Iain Rob Wright's Blog, page 8

Back From Portugal...

I am back from my two week vacation in the sunny Algarve region of Portugal and am once again ready to rock.  Will be starting two new novels this week, but before I get into work mode I thought I would share a couple of pics for anyone that wants to see.

The highlights of the holiday were: the weather which was about 30 degrees C throughout, a mommy seagull that was nursing a clutch of eggs for the whole holiday (I'm a huge animal lover), the food which was amazing, and a great white shark that was awesome.  Pictures of my overfed, sunburned frame below.

Update from a bummed out writer

Hi everyone.  Just a quick update to let everyone know that, from tomorrow, I will be having a two week vacation.  It is exactly one year this month since I became a fulltime writer and I have been typing words nonstop since then.  My mind needs a break, and my enthusiasm towards life has slowed to an idle (most people who talk to me regularly will have noticed me being increasingly absent already and this is a result of me being mentally exhausted).  Don't worry though, I absolutely love my job and count myself as extremely lucky, I will be back (and plan on staying around as long as you'll have me).

Once I am back I will have several pans in the fire.  Sea Sick is finished and will emerge at some point as my next novel, while I will be starting my next two books simultaneously (many other writers do this and it seems to improve their productivity - I'm hoping it will do the same for me.)  What are those two novels in question, you ask?  They are a currently untitled exorcism novel with a twist, and the sequel to...The Final Winter.  Hope that excites people (if not then I'm doing something wrong).  Harry and Lucas will be back in a bid to save the world again, this time in an epic quest that will take them across the length of England (visiting many pubs along the way).  Hopefully, both books will be out for Christmas.  I may get the next installment of The Peeling out too if time allows.

I will also be working alongside artist Stephen Bryant on the creation of an Animal Kingdom comic.  I am very excited about this and will be putting all my energies behind it to make it succeed.  With an artist like Stephen behind it, I cannot see how it can fail.  Check him out at SRB Productions and add him on Facebook.

Other than that, I will be trying to expand my reach by using sites like Kindlegraph (I haven't forgotten, Vix) and trying to be a bit more active on forums and blogs.  I will, as ever, endevour to also help my fellow authors and try to be an all around bloody nice guy ;-).

The last year has been the most amazing of my life and it's all down to the people that have brought my books, left comments and reviews, and given me support.  I also owe a great deal of thanks to those who have helped me professionally or shown me great friendship.  I won't name names as I would surely forget people, but you hopefully all now who you are by now.  I love you all.

On a personal note, my holiday has coincided with me asking my girlfriend, Sally, to marry me.  She said yes!  The wedding is in August 2013.  I truly am blessed.  Thank you world.

Interview with author, Alan Dale...

