Sumiko Saulson's Blog, page 52
March 10, 2013
There’s a Bad Mood on the Rise
Everyone grieves differently.
Over two months of stress-related headaches and acid reflux are an indication that I am not fully in touch with my emotions when it comes to the fact of my father’s death on January 3rd of this year. I realized what I was feeling when my fiance offered me a cocktail as a way to deal with the stress headache, and a six ounce glass of diet coke and vodka later, I was fully in touch with my emotion, and it was one of anger.
This anger, while a natural reaction, is a less socially understood one than the grief I’d felt so often on, and after that fateful day in September 2012 when my father told me on the telephone that he’d been told he only had three months left to live. He lived until January – we had him for five months more – but it’s been so hard, and I cried so hard in the days after I was given this sad news that I almost felt as though all of my tears were depleted, and the sense that I had been punched in the chest and left breathless seemed like it would never leave.
But now it has left, only to be replaced by feelings of anxiety and anger.
I guess I feel angry because my father didn’t get diagnosed on time. I did an interview with him, which I posted right here, talking about how UCSF didn’t diagnose his liver cancer, even though he was complaining of liver pain when he got diagnosed for lung cancer – and that he had the liver cancer when they were treating his lung cancer, but they didn’t look at his liver, and they could have found it a year earlier and…
could have…
should have…
Didn’t. So this is the part of the grieving process where I am angry about what didn’t happen to save my daddy’s life. Here’s the interview:
March 8, 2013
The Process [Writing]
![Does[Not?]Compute](http://sumikosaulson.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/0427181813.jpg)
Does[Not?]Compute – Sumiko Saulson
Like many writers, I have a writing “process”. Unlike the writers of generations before me, my process heavily involves a computer. Now don’t get me wrong. I am just as resistant to change as the next guy… well, okay, maybe not literally, as the next guy. The next guy is my fiance Greg. Greg doesn’t like change overly much.I am used to writing on the computer. From the Commodore 64 my father had in the home, to the old word processing machine my high school used for generating columns of text with a daisy wheel printer, I was an early adopter when it came to computer technology. I have been using a computer since I was twelve years old. I have been writing on a computer since I was twelve years old. I’ve been developing habits for how I write on a computer since I was fifteen.
Because I always wrote while listening to music on the headphones back then – albeit,
Sir Bootsinator is in the Library…
headphones connected to an actual record player, with actual vinyl records playing on it, back then – I have a creative writing pattern of listening to music on the headphones while writing. It helps me to create a little virtual office, away from the other people who are in my environment. Take now for example – I am in an actual home office environment with a currently shirtless fiance playing “Dragon Age: Origins” on the PS3 and two cats, all three of whom are in same room as me right now. Yes, she’s lounging on my Mail Organizing End Table. She neither knows nor cares that it is my Mail Organizing Area. She is a cat. Since my home and my business are both in a studio apartment with the Greg-Fiance and the Marla-Cat and the Bootsy-Cat, what Marla is lounging on is actually my business “mailing room,” and before you ask, no.. she’s not mail room personnel. She does not believe in this human concept of “work” which you speak of.
My other cat, Bootsy, is in the Library. Greg is in the Den with the Entertainment System. I am in the office, sipping a diet coke and Taaka while listening to Duran Duran on the headphones. Before that, I was listening to Aghast. Then Clan of Xymox. But now… I’ve decided this blog definitely is a Duran Duran music kind of blog.
That is my writing process. What is your? Please comment below.
March 6, 2013
Solitude: Disillusionment and Camp NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is in November
As some of you already know, I’ve been having a hard time getting through the sequel to my first novel, “Solitude”. A while back, when I only had the three novels (Warmth, The Moon Cried Blood, and Solitude) I ran a survey on my author page on Facebook. The result was that people would most like to see a sequel to “Solitude”. That doesn’t really surprise me much, since two people had already asked about a sequel to “Solitude”. I would like to call them “fans” but let’s call them “Jody” and “Brenda” … you know due to the fact that their names are “Brenda” and “Jody”, for instance.
