Also, HarperTeen.com has an author page for me at http://www.harperteen.com/authors/32665/Nancy_A_Collins/index.aspx

Fran Friel Interview

by Bret Jordan

Fran Friel is the award winning author of numerous short stories, novellas and flash fiction. In case that weren't enough she’s been editor for Dark Recesses Press and founder and writer for The Horror Library Blog-O-Rama and Fran Friel’s Yada Feast. I recently read her story collection entitled Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales and was amazed by her imagination and her ability to express it in a way that kept me glued to the stories.

BJ: I know how busy you must be so before we start I would like to thank you for taking the time for this interview. MonsterLibrarian.com.

Mama's Boy and Other Dark Tales is a collection of everything from flash fiction to novella length stories. Which do you prefer writing?

FF:  First, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to talk with you and the ultra-cool Monster Librarian readers.  It’s a pleasure to spend some time with you.

As for my writing preference, being a Gemini, variety is the spice of life, so I enjoy all the forms you’ve described.  Ultimately, it’s the story that dictates the length—some are best told in a quick flurry of words, others take time to be revealed and teased out onto the page.  For me, flash fiction can really get the juices flowing.  A quick 1000 words with no holds barred--no interruption from the internal editor—is a wild creative rush that I love.  This fast drafting flash exercise has created the foundation for several longer pieces, many of which found their way into my recent collection.

BJ: Authors have a wide variety of sources that inspire them. Where do you get your story ideas from? For instance, the novella, Mama's Boy is a dark and twisted walk through the corridors of a serial killer's mind and the events that created the monster. Where does a nice lady like yourself come up with such twisted story ideas?

FF:  I find inspiration in the oddest places: wind chimes, patterns in a quilt, crazy photos on the Internet, conversations (my husband is a marvelous source of inspiration—his mad ideas are endless).  Reading fabulously imaginative writers like Jack Vance, Philip K. Dick, Alfred Bester, Julian May, Ian M. Banks, Neil Gaiman and Peter F. Hamilton (yeah, I’m a big SF/F reader) somehow supercharge my imagination.  Random ideas pop in my head like little inspiration bombs when I read those writers. It’s kind of weird but wonderful.

Also, prompts from writing friends have been a great inspiration.  I used to belong to AJ Brown’s Flash Fiction group at Zoetrope Virtual Studios.  We had a friendly competition in which a prompt was offered and we had one hour to write a flash.  It’s amazing how that kind of time constraint can force your creative juices into overdrive and silence the internal critic that tends to stifle wild abandon in the imagination.  With a little practice, it creates a creative fluidity that feel marvelous and produces surprisingly effective flash stories and fodder for further story exploration. 

The novella, “Mama’s Boy,” was created before my work with AJ’s group, but it did come from a flash fiction prompt.  In fact it was micro-flash fiction for Valentines day.  The prompt was, “And that’s why I love you.”  Sweet, right?  Well, my mind immediately gave me the image of a man tracing the tip of a sharp knife down the front of a naked woman’s body.  I have no idea where that came from.  And the weird thing is, that was well before I started writing horror stories.  I suppose it was a portent. 

Thank you for the “nice lady” compliment.  I figure being the little sister to three very big brothers may have something to do with the source of my twisted imagination, but if truth be told, there’s a dark side in all of us.  There are just some of us willing to let in the light so we can see it.  Funny thing I’ve noticed, horror writers are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  Maybe purging those literary demons is good for the psyche.

BJ: Under the Dryer was the wonderful story told from the perspective of man's best friend and your story Orange and Golden was also based on man's best friend. Was either story inspired by one of your pets?

FF:  I didn’t realize it until after the story was written, but “Under the Dryer” was inspired by a magnificent Bull Mastiff I saw when I was in college.  He was in the back of a pick-up truck in the middle of Center City Philadelphia, just sitting there alone, his big old tongue lolling out of his mouth.  He was massive and amazing to me, and he appeared to be a gentle and patient soul.  I never forgot him and when “dust bunnies” in my laundry room sparked my imagination, Goliath (as I thought of him) became the perfect hero for my story.  I never got to meet that gorgeous old boy personally, but I hope that my story did his memory justice.

In a way, “Orange and Golden” was indeed inspired by one of my pets, my dog, Sandy, as well as all the marvelous dog friends I’ve had throughout my life.  I adore them, and believe dogs to be great teachers of love, forgiveness and compassion.  My Labrador, Sandy, is like a sister to me.  So when I saw a story on TV about a man who lost his dog during the Katrina disaster, I couldn’t imagine how painful that would have been for me if it had been Sandy.  In the TV story, the man was desolate and waiting for help with a huge crowd under an overpass in the horrible heat of New Orleans.  A group of amazing people somehow found him amidst all the madness and reunited him with his dog.  All I saw was this man, his face buried in the dog’s furry neck, sobbing with relief and joy.  That image brought on a well of tears and sorrow that had been building inside me from watching the devastation of the Katrina disaster.  I wrote that story because I had to, and I sobbed from beginning to end.  More than a few people have reported that it made them cry when they read it.  Dog lovers, no doubt.  We’re a soft-hearted bunch.

BJ: Some authors claim that outlining a story kills their creative edge while other authors use outlines as a roadmap of where their story is going. Do you work from an outline or go with the flow?

FF:  As I mentioned earlier, with flash fiction, I like to just let the story rip.  With a thousand words, that’s easy (and fun) to do.  With longer work, if I didn’t use an outline, the story would be a mess of wandering scenes and ideas (like my brain).  I think it would frustrate the heck out me. 

Personally, I use a rough outline, more of a scene list that I can reorder and make notes on as I go.  Stories aren’t usually linear for me—I start with a brief description of the scene that sparks an initial inspiration.  From there, I make brief scene notes as ideas for plot and characters flow.  As the story emerges, the structure of the storytelling begins to reveal itself, as well. 

For me, the outline is a scaffolding, making it easier for the writing to flow because I’m not struggling to figure out where the story/plot needs to go.  Once the outline is complete, I fast draft to get the story written, so I don’t lose momentum.  I also use the scene outline during the drafting process to notate questions about things I’m unsure of, which helps to keep me from getting hung-up on details that I can tended to later in the first re-write (I do a lot of rewriting).  I’ve realized that fast drafting comes from the creative side of my brain, and the editing/rewrite process comes from the critical side of my brain.  Keeping them separate stops me from getting bogged down, while satisfying both the creative and critical sides of my brain without having to express them at the same time.

Inevitably, my outlines change and scenes are added and omitted as I go along, but an outline helps me maintain theme and plot consistency, as well as the story arc.  The creative process is a very individual thing, but that’s how it works for me.

BJ: Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet environment to write in? If so, what sort of music or background noise to you listen to?

FF:  I’m pretty noise sensitive—kind of ADD.  I lived in a small house as a kid and had to do my homework reading with my fingers in my ears or outside, because the TV and other household noises made me nutty.  So, I work best in silence.  I love music (used to be a musician), but it’s distracting to me when I write.

With that said, recently I’ve been using some ambient music that has binaural beat technology (hemi-sync sound technology from The Monroe Institute) imbedded in it that helps to balance brainwave patterns.  The CDs I’m using are designed to improve focus, creativity and concentration, particularly good for those folks like me who can be easily distracted or overwhelmed by the environment.  I’ve used this type of technology for years for meditation, but I’ve just recently been trying the focus products for writing.  So far, so good, but it’s too early to tell if it will become my common practice.  As an aside, my daughter has used it very effectively for college—studying, designing (architecture student) and tests.

BJ: Are there any routines you do to prepare to start writing?

FF:  I don’t have any routines to prepare for writing, but the process often starts before I get up in the morning.  While I’m still in that dreamy morning state of mind, I think about my stories and let my mind wander.  I find it’s a really good time to work out story problem spots.  Seems my mind is more flexible before I get out of bed—a sort of altered state of mind, I think.

I’ve actually embarked on a new schedule.  I’m in the process of easing myself into going to bed much earlier and getting up to write between 4AM-8AM.  I’ve been battling my natural sleep rhythm for years to accommodate my late owl husband, but it’s been wreaking havoc with my writing productivity.  My best time is early morning and the perfect time to take advantage of that dreamy creative period—ideally to roll out of bed and right into my office without interruption.  That’s the plan anyway.  Right now, I’m just trying to adjust to getting to bed by 10:30. 

BJ: In the biography section of your website you mention writer's groups and writer's associations. How have writer's groups and organizations helped you in your writing?

FF:  I think that early on, writer’s groups were especially helpful.  I needed feedback and information about the industry, since I was clueless when I began writing.  As my work has evolved, the groups are more social and support related.  Some of those writing group folks from the early day are now my dearest friends. 

When I began, one of the places I found most valuable was Francis Ford Coppola’s Virtual Studios at Zoetrope.com.  It’s a great critique site (literary fiction oriented for the most part) and the place I found my buddies at The Horror Library.  The group has changed and evolved over the years, but they were instrumental in my decent into dark fiction, and I thank them for their care and support through my growing pains. 

The group has gone on to thrive in the business from those meager beginnings. Boyd Harris and RJ Cavendar, both founding members of The Horror Library and dear friends, now have a publishing company called Cutting Block Press.  Author, AJ Brown (fondly called my lil’ bro), writes his pants off and is now editing genre mags and mentoring a number of new authors in the group.  Award winning author, Kurt Dinan, and other Horror Library luminaries have established the coveted Snutch Labs writer’s group, garnering a very impressive roster of big name interviews on their blog.  The venerable Chris Perridas has established himself as a authority in the world of HP Lovecraft, and is working on a marvelous antiquities publishing project.  Others have gone on to found and edit magazines, write novels, win awards, author screen plays, make films—you name it and they’re doing it.  Although much has changed at the HL, whenever I visit, it’s still feels like going home.

BJ: You write a blog for Horror-Library Blog O'Rama and Yada Feast. How do you find writing blogs different than writing fiction?