On the blog today is talented writer, Alan Dale...
Tell us a bit aboutyourself.Well I am a long-time sports and news journalist who has worked forsmaller newspapers and publications. I like the pace, but part of me wonders ifI could do it at a bigger place. I am highly accolade in the profession and havebeen published over 10,000 times. I also won five national awards before I was21. I live in Portland, Oregon and was born and raised in Chicago. Graduatedfrom the University of Arizona a bit back. I am an avid sports fan followingfootball, rugby union and league, cricket, basketball, hockey, lacrosse,American football, team handball, and futsal.
Could you tell uswhat work you currently have available?The Dead Nations’ Army Series, beginning with “DNA: Code Flesh(Part I). It will be the first of six-eight novellas, all around 90-100 pagesapiece. The thought is to have Code Flesh consist of the first two, Code Mind,the next two or three, and then the last, unnamed one, wrap it up with two orthree. I also have a techno thriller out there called “The Enternet: TrappedInside a WEB.”
Tell us about yourlatest release.Dead Nations’ Army Series: DNA: Code Flesh (Part I). Well I decidedthat instead of hurrying to get DNA out I wanted to slowly introduce it to themainstream. Then I consulted some other writers and asked them of the idea toproduce a book serial of novellas to slowly get the brand out. I got a thumbsup so I went with it. It will be two books, four parts each. It basically is apolitical piece wrapped in zombie colors. According to some of my Facebook pagefans, it is “highly politically charged,” and asks a lot of social/politicalquestions we should be asking ourselves today. Is our educational systembrainwashing us? Are we allowing the elite, wealthy, silver spoon kids wantingall of us “normal” people to die? Just look at insurance rates, medical,groceries, etc, etc. We have more elite kids in charge that come from silverthan from dirt. DNA explores a more gruesome, yet realistic view at the lengthsa totalitarian government would do to take over the world. The problem is thatthe zombies in DNA are not your garden variety, are the victims in essence, andoffers, what will shock many, the perfect solution to solving the human race’sills. Is it definitely an ending I believe we surprise many.
For someoneunfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your writing?Some people, early on, said DNA is written like a cross betweenGeorge Romero meets Chuck Palaniuk. I am very much focused on analogy and usingmy stories as educational pieces on the ills of our world. We need some majorfixing soon or we are in trouble.
What else do you havein the pipeline?I plan to finish out the DNA series in the next year. I have a fewpublishers eyeballing it and we may go in that direction. Then I hope to workon my Nigel Fang vampire series – no glittering undead here. That series couldalso surprise some folks. I also hope to continue working on my Serene Field(supernatural) series, 24=1M (post-apocalyptic, political), the HellearthChronicles (biblical, fantasy, action), and my Advancement of Man Trilogy.
What writers have hadthe most influence on your own writing?Stephen King, Phillip K. Dick. Anne Rice, Edgar Rice Burroughs, arethe main culprits.What was the lastthing you read?King’s latest on the Kennedy assassination and Tana French’s“Faithful Place.”
Anything else you’dlike to tell us about?I just hope the readers take advantage of the low $ and feel freeto review my work. Any and all critique is welcome. I hope they enjoy the ride,join the Army, and spread the word.
http://www.amazon.com/DNA-CODE-FLESH-Nations-ebook/dp/B007PL1C18/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
http://www.facebook.com/WeRZombies
http://www.amazon.com/The-Enternet-Trapped-Inside-ebook/dp/B007P801WM/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

An Interview with Author, Gary William Murning...

Mid-way through April, we spend time with author, Gary William Murning...


Could you tell uswhat work you currently have available?I currently have three novels available—If I Never (Legend Press, 2009), Children of the Resolution (2011) and The Realm of the Hungry Ghosts (GWM Publications, 2012)
Tell us about yourlatest release.The Realm of theHungry Ghosts is very much about the driving need that we as individualshave to constantly strive for more. The driving force, I guess, behind culturaldevelopment, the building of civilisations and so on—but also, when given freerein, the possible architect of dissatisfaction and despair.Hungry Ghosts are taken from The Tibetan Book of the Dead.They have huge cavernous stomachs and are constantly hungry. They also have,however, very small mouths (or thin necks, in some versions), so they can neverconsume enough, quickly enough, to satisfy their appetites.Although I don’t use these specific ghosts inany literal sense, I liked that image.And so I started playing with it, settling on a fairlysuburban setting—a very ordinary family, a group of friends who, like saidfamily, have problems of their own, and the discovery of an old diary buried inthe back garden, a diary that belonged to a rather hedonistic occupant of theasylum that used to stand where the housing estate in the novel now stands.It’s a pretty full on, disturbing novel. Lots going on, lotsto think about, and it’s probably my most complete novel to date. To use thevernacular, they go on quite a “journey”.
For someoneunfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your writing?Eclectic. I don't like writing the same novel over and overagain. I tend to borrow genre motifs and play with them in ways that appeal tome—exploring the themes that such motifs can suggest and (I suppose this istrue of all my work, the one common element) making character central. Myoverriding instinct as a writer is that as long as I can make my readersbelieve in my characters wholeheartedly they'll pretty much follow themanywhere.
What else do you havein the pipeline?I've been playing around with a few ideas over the pastcouple of months. I have another couple of novels ready to go so there hasn'tbeen any real pressure to rush. I think I have finally settled on oneparticular idea, however. A novel called JuniperFaraday—about a journalist researching/interviewing a woman who hasmurdered her husband for very unusual reasons.
What writers have hadthe most influence on your own writing?Many writers have influenced me in many ways. In the earlydays, writers like Stephen King, Clive Barker, William Peter Blatty and PeterStraub made me want to be a writer. Ilearned from them, as well, of course, principally by, to begin with, trying toemulate them. I soon learned, however, that there were other literarydirections I wanted to go in. I discovered writers like John Irving, JosephHeller, Ken Kesey and a whole host of others and started trying other things. Iloved horror (and still do) but quickly realised I couldn't write it in thegenre exclusively. There were other stories I had/have to tell.
What was the lastthing you read?To the End of the Landby the Israeli writer David Grossman.
Anythingelse you’d like to tell us about?To those who've alreadybought my work, thank you. To those who might buy my work in the future, thankyou and I hope you enjoy it. To those who say they will never buy my work…… are you absolutely sure?
http://www.gwmpublications.com/