Between now and then, I have completed two other projects: first, the short story anthology “Things that Go Bump In Your Head,” then the comic book “Agrippa”, which I am eagerly awaiting proofs of in the mail. I have not, however, managed to get past the first 10,062 words. I worked on it last NaNoWriMo, so in fact 7,000 of the words were actually written there.
Why am I stalled? In large part due to being in (or in the case of “Solitude”, back in) the post production processes of editing and proofreading with my other novels, which are not “perfect” yet. I have a doubt they will ever be perfect, so I should probably get along with the sequel. A synopsis for it is below.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read “Solitude” yet, the description below will have spoilers. If you have already read “Solitude”, no worries, you already know this stuff.
“Solitude: Disillusionment” Synopsis:
Solitude Disillusionment
In the sequel to her debut novel “Solitude”, Sumiko Saulson tells the tale of a human race in great danger because of the impulsive decisions of the first book’s heroes. They are now trapped in a bubble – both literally and figuratively, as they are in an isolated pocket of space/time and blissfully aware of hell literally breaking loose back in the main timeline. The only one who knows what’s going on is neither here nor there – she’s dead, and prevented from leaving for whatever afterlife there may be, because due to Angela and Margo’s opposing spells, Doreen and Jordan are both earthbound spirits – trapped in a tiny slice of unoccupied San Francisco where time doesn’t work as it should. And only one of them know what is going on – Jordan is in a Promethean hell of repeating his own death, over and over again. Dory has to wake him up if she is to have any chance whatsoever of saving the rest of the world. She has to get through to Margo and Rosalind and the others if she is to get their help… help she will need, because she has no way to cross over.
And the frightened spirit has no idea what will become of her or where she will go when it is over.
What is a poor little dead girl to do?
Camp NaNoWriMo
Camp NaNoWriMo
So… National Novel Write Month (NaNoWriMo) is in November… and I have a ticker on my blog saying that “Disillusionment” will be published in October – so you can see why I was pretty danged excited when I found out that there would be an event in April – Camp NaNoWriMo. This will be my first year participating in Camp NaNoWriMo and I’m very excited. It’s a set up where you have a small group of six writers in your “cabin” and you write with each other.
You can ask for specific writers to join you in your cabin. Then you get to coordinate together on a cabin group message board – sounds like fun, am I right?
So the thing is… you can have them randomly selected or you can ask for specific people.
That’s why I want to know – are you a horror writer?
Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo?
Will you be in my cabin?
If you should happen to sign up at http://www.campnanowrimo.org then let me know and I will be happy to ask for you to be in my cabin, and I can ask for you to be in my cabin, and we can make virtual smores together?
o/~ Will you be.. won’t you be.. please won’t you be, my neighbor? o/~
March 4, 2013
Seasons of Screaming: The Scary Spring Faerie Contest
The Evil “Spring Forward” Faerie
Spring is here… a time we associate with new life, rebirth and continuation. You know what else spring is associated with? Fairies. The faerie folk are often closely associated with nature, and nature spirits, and spring is a time when nature’s blooms and bulbs are resurgent after a long and cold winter. New life in spring is something most of us would have a positive association with. It is a season of feast rather than famine. However, human beings are often at odds with nature: perhaps that is why all of the fairy interactions with mankind are not so pleasant.
Rather than getting far off into it, I’ll provide you with this handy link to the Wikipedia page about fairies, where you can read all bout their baby-stealing, tuberculosis causing wicked ways. Not all faerie folk are evil – some, like the leprechaun, have been falsely maligned by Hollywood. The actual leprechauns were shoe cobblers. They were too busy repairing shoes to go around killing people.
Fan Favorite Faerie Foul: actor Warwick Davis as “Leprechaun”
The reason I mention this is because – the last time I had a contest, about ghouls, someone from the magical world known as the “interwebs” came by to post a lot of information about the actual original ghoul legends – you know, things I already knew, because I actually researched ghouls when writing “Warmth”, and things that didn’t heavily play into the story line because the so-called ghouls are actually infected with a virus, as are the so-called zombies, so in the story line, they are in fact infected humans. Because “Warmth” is not a scholarly text on the ghoul legend. No, indeed, it is a horror novel. So I insert this disclaimer here before this guy or someone like him emerges to party-poop and talk about all of the nice faerie folk who didn’t force you to dance all night until you dropped dead.
