Sumiko Saulson's Blog, page 45
September 11, 2013
Shauna Klein, author of “Static” (WWW #2)
Shauna Klein is a freelance writer, website designer, photographer and overall Jill of all trades that lives in sunny and stormy Florida. Shauna Klein her my pen name and she is married with children that have fins, feathers and fur. She is a member of the Horror Writers Association. She has a short story in the Cemetery Dance book In Laymon’s Terms and a blurb in the book The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child. She also has a few short stories that can be found at Amazon. She was published in Death Head Grin in March, 2012 and you can find a review of “Peaceable Kingdom” on Schlock Magazine.
Shauna Klein
http://shaunaklein.com
http://www.facebook.com/authorsklein
The Interview:
Q. Was this the first time you participated in the Wicked Women Writers Contest at HorrorAddicts.net?
A. Yes and it was quite an exciting experience because I tend to procrastinate and having not only a deadline but a specific thing to do I figured would challenge me.
Q. Were you excited?
A. I was excited and a little anxious since this is really different from anything I’ve done before but I thoroughly enjoyed it once I got started.
Q. Was what you wrote for the challenge different from what you usually write, and how so?
A. Not at all. I tend to do extreme horror short stories and while this is a short story it does lean towards sci-fi a bit. While I am not a fan of this word, it’s rather quirky.
Q. How long have you been writing horror?
A. Just a couple of years now. I’d written in the past but only recently did I publish anything or really put my heart into it and it’s very rewarding to know that others, not just friends, have enjoyed my short stories.
Q. Do you have anything coming down the pike you would like our readers to know about?
A. I am working on three things right now. Two are horror short stories and my big project is a children’s book about the twins of terror, our Belgian Malinois pups. I know, a huge difference in genre but all three have been started and being worked on.
September 9, 2013
Fan Appreciation Day
Sumiko Saulson and Brenda Wood at ManulFest: Brenda is picking out the story for Sumiko to read. Photo by Hobbit Des.
Today is Fan Appreciation Day, and if you haven’t got it yet, you can pick up a free copy of my first book Solitude today and tomorrow only, here:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/326403
With this Coupon Code: UA44U
Today is Fan Appreciation Day! In honor of Fan Appreciation Day, today and today ONLY you can download the eBook for my first novel “Solitude” for FREE from Smashwords. That’s right. I said “Free!” And now! For the Fan Appreciation Day Facts! These events have gone down permanently in Sumiko Saulson, author fandom HISTORY!
First Person To Buy a Sumiko Saulson eBook:
Paul Acciavatti
First Person To Buy a Sumiko Saulson paperback:
Misty Beneat
First Sumiko Saulson Fan Art:
Kateryna Fury zombie (for “Warmth”)
Fun Fact: Ever hear my joke “Thanks to all of my fans! Both of them!” and wonder who I was talking about?
That refers to Hobbit Des and Brenda Wood (pictured here, with the artist, at ManulFest) who (as far as I know) are the only people who have read all of my books. If not, they are the first ones who read all of the books.
First Bookstore to Carry My Books:
Laurel Bookstore
First Bookstore to host a Book Reading:
The Book Zoo
September 8, 2013
Guest Blog: Turning Cliches on Their Undead Heads (Leigh M. Lane)
Leigh M. Lane is one of thirteen contestants in Wicked Women Writers contest at HorrorAddicts.Net. This is the first in a series of guest blogs and interviews featuring the contestants for this contest.
This year, the WWW Challenge theme is How Will You Survive? Each of our WWW was assigned an apocalyptic disaster, a location, a helpful object, and an untimely disability. Voting starts September 7th and ends October 7th. Stories will air on podcast #95 September 7th on the http://www.horroraddicts.netshow. To vote, email horroraddicts@gmail.com. Put “vote” in the subject line.
Turning Clichés on Their Undead Heads
As writers, we learn to avoid clichés at nearly all costs. Be original. Don’t mar your work with abused terms and phrases. You shall be doomed to oblivion if you rinse and repeat. While that’s good advice, clichés are a lot like grammatical rules: if you understand their place, sometimes it’s appropriate—or even fruitful—to break the rules.
I love clichés. Perhaps I should rephrase that…. I love finding original ways of playing with them. It can be a fun change of pace to turn my world right-side up. Sometimes it’s a worthwhile gamble to put all of my Easter eggs in one hell of a hand basket. Words are meant to be manipulated, twisted, and thrown with abandon alongside that handful of caution to the wind. We’re meant to take chances with them, to own them with confidence. There are only a few original stories, all told through a shared stable of obstacles and goals; it’s how we tell them that makes them unique.
