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Group Reads: Guest Author Invite > February 2018 Group Read # 2 with Guest Author, Kristopher Rufty

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message 1: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
This is the thread for our group read with Kristopher Rufty as we dive into his latest short story collection, Bone Chimes. Krist has been making some serious noise lately with his brand of extreme horror. We recently read his offering, Darla's Problem in Splatterpunk Fighting Back. Please help me welcome Kristopher Rufty!


message 2: by Barbara (new)

Barbara Senteney (trollbridgeblogger) welcome


message 3: by Latasha (new)

Latasha (latasha513) | 11974 comments Mod
Thank you and welcome Kristopher!


message 4: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly (kimberly_3238) | 7707 comments Mod
Nice to have you here, Kristopher!


message 5: by Char (new)

Char | 17459 comments Hello Kristopher! It's so nice of you to join us!


message 6: by Kristy (new)

Kristy (kristylytle) | 84 comments Welcome!!


message 7: by joyce g (new)

joyce g | 30 comments Greetings!


message 8: by Scott (new)

Scott Brook (swinaltap) | 13 comments Welcome aboard, Kristopher!


message 9: by Karl (new)

Karl | 803 comments -- Greeting Mr. Rufty ! --


Icy-Cobwebs-In-Space  (readingreindeerproximacentauri) | 215 comments Another favorite author-much welcome!


message 11: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Hello, everyone! I'm looking forward to it. Thank you for joining in.


message 12: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Just checking in. I'm available for questions or to chat whenever you're ready. Thank you, again, for participating and for having me join in.


message 13: by Karl (new)

Karl | 803 comments -- I greatly enjoy your books Mr. Rufty, especially the work you've had published by Thunderstorm Books, yet, I have never seen any of the movies that you have written or directed, where can these be found ? --


message 14: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Karl wrote: "-- I greatly enjoy your books Mr. Rufty, especially the work you've had published by Thunderstorm Books, yet, I have never seen any of the movies that you have written or directed, where can these ..."

Thank you, Karl! I love working with Thunderstorm. I believe this year will be a good year for more books with them.

For the movies, Amazon is probably the best place. I haven't made any indies since 2010. Sometimes I'm ready to dive back into it, but usually I remember I'm just fine writing.


message 15: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly (kimberly_3238) | 7707 comments Mod
I have my Thunderstorm edition of BONE CHIMES ready to go!


message 16: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Does everyone want to go one story at a time, or after all of them have been read? I'm fine with either. :)


message 17: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Krist, I’m totally digging this cover. What can you tell us about it and how it became the cover of your collection?


message 18: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Thank you, Ken!

It took a couple weeks to decide on a title, and it changed many times during that time. I was talking to Ronald Malfi and asked what he thought a good title would be. At the time, I was calling the collection A Melody of Bones. He recommended Soul Chimes, or something similar. Then I said, Bone Chimes, and he liked it. I did, too.

The cover popped in my head almost immediately, which was a good thing because I was just as blank for a cover as I was for a title.

This past year at Halloween, my daughter and I constructed some bone chimes out of plastic Halloween skeleton props. It was a fun project, and we plan on doing a better one this upcoming Halloween.


message 19: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Kristopher wrote: "Thank you, Ken!

It took a couple weeks to decide on a title, and it changed many times during that time. I was talking to Ronald Malfi and asked what he thought a good title would be. At the time..."


Who did the artwork?


message 20: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Ken wrote: "Kristopher wrote: "Thank you, Ken!

It took a couple weeks to decide on a title, and it changed many times during that time. I was talking to Ronald Malfi and asked what he thought a good title wo..."


I did. Thank you for the kind words.


message 21: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
I read The Chomper over lunch. That one definitely had the feel of a Twilight Zone episode with a setting in the 1980, instead of the 1950s. I like the twist on a twist ending too.


message 22: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Thank you, Ken. It was heavily influenced by those anthology shows I grew up watching. I had written a completely different story for SPLATTERPUNK magazine, but stayed up late the night before the deadline and wrote The Chomper. I liked it so much, I submitted that instead and they put it in the magazine.


message 23: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Do you have half finished trunk novels that are waiting to be completed or do you work on one piece at a time until that story is done?

When you get those spur of the moment story ideas, do you record them down? What's your process so you don't forget those creative bursts of ideas?


message 24: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments I have myriad trunk novels. I return to them off and on. A novel I finished back in November was a trunk novel that took me almost two years to complete. I have some that I began work on back in 2008 and have yet to finish them for one reason or another.

I usually work on more than one thing at the start, but as I progress with writing, one story always steps forward and demands all my attention until it's completed. Then I go back to the others and finish those up. Usually, it's one novel and something shorter--a short story or novella.

