Daniel Patrick Corcoran Goes "Apartment Hunting" in the Middle of Eternity
Today marks the beginning of a weekly series of interviews with all nine of the contributors to our upcoming anthology,
Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity
. The book will contain 13 fantastic tales of science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal written by eight authors and edited by yours truly. Each story will be accompanied by a black and white illustration provided by phenomenal artist Mike Riehl, who also created our gorgeous cover.
The anthology will launch at Shore Leave 36 , a science fiction convention occurring the first weekend in August. It will then be available in paperback and eBook from Amazon, B&N.com, Smashwords, and just about every online bookseller.
Kicking off our interview series is Daniel Patrick Corcoran, author of the satirical vampire tale, "Apartment Hunting."
Most writers have at least one established author who inspired them. Would you share with us some of the authors who influenced you?
Robert Asprin is the first that comes to mind. Another Fine Myth was the book that I had kicking around my house for the longest time as a kid. It was set in a fantasy world, but mainly it was funny for the sake of being funny and it showed me what you could really do with a story. When he teamed up with Phil Foglio as illustrator, it just added a level of richness to the humor that really set a standard for me. A level that was unmatched until I discovered Terry Pratchett, with his use of footnotes and other techniques to tell good stories that were also hilarious.
You’ve written or co-written live comedy plays that have been performed at the Maryland SF conventions such as Farpoint and Balticon . How did you become involved in that?
Same way I became involved in fandom in the first place: my cousin. When I was sixteen she called me up and asked me to go to a science fiction convention that weekend (Balticon 20). At that convention, she met the lead singer of a humorous filk group called the Boogie Knights. The same group was involved in performing those comedic plays, and through her, I started hanging out with them. That eventually led to being offered small roles which led to larger roles and eventually writing and producing some of the plays myself.
For our anthology, you penned a light-hearted tale about a bumbling vampire with a therapist. What inspired “Apartment Hunting”?
It actually evolved from the plays, which at the conventions are usually parodies intended to be performed once or twice. I was kicking around the idea of trying to come up with some sketch comedy that could be performed in other venues or on a more regular basis, a la Kids in the Hall. This led me to the idea of a recurring character that could be used in recurring situations. The first idea I came up with was a vampire, so I asked myself how you make a vampire funny. The simple answer is to make him not as suave as he thinks he is. This led me to picturing the silhouette of a vampire in a patio door. I pictured him opening the glass door and then walking right into the screen. In other situations he could trip over the furniture. Or he could start at a grand piano and as he steps away from it he could pull off the candelabra and tea set that had been set on his cape. I really fell in love with the idea and just to make sure that something was done with it I fleshed it out into a story.
What’s next for you?
Good question. I have a humorous fantasy novel I’ve been working on. I have had other stories published in other small venues in the past. I enjoy going in the opposite direction of what is expected. I have written stories that take a standard topic and I give it a very humorous treatment. I have written stories based on a humorous topic and they turned out dramatic and horrific. I am not without ideas, what the future brings depends on personal discipline and fickle opportunity.
What does Daniel Patrick Corcoran do when he isn’t writing?
I’m not even sure who that is. My friends and family have been calling me Renfield for over twenty years. My wife wanted me to use it for the anthology, but I figured I could not get away with using it as a byline on a vampire story. Now I’m afraid that I’ll have to work that much harder to get my friends to read the book since they might not recognize I’m in it. That actually brings me back to Bob Asprin. A few years ago I shared this exact concern with him when I met him at a convention. He related how he used to be heavily involved in the convention scene in his youth, and had a fan name of his own. Once his books started getting famous, he was at an autograph table signing books when the next guy in line walked up to him and said, “Hi, Kang.” In that moment, Bob Asprin felt like a huge jackass because he realized that he had a built-in market for his books that he never bothered exploring. But if you’re asking me what I do in my spare time, while the plays have fallen by the wayside, I am still very active in the Baltimore convention scene. I can often be found helping with the Art Show at Farpoint , helping with the masquerade at Balticon , and propping up the bar at Shore Leave .
The anthology will launch at Shore Leave 36 , a science fiction convention occurring the first weekend in August. It will then be available in paperback and eBook from Amazon, B&N.com, Smashwords, and just about every online bookseller.
Kicking off our interview series is Daniel Patrick Corcoran, author of the satirical vampire tale, "Apartment Hunting."
Most writers have at least one established author who inspired them. Would you share with us some of the authors who influenced you?
Robert Asprin is the first that comes to mind. Another Fine Myth was the book that I had kicking around my house for the longest time as a kid. It was set in a fantasy world, but mainly it was funny for the sake of being funny and it showed me what you could really do with a story. When he teamed up with Phil Foglio as illustrator, it just added a level of richness to the humor that really set a standard for me. A level that was unmatched until I discovered Terry Pratchett, with his use of footnotes and other techniques to tell good stories that were also hilarious.
You’ve written or co-written live comedy plays that have been performed at the Maryland SF conventions such as Farpoint and Balticon . How did you become involved in that?
Same way I became involved in fandom in the first place: my cousin. When I was sixteen she called me up and asked me to go to a science fiction convention that weekend (Balticon 20). At that convention, she met the lead singer of a humorous filk group called the Boogie Knights. The same group was involved in performing those comedic plays, and through her, I started hanging out with them. That eventually led to being offered small roles which led to larger roles and eventually writing and producing some of the plays myself.
For our anthology, you penned a light-hearted tale about a bumbling vampire with a therapist. What inspired “Apartment Hunting”?
It actually evolved from the plays, which at the conventions are usually parodies intended to be performed once or twice. I was kicking around the idea of trying to come up with some sketch comedy that could be performed in other venues or on a more regular basis, a la Kids in the Hall. This led me to the idea of a recurring character that could be used in recurring situations. The first idea I came up with was a vampire, so I asked myself how you make a vampire funny. The simple answer is to make him not as suave as he thinks he is. This led me to picturing the silhouette of a vampire in a patio door. I pictured him opening the glass door and then walking right into the screen. In other situations he could trip over the furniture. Or he could start at a grand piano and as he steps away from it he could pull off the candelabra and tea set that had been set on his cape. I really fell in love with the idea and just to make sure that something was done with it I fleshed it out into a story.
What’s next for you?
Good question. I have a humorous fantasy novel I’ve been working on. I have had other stories published in other small venues in the past. I enjoy going in the opposite direction of what is expected. I have written stories that take a standard topic and I give it a very humorous treatment. I have written stories based on a humorous topic and they turned out dramatic and horrific. I am not without ideas, what the future brings depends on personal discipline and fickle opportunity.
What does Daniel Patrick Corcoran do when he isn’t writing?
I’m not even sure who that is. My friends and family have been calling me Renfield for over twenty years. My wife wanted me to use it for the anthology, but I figured I could not get away with using it as a byline on a vampire story. Now I’m afraid that I’ll have to work that much harder to get my friends to read the book since they might not recognize I’m in it. That actually brings me back to Bob Asprin. A few years ago I shared this exact concern with him when I met him at a convention. He related how he used to be heavily involved in the convention scene in his youth, and had a fan name of his own. Once his books started getting famous, he was at an autograph table signing books when the next guy in line walked up to him and said, “Hi, Kang.” In that moment, Bob Asprin felt like a huge jackass because he realized that he had a built-in market for his books that he never bothered exploring. But if you’re asking me what I do in my spare time, while the plays have fallen by the wayside, I am still very active in the Baltimore convention scene. I can often be found helping with the Art Show at Farpoint , helping with the masquerade at Balticon , and propping up the bar at Shore Leave .
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