When it comes to horror, cliché is everywhere. How many vampire stories have authors written over the centuries (and how many of them are Dracula written in different time periods and their own unique casts of characters)? How many zombie novels are released each day on Amazon (and how many of them are strikingly similar thematically to Night of the Living Dead)? Heard a good ghost story lately? While all of these have been retold to death, authors still find new and exciting ways to make them fresh and different. Even the less successful attempts at this are admirable, simply because their writers made an attempt to breathe new life into what might otherwise be painfully recycled tropes.
When I begin developing a new story, I try to take a close look at what others have already done then ask myself, “How can I make this indisputably mine?” By examining the works of the past (and often also contemporary works within the same category and genre), a clear picture of what not to do slowly develops. But how does one not write a zombie story that does not end up a run-of-the-mill study of the collapse in social mores in the wake amongst undead flesh eaters and post-apocalyptic fury? I’ve seen some very creative approaches, even some brilliant takes on the overused standbys, but they have one thing in common: their writers took the time to understand and learn how to use the clichés threatening to stand in their way.
In my short story “The Corruption,” I chose to twist the zombie apocalypse trope by replacing a deadly infection with nanoparticles. I also allowed those infected to possess human-level cognition. The threat? They cannot feel. They are the antithesis of the compassionate, emotional beings most of us would agree defines us. They threaten to expunge the very soul of humanity. This approach allowed me to hold onto the important aspects of the stereotypical zombie story while veering away from the overused aspects to it. Do I define “The Corruption” as a zombie story? Not exactly. I see it as more of a cyberpunk horror with small, controlled tastes of what might otherwise be rotting corpses of zombie lore. My Wicked Women Writers podcast, “Enter the Corruption,” is its prequel, offering a glimpse of the beginning of the end.
And that’s a wrap; Leigh M. Lane over and out.
About the author:
Leigh M. Lane has been writing for over twenty years. She has ten published novels and twelve published short stories divided among different genre-specific pseudonyms. She is married to editor Thomas B. Lane, Jr. and currently resides in the beautiful mountains of western Montana.
Her traditional Gothic horror novel, Finding Poe, was a 2013 EPIC Awards finalist in horror. Her other novels include the supernatural thriller, The Hidden Valley Horror, inspired by Barker, Bradbury, and King; World-Mart, a tribute to Orwell, Serling, and Vonnegut; and the dark allegorical tale, Myths of Gods.
For more information, visit her website at http://www.cerebralwriter.com, her Amazon author page at http://www.amazon.com/Leigh-M.-Lane/e/B0055DSE6Y, or “like” her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeighMLane.
September 7, 2013
Check out the Wicked Women Writers 2013!
Today voting officially opens for the HorrorAddicts.net Wicked Women Writer’s Challenge 2013. Listen to all thirteen women who have entered the contest and then pick your favorite! Send your email to horroraddicts@gmail.com with WWW in the subject line, and your vote in the body of the email by October 7, 2013.
This is the first year I’m participating in the WWW contest and I am very excited about it! In the upcoming days I will be featuring short interviews with other women who are participating in the contest.
Today, I’m going to post a list of links to the competitor’s stories:
Leigh M Lane, “Enter the Corruption“
Shauna Klein, “Static“
DM Slate, “Veil of Darkness“
Chantal Boudreau, “On a Wing and a Prayer“
Chantal Noordeloos, “Out of the Storm“
Rebekah Webb, “Prey“
Anastasia Robinson, “Motherhood“
Rebecca Snow, “Hazzard“
Julianne Snow, “Not All Jacks are Created Equal“
RL Weston, “Drug Z“
Maggie Fiske, “A Quarrel for Jimmy Lee Killscrow“
Sumiko Saulson, “The Birthday Party“
Amy K. Marshall, ”Paternoster“
You can hear all the stories here:
http://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/
Make sure to listen to all 13 before you vote!
