NIGHTSHADE

From NIGHTSHADE #1:

INTERVIEW with Kealan-Patrick Burke, AUTHOR of RAVENOUS GHOSTS and other works

conducted by Jason Brannon

Introduction:

Burke was born in Ireland but now lives in Ohio.  He is a prolific writer.  His short stories have been published in a variety of zines:  Alternate Realities, Alternate Species, Dark Moon Rising, Deviant Minds, Quantum Muse, Rogue Worlds, The Place of Reason, Wicked Hollow, and many others.  He also had stories published in various anthologies: Brimstone Turnpike, Fangoria's Frightful Fiction, Fresh Blood, Midnight Rose, Quietly Now, Scatter, Taverns of the Dead, The Book of Final Flesh, The Fear Within, The Night Has Teeth, Vicious Shivers, etc.  Burke has a short collection, Ravenous Ghosts, recently published.  He has served as editor of Sinisteria and edited the Hour of Pain anthology.
Shadowland -- http://groups.msn.com/Shadowland

Jason Brannon is another prolific writer.  His stories have been published in Black Petals, Bloody Muse, Dark Realms, Electric Wine, The Edge: Tales of Suspense, The Witching Hour, Twilight Showcase, and many more.  His stories have been included in the anthology Space Stations and Graveyards.  Five Days on the Banks of the Acheron and Puzzles of Flesh are Brannon's short story collections and Rusty Nails is his first novel.  He also edits The Haunted (online).  Brannon lives in Mississippi.
The Official Website of Jason Brannon -- http://www.angelfire.com/rant/puzzles/ 

Q)  You are both a talented writer and editor.  Which one is more satisfying--cranking out a great new story or finding out that one of your personal heroes is willing to contribute a story to your anthology?  Also, do you see yourself gravitating more toward one or the other in the future?

I think there's a different kind of satisfaction associated with both posts.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't doing cartwheels when Charles L. Grant (who is my literary idol) agreed to do a story for Taverns of the Dead, or that did even more daring acrobatics when the story actually arrived in my inbox but I engaged in a similar ritual this morning when I finished revisions on my latest short story.  The first short story in a long while, actually.  So, I think there are different pleasures and different disappointments with both.  Whereas a writer has to deal with rejection, an editor has the unenviable task of dealing out that rejection, chasing publishers for money etc.  Both jobs can be heartbreaking.

If it came down to choosing between writing and editing, writing would no-contest.  I am a writer, first and foremost.  To be honest, I can't remember how the hell I got into this editing gig in the first place.

Q)  You've got a new short story collection coming out soon called Ravenous Ghosts.  What can you tell us about the book?  Are there any background stories associated with any of the stories contained within that might be of  interest?

The book sports a stunning cover by popular artist Mike Bohatch, a foreword by Jack Cady (another hero of mine) and an afterward by Gary Braunbeck.  It gathers together fourteen of my best stories from the past three years, and two more written especially for the book.  3F Publishing (http://www.3fpublishing.com) will be releasing the book over the next couple of weeks (all going well.)

There are anecdotes to accompany the stories within the book itself.  I've always been a fan of short story collections which feature the author's thoughts on the story, so it was only natural that I should do something similar.  There are some funny stories in there, and some not-so-funny.  For example, one of the stories was written as a long but well-meaning insult (is there such a thing?) to a magazine which appeared to be confused as to the type of genre they wanted submissions to be in.  To my surprise, the magazine promptly bought the story.  If only all such insults were as well received.

Q)  What is the craziest e-mail you've ever gotten from a fan?

I received an e-mail from a German reader back in 2001, who confessed his love for "the story about the snake who talks and the cat with one eye."  He wanted my permission to post the story on his website.  I might have given it to him if I had known what on earth he was referring to.

Q)  According to a lot of people in the horror genre, you're considered to be one of the high-profile guys in the "up-and-coming" ranks.  Where do you see  yourself in five years?

To be honest I don't see myself as "up-and-coming."  With a market as narrow as horror/dark fantasy is these days, I think anyone who persists in writing in it for more than a year is probably considered "up-and-coming."  I'm just thrilled to be able to put together books I want to see out there.  Not only that, but to be able to consort with your childhood heroes is a little bit magical too.