FF:  Sadly, the Horror Library Blog-O-Rama is on extended, if not permanent, hiatus.  We had our three year anniversary in October and as founder and wrangler of the blog, it was time for me to move on to focus full-time on my own writing.  I had a marvelous team of faithful bloggers, AJ Brown, Erik Smetana, Dan Naden and Chris Perridas (plus an extraordinary group of notable genre pros who blogged for us – their Second Tuesday Guest Blogs are still available on the blog MySpace site—well worth a read) but their own projects were taking off and no one was able to take the helm, so I had to put the old girl on hold.  Maybe the new generation of Horror Library writers will pick up the reins someday.

I happen to love blogging, and I still blog at Fran Friel’s Yada Feast, but I do find it very different than writing fiction.  For some reason, I can knock a blog out with no trouble.  Once I have an idea and a picture, the words just flow like honey—sweet and easy.  But fiction is a different animal for me.  Remember that altered state thing I mentioned earlier, I think that’s the difference.  I think blogging is more of a left brained function for me, but fiction is a deeper creative process, like sculpting, painting of composing music.  The right brain functioning is more subtle and interruptions are somewhat jolting, making it harder to return to the right state of mind.  It’s like meditation in a way, at least for me, it takes time to settle in and it’s uncomfortable to be disturbed once I’m there.  With blogging, the phone can ring, the dog can bark and I can make a cup of tea and go right back to where I left off without missing beat.

BJ: You are an editor for Dark Recesses Press. Do you find that editing other people's stories helps you with your own writing - seeing what to do and not to do, what works and what doesn't?

FF:  I’m so busted, Bret.  I’ve been meaning to update the bio at my website for ages and you’ve shown me that I’ve put it off too long.  Consequently, that Dark Recesses info is a little out of date, well maybe a lot, since I haven’t edited for DRP for quite some time.  Forgive my negligent web-updating ways.

Even so, it’s a very good question.  Editing is one grueling sport.  The slush never stops coming and the advertising and subscriptions are never quite enough to let the staff breathe a sigh of relief, so it takes a tremendous amount of time, energy and effort to keep a magazine running, and I admire anyone who does it at all, especially those who do it well.

For me, editing was a real boon for my own writing and understanding of the industry.  I got to see the gory details of what doesn’t work in a story (again and again and again), what annoys editors, and how decisions are made for what gets published and what doesn’t.   Consequently, my writing improved (I hope), and I don’t take rejections personally.  From working at a fiction magazine, I know there are many reasons why a story gets rejected, even if it’s a great story, and I know why rejections/acceptance notices can take forever.  Editing taught me a lot of patience as a writer, and I’m grateful and better off for the insight.

BJ: What advice would you give to new writers?

FF:  Make sure you’re having fun.  Writing seriously can turn into work very quickly, which can also quickly take the joy out of the process.  Destroying the joy often makes one’s writing flat, forced and lacking luster and imagination.  Writing is hard work for most of us, but be sure to have some fun in the process.

I’d also recommend taking at least a few good writing classes if you haven’t studied creative writing in college (i.e. – Gotham Writers’ Workshops, Ed2Go – Writing Like a Pro, local college, community extension classes, etc).  Learning the basics up-front can save years of confusion and rejections.  The mechanics of writing isn’t rocket science, but it’s still an art and most people don’t naturally know how to do it.  It looks easier than it is.

Go to the library or your local bookshop and ask for books on writing basics.  There are tons of them, so ask for recommendations for the best.  The technical details of structure, voice, point of view, premise, etc. may be boring as heck, but they’re worth the effort if you’re serious about storytelling and writing well.

Read widely, and live widely.  Variety in reading and life will make you a better writer.  Drink up what you experience in the world and let it spill out on the page in your own unique way.  The world needs great stories, so let us have ‘em!

BJ: You have won several awards for your writing (Reader's Choice Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection from Dark Scribe Magazine, Reader’s Choice Flash Competition for Lamoille Lamentations in 2005, Slushpile Competition for The Horror Library in 2005). What's your secret?

You flatter me, Bret.  I wish I knew a secret.  Half the time I’m floundering around just trying to get words on the page.  I’m not as prolific as many writers, but all I can say is that I write stories that give me that “Ooo, that could be cool” kind of feeling when I get an inspiration.  I’ve learned that it’s got to have that spark for me, or it’s not worth writing.  Whenever I’ve succumb to writing a story that doesn’t have that spark, I’ve felt ungrounded in the writing, and the story ultimately felt flat for my readers.  Apparently, no spark for me, means no spark for anyone else.  I guess that’s really what is meant by “write what you love.”

BJ: What's next for Fran Friel?

FF:  I’ve got a novel in the works (and yes, it has that elusive spark), but I’ve had to put it on hold for a while to deal with some family issues.  However, I’m working on a series of short story ideas that I’m very eager to get on the page and out to a few anthologies and magazines.  I’m actually very excited about a few of them.  In fact, they’ve been plaguing me and making me restless to get them done.  I get cranky when I don’t move the story queue along.  It’s like a traffic jam in the back of my mind—blaring horns, disgruntled cab drivers and fumes.  Not good.  Hence, my dramatic schedule adjustment.  The edict from my waiting stories: “Get more writing done or we’re taking over your brain completely.  It won’t be pretty, so get to it Friel!”  I’m sure you get the picture.

BJ: Where can folks find out more about you?

Thanks for asking, Bret.  Folks can find more info at my website: www.franfriel.com (soon to have a fancy-schmancy updated bio—thank you for the unintended nudge, Bret!).  They can also find my writing antics at my blog: http://franfriel.blogspot.com/ .  I’m known to haunt MySpace – www.myspace.com/franfriel; LiveJournal – www.franfriel.livejournal.com ; and facebook – search Fran Friel (there’s two of us – I’m the girl!).

It’s been a joy to be here with you, Bret.  I can’t thank you and the Monster Librarian enough for the privilege.

BJ: Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule for this interview. I am looking forward to the next Fran Friel story collection.

Louise Bohmer Interview

by Rhonda Wilson

Louise Bohmer is the author of the book The Black Act.  She is also the editor-in-chief of Lachesis Publishing as well as their imprint Sinful Moments Press.  Additionally, she is the senior editor for Lachesis’ imprint, LBF Books.

RW:  Louise, thank you for taking the time to allow me to interview you.

LB:  Thank you and Monster Librarian. I really appreciate it.

RW:  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

LB: Sure. I live in the Maritimes in Canada, in the province of New Brunswick. I actually moved here about 4 years ago from Western Canada, so it was a huge move for me. Since I was young, I've had a fascination with the English language and writing, reading, poetry, anything to do with literature and the printed word. I used to sit by my little book case as a kid and read my set of encyclopedias for hours. I was that geeky. My favorite sections to read were always folklore, mythology, and entries on dead poets. (Well, I also liked the colored inserts on art, birds, butterflies, and types of mushrooms.)

I've been writing off and on from a young age. About 6 plus years ago, I decided to try and take a serious stab at it, and ended up landing some editing work with a micro press, from there I landed more editing work with small presses that had larger distribution capabilities, and I've managed to build my contacts in the industry fairly well. It has been a tremendous learning experience, and I really do love gaining knowledge on how the publishing industry works.

So now, more or less, I'm a freelancer. It's demanding, but I admit I love the pace. 

RW:  How did you get started both in the writing and publishing industries?

LB:  Basically, through contacts. I needed to build up my CV and experience first, and then it opened me up to a larger range of freelancing opportunities. Building a name as an editor as well as a writer has been crucial.

I met an editor through a writers group I belonged to, and she commented on the neatness of my work. She asked if I had ever considered trying to pursue some editing work in the small press. I said I'd certainly love to give it a stab, and she helped me get my first job. I don't work for the company now, but the experience was a great way to learn what not to do and what to do. From there, I ended up landing the position with Lachesis and their imprints, and then I received my promotion to editor in chief of Lachesis, and--I suppose it is all right to say this now too--recently I became the editor in chief of our erotic romance line, Sinful Moments Press. I'm a senior editor with our LBF Books imprint. 

Writing I started back with first as a hobby, but then I chose to give it a stab professionally. I can only pursue that goal part time, what with the editing, but I am hoping with the first book out now it starts to take off a bit more.  

RW:  Which do you enjoy more… the writing or editing side of books?  

LB:  Great and difficult question. I'd have to say the writing is ultimately my favorite, just because I can lose myself in my own world, with a story close to my heart, and my characters. I do enjoy losing myself in my characters, and letting them kind of develop the plot for me, tell the story to me as we go. That's such a peaceful, relaxing place to be, but it can be a struggle, too, when a scene decides not to work with you, and you really have to pick it out and concentrate hard to bring it into focus, to put it down on the page properly.

The editing is great exercise for the writer in me. I do find my writing has improved with the amount of editing I have been doing, and all that I have learned from editing, refreshing my mind on the many grammar rules and such. Editing has made my plot arcs stronger, my point of view handling stronger, and my management of language crisper, smoother, I think.

RW:  What authors do you consider your inspirations and/or do you enjoy reading when you have free time now?

LB:  My favorite author would be Clive Barker, but I also enjoy reading John Everson, John R. Little, and I've been wanting to get back into Ramsey Campbell lately, also. I've only read his short work, mainly. Who else? Well, I'm very fond of Romantic poets, I admit, especially Lord Byron, William Blake, and Percy Shelley. Mary Shelley as well, and I also find Margaret Atwood inspiring. I'm also a fan of Tom Piccirilli's work, Kealan Patrick Burke, Wrath James White, and Monica J. O'Rourke.

RW:  Where did you get the idea for your novel, The Black Act? 

LB: The idea came from a short story I wrote about 5 years ago, called QUEEN OF SAMHAIN. Samhain (pronounced  /ˈsɑːwɪn/ in English ) was the Celtic New Year, celebrated on November 1st, with our present day Halloween being Samhain eve.

This short story, set on the Samhain eve, told the tale of two young witch women who face some difficult odds due to one sister's dalliance with a  King of the Woods. The twin who is not suffering enchantment is left with the decision to either save her sister or save the Queen of Samhain, a forest monarch and a consort to the King of the Woods (Oak King throughout the book).