DISCLAIMER: I do not care about the nice faeries who are fit for horrible, terrible horror. I only care about gruesome and/or scary, and/or disturbing, and/or disgusting takes on the fairy legend that are appropriate for the horror genre, which is the topic of this blog: horror fiction. Also, I further state that if it is okay for Stephenie Meyer to create shiny, sparkly faerie-like vampires, well then gosh darn it, it is okay for my readers to create scary, blood-thirsty faeries for this contest. But if you don’t like it, feel free to bitch about it in the comments. Thank you.
The Contest
Submit a piece of artwork of your own creation in any media (that is: computer generated, photography, three dimensional, two dimensional, pen, pencil, ink, watercolor, acrylic, oils, whatever.. you get the picture.. heck, it can even be claymation. It can be a photo of you in a costume as long as you made the costume) of a spring faerie that is scary. It can be any spring faerie – legendary, or completely from your imagination. I mean, if you want to create a back story for the evil “Spring Forward” time faerie who sucks an hour from every human’s life when we change our clocks and “Spring Forward” on March 11 because of Daylight Savings Time. The evil Spring Forward faerie might be stealing an hour from every human’s life every single year by sitting on our chests in the guise of a housecat and sucking our breath. I don’t care. As long as it’s spring related.
Lucas Cranach the Elder’ Whore of Babylon resembles Spenser’s Duessa
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? Clearly, that counts. I mean, evil wood nymphs in the form of tomato plants? We can all see how that qualifies. Leprechaun in the Hood? Why not? Evil Easter Bunnies? I am game. Blood sucking Tinkerbell? Why not? Or, you could just go Edmund Spencer old school with a witch who turns people into trees like “the fowle” Duessa in the Faerie Queene. Any pissed off nature spirit out to kill humans would do. I mean…. Godzilla? Yea. Totally.
Then you post it here:
https://www.facebook.com/authorsumikosaulson
When you post it, feel free to describe it along with any back story you have created to go with the image.
Most Likes Wins.
The Prize
You will win a signed PROOF COPY of the illustrated story “Agrippa”. I just ordered two proof copies, one for this contest, and another so I actually can have it proof read (as a hard copy) and fix any issues with the layout, spelling or grammar that may have been missed on the screen.
The 35 page, 8 1/2 x 11 comic book is full color, inside and out.
I will totally sign it.
It will be awesome.
See the whole thing online here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Agrippa/
The Duration
Entries and voting take place between: March 4 and March 31, 2013
Final Tallying of Votes and Award Announcement: April 1, 2013
Interview with Robert Rumery, co-creator of “The Grove Comic”
Robert Rumery
Robert Rumery, a writer since he’s been 15 years old. It was once just something he did to release negative energy so he wouldn’t hurt himself. Over the years he found out he liked what he did. He liked writing poems and creating things with his mind and pieces of notebook paper. When he was growing up in Maine. His writing was his only friend. He was the typical teenager. Angsty, Defiant, Troublesome. Only thing that set him apart from the other teenager’s was his writing and stories. Over the years his writing has became his sanctuary. A Sanctuary that he will never leave.
The Comic
Grove Comic
Matthew Christopher Nelson is the artist behind “The Grove”, a post apocalyptic science fiction comic he’s co-authored with Robert Rumery. The story: Government Riots at a level that threatens the very fundamentals of society occur. The Government is believed to engaging in activities that are less than scrupulous. When the truth is revealed, riots occur all throughout the United States, with one of the main centers occurring is the state of Florida. The rioters, it is rumored, are being funded by ecoterrorists, and as an end result, a nuclear bomb is dropped on Florida, upon American soil. The side-affects of this are too many to count. As a result of the nuclear arsenal being used, the humans that were still within the state were genetically mutated into cunning, monstrous savages. One of the main riots occurred at a genetics lab that tested on animals. In the fallout, thousands of genetically altered animals, all of which possess human cognition, escaped and found safety within the confines of the altered Okefenokee swamp, which was enlarged many times over.