August 26, 2013
Interview with Alex Laybourne, author of Highway to HeII – Trials and Tribulations
Born and raised in the coastal English town Lowestoft, Alex Laybourne says “it should come as no surprise (to those that have the misfortune of knowing this place) that I became a horror writer.” From an early age he was sent to schools which were at least 30 minutes’ drive away and so spent most of his free time alone, as the friends he did have lived too far away for him to be able to hang out with them on the weekends or holidays. He has been a writer as long as he can remember and has always had a vivid imagination. To this very day he finds it all too easy to just drift away into his own mind and explore the world he creates; where the conditions always seem to be just perfect for the cultivation of ideas, plots, scenes, characters and lines of dialogue He is married and has four wonderful children; James, Logan, Ashleigh and Damon. His biggest dream for them is that they grow up, and spend their lives doing what makes them happy, whatever that is. For people who buy his work, he hopes that they enjoy what they read and that he can create something that takes them away from reality for a short time. For him, the greatest compliment he can receive is not based on rankings but by knowing that people enjoy what he produces, that they buy his work with pleasure and never once feel as though their money would have been better spent elsewhere.The Book
Highway to HeII – Trials and Tribulations - Marcus, Helen, Becky, Sammy and Graham are no longer strangers, but friends. Pulled from the chambers of hell they thought that they had survived, that they were free to being their eternity far away from the fires and tortures that had greeted them. They were wrong! The group soon find themselves back in Hell, this time venturing even deeper into the netherworld. Searching for the one soul the angels’ claim they were unable to rescue, the five friends march their way to the edge of the pit, Avici. It is here, in the castle that looks into the abyss where they come face to face with both the lost soul that they seek and the King of Hell himself; Lucifer.
Nothing is as it seems however, and just as it looks as if the coast is clear they learn that the ones they thought they could trust just might be the ones they should fear the most. It is the sequel to my debut novel Highway to Hell - Marcus, Becky, Richard, Helen, Sammy, and Graham. All complete strangers, different ages, backgrounds and even countries, but they all have one major thing in common…they all must DIE. Sentenced to offer their penance in the many chambers of Hell, their lives are nothing but a torturous experience. They are brought face to face with their past, their mistakes and the implications that had for others. Until one by one they are rescued and thrown together. Walking in a dying world, they are introduced to their rescuers who do anything but conform to their angelic stereotype. Together, bonded by an unknown destiny the group is set on their quest; to find one individual buried deep within the many Hell worlds. Not only does the fate of their world rest on their shoulders, but that of existence itself. Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons, these things were once considered opposites, but what happens when they become neighbors, allies…friends?
The Interview
Q. What is it about Lowestoft that would turn someone into a horror writer?
A. It is just a miserable, run down town. Very low income, high unemployment and benefit claimant rate. It is an embodiment of where we are failing as society. That being said, there are good people there. It is, as in many cases, the few spoiling it for the many. If someone were to invest in the town, actually give it something for people to do, it could be great. It has a lovely beach and a lot of potential but people want instant returns and so it is filled with half started, never finished projects.
Q. Was the “Highway to Hell” series at all influenced by classic tales featuring journeys to hell or Hades, like Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno,” John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” or the Greek tale of Orpheus’s descent into Hades to rescue Eurydice?
A. There are obvious similarities and connections to them all, especially to Dante Aligheri’s “inferno”, however not in the way that you would be thinking of that book while reading mine. The biggest influence on it is my own imagination.Everything I created I created from scratch. o preconceptions or images based around something else I have read.
Q. Do you think your vision of Lucifer was influenced by the Bible, classic tales such as Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” or any of the other portrayals of him?
A. Yes and no, I think the bible is always going to be a reference point and for the background story, yes, I used the bible, but that is where it ends. There are more important characters than Lucifer in the series, both good and bad. The big question it asks is, which side is good and which is bad. I won’t go into detail, but in the third installment I flip everything on its head. Heaven and Hell collide and certain characters have their true identity revealed.
Q. How do you think your vision of hell and of Lucifer is unique?
A. I give him story, motive and reason. I don’t just make him a scapegoat for our problems. There are bigger evils in the world than the Devil. He is every much a part of us all as God is – should you believe in that,
Q. Who are Marcus, Helen, Becky, Sammy and Graham? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
A. They are five strangers who all die in book one (Highway to Hell). They are thrown into hell within the opening pages and it is through their ‘judgement’ that we learn of their character. Marcus is the leader of the group, Helen is timid and shy at first, but as the series moves on she becomes a strong and independent member of the group. Graham is an old experienced head who cynicism is both his strength and weakness. He has an interesting back story and would do anything for his friends. Sammy and Becky are the young ones of the group. Fiery and free spirited both play an important role in each other’s lives.Their strengths are found as the second book progresses. We see changes in all of the characters in book two, as the group are sent back into Hell on a mission to rescue a sixth member, Richard. He was an interesting character, He brings a lot to the second story. His strengths and weaknesses are all seen in great detail, and are too numerous to mention.
