Howls from the Scene of the Crime Interview

It’s Kickstarter time! We here at Casa del Broadbent are major fans of anthologies from Howl Society Press. I reviewed Howls from the Wreckage for Wrong Publishing, and we’re all read Howls from the Dark Ages and Howls from Hell. Broadbent Jr. recently stole all three during his tenure as a page at the Virginia House of Delegates and tore through them.

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“these stories r amazing,” he texted me one night at seven pm.

It’s Kickstarter time! We here at Casa del Broadbent are major fans of anthologies from Howl Society Press. I reviewed Howls from the Wreckage for Wrong Publishing, and we’re all read Howls from the Dark Ages and Howls from Hell. Broadbent Jr. recently stole all three during his tenure as a page at the Virginia House of Delegates and tore through them.

“these stories r amazing,” he texted me one night at seven pm.

“Are you reading horror during study hall again?” I asked. He was supposed to be doing math. He’s homeschooled. We work hard to maintain a veneer of respectability.

“I told you, it’s modern american lit,” he replied.

Broadbent Jr., along with his dad and me, is eagerly watching the Kickstarter funding for Howl Society Press’s newest venture, Howls from the Scene of the Crime: A Crime Horror Anthology. “An illustrated collection of 22 new short stories of transgressions and lawlessness laced in blood, secrets, and occult compulsions,” it sounds like the fix I’ve been jonesing for since True Detective ended a few weeks ago.

Editor Jessica Peter set down her legendary lists to talk about the anthology, and she dragged her co-editor, the fantastic Timaeus Bloom, along with her.

This is the fourth anthology from Howl Society Press. Each anthology has had a different editor with their own flavor and tastes. What unique strengths do you two bring to the table? 

TIM: Good question, and I think this is something particularly interesting when it comes to working with a co-editor. I think Jessica especially has a very good eye for the kind of stories that will resonate with large groups of people, with a wider "community" that may be outside of horror. It was really interesting to hear her give her take on how she would feel regarding certain stories if she was reading the anthology outside of the lens of being an editor. I, on the other hand, really love spec stories broadly so it was a major interest of mine to bring in things that crossed genres or were a bit (or maybe more than a bit!) off the beaten path.  I think both of us, really, are good at handling the process of editing delicately. Encouraging a writer and their story, but also keeping their word baby intact as they envisioned. I’ll also say, pushing Jess to speak on this more, that she is INCREDIBLY good at planning. I am… well let’s just say I’m a yellow notepad type of guy. 

JESSICA: Ha, yes - I  am excessively structured (anyone who knows me well knows about my LISTS), and I think it helped the process, and Tim is always fighting for the underdog and for fairness in things like representation, remuneration, etc. which both made the anthology stronger and our processes more equitable. 

Your lists are a thing of legend. Seriously.

How did you pick the stories? 

JESSICA: We made a rating spreadsheet where we each made notes about every story, and rated them all on a 5-option scale (Loved it, Liked it, Neutral, Didn’t Like It, and Veto). Then when they were all rated, we had a live voice meeting to hash it all out. We discovered our tastes were somewhat similar, but just divergent enough to have to really discuss some stories, which I feel really strengthened the anthology in the long run. In addition to just how much we liked the stories, we focused on how well they would fit together, how well they fit the theme (was it both crime and horror?), and just making sure we didn’t end up with every story having the same crime or horror elements. 

TIM: I’d agree– we were pretty in sync with our choices!  I was actually surprised with how compatible we were when it came to finalizing stories. I’ve joked more than once that we were TOO compatible. Made for a wonderful project, but for the film adaptation I think we’ll need to bend some truths and add drama for it to be more entertaining for future editors. 

Oh my gosh, a film adaptation would be amazing, shut up. I need that in my life. What were some of the challenges you encountered as editors? 

TIM: Oh, boy, Eliza. I put on my pants one arm at a time like anyone else, but “rejections” are always tough. I hate it, maybe. HOWLS is such a particular case with its anthologies because the people submitting are your friends–and everyone is so damn talented. When considering your average call, the chances are much higher–but still, not everyone can get in. As much as getting a rejection sucks, sending one to someone you know and respect is, by my account, the worst. 

