Narrowing the Target -- Publishing with a Single Audience in Mind

Let's talk about the idea that certain types of stories are traditionally for specific genders or targets. For example, romances were clearing published throughout much of publishing history with women readers in mind. Men's adventure magazines clearly wanted to appeal to the manly man (or those who imagined themselves to be) market.

Today, with our focus on diversity and inclusion, we have books that are targeted to fill in gaps traditionally missed in publishing, such as books specifically for certain racial audiences or for lesbian, gay, and trans markets (different things to marketers). And then there are books published (even fiction) for those of a certain political bent as a reaction to real or perceived slights in the culture (I'm looking at you, Comicsgate). 

What does all this mean for us are writers and readers? I was lucking enough to get some time from two of my favorite folks -- HC Playa and John L. Taylor -- to pick their brains about just this issue.

Traditionally single publishing has been divided along gender lines -- adventures for men, romance for girls. How do you see that changing? Are those divisions beginning to fade as men and women are reading similar things? Or do they still control a significant place in the publishing world?

HC Playa: So I am mostly answering as a reader vs as an author. I literally started writing BECAUSE so much fiction aimed at women seemed to be formulaic or focus only on romance and the writers I admired most found a way to write a damn good story with good characters and a dash of romance only made it that much better.

On gender division--TBH it rather depends on how our society progresses or regresses. Thanks to some big name authors (Like Laurel K Hamilton, Sherrilyn McQueen and many others that I don't know off the top of my head) many a male reader discovered that so-called "romance novels" were just adventures with some spice and well crafted characters. The gender division in writing reflected society. "Men's fiction either excluded women in the plot or used them as plot devices whereas "women's fiction" paints larger than life men that can do all the things AND treats their women right...well mostly. There are plenty of project-save-an-a**hole plot lines 🤣 in books out there. It was never that women only wanted to read romances or cozy mysteries...it's all that was marketed to them. The divide is and was a pillar of mysogeny, the idea that men and women are so inherently different that she can't possibly be interested in adventures and vice versa that a man can't possibly want to read a story that puts him in touch with emotions.

I think to some degree there will always be a market for fiction aimed at specific audiences. There are are plenty of people that find a reading genre niche they like and stick with it, but I don't know that hard and fast gender-divided marketing has as much a place as it once did.

John L. Taylor: As a horror writer, I feel this very much as huge amounts of the genre are aimed at young men. So here are my takes. I don't see my genre as becoming any less gender focused in writing, just more youth focused. Series like Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark were some of the bestselling horror books of the last 30 years, and I'm seeing renewed interest in youth driven projects. Those seem to trend more in a gender neutral direction. But in terms of gender specific genre fiction, I'm seeing more self aware or apologetic works. Men's Adventure specifically seems to be in the doghouse with editors right now. Titles like the Executioner were discontinued by Harlequin recently, and I see this continuing. 

Do you see single audience publishing becoming more propagandized and/or reactionary rather than driven by markets? Are new single issue or single audience models becoming more based on reactions against the way the world is changing or are publishers just trying new directions in an ever changing world?

John L. Taylor: Yes, in many ways. Horror in particular has a reputation for misogyny it's fighting to shake off. That has been of mixed success. While "post horror" movies are going strong and producing amazing films like Midsomer and Get Out, it's a genre trying to fit into a culture where it's traditional tropes are simply no longer relevant to it's core market (lower middle class men ages 16-25). Most genre fiction is becoming more message/virtue driven, as is media in general. Romance is also in a tug of war at the moment. with trope bending progressive narratives aimed at a media savvy urban readership or an ocean of Amish bonnets and "All American Country Girl" romances aimed at rural Evangelicals fight for shelf space while competing with Harry Potter for the same audience. I believe the emphasis of message over substance is really hurting their appeal right now.

HC Playa: I hadn't given this much thought before and to be honest the idea is rather frightening. I write views that speak of tolerance and I admit that I have a hard time enjoying anything that smacks of misogamy or racism or anything along those lines. So I suppose the answer is: quite likely.

Art reflects life, so unless we as a society become less polarized, then yes.

Let's look into the future. Of the single audience markets that are trending nowadays, do you think many of them will still be around in the next 20 to 30 years? Do you think that proves that the markets are a good idea for publishing or that as a people we will continue to divide along cultural lines and publishers will still be trying to keep up?

HC Playa: I have no idea what's trending. I am always late to the game or do it absurdly early and then like 20yrs later people are like, ooooh this is cool. 👀

Trends come and go, so give it enough time and the answer is always yes, it'll again be popular.

John L. Taylor: Some single audience fiction will never fade totally. The longing for adventure, romance, and horror are to deeply ingrained in the human psyche to lose appeal. The subgenres, however, will change quite a lot. Westerns will die off. There's no way to separate those themes from a very dark period in U.S. history. Military adventures will take their place, as well as things like Sword and Sorcery and Sword and Planet will take their place. Master Chief is the new Mack Bolan, it seems. Post Horror will continue to grow and explore new themes and audiences, as horror always does. Romance, I believe will find a new, untapped market: Men. Many young men are socially isolated and dream of genuine emotional connection, and editors will soon realize this. New classics are on the way that will be cherished for decades. But I think this is all about ten years down the road from now. Works from the period between 2014 and 2025 will not age well, in my esteem. They'll be a perfect time capsule of the Culture Wars era, but I don't see any of them having the timeless appeal of what came before. Hell, the bestselling movies in America right now are based on Marvel comics from 30+ years ago. I doubt material being produced right now will have that kind of staying power. 

Here's the big one. What are the "good" uses of single audience markets? What are the "bad" uses of it? Or is it just way too complex to be defined that narrowly?