Ideas pop in my head randomly, usually when I'm driving or in the shower and can't write them down right away. So I say them aloud, over and over, until their cemented in my brain, then when I am able to sit down, I write down my notes. I begin every novel with a series of notes where I talk back and forth to myself on paper about the story idea. Once I have something good to start on, I begin, then I return to my notes process for the middle and go back to work through to the end.

Thanks for those great questions.


message 25: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly (kimberly_3238) | 7707 comments Mod
Just finished the first two stories. CHOMPER was one (view spoiler)


message 26: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Finished Love Seat tonight. To me, it had a Christine-like vibe to it. Was that an inspiration at all, Krist?


message 27: by Pixelina (new)

Pixelina | 64 comments So many books not available to my country :-S
I'll see if I can get a hold of it in a few months.


message 28: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Kimberly wrote: "Just finished the first two stories. CHOMPER was one [spoilers removed]"

Thank you, Kimberly! I'm glad you enjoyed it.


message 29: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Ken wrote: "Finished Love Seat tonight. To me, it had a Christine-like vibe to it. Was that an inspiration at all, Krist?"

Not intentionally, but I do love that book/movie so probably somewhere in my mind it was influencing things. I wrote it for a bizarro anthology, but it was later rejected.


message 30: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Pixelina wrote: "So many books not available to my country :-S
I'll see if I can get a hold of it in a few months."


Aw, I'm sorry. What country, if you don't mind my asking.


message 31: by Pixelina (new)

Pixelina | 64 comments Kristopher wrote: "Pixelina wrote: "So many books not available to my country :-S
I'll see if I can get a hold of it in a few months."

Aw, I'm sorry. What country, if you don't mind my asking."


I am in Sweden so Amazon don't like me


message 32: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Finished Something's Out There? tonight. I absolutely loved it. So simple, yet just the right tone. It's funny you mention that it was an ode to Brandner. While reading it, I kept thinking that it had an old school feel to it. Nice job.


message 33: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Ken wrote: "Finished Something's Out There? tonight. I absolutely loved it. So simple, yet just the right tone. It's funny you mention that it was an ode to Brandner. While reading it, I kept thinking that it ..."

Thank you, Ken! That's one of my favorite stories in the book.


message 34: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly (kimberly_3238) | 7707 comments Mod
Finished a few more last night--THE WAGER (view spoiler)


message 35: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Kimberly wrote: "Finished a few more last night--THE WAGER [spoilers removed]"

I loved THE WAGER too. I finished it this morning and cringing the whole time. Great story, Krist!


message 36: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Krist, do you ever start writing a story only to find that it ends up being completely different than what you originally intended it to be?


message 37: by Kristy (new)

Kristy (kristylytle) | 84 comments I finished this earlier today and really, really enjoyed every single story! I'm really looking forward to reading more of your work. :)


message 38: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Kimberly wrote: "Finished a few more last night--THE WAGER [spoilers removed]"

Ken wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Finished a few more last night--THE WAGER [spoilers removed]"

I loved THE WAGER too. I finished it this morning and cringing the whole time. Great story, Krist!"


Thank you! I rewrote it several times, not liking where it went. Then I started from scratch and wrote that version in a couple hours. I'm very happy with it.


message 39: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Ken wrote: "Krist, do you ever start writing a story only to find that it ends up being completely different than what you originally intended it to be?"

All the time. I start off with my notes but rarely use them as a guideline once I've gone pretty far in. There have been a few times, though, when I have written something that somewhat resembles the original idea


message 40: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Kristy wrote: "I finished this earlier today and really, really enjoyed every single story! I'm really looking forward to reading more of your work. :)"

Thank you, Kristy! That means a lot to me. I'm glad you enjoyed it.


message 41: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Thank you for spending time reading my stories this month. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me on Facebook. Thank you, again!


message 42: by Kenneth (last edited Mar 03, 2018 07:22AM) (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Finished Gearhart's Wife and really enjoyed it. I thought that it benefitted greatly from added length that expanded it past your simple short story. I thought that you really created a thoroughly creepy and unsettling tale.


message 43: by Kristopher (new)

Kristopher Rufty | 18 comments Ken wrote: "Finished Gearhardt's Wife and really enjoyed it. I thought that it benefitted greatly from added length that expanded it past your simple short story. I thought that you really created a thoroughly..."

Thank you for that. It's probably my favorite in the collection. I wrote it after meeting one of my favorite writers/filmmakers and wondered how I would react if he introduced me to his wife and she was, well, like Gearhart's wife.


message 44: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Krist, what do you have in store for us coming down the pike in 2018 and beyond?


message 45: by Kenneth (new)

Kenneth McKinley | 1717 comments Mod
Great collection. I can't say enough about it!

My review:

http://intothemacabre.com/2018/03/03/...


message 46: by Hectaizani (last edited May 01, 2018 05:49AM) (new)

Hectaizani | 165 comments I'm late to the party but I loved the book. My favorites were Love Seat, Gearhart's Wife, and Something's Out There.


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