Lance Woods Brings Undying Fear to the Middle of Eternity

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Our next victim, uh, I mean author to be interviewed during our countdown to Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity is Lance Woods.

Lance began his writing “career” in 1967 by penning a one-page episode of the Batman TV series at age 5. His published works by Firebringer Press include the short stories “The Gravest Show Unearthed” in the anthology Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity (2016); “Dead Air” in the anthology Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity (2014); and Heroic Park: A SuperHuman Times Novel (2012). He also performs with Prometheus Radio Theatre; is a founding member of both the Cheap Treks comedy troupe and The Boogie Knights filk group; and has had two comedy-mysteries – Breeding Will Tell and Murder Case – produced by the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. In the real world, he has worked for more than 25 years writing in the comic-book industry, but if he told you what he did, he’d have to bore you.

We’re excited to have you join us for another excursion into the Middle of Eternity. What inspired your latest story, “The Gravest Show Unearthed”?

It began as an idea for a historical novel I thought about writing a very long time ago, one in which a self-promoting entrepreneur (no, not Donald Trump) accidentally unleashes an unspeakable horror (see last parenthetical) on the world and then has to take him down. I can’t say much more because it would ruin the ending.

I can say that I’m overjoyed to return to Eternity to finally be able to tell it.

Your first novel, Heroic Park, is a direct spin-off of your SuperHuman Times audio drama series as heard on Prometheus Radio Theatre. What is the SuperHuman Times series all about and what’s coming next in that universe?

For those who came in late, SuperHuman Times is an anthology that explores the ordinary lives of extraordinary people – superhumans, and their interactions with humans. It’s a world where they have jobs other than heroes or villains, and the stories include action, romance, comedy or anything else I can come up with.

2016 marks the 10th anniversary of SuperHuman Times’ debut on Prometheus. That said, I have suspended the writing of new scripts, or a follow-up to the SuperHuman Times novel Heroic Park, until further notice. We have a backlog of scripts waiting to be produced for a variety of completely legitimate reasons, so there are no big celebration activities or specials planned, and I have no intention on writing any new Times stories until more of the dormant ones are produced. Anything new would just add to the clog.

That doesn’t mean I’m not trying to work up something special on my own to mark the occasion. Whether or not I can pull it off is anyone’s guess. Check SuperHumanTimes.com on November 3, 2016 and we’ll all find out.

In addition to acting in audio dramas for podcasts, you also read your prose aloud at conventions and join fellow voice actors from Prometheus Radio Theatre for live performances at Farpoint, an annual SF convention in Maryland. What advice would you give to new authors to help them overcome trepidation about reading their work to the public?

It sounds self-centered, but I always try to tune out the audience and pretend that I’m recording an audiobook instead of giving a live reading. I try to let the scenes and characters I’ve written take me back to the place where I first got excited about writing them. If I’m lucky, I’ve written something that’s good enough to accomplish that, and the audience comes along for the ride.

Where can we find you online (website, blog, social media)?

There’s SuperHumanTimes.com, which offers links to all of the existing podcasts and gets updated on the rare occasions there’s something new (like in November, if I can get my act together). I also have a Facebook page for SuperHuman Times, which gets updated on the same basis. I do not Tweet, Pin or Instagram. Being ignored on the platforms I use now is enough.

What does Lance Woods do when he isn’t writing?



This March, I marked 25 years of working full-time as a copywriter/editor in the comic book industry. My job’s in the marketing and distribution end of the business, so I don’t get to write the cool stories. It’s not the kind of writing I’d rather do full-time, but people actually give me money for my words on a regular basis, which keeps a roof over my family’s collective head and allows me to call myself a working writer. So, I guess when I’m not writing, I’m writing, and I’m lucky.