Q. In what ways do the angels who rescue them conform to their angelic stereotype?
A. They don’t. Not in any way shape or form do thy fit with stereotype. They are big. muscular warriors. Bad asses with bad attitudes!
Q. In terms of the title… is it a reference to the AC/DC song, and are you an AC/DC fan?
A. It wasn’t. I had not title in mind until I found my cover art image. The rest just fell into place. I am a rock fan. Metallica, AC/DC, Motorhead, I listen to it all. Then again I listen to a wide range of music really. It depends on my mood, what I am writing, etc.
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers that we haven’t covered yet?
A. Just thank you for reading. I am an active user of Facebook and Twitter, so feel free to come and say Hi. I run all of my own pages and sites so it is me you will meet there, and oh yeah. thanks in advance for buying all of my books
Where to Find Alex Online:
www.alexlaybourne.com
Highway to Hell eBook
Trials and Tribulations eBook
August 24, 2013
I’m still here (there, and everywhere)
Sit/Lie: A painting of Ryan Morris and Seames Castelblanco. Ryan passed away in Berkeley in May.
I’ve had my hands full lately, and you might have noticed the recent slew of guest blogs, and the longer delays between blog updates. There are two new author interviews coming down the pike, but I thought it was high time I wrote a personal blog.
One of the reasons I’ve been less present here is because I have been more present elsewhere. Did you know that I write for the Oakland Art Scene for the Examiner.com? Last month was one of the busiest times of years for the arts and entertainment scene, due to the many street festivals that take place every summer, most of them in the hot, sunny months of July.
Another thing that has been taking up my time, of course, has been CampNanoWriMo, which I posted about back in July, when I was actively churning out “Disillusionment,” the sequel to “Solitude.”
Organizing and promoting the fall events I am involved in is another thing. I am not only involved in writing events: I have art events. My first solo art exhibit since I was 19 years old is going to happen in November, at Café 3016, located at 3016 Mac Arthur Blvd. in Oakland, CA – in the Dimond neighborhood. I am also painting new pieces.
Painting is soothing for me: it engages a different part of my mind than writing does.
Ryan and Seamas: The photo the painting was based on. I replaced my book with bubbles.
Ryan was always supportive of me as a person and an artist: he actually started a campaign to get Solitude into the Berkeley Public Library. The painting is based upon a photo of Ryan and Seames Castelblanco sitting in front of the Dollar Tree in Berkeley last year, back when they were asking people to vote against Berkeley’s proposed Sit/Lie ordinance (it was voted down by a narrow margin last November). Ryan was very supportive to me and my family in the months after my father passed in January.
He will be missed.
There is a longer blog post about Ryan and the painting on Deviant Art. You can read it and check my paintings, out here:
http://sumikoska.deviantart.com/
You can check out my Examiner.com articles on the Oakland/East Bay art scene here:
http://www.examiner.com/art-scene-in-oakland/sumiko-saulson
August 18, 2013
Guest Post “We are the Music Makers” by Eric Muss-Barnes
by Eric Muss-Barnes
Back in 1997, when I published The Gothic Rainbow, the first volume in my duology, The Vampire Noctuaries, it was the only novel I had ever seen with a musical playlist in the back of the book. I’m not saying I originated this idea nor do I proclaim to be the first author to create a playlist. I’m saying I was the first, to my knowledge. Feel free to correct me if you can prove anyone did such a thing before 1997.
Today, I wouldn’t call musical playlists “common” for novels, but they are far more prevalent in 2013 than they were 20 years prior.
When I first got into music, like most teenagers, I was into Top 40 Pop Music. Between radio, and movies, and MTV, that type of music was the most commonplace. It was easy access. Simple to find. Artists being played in the American Bandstand and American Top 40 genre have evolved over the years, but those tunes have been the predominant staple of American teenagers since the 1950′s. During my high school days, I was into Madonna and Prince and Michael Jackson and Van Halen and Cyndi Lauper. That was my style of music.
Then in 1987, my whole musical world changed.