I was asked to write a Halloween themed story for a Halloween antho, so I decided to do something with this older holiday that is part of the root of today's Halloween. Queen of Samhain was the result. Later, when I sent the reprint to 

Lachesis for consideration in an anthology, Carole Spencer, the publisher, asked me to write a novel on spec, based around the world I'd created in the short story I sent in.

RW:  Was it a long writing process that started and stopped over the years or was it a novel that you just wrote straight through over a short period of time?

LB: It was about a two year writing process. I was lucky in that Carole gave me a lot of time to develop the book, and she gave me a lot of leeway with publication dates. I'm so very grateful for that because this book did take significant world building. So, it was more or less a 2 year process and fairly intensive. I wrote the first draft in about 4 - 6 months, I believe, and then another 6 for the re-write, at least, then we edited and copy edited. With edits and copy edits, the whole process ended up at roughly 2.5 years.

RW:  The Black Act is your first novel to be released and is listed within the dark fantasy / horror genre.  Are you planning on sticking within this same category for future releases or do you have other projects in mind?  What can fans expect in the future?

LB: I feel really comfortable within dark fantasy / horror, but I would like to branch out in the future. To be honest, one day, I'd even love to give a literary novel a stab. I don't want to limit myself, or get too overly comfy in one genre. But, my next book I am working on now will also lean toward horror and dark fantasy.

Tentatively titled 'Gypsy Wagon', it will deal with a young woman whose husband mysteriously dies through demons (what she calls her ghosts) attached to her past. She has a chance to resurrect him, but first she must go on a spirit quest in the woods that border her rural, secluded cabin home. She stores her husband in a large walk in freezer they keep in their basement, and sets out on her journey.

They'll be an elusive shaman in this one, a Russian gypsy grandmother, and I plan to attempt a murder mystery sub plot, among some others.

RW:  What kind of setting do you make for yourself when you prepare to write?

LB:  I prefer to write at night, in my office, and I like to listen to music on the headphones while writing. Usually I choose a CD that suits the mood of the story I am working on. Night, for me, is the most peaceful, calm time to write. I leave the day hours for business, editing, and e-mails, as well as some promotion.

RW:  Where can readers and librarians go to find out more information regarding you and your work?

LB:  Readers and librarians can surf on over to my personal site at:

http://www.louisebohmer.com or they can visit the newly launched The Black Act website at: http://www.theblackact.com . If they'd like to purchase or stock the book, they can hop over to the publisher's site and The Black Act pre-order page at: http://www.lachesispublishing.com/proddetail.asp?prod=The%5FBlack%5FAct

Or they can go over to Amazon.com to order a copy at:

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Act-Louise-Bohmer/dp/1897370164/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238274973&sr=8-1  

It was temporarily out of stock on Amazon, but is back in stock as of today, and appears to be shipping early, so you might even receive copies before the release date.

RW:  Thanks again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to allow me to interview you for the Monster Librarian site Louise.

Thank you! :-) Free promotion is very appreciated, and so helpful it's like gold, imho.

Interview with Gord Rollo

by K.D. Payne

Gord Rollo is the author of Crimson and The Jigsaw Man.  He also is the editor of Unnatural Selection and Dreaming of Angels.

Interview with Joel A. Sutherland

by Bret Jordan

Joel A. Sutherland is the author of several short stories, a children's book and just this past December he launched his first novel, Frozen Blood. I read an earlier version of the story and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only does Joel write, but he also edited and spearheaded the Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths anthology.

BJ: Greetings, Joel. First off, thank you for sparing the time for this interview.

JS: It's absolutely my pleasure, Bret.

BJ: Now, if I understand correctly, you have the best job in the world. A librarian. How did you manage that?

JS: You've got that right; it is, pretty well, the best job in the world. (Nacho taste tester and professional video gamer might be better.) And I owe it all to my beautiful wife, Colleen. About five years ago, she saw a posting on the library's website for a summer position assisting with children's programming. It's a well-known fact that I'm a three-year-old in a twenty-eight-year-old's body, so this sounded like the ideal summer job for me. I applied and never heard back. Well, not about that position, anyway. A few months later an Information Librarian position became available, they still had my resume on file, I was interviewed and landed the job. It turned out to be my dream job. Surrounded by books all day -- what's not to love?

BJ: What turned you from librarian by day to writer by night?

JS: Well, I've actually been writing for most of my life, but I only began to take publishing my work seriously in the last four or five years. Again, I have my wife to thank for this transition. (Are you sensing a pattern?) She reads more than anyone I've ever met and she recognized a certain level of quality in my fiction, so she encouraged and pushed me into sending stories to markets. She also helped me get over those first few rejections.

BJ: You have written zombie stories, ghost stories, werewolf stories and everything in between. Where do you get the ideas from - what inspires you?

JS: Coming up with story ideas is a lot harder work than I think a lot of people realize. For me, anyway. Rarely do ideas pop out of thin air or materialize in my dreams. I have to sit and think, and think, and think, and -- you get the idea -- before I have a decent idea and a way to turn it into a decent story. Most of my ideas are formed on long drives or as I lay awake in bed.

As for those specific monsters, I've consciously made an effort to write unique takes on the classics. I've still got to create a new take on Frankenstein and on Jekyll and Hyde. They will come to me eventually, but it might take many trips from Toronto to Ottawa or many sleepless nights to get there!

BJ: What inspired you to write your new novel, Frozen Blood?

JS: The creation of Frozen Blood was like a perfect storm (pun intended). The basic idea came from a storm so big and nasty it requires capitalization, the Ice Storm, which crippled Ottawa, Montreal and Kingston back in the 90s. I wrote a 3,000 word hailstorm story for an anthology about the biblical ten plagues, but it didn't make the cut. I sent it to Lachesis Publishing for an anthology of theirs, but again, it didn't make the cut.

However, the publisher and editor enjoyed the story enough to ask if I'd be interested in extending it into a novella to be published by them (it simply didn't match the style or tone of the other accepted stories). As I worked on doing so, they then asked if I'd be able to extend it to a full-length novel. At first I had no idea how to turn 3,000 words into 80,000, but luckily a handful of inspirational 'aha!' moments struck me, and it ended up not only being an educational process, but a very enjoyable one, as well.

BJ: Frozen Blood has a main character that isn't your typical heroine. She is a wreck of a lady and it gives her a realism that is often hard to capture. What gave you the idea for such a unique character?

JS: I'm not sure, exactly, but I always wanted Tara to be conflicted. I don't think even I knew how conflicted she'd become as I started writing! When everything is really clicking, my characters tell me -- instead of the other way around -- their pasts, their quirks, and their characteristics. If you read through my writing, you'll notice that there are very few unscarred characters. Storytelling hinges, after all, on characters overcoming (or not overcoming) problems. I'm interested in exploring problems of the mind.

BJ: All through Frozen Blood I felt a growing sense of tension and doom in dozens of subtle ways. For instance, Tara and her sister Evelyn are like night and day and the contrast added to the tension in the story. What other techniques do you use to create such dynamic foreboding and horror in your stories?

JS: I decided early on that one of the keys to pulling off the tension in this novel would be the seemingly never-ending storm, and readers have told me that I was successful. Every time I thought the reader might be beginning to forget about the storm, I'd mention it or have it intensify in some way. Many of the effects of the storm -- the incessant racket, the ice-encased cars and shattered windshields, the trees shattering -- were things I witnessed during the real Ice Storm.

BJ: For the most part you are a horror writer, but there is one book that fell far from that tree and shows just how versatile of a writer you are. How did The Teddy Bears of Tomorrow come about?

JS: It was a short children's story I wrote as an assignment for a Writing for Children course I used to attend, and then promptly forgot about it. A few years later I rediscovered it on my computer, dusted it off and thought it was pretty good. I sent it to Sam's Dot Publishing for a magazine of children's fiction they publish, and heard back a little time later, asking if I'd like them to publish it as a standalone illustrated storybook.

Frozen Blood, The Teddy Bears of Tomorrow ... opportunities keep on falling in my lap. I guess I've got a lucky horseshoe hidden somewhere in my body that I'm not aware of.

BJ: Something Fishy This Way Comes, though a horror story, was a bit different than your normal horror stories. Where did you come up with the idea to combine horror with a bit of humor in that one?

JS: Most of my writing life I've focused on writing humourous stories, scripts, and novels. It's only recently that I've begun to focus more on serious fare like Frozen Blood. Something Fishy, published in Permuted Press' The Undead: Skin and Bones, is about an illiterate teenage boy who takes shelter in the public library during the zombie apocalypse. I wanted to lampoon (lovingly, of course) my dream job -- I wrote it shortly after I was hired as a librarian.

BJ: Not only have you been busy as a writer, but you have also been instrumental in publishing the Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths anthology. What made you want to get into the editing and publishing side of things?

JS: It wasn't something I set out to do, more like something that evolved naturally. I was upset that an anthology collapsed, taking one of my early acceptances along with it. I began to see other contributors online complaining about the loss, and wondering if they should take on the project themselves. Nothing happened, though, and I began to think to myself, "Gee, why don't I do it?" I put the call out for submissions before I had enough time to come to my senses, realizing how much work would be involved! But it was a fun and rewarding gig, and I'm glad Graveside Tales picked up the book for publication. A lot of talented writers and artists took part in the project, and I'm rather proud of how it turned out.

BJ: Lots of writers need a certain environment to write in, music or their favorite blend of coffee keeps them going. Do you have anything special you do when you write or prepare to write?

JS: It helps if I don't have easy access to the internet. Or computer games. I've been writing by hand more and more lately, and my productively has seen a nice bump. I wrote Frozen Blood largely while listening to some fairly moody music, such as Radiohead's In Rainbows and a couple of Queens of the Stone Age and The White Stripes albums. I hope some of those bands' brilliance rubbed off on my writing!

BJ: What is next for Mr. Joel Sutherland? Anything new on the horizon?