And so, the struggle begins…
https://www.facebook.com/TheGroveComic
The Interview
Q. This is the first time we’ve had two people who worked on the same
project together on this blog – can you tell me a bit about what it’s
like to work on “The Grove Comic” with Matthew Christopher Nelson? What it is like to work with another writer?
A. It’s actually kind of refreshing. I mean me and Matthew can bounce ideas off of each other. I find it easier- to work with another writer because in this project I don’t have to come up with all the characters and the whole story. It is still a challenge because you want your writing to reflect the ideas and the characters that this other person has created. We both talk constantly about the comic and what we want to do in the next issue and we do have to plan it out very intensely.
Q. What do each of you do with regards to “The Grove Comic”?
A. I’m a Writer and Matthew is a writer and artist of the comic. He just pretty much tells me what he wants to have happen in the comic and I write it down. Truth be told Matthew has the harder job on the comic. He’s got to draw out what I’ve written and that takes a lot of time to do so.
Q. Since I interviewed him back in December, I understand that the
comic has become serialized. How often will it be coming out?
A. The comic is going to be a bi-monthly comic.
Q. Are there any other new and exciting things to report since December?
A. The only thing that I have to report since December is that the Pre orders for The Grove # 1 start around March 1st and 2nd all I can say about the book is that you’re all going to love it!
Q. I understand you are also a poet. Can you tell us more about your published book of poetry What is it called, and where can we get a copy?
A. Yes, I’m also a poet. I’ve been writing poetry since I was 15, I’m 28 now and you can do the math. (Laughs) My poetry book is called “The Dark Poet”, it’s filled with angst ridden poems and I’ve been told it’s like reading one’s diary and that is what I was going for when I wrote it.
Q. How does writing for a comic differ from writing poetry?
A. Poetry for me is just basically me letting my feelings flow onto the pages in front of me. Going from that to writing a comic book is a lot different, with the comic book I have back stories and characters to play with. With the poetry I fully have to go to a place where my darkest and deepest fears are. To me writing this comic is easier than the poetry.
Q. Where do you get your inspiration for your poetry?
A. Pretty much from every where. My emotions, my family, what I felt that day. It’s just what I’m feeling at that exact moment and how I put those emotions into words.
Q. What plans do you have for your future, as a writer?
A. To keep on writing “The Grove” for as long as I can. To eventually get a few stories I’m working on published and out there for the masses. To inspire other upcoming writers to do the very same thing.
Q. We are so sorry we didn’t get to publish your interview for your birthday back in January as planned, and we want to know all about what you did for your birthday.
A. What I did on my birthday? Nothing unusual, I went out with my new flame to see “Mama” at a theater here in Plainville, Connecticut. We went and had dinner and chilled for a little while. I went home and did my usual things : Played video games, wrote, played with the four year old sister of mine and just relaxed. So nothing out of the ordinary and eventually we had some ice-cream. Friendly’s Royal Banana Split ice cream is delicious!
Q. Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers that we haven’t discussed yet?
A. No, just thank you for interviewing me. It was fun.
Oh yeah, you can get my poetry book here :
March 3, 2013
Interview with Nnedi Okorafor, author of Who Fears Death?
This interview is being included in the 2013 Women in Horror Interview Series. Every February, Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM) assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support. You can find out more about WiHM here:
http://www.womeninhorrormonth.com/
The Author
Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) immigrant parents. She holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Chicago State University. She resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her daughter Anyaugo.
Though American-born, Nnedi’s muse is Nigeria. Her parents began taking her and her siblings to visit relatives there when she was very young. Because Nigeria is her muse, this is where many of her stories take place, either literally or figuratively.
Because she grew up wanting to be an entomologist and even after becoming a writer maintained that love of insects and nature, her work is always filled with startlingly vivid flora and fauna.
