Loren Rhoads's Blog, page 52
October 10, 2015
Upcoming Readings
Reading at the Hypnodrome in San Francisco
There’s so much going on this month!
When: Sunday, October 11 at 3 pm
What: LitQuake’s New On the Edge matches Loren Rhoads with Sumiko Saulson and Peter Fuggazotto for an hour of science fiction and horror. I’ll be reading from The Dangerous Type and Kill By Numbers.
Where: Gamescape North, 1225 4th St., San Rafael, California
When: Monday, October 12 at 6:30 pm
What: SF in SF presents Laura Anne Gilman and Loren Rhoads. Each author will read a selection from her work, followed by a Q&A moderated by author Terry Bisson.
Where: Borderlands Books & Cafe 866 Valencia between 19th & 20th Avenue in San Francisco’s Mission District.
When: Saturday, October 24, from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, doors open 6:30 pm
What: WRITERS WITH DRINKS!
Who: Loren Rhoads with Adam Johnson, Faith Adiele, Fayette Fox, Daphne Gottlieb, and Brontez Purnell!
How much: $5 to $20, all proceeds benefit the CSC
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco, California
When: Wednesday, October 28, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm
What: Literary Speakeasy! Join us for an evening of ghosts, zombies, monsters, and other spirits.
Who: The night’s readers are all amazing horror and sci-fi writers, including Samuel Sattin (The Silent End), David Edison (The Waking Engine), Loren Rhoads (The Dangerous Type), and Wonder Dave (Entertainer and Poetry Slam Finalist). Host for the evening is James J. Siegel (How Ghosts Travel).
Where: Martuni’s, 4 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California
October 8, 2015
The Daily Write
Nine years ago, I was staring down the barrel of a long San Francisco summer at home with a two-year-old when my creative writing teacher wrote with a proposal. “I’m contacting my personal essay students,” Jane said. “I have an idea for a new class. I want your help to try it out.”
Basically, she planned to pair two of us up for a week at a time. Then she’d provide us with a week’s worth of writing prompts (“the last time I saw” or “urgent” or “they go into the bedroom”). Each day, we were each responsible for writing 10-15 minutes, emailing the piece to our partner, and then responding to our partner’s exercise, which we called a “write.”
The process sounds simple — and it really is. But having a date to write every day — with someone expecting to read it on the other end, someone who would tattle to Jane if you blew it off — was really motivating.
I learned to get around the daily scramble for things I wanted to write about by making a list. Then, at writing time every day, I’d pick something from my list of topics that matched up with the prompts. I’d set the timer for 15 minutes and my fingers would fly across the keys.
That first Round Robin was three months long. It was exhausting — and exhilarating — for everyone involved. These days, the class is only nine weeks long, which still provides more than 60 chances to be brilliant.
I’ve taken the Round Robin (or served as an alternate when Jane needed a sub to step in) 27 times. I’ve used it to write short stories for both Haunted Mansion Project books and Demon Lovers, as well as the story I just sold to Fright Mare: Women Write Horror. I’ve written essays which have appeared in Wish You Were Here, Writing in Cafes, and in my blogs. I used the process to finish The Dangerous Type and work on The Shadow of Death, my work-in-progress.
Through the Round Robin, I’ve met some amazingly talented writers. They inspired me with their work and encouraged me with their responses to my writing.
A new session of the Round Robin is starting up on Sunday. Use it to jumpstart your writing. You will not be sorry. Here’s the link: http://www.writingsalons.com/tag/round-robin/
Tell Jane I sent you.
October 6, 2015
New On the Edge
Next Sunday afternoon, I’ll be reading from The Dangerous Type and Kill By Numbers as part of the LitQuake Festival.
New On the Edge matches Loren Rhoads with Sumiko Saulson and Peter Fuggazotto on Sunday, October 11 at 3 pm at Gamescape North, 1225 4th St., San Rafael, California. They’ll be reading science fiction and horror.
Loren Rhoads is author of the In the Wake of the Templars trilogy: The Dangerous Type, Kill by Numbers, and No More Heroes. She is co-author with Brian Thomas of As Above, So Below. She is also author of Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel and editor of The Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two and Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues: True Tales of the Unsavory, Unwise, Unorthodox, and Unusual.
Peter Fugazzotto is a writer of fantasy and science fiction. His short stories have been published in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and Grimdark Magazine. His series The Hounds of North was launched with The Witch of the Sands in 2014. He is a lifelong martial artist and a World Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. You can check out his blog here: http://peterfugazzotto.com/ramblings/.
Sumiko Saulson is author of three science-fiction/horror novels, Solitude, Warmth, and The Moon Cried Blood, and the short story collection Things That Go Bump In My Head. She’s also the author of Happiness and Other Diseases. You can keep up with her at http://sumikosaulson.com/.