Well, unfortunately for my fiction fans, I need to focus on completing my Masters of Library and Information Studies during the next year, so I'm not going to have as much time to work on my own projects. However, I'm still going to find the time to crank out some fiction -- I'm thinking a couple of stories, and perhaps a novella and/or a co-authored novel. I've also got a few other things in the works, so never fear! You'll still be seeing my work pop up here and there!

BJ: Finally, where on the web would a fan be able to find out more about your work?

JS: Here are the main places:

            -My personal website: http://www.joelasutherland.com

            -Livejournal: http://joelasutherland.livejournal.com/

            -Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/joelasutherland

            -Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Joel-Alexander-Sutherland/765305104

BJ: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview, Joel. I look forward to reading more of your unique and frightful stories.

JS: No need to thank me, Bret, and I appreciate your support. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go shush some noisy teenagers with my best librarian scowl painted across my face.

Interview with Melissa de la Cruz

by The Monster Librarian

Melissa de la Cruz is the talented author of young adult vampire series Blue Bloods. Her latest entry in the series is Blue Bloods 3: Revelations.   

ML: Melissa, thank you so much for this interview. We at MonsterLibrarian.com have a lot of questions for you and greatly appreciate your taking the time to answer them.  

Can you share with us how you started out as a writer? What was your path to publication?

MDLC: I started out as a journalist. My first article appeared in the New York Press in 1996. From there, I started writing for more newspapers and magazines, sometimes as a book reviewer, sometimes as a features journalist--I interviewed a lot of B-list celebrities! I also started an online fashion magazine with a bunch of friends, and I've had stints at magazines--I was a beauty editor at Allure for a while. I sold my first novel, for adults, to Simon & Schuster when I was 27 and it was published in 2001, called Cat's Meow, about a New York fashionista. I published a couple more adult books and then S&S asked me if I would be interested in writing for teens, and I published The Au Pairs with them in 2004, and I never looked back. I love writing for teens--it's what I was meant to do, totally. But I'm glad I had my freelance and fashion background--they were great material for my books.

ML: How did you end up writing YA horror fiction?

MDLC: My editor who had bought The Au Pairs moved to Hyperion and she asked me if I had any horror ideas. Again, I've been really lucky that people have liked my books enough to ask me to write for them, instead of the other way around. I've always wanted to write about vampires--again, it was like a lightbulb--THIS is what I'm meant to do! It just felt really natural.

ML: Do you enjoy writing in the horror genre?  Will we see more YA horror from you, or do you plan to go in a different direction with your writing?

MDLC: Oh yes. I love writing YA horror. Although I think of Blue Bloods as more 'fantasy'. But there will absolutely be more books in this genre. I'm writing a Blue Bloods spinoff right now called Wolf Pact, about werewolves, that I'm really really excited about, and also another new horror series I'm working on that I can't talk about right now.

ML: What would you say are the primary influences in developing the Blue Bloods?

MDLC: All the books I've loved: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Sex and the City, Flowers in the Attic, The Secret History, The Vampire Chronicles, and The Dark Tower. I always think of Blue Bloods as a younger Sex and the City crossed with a sexier Harry Potter.

ML: Did you read other YA vampire fiction before writing the Blue Bloods books?

MDLC: No. I've never read Twilight. (I did see the movie though!)  I finished Blue Bloods, submitted it to my editor, and then saw Twilight in the bookstores.  I was really worried, actually, that because Twilight came out before my book did, that no one would read mine. Happily, that's not the case at all. Because Twilight did so well, more kids wanted to read vampire books.

I read Stephen King's Salem's Lot and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles when I was a teen, and those were the vampire books that influenced me.  

ML: Revelations ended with a cliffhanger, leaving room for a sequel. What are your plans for continuing the story of Schuyler and the Blue Bloods?  

MDLC: Hyperion has bought up until Book Six, they tend to buy two at a time. There will most likely be ten books in all. I know all the main big plot points, and I know the end. But I don't know how long it will take me to get there. Book Four will be a resolution of some ma jor plot lines and will open up a new 'trilogy'. Book Five will pick up a few years after Book Four. All the books will still feature the gang: Schuyler, Jack, Oliver, Mimi and Bliss. But there will be new characters, which I am excited about.

When I wrote the Blue Bloods mythology I had a nine-book series in mind, with three trilogies. The first trilogy kind of seeped into four books, but I want to keep the next books a little tighter.

ML: The idea of vampires as fallen angels seems to be unique to your work. What influenced you to create this concept?

MDLC: A lot of people ask me if they can find my mythology "anywhere else" because it seemed SO natural that vampires were fallen angels. And I have to tell them, nope: just in my books. I've always loved the story of Paradise Lost, I thi nk Lucifer is such a great character. I did feel like when I was making up the mythology that I was excavating the story--I was so excited when I made the connection because it just felt so perfect.

ML: You use a more advanced vocabulary in the Blue Bloods books than we’ve seen in other YA vampire novels. Is that typical of your writing, or does it serve a particular purpose in the books?

MDLC: How funny you ask! I do get emails about that sometimes. I even got a hate email about my vocabulary! Someone said "Stephenie Meyer doesn't need to use words like 'ameliorate' to sound smart." Which I find so hilarious. I'm not out to impress anyone. I think that's just typical of my writing. I like big words, and I like to use them. I don't write down to my readers, I write the same exact way for my adult books. I read Dune when I was fourteen. I read Kafka and Camus at fifteen. Kids are able to read much more dense and complicated books than mine. :)

I'm not really sure what purpose it serves, but I've always loved the tone of books like Jane Austen's and Edith Wharton that very dry, very exact language.

ML: We also noticed that you create atmosphere and setting using very detailed descriptions, and that you create suspense effectively. How do you balance setting, character development, and plot when you’re writing?

MDLC: Oy! Thanks for that! I try. I don't know--I like glamorous settings, and I like richly detailed books like Anne Rice's. So I always try to set the books somewhere fun. The plot is key - I work on that to death, I do a huge outline and I try to make it all dangerous and fun and cliff-hanger-y. But when you write the book the story kind of just takes a life of its own so you have to change things as it goes. It's such a cliche, but the characters have a life of their own and you just have to follow what they want to do too.

The only book I ever wrote that emerged, perfectly, from the outline was Masquerade. None of my other books were ever that easy. Sometimes you just get lucky. My husband and I had just come from the Venice Biennale, and I wanted to introduce Lawrence in a cool way.

ML: How do you organize yourself when you’re working on several projects for a variet y of audiences simultaneously? How do you stay motivated?

MDLC: It's difficult. But the fun is that I get to be in different worlds. I can't work on books that are too alike. I'll hear a song and I'll think, oh that's perfect for my chic-lit book, or then I'll read something and think it's perfect for Blue Bloods. It keeps me interested in a variety of things.

I think it's really helpful to be curious about the world. Writers want to know what makes people tick, and how the world works. I love learning about new stuff kids are doing, or new slang, or just, everything that's new. I like being trendy. It keeps me young and the books interesting. I'm never bored with life. There's always something new to discover.

ML: What’s your routine? Do you need peace and quiet to write, or do you prefer to write with music playing?

MDLC: I need total silence. And I need to work in an office away from my home.  I used to be able to work at home before I had a kid, but now my little girl wants to play all the time and it's heartbreaking to say no. So it's easier if I just get out. Also, because I had a day job for all those years and wrote my books at work, I really like being in an office to write. The sound of typing is very soothing.

I like music on when I'm editing, but that's the only time. I like to take dance breaks though. I'll work and then I'll put on some house music and dance around for five minutes and then it's silence again and writing.

ML: Do you write a series with a story arc in mind before you start? When you are writing a series, how much of the plot and the details do you already have worked out in your head and how much occurs when you are writing that specific book in the series?

MDLC: I always know the big arc, the big plot points, the big story. I work out a lot of things in my head for a long time. It took a year to write Blue Bloods. Kids want the books so quickly, but it takes a long time to do these things. I had the idea for the werewolves for a long time too, but I didn't even want to sell it until I was really able to think about it for a year. While I think there's an advantage to doing things quickly, I think writing books takes time. And it's good to let them sit in your head for a while.

ML: To wrap up, is there anything you’d like to share with librarians and readers?

MDLC: I'd like to thank all the librarians for your support--you guys are the best, and you really care about the kids. It's so nice to meet you guys on tour, and the kids are really lucky to have you. For my readers, I have a special Christmas treat for them, so check out my website around the 25th for a fun Blue Bloods surprise.

 

Thanks so much for giving us the opportunity for this interview. We at MonsterLibrarian.com appreciate your taking the time to answer our questions. We look forward to reading your future work!

Thanks for having me!! It was a pleasure!!

Interview with Steve Vernon

by The Monster Librarian

This month we interview Steve Vernon, whose latest book Gypsy Blood has just been released from Five Star.  Steve's other titles that have reviewed here are Long Horn, Big Shaggy , The Last Stand of the Great Texas Packrat , Nothing to Lose, and his contributed to Right House on the Left.

ML:  Steve, thank you for taking the time to do this interview.

SV: My pleasure, Dylan. I'm always happy to talk about my work.

ML: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SV : Well, I am a bit of an odd duck. I make a living reading palm and Tarot and telling stories. I think of myself as a crazy urban gypsy.

I've been writing since the mid 80's but I feel as if I've only begun to get serious about my work.

ML: Interesting. Carnival, the main character in your new book, Gypsy Blood, is also a fortuneteller. How much of his development as a character comes from your personal experience?

SV: I drew a lot from my life and a lot more from the life I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have lived. I often wonder what might happen if I set up a palm reading shop in some inner city retail sector and hung a sign in the window. Of course, I don't have any of my ancestors caged up inside my heart - at least none that I'm aware of.

However, Carnival, (the protagonist from Gypsy Blood), is a lot like I imagine myself to be. Quick-witted, a master of repartee, and a man of dubious action.

Mind you, in reality, I am nothing like Carnival. I often put my foot in my mouth, rarely know what to do, and think with the speed of a molasses tortoise.