John L. Taylor: Defining good or bad uses of single audience fiction is based on a logical fallacy: that it was ever single audience. Every genre has some crossover appeal. For example, despite the male nerd stereotype, half of the Dungeons and Dragons players I know are middle class women with college degrees. They like the appeal of adventure outside the office, as men before them did. Tapping that longing, with whomever it lies, is the way forward.

HC Playa: Good uses: well as a parent I liked age demographic lines at least until they graduated out of easy readers and small chapter books and into actual novels.

I don't really pay the slightest attention to how a book is marketed. I read the blurb and the first page or so and if it intrigues me, it's a sale.

I suppose some good uses can be to market more diverse fiction, so that people see that there ARE stories out there that they connect with. Bad uses would be to spread propaganda and hate.

Jason Waltman: A Man with a Plan

Jason Waltman was a visionary man. Sadly, he didn't live long enough to see those visions become realities. He was a fan of pulp, though, first and foremost. And he was perhaps the greatest cheerleader of my work I will perhaps ever know. 

He passed away on November 19 last year, not long after yet another glowing post on Facebook telling me, Bobby Nash, and Barry Reese how much he loved our work and supported us. And then he was gone. 

He had sent me these interview responses and I kept pushing them off because I had two series of interviews running back to back, and then Christmas came and knocked me off my schedule. 

But here it is, Jason. Late, but here. 

Jason Waltman was my friend, and I think you need to meet him. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My latest work has been a labor of love for the last 15 years. The book is called The World of Crastic.  A role-playing game for the world oldest role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 ruleset . The game is set on the world of Crastic. It's Victorian steampunk with mecha and magic. Players go against a warring nation trying to take over the world with an Emperor who acts like the Antichrist.

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

I want to be like the people I admire: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Steve Jackson, Mark Tein Hagen. They sparked my imagination and creativity or role-playing game writing 

What inspires you to write?

My love for fantasy and science fiction. My recent pulp-related work on Facebook is to just sharpen my skills at writing.

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

This book focuses on the grand war and its effect on the world around the players. And it has love stories among the non-players character the story centers around. My other future book will deal with more contemporary themes like Christian horror.

What would be your dream project?

A book featuring The Shadow and The Domino Lady -- a Shadow over the City of Angels.

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

I wouldn’t compare myself to the great masters of the role-playing game before me.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Sometimes I get stuck with an idea that limits my world vision and I might need help to visualize the sight and sound of the role-playing world I have in mind.

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

My favorite writers have challenged and encouraged me to keep on writing. I would personally thank people like Bobby Nash, Barry Reese, and you, Sean. They have been my secret cheerleaders and supporters. They very much supported me asking them questions about writing. 

What does literary success look like to you?

Success is from looking at people sitting around a table and enjoying the adventures I create. And being able to hire freelance writers and artists. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

My next role-playing game world book will be called Guardian the Watch. It will deal with the end time of the Bible and people who are called to fight back the demon-possessed humans.

Mocha Memoirs Press Focus #9: V.G. Harrison

This month I'm following up the previous series (eSpec Books) with a new one -- this time the amazing writers of Mocha Memoirs Press. Meet V.G. Harrison!  (Well, Marcia Colette writing at V.G. Harrison.)

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My latest is from the Slay anthology and it's called "Message in a Vessel," where I'm writing as V.G. Harrison. It's about what happens when the vampire world runs out of food and has to look to the stars to figure out where their next meal is coming from. 

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

I was on the subway in Boston and read everything I could get my hands on until I couldn't find anything that interested me anymore. So, I started writing my own. Back then, nobody had coined the name urban fantasy.

What inspires you to write?

Movies and other stories. I enjoy putting my spin on the what-if question and seeing where it takes me.

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

Anyone can be a hero and you don't have to be a brooding jackass for it to be believable. Brains win out over brawn, which is why my heroines rely on their wits more than anything else. They're pilots, mechanical engineers, scientists, etc. Sometimes, all it takes is for them to be in the right place at the wrong time or vice versa.

What would be your dream project?

Anything that stands the test of time like Star Wars or Star Trek.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Kelley Armstrong, L.A. Banks, Tananarive Due, Stephen King, John Saul, and Bentley Little to name a few. 

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

The Light at the End of Judgment and Day. I would like to have made it longer, since it's a novella. I had a lot of fun writing that book. The fun where you don't want it to end so soon.

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

Oh wow. For me, I'm right in the middle. As V.G. Harrison, I have fun crafting a story and making it seem as close to reality as possible. But I weigh and measure certain aspects of my story to make sure there's just enough fact for people to forget that it's fiction.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Seeing an idea through to the end. I forget I am my first and most important fan. Everyone else comes second. If I lose interest in an idea, then that means I'm not having fun with it anymore and neither will readers. I've tried both plotting and pantsing and it doesn't matter. 

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

Their success makes me want to succeed. I see how much they enjoy writing and how passionate they are about their stories, and I want to feel the same way about mine. That's probably why I LOVE hanging out with them at conventions.

What does literary success look like to you?

Being able to do this as a full-time career rather than having to work my life around it.  

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I just got a contract for my next sci-fi novel, Engine in the Sky.

For more information, visit: 

www.vgharrison.com

Mocha Memoirs Press Focus #8: Stephen Brayton

This month I'm following up the previous series (eSpec Books) with a new one -- this time the amazing writers of Mocha Memoirs Press. Meet Stephen Brayton! 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My story is about a young boy who goes to a school to learn how to be a wizard and is adept at some broom flying game… Wait, that’s not right. Let me start over.

Night Shadows. Killer shadows invade Des Moines! Homicide Detective Harry Reznik teams with FBI agent Lori Campisi to investigate a series of heinous murders. What they discover will introduce Reznik to the paranormal and the supernatural. For Campisi, she is confronted with her enigmatic past and the secrets she’s forgotten.