October 5, 2015
Science Fiction in San Francisco
SF in SF
presents Laura Anne Gilman and Loren Rhoads
Monday, Oct. 12 – 6:30PM
Each author will read a selection from her work, followed by a Q&A moderated by author Terry Bisson.
Borderlands Books & Cafe 866 Valencia between 19th & 20th Avenue in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Books for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.
Loren Rhoads is the author of THE DANGEROUS TYPE, KILL BY NUMBERS, and the upcoming NO MORE HEROES. Her science fiction stories have appeared in the books LEND THE EYE A TERRIBLE ASPECT, and in the magazines Blood Rose, Indigenous Fiction, and Not One of Us. Publishers Weekly accused her of bringing grimdark to space opera.
Laura Anne Gilman is the Nebula-nominated author of the brand-new SILVER ON THE ROAD (Book 1 of The Devil’s West), as well as many other pretty-damn-good-according-to-reviewers F/SF novels and short fiction, including The Vineart War trilogy and the Paranormal Scene Investigations Series. I just started to read Silver on the Road and I’m loving it. You can get a sample of it here.
Terry Bisson is best known for his short stories. Several of his works, including “Bears Discover Fire,” have won top awards in the science fiction community, such as the Hugo and the Nebula.
This is another first for me! I am really excited to be sharing the stage with these two.
October 4, 2015
The Mortician’s Gift
It’s time for the annual repost of the true story of my Halloween visit to the Westgate Gallery in New Orleans. The story originally appeared in Morbid Curiosity magazine, then was reprinted in Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues. (I still have some paperback copies of that book to sell, if you’re interested. Use the Contact Me form above.)
The video comes from the crossover event that Morbid Curiosity’s contributors did with members of the Thrillpeddlers, San Francisco’s fabulous long-running Grand Guignol cabaret troupe.
If you’re amused by this story, it’s worth going to my MorbidLoren youtube channel and checking out the other readings from that night.
October 2, 2015
Raena’s Foremothers: Zoe Washburne
I didn’t watch Firefly when it was initially broadcast. I sat down and watched maybe half of “The Train Job,” but the corny accents and all the talking turned me off. Besides, it had come highly recommended by a friend whose suggestions included showing me Pushing Tin, the Angelina Jolie movie about the air traffic controllers.
About the time that I recognized no, really, something special is happening, the show was cancelled.
Yes, my stubbornness is why we can’t have nice things.
Needless to say, I saw the error of my ways and bought the DVDs. I liked the story a whole lot more when it started with the episode Whedon intended to begin the series. Even “The Train Job” wasn’t so bad, in context. I actually fell in love with the series when Mal kicks the debt collector into Serenity‘s engine and turns to his assistant to make a deal.
It might seem that the Firefly character who who influenced Raena the most would be River, the tiny ex-dancer killing machine. And I do acknowledge some similarities, although Raena was tiny, a dancer, and a killing machine long before River Tam was a gleam in Joss Whedon’s eye. No, the Serenity crewmember who influenced Raena’s development was Zoe Alleyne Washburne.
In most episodes, Zoe is a minor character, a foil for Mal, there to drop the wry one-liners and watch everyone’s backs. She gets less screen-time than Kaylee or Inara. But thanks to Gina Torres’s portrayal of her, it was always Zoe who drew my eye. She’s amazing, completely competent, fierce, deadly — and loyal, disciplined, lovely, and really funny. What more could anyone want in a character?
Zoe comes into her own in “War Stories,” the episode where Mal and Wash are captured by Niska, whose henchman Mal kicked into the engine. She brings the ransom money to retrieve her husband, but you can see her clocking the station’s personnel and defenses as she comes in.
When she leads the rescue party to get Mal, she is absolutely relentless. Terrifying. Zoe may be the most moral character in the crew, but you really don’t want to mess with what’s hers. Big Damn Heroes! Who could fail to be inspired by that?
As for Zoe’s influence on Raena Zacari in my Templars books, I’m not so much interested in her military service as the aftermath and how it affected her life beyond the warzone. Zoe never stops being a warrior. I don’t think Raena can ever stop either.
In case you’re as stubborn as I am, you can see what I mean about Zoe on Netflix, or get your own copy of Firefly from Amazon.
My other Raena’s Foremothers essays so far are:
Aeon Flux
Jeri Cale
Pvt. Vasquez
Sarah Connor
Molly Millions
Doctor Cyn Sharpe
What strong female characters have inspired your characters?
September 30, 2015
Writers With Drinks
Photo by Tracy Ingle.
Please put this on your calendar: I’ll be reading at Writers With Drinks on October 24!
This is a dream-come-true for me. Writers With Drinks is an amazing reading series, hosted by Charlie Jane Anders, that has been going on forever in San Francisco. I have seen so many incredible people read there. It’s such an honor to be standing on the same stage!