When I start getting invites to Random House anthologies or my grocery list gets optioned by HBO, maybe then I'll consider myself up-and-coming.

Q)  I saw on the Dark Vesper site where the Malevolent Music anthology is now defunct.  What happened to that particular project?

That's a long and ugly story that I'll wait to tell you over a beer sometime.  Suffice it to say, I was sad to have to put Malevolent Music to sleep, but one of the things you have to learn, and learn quickly if you want to be any kind of editor, is that promises don't mean jack-shit and there is no such thing as a sure thing.

Q)  You write and edit full-time.  Describe what a typical work day is like for those of us who still hit the 9 to 5.

Well, I get up at dawn, cycle 4-5 miles.  Have breakfast. Check e-mail.  Write from 9-11.  If I have a copy-editing project going (I copy-edit for various publishing houses and writers -- it's my bread-and-butter) that will take up the next few hours.  At about 3, I work on whatever anthology I'm running, make calls, faxes, etc. 5-7 is a blur (writing, editing.).  8 onwards is family time.

Q)  What is your proudest moment as a writer?

Yikes, that's a tough one.  I could name anything from writing my very first story when I was eight years old to getting my first story published (Writings magazine in Ireland, 1990), or having my mother read one of my stories and giving me a great blurb ("Stephen King has nothing on you, boy") right when I needed it. There are too many to mention.  Every time I finish a story, I'm proud of myself.  Every time a story is published and read, and appreciated, I'm proud of myself as a writer.  Every time something I wrote scares my wife, I'm proud to be a horror writer.

Q)  How about naming a few guilty pleasures (books, movies, music) that we might not typically associate with a horror writer?

Books?  I went through a phase when all I could read were John Grisham, Phillip Margolin and Scott Turow novels.  My all-time favorite novel, however, is To Kill a Mockingbird.  A close second would be The Grapes of Wrath.  

Movies?  Hmm.  One of my favorite movies is Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove."  I think I've watched it about a dozen times.  I have rather a weakness for Disney movies.  Can't wait to see "Treasure Planet."  

Music?  I'm a hard rock fan.  I like Korn, Puddle of Mudd, Soundgarden etc.  Nothing guilty to admit about that except maybe that I listen to a bit of  Nora Jones on the side. (blush)

Q)  Let's assume that I'm just getting introduced to the horror genre.  Who should I read in your opinion? Give us a Horror 101 primer.

Horrorwise:  Peter Straub's Ghost Story, King's Salem's Lot, anything by Bradbury, Matheson, Arthur Machen, M. R. James, Bloch or Leiber.  Also, just because you wish to write horror does not mean you should read horror exclusively.  I would encourage newcomers to read the classics in every genre and not to confine their tastes to the dark stuff.  As I mentioned above, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a tremendous book. More recently, Andre Dubois's House of Sand and Fog is an exercise in literary brilliance.  If you want to be a writer, genre is unimportant as far as reading goes at least.  There are valuable tricks and lessons to be found in the pages of (ugh) romance novels, thrillers, comedies, mysteries, dramas.  Well, maybe not romance (kidding).

From NIGHTSHADE #2:



DEL STONE JR., WRITER

conducted by Lucinda MacGregor


Del Stone Jr. is a professional science fiction/horror writer.  He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary horror field, but has also published science fiction.  Del's stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra's Full Spectrum.

His short fiction has been published in The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse and Sex Macabre.  He has also been published Del's comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic.  He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella "Roadkill," a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled "December" for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman's Wasted Lands novellas and comics.  Del's novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild's award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award.  Del has also been a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards.  His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award.

Del works for a newspaper, where he is the assistant managing editor.  He has won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida's best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.  He is active in the community.  He also participates in book signings and awareness campaigns, and is a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Del is single, bowls, plays tennis, can tie the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot there with a paint ball gun.  He's 47, but doesn't look a day over 74.  He lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Q)  What motivated you to write in both the horror and science fiction genres?  And, what do you mostly write--stories, novels, articles, reviews, comix, etc.?