I started skateboarding with a friend from high school named Attila (no, that wasn’t a nickname) and he was into all sorts of punk and industrial music. We’d go skateboarding and he’d bring along a boom box and play The Sisters of Mercy and Front 242 and Front Line Assembly and Siouxsie & The Banshees and I was totally blown away by this music. Especially industrial acts like Nitzer Ebb – I’d never heard music like that before. It was amazing! It was danceable like pop music, but so hardcore and aggressive like metal, but it was all electronic and didn’t have guitar solos and stuff. I was floored by this. Discovering a new band is a great feeling, but to discover entire genres of music you had never heard before transcends into a life-changing experience. Plus, it was so great for skateboarding because the music was so aggressive and technical, exactly like skating. A little My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult provided the perfect soundtrack for a skate session. It’s great. It’s great. I’m the white rabbit!
Skateboarding to that music is how I got hooked. This style of music was truly “underground” because it was harder to track down. You needed to make more of an effort to find these bands. I started watching 120 Minutes on MTV and listening to college radio. (Incidentally, to this day, Cleveland still has the absolute greatest variety of college radio stations I know. Los Angeles doesn’t have anything like it. I can still stream 88.7 and 89.3 and 91.1 over the Internet and hear all the great Cleveland stations from John Carrol, Cleveland State and Case Western.) I became immersed in that musical scene. As time went on, I started clubbing, and going to shows, and making music videos for local bands. I even started a music video program on cable access called Shellsongs and showcased bands from Nettwerk and WaxTrax! and Projekt and any other labels that would send me videos of alternative acts.
By the time I started writing The Vampire Noctuaries, I was steeped in that scene and had become exhaustively knowledgeable about the people, the atmosphere, the culture, the music, everything. That was my crowd. That was my social life. That “counterculture from the underground” (to quote KMFDM) was where I met all my friends, and where I was introduced to all the girls I dated, and where I went to parties, and where I spent my weekend nights. That club scene became my universe.
Being an author, immersed in a world of pale clubkids covered by black lipstick and fishnet and shadows, writing a vampire novel was just a natural progression from the atmosphere within which I was living.
One of the major differences between being a fan of Top 40 music and being an underground clubkid was how important music became to us. This is something the Top 40 kids never understood, but we knew intimately. When your favorite band is Bon Jovi, you get to see one show every three years from nosebleed seats in a massive arena. Your musical heroes remain distant. Untouchable. Removed. When your favorite band is The Dead Milkmen or Nine Inch Nails, you got to see them every 6 months in a club that seats 800 people and go stagediving and hang out with them at the afterparty. Energy from the band and the crowd becomes symbiotic. You become a part of the music scene. Shows are intimate. Connected. Our counterculture microcosm was a completely different experience from the fans of commercial radio.
As a result of these experiences, The Vampire Noctuaries became filled with gothic and industrial music. The Gothic Rainbow contains references to over 180 songs while the sequel, Annwn’s Maelstrom Festival has a list of over 90 songs.
How much does music play a part in The Vampire Noctuaries?
The first line of the first book reads:
Allyson called it “The Killing Game”.
A reference to the song by Skinny Puppy.
To this day, I remember how excited I was, the first time I read a book with a song reference in it. It was in the book “Yarrow” by Charles DeLint 
and the reference was to “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League. (Actually, there was a reference to “Clampdown” by The Clash before that, but I was only 15 years old and it would be another year or two before I discovered music as cool as The Clash.)
Perhaps I found it so exciting simply because no other books I had ever read made any pop culture references. Most books just existed within their own little universe with few references to the real world around us. Sure, I had read urban fantasy before. But somehow, having a character walk past McDonald’s just wasn’t the same as listening to music. The emotional connection we feel to music makes it a far more visceral thing to mention. When a book finally broke that barrier and suddenly a bit of pop culture and music was part of the story, I was completely enthralled. The novel felt so much more “real”, because now the author was referencing things I was familiar with, instead of just creating imaginary euphemisms for reality.
That became my goal with the songs in The Vampire Noctuaries.
I wanted readers to really feel those scenes. I wanted the music to truly act as a soundtrack and an emotional buoy to help readers float through the sentiments of the landscape. Every song is very deliberate and chosen for the lyrics, the emotional tone, or often times for both.
Once the book was released, the sheer volume of music helped to get the book noticed in places that would ordinarily ignore it. For example, when I sent a copy to the alternative music magazine Outburn for a review, they initially refused to cover the book, since they were a music magazine, not a literary magazine. After reading the book, the editor realized how relevant the book was to the music scene and not only was I offered a two-page interview, but they started distributing it in their catalog. Thus the mere presence of so much music in the story started to make the novel stand out, in places it ordinarily would never have appeared.