ML: You mentioned you're a storyteller.  That certainly comes across in your writing.  Do you do any oral storytelling?

SV:I have worked for several years as an oral tradition storyteller. Working with local schools I travel from classroom to classroom and have told my tales to audiences ranging from fifteen to five hundred people. I tell ghost stories, legends, folklore and stories I've written. I'm not a quiet storyteller, either. You won't find me whispering by candlelight. I get up, I roar, I jump around.

I am competing with video games and cable television. I've got to keep the volume turned up to the max!

ML: That's great. Storytelling in the oral tradition is really becoming a lost art.  Do you translate your oral stories into writing, or does it work the other way around? Or are they entirely different processes?

SV: I have translated my oral stories into written format - especially in my ghost story collections. It can work in the other direction as well. Oral storytelling or writing prose - they are all ways of tapping into the very same creative source.

ML: You've told stories at local schools. Have you written for children or teens, or thought about it?

SV: Actually, my latest project is a YA novel. It is very Canadian and has very little to do with the horror genre. I also have a children's picture book manuscript that is in development with a regional press.

ML: That's neat. I've noticed that your writing is hard to classify. Your stories have been varied in nature. Do you see yourself mainly as a horror writer?

SV: I used to. However, I also am a journalist, a poet, and even once a playwright. I am branching away from the horror genre a bit, although I still have several manuscripts sold and due to be released in 2009-2010. These days I'm just a writer. The guy stringing works together and trying to make a living out of it. I am finding it necessary to branch out in order to achieve that financial autonomy.

ML: When you're writing a story, how do you go about it? Do you write in bits and pieces? Do you listen to music?

SV: I rarely listen to music. I find it distracts me. Ideally I like to start up a project knowing where I'm beginning and where I'm ending - that is, the first scene and the last. Then I just drive from one to the other. Lately, I've found myself a little stretched for energy. The time I dedicate to writing has become a little harder to manufacture - I'm so busy promoting current works as well as just making a living. For example, today I spent about six hours at a book signing at the cruise ship dock, in order to sell 34 copies of my ghost story collections. That's a lot of time spent, but it's necessary to get the books out there. I am a hand seller.

ML: You sound pretty invested in getting your ghost story collections out there.

SV: Well, I have been telling these stories in schools across the Maritimes and the Nova Scotia School Board was so pleased with the book Haunted Harbours: Ghost Stories From Old Nova Scotia that they ordered 560 copies for inclusion in the in-class libraries of every Grade 11 clasroom in the province. Both collections are a big hit with school age kids and grown-ups alike.

I see them as a natural bridge into the YA market - which is where I am aiming myself. In addition to the hand-selling I am currently working on my second article for FATE magazine, a Halloween article for a tourist website, a paranormal column for Shroud magazine and my YA novel. I am building a highway, I guess.

I should add, that although my YA novel doesn't have any elements of horror in it - there are certainly strong elements of the paranormal in it.

ML: Sounds like you are very busy!  The important question is, does your YA novel have a vampire?

SV: No sir. It does have a sea serpent. And bagpipes.

Bagpipes are very scary.

ML: Agreed.

Getting back to horror, what would you say are the primary influences on your writing? Did you start out as a horror reader, or did your inspirations come from somewhere else?

SV: I started out reading neo-pulp - Doc Savage, Hardy Boys, Fu Manchu, The Executioner, Leo Kessel's SS stories, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Dracula. That's where I learned to write. I also picked up every horror novel I could find as well as the entire run of Dark Shadows - both comic book and novel format.

ML: How would you say your early reading influenced your writing?

SV: It gave me a sense of pacing. It gave me an ear for dialogue and a need for clarity.

Hemingway taught me how to say it straight. Bukowski tipped me off to wild metaphors.

ML: Your horror writing seems to have a fair amount of humor infused into it.

SV: I like a good laugh as much as any other guy. I find that the muscles required for concentrated belly laughing are awfully close to the muscles required for a blood-curdling scream.

ML: Getting back to Gypsy Blood, it looks to be the first book in a cycle. What should we expect from book two?

SV: That's a pretty good question. I have a rough outline of book two - however the publisher of Gypsy Blood - Five Star/Gale/Cengage - has just announced that it is getting out of the horror/fantasy line. That leaves the future of the Gypsy Blood series in a state of dangerous unpredictability. That isn't a good place for a palm reading protagonist to find himself in.

ML: I guess even fortunetellers can't always know the future.

SV: Heh. I was aiming in that direction.

Glad you picked up on the pun.

ML: Is there anything you'd like to share with librarians and readers before we wrap this up?

SV: Well, I could tell them to keep an eye out for my second novel due out from Delirium Press next year. I could also tell them to keep an eye out for my four author - four novella weird western collection from Cemetery Dance (with Keene, Lebbon, Curran and myself). I could also mention that I've got a story sold to Shivers V, from Cemetery Dance.

I could also mention that they ought to pick up my new novella LEFTOVERS from Magus Press, available for pre-order at Horror Mall or directly from the publisher. I could also tell them to look for my third ghost story collection due out next Spring. However I am far too modest to mention any of these accomplishments.

So let's pretend I didn't say a thing, shall we?

ML: Thanks for not sharing all that great news.

SV: What great news?

ML: It sounds like you are reaching out in many directions. We will look forward to seeing more of your outrageous writing in the future. 

Interview with Rio Youers

by Bret Jordan

 Rio Youers is an up and coming author to keep your eye on. A year or so ago I reviewed his novel, End Times for MonsterLibrarian and was just awestruck by his capabilities as an author. This led me to go to his website, www.rioyouers.com, and download Old Man Scratch which just so happens to be one of the best short stories I've ever read. Imagine Grumpy Old Men as a horror story. It had humor, horror, and heart, taking the reader from laughing to crying to cringing. After that I read Mama Fish and was again blown away by his capabilities. His latest release, Everdead, is a novel that I plan to be the first in line to get.

BJ: Hello, Rio. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to allow me to interview you.

RY: It’s my pleasure. I like interviews, because I get to tell the truth, which is often a welcome interlude from the satisfying, but sometimes taxing, process of writing fiction.

BJ: At what point in your life did you decide to start writing, and why horror?

RY: I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I know that’s an unexciting, cliché answer, but it happens to be true. At some point it graduated from being a child’s hobby to a young man’s passion. I was probably sixteen years old when I thought that being a writer would be a good way to make a living, and I started submitting to agents and publishers at around that time. Without success, obviously; I was a passionate writer at sixteen, but not a good one. I soon amassed an impressive pile of rejection letters, and mustered encouragement from the less-scathing ones. I kept plugging away – not because I wanted to be published, but because I loved writing stories – and eventually the successes came. But it was a long time coming, and there is still a long way to go.

Why horror? I really don’t know. My stories have always had a dark edge. I guess that’s just the way my mind leans. I enjoy all kinds of books and movies. I loved Kung-Fu Panda and I thought Hancock was great fun. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is one of my favorite books of all time, and I still cry openly when I watch It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas. But when I write, it’s like my brain becomes this charnel house filled with vaults and alcoves that no normal person would dare look into. I think that if I had written It’s a Wonderful Life, Bedford Falls would have been filled with vampires and cannibals. “Every time a bell rings, a town’s person is eaten alive.” Yeah … it may have lost its universal rating, and some of its festive cheer, but it would have been fun.

But why? Seriously, I don’t know. Dr. Phil probably has an answer, but I’m afraid I don’t.

BJ: What movies, books and authors have influenced you?

RY: I don’t think there’s a horror writer alive today that hasn’t been inspired, to some degree, by Stephen King. It’s not just that he’s a great writer – he’s a great storyteller. The great American storyteller, and I think the future will remember him as fondly as Hemingway or Steinbeck. Graham Greene is also a huge inspiration to me, because he writes so beautifully. You get the sense that every sentence is constructed with the utmost care. His books are often short, but they are powerful and incredible pieces of work. And then there’s Peter Straub, who falls somewhere between the two: a great storyteller who writes beautifully. He was the first writer to teach me that you can write wonderful, spooky tales, and you can write them with care and consideration, and without apology. Most of the books I had read up until the time I read Ghost Story were about killer bugs or brain-munching zombies, but I found that you can be just as terrifying – no, more so – with a carefully selected turn of phrase. It was a huge lesson to me. I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Straub read my new novel, Everdead. It’s somewhat intimidating, I have learned, to have one of your heroes read and critique your work. Probably the next time I feel like this will be at my Final Judgment. But Mr. Straub enjoyed my novel, which made me very happy, and made the whole ride so worthwhile.

As for books and movies … well, the list is long. A few stand-outs would be Stand by Me, An American Werewolf in London, Pulp Fiction (I love the dialog in Tarantino’s movies – part comic book, part Elmore Leonard). And books … obviously the works of the authors named above, and a trove of other titles, including Catcher in the Rye, 1984, Dracula (of course), and a book called The Crosskiller by Marcel Montecino, which was outrageous and violent and fun, and it taught me not to be afraid to push the boundaries.

But I find inspiration in a lot of things: good people, good conversation, good music. The right melody at the right time can lift me like a bird. I love when that happens, when you get that glow inside you, that purpose, and you are moved to fill the page with words. To quote Freddie Mercury: “It’s a kind of magic.”

BJ: I had a blast reading End Times. It was unlike any other horror novel I've ever read, and the main character wasn't the typical “hero” type. What inspired you to write the story?

RY: End Times was a conveyor book. It moved along on its own and I had to run alongside to keep up. I really feel as if the story was totally in control, and that I had very little to do with it; I was just a host – a way for the story to be told. It was a thrilling experience, because I didn’t know what was going to happen.

The spark for the novel came from a dream in which I was following a beautiful young woman through the woods, and I noticed that she was floating - that her feet were not touching the ground. I woke up wanting to know more about her, believing she had a story to tell. She floated in my mind for a little while, and eventually her purpose emerged. I started to write about her, and then the story got its hooks in me and dragged me along for the ride.