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

As an orphaned child, I wandered the country shoeless with only the stub of a pencil and a dog-eared notebook to my name. I figured if I was going to survive, I’d better entertain people, so I started writing stories.

Okay, seriously, I’ve been an avid reader since childhood. I read a lot of horror and mystery. At some point, I decided I could write stories like I enjoy reading. Many years passed before I learned the craft...and I’m still learning.

BTW, I’m not an orphan.

What inspires you to write?

The constant desire to keep from being bored.

Well, actually, this is difficult to answer. I’ve been a writer since childhood. As the years have passed, I think of more and more ideas. Some stall out before they get any traction, others bug me until I do something about them. I get that writer’s ‘itch’ that reminds me if I don’t write, then I’m missing out on something wonderful. While I fashion an outline for each story, I keep it fluid. I’m eager to see what creativity comes out as I’m writing. I enjoy the feeling of satisfaction with a completed project.

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

I’m not sure if rainbows and unicorns are what you’re looking for. (Although I know someone who is writing about unicorns.)

For the Reznik/Campisi stories, I focus on relationships and family history. Night Shadows deals a lot with Campisi’s amnesia about her childhood. The next story in the series will bring Reznik’s ancestors into play.

Another series, featuring a female private investigator, brings in stories that have her involved with children. Usually, protecting them from danger. Also, in that series, I see how low I can bring her before her inner strength rises to help her to victory.

What would be your dream project?

I don’t think I dream projects… Oh, that’s not what you’re asking. You’re thinking something along the lines of Pulitzer prize stories, rising above the fame status of Stephen King and James Patterson. Well...sure, why not?

Okay, let’s get the tongue out of the cheek and answer this. In truth, I’m writing my dream projects. I’m continuing with both the Reznik/Campisi series, the private investigator series, and looking at another series featuring Reznik and another partner.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

All of them. All right, you’re thinking I’m joking, but I’m really not. All writers help me find my style and voice. Maybe they help me by critiquing my work or by the material they bring to the table.

If you want to venture into authors I enjoy, I don’t think you have enough space for my entire list. However, I’ll give you several. Night Shadows has elements of Lovecraft. I’ve read numerous mystery authors such as Evanovitch, Paretsky, Grafton, Viets, Mayor, Chandler. Of course, the thrillers and high adventure novels are great. Golemon, Reilly, Ludlum, Flynn.

So many great authors and I pick up ideas from all of them. I try not to copy their style and technique. I hope I have developed my own.

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

I have a book entitled New Year Gone that was released August 24. While I think the book is great (of course I do), I would have started earlier on getting permission to use some of the quotes I really wanted to include. Many quotes are from other books, and one came from a song. I learned too late the time needed for a response. I ended up changing out four quotes. While the substitutions are fine and work, I thought the original quotes were better.

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

Writing is a form of art. Painting, sculpting, drawing, and playing around with wet clay on a spinning table are also art forms. With each style of art, there is crap and there is quality. With every art form, one can have a ‘natural’ ability, or one can learn and improve as the years pass. I think, too, that if you’re not practicing and fine-tuning your art, you may lose something. To get it back may take extra effort.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Knowing at some point I have to stop writing, go out, and earn a real living. Lol.

Actually, while I don’t think the rewrites are difficult, they are time-consuming. Here I’ve written a complete story. Now, I have to go back and, in one sense, write it again. Add, delete, change, correct, alter. I’m a member of two critique groups and for each piece of material I read to them, I take copious notes to later consider. The difficult part keeping the big picture in mind with those notes. Some notes require referencing material earlier in the story.

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

Does beating me with a stick count?

As I’ve mentioned, I enjoy critique groups. While I accept praise, I’m not going to have someone say, “Oh, that’s wonderful. Don’t change a thing.” Are you kidding? Tell me what doesn’t work. Point out my mistakes.

The biggest aid my writer friends provide is asking them questions about difficult scenes. How could I make this better? I’m stuck trying to figure out some action scene to put here, any suggestions? Many times, they’ll come up with something that will either work or that I can alter slightly to make work.

What does literary success look like to you?

$$$. Millions of fans giving me accolades and inviting me to lavish dinners in my honor.

What? You think I’m kidding here? Isn’t that what every successful writer wants?

Of course, the monetary aspect is important. There’s the humble answer of: Success is for readers to enjoy my work, want more, and recommend me to their friends. That’s also important.

However, I would like to be comfortable and have fun. To be able to write when I want, not worry about paying the bills, and to thoroughly enjoy what I’m doing. This includes everything from story creation, to outlining, to writing, editing, and meeting readers after the book is published.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I’m working on the blueprints for a huge office building/entertainment venue that will make the Burj Kalifa in Dubai look like a child’s Lego toy. While I’ve considered diving right in, I think I may have to put that on the back burner due to the time I’ll spend ironing out the fine details.

Oh, did you mean writing projects? I would like to get the next Reznik/Campisi story to my professional editor. I’m reading the first in a series with Reznik and his new partner. I also have started writing two stories in the private investigator series with another outlined. Oh, and I’m going through a collaborative story put together years ago by one of my critique groups. It’s a fun project, but time-consuming. At times, I think the building might be completed faster.

For more information, visit:

You can visit me personally. Just stop on by my apartment any time you like. Here’s my address… Uh, wait a minute, maybe that isn’t a good idea. I haven’t vacuumed in a while, and the dust bunnies keep reproducing and hiding from me.

Instead, why don’t you surf on over to these three websites:

https://www.facebook.com/stephenbraytonauthor

https://stephenbrayton.wordpress.com/ - for the weekly blog

https://braytonsbookbuzz.wordpress.com/ - for the weekly book review

Also, I have a monthly (okay, sometimes I skip a month, but never more than two) news update. Send me an email if you’d like to be part of the gang. You get up updates on my books, where I’ll be, and how I’m doing on my fitness regimen. (Yeah, that last one is serious.)