The most exciting part about including all the music was the opportunity to meet various musicians like Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie & The Banshees and Toni Halliday of Curve and give them copies of my novel. I never heard back from them. I don’t know if they read the book or not. That’s not the point. The point is, I gave it them.
I’m very grateful to all the wonderful musical acts who inspired and helped to shape the world of The Vampire Noctuaries and even if you never read my books, I highly recommend that you purchase these songs and albums and add them to your collection. I can only hope that someday, the admiration might come full-circle, and one of my novels might be quoted in a song lyric of a fantastic musician. That would really be something. We’ll see what the future holds.
What has been your experience with music references in books? Do you remember a song reference that got you excited, because you didn’t expect the author would know that band? Were you ever impressed by how befitting a song was in a scene? What do you think is the best use of music you’ve read in a book?
August 15, 2013
Guest Blog by Selah Janel ‘On Writing Short Horror’
To me, horror is all about the ‘what if.’ Whether the story is grounded firmly in the real world, has a weird tale vibe, or is paranormal, there still has to be that element where a reader isn’t quite sure whether things are going to be okay or not. There has to be the willingness to believe that for as long as the pages are turning, whatever I dream up is possible. I find that especially true in short horror fiction. I love reading it and I love writing it, but it does have a special type of challenge to it. With a novella or novel (or even a novelette), there’s the opportunity to throw in a lot of detail, yank a reader back and forth through a comfort zone, and really build up the world and immerse them in it. With a short, I find I have to be more result-oriented, which can sometimes be an iffy thing. The plots of Twilight Zone work for a reason, but people have come to expect a bait and switch, especially within horror or other speculative genres. There’s no real formula to short horror fiction, but it does help to touch certain elements, at least for me. It always depends on the particular story, but there are certain things I try to do to help make things flow smoothly and cause me minimal breakdowns during the editing phase.
Even in a short story format, environment is important. Knowing where you’re at can also give you an idea as to what’s an obstacle and what’s an aid later on. Is the reader plunged into a tight, claustrophobic place where they’re close to a threat, so it’s possible that they’ll be in danger at any second? Are there things around them that can help them get away from a threat (or make things worse in the long run)? Is this a place that should feel comfortable (and thus giving way to something unsettling later on) or is this a foreign, outright unsettling place for the characters? All of that matters, and if you’ve got a short word count, you have to find ways to build this up quickly, or add description and emotion during the build of the plot or action sequences. I wrote a fairly literary weird tale called All the Little Things, and it involves the inanimate objects in the guy’s apartment ganging up on him. These things aren’t anthropomorphic and only have the assets that they’re programmed or built with, so building the world of that apartment was critical to make the story build.
Characterization is also important. You need to know what a person’s faults and strengths are to relate or distance yourself from them. The more a reader can empathize with person or situation, the more you can embed in their mind that your plot twist or threat could actually happen to them. It doesn’t matter if it’s far-fetched…if you can play everything straight enough and make things relatable, the reader should still be able to fall right off the cliff with you. It’s always uncomfortable to relate to a character in horror. You either realize that you’ve been set up to feel like a victim, or worse, you realize you actually have something in common with someone pretty vile. I’ve used both approaches, but one of my favorite stories that I’ve done is a short zombie tale called Candles. It involves a makeshift family waiting out the zombie apocalypse one Christmas Eve, and you slowly learn more about the mother’s tensions and plight as she struggles to figure out what to give those she loves for Christmas when they have barely anything left and the undead are right outside their door. Environment is important here, too, but the mother is all too human with her need for love and her regrets. It’s easy to put myself in her shoes and to see me making the decisions she does if I was backed into a corner. If I feel like I’m making myself that way, then hopefully my readers will feel the same.
If the horror elements go into extreme territory, it’s still a balance of when and how and how much to show. A lot of the time the momentum of the plot solves this (at least for me), but pacing is still important, even with gross-out horror. Description and reaction are especially important here, because the reader needs to be plunged into feelings so uncomfortable that they almost have a physical reaction—otherwise it’s just violent words on a page. Using characterization to help keep the empathy up helps to offset this, though admittedly these are the scenes that I use sparingly. I go for the gore if I really want to show how vile a character is, especially if I set it against their own casual, everyday behavior. This tends to be a staple of my vampire fiction, to show that my version of the creature may be modern and may be relatable emotionally, but they’re still bad news. There’s nothing like reading about a guy casually reminiscing about a date, then realizing he’s covered in intestine and watching said date be crunched in a trash compactor to show that this ain’t your typical vampire romance.
