Bloody Parchment author interview

I was a finalist in the 2011 Bloody Parchment short story competition, with my story “Duck Creek Road”. The anthology was released last year and as part of the release we all did author interviews. A few of us had our interviews held back and I discovered mine is up today over at Nerine Dorman’s blog.

Baby is 17 months now . And gosh I look tired in that picture!

Go read .

I sold something…

But it wasn’t fiction!

I sold my first non-fiction article. It was a very good feeling, I must say! I’ve been a busy little beaver, madly editing and submitting ALL THE STORIES, and pitching article ideas.

I finally finished reworking “Perfect Soldiers”, “