Pulpsters on Pulp: From Dragon*Con TV 2021

 

Nicholas Stanosheck's War of the Dragons

I've known Nik Stanosheck since the early days when the web was rife with fan-made websites for comics. Yep, that long. Long before he became such an amazing fantasy writer. I figure it's time for you to get to know him too. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

Vhaidra & the DRAGON of Temple Mount is the sequel to Vhaidra & the DESTINY of Nikodemos. It is the second novel in the Vhaidra Saga. Here is the blurb: 

The War of the Dragons begins here...

What secrets lie in Sicyon's mysterious Temple Mount? Who are ATHIE, DAMIANOS, and KOSMAS, and what is their connection to the orphaned half-dragon MIKHAIL? Are the forces that are purportedly working for a better tomorrow in Sicyon truly what they say they are?

After the devastating Battle of Sicyon in Vhaidra & the DESTINY of Nikodemos, House Iroas ascends as VHAIDRA the dark elf monk and NIKODEMOS the human cleric raise a powerful house of half-drow warriors in the overworld. Meanwhile, the young half-dragon, MIKHAIL, his human milkmaid and astonishing ranger, MIRIAM, and the flirtatious dwelf dancer, TI'ERRA, change the ascetic half-orc wizard, ELDER DIONYSIOS, forever, as his hidden history intersects with his future, whether he likes it or not.

The obsidian half-dragon grows from a baby to Sicyon’s powerful stylite and protector, but will his abilities be enough to stave off both the imminent threat of the mighty white dragon from the north or will Sicyon get a long cold winter that it can never wake from? Will the diabolical forces within Sicyon that conspire against ARCHON JUSTINIAN and his allies be able to exploit VHAIDRA, NIKODEMOS, TI'ERRA, ELDER DIONYSIOS, MIRIAM, and MIKHAIL to create the civil war that they so desire? Find out the answers to these questions and more in the exciting adventures of Vhaidra & the DRAGON of Temple Mount! 

Just like my previous novel, the cover art is by the amazing team of Stan Saint Yak and Robert Nugent.   

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

I had a story in my head and when I got injured at work and had the time, I wrote it down. But the characters kept telling me their stories and this became a novel and then a series! Once the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus pandemic hit, I found myself unemployed and had the time to finally sign with one of the publishers that had been pestering me to sign with them.

What inspires you to write? 

I have to write to get the ideas out on paper. I enjoy the process, as the story does not always end up going like I thought it would.

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

I obviously am a fan of the Drow (dark elves) they intrigue me. However let me share what my editor had to say in the forward to my most recent novel, as he says that I bring the light and darkness of our world and explore it through the vein of the fantasy genre.

Nik, as an author, is incredibly skilled at writing fantasy fiction that is highly relevant to the present day. The experience the author has gained through the various roles he had taken professionally in his life have enriched the book immensely. ...

Nik’s writing skills are spectacular, and I believe that it would keep the readers hooked until the last page. This was evident even in his first novel, Vhaidra and The Destiny of Nikodemos, and if anything, his skills have only gotten better in this book. The book, while being incredibly enjoyable for hardcore fantasy readers, it makes a great children’s book and is fascinating for the video-game oriented teenagers of today. This, I believe, is the author’s greatest strength – to write literature that is relevant and enjoyable for every reader.  

What would be your dream project? 

Honestly, making the Vhaidra Saga into a movie or series would be a dream come true.

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

Writers would be Neil Gaiman, Peter David, John Byrne, Karl Kesel, Elaine Cunnighman, Sarah Hawke, R Scott Taylor, Scott McCullar, Ryan A Brandt, and Sean Taylor [Editor's note: Awwww...]. Also, as I mentioned in my first novel, my childhood DM, Keith Penewit and my Sophomore and Junior year ELA teacher Mrs. Fornoff were people who really helped me become a writer of epic fantasy.

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

I wrote, but never had published, some Superboy scripts that would be fun to do over knowing what I know now.

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

It is an art, it is a flow of creativity. Are there rules? Yes. Are they sometimes broken? Definitely. That doesn't happen in true science. That being said I use a methodology based on the scientific principal, called The Lean Startup. Build, Learn, Measure (Repeat).

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Getting past writer's block and writing the next chronological book. I have to keep reminding myself to finish book 3 before finishing books 4 & 5, which are halfway complete.

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

Reading the great works of my writer friends helps me to become a better writer. But also I have become friends with my editor, Obed Joshua, and he has made me such a better writer with his suggested tweaks, additions, etc..

What does literary success look like to you? 

Literary success is getting a product to market and finding people interested in it. I'd love to sell millions of copies, but if people find it, like it, and enjoy reading, that is true success to me.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

February 1st 2021 Vhaidra & the DRAGON of Temple Mount came out in paperback. It is also available to pre-order as an eBook for those who might be interested. The Amazon link is https://amzn.to/3rgsirc but it is also available at Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books, Thrift Books, Better World Books, and more bookstores. It will be on Apple Books, Google Play, Nook, Rakuten Kobo, Wal-mart eBooks, Kindle, and more very soon. My original novel, Vhaidra & the DESTINY of Nikodemos is available in more than 50 book stores in the USA and in more than 20 countries. 

I would also like to plug a project by someone else, if I may. The Heroes & Treasure expansion game, Ice & Flame by Davis & Daughters. Vhaidra and Nikodemos will be characters in this expansion and be part of a very important quest. It is amazing to see my characters drawn in the manga stylings of artist Xin Ye.

For more information, visit: 

http://Vhaidra.com
https://amzn.to/3cuUQZQ

Derrick Ferguson Kicked the Willy Bobo With Me...