An interview with author, Tracie McBride...

 With us today is dark fiction author, Tracie McBride...
[image error] Tell us a bit aboutyourself.I’m a New Zealander by birth, but have lived in Melbourne,Australia since 2008.  I have a husband,three children, a dog, a cat and a white picket fence (just joking about thefence).  By day, I’m a mild-manneredteacher aide and by night I craft dark speculative fiction stories.  I also read and assess a lot of otherpeople’s horror tales in my roles as a slush wrangler for Dark Moon Digest andas vice president for Dark Continents Publishing.
[image error] Could you tell uswhat work you currently have available?The best place to find the definitive list of all mycurrently available work is my Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/Tracie-McBride/e/B005FD2VTA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1I’m a short story writer, so I have a story in thismagazine, a story in that anthology…you know how it goes.  If you’re looking for “all Tracie, all thetime,” my first collection, Ghosts CanBleed, is available in e-book and paperback from most online retailers.
Tell us about yourlatest release.That would be AprilFool and other Antipodean horror stories. It’s a novella-length collection of short stories, part of the Tales of Darkness and Dismay e-bookseries released by Dark Continents Publishing in January this year.  I co-wrote it with fellow Kiwi writer JohnIrvine.  John and I share a country oforigin and a certain dry sense of humour…and that’s about it.  Our differing writing styles and choices ofsubject matter make for some interesting contrasts in April Fool.  
For someoneunfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your writing?Recently someone described my writing style as ‘stark’.  I’ll take that as a compliment…?  My stories are usually (but not always) darkin tone and usually (but not always) speculative in nature.  I’m fascinated with the question “Whatif?”  I like to Omit Needless Words, andI like to leave plenty of room in my stories for the reader to layer his or herown interpretation.  Common themes for meare the family dynamic and family relationships – often with monsters throwninto the mix.  
What else do you havein the pipeline?It’s a never-ending production line at my desk!  I have some more stories coming out invarious publications this year, some more under submission, some more underconstruction, a stockpile of previously published pieces for my nextcollection…and a recently purchased piece of software for writers that isintended to help me wrestle my first novel into shape.
What writers have hadthe most influence on your own writing?I couldn’t point to any writers and say, “I write like thisperson,” but if you’re asking me which writers I admire, whose work I enjoy themost, who inspires me, the list is long. I’ll limit myself to a minute and see who first springs to mind – China Mieville, Robert Heinlein, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, AnneRice, Margaret Atwood, Clive Barker, Stephen King, P K Dick, Dr Seuss (thegenius of the latter is only now becoming fully apparent to me, now that I’mhelping to teach kids to read in a professional capacity).
What was the lastthing you read?The last paperback I finished was a Mammoth Book of Best NewHorror (I think it was number 15?).  Thelast e-book I finished was The CrookedGod Machine by Autumn Christian (keep an eye out for this young woman, sheis going to be a star).
Anything else you’dlike to tell us about?Why, yes I would! Remember way back at the beginning, I mentioned Dark ContinentsPublishing?  We launched the company at theWorld Horror Convention in 2011, and now we have thirteen titles on ourcatalogue, with several more scheduled for publication this year.  Those titles include Monster’s Ink which is a paperback -only collection of shortstories by indie superstar Scott Nicholson, QuietHouses by Simon Kurt Unsworth and CampfireChillers by Dave Jeffery, both of which have been longlisted for theprestigious Edge Hill Prize, and TheCollector which is the latest offering from up-and-coming horror writerDaniel I Russell.  You might want tocheck us out…
Dark Continents Publishing catalog:  http://darkcontinents.com/catalog/
Tracie's blog:  http://traciemcbridewriter.wordpress.com/