Momentum is something to keep in mind, as well. You need to build somewhat, but you also can’t drag and lose your readers too soon. This is where I feel I’m still finding my happy medium. I like detail and building a full world, but I get that these days people want to get right to it. I feel like I’m always fighting myself on this element, and sometimes word count solves this for me and I have to suck it up and hack out sections (ever proof that you can’t get too attached to anything you write). Likewise, when the plot gets going, it’s like I’m on a roller coaster, struggling to hang onto the bar as I’m careened right along with my characters.
Finally, the ending. I’ve been influenced a lot by the old Twilight Zone episodes, and I’m a diehard Ray Bradbury fan girl. There’s something about showing just enough, then sending your reader toppling down an implied flight of stairs with the last vignette or sentence. I feel like I’m still learning the rhythm for this, but I like to try to scatter hints of what’s to come throughout the story—the catch is that it has to be subtle enough that you probably won’t pick up on it the first read through. It’s like life; hindsight is always twenty-twenty, right? If you’re invested in a character or situation, you’re not going to recognize all the signs. You want to find out what happens, at least I do. I love it when I can’t figure out an ending, when I’m fighting that urge to look ahead to know how the hell it all fits together. That’s a great moment, and it’s when I know I’m fully invested as a reader.
I’m still learning, but I’m proud of my horror fiction and enjoying the journey. A lot of the shorts I’ve mentioned appear in my collaborative effort, Lost in the Shadows, with S.H. Roddey. While we cover a lot of different genres in the book, there’s a healthy amount of dark fantasy and horror, since those are genres we both love. She covers more of the extreme territory, but I get a few fun moments in there, as well. You just never know what you’re going to find when you turn two creative chicks loose among the shadows.
Catching Up with Selah Online:
Blog – http://www.selahjanel.wordpress.com
Facebook Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5622096.Selah_Janel
Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/Selah-Janel/e/B0074DKC9K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1346815995&sr=1-2-ent
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/SelahJanel
August 13, 2013
August 12, 2013
I will be reading at ManulFest
I will be reading a selection of poetry and a short horror story called ‘Attempted Happiness’ about felines and revenge called from “Things That Go Bump In My Head” at ManulFest 2013.
Date: Saturday, September 7, 2013
Time: 12 Noon to 12 Midnight
Venue: Isis Oasis, 20889 Geyserville Ave Geyserville, CA 95441, (707) 857-4747
ManulFest is an all day multi-media event in Geyserville, CA dedicated to the Pallas’ cat, a fluffy feline phenomenon native to Mongolia, Russia, and surrounding areas, featuring live music, poetry, djs, and plays. Artists from both coasts of the US come together this year to celebrate this lesser known, threatened species, with music, poetry, puppetry, ritual, fashion, “cattoo,” theater, paintings, tarot, food and much more. The full-day, family-friendly event takes place in an Ancient Egyptian style retreat center complete with a functioning temple and a sanctuary that is home to ocelots, servals, peacocks, and other exotic cats and birds. A portion of the proceeds will benefit them. We are dismayed to say there will be no Manuls on the premises, however, you can take a tour of the animal enclosures at 5pm and meet the wild spotted and feathered Isis Oasis residents!
Musical Performances by:
Jill Tracy • Gitane Demone performing with Rikk Agnew • Retribution Body • Sublime Friction • Protea • Baron Rubenbauer (formerly of The
Jill Tracy
Nuns) on acoustic guitar • missFAILed
Poetry and Book Readings by:
Rain Graves • Serena Toxicat • Sumiko Saulson • Lilith Babellon
Theatrical Performances by:
Feral Fox Burlesque • Shadow Circus Creature Theatre
DJ Music by:
DJ Fact.50 • DJ Death Boy
Tarot • Vending • Plays •Fashion • Ritual • Cattoo Show • Paintings • Visual Art
Admission:
$15 after 7PM live music only
$40 – includes 2 meals and all day and night performances
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Isis Oasis, Savemanul.org and/or Cathouse-fcc.org.
Contact:
Serena Toxicat: Phone (415) 6-OCELOT or (415) 662-3568. Email: info@manulfest.org