Here's another off the bucket list. I kicked Derrick Ferguson right in the Bobo. Wait... That didn't come out right...

Derrick Ferguson: Who is Sean Taylor?

Sean Taylor: He’s just a man whose circumstances got beyond his control, beyond his control. I’m Kilroy. Okay, maybe not. ...

DF: What do you do to keep the creditors away?

ST: I’ve been everything from a corporate media strategist to a local newspaper editor, and I’ve written comics and short stories and even a novel thus far, but for the day job at the moment, I edit for several places as a freelancers/contractor to keep the bills paid. It’s a dirty job, as they say, but someone’s got to love it.

DF: How long have you been writing and what have you learned about yourself through your writing?

ST: My first magazine article was in 1991, a marketing article about doing a summer reading display for a bookstores to highlight summer book sales. It was a hit, and I kept doing it. My first short story was publishing in 1995 in O’ Georgia: A Collection of Georgia’s Newest and Most Promising Writers, and I caught the bug and haven’t stopped yet.

What have I learned? Well, I’ve learned how to survive close to the poverty line, that’s for sure. Writing and editing is one of those comes and goes industries, and in an economy as volatile as the U.S. one has been during the years I’ve been a writer and editor, it’s bounced up and down several time. But what I learned from all that is that writing is something I make time to do whether or not it’s paying the bills. It’s more a calling than a career choice.

Read the full interview: https://fergusonink.com/2018/05/08/kickin-the-willy-bobo-with-sean-taylor/

Meet TammyJo Eckhart!

Hey, folks. Meet TammyJo Eckhart.

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Right now I'm waiting for my literary agent to sell one of two projects.

While she is doing that, I'm working on book four in for one of those projects, a science fiction series that is similar to the feminist science fiction of the 1970s.  I'm also finishing up a collection of short stories focused on the what I fear is the real possibility of the creation of debt slavery in the USA in the next generation if we continue following the same political trends.

The last published book I was part of is a history anthology that came out in the fall of 2016 entitled Our Lives, Our History. I wrote the chapter on ancient Greece and Rome.

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

I look at power, authority, and the fact that all relationships and anything worth having in this world takes work, ongoing work. I don't pull my punches with sex or violence but I also don't just add those in for shock value.

What would be your dream project?

Honestly if my agent can sell the science fiction series I mention above, that's a 10+ book series that I have been writing parts of since I was in the fifth grade. Yes, the fifth grade! It is the project of my life.

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

I think I could probably improve any short story or novel I've written but I learned a long time ago that you have to let go and give it your publisher and editor. If you just pick, pick, and pick at something you never get it out to others to read. Perfection is a killer to creativity.

What inspires you to write?

Generally I set myself a challenge to tackle X. X can be inspired by my relationships or events I see in the world around me. Then it is a matter of which idea my muses feel like working on and making time every weekend to do that work.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

I don't think I've been influenced in terms of style or technique. But in terms of topics and not pulling  my punches, I love Octavia Butler who left us far too soon and Laura Antoniou who is arguably the biggest kink author in the world for the past decade. Readers have said that I remind them of the "good" books from Laurel K. Hamilton and Joey W. Hill but I require my readers to think more. *grin*

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

I think it is 70% art and 30% science. I do not believe that you can teach someone creative writing. You have the ability to be a storyteller or not, to be creative or not. But if all you do is keep those thoughts in your head or struggle to put the thoughts into understandable sentences, you'll never share your creativity with others. So you need to learn how to manage your time, how to write coherently, and how to accept editing and publishing guidance.

 Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

Only that I hope folks come see me when I'm at conventions and that they heck out my website.

C.E. Martin and His Stone Soldiers

It's been a long time since I ran my series of interviews with authors I've met at conventions or online. In fact, it's been too long... way too long. So, let's get the party started again with C.E. Martin

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My latest release, Shadow Raiders, is sort of a spinoff/continuation of my main series I've been writing since 2012, Stone Soldiers. It's the first in what I would like to expand into a new series (if sales support that).

In Stone Soldiers, the modern military fights supernatural threats with a little assistance from the magical world: supersoldiers and psychics work alongside one another, with scientists and conventional forces. The 11 books out in that series so far have kept the action small-scale, with the elite unit squaring off against this or that threat. In Shadow Raiders, the unit, Detachment 1039, travels off-Earth by means of an ancient, arcane portal, to the home of the "gods," Asgard. There they fight evil on evil's own turf, trying to prevent an invasion of Earth and the start of Ragnarok. It's sort of equal parts Hellboy and Stargate.

If I do get to continue the series, I have a number of similar missions planned to other worlds, all populated by other mythological entities.

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

Evil is REALLY evil, and the good guys always win. I hate tragedies, and I hate depictions of the military as the heavies or incompetent; possibly because I'm a veteran myself. I always try and make our real heroes (military members) into super heroes in my stories.

What would be your dream project?

I'm already writing it--unfortunately not enough people are reading it. I'd love to be able to churn these out monthly, but without enough readers I have to keep going to a day job and find time where I can to write. My dream is to secure a good 10,000 steady readers and to keep them supplied with red-white-and-blue, over-the-top, two-fisted tales on a regular basis.

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

When I was in the USAF, I came up with several premises for novels, and one really grabbed me, but I never wrote it because back then as there was no self-publishing. The story was a scifi adventure about two detectives in a world similar to our own, but significantly improved. They stumble across a murder scene and eventually discover the killers are from an alternate reality--our reality. The big reveal is that the story takes place in a carefully-engineered alternate timeline, and that someone wants to eliminate that timeline and return the world to a less-than-perfect version where good rarely wins out over evil. I like to think of it as religious time travel murder mystery.


What inspires you to write?