I think horror and SF have a lot in common, hence the "speculative fiction" umbrella term the industry applies to a work of fiction that seems to fit one of the genres.  They both deal with elements of the unreal, and usually some quality of menace is present.  Sometimes the synthesis is so seamless you can't decide if a story is horror or science fiction – "Alien" comes to mind.  While the setting was SF, the story itself was horror, through and through.  I like tales that appeal to a modern sensibility so it's usually necessary to include SF elements.  I think Michael Crichton pulls this off rather well, as does Stephen King, Dennis Etchison, and Dan Simmons.  And I think the traditional symbols for evil – the devil, vampires, werewolves, and so forth – have been done to death, hence my quest for "new monsters" that best represent our current anxieties.  But ultimately what decides it for me is the story's theme – is it better served by a horror or science fiction context?  And of course the market itself is a factor.  What kind of story is the editor looking for?  And do I want to write that kind of story?

Most of my published work consists of short stories.  I've published a single novel, and three or four comic book stories.  I've also published several novellas, and even poetry (which is very bad by the way).  But by and large the vast majority of my work is in the short story form.

Q)  Since your novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild Award, and you have been nominated for other works, how does that influence you as a writer?  Another words, do you feel pressure to work harder at your craft?

I'll be honest – the lure of awards is powerful.  I think all writers want to win an award, if for no other reason than to help in the marketing of their work.

In the mid-1990s I became swept up in an effort to win one.  I campaigned shamelessly for my stories.  I was very disappointed when my story "The Googleplex Comes and Goes" didn't make the final ballot for the Nebula, though later I learned the anthology had won a World Fantasy Award.  The International Horror Guild award for Dead Heat came as a total shock – I didn't know it had been nominated, and found out by way of an e-mail after the final vote had been taken.  An incident finally corrected my attitude about awards.

I had asked another author to read and possibly recommend one of my stories for a Stoker Award.  He read it and declined to recommend it.  This really pissed me off, because I had read and recommended one of his works.  This "vote trading" is not in the spirit of the award-choosing process but many, many authors do it, and though I'm ashamed to admit it, I confess to the crime now.  The story made the preliminary ballot anyway and had the second-highest vote total.  Plus, it was up for an IHG award.  So I assumed it would make the final ballot for the Stoker.  Well, it didn't.  I became very, very cynical about the process and decided to abandon organizations like the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Horror Writers Association.  It wasn't until later, when I realized what a destructive effect this award greed was exerting on my work and my character, that I rejoined those organizations.  But I no longer campaign for my stories, and I no longer recommend other works.  I need to concentrate on my writing, not finagling ways to win awards!

I can't say the quest for an award has influenced my writing.  I always try to do the very best job possible. If the story wins an award, great.  If not, I still get the ultimate satisfaction of liking the story myself, and having an editor like it enough to pay me for it.

Q)  How do you manage to write for a newspaper and work on all of your other writing projects?

Ha!  It's difficult.  I compartmentalize.  I write a regular column for a journalism magazine, a Web serial, a weekly newspaper column, occasional feature stories for the newspaper, occasional op-ed pieces for other journalism publications, plus my fiction.  Usually what I'll do is assign myself the task and a deadline – "This week you must write the piece for the magazine" – then assign myself a new task once the former is complete.

Q)  What are some of your favorite stories (or other works) that you have written?

Poetry – I wrote a poem called "No. 1: Boogeyman" that was published in Amazing Stories.  I really liked that poem.  It was a very clever piece.  Poetry is not my strong suit.

Short stories – "Googleplex" will always be one of my favorites.  It represented my first attempt to write "personal" fiction – stories that reflected my emotional state.  Prior to that I merely tried to simulate the feelings.  It finally occurred to me that my own desires and fears were fodder enough for a trove of fiction, and I had the advantage of depth and context; I was already experiencing these things and knew what they felt like.  I'm also fond of a story I wrote for a Nancy Kilpatrick anthology.  The story was called "Homosexulus," about a predatory gay entity that uses lonely men to bring it victims.  I had exactly one week to write the story, and on the day Nancy called to invite me to submit, a hurricane was hitting.  So I was under a lot of pressure.  But I got fan mail for the story, and when I see a review of that anthology online, invariably my story is listed as one of the author's favorites.