It’s difficult – maybe even impossible – to give a concise answer as to what inspired me to write End Times, simply because the book wrote itself.

BJ: In End Times you deal quite a bit with the American Indian. Did you have to do a lot of research about them?

RY: Yes, an extensive amount; while the book was happy to write itself, I still had to do all the necessary research. But I like research. It always seems like puzzle-solving to me. And the subject was fascinating, too, which makes the process more enjoyable. I read several books to give me the flavor of life on a modern-day reservation, and the Internet proved extremely valuable. This was eight years ago, so there wasn’t as much information on the ’net as there is today, but I found what I was looking for. I was also able to e-mail people for the answers I couldn’t find. For instance, the troubled protagonist, Scott Hennessey, is given a Lakota name when he goes to the rez: Nabokazunte Nichola, which means “No Fingers.” That’s the sort of thing you don’t find on the Internet, no matter how much digging you do. I had to e-mail a Lakota language center for the translation. I find that most people are happy to help, provided you ask politely.

The Native American research, while challenging, was actually a cakewalk compared to some of the other research I had to do for End Times. I’m thinking about the articles and papers I read on self-mutilation. I’m thinking about the reformed heroin users I spoke to, in depth, about their illness. If End Times was going to work, I needed Scott Hennessey to be believable, and that involved some brutal research. One of the questions I am often asked by people who have read End Times is: “Have you ever taken heroin?” The answer is no, but the fact that the question is asked means that Scott’s illness is accurately depicted.

BJ: Old Man Scratch is in my top ten list of all time favorite short stories, probably in the top three of that list. Where did the idea for that story come from?

RY: A dead raccoon gave me the idea. It was lying in someone’s driveway, all stiff and dusty. It occurred to me that the owner of the house would have to come out, probably with a shovel and rubber gloves, and remove the unfortunate creature. I wondered if this was a common occurrence, if the owner had a specific shovel they used for the job. The roadkill shovel. And then I got to thinking about roadkill, and how it always seems to disappear inside of a day or two. This was enough to kickstart my imagination. I moved a few ideas around in my head, and eventually had a blueprint to work from.

Old Man Scratch is a story that really grew on me as I was writing it. The characters took hold in my mind, all of them, and they became real to me. They became friends. I think that’s when you know that your story is going to be good – when you can feel your characters breathing from the page.

It’s also a story that started out being about one thing (what happens to the roadkill?) and ended up being about something else entirely (age and aloneness). When that happens, when the story moves in and steers itself west instead of east, it’s a clear indication that the story is in control, that it’s writing itself, and you just have to let it happen. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s like Pinocchio turning into a real boy.

BJ: Mama Fish is another story that I read and really enjoyed, it sucked me in and made me keep reading until it was finished. If I remember correctly it takes place in America. Was that hard to write, with you being from England?

RY: I’ve been living in North America for seven years now, so it feels natural to set my fiction here. It’s just a question of nailing the little details, and that comes down to puzzle-solving again – doing the research. I blitzed the first draft of Mama Fish and didn’t worry about the details. I just wanted to get the story down. Second time through I made sure that all my strings were tight and in tune. Most of the novella is set in and around a high school. I went to school in England, and my only experience with American high schools has come through movies like The Breakfast Club and Porkies (which I assume to be accurate representations … right?). I have a good friend – he’s as American as apple pie - and I sent him a copy of the story when it was mostly done. He read it, checking for the inconsistencies that might come from an English mind … checking to see that it read like an American story, told from an American’s perspective. He e-mailed back to say that I’d nailed it, which was pleasing. He also loved the story, which pleased me even more.

Like all my stories, it seems, there was a good deal of research that went into Mama Fish, from urban development in the American northeast, to spinal injuries and rehabilitation for paraplegics. These are subjects I know (or knew) nothing about. But you have to go prospecting. You have to solve those puzzles. And when you do – when it all comes together – it can be extremely satisfying.

BJ: Now, you have a new vampire novel coming out. I haven't read Everdead, but it takes place in a European hot spot, doesn't it? What is that place like, and why did you decide to set your vampire novel in that location?

RY: San Antonio is in Ibiza, which is a little island off the coast of Spain, and every summer it is besieged by (mostly European) tourists who are looking to exorcise their frustrations with a little fun in the sun – which usually involves sex, drugs, and hard-driving techno music. I went there back in the nineties. I was younger then, and better-equipped to deal with the excesses of youth (and techno music). The place blew my mind. There are no rules or inhibitions. Anything goes. I always describe it to Americans as Spring Break on steroids, but even that doesn’t come close. A number of things occurred to me in the two weeks that I was there. Firstly, there isn’t a lot of activity during the daylight hours. Most people are sleeping off the night before – crashed out by the pool or on the beach. But as soon as the sun goes down, the whole town comes to life. It becomes a loud, bright carnival. The second thing that occurred to me is that caution is pretty much left behind. It’s not included when you’re packing the sunscreen and your passport. The rule that we’re all taught as children, Don’t Talk to Strangers, just doesn’t apply. There’s a lot of stranger-talking going on. And there are a lot of people, drunk, high, or just swooning in the excitement of the island, who disappear with complete strangers at the end of the night. Which is pretty scary, when you think about it. Another thing that occurred to me – because the fundamental things certainly do not apply – is that you can go missing for two or three days before alarm bells start ringing. I saw it happen. People just disappear for a couple of days. Having fun. Doing their own thing. It’s a reckless environment.

I got to thinking that San Antonio in Ibiza would be the perfect place for a vampire. It is alive with young, sexy people who are willing – almost encouraged – to walk with strangers. Most importantly, they all come out at night. If I was a vampire, I wouldn’t be terrorizing villagers in some Transylvanian village … I’d be in Ibiza, wearing designer clothes and dancing the night away. Until I got thirsty, and then my choices would be bountiful.

Also, it’s just a great place to set a vampire novel. It’s fast-paced, exciting and exotic, and it gives the story a breath of originality. And I believe that when you write within the vampire genre these days, you have to strive to do something different.

BJ: I've seen the cover by Alan M. Clark and the blurb from Peter Straub and I'm dying to get my paws on Everdead, but I'm curious about your vampires. Are they the suave and haughty vampires of legend, are they vicious killers who are driven by their appetites, or are they somewhere in between?

RY: That’s a good question. There are two types of vampire in Everdead – again, striving to do something different. Luca Giancarlo Carzola is my main vampire, the central character in the book. He’s young (well … he’s over a hundred years old), handsome, and Italian. He’s more in the suave-and-haughty category of vampire, and was actually inspired by Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror Dracula movies of yesteryear. I don’t mean that he’s fifty years old and wears a cape, but Christopher Lee’s vampire always had a powerful and hypnotizing presence that I was keen to have Luca share. That being said, he’s still essentially an animal – sleeps in crates and in the earth, or wherever there is darkness.

Then we have The Originals: a storm of gargoyle-like creatures – the first vampires, who hunt the darkness for their inferior descendants. They are vampire legend, and it is said that you’ll only see them once. The Originals are vicious killers. No doubt about it. So Luca becomes the hunter and the hunted, which offers the story an interesting dynamic.

I wanted to boogie with tradition, but also offer something unique. Aspects of Everdead pay homage to some of the great vampire stories and movies I have enjoyed over the years. But the overall feel of the book is quite unique. It’s fun and frightening. It’s light and dark. Peter Straub certainly enjoyed it. He actually e-mailed me prior to reading it, basically warning me not to get my hopes up because he isn’t normally a fan of vampire fiction. But he read Everdead – in a state of absolute pleasure, by all accounts – and that filled my long-suffering writer’s heart with so much pride that I thought it would split open. It’s all a question of preference at the end of the day, but I think, with Everdead, that I did a pretty good job.

BJ: I know when I write I need peace and quiet and my own environment. Is it the same for you, or can you write anywhere while listening to music?

RY: Yes. I can write anywhere, at any time. I’m not bothered by noise or the things that might be going on around me. I just zone-out, find the hole, and disappear. I write on trains and in bars. I write in crowded rooms or empty spaces. I can write in a box. I can write with a fox. And always shorthand (I only ever use my computer when I’m at home). Ideally, I am sitting at my kitchen table, listening to MLB Gameday Audio. When I edit and revise, I prefer ruthless, ball-crunching rock and roll.

BJ: What's next on the Agenda for Rio Youers? Are you working on anything now?

RY: Absolutely. I’m always working on something, and that’s just the way I like it. Right now I’m moving toward the end of my new novel. It’s called Souls Fall and it seems like I’ve been writing it for approximately eight hundred years. The end is in sight, however – no more being sidelined by other projects. And I’m extremely happy with it so far. I need to put it in a box and shake the crap out of it (while listening to ball-crunching rock and roll, of course), but I’m confident that there will be a pretty damn good story at the end of it.

Souls Fall should be published next year. I’m also looking to publish a collection of my shorter works, which will include Mama Fish and Old Man Scratch. I need one more kickass story for the collection, though, which I will write after finishing Souls Fall. I already have the idea – or think I do, but I’m willing for the story to turn west instead of east and take me for a ride. With any luck, the collection will be published in the second half of ’09.

BJ: Finally, I know your website is www.rioyouers.com. Are there any other online links for your fans?

RY: I have a MySpace page that is covered in dust. I need to do something with it, when I get time. I look at it every now and again – think to myself, I really need to do something with this. And then I hit the X in the top right-hand corner of the screen, and forget about it for several weeks. Other than that, I would encourage people to visit my favorite sites. I usually lurk, and occasionally post, on the forum at www.gravesidetales.com, which is filled with great people who share my love and enthusiasm for the genre. I’m a lurker at The Horror Mall, too, which is also brimming with great people – both readers and writers. www.joehillfiction.com is another favorite website. I think Joe Hill is an incredible talent, and the most exciting new writer to hit the scene since Clive Barker. I also spend way too much time on You Tube. I watch the same video over and over again, and never seem to get bored of it. Just type in “Jumping Lizard” and you’ll see what gives me my daily dose of the chuckles.