Good stories. And royalties--those are fantastic. When I don't sell much, I get discouraged. Not because the money is important, but because royalties I can spend on my family help me to justify the time I spend writing instead of spending time with them. Nothing has been greater than that extra money to indulge my kids in a shopping spree, buy my wife something extra nice, or take the family on a vacation we otherwise wouldn't have taken.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Style-wise, I'd say that at first, I was most influenced by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir and their ghostwriters from The Destroyer series. As the years have progressed, I've worked in a lot of cliffhangers taken from films and developed my own fast-paced style.

As for technique, I like Jackie Chan's the best. I once heard Mr. Chan say that he imagines a scene first, then builds a story around it. A kind of what-if process that has worked fantastically for me. I get an idea for something I think would look great on-screen, then work out how to incorporate that into a story and then how to tell it in written form. In other words, I start with action, rather than concept or premise.

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

Definitely art. The problem with so much writing today is the sciencing of it. Writers tables brag about how they collectively work on TV shows, and I think it hurts their story telling. You don't have a committee of Directors on films, so why should more than one writer be needed to tell a story? I think communicating your story is indeed a matter of art and skill far more than rules and precise "beats". Too many authors now follow the rules and their writing is like mass-produced, artificially-sweetened foods, rather than the carefully prepared cuisine of the literary chefs of just a few decades ago. if i can predict how a story is going to end, or even how it's going to progress as I read it, that takes me out of the story. I want stories I can completely immerse myself in, forgetting that I'm reading a book or watching a movie/TV show. All a reader/viewer should be thinking about is "What happens next?!"

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I'm currently working on two more products for this year:

The first is a continuation of a new series (also a spin off of Stone Soldiers) called Spectral Ops. It's a series of adventures with the supernatural military fighting spectral forces around the globe. I like the idea of being able to wage war on the written page but not have to kill anyone (the bad guys are already dead!). Last year I did the first book, Spectral Ops, which had the team going to France to fight an army of angry spirits accidentally dumped on a small town. I could have called it Stone Soldiers #12, but given that Stone Soldiers has always been about soldiers turned to living stone, and now I've got a vampire, werewolf, and psychic on the team, I thought a name change was called for.

My other project is a major departure for me. I've been very intrigued by post-apocalytpic fiction of late, and am going to try a bit of it myself: Defenders of the Faithful (a working title for now) will be a story set in middle America just a few months after a major event that changes life as we know it. The story won't be supernatural or science fictiony, but rather a more satirical, men's adventure tale about a group of regular Joes who "cling to their guns and their faith" to survive in a new world. I'm doing a lot of research on it, and am looking forward to finally get to do something that will be considerably more humorous than what I've been writing for the past five years.

Links:
www.StoneSoldiers.info -- my supernatural military thrillers page
www.Troglodad.info -- my author blog
amzn.com/B01NBUVELA -- a link to Shadow Raiders

Exercising my "Write Brain" with Retta Bodhaine

https://www.writebrainartistry.com/tips-for-aspiring-artists

I contribute a little advice along with several other creatives from the works of words, music, drama, and film. Well worth a look.

Thanks to the always lovely and talented Retta Bodhaine for inviting me to take part.

I get SMACKED by Bibliorati!

by Tommy Hancock

Before we walk into the interrogation room that is The Smack, single light bulb hanging from the ceiling swinging back and forth and all, an administrative note.  These interviews will alternate at times in style.  Some will be, as was the debut last week, done in a more newspaper story, article style.  Others, just because of the spirit of the question and the one providing the answers, simply demand to be presented in their raw interrogation like form.  The style for every interview is chosen on what will serve the information and the interviewee best.  With that in mind, step inside the dungy green/gray room with this week’s suspect and enjoy as writer Sean Taylor Gets SMACKED!

First, tell readers about yourself personally.

I’m a father of three awesome kids ranging from 18-21, one girl and two boys, Charis, Evan, and Jack. Charis is the first to follow in my footsteps as a writer, with both a comic book story and a pulp short story to her credit as of now. My wife, Lisa, is a beautiful and multilingual woman who teaches both Spanish and French for one of the local high schools. I grew up reading illustrated classics (the abridged kind with a drawing on every other page) before reading the originals, and also gorging myself on comics ranging from Legion of Super Heroes to Ghosts and The House of Mystery. I hate long walks on the beach, but I love playing my guitar around a bonfire. I’ve also been in bands for years and even played onstage once with Kansas’ Kerry Livgren and several times with the Newsboys. My most embarrassing memory is of having to cancel a date because I fell down an elevator shaft while in college. And no, the girl didn’t believe me until I showed her my swollen leg and ankle a day or two later.

Read the full interview: http://www.bibliorati.com/single-post/2017/02/20/The-Smack-Sean-Taylor

Check out this new interview with Sean Taylor!

Instead of interviewing others today, I go under the knife (so to speak) with Lisa Matthews Collins, and have to face the questions myself.

Read the interview here: https://lisacollins.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/sean-taylor/

Want to join the blog's roundtable interviews?

Here's an open invitation to all writers, editors and publishers out there who'd like to take part in the roundtable interviews I conduct here on this blog.

I've created a new Facebook group called "Sean Taylor's Writer Roundtables" as a central place on the web to post the questions and responses for the interviews. That way I don't have to run all over various FB groups and YahooGroups, etc. to find everyone and track them down to let them know the questions are ready.