And because Octavia Butler, Stephen King, Philip Pullman, Tove Jansson, Hayao Miyazaki, and Ngugi wa Thiong’o are her greatest influences, her work tends to be…on the creative side.
The Book
Who Fears Death?
Who Fears Death (DAW Books), is a magical realist novel that evenly combines the African literature and fantasy/science fiction. It won the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and was a Nebula and Locus Award nominee. The Washington Post said that Who Fears Death is , “Both wondrously magical and terribly realistic.”
In a far future, post-nuclear-holocaust Africa, genocide plagues one region. The aggressors, the Nuru, have decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke. But when the only surviving member of a slain Okeke village is brutally raped, she manages to escape, wandering farther into the desert. She gives birth to a baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand and instinctively knows that her daughter is different. She names her daughter Onyesonwu, which means “Who Fears Death?” in an ancient African tongue. Reared under the tutelage of a mysterious and traditional shaman, Onyesonwu discovers her magical destiny-to end the genocide of her people. The journey to fulfill her destiny will force her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, the spiritual mysteries of her culture-and eventually death itself.
The Interview
Q. First of all, I want to thank you for being a part of the “Women in Horror Month” interview series. Did you know that there was such as thing as Women in Horror Month?
A. Thanks for including me. Did I know there was such a thing? No, but I don’t know everything, so that’s no big deal.
Q. The Lansing City Pulse’s review of “Who Fears Death?” said that your “writing style and dark thematic approach are comparable to horror master Stephen King.” But aside from your admittedly being a fan of his, you have also written “Stephen King’s Super-Duper Magical Negroes”. How do you feel about the Pulse’s comparison to him?
A. I’m delighted by the comparison. It fits. I’m not just a fan of King’s, I learned a LOT about how to tell a story from him. As for the Magical Negro issue, no one’s perfect and a student can certainly point out her professor’s shortcomings without losing respect for her professor.
Q. Do you think that if more black voices are reflected in the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genres where the Magical Negro trope is most prevalent, that we can get away from that archetype?
A. Yes. Truth, authentic, sincere diversity is the solution to almost all problems of race in storytelling.
Q. Can you tell our readers about the paranormal themes in the story “Who Fears Death?”, and what impact they have on your overall story?
A. The mystical elements in Who Fears Death are rooted in reality. There are elements in Who Fears Death that Westerners will read as fantasy, which are actually ideas, tenets, and creatures that people from other parts of the world and from other cultures believe in. I, myself, believe in many of them. Most of these things are African, much of them specifically from Nigeria. And though I may embellish or add to many of these things, I would not mess around with; I treat them with respect.
I hope that as my readers go on the journey with/as my characters, that they sense the realness and are affected by it. I hope that readers walk away from Who Fears Death as changed as my characters.
Q. What can you tell us about the “Who Fears Death?” movie?
A. It’s still very much in the beginning phase. We are still working on how to translate the novel into a film. It’s not an easy task because the book is so full of story. In due time.
Q. Many of your stories take place in Nigeria, and like “The Awakening” include Nigerian myth as well as culture. Do you think that your connection to Nigeria gives you a unique voice in genre fiction?
A. Yes. I don’t see it as a “connection”. I’m Nigerian, I’m Igbo. It’s part of me and it comes through in my writing. At the same time, I’m American and I’ve grown up reading Western genres of writing. Thus when I write, this hybrid thing is the result. I draw stories from Africa, especially Nigeria, but the way I write them takes from both African and Western traditions. All this combined with my own personal way of seeing, thinking, feeling makes for the flavor tales I write.
Q. “Amphibious Green” and received an honorable mention in The Year’s Best Horror and Fantasy, and you one the McMillan award of Africa for “Long Juju Man”, a story about a girl’s encounters with an irritating crafty ghost. These are just some of the reasons I included you in the list “20 Black Women in Horror Fiction” even though you are usually not called a horror writer. What do you think about being associated with the genre?