An interview with Permuted Press author, Bryan Hall...

The second author featured on this blog for April is horror maestro, Bryan Hall.  Here's what he had to say.
Tell us a bit aboutyourself.Let's see if I cankeep it short and sweet.  I've lived inthe mountains of North Carolina for my entire life, write dark fiction andhorror, and keep honeybees in my free time. 
Could you tell uswhat work you currently have available?My debut novel"Containment Room 7" is available from Permuted Press in print,Ebook, and Audible Audiobook formats. Plus I gathered up a bunch of my best short stories that once appearedin magazines and anthologies and released them as a print and Ebook short storycollection titled "Whispers from the Dark"
Tell us about yourlatest release.Containment Room 7isn't your standard zombie book.  It's asci-fi horror novel set on a deep space research vessel.  The crew finds a strange object floatingaround a black hole and brings it on board. It starts to evolve into a monster while driving some of the crewmad.  They end up worshiping it, and fromthere all hell breaks loose.  It's gotsome Lovecraftian undercurrents, zombie action, and once it gets going it neverlets up.
For someoneunfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your writing?Scary, I think.  I'll gladly dump a bucket of gore in a sceneif it needs it, but I'm more concerned on real, lasting scares than shockvalue.  I want people to get that creepyfeeling that makes them look over their shoulder while they're reading.  Plus, I want them to think about a storyafter they've finished it, about its themes and its dark, dirty soul.  I try my best to accomplish that in mywriting.
What else do you havein the pipeline?Lots.  There's a novel about demonic possession in asmall town that's in the hands of a publisher right now – hopefully they'llpick it up.  I've got a southern gothicnovella series I'm in the midst of writing – the first one's done and thesecond one will be done within a few weeks. It's a ghost/mystery type thing that carries over one main character ashe uncovers mysteries in various towns while we learn more about his ownsecrets.  That's in the hands of apublisher as well.  And I'm working on anovel about schizophrenia, ghosts, and the breakdown of families.   
What writers have hadthe most influence on your own writing?Comic writers,actually.  Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, andNeil Gaiman are incredible and their stuff in comics is really worth a look ifyou've never read it.  Speaking strictlyabout novelists, I'd say Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, CormacMcCarthy, and Stephen King. 
What was the lastthing you read?I'm going to name offwhat I'm actually still reading since I started it far too long ago: Swan Songby Robert McCammon.  It's a beast of abook and as soon as I started it other priorities slowed my progress on it.  It's really good, but hopefully I'll finishit up soon because my Kindle is full of stuff I'm itching to get into.
Anything else you'dlike to tell us about?I'd like to saythanks to everyone who's bought, borrowed, or planning on picking up one of mybooks.  I hope you have fun with it.  And now that you mention it, I'd love to talkto you about Amway…
Check out Bryan's website at: www.bryanhallfiction.com
Buy his books here: http://www.amazon.com/Bryan-Hall/e/B004VRN73K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

An Interview with Author, Armand Rosamilia

For the rest of April, this blog will be used to highlight upcoming authors.  First up is horror writer, Amand Rosamilia.