Feel free to recommend it to any other writers you know who would be interested. It's a completely open group for all writers, editors, and publishers who enjoying talking about writing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/854917951235749/

Nicole Givens Kurtz' Curse and Cure

At first glance you might not take Nicole Kurtz as a hardcore, sci-fi pulp writer. But don't let her innocent sweetness fool you. She's the real deal. Don't believe me? Then let her tell you in her own words. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My latest work is included in the anthology, Athena’s Daughters, Volume II. The story is called, “Reanimated,” and it tells the story of detective Tanisha Moore. She lives in the dusty town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Burnt out, bored, and brimming with apathy, Tanisha covers the basics of her job, while dying a little bit each day. Everything changes when murdered victim, Sherri Cross, is reanimated. More than one of the women will become alive.

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

One of the themes I revisit often in my work, particularly in my science fiction pulp stories are those of dehumanization and how technology is more curse than cure. In other works, I delve into themes of the other and how we define humanity evolves or has evolved. I tend to favor cyberpunk stories and those where women are kickass and smart—definitely smart because brilliance is what is truly attractive.

What would be your dream project?

My dream project would be to write a series of novels like Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. One epic all-encompassing universe that not only has great depth, but also far-reaching and lasting effect on others. I have a list of authors I would love to write with or be included in an anthology with, but I will not embarrass them by having a fan-girl meltdown on your blog.

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

If I could go back to a former project and make it better, it would be my Candidate series of books. My writing has matured so much in the last 17 years since Browne Candidate was written that I know it would be a much more rich series now. With e-books and the rights of that series being returned to me, I have the option to revisit that world and revised, expand, and re-release to the reading public. That’s the beauty of modern technology; however, I am so excited about my new pulp worlds, I’m not sure I ever will. I may keep that series as a marker for where I was as an author. Besides, the series is still quite good.


What inspires you to write?

I’m inspired by life, really. I’m in education, and the events I have witnessed in the last 13 years ended up becoming the bases for “Smoke People,” my L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Honorable Mention story. My short story, “Sweet Tooth,” which will be included in Dark Oak Press’s The Big Bad, Volume II anthology is a direct results of my childhood growing up in a housing projects in Tennessee. So, my stories are fueled by my past, by my present, and by how I want the future to be.

Of course, it totally helps to have an active imagination. Writing is a necessary process. I'm an insomniac and what else would I be doing at 3 in the morning?

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

I love pulp and mysteries, so a lot of my style is influenced by Robert B. Parker, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, Sue Grafton, Kim Harrison, and classic writers, such as Shakespeare, Faulkner, and Zora Neale Hurston. 

My science fiction pulp series, Cybil Lewis, is set in the near-future and involves a private inspector, who incorporate so many of those other writers’ techniques and styles. Cybil is one hell of a character, and most people who read her, never forget her. That’s because she comes from such a diverse stock of authors’ influences.

I teach literature, so my writing style tends to blend all of these very diverse storytellers into my own method and style of writing.

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

Writing is an art most of the time. It’s creativity despite the fact that some authors mesh styles together like a literary Frankenstein’s monster. It’s still an act of creating something new, something different, or something familiar. 

There is a method to writing, but what I have found in the last 17 years of doing this is that the method varies as much as the authors. I’m sure my opinion here flies in the face of more successful authors. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Yes, please! I am involved in two different anthologies in the upcoming year. To stay in the know, stay connected to me the following ways:

Twitter: @nicolegkurtz
Facebook: http://facebook.com/nlkurtz
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nlkurtz/
Other Worlds Pulp: http://www.nicolegivenskurtz

The anthologies are: 

• The Big Bad, Volume II from Dark Oak Press. My horror short story, “Sweet Tooth,” will be included.
• Athena’s Daughters, Volume II from Silence in the Library. My horror short story, “Reanimated,” will be included.

New Interviews With Yours Truly

If you missed this podcast earlier, here's your opportunity rectify that cosmic wrong. The Arm Cast podcat interviewed me at the Imaginarium convention, and I must say I was a dazzling guest. See for yourself.

Peter Welmerink interviewed me about Five Things I Learned writing for Of Monsters and Men.

Nikki Nelson-Hicks and Her Boys in the Back Room

Part 3 of my series of “Cool People I Met at Imaginarium.”

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

I just finished the second story for Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective published in the Pro Se Productions Single Shot Signature digital series.

In a nutshell, the story is set in 1930’s New Orleans. Janos “Jake” Istenhegyi is a young Hungarian immigrant who is dragged into the gritty world of the private eye by his best friend, Barrington “Bear” Gunn, a WWI Vet obsessed with living the life of Sam Spade in, well, spades.

After Jake’s first adventure in A Chick, a Dick and a Witch Walk into a Barn (involving zombie chickens, trust me…it works), we leave him splattered in blood and chicken shit, watching as the hellish barn burns to the ground. In the second story, Golems, Goons and Cold Stone Bitches, Jake makes  his way back home just wanting a shower and to get hopelessly drunk but is pulled into a power struggle between sisters fighting over a inheritance that ends up being more than a curse and leaving Jake with a gift he doesn’t want.

Intrigued? It will be available for digital download in November 2014.

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

Isolation and redemption. I’m a huge sucker for redemption.

What would be your dream project?

I am very proud to say that one of my dreams has been realized in that I have written a Sherlock Holmes novella to add to the expanding canon of the Holmesian universe. So, that is one thing checked off my Bucket List.

I would love to write a Doctor Who episode.

OR…ooooh, get involved with a group of super talented, sharp and horribly sick writers and create a universe where we play with each others' characters like they did with Thieves World back in the ‘80s. That would be awesome.

Or maybe just a book that sold well enough where I could buy everyone ice cream. That would be cool, too.

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

Ugh, the Creator’s Paradox. You are always better by the end of each story so that every story you have ever written is never as good as the one you are doing.

Yep. I have a character, Travis Dare, who is the main protag of a series of yet unpublished stories. He is such a fucking Mary Sue. Seriously. Heroes should never be boring. Ugh. I am going back, squeezing his nose shut and blowing into his mouth until his balls finally drop. The readers of that series are in for a surprise.

