M.R. Gott's Blog, page 31
January 18, 2012
January 20th 2012
Two major theatrical releases occur on this day in direct competition with one another. Haywire and Under World Awakening.
Kate Beckinsale and Gina Carano compete for the ultimate bad ass title. Did you think women would be competing headlining action flicks? Will this prove profitable, will the predominately male audience of these flicks accept this?
I always enjoy seeing stereotypes called into question.
M.R. Interviews... E.S. Moore
Please Welcome E.S. Moore to Cutis Anserina
What group of readers to you is the perfect audience for To Walk the Night?
I think those that enjoy a dark and gritty urban fantasy would be perfect, as well as those who like a little horror in their paranormal. It's definitely a darker world than some other series, but there are familiar bits any UF fan would recognize. I'd like to think I've written a book that can appeal to a wide range of people. Only time will tell...
What was the catalyst for the creation of the character Kat Redding?
I'm not real sure, actually! She was one of those characters that came out of nowhere for me. It just hit me one day and I plotted out the book. I was trying to come up with a character that was different than another unpublished urban fantasy series I've been working on and the character just popped into my head.To Walk the Night's sequel, Tainted Night, Tainted Blood will be released later this year. Do you have a clear end point for this series, or are you taking it novel by novel?Sort of both. I have an idea of where I want to go, how I want it to end, but things can change as the novels progress. I won't force my characters down a path they don't want to go. It wouldn't be fair to the characters or the readers.
What is your favorite character that you created? Do you love or hate him/her?
Ethan, I think. He's the character that is most like me and really, I think I needed that in the story. He might have a dark past and secrets of his own, but he still tries to keep a smile on his face. I love that about him. What is the first book you remember genuinely being frightened by? Was your immediate reaction to run out and find other similar tales, or stash it in your closet and block it out?Wow, that's a tough one! I've always read horror as far back as I can remember. I'd have to say that maybe Pet Semetary by Stephen King was the first one that really rattled me. I've grown up with cats and to think of one of my own coming back like that was scary for a kid. I devoured the book and read everything else King wrote that I could get my hands on. I really do like to be frightened, though that has happened a lot less frequently these days.
What current genre authors are you following/reading right now? What draws you to them?
Jim Butcher and Stephen King are probably the top two. I've always been a fan of King, and while a few of his books weren't as good as some of the others, I've always taken something from them. I'll continue to read anything he puts out there!As for Butcher, I was drawn to him because of the short-lived TV series, The Dresden Files. I went out and bought the books and immediately was sold on urban fantasy. I'd never read any of the other urban fantasy authors until then. Something about his characters attracted me and I have yet to find the same feeling anywhere else.
As an avid gamer and storyteller, what game or franchise do you feel has the strongest combination of game play and storytelling?
I think the two that stick out most in my mind are Final Fantasy 7 and Dragon Age: Origins. I loved the story and gameplay for both of those games. I got so invested in the characters, when something bad happened to one of them, it was quite a shock to the system. I just wish the other games in each series were as good as those two.
From any medium, who in your mind is the ultimate hunter of supernatural creatures?
Buffy and her friends! I was never much into the love interests of the show, but really enjoyed the interactions between all the characters and how, really, no one was safe. That's one show I could actually watch again, which is something I can't say for very many shows these days.
Do you have anything new coming down the pipeline you would like to share with us?
Right now, all I have is the second book of the Kat Redding series, Tainted Night, Tainted Blood, coming, as well as book 3, Blessed by a Demon's Mark. Hopefully I'll have more in the near future! I'm working on quite a few projects and hopefully something will come out of them
January 16, 2012
Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash
Overview;Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash
Review;This limited series comic is a bitter sweet little treat. The script is based upon the film treatment that was bounced around after the success of Freddy vs. Jason. The events begin with the survivors of Freddy vs. Jason, using them to introduce Ash (quite cleverly) and a new cast of kids. The story revolves around Freddy using Jason to retrieve the Necronomicon to live again. Ash is also in search of the book. Carnage ensues.