Tell us a bit about yourself.I'm a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida. Iwrite horror stories and run Rymfire Books.
Could you tell us what work you currently have available?I have over 40 releases, including my "Dying Days"extreme zombie series. All of my releases can be conveniently found here    Tell us about your latest release.My latest release is "Bones. Death. Cenote", athree-story collection set in South American occultism. And it doesn't featurezombies.
For someone unfamiliar with your work, how would youdescribe your writing?I've been on a tear with zombie fiction in the last year,but dabble in straight horror and non-fiction heavy metal books in between. Ifocus on the characters and what makes them tick.
What else do you have in the pipeline?A ton of things. I'm currently working on Still Dying:Select Scenes From Dying Days, which is 13 stories featuring old and newcharacters in the Dying Days world, as well as finishing the edits for UndeadTales 2 zombie anthology, working on the State of Horror anthologyseries, and so many other stories.
What writers have had the most influence on your ownwriting?As a kid, Dean Koontz and R.E. Howard. Phil Rickman as I gotolder, and now so many great indie writers that I seem to find each day.
What was the last thing you read?I'm reading four books from local author Tim Baker,thrillers set in St. Augustine, Florida. He's a great writer and I hope hekeeps putting out books.
Anything else you'd like to tell us about?I'm just happy to be writing and finding new readers eachday, especially the many zombie fans who are rabid about their loyalties to somany writers.
Check out Armand's website at:  http://armandrosamilia.com 

Work Update

The sun is shining in the UK and it's lovely.  It will no doubt be gone before we know it, but for now everyone seems to be smiling.  It's a nice thing to see in our current climate of being near destitute and miserable.

As for my current situation, I am currently conducting the final edits on Sea Sick and feel it's a pretty good story overall - my one point of issue is that I would prefer it to be a little longer.  Perhaps I'll find a way to make it so.

Once Sea Sick is finished, I am going to write the next chapter of The Peeling, perhaps even the next two.  Then I am going to take a week or two off.

The final pan I have in the fire is something few UK writers have much experience in.  I am working with a  very talented artist to try and bring a comic book version of Animal Kingdom into existence.  I think it is a story that would lend itself well to a graphic novel series and I am excited at the possibilities.  Stay tuned for updates about that.  For now, check out the latest releases from Grand Mal Press (including the novel, Animal Kingdom. at www.grandmalpress.com

An interview with Stephen Bryant

Stephen Bryant is one of the most talented people I have met.  He inked the designed for one of my books, Animal Kingdom and it blew my socks off.  If anyone needs the service of an artist, then he is your main.  Check out what he has to say below.

Could you tell us what work you currently have available?  Sure, some of the book covers that are currently available are Animal Kingdom, Alien Aberrations, Mal Contents, Drawn to Danger, Haftmann's Rule, and Darker Than Noir. For a full list you can check out my website as I have a hard time keeping track of the stuff that came out last year. Most of my work is available on amazon.com.
Tell us about your latest release. Well my latest release is a design campaign for Jim Coleman Ltd., but no one here wants to read about that. They want action, horror, and suspense. So I will say my latest, and some say, greatest release is the cover for Animal Kingdom. It was a blast to do this cover and it was the first time I painted a full blown carnivorous gorilla. The biggest thing about this image was that I actually forgot the story took place in the UK. So mid final pencil I had to redo everything to place the steering wheel on the right side. Once I had the final pencil all set, the rest of the illustration just came together.
For someone unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your illustrations?  Oh man, I have never been really good with this question. It is why my resume is such a mess. My style is actually all dependent on lighting. The balance between black and white is first and foremost instead of any particular paint style. Due to the fact that I am partially colorblind, I have to make sure the my under painting is spot on, so then I can just add some predetermined colors and ta da!
What else do you have in the pipeline? At the moment I am working on a bad ass fairy tale book, which is all I can say about that. I also started work on a graphic novel title Traumatized. This will display my new pen and ink styling. Soon to be released is Dead Dog which is just such an awesome cover for Gran Mal Press. I went up and down with this illustration fighting it the whole time…it also didn't help that I was in a cast.  
What artists have had the most influence on your own artwork?  This is one of those questions that makes you have all kinds of flashbacks. If I had to pick some of my favorites, they would be (in no particular order) Tim Bradstreet, Alex Ross, Richard Krzyka, Jim Lee, Julie Bell, and probably Tom Herzberg my teacher. Tom showed me not only how to paint but also how to break an image down. How does something work, why does it work that way, and finally who is the image for? Allot of artist forget that. It really cool to be able to create a dramatic, ass kicking scene of Spider Man beating up Catwoman, but if the client asked for two mobster fist fighting and you draw superheroes…you got problems.
What was the last thing you read?I actually just finished reading I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. I am a huge Matheson fan and whenever I need a little inspiration I sit and read one of his short stories from Button, Button: Uncanny Stories.   
Anything else you'd like to tell us about?  Yeah I would like to make a statement to all aspiring artists...stick with it. There is a quote from Tim Bradstreet that has been running thru my head the last couple of months "If you don't have the passion . . . that drive and determination, then do yourself a favor and go back to college. Get a degree and then call me, you can help me with my taxes." Bottom line you have to keep pushing, keep challenging yourself. No one every got anything they truly wanted the easy way, and for those that did, it was a hollow victory.
Check out his official website at:   http://www.srbproductions.net