JESSICA: Absolutely agreed on how hard it is to send rejections to people you know and respect. That sucked! And then of course all the fiddly work that goes into an anthology that aren’t the fun parts where actually you’re dealing with stories can be challenging too. 

I won’t ask you to pick a favorite, because that’s like asking me to pick a favorite child. Instead, what are some of your favorite things that different stories accomplish (no spoilers!) and how do you think they accomplish them? 

TIM: I think Michelle Tang’s story is a great example of taking the subject matter of crime and placing it elsewhere, away from “here” while  mixing in magic and intrigue. Michelle’s lyrical prose is a highlight, and it fits a secondary world narrative so well, as if the words itself reflects the “gaslamp” nature of it. RSL’s “Consummation” is not an easy read, it doesn’t hold your hand–but I mean that in the best way possible.  It drops you right into the middle of the action and is perfectly told through a Scouse dialect. Additionally, the way the drug is consumed (hah) in the story reads pretty much like its own kind of magic system–which also fits with Michelle’s take on communicating (or not) with the dead. Then there is Ashe Deng’s story. I was not expecting cyberpunk noir horror–but I am completely thrilled that it came! Her story really highlights those classic elements ( “High Tech, Low life” , the overreach of corporations, the negative impact of technological advancement) but is also truly horrifying. And like a good science fiction piece, thought-provoking too. 

JESSICA: I’m a sucker for genre blends. We’re already crime and horror, how far can we go!? CB Jones’ “Around the Riverbend” is a good example of a story that hits a whole bunch of vibes at once: adventurous heist, some serious gore, humor, consideration of identity as a man, critique of colonialism, you name it! And it works. Another story that deftly critiques systems and includes heart-wrenching family relationships is Donyae Coles’ “Cartoons” which tracks the insidious grip of something awful on a community. Then I was excited to see some surprises: things I wouldn’t have expected to see after we put up the guidelines. TJ Price’s haunting “Chosen” surprised me with a lack of a single central protagonist or narrator, and the crime being a question, and Lindsey Ragsdale’s “A Rain of Ruin from the Air” also surprises delightfully with the whole piece being formatted as a transcript from a flight, and you’re left wondering where the crime or the horror is. . . until they are both very much present. 

You have four different editions of HftSotC, which is something you’ve done with other HOWL Society Press anthologies. What’s special about the different editions? 

JESSICA: Yeah, the Howl Society Press books have a tradition of quality production which is part of why I was especially pumped to sign on as an editor! The fact that we have both a hardcover and a paperback is pretty unique in indie horror (and the hardcover is limited & shiny & embossed!), plus there’s the 18-pro voice actor-narrated audiobook, plus, of course, the ebook. The fact that the cover artists, the designer/formatter, and the illustrators for each story illustration and contributor portrait are also in-house HOWLers shows the artistic talent in the community. 

Tim: I couldn’t have said it better. I think this also shows how creative members of HOWLS really are. Many of those who write also do illustrations, others do voice actor work, and so on. M. Halstead, whose story ends the collection, especially is a wizard and formatter extraordinaire. When it comes to the people that put these amazing books together, HOWLS certainly has an embarrassment of riches of skilled creatives. 

Plug for the amazing illustrations by all of them, by especially Joe Radkins! He’s been involved in other Howl Society Press works, and his work is always stunning. Illustrators are unsung heroes of horror.

The audiobook is narrated by some of the authors, right? How hands-on were you, as editors, with the audiobook work?  

Tim: That’s right, yep. Solomon Forse handled the technical aspects of audio production.  And has done a great job. While I believe I have a face for radio, I don’t know much about the professional aspects of sound itself–beyond a very hearty “Sounds good!” Still, Jessica and I were very involved in expressing what we were looking for when it came to voice actors. We listened to recordings, gave a few ideas on what might work for a story, and were happy to support those already involved in the other aspects of the anthology offering their mellifluous tones if they so pleased our fancy. 