When: Oct. 24, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open 6:30 PM
What: WRITERS WITH DRINKS!
Who: Adam Johnson, Faith Adiele, Fayette Fox, Daphne Gottlieb, Loren
Rhoads, and Brontez Purnell!
How much: $5 to $20, all proceeds benefit the CSC
Where: The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco, CA
About Writers With Drinks:
Writers With Drinks has won numerous “Best ofs” from local newspapers, and has been mentioned in 7×7, Spin Magazine and one of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City novels. The spoken word “variety show” mixes genres to raise money for local causes. The award-winning show includes poetry, stand-up comedy, science fiction, fantasy, romance,
mystery, literary fiction, erotica, memoir, zines and blogs in a freewheeling format.
About the readers/performers:
Loren Rhoads is the author of The Dangerous Type, Kill By Numbers, and No More Heroes. She was the publisher of Morbid Curiosity magazine. In her secret life, she writes about cemeteries as travel destinations.
Daphne Gottlieb stitches together the ivory tower and the gutter just using her tongue. She is the award-winning author of ten books including the new collection of short stories, Pretty Much Dead, which addresses the eradication of a city’s most vulnerable, from the streets to the rent-controlled — in a city under siege by the tech industry. Previous works include Dear Dawn: Aileen Wuornos in her Own Words, a collection of letters from Death Row by the “first female serial killer” to her childhood best friend. She is also the author of five books of poetry, editor of two anthologies, and, with artist Diane DiMassa, the co-creator of the graphic novel Jokes and the
Unconscious. By day, she is band aid in the class war.
Adam Johnson’s newest book is the story collection Fortune Smiles. His novel The Orphan Master’s Son was published in 2012 by Random House and received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in fiction. He also has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for 2013-14. A Whiting Writers’ Award winner, his work has appeared in Esquire, Harper’s, Playboy, GQ, Paris Review, Granta, Tin House, The New York Times and Best American Short Stories. He is the author of Emporium, a short-story collection, and the novel Parasites Like Us. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages. Johnson was a 2010 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow.
Brontez Purnell is the author of Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger? He is the head of the Brontez Purnell Dance Company, and also has performed with the bands Gravy Train!!!! and the Younger Lovers. He also published the illustrated book The Cruising Diaries and put out the influential zine Fag School. He was on Out Magazine’s Hot List.
Faith Adiele is the author of The Nigerian-Nordic Girl’s Guide to Lady Problems (Shebooks), and Meeting Faith (W.W. Norton & Co.), which received PEN Beyond Margins Award for Best Memoir of 2004. She’s also the co-editor of Coming of Age Around the World: A Multicultural Anthology and the subject of the PBS documentary My Journey Home. She also co-wrote the multicultural thriller The Student Body: A Novel (Random House). She’s been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, Marie Claire’s 5 Women to Learn From, and the Huffington Post. She has appeared on NPR, on the Tavis Smiley show, in a national television ad for TIAA-CREF, in the pilot for a new reality show, and in a 2-page spread: “A Day in the Life of Faith Adiele” for Pink magazine. She is the recipient of a UNESCO International Artists Bursary, the Millennium Award from Creative Nonfiction, and 16 artists’ residencies in Brazil, Canada, Italy and the USA.
Fayette Fox’s debut novel The Deception Artist was originally published in the UK by Myriad Editions in 2013. The book was just published in North America by Roaring Forties Press in March 2015. She works as the Writer and Community Manager at Jaunty, an organization that teaches social intelligence. She helps people put their best foot
forward and find love as the Co-Founder of My Love Ninja, a boutique OkCupid profile makeover service. She is a former commissioning editor for Lonely Planet Publications.
September 28, 2015
Working through the Weekend
Whew. Friday night was the Sponsors’ Open Mic at Borderlands Books, which was great. I met so many local authors whose work I hadn’t encountered before. I hope this does become a quarterly series, as MC Greg Roensch suggested. There are so many exciting stories being written in the Bay Area.
I read a taste of Kill By Numbers, which was the bloodiest piece of the evening. I went on second and it was strange to be so early in the lineup. I’m used to coming in later. I was really wound up Friday night, more nervous than usual, but it was great to see Katrina St. James in the audience. A friendly face is such a gift to a panicking introvert.
Saturday night the family took a little road trip. Emerian Rich invited me to the release party for Search magazine‘s second issue. The issue ranges from stories about being an artist in the Bay Area to exploring the Winchester Mystery House and Alcatraz at night. It also features a piece on Ghost Golf, where the party was held.
Let’s just say I love mini golf. Mini golf combined with gravestones, animated skeletons, spiders, bats, and Bone Daddy’s band? This may be the best thing ever. Also, I kicked ass in the mummy shooting range, which is guarded by towering animated statues of Anubis. This place is worth the drive to Concord to check out.