Novellas – The guys at Space & Time were kind enough to publish my novella "In the Leaves of Grass," which is a very personal and touching story, I think.  Also, the upcoming The Uninvited is a very exciting adventure tale I hope people will like as much as I do.

Novel – What can I say?  Dead Heat is it.  I thought parts of it were very good.  A story about a rational zombie is harder to write than you may think.  Since mortality is no longer an issue, the zombie's perspective on reality is completely alien … or at least it should be.

Comics – I thought my story for Hellraiser was pretty good.  It was a metaphor for birth.  I'm not sure anyone picked up on the subtext.

Q)  What type of themes in horror and science fiction do you prefer?

I like stories that deal with characters who are trying to find meaning in the world.  And I always try to introduce an element of hope – so much of horror and SF is apocalyptic and dystopian.  It's more of a challenge to show a person, even under the most horrific circumstances, trying to do what's right because he believes in the redeeming power of good.

Q)  How difficult was it for you to launch your career as a writer?

It was damn difficult.  The physical process of preparing a manuscript for submission was incredibly labor-intensive and time-consuming.  Worse, I had no concept of what makes a story a story.  So the learning curve, for me, at least, was steep.  My first published work of fiction appeared in my college newspaper, where I "won" a contest.  First prize was $10. That was in 1976.  It was nine more years before I'd sell another piece of fiction, this to an insurance underwriter's magazine.  The pay was not bad -- $135. Then in 1989 I sold the poem to Amazing, and in 1992 I sold the story to Full Spectrum 4 and the script to Marvel Comics.

By then I had become more skillful as a writer and sold a number of stories throughout the ‘90s.  But I have a collection of thousands of rejection slips.

Q)  Since you are published frequently in small press how has it helped or influenced you as a writer?

The small press is immensely helpful to up and coming writers.  It is like the farm team system professional baseball uses to groom future players.  It gives writers the opportunity to develop good work habits – meeting deadlines, dealing with editors and accepting rejection.  It allows writers to see their names in print, thereby providing an essential encouragement.  It also allows them to add credits to their cover letters, which may or may not help in a professional sale.  Sometimes professional editors will spot new talent in the small press.  And in some cases, the stories in small press are worthy of professional publication.  I published a story in the small press magazine Crossroads that was later reprinted in Karl Edward Wagner's The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII.  And sometimes it even works the other way – a story I couldn't get published in the pros or the small press was later accepted at Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Q)  Do small, medium, or academic presses offer many opportunities to the new writer?  Also, what does Publishing On Demand have to offer?

Literary and academic magazines do offer opportunities to new writers, though they are fairly rigorous in their requirements and the writing is typically different.  For a literary publication a writer must concentrate on prose style, subtext and characterization.  For a commercial publication, plot is much more important.  I try to walk the line between both those worlds.  As Dan Simmons has said, it's entirely possible to write good, quality fiction that contains many of the elements of "literature" without sacrificing story.

Print on demand is an interesting development, recently enabled by advances in publishing technology.  A considerable anti-POD bias exists, as it's perceived to be a form of vanity press.  Not only that, but POD doesn't offer the promotion and distribution opportunities that a conventional publisher such as Bantam or Penguin/Putnam offer (though the POD industry would argue it does).  But some professional writers are starting to embrace POD as a means of exerting total control over their work.  The trick, of course, is getting readers to buy your book, and in that respect the current pros who are taking the POD route have a distinct advantage over new writers in that they've already established their names as writers, which is a tremendous selling point.  I'm not sure how it's all going to play out, but I suspect some means of evaluating the "worth" of a book – a POD bestseller's list, or an endorsement from some respected authority in the book world – will become necessary to make POD a financially viable alternative for the working writer.

Q)  How do you think the big publishing companies in New York City have changed during the past fifty years and how has that shaped the field of writing?