What inspires you to write?

I believe, in my heart of hearts, that all writers are trying to save…or kill…someone over and over again.
In my stories, I am a God of Action. I can right wrongs, save drowning people and heal the wounded and broken. I have power, tapping on this keyboard, I don’t have in real life. And, it has to be enough….for now.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Harlan Ellison, Hunter S. Thompson, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Yeah. I prefer to hang out with boys.

Where would your rank writing on the “Is it an art or is it a science continuum?” Why?

It’s kinda both….maybe? I don’t think I’m drunk enough to answer this question but I’ll try.

Look, years ago I would’ve been all “Fuck, yeah! It’s an art. It’s MAGIC. You either got it or you don’t.” Now, I’ve mellowed with age and while I still believe there is a certain amount of that Unknowable Something that imbues a story with a Voice, I think there must be something else to it. The will to sit for hours and carve out a world with words, it’s insane! I have seen so many authors come to my Fiction Group with more drive than natural talent and I have watched those bastards work, work, work so hard and DO IT. It’s brilliant, really.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

*Rolls up sleeves* Yes, thank you.

Okay, like I said before, Jake Istenhegyi: The Accidental Detective’s second story, Golems, Goons and Cold Stone Bitches will be out in November 2014. It’s a good story. So far all my beta readers have dug it. Now I’ve got my Boys in the Back Room (That’s what I call my muses. I envision four men in fedoras and rolled up sleeves, sitting at a square table, drinking whiskey and chainsmoking, cranking out idea on old school typewriters) working on story #3. Haven’t a clue as to what it will be yet. Isn’t that fun?

Also coming out in 2014:

Sherlock Holmes and the Shrieking Pits (humpbacked midgets, shillelaghs and Viking silver…what more could you want?) from Pro Se Productions.

I have a story in an anthology, Nashville Gothic, titled "Stone Baby," that made the publisher want to “bleach his eyeballs out.” I take that as a compliment. It is coming out in late October just in time for Halloween.

And I am currently working on a story that I am submitting to Capes and Clockworks Volume 2. The working title is "The Galvanized Girl." I hope it makes it in. It’s a cool story with time travel, trepanning and a six foot tall redhead.

Tony Acree: Connecting with "The Speaker" Himself

Part 2 of my "Cool People I Met at Imaginarium" series...

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

I am currently working on the next book in the Victor McCain series, titled The Speaker. In the third book in the supernatural thriller series, Vic is having a tough time because of *&%@%% and finds his inner demons may be worse than the actual ones he fights in his day job. (Part of the previous line was redacted due to spoiler protection)

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

I like to write about the choices we make and how they affect our lives. I also like to put people in situations they think they will never survive and see if they are right.

What would be your dream project?

To write a story in which the star would be Stana Katic. Heck, I would settle for writing a story she says she has read. Even if it’s only a limerick.

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

I would change the dramatic cliffhanger ending of my first novel, The Hand of God. It would still be dramatic, but less of a cliffhanger. Seems people don’t like waiting six months or more to find out what happens to their favorite characters. Death threats and witch’s curses are only some of the things I dealt with.

What inspires you to write?

Generally, taking a breath is all the inspiration I need. But to be more specific I like to write thrillers and bump off the people who tick me off. Everyone who dies in one of my books is based on someone who got on my bad side (yes, I am including you man who stole my parking spot today. Wait and see what happens to you)

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Jim Butcher, Nelson DeMille, Erma Bombeck and Edger Allen Poe. And Brad from sixth grade, who wrote a poem to the girl I wanted to be my steady girlfriend, forcing me to do the same. I've been writing ever since.

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

Oh, writing is an art. Well, it can be a science too if you write science fiction. Or use science in your writing. Hmm. If you are painting a space scene and then include an inscription, is it both?

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Besides The Speaker, to be released from Hydra Publications, I am also writing a short story for Unseen Adventures, an anthology coming from Blackwyrm Publishing. I am also thinking of writing the next “great American novel”, but have the fear it will be the “almost acceptably average American hamburger ad.” But we all must have a dream.

For more info about Tony, visit: http://tonyacree.com/

A Rose Among the Pages

Part One of my "Cool People I Met at Imaginarium" series... 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

In my first novel, The Bearkeeper, there is a troupe of Shakespearean actors who (due to an unnatural condition) have been alive since before the time of Shakespeare.  Some of them are more famous than they are letting on. The sequel, Children of Stone, deals with their backstory: who they are, how they came together, and how they learned to only pretend to kill each other, instead of for real.

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

The theme of being an outsider comes up again and again, as does time, history, and the illusory quality of what we (as individuals and as a society) think we know.  There are also undercurrents of surrealism and absurdity in much of what I write, and how people actually deal with extraordinary circumstances.

What would be your dream project?

To invent a time machine so I can go talk about art, cats and guns with William S. Burroughs.  And then send a babbling, poorly-scrawled letter to my 1990's self, postmarked from his Kansas residence, just for the hilarious mindf*ck that would ensue.

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

As with many, I would rewrite my first novel.  But not heavily.  My first novel isn't bad, you see; it's just that continuity is a harsh mistress, and I would like to make things easier on myself with the sequels.

What inspires you to write?

The unusual combination of reading non-fiction and having an overactive imagination.  It's weird.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

I consider Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut the angel and devil on my shoulders, though I wasn't aware of their influence until it was too late.

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

I would put it in a different position on a sliding scale for each author.  But there has to be a balance.  Too far into Art, and it's a hot mess, and too far into Science, and it's got no soul.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I've got a month to whip up something for Blackwyrm Publishing's Reel Dar anthology. I'll be riffing on my favorite film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. There's no guarantee it'll make the final cut, but their project looks fascinating, and people should keep and eye out for its release.