An Interview With Grand Mal Press

I'm proud to be a pubished author with Grand Mal Press.  I have found that they are a professional and enjoyable-to-work-with outfit.  So here's a bit about them for those that don't know.  This is an interview with Ryan C. Thomas; one of the key players in the publisher's setup.
Tell us a bit about the history of Grand Mal Press and how it came to be.The long and the short of it is, a friend of mine was fed up with the current state of the American small press. He'd been published by a couple imprints and the products were crap. I'd seen it plenty as well. Too many companies with bad editing, bad covers, bad rates, etc (which is not to say there aren't good ones, too, but there are a lot of bad ones). So, we basically said, hey, we can do this and try to not make those mistakes. Grand Mal's CEO is a huge fan of classic literature and was a college English professor, so between his love of prose, and my history of ten years in the magazine publishing industry, where I learned proper layout and editing techniques, we put our skills together to get Grand Oak Books Ltd, (which owns Grand Mal Press) off the ground. We then brought in professional editors, and proofers, and cover artists to round out our small, dedicated staff.
What type of fiction do you specialise in and what are you not interested in?We are interested in all genre fiction, everything from sci fi to horror to mystery to westerns to fantasy, etc. We are getting ready to start accepting YA fiction as well. Grand Oak Books—the parent company—also owns kidz4kidz press, which is a new imprint specializing in children's books.  Right now, we're not interested in short story collections, erotica, or graphic novels.  What are the company's plans for 2012 and beyond?We're still looking for more books to publish; we want to expand the line. We are in talks with audio book companies (Audible already bought some of the Grand Oak Books titles) and just received interest from the Library Association of America to stock our books. So things are happening, but as in all small businesses it takes some time. Our fingers are crossed and we're working hard.
What is currently on the horizon for Grand Mal Press?We have 6 or 7 new titles already signed and we're going to be getting those out shortly. Books by Nick Cook, Gregory Norris, Robert White, Geoffrey James, Craig Saunders, Matt Darst, and more. We have made offers to others as well, but I can't speak of them until I get the contracts back. But there are some amazing books we're working to get. We are also looking at our first limited edition hardback series to start soon.
Any advice to authors looking to get your interest?Send us polished scripts. We get so many we can't be bothered to read the whole thing right away and if we see tons of errors in the first couple pages it gets rejected. If it's polished we pass it on to the acquisitions people. Also, read up on our rates first. We're a small press and we cannot offer a six figure deal—we've had a couple subbers and websites get mad at us for that. By all means try for Random House first. But mostly just hone your craft and send us a clean script and we'll happily consider it. One of our appeals—we hope—is that we have no specific genre in mind. Other publishers are zombie-focused or vampire-focused....but we'll look at everything.  But of course we look at that popular stuff as well.   Anything else you'd like to add?