A. Oh my goodness, I wrote Amphibious Green a looooooong time ago. That was the first short story I wrote that won an award, so it’s special to me. I actually thought that you might have read the first and only horror story I wrote called “On the Road”. It was published in Eclipse 3: New Science Fiction and Fantasy .I’ve always felt that this was one of my best stories. Also, some have said that Who Fears Death had many elements of horror in it.
How do I feel about being associated with the genre of horror? Absolutely tickled. I grew up reading a LOT of horror. I loved it as a young adult and teen. I used to go see all the horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Shocker, Poltergeist, etc. My favorite authors were Clive Barker, Stephan King and Robert McCammon. I learned to love storytelling through horror. I think I’d make a great horror writer if I weren’t such a scaredy cat (or maybe BECAUSE I am a scaredy cat). The older I get, the less I can tolerate horror novels and watch horror movies without getting ridiculously terrified. I’m a busy woman, so staying up all night because I’m afraid of what’s under my bed is no longer a good option. When I wrote “On the Road”, I scared the heck out of myself. For weeks, I couldn’t go near roads at night because I was afraid of…the road monster I’d written in that story. Can you imagine what writing a full horror novel would do to me?
Where to Find Nnedi Online:
https://www.facebook.com/nnedi
Agrippa – Complete Comic Online
The Agrippa Comic is finally completed! The first draft is available online in its entirety, from beginning to end. You can find it here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Agrippa/
The Agrippa Project
The Video
This is less than two minutes long. It’s the introduction to the story “Agrippa”, from “Things That Go Bump In My Head”, with the illustrations from the first two pages of the comic book project
The Comic Book Online
You can follow Agrippa online at DrunkDuck.com, here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Agrippa/
“Agrippa” is a dystopic near-future tale that takes place in an unnamed industrialized nation very much like the United States. When foreign creditors demand that the nation repay its considerable international debt or face war it enacts the Dulcetta Reforms, ultra-restrictive laws establishing debtor’s prison, and causing a large number of people – many of them seniors – to go to jail or even face execution if not continuously working to pay off their personal debts to the government. Dr. Tine, an expert in geriatric medicine, is desperately searching for employment at the beginning of our tale, having lost her useful functioning in society as the elders she once treated were rounded up and hauled off to the prison camps. Things were so bad she didn’t think they could possibly get any worse. How very wrong she was.
It is one of the short stories in my recently released collection, “Things That Go Bump In My Head. The project will has been released online in color, and there will be a print version in the near future.
The Book
The finished product is 35 pages. That’s the cover of it (above). I’ve decided to come out with a full exterior/interior 8 x 10 comic book which will cost about $6.50.
Interview with Joslyn Corvis, author of “Pimped to Satan”
This interview is being included in the 2013 Women in Horror Interview Series. Every February, Women in Horror Recognition Month (WiHM) assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support. You can find out more about WiHM here:
http://www.womeninhorrormonth.com/
The Author
Joslyn Corvis
Joslyn Corvis mostly writes short stories, with a focus on true supernatural and YA supernatural/fantasy. She is working on getting a series published entitled Forever Gothic, but on the side she continues to write short stories, articles, reviews, and of course, Golden Girls fan fiction.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#joslyncorvis
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoslynCorvisOfficial
Wanna know more? Visit her website.
www.wix.com/gothicgenie/home
The Book
Pimped to Satan
Horror at its raunchiest!
Story by Joslyn Corvis
Cover art by Dan Dillard.
“I probably would’ve called the story “Brosmary’s Baby” if I had to choose a name.”—from reader Ed Rendon.
Phil answers an orgy party invite on Gregslist, but what he thinks is going to be a night of complete sexual debauchery turns into a life-changing experience after he gets knocked up by Satan.
The Interview
Q. I’ve really enjoyed reading the interviews and spooky ghost stories on your blog at http://gothicgenie.wordpress.com/ - they are usually pretty serious, so I was surprised when I read the description of “Pimped to Satan”. It is so funny. What inspired you to write something so humorous?