If this film had come to fruition it would have had great potential. The respective franchises are respected, without delving into accidental parody. In interest of complete disclosure I was never a fan of Jason and was only lukewarm on Freddy's films. The Ash portrayed here is more akin to Evil Dead 2, rather than Army of Darkness. He is a clear hero, but takes incredibly abuse. The artwork by Jason Craig is effective. He balances the gritty real world elements well with the absurdity of the extreme levels of violence. The action is brisk and clear, If these had been story boards this could have been amazing.
In the end:What could have been but never will be. For fans of either franchise I recommend this read to see how the series could have ended, before the inevitably reboots. For those less or unfamiliar with the franchises you will probably have your interest piqued. Also of note, avoid Freddy vs Jason vs Ash 2 Nightmare warriors. You have been warned.
January 14, 2012
M.R. Interviews...Paul D Brazill
Please Welcome Paul D Brazill
How did the character of P I Roman Dalton from Drunk on the Moon emerge?
It all came from the Tom Wait's song, Drunk On The Moon. I thought it would make a great title for a noir story. And, Tom was in the film Wolfen, as well as having a voice suitable for a werewolf, so I suppose the ideas just mashed up.Around the same time, the sadly defunct Dark Valentine Magazine set up and they were looking for cross genre stories. A P I who is also a werewolf just seemed pretty natural.
At the same time, I was enjoying reading Lee Goldberg's series books The Dead Man. I thought Roman Dalton's world was ripe for a series. So, I contacted a few writers- BR Stateham, Richard Godwin, Julia Madeleine etc – to see if they would be interested and, lo and behold, they were.
There have been 8 Drunk On The Moon stories published so far and there are more to come!http://www.amazon.com/Drunk-on-the-Moon-ebook/dp/B005AJM28O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326544692&sr=8-1
Did you find it difficult to mix noir and horror archetypes together without delving into cliché?
I think you have to accept that these cliché's exist and don't worry about it. Hopefully, Drunk On The Moon is such a mash-up of genres- monster movie/noir/hardboiled/ kitchen sink/ comic book – that it has a life of it's own.
From your short story collection, 13 Shots of Noir, is there a particular story that you feel the most affection towards?
Yeah, I like a sad little story called The Friend Catcher, which is all about the loneliness of living in a big city, in this case London.
Noir is debatably the most difficult genre to define. Personally, what are the defining elements that separate it from simple crime fiction in your mind?
I think Otto Penzler hit the nail on the head when he said that noir is about losers losing. There doesn't even have to be a crime. And certainly no resolution! That's why it lends itself to black humour s well.
What is your favourite character that you created? Do you love or hate him/her?
I like Duffy, a character that's in the Drunk On The Moon stories. I like him because he makes me laugh and other people seem to get him, too. Which is nice!
What writer most influenced you as an author? How?
I see the influence of Damon Runyon more and more. I hadn't realized how much of an influence he was until the writer A J Hayes pointed it out. It's to do with the recurring, colourful, characters and the lives below the surface.
Anything else coming down the pipeline you would like to share?
Brit Grit Too has recently been published. It's an anthology that contains 32 stories from up and coming British crime writers. The proceeds go to charity.http://www.amazon.com/Brit-Grit-Too-ebook/dp/B006N7YAUU/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
The first few Drunk On The Moon stories will be collected in an anthology soon. The collection will also include a new story from me. A prequel, really.
I'll have a book published by the great Pulp Press, this year. It's based on my short story, Guns Of Brixton, which was included in the 2011 Mammoth Book Of Best British Crime.
January 13, 2012
M.R. Interviews...Dana Fredsti
Please Welcome to Cutis Anserina Dana Fredsti
How did Ashley Drake of Ashley Drake Zombie Hunter A Plague on all Houses, evolve to become Ashley Parker of Plague Town?