BJ: I would like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview and I wish you the best with Everdead and your career as a writer. You can bet I will be keeping an eye out for Rio Youers books.

RY: Thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure. But now, just thinking about “Jumping Lizard” … I just have to go and watch it again.

An Interview with Steven E. Wedel

by Bob Freeman

It just wouldn’t be Werewolf Month without having a chat with everyone’s favorite shapeshifting scribe, Steven E. Wedel. The author of the critically acclaimed Werewolf Saga, which includes Murdered by Human Wolves, Shara, Ulrik, and the short story collection Call of the Hunt, Steven is also a family man and a high school English teacher in his home state of Oklahoma. So, armed with the cyber-equivalent of silver bullets and wolfsbane, I stalked the literary lycanthrope beneath the light of an Internet full moon and cornered him with some magickally charged questions:

Bob Freeman: First, I’d like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here at the Monster Librarian for Werewolf Month.

Steven E. Wedel: Thank you for having me, Bob! Werewolf month, huh? Man, I love the sound of that. Makes me want to build up the fire and put on my wolfskin belt for some dancin’.

BF: So tell me Steve, what led you down the path of writing werewolf fiction?

SEW: I was just writing my biography at first. Oh, wait. I wasn’t supposed to tell that part.

About 15 years ago I had this image of a woman standing over the corpse of her husband and saying, “I told you I’m a real bitch during my monthly.” She meant something a little more than what my wife becomes during that time of the month. That woman became Shara and that was the climactic scene in the short story “Biological Clock,” which was first published in Mausoleum magazine in late 1993 (and later included as a chapter in the novel Shara).

Later, in a writing class I was taking, I had to develop a character and put her into a situation the teacher dictated. I decided to go with this Shara character I’d created, and pretty soon I’d brought her into contact with Josef Ulrik and the thing just blossomed and grew and now is up to four books.

BF: I’m a huge fan of the werewolf mythos myself and have always felt that they were an underused horror trope, not only in literature but in cinema as well. For you, who got it right? What’s your favorite werewolf story?

SEW: Sure, and you’re a damn fine author of the lycanthropic tale, yourself, Mr. Freeman. Your new book is gonna rock some socks. But wait! This is about me.

Okay, confession time. I don’t read that much werewolf fiction. On the one hand, I don’t want to read what someone else has done and think they’ve copied me (they probably didn’t, but I have this huge … ego). And, I don’t want to subconsciously copy things others have done. It can be a rather limiting subgenre, so I just try to avoid getting incestuous.

That said, I loved Gary Brandner’s first THE HOWLING and Kelley Armstrong’s BITTEN. The canonical werewolf text still has to be Robert Louis Stevenson’s THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Although Mr. Hyde isn’t actually a werewolf, it’s obvious that Stevenson knew the appeal of the beast, and the potential danger inherent in releasing your inner monster.

There’s also Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris. Everyone who loves the beasties should read that one.

The most recent werewolf novel I read was W. D. Gagliani’s Wolf’s Trap, which I really enjoyed. I bought Ray Garton’s Ravenous a while back. I love Ray’s writing and look forward to reading this book … eventually.

I read a lot of non-fiction about werewolves … inquisition trials, legends, even some of the hokier stuff where the “werewolf” is supposed to be someone possessed by the devil in modern times.

BF: How about on the silver screen? For me, I always dug Hammer’s Curse of the Werewolf starring Oliver Reed, though Lon Chaney Jr’s portrayal of Larry Talbot in Universal’s The Wolf Man was probably the quintessential werewolf film. Your thoughts?

SEW: I love The Wolf Man. No doubt about it. The first horror movie I can remember watching and liking was Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. But, for all its influence and many great things, that first wolf-man movie is pretty flawed. The cops claimed the victims’ throats were torn out, but poor Larry only seemed to strangle them. I think house cats were mutilating the bodies after Larry killed them. And people saw wolf prints, but did you see Larry’s feet? Seriously, it’s a great film if for no other reason than Curt Siodmak compiling, creating and solidifying what we think we know about werewolves today.

My personal favorites are The Company of Wolves and The Howling (only the first one!!!). I couldn’t count how many times I’ve watched The Company of Wolves, but every time I do I find something new to ponder. It’s just an unbelievable film. The Howling was the first “modern” werewolf movie I watched. It was on VHS, and it really creeped me out for a while.

A close third would be Dog Soldiers. That is one great movie. And the werewolves aren’t even CGI.

The Hammer movie is great, too. Hammer did a lot of things right with a lot of their movies. Oliver Reed did a fantastic job of portraying the werewolf there. And it’s the best adaptation of Endore’s novel.

BF: All right, I can sense that you’re chewing at your leash. I get the feeling you’re wanting to talk about something. That wouldn’t be your new release from Scrybe Press would it? What was it called again?

SEW: I don’t remember.

Oh wait! It’s all coming back to me now. The book is called Ulrik. It’s the third volume of The Werewolf Saga and was just released at the end of June. I’m incredibly excited to have it out there. It’s almost 400 pages of the most complex plotting I’ve done so far.

BF: I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to getting my oversized mitts on Ulrik. It’s been a long time coming. Why don’t you take us back to where it all started, with Shara.

SEW: That’s a long and winding road! I already told you about the birth of Shara and Ulrik. I finished the first draft of Shara in 1997, I think it was. I was taking another creative writing class, this time with mystery author Carolyn Wheat. When I started submitting the novel I came up with this idea that I would become to werewolves what Anne Rice was to vampires. Yeah, I dreamed BIG. By this time Mausoleum had published three werewolf stories by me and another had appeared in a small anthology. I collected those four, wrote four new ones and put them in a saddle-stapled chapbook I made myself and gave away or sold pretty cheap. The idea was to get my name out there and attached with werewolves. That was the first edition of Call to the Hunt. The campaign wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped … but now there are a few people out there who really want one of those original copies. Weird. They were just something I made on the copier at work.

Anyway, Shara was published by 3F Publications in 2003. The publisher had a lot of enthusiasm, but not much business savvy. Soon after publishing Shara (and several other books), the company folded. As 3F was going through its death throes, Scrybe Press was just getting started. Nathan Barker had read Shara and liked it and asked if I had anything else. Well, I’d written Murdered by Human Wolves with the intention of giving it away to everyone who bought Shara through Shocklines bookstore, but that never happened. So I offered it to Nathan, who was specializing in affordable chapbooks, and he accepted it.

About a year later I got the rights back to Shara and Nathan bought the book, and the rights to be the publisher of all The Werewolf Saga books. He dubbed Murdered by Human Wolves as Book One. At the time, I wasn’t thrilled about that. I saw MbHW as a supplemental thing and not really a part of the series. But, one of the main characters from that one plays a huge role in the new book, so it all worked out very well.

I wrote the first few chapters of Ulrik right after finishing Shara in ’97. But, at the time, I didn’t know where to go with the story after Joey ran away. It took me about eight years to figure it out. Okay, well, I might have figured it out sooner if I’d tried, but I was busy writing other stuff and going through some pretty big life shifts.

I’ve begun the next book, too, but it’s stalled at the moment. Based on the ending of Ulrik, I have to make some hard decisions about a couple of key characters, and the muse hasn’t decided which way to jump just yet. So I’m working on something else.

BF: My own experience with your work started with Murdered by Human Wolves. Researching that story must have been fascinating. It’s so compelling.

SEW: Well, thank you! Actually, the research was incredibly rushed. I’d lost my job with a major energy company when it merged with another company. I had to move back to the Oklahoma City metro area, where I took a $30,000 pay cut and went back to my journalism career for a short time. While I was working at that newspaper the photographer told me about Katherine Cross’s grave and how he went there with his wife and one of her friends who claimed to be a witch. The “witch” took some dirt off Katherine’s grave, put it in a jar she then put on her mantle at home and later had to get rid of it because it was creeping her out. Naturally, I had to look into it.

I was barbecuing and talking to the publisher of 3F on the phone about promo stuff and mentioned what I’d heard. She told me to write what I thought would be a short story for that Shocklines promotional chapbook, but she needed it quickly. I got lucky and found Mary Franklin through the Oklahoma City Ghost Club and she provided the bulk of what I used in the story. The people in Konawa either had never heard of Katherine Cross, or wouldn’t talk about her.

What Mary told me was very fascinating. I put pretty much all of it into the feature article in the back of the book.

BF: So, tell me about teaching high school English. Is it as horrifying as it sounds?

SEW: Yes. The school where I work is an independent district within Oklahoma City. We have an incredibly high percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, which is the standard they use to determine the level of poverty in the district. Only about 24 percent of our graduating seniors go on to college. There’s racial tension, fights, departmental politics, all that kind of stuff.

But, I’ll tell you this. I’ve had a lot of jobs, and have earned a lot more money than I make as a teacher, but this is the only job I really love. It can be incredibly frustrating when you’re trying to teach the subtlety of Animal Farm to a bunch of sophomores who’ve never heard of the Soviet Union and are more worried about whether they’ll go home to their meth-addicted mother or to state custody after school. But when a student comes to me and says, “Mr. Wedel, your English class was the funnest class I’ve ever had, and I really learned a lot,” I remind them that “funnest” isn’t a word and get all warm inside. The great thing about teaching English is that you can really talk about anything because there’s literature to cover it.

It’s a hard job, though. Not the planning, lecturing and grading. The hard part is when you have a student crying because she’d rather stay in school than go home, or because her dad drank all the family’s money and she hasn’t eaten for two days. But they’ll beg you not to tell because state or foster care is worse than what they have. There’s nothing harder than seeing that kid wipe her eyes and leave. But there’s nothing better than the reward of seeing that kid graduate despite all the odds, too.

BF: Who are you reading now? What authors inspire you?

SEW: Lord help me. I’m reading Chaucer. I got through 42 years of life and earned a master’s degree without having to read The Canterbury Tales, but this fall I start teaching Advanced Placement Senior English and I have to foist Chaucer on the kids, so I’m subjecting myself to it now. I’m sure it’s sacrilege for an English teacher to say this, but I just don’t care for Chaucer and Shakespeare.