JESSICA: I should also clarify that it’s not all authors as narrators! It’s 18 professional voice actors, two of whom happen to also be authors in the anthology. Most of them were found via the website Casting Call Club, whether in this round or some who have done work on several HOWLS anthologies. I was also grateful someone other than me was taking on the main audio role, because while I really respect audiobooks and their place in the market… I have yet to be able to finish one entire audiobook. Blame my audio-attention span!

I feel this hardcore—I only manage audiobooks on long drives, alone, with no one else in the car. What was your favorite part of working with this group of authors? 

TIM: Much like the Two Bob’s from Mike Judge’s Office Space, the “Pleasure’s all on this side of the table.” It was an honor to work with such amazing talent. I don’t know if that’s a “favorite” thing, but it’s a thing–and I hold it quite sacred. 

JESSICA: I don’t know if it was because the guidelines we wrote showed our visual for the anthology well, or just because we had a great group of submitters (it’s probably a mixture of both), but it was so exciting to open up all the stories and see how many had hit vibes we wanted, and vibes we didn’t know we wanted! 

You have some phenomenal talent here—the HOWL Society anthologies always do. What new voices have you discovered for this one? 

JESSICA: I am pretty sure this is the debut for three of our writers! (With apologies if I missed anyone or messed this list up) - RH Newfield, Nathan Schuetz, and LT Williams, and they all came out with absolute bangers for a first accepted piece. This is also long-time HOWLS designer/formatter M. Halstead’s writing credit in a HOWLS anthology so that’s a fun one to note! And one fun fact from the other side: there’s one writer who has been in all four HOWL Society anthologies - Lindsey Ragsdale (congrats on number 4, Lindsey!). 

TIM: Ditto. I will also add that it is not uncommon for a writer’s first published piece to be in one of our anthologies. Jess’ first sold piece, a hell of a poem, was in Dark Ages. Mine was in Wreckage. You might say that Jess and I are a match made in a very particular way by one being published in one anthology and the other in the next. That, my friend, is the kind of bard’s tale accompanied by the plucked strings of a well-tuned lute. 

My fourteen-year-old kid’s torn through all the other anthologies—they’re legit his favorite (for the record, he likes Howls from the Wreckage best, but it took him five minutes to decide). Why will he love Howls from the Scene of the Crime? For the record, we let him read Carson Winter. Or, at least, some of him. 

JESSICA: He should love the various horror sub-genres and sometimes VERY different tones across a single theme like both Dark Ages (medieval) and Wreckage (disaster) had. The author blend should please him too as there are a bunch of authors you’ll see in other HOWL Society anthologies (including Carson Winter, of course!), plus fresh voices too. 

TIM: Dear son of Eliza: Do you like eccentric cinephiles? Do you like the fear of the unknown? Do you like magic and the occult? What about forbidden tomes? The sparring of monsters and investigators who don’t take any guff? This and more awaits you. I’d hold that vote for favorite anthology until May 14, good lad. Your mother knows how to contact us. 

Talk to me some about the illustrations! I’m always amazed about the quality of art in the Howl Society Press books.

JESSICA: Custom covers, gorgeous interiors illustrations. They are absolutely killer and I can’t wait for everyone to see the illustrations for each story and the portraits of all the contributors (sneak peeks are rolling through Twitter now!). 

TIM: Thanks very much for the interview, Eliza! I think I’ve pontificated about as much as the internet will allow me to today. I look forward to locking minds with you again. I believe Jessica and I will both be at StokerCon this year–HOWLS has a table, you see. I plan to at least once dip my toes in those sparkling sands, if I can pull away from the dealer’s room. Do come say hello–not just Eliza, anyone, really. I shouldn’t be too difficult to find. Look for a very tall black man who seems a bit flummoxed. And then look past him to another tall black man–it is I. It is I…probably?

Thanks so much to Jessica and Tim! Visit the Howl Society Press Kickstarter Page for Howls from the Scene of the Crime: A Crime Horror Anthology to pledge your support and pick up some cool rewards. The book comes out on May 14.