Ooh, you're jumping right in with the complicated questions, aren't ya? Okay, settle in and here we go. I was originally asked by Lori Perkins if I wanted to write a trilogy of books. She pitched it as "Buffy, but with zombies." Being a Buffy fan and a zombieholic, I jumped on the chance. The challenge for me was writing something that (I hoped) would appeal to paranormal romance/urban fantasy readers as well as the die-hard zombiephiles. I like to read both genres so I figured there had to be others that swung both ways, so to speak. As I worked on the first book, Lori shopped it around to other publishers (it was coming out as an ebook with Ravenous Romance to start) and eventually sold it to Titan Books. I worked closely with Steve Saffel (whom I refer to as my Dark Editorial Overlord, DEO for short), the Titan editor who bought the book, and we made some changes (picture my original manuscript dripping with bloody red edits) to further broaden the potential readership and just make it a better book overall. We also changed Ashley's last name from "Drake" to "Parker" because "Ashley Drake" was a little too close to "Anita Blake", Laurell K. Hamilton's heroine. I think it'll still appeal to fans of the original version, but I'm really happy with the new and improved Plague Town.
What distinguishes Ashley Parker from the plethora of bad-ass female characters flooding the Horror and Urban Fantasy shelves of late?
She doesn't have a tramp stamp crawling out of her butt crack. Seriously, those things remind me of Chthulhu emerging from his dark lair beyond the stars… Okay, REALLY seriously, I like to think what makes Ashley unique is her narrative voice and sense of humor. She lacks a major chip on her shoulder too, which a lot of the bad-ass female heroines seem to have. And she's not a vampire, witch, shapeshifter, fae or psychic. She's just an average twenty-something Liberal Arts Major without a clue what she wants to do with her life until the Zombacolypse makes the choice for her.
When crafting Murder for Hire you seem to have drawn on your own background, is this a fair assumption?
Yup, that would be a fair assumption. The inspiration for the novel was a sincere desire to kill a woman we worked with -- 'we' being me and Maureen, my old writing partner and co-founder of our San Diego based theatrical troupe, Murder for Hire – on the entertainment for the first La Jolla Raymond Chandler Festival. To quote MFH's press release: Along with her best friend Maureen, Dana was co-producer/writer/director for a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe based in San Diego. While no actual murders occurred during their performances, there were times when the actors and clients made the idea very tempting. The client in question not only ended up being murdered in the pages of MFH, but one of the confrontations between Connie, MFH's heroine, and Lucille (fictionalized version of said client) actually happened in real life. I took a couple of liberties while writing the scene for the novel, but the gist of the argument and the reason for it really happened. And boy, was "killing" this woman satisfying… Ahem.
Murder for Hire shows a clear affection for old 40's noir. Have you considered combing that into a zombie opus?
Funny you should ask that… J My very first attempt at writing something with zombies was a story called A Man's Gotta Eat What a Man's Gotta Eat, about a zombie detective who specializes in finding missing people (live ones) and is written in a very hard-boiled noir style. I came up with the idea while driving from L.A. to San Diego in the middle of rush hour traffic on the tail end of a migraine. Between the headache and the fumes, my brain got very creative. The story was published in Danger City, an urban noir anthology published by Contemporary Press, and remains one of my favorite pieces I've written to date. (M.R.'s note If Raymond Chandler and Frank Miller conceived a child in a cheap motel room while a Romero marathon played in the background the child would be 'A Man's Gotta Eat What a Man's Gotta Eat')
What drew you to the zombie sub-genre? Are there other classic monsters you hope to tackle in the future?
I have loved zombies (in a non-carnal way, thank you!) since I first saw the original Night of the Living Dead on TV back when I was in Junior High. I watched it with my friend and next door neighbor late at night, no adults home, all the lights turned off. Scared the crap out of me and left an indelible impression, especially the main cemetery zombie staggering after Barbara. Fleshing-eating ghouls were my new favorite monster. To seal the deal, my very first date movie was the original Dawn of the Dead, which remains my all time favorite zombie movie of all times. I've always spent an inordinate amount of time scoping out surrounding buildings wherever I happen to be to see what would and would not be a good place to hole up should the zombie plague hit at that moment. Everything is a possible weapon. I used to feel kind of lonely until I discovered www.homepageofthedead.com and discovered it wasn't just me. Now, of course, zombies have hit it big and it's no longer this fairly exclusive, twisted little club. Everyone has their own plan to survive the Zombacolypse.
