyone works out something– kids move in with their parents, people take in boarders, whatever. There’s always that opportunity to move to somewhere cheaper. My favorite solution, however, is something called “getting a job” and that is why I wrote The Unemployed Guy’s Guide to Unemployment.

 

That’s the primary focus of your book– getting back into employment. Correct?

I break the book down into three parts. Dealing with the shock of being fired; looking for work; and getting by without enough money. Most people look for work in the wrong way. They answer job ads and talk to HR people and fiddle with their resumes. I have been at the receiving end of those CV/ resume emails and I can tell you that all of that is completely useless. The only way to get a decent job is to network with everyone you’ve ever met. Someone, somewhere will see how your skills fit their needs. It’s unreal over here. I’ve seen Harvard grad students applying for internships. This is how bad it is in the States– Al Jazeera just released a list of vacancies and they had 8000 applications in the first three days.

 

I was told this by an acquaintance of mine– he networks heavily to get business. Is that the kind of thing you would suggest?

Networking is everything!  People have an idea that the world has changed, that it’s all depersonalized. It’s not. It’s all about who you know, who you’ve helped in the past and who knows you do good work. It’s funny because the only type of people who have absolutely no problem with networking are … rich people. They will use Daddy’s friends to get a job in a split second.

 

Many people just haven’t got the networking skills to do that, Mike. How can people network if they have no idea how to network?

How do you know you can’t? I doubt you’ve really tried. Have you contacted the people you went to school with? How about co-workers from previous jobs? Neighbors? People at your church? Have you asked people for lists of others to contact?

 

Some people swear by cold emailing. Does that work?

No. That’s just annoying generally. But if you get an email that says, “Joe X suggested I contact you about possibilities” no one responds badly to that. Usually, they try to think of a job or give some more suggestions of people to contact. Somewhere along the line, someone says, “Hey, that kid would be perfect for this.” There you go — you have found your “in”.

 

This is a question that might make you cringe. You have been in some high level jobs. How many people have you hired through cold emails?

Well, including interns that only worked for me for a week or less, about ten. Sadly, I’m not usually in a hiring position. However, I’ve found jobs or contacts for others which developed into jobs for probably hundreds. I have done my fair share for the unemployed of the USA. It’s about time others did more to ease the problem.

 

Mike, you’ve read my book Disregarded. What did you think about the situation in the UK?

It seemed a bit dismal and almost Dickensian. My advice for young people who can’t find a real job is to LEAVE. If you don’t have any debts, you don’t have kids, you don’t have a house, I would say travel the world, intern everywhere, sleep at friends’ houses and have some fun. You don’t need the grief, so why take it? If you can’t find something you love to do, then do the other things that you’ll never get a chance to do – like leave home and be on your own.

I described in UGGU walking into Las Vegas with $1.50 in my pocket and getting a job, a place to crash and a meal—all in thirty minutes. Then I decided not to go to New Orleans because there would always be another chance….

When the economy is working against you, it’s like a wave in the ocean. If you stand against it, you’ll just get rolled.

 

Where is your book on sale, Mike?

Almost anywhere electronic – Amazon US, Amazon UK, Smashwords, iTunes. Also, if you are unemployed or think you’re about to get fired and feel you really can’t afford it (honor system) write me at maussmike@gmail.com and I’ll send you a coupon for a free copy.

 

Thanks for your time, Mike. I hope the book is a success for you!

Thank you, David! I’m so glad to see the success your book has garnered!

COVER REVEAL -Diaries of the Damned by Alex Laybourne

Yes, the time has come for me to reveal the cover for my upcoming zombie novella series Diaries of the Damned.

This series will be a nine story arc, and each title will be published individually. Then all nine covers will then be put together to create the final cover image for a final compendium edition (with a bonus story in it).

The final cover is not yet set, because obviously the individual names need to be added and a few final items touched up here and there, but the basic concept it this:

Caged!

As a writer, my mind is always filled with thoughts and ideas, stories, characters and more. The urge to sit and write them all down, to explore each and every one it great. A pull even; a compulsion. To be kept from doing such is a strain. It aches in my bones when I am unable to write, or to read, to embed myself in the creative world.

I sit here, behind my desk, in an office space that never changes, faced with another day of work that will closely resemble the work I did yesterday. The white desk, the white walls, cheap, oily coffee and email from customers with questions or queries that I have answered for someone else already, in some way shape or form. I sit here and feel trapped. I am caged in, and my creative side is pounding at the walls, screaming to be set free. To be allowed to embrace this life we live and to do it on my own terms.

Now, I have a family; a wife and four wonderful children. I am the only one of us in paid employment. The financial side of life falls on my shoulders, and at this point in time, creativity will not pay the bills. So I enter this cage every day, stepping into the dark world of monotonous drudgery because I must. I must do what is needed to support my family, but my heart will never cave, it will never surrender to the demands of the corporate world. I will never be Mr. Company, for I am Alex, a writer… I am an artists, a creator. I am free in my mind, and will work every day to ensure that if not me, but my children will be able to live their lives free, doing what it is that they love.

Life has a habit of pushing us down, it makes us fight for what we want, tests us every step of the way. I certainly do not intend to let it win, and will fight to my last breath to succeed in doing what I do, and I hope that you will to.

When you wake up in the morning, and look in the mirror, see the success that yesterday brought, the silver lining. See the chances and opportunities in the day ahead. Whatever set backs life may throw at you, just open your arms, catch them and throw them back even harder.

Life may hit hard, but you are quicker on your feet, and if you keep on pushing, you will come through the other side stronger, better than ever and ready to grab what it is you have been fighting for with both hands.

Start every day by telling yourself you will succeed, and end it by thinking about each and every small success you have made. Life is not limited to one single moment of defining glory, but multiple small events, some so tiny you may not see them until you look back for them.

Don’t spend your life in a cage. If there is something you want, fight for it. Fight every day, and if you get knocked back a few steps, just dust yourself off, and come back with a new angle, and new power. Just keep fighting, because only you can set the limit on your abilities, nobody else.You and only you hold the key to the cage, so use it, and run free!