A lot of things have changed in the industry over the past 50 years.  Editors are no longer the red-pencil types they once were.  Publishing houses don't promote as enthusiastically as they once did.  By concentrating on blockbuster books, the industry is squeezing out the mid-list writer.  The emergence of property dynasties such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien has homogenized the genres (but at the same time has provided a lot of writers with well-paying jobs).  Themed anthologies have appeared, but at the same time the short story seems to be disappearing as an art form.  E-books and online booksellers have stolen business from brick-and-mortar bookstores, which are also under attack from chain bookstores.

These chains and online booksellers exert tremendous power over what is bought and displayed.  Mergers within the industry have probably reduced the diversity of the fiction field.  And the dwindling distribution arena has consolidated much power with entities like Ingram and Diamond.

I don't know how it's all going to sort out, but I suspect ways around the choke points will be found.

Business – any business – operates like an ecosystem undergoing evolution.  I heard a biologist in a televised documentary once say, "Wherever there's something to eat, there's something to eat it."  New modes of fiction will emerge, and new ways of marketing and distributing that fiction will spring into existence.  The market for escapism is simply too big to be dominated by a few corporate entities.

Q)  Who are some of your favorite writers and why?  How have they influenced you?

Oh gosh, I have a zillion favorite writers.  Andre Norton is a terrific storyteller.  Ben Bova turned me on to science fiction.  Ray Bradbury showed me how prose can make a difference in the telling of a story.  Dan Simmons writes with such authority and compassion. Dennis Etchison is a great storyteller and stylist – he wrote the scariest story of all time for me, "They Only Come Out at Night."  Stephen King taught me the importance of speaking the same language as my readers.  Neal Stephenson forces me to think. P.J. O'Rourke possesses an incredible intellect, yet he can still be hilarious.  Carl Hiassen is funny, powerful, and honest.  And William Shirer was unparalleled in logic and clarity.  Finally, Joseph Heller.  What a terrific writer!

Q)  What are some of your upcoming projects?

My next published work will be a short story in the Penguin/Putnam anthology "Live Without a Net," edited by Lou Anders – who by the way is one of the smartest and funniest people I've ever met.  He's got some heavy hitters in the book, and I understand it's supposed to be a cutting-edge anthology, possibly a landmark book, the way "Dangerous Visions" changed SF in the 1960s and the Full Spectrum series of anthologies in the ‘80s and ‘90s.  A short film by Clark Parkhurst, based on my story in "Live Without a Net," is in the works as I write this.

Later in 2003 will be my short novel The Uninvited from Dave Dorman's imprint, Rolling Thunder Graphics.  It'll feature some kick-ass paintings by artist Jon Foster.  Next year Rolling Thunder will issue a compilation of my Web serial "A Thousand Angry Teeth" and "How to Skin a Jack."

I also expect the anthology I'm editing for my writing group, "The Parasitorium:  Terrors Within" to appear in print possibly in late 2003 or early 2004.

In the misty, far-flung future I hope the novel I'm currently working on, Tidal Pools, will see mass market paperback publication.  We'll see.

Q)  Talk about living in Florida (one of my favorite areas of the country--I lived there).  Have you written much about Florida or use it to add atmosphere to some of your stories?

I'm working on two novels at the moment and both are set in Florida, on the seashore (well, the Gulf Coast).

And I have at least one more novel in the concept stage that will be set in Florida.  The Sunshine State is beginning to rival California as a desirable place to live, work, and be creative.  And it is acquiring that undefinable element of style, or fashion, that makes places like California, New York City, and Paris attractive to creators.  I live in a town right on the coast, and there's a definite beach culture here.  Plus, my part of Florida – the panhandle – is relatively unknown outside the region, so that gives me a leg up on the Curiosity Factor.  As a setting, it'll seem new and different to readers.

Q)  (My lucky number! I like to tempt fate.)  Any parting words of wisdom for writer wannabes?

Remember that writing is a business.  Your success or failure will depend largely on your professionalism.

Work very hard at making your current story the best you've ever written.  Format your work in proper manuscript style.  Understand that editors are harried, harassed, and besieged, so make their jobs easier by satisfying their guidelines and doing what they ask you to do.  Meet deadlines.  Be courteous.  Fulfill your obligations.  Groom regular work habits.  Keep your stories in circulation.  Do not take rejection personally.

And finally, never, ever give up!

   

MORE TO COME!