What is the most influential literary character to you personally? Why?
Oh dear. This is the sort of question that has an ever-shifting answer. It depends on the day, my mood, what sort of inspiration I happen to need at the moment. And of course my mind goes blank when confronted with the question. J Lessee… I'll give you Scarlett O'Hara for one, the heroine of Gone with the Wind (I shouldn't have to add that, but I've come to realize there are people who have not read or heard of this book). She's not a particularly nice person throughout most of the book, but she does what she has to do to survive and is one of the most complex and consistent characters ever created. To go to a totally different place, I love F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack character because he's just so damn fun to follow in his adventures and he's one of the best endearing tough-guy heroes ever. I feel like I'm missing someone really obvious here… but that is how my brain works. Stoopid brain…
If you could take the reins of writing for any existing franchise (this can be any format), which would you choose and why?
I wouldn't want to necessarily take the reins of an existing franchise, but I would have loved the chance to write for Joss Whedon's show Firefly. Love the characters, love the stories, love the premise, hate Fox for cancelling it after one season. Boo, Fox!
What contemporary horror author are you keeping up with? (Feel free to include more than one) Why?
Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, Ray Garton, F. Paul Wilson, Mira Grant, Richard Kadrey, Jim Butcher, to name a few… They all create compelling characters, horrific and/or suspenseful stories, and they're fun to read (I love humor with my horror). One of my favorite horror authors is T. Chris Martindale, who unfortunately hasn't written anything recently. His novel WHERE THE CHILL WAITS is one of the scariest books I've read and prompted me to write my first fan letter. I will still read Stephen King, although I really do like his older works (The Shining, Salem's Lot, Dead Zone, The Stand) better than most of the newer stuff. And although Barbara Hambly isn't strictly horror, she's created some of the scariest scenes I've ever read (The Darwath Trilogy comes to mind) so I'll read anything she comes out with. I've also read several really fun horror novels on my Kindle by new (to me) authors, like Eleven Twenty-Three by Jason Hornsby, Hissers by Ryan C. Thomas, and Dead Tropics by Sue Edge, and I'll happily read anything else they put out there because their books are all well-written, original within their respective sub-genres, and generated a lot of 'can't put this book down' type of suspense. There are more, but some veer more into Urban Fantasy than horror so I'll stop now. Even though I know I've probably left out someone really obvious and am going to smack myself over the head later on. I will add that I will read/watch just about anything if it has zombies in it, be it good, bad or so delightfully bad you invite a bunch of friends over, get drunk and MST3K the hell out of it.
Anything else coming down the pipeline you would like to share?
I am really excited about the upcoming launch of Plague Town by Titan Books (I love you, Titan!) on April 3rd this year. I'm equally excited about Plague Nation and Plague World, the next two books in the series, although I will be even MORE excited when I've finished writing them. I've also done some books (spicy genre romance, including paranormal) for Ravenous Romance under the nom de plume Inara LaVey, but there are no zombies in them. No, wait, I take that back. I have a story in Hungry for Your Love, (an e-book by Ravenous Romance and a paperback release from St. Martin's Press) an anthology of zombie themed romance short stories. Each author had their own take on the theme. My story, First Date, deals with a first date from hell … and then the zombie plague breaks out. Lots of fun stories in that anthology, including my favorite Last Times at Ridgemont High by Kilt Kilpatrick. Oh, and if you get a chance to read the elusive Mondo Zombie (edited by John Skipp, another of my favorite authors), I have a short in that called You'll Never Be Lunch in This Town Again, about a first time film director trying to finish his low budget film when (you guessed it) the dead start to walk. What can I say, it's a favorite theme of mine.
How did Ashley Drake of Ashley Drake Zombie Hunter A Plague on all Houses, evolve to become Ashley Parker of Plague Town?
