H. David Blalock: My Hand Is in Everything

H. David Blalock has been writing speculative fiction for nearly 50 years. His work has appeared in novels, novellas, stories, articles, anthologies, reviews, and commentary both in print and online. Since 1996, his fiction has appeared in over two dozen magazines. He is currently the lead editor of parABnormal Magazine from Hiraeth Publishing. His work continues to appear on a regular basis through multiple publishing houses.

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

I was just honored to have a story of mine titled “Green Leaf” published by Dingbat Press in the anthology Standing Fast, the latest of William Alan Webb's The Last Brigade series of books. It's an account of a fictional invasion of the Republic of Panama by the Chinese. I lived in Panama for seven years, so this story ran very close to what I expect might really happen, and not that long from now, with or without the collapse on which the rest of Webb's series is based.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

It's hard to say. I've been writing since I was little and always wanted to share my work with others. I have always liked stories – hearing them, telling them, and watching them on television and the big screen.

What inspires you to write? 

You mean, where do I get my ideas? That's a novel way of asking. Observing people, mostly, although I do like the typical asking “what if?” 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

I like to explore different ideas in different ways. My hand is in everything from detective fiction (my Velvet Wasp novellas) to high fantasy (my Thran Chronicles), science fiction and horror (my Angelkiller books and dozens of shorts stories). You might say I revisit whatever my muse seems to find interesting at the time.

What would be your dream project? 

Don't have one, really. I've been writing for 50 years and been there, done that. My favorite of my short stories was “To Our Brothers.” written when our kids grew up and left us with an empty nest. My favorite of my novels was the Angelkiller series, a summation of what I expect I would have seen had my own life and the world gone just a tad differently.

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

Heinlein, of course, since I first read Red Planet at the age of 12. Lovecraft and his cosmic horror captured my imagination, pushing me toward more psychological horror writing than the visceral horror so popular today. Bradbury's Martian Chronicles made me learn how to see things from a different perspective. A.E. Van Vogt, Jack Vance, Edmund Hamilton, Clifford Simak, Damon Knight, Phillip K. Dick – they all had an influence, and I have worked hard to live up to the master standard they defined.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

Not really. What mistakes I made were honest and improving on an honest mistake is dishonest at best, a new mistake at worst. 

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

There is art and science to writing. As a writer, I partake in the art. As an editor, I use science. Writing is mostly intuition and imagination. Editing is mostly critical thinking and marketing. A professional writer eyes both when crafting.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Getting started and getting finished. And the part there in the middle. Art is hard. Hard on the artist, hard on the editor. There's nothing automatic about it.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

When we were running the Imagicopter project a few years ago, it was wonderful being able to be around other writers, share in their successes and failures. Talking about writing is cathartic and heart-breaking at the same time, but the process does help you better understand your own ability.

What does literary success look like to you? 

Finishing a piece and being able to say it feels finished. Some people, I guess a lot of people, think literary success hinges on publication and I can understand that. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

Some editing projects and the odd short story or two, but nothing I can talk about right now. Contracts and stuff.

For more information, visit: 

http://www.thrankeep.com