A. I am always interested in a challenge and the feedback lets me know if I’ve successfully pulled off what I set out to do. I was thinking about how panels of men were designated to rule on women’s reproductive health and thought, “Hmm, wouldn’t it be hilarious if men could get pregnant?” A lot of the humor in the story reflects my own, but I was wondering if other people would find it as funny as I did. I think I was half-asleep when the thought hit me and being a horror writer, I was able to get someone pregnant in a style that’s been done to death, only change it up with a male character becoming the carrier of the Satan-spawn. And that’s where I gave it a semi-original twist. Or at least that was my intention.
Q. What genre(s) do you consider the work to be in?
A. I would be sooner to say comedy-horror as opposed to horror-comedy. And sub-genres would probably be slacker-stoner comedy or male-oriented humour. However if there is a sequel, it may be more geared toward horror-comedy because I’d really like to lay the horror on thick and show off the capabilities of the Satan baby.
Q. I think that independent publishing offers authors the opportunity to publish in multiple genres before we get pigeonholed. Can you tell us a bit about what genres you have worked in?
A. Oh, Lord. Well, I’m not proud of it but I may as well come clean. I’ve done romance. Twice, but in my defense it was for contests and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
I wrote a poem for the Wergle Flomp Bad Poetry competition in the style of those bad love poems we are all guilty of writing in our teen years and I had to submit to a vanity press for eligibility. Didn’t win Wergle Flomp but the vanity press published it in their anthology and put it on audio CD. The vanity pub contacted me later to submit another poem so I did a serious one, just in case anyone was following my work. I also did a true supernatural book which is thankfully out of print, but all of the previously mentioned pieces were published under my “other” name.
However, true supernatural is my passion and that’s where I’d originally wanted to make a name for myself, but I roll old-skool like the writers who inspired me back in the day. I don’t “investigate” like most nowadays; I just get the story and put it into my own words and with paranormal investigation going mainstream I wasn’t sure if that style was falling flat. But I’m like Mulder: The truth is out there! I want to believe in all that stuff so bad. But what really got me started on writing horror fiction was that in my youth, that genre was just lame to say the least. As I started connecting with modern writers and seeing their work I was just floored by how scary fiction can be! So I had to try my hand at it and was surprised at the feedback because I really didn’t think I could match up. Oh, I did two nonfiction pieces, one on anxiety and one on caregiver stress. Nonfiction is so hard when the subject comes from a place of emotion because it ends up riddled with details and editors want you to stick to the facts.
Q. How do you feel about independent publishing?
A. The marketing will kill you. Not to mention the amount of people that have probably deleted me because they’re sick of hearing about my latest promo, and I feel like an unwelcome solicitor. I’m just glad most of my social networking circle involves people that understand that the only way to get your work out there is repitition. And by the time you make your million via independent publishing, most of it has already been spent in increments as a weekly allowance, and that’s if you’re lucky! However, I’m really not in it for fame and riches. I’m in it because I love the feedback which is really helpful in knowing whether I’ve struck a potential audience and in honing my skills. I love that I can put my work out there and give it life! It’s just a matter of finding people to read and support my work and figuring out what works when it comes to marketing.
Q. How do you feel about traditional publishing?
A. It’s my dream. I feel like they’ll be involved in the dirty work of promoting, and they’ll have connections that are more likely to buy if it’s endorsed by a big-name traditional publisher. I have been trying to get my YA supernatural book series, Forever Gothic, represented and while it’s received some amazing feedback from agencies, they’re not representing at the moment. But even those glimmers of hope are what it’s about. I have to beef it up with more words because a few have said it falls just below word count. But yes, it’s something I’m working on and I’m glad that indie publishing is available just in case I don’t make it with a traditional publisher. I just feel like this particular series would be much better suited to the traditional route, plus it would give me more time to write instead of trying to act as my own agent, editor, and all the other roles that go along with publishing a book. By the way, since anti-bullying is a huge stance of mine, it deals with two goth kids and a cheerleader who happens to be a witch, and the issues of bullying and cliques play a small part in the books. I wanted it to be realistic and show high school through the eyes of outcasts, but without bullying overshadowing the positive experience. And there’s a huge focus on supernatural.
Q. Women are still underrepresented in horror – how do you feel about being a woman writing in a still male-dominated genre?