Ooh, you're jumping right in with the complicated questions, aren't ya? Okay, settle in and here we go. I was originally asked by Lori Perkins if I wanted to write a trilogy of books. She pitched it as "Buffy, but with zombies." Being a Buffy fan and a zombieholic, I jumped on the chance. The challenge for me was writing something that (I hoped) would appeal to paranormal romance/urban fantasy readers as well as the die-hard zombiephiles. I like to read both genres so I figured there had to be others that swung both ways, so to speak. As I worked on the first book, Lori shopped it around to other publishers (it was coming out as an ebook with Ravenous Romance to start) and eventually sold it to Titan Books. I worked closely with Steve Saffel (whom I refer to as my Dark Editorial Overlord, DEO for short), the Titan editor who bought the book, and we made some changes (picture my original manuscript dripping with bloody red edits) to further broaden the potential readership and just make it a better book overall. We also changed Ashley's last name from "Drake" to "Parker" because "Ashley Drake" was a little too close to "Anita Blake", Laurell K. Hamilton's heroine. I think it'll still appeal to fans of the original version, but I'm really happy with the new and improved Plague Town.
What distinguishes Ashley Parker from the plethora of bad-ass female characters flooding the Horror and Urban Fantasy shelves of late?
She doesn't have a tramp stamp crawling out of her butt crack. Seriously, those things remind me of Chthulhu emerging from his dark lair beyond the stars… Okay, REALLY seriously, I like to think what makes Ashley unique is her narrative voice and sense of humor. She lacks a major chip on her shoulder too, which a lot of the bad-ass female heroines seem to have. And she's not a vampire, witch, shapeshifter, fae or psychic. She's just an average twenty-something Liberal Arts Major without a clue what she wants to do with her life until the Zombacolypse makes the choice for her.
When crafting Murder for Hire you seem to have drawn on your own background, is this a fair assumption?
Yup, that would be a fair assumption. The inspiration for the novel was a sincere desire to kill a woman we worked with -- 'we' being me and Maureen, my old writing partner and co-founder of our San Diego based theatrical troupe, Murder for Hire – on the entertainment for the first La Jolla Raymond Chandler Festival. To quote MFH's press release: Along with her best friend Maureen, Dana was co-producer/writer/director for a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe based in San Diego. While no actual murders occurred during their performances, there were times when the actors and clients made the idea very tempting. The client in question not only ended up being murdered in the pages of MFH, but one of the confrontations between Connie, MFH's heroine, and Lucille (fictionalized version of said client) actually happened in real life. I took a couple of liberties while writing the scene for the novel, but the gist of the argument and the reason for it really happened. And boy, was "killing" this woman satisfying… Ahem.
Murder for Hire shows a clear affection for old 40's noir. Have you considered combing that into a zombie opus?
Funny you should ask that… J My very first attempt at writing something with zombies was a story called A Man's Gotta Eat What a Man's Gotta Eat, about a zombie detective who specializes in finding missing people (live ones) and is written in a very hard-boiled noir style. I came up with the idea while driving from L.A. to San Diego in the middle of rush hour traffic on the tail end of a migraine. Between the headache and the fumes, my brain got very creative. The story was published in Danger City, an urban noir anthology published by Contemporary Press, and remains one of my favorite pieces I've written to date. (M.R.'s note If Raymond Chandler and Frank Miller conceived a child in a cheap motel room while a Romero marathon played in the background the child would be 'A Man's Gotta Eat What a Man's Gotta Eat')
What drew you to the zombie sub-genre? Are there other classic monsters you hope to tackle in the future?
I have loved zombies (in a non-carnal way, thank you!) since I first saw the original Night of the Living Dead on TV back when I was in Junior High. I watched it with my friend and next door neighbor late at night, no adults home, all the lights turned off. Scared the crap out of me and left an indelible impression, especially the main cemetery zombie staggering after Barbara. Fleshing-eating ghouls were my new favorite monster. To seal the deal, my very first date movie was the original Dawn of the Dead, which remains my all time favorite zombie movie of all times. I've always spent an inordinate amount of time scoping out surrounding buildings wherever I happen to be to see what would and would not be a good place to hole up should the zombie plague hit at that moment. Everything is a possible weapon. I used to feel kind of lonely until I discovered www.homepageofthedead.com and discovered it wasn't just me. Now, of course, zombies have hit it big and it's no longer this fairly exclusive, twisted little club. Everyone has their own plan to survive the Zombacolypse.