I’m teaching summer school right now, and it’s remediation for kids who did poorly on reading exams during the school year. I had them read Stephen King’s The Long Walk, and we were able to learn parts of speech, vocabulary, personification, setting, plot, theme … all that hoity-toity stuff without the drudgery of archaic language.

BF: The life of a writer can be very lonely at times, especially when you’re locked in the throes of battle with your muse. How do you deal with the isolation? What is it that pushes you?

SEW: Bob, I have four kids at home. Two are teenagers and the other two are ages 7 and 6. Do you know what I would give for some isolation? For five hours without hearing, “Dad, can I have …” or “Dad, will you take me to …” or “Dad, [insert kid’s name] just hit me”? I get to write in spurts, and if I’m lucky I’ll get 30 minutes uninterrupted. A lot of times it gets to where my family can’t be around me because I’m grumpy and on edge because I need to write – NEED it like a junkie – and then my wife will take the kids somewhere and I’ll get an entire afternoon to work.

What pushes me is the story. I want to tell it. I want to explore it. I seldom know exactly where I’m going when I set out on a literary adventure. I just start writing and things happen on the page. I’m lucky in the fact I can write quickly and can slip right back into a scene after a long interruption.

BF: I know that we authors can be a superstitious lot. Do you have any rituals that you perform? Music you listen to while you work?

SEW: No, not really. I do listen to a lot of dark instrumental music when I write – Midnight Syndicate, Nox Arcana, Danny Elfman movie soundtracks – but it isn’t necessary. I can’t listen to music with lyrics.

I had a marble egg I used to roll in my hands while thinking about a scene or character, but that was replaced by a set of Chinese jingle balls Marcy Italiano gave me.

Sacrificing a goat at the start of every new chapter doesn’t count, does it?

BF: What’s on the horizon for Steven E. Wedel?

SEW: Next up is the publication of a short story called “Okie Werewolf Seeks Love” in Graveside Tales’ anthology The Beast Within. This deviates from the established rules of my Werewolf Saga, and is played for the humor.

After that, Bad Moon Books will be releasing a limited edition novelette called Little Graveyard on the Prairie. This one is about an Oklahoma farmer with Alzheimer’s disease, a ruined farm and an estranged ex-wife and daughter. He’s taken to growing a new crop on his farm. Now, he’s haunted by his own memories and maybe by more than that. It’s a very personal book for me; the farm is the one where my paternal grandparents lived, and my grandpa suffered with Alzheimer’s for years before he passed away. It’s a horrible, unfair disease, and something I really fear. As a result, I think this little book may be the best writing I’ve done. There’s one scene that still makes the hair stand up on my neck when I read it, and that just doesn’t happen when I read my own writing.

Beyond that, I don’t know. I have other stuff floating around, but those projects haven’t found homes yet.

BF: Any last words?

SEW: I’m a shameless pimp. Buy my books!

Nah, you’ve covered a lot, and I’ve rambled on long enough.

BF: Where can we find you online?

SEW: My main site is www.stevenewedel.com. It’s a brand new site, done on Wordpress, which I love and highly recommend. I have another site dedicated just to The Werewolf Saga. It’s at (get ready), www.werewolfsaga.com. Both sites link to MySpace, a bulletin board, etc. I’m spread out over the Internet like some kind of webcam whore. Watch me wiggle, watch me dance. Pull your wallet outta your pants!

BF: On behalf of the Monster Librarian I’d like to thank you for taking part in Werewolf Month with us and I wish you the best of luck with Ulrik. I’ve been a fan since the first time I had the chance to read your work and I look forward to bigger and better things from you in the future.

SEW: Thank you, Bob. I really appreciate that, and that you took the time to interview me for Monster Librarian. It’s one of the best horror sites on the Web. (Next to Horror World, of course! Love ya, Nanci!) Best of luck to you with your new book, too.

Interview with Daniel Waters

by The Monster Librarian

Daniel Waters is the author of the recently released young adult horror title Generation Dead  his debut novel which is reviewed here.  

ML: Hi Dan, Thanks for taking the time to do this interview.

 
Daniel Waters: Hello Monsterlibrarian--or can I call you Dylan? Thanks for having me, and thanks for reviewing Generation Dead.
 

ML: You're welcome. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Your bio on the book is pretty mysterious, and of course, you can call me Dylan.
 

Daniel Waters : Thanks.
Re: the bio--Intentionally mysterious --better to seem mysterious than dull, I suppose.
Husband, father of two. I've lived in Southeastern CT since I was three.
 

ML: LOL.
 

Daniel Waters: I write, read, and have an absurdly large music collection. Two interesting facts: I cleaned up the Pentagon and have done CD jacket photography for Thor, the god of rock.
 

ML: That sounds like great fun. Did you start out intending to write for teens?
 

Daniel Waters: Not at all. The conscious decision to write for teens came after my second foray "out of the cave" to try an advance my writing career through networking rather than just blind submissions. I attended WHC 2005 in NYC and there was a YA panel, and the editors sounded like they were practically begging for manuscripts. One of my friends then pointed out to me that out of the three or four of my ms he had read, I'd had a teen protagonist in each one. I had the idea for Generation Dead rattling around in my head, and so I pitched it on the spot to one of the editors after the panel, and she invited me to send it when ready.
 

ML: Interesting.
 

Daniel Waters : That being said, now that I'm officially a YA author, I'm exactly where I want to be.
 

ML : So did you read other YA books before writing Generation Dead?
 

Daniel Waters : Not since I graduated high school! And then it wasn't a category like it is today--SE Hinton, Robert Cormier and a few other titles--To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye are probably in the YA section these days. I can count on one hand the number of modern YA books I've read--the editor in question gave me a couple after I submitted, and I've read one or two from people I've met along the way, but I'm not a student of the category by any means.

Daniel Waters: My avoidance is almost a superstition now.
 

ML : As Generation Dead is a "zombie" book, what have your influences been?
Daniel Waters : Other than George Romero, I don't think I have any other influence as far as the zombie-ness in the book. Zombie purists (there are zombie purists, right?) would probably find fault with much of it. Romero's use of "zombies in the mall", as a take on consumer culture, was something I consciously inverted in part of the book, so that was influential.
 

Daniel Waters : I think the zombie book(and movie) most influential on GD is Ira Levin's "The Stepford Wives"
Daniel Waters : Oh, and "The Body Snatchers"
Daniel Waters : by Jack Finney
Daniel Waters : Not exactly EC comics-style living dead
 

ML: So are you a reader of zombie fiction? I'm just wondering how you came up with an idea connecting zombies and teens in the first place, since you already had the idea when you went to the YA panel at WHC.
 

Daniel Waters: Actually, Pet Sematary was influential, now that I think of it.
Daniel Waters : I can't say I actively seek out zombie fiction--I'm a huge EC comics fan, and I've read and enjoyed a couple of the zombie books of recent years, but not because I comb the shelves for all things zombie
Daniel Waters : The idea for GD came from watching a newsmagazine show on violence in schools. I had a job that put me on the road often, and one night I was holed up in the hotel channel surfing, and there was a show about kids starting fights or randomly attacking kids just so they could put in on YouTube. With footage. Scared the living hell out of me. Couldn't get it out of my head, knew I had to write about it in some way
Daniel Waters: I think the zombies appeared as a coping mechanism--weird, usually we develop coping mechanisms to guard against things like zombies!--but they appeared, and it let me tackle subject matter that was at once very serious and very personally terrifying in a context I could bring some humor into.
 

ML : Is that why your zombies are so different from typical zombies? Your "living impaired" teens are fairly sympathetic characters in contrast to the usual mindless ravening horde.
 

Daniel Waters: I think so--I wanted to shake the conventions a bit, certainly.
 

ML: I think you succeeded there. Did you do research to represent teens and teen culture, such as the Goth subculture?
 

Daniel Waters : Plus I think I'm still 17 at heart, anyhow.
 

ML: LOL. Would you say there's a message to the book?
 

Daniel Waters : I would. I'm fascinated with the messages that some reviewers/bloggers have pulled out thus far.

We should keep it a secret though, as I've been cautioned by many that "message" fiction is the kiss of death in trying to attract a teen readership!
 

Daniel Waters : Let me amend--I would say there are messages, plural, in the book. Secret, subliminal messages!
 

ML : Well, before I start rolling on the floor laughing, let me ask you whether you plan to revisit the world of Generation Dead, or do you have other projects cooking?
 

Daniel Waters : The second book in the world of GD, Kiss of Life, is on my editor's desk. There may be more.

I have a couple other ms that we'll start shopping soon, both YA, both with supernatural themes.
 

ML: We'll look forward to seeing what you come up with next. Is there anything else you'd like for librarians and readers to know?
Daniel Waters : Now that I think of it--if I interpret your question about "message" to mean a "conscious attempt at social commentary" correctly--that might be the kiss of death among horror fans as well as teens!

Thanks for destroying my fledgling career, Dylan!
 

ML : I aim to please.
 

Daniel Waters: For librarians--GD was a Spring selection of the Junior Library Guild, something I am thrilled and proud of
Daniel Waters : And for librarians and readers both--thank you in advance for giving GD a try. I'd love to hear from you at www.danielwaters.com and Tommy, one of the zombies from GD, would love to hear from you at his site mysocalledundeath.com
ML: Thanks so much for taking time away from your own writing and family to do this interview. We really appreciate it!

Daniel Waters: Thank you, Dylan. This was a first for me, and I appreciate the air time.
 

Interview with Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

by Michele Lee

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is a talented writer whose work spans multiple genres.    She is well known as a horror writer and is probably best known for her series of historical horror novels about the vampire Count Saint-Germain.   Chelsea Quinn Yarbro has had two titles released so far in 2008. Elder Signs Press has recently released Saint-Germain: Memoirs and Borderlands Press has released Lost Prince. Reviewer Michele Lee had an opportunity to interview the author.