A. I think that’s why “Pimped to Satan” was such an important piece for me. I guess I felt like people had this idea of who I am, and I kinda have this image of being a bit bubblegum-goth. Maybe a little more “bubblegum” than “goth.” So I wanted to reflect what I’m capable of, and I wanted to gear it toward my own morbid funnybone. And because it’s male-oriented humour, as I call it, I thought it might have a bigger draw. As you mentioned before, you get “pigeonholed” if you are in it too long and I thought, while I’m still nameless, I have that opportunity to challenge myself and see what other people think of it. My hope was that it would attract people who aren’t into reading because of the sheer, well, jack-assery of the content. As far as being a woman in an industry that is predominantly male, I never really thought about it. I just hoped my work would stand out on its own merit, if it has any. To go back to Forever Gothic for a moment, the main character is female and I wanted to portray her in the best possible light because we need girls in fiction that people can not only relate to, but see as a positive influence.
Q. Is it weird to be in the interviewee seat instead of being interviewed?
A. Very. Almost Twilight-Zoney.
Q. What can we expect from Joslyn Corvis in the future?
A. Well, I’m currently independently contracted to write for an e-magazine about music. Whenever I had to write a report in school, I would try to revolve it around music. In history I was able to get away with a report on “The Evolution of Rock N Roll.” You can tie music into just about anything so I tried my best because it’s always been a passion of mine. So this gig is super exciting for me! Also, I’m hoping Forever Gothic will find representation because once I get the word count up I’m going to begin actively seeking agents again. I hope to find more true supernatural stories, and I’m working on a short-story compilation. I might put out a sequel to “Pimped to Satan” if the inspiration or demand strikes since it’s been suggested. I’d probably call it, “I Was Pimped to Satan, Too!” for additional cheese factor. As far as what to expect, though, I’m not quite sure. My goals are always too high and my expectations are always too low, but hopefully I’ll just maintain the steady rate that I’m going at now and if more opportunities come up, I’ll have no complaints!
Q. Where can people buy your books and connect with you on the web?
I tend to be on my regular Facebook page more than anything which is:http://www.facebook.com/gothicgenie
Then there is the official, and it would be most appreciated if people LIKE it:http://www.facebook.com/JoslynCorvisOfficial
You can purchase my books on smashwords.com:http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=joslyn+corvis (and I’m also on the Barnes&Noble website at BN.com, among others such as Apple, Sony, Kobo, etc….)
And Twitter: @JoslynCorvis
And I started Youtube channel after a couple of personal requests, but I finally relented out of boredom. There is a Pimped to Satan promo somewhere on my channel among my other mindless videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/gothicgenie
And I think that’s about it.
Thank you so much for having me! It’s been a pleasure chatting with you!
February 27, 2013
24 Interviews in 28 Days – Women in Horror Interview Series
Now that Women in Horror Month is coming to a close… I’d like to post a nice round up of the entire Women in Horror Month Interview Series, which can be found hereafter at the permanent link on my site here: http://sumikosaulson.com/women-in-horror-month-2013/ or under WiHM2013 in the side bar. Although some of the interviews were done before February 2013, the majority of them are new, done in the past month. Here they are together in one place (a table of contents, if you will) for your enjoyment.
The Interviews:
If you are interested in being interviewed, please see my Interviews page.
The Guest Blogs:
“Things That Go Bump In My Head” is featuring a series of Guest Blogs in honor of “Women in Horror” month:
Joslyn Corvis - On Bullying & Young Writers
Kateryna Fury - On Images of Disability in Horror
Hollis Jay - On Women and Gender Roles in Horror
David Watson - On LA Banks and Octavia Butler
Black Women in Horror Series:
Additionally, Sumiko Saulson is composing a list of Black Women in Horror in horror of both Women in Horror Month and Black History Month. She is also interviewing black women in horror for associated with the series.
20 Black Women in Horror Fiction
21 More Black Women in Horror Fiction
On LA Banks and Octavia Butler (Guest Blog)
The Interviews:
Nnedi Okorafor