What is the most influential literary character to you personally? Why?
Oh dear. This is the sort of question that has an ever-shifting answer. It depends on the day, my mood, what sort of inspiration I happen to need at the moment. And of course my mind goes blank when confronted with the question. J Lessee… I'll give you Scarlett O'Hara for one, the heroine of Gone with the Wind (I shouldn't have to add that, but I've come to realize there are people who have not read or heard of this book). She's not a particularly nice person throughout most of the book, but she does what she has to do to survive and is one of the most complex and consistent characters ever created. To go to a totally different place, I love F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack character because he's just so damn fun to follow in his adventures and he's one of the best endearing tough-guy heroes ever. I feel like I'm missing someone really obvious here… but that is how my brain works. Stoopid brain…
If you could take the reins of writing for any existing franchise (this can be any format), which would you choose and why?
I wouldn't want to necessarily take the reins of an existing franchise, but I would have loved the chance to write for Joss Whedon's show Firefly. Love the characters, love the stories, love the premise, hate Fox for cancelling it after one season. Boo, Fox!
What contemporary horror author are you keeping up with? (Feel free to include more than one) Why?
Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, Ray Garton, F. Paul Wilson, Mira Grant, Richard Kadrey, Jim Butcher, to name a few… They all create compelling characters, horrific and/or suspenseful stories, and they're fun to read (I love humor with my horror). One of my favorite horror authors is T. Chris Martindale, who unfortunately hasn't written anything recently. His novel WHERE THE CHILL WAITS is one of the scariest books I've read and prompted me to write my first fan letter. I will still read Stephen King, although I really do like his older works (The Shining, Salem's Lot, Dead Zone, The Stand) better than most of the newer stuff. And although Barbara Hambly isn't strictly horror, she's created some of the scariest scenes I've ever read (The Darwath Trilogy comes to mind) so I'll read anything she comes out with. I've also read several really fun horror novels on my Kindle by new (to me) authors, like Eleven Twenty-Three by Jason Hornsby, Hissers by Ryan C. Thomas, and Dead Tropics by Sue Edge, and I'll happily read anything else they put out there because their books are all well-written, original within their respective sub-genres, and generated a lot of 'can't put this book down' type of suspense. There are more, but some veer more into Urban Fantasy than horror so I'll stop now. Even though I know I've probably left out someone really obvious and am going to smack myself over the head later on. I will add that I will read/watch just about anything if it has zombies in it, be it good, bad or so delightfully bad you invite a bunch of friends over, get drunk and MST3K the hell out of it.
Anything else coming down the pipeline you would like to share?
I am really excited about the upcoming launch of Plague Town by Titan Books (I love you, Titan!) on April 3rd this year. I'm equally excited about Plague Nation and Plague World, the next two books in the series, although I will be even MORE excited when I've finished writing them. I've also done some books (spicy genre romance, including paranormal) for Ravenous Romance under the nom de plume Inara LaVey, but there are no zombies in them. No, wait, I take that back. I have a story in Hungry for Your Love, (an e-book by Ravenous Romance and a paperback release from St. Martin's Press) an anthology of zombie themed romance short stories. Each author had their own take on the theme. My story, First Date, deals with a first date from hell … and then the zombie plague breaks out. Lots of fun stories in that anthology, including my favorite Last Times at Ridgemont High by Kilt Kilpatrick. Oh, and if you get a chance to read the elusive Mondo Zombie (edited by John Skipp, another of my favorite authors), I have a short in that called You'll Never Be Lunch in This Town Again, about a first time film director trying to finish his low budget film when (you guessed it) the dead start to walk. What can I say, it's a favorite theme of mine.
Short, Sharp Interview of M.R. Gott by Paul D Brazill
Click below to read my interview with Noir enthusiast Paul D Brazill at You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?
January 12, 2012
M.R. Interviews... Chris Bauer
Please Welcome to Cutis Anserina Chris Bauer
What is the strongest appeal for readers of The Winter of Her Discontent'?