Emerian was kind enough to invite me to write something for Search‘s spring issue, so I’m going to have to come up with a suitable adventure.
On the way back to the Caldecott Tunnel, we were passed by a delivery truck careening down the highway, trailed by a dozen police cars. Don’t know what the story with that was, but it made the drive a little more exciting.
Last night was my first encounter with the San Francisco Writers Coffeehouse. It was great to meet all the writers there. The conversation ranged over dealing with edits to social media to the best use of Amazon. I wasn’t ready to be dragged away when it was time to leave.
The blood moon was swathed in fog, but I did catch the second half of the eclipse. It feels like Halloween is starting early this year — and I am 100% okay with that.
September 25, 2015
This Week in Morbid
Just a reminder: I’m reading a taste of Kill By Numbers at the Borderlands Books Sponsors’ Open Mic tonight at 7 pm. I’m going on first.
I’ve had a bunch of guest posts go up since I made my last list:
I was immensely honored to answer Alyx Dellamonica’s Heroine Question, in the footsteps of Gemma Files, Marie Brennan, Kelly Robson, and Maria Alexander. This is the best interview series I’m reading now and it’s a thrill to take part.
Nicholas Kaufmann encouraged me to talk about The Scariest Part of writing Kill By Numbers. This is another guest blog series that is absolutely fascinating. I’m excited to be able to take part.
Carole Ann Moleti interviewed me for her blog and included a sample of Kill By Numbers.
I talked about tentacles, octopi, and fluid gender at Aidee Ladnier’s blog.
In my other life as a cemetery researcher, I’m putting up an essay a week on Cemetery Travel as I start to assemble the second volume of Death’s Garden: Relationships with Cemeteries. Here’s one of my favorite essays from the original book, by my As Above co-author Brian Thomas. If you’d like to contribute a personal essay to the series, here are the guidelines.
September 24, 2015
Raena’s Foremothers: Doctor Cyn Sharpe
Cover image by Kelly Dwyer
One of the biggest influences on Raena Zacari is a character developed by my friend Martha Allard. She’s the creator of Doctor Cyn Sharpe, a human medic who got caught up in the War against the Empire.
In the canon, although I’m not sure it appears in any of Mart’s stories, is that Doc once worked in an Imperial lab, running experiments on nonhumans. Something — I’m not sure what — opened her eyes to the reality of what she was doing. She fled, leaving everything behind. I think there was a husband, an Imperial officer who didn’t defect when she did. To atone for what she’d done, Doc joined the Rebel Alliance as a battlefield medic.
Mart’s characters met Ariel Shaad in a story we cowrote called “Just Another Day in Paradise.” You can read it on Wattpad.
Doc was older than the other characters, more experienced, more cynical. Despite that, she gathers a new family around her. I’m not sure how she met her taciturn companion Sam, but Kelly Phalfa stowed away on Doc’s med shuttle — named the Plague — after the Imperials attacked the rebel base on Dantooine. Kelly was 13 at the time. Doc never adopts him, but she treats him like a son.
Doc encountered Raena too, during the War. The Plague stopped to scavenge a ship drifting in space and found Raena a prisoner on it. Doc fixes Raena up, then tries to recruit her for the Alliance. But Raena is too broken — and too terrified of Thallian — to take the opportunity.
Mart and I wrote those stories 20 years ago. She published them in her zine Tales of a New Republic, which we sold at the MediaWest convention in Michigan.
I never turned loose of those stories, even as I outgrew Star Wars fanfic. When I was writing The Dangerous Type, I needed to have a black market doctor examine Raena. I asked Mart if I could borrow Doc. She graciously said yes.
Doc always fascinated me because she’s a bad-tempered, hard-drinking woman who is probably the most compassionate person in the series. She cares so much that it hurts her, because she’s learned she can’t save everyone. Death is still going to win in the end and that makes her extremely angry. She drinks as a way to deal with her fury.
The encounter between Raena and Doc is the turning point of The Dangerous Type. Before they talk, Raena is dying. She’s afraid of Thallian hunting her down. She can’t see any reason to survive to face him again. Doc is able to sum up the situation, to spin it enough to give Raena hope. Doc tells Raena that she is the only one who can bring Thallian the justice that the galaxy hasn’t been able to accomplish.
Without Doc’s psychological push and her off-the-grid medical skills, The Dangerous Type would have ended six chapters in.
Mart wrote a really beautiful piece about my borrowing her characters on her blog. In it, she talks about the steampunk novel she’s working on now. Some of her short stories are available online. She has a chapbook of heartbreakers called Dust and Other Stories. She’s a writer you really should explore.
***
My other Raena’s Foremothers essays so far are:
Aeon Flux
Jeri Cale
Pvt. Vasquez
Sarah Connor
Molly Millions
What strong female characters have inspired you?