The story portrays a woman struggling through a bad boss, a bad job, bad weather, and pests in the attic—all familiar situations. At a certain point in the story I give plausibility a weird turn, resolving all of her issues through an unexpected intervention.
You have a number of titles available from Untreed Reads Specters line. Do you find the classification of horror on your work to be liberating or limiting?
My stories are hard to categorize, so they fall into the horror category by default. I would compare them to Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, whatever the category would be. A car that eats people, an airplane flight to impossible destinations, the return of a dead WWII fighter pilot, turkeys seeking Thanksgiving revenge, and killer squirrels…..well, maybe horror is the right category. Untreed Reads has been very supportive of my stories, so whatever genre they want to call them is fine.
What can readers rely on you for?
They can rely on me to tell them a good, satisfying story with the spice of dark humor. I accomplish this by tapping into the reader's true-life experiences, and then giving them a twist. Every story begins firmly grounded in reality, and I lead the reader down the path of plausibility until they find themselves in a very strange place.
What is the process you use when crafting your tales?
Everyday life is filled with stories, and each of my tales is founded in real events. The story becomes mine when I ask myself the question "What if…?" It is important to hook the reader at the beginning, set them at ease with a familiar reality, then take them for a ride. I have found the formula of Hook, Story, Wrap Up, and Twist to be most successful.
What is your favorite character that you created? Do you love or hate him/her?
Right now, my favorite character is Denise in Winter of Her Discontent. She is modeled off a real person, and I especially like her 'grit'. My favorite tale is Harrigan's Price, which my father, a World War Two veteran of the South Pacific, related to me as a true story when he was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. What is the first book you remember being genuinely frightened by? Was your immediate reaction to run out and find other similar tales, or stash it in your closet and block it out?I read a paperback compilation of the earliest of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone stories, and because of their reality, some are especially frightening. Remember the child who falls through the wall to another dimension? I do!
What is the most influential literary character to you personally? Why?
Franz Kafka and Rod Serling are most influential. Again, both tell stories founded in a reality that take a left turn somewhere. I did not start writing to copy them, but found their kind of stories and their styles instructive (and enjoyable) when crafting my own tales.What current genre authors are you following/reading right now? What draws you to them?At the moment I'm re-reading Chandler's "The Big Sleep". He has a gift for setting the scene that is enviable. I also recently finished Whitney Howland's "Huey Dusk" and Trey Dowell's "Ballistic" with Untreed Reads.
If you could take the reins of writing for any existing franchise, which would you choose and why?
Definitely The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling was a gifted writer as well as a story teller, and as we live in a world where truth is stranger than fiction, I believe it would be a repeat success.
Do you have anything new coming down the pipeline you would like to share with us?
Untreed Reads has published A Killer of a Deal, Special Charter, Harrigan's Price, Fresh Never Frozen, and now Winter of her Discontent. Special Charter and Harrigan's Price have received especially enthusiastic reviews—the writing in Harrigan's Price has been described as 'elegant'. There are always more short stories coming---and a novel is in the works.
What is the strongest appeal for readers of The Winter of Her Discontent'?
The story portrays a woman struggling through a bad boss, a bad job, bad weather, and pests in the attic—all familiar situations. At a certain point in the story I give plausibility a weird turn, resolving all of her issues through an unexpected intervention.
You have a number of titles available from Untreed Reads Specters line. Do you find the classification of horror on your work to be liberating or limiting?
My stories are hard to categorize, so they fall into the horror category by default. I would compare them to Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, whatever the category would be. A car that eats people, an airplane flight to impossible destinations, the return of a dead WWII fighter pilot, turkeys seeking Thanksgiving revenge, and killer squirrels…..well, maybe horror is the right category. Untreed Reads has been very supportive of my stories, so whatever genre they want to call them is fine.
What can readers rely on you for?
They can rely on me to tell them a good, satisfying story with the spice of dark humor. I accomplish this by tapping into the reader's true-life experiences, and then giving them a twist. Every story begins firmly grounded in reality, and I lead the reader down the path of plausibility until they find themselves in a very strange place.
What is the process you use when crafting your tales?
Everyday life is filled with stories, and each of my tales is founded in real events. The story becomes mine when I ask myself the question "What if…?" It is important to hook the reader at the beginning, set them at ease with a familiar reality, then take them for a ride. I have found the formula of Hook, Story, Wrap Up, and Twist to be most successful.
What is your favorite character that you created? Do you love or hate him/her?
Right now, my favorite character is Denise in Winter of Her Discontent. She is modeled off a real person, and I especially like her 'grit'. My favorite tale is Harrigan's Price, which my father, a World War Two veteran of the South Pacific, related to me as a true story when he was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. What is the first book you remember being genuinely frightened by? Was your immediate reaction to run out and find other similar tales, or stash it in your closet and block it out?I read a paperback compilation of the earliest of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone stories, and because of their reality, some are especially frightening. Remember the child who falls through the wall to another dimension? I do!
What is the most influential literary character to you personally? Why?
Franz Kafka and Rod Serling are most influential. Again, both tell stories founded in a reality that take a left turn somewhere. I did not start writing to copy them, but found their kind of stories and their styles instructive (and enjoyable) when crafting my own tales.What current genre authors are you following/reading right now? What draws you to them?At the moment I'm re-reading Chandler's "The Big Sleep". He has a gift for setting the scene that is enviable. I also recently finished Whitney Howland's "Huey Dusk" and Trey Dowell's "Ballistic" with Untreed Reads.
If you could take the reins of writing for any existing franchise, which would you choose and why?
Definitely The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling was a gifted writer as well as a story teller, and as we live in a world where truth is stranger than fiction, I believe it would be a repeat success.
Do you have anything new coming down the pipeline you would like to share with us?
Untreed Reads has published A Killer of a Deal, Special Charter, Harrigan's Price, Fresh Never Frozen, and now Winter of her Discontent. Special Charter and Harrigan's Price have received especially enthusiastic reviews—the writing in Harrigan's Price has been described as 'elegant'. There are always more short stories coming---and a novel is in the works.
Dead in the West Review
Overview; Reverend Jebidiah Mercer is a man questioning not only his own, but faith. In need of money he finds himself in the East Texas town of Mud Creek. This is a town where a vengeful act of human weakness is about to engulf the town in a horror like no other. This is the story of zombies in the old west.
"The town was dead. And the Dead Walked."Review; This is a novella I have wanted to read for a long time, however was never willing to pay 30 dollars for. I recently acquired a kindle and while browsing came across this story again and downloaded it for five dollars. It was not the story I was expecting. I mistakenly believed this was going to be a tightly paced series of action set pieces with a cowboys vs. zombies themes.
What I found instead was a well constructed slow burn horror tale with a rich cast of deeply written characters. This book further confirms Lansdale as a master storyteller. His prose is basic, but powerful. As with his other works he has a taken a fun original idea, and not allowed it to stand on its own. Instead he filled in the world around his idea creating something truly unique that can be taken very seriously despite the potentially hokey sounding premise. Reverend Jebidiah Mercer's background story is compelling and adds a great deal of weight to each decision he makes. The interplay between him and all the townsfolk is nearly flawless. Each character is a perfect counterbalance to the other. It also is vital to note the zombies in this book are wholly the creation of Lansdale. He takes a page from the playbook so perfectly established by Romero, but does not use his rules as gospel.
In the end; When I sat down to read Dead in the West I was ready for a rip roaring tale of zombie shootouts. While the action sequences contained were satisfying, what I found was another excellent character driven tale from an American master. Kudos to you Mr. Lansdale.
Fun fact. Joe R. Lansdale wrote four episodes of Batman the Animated series.
January 7, 2012
Organ Trail
If you remember the old Oregon Trail game from your youth, then click below to play Organ Trail a Zombie Apocalypse version.
http://www.hatsproductions.com/organtrail.html 
http://www.hatsproductions.com/organtrail.html
December 28, 2011
Stupid Zombies
It is like Angry birds, but with Zombies and free. You ricochet bullets to kill all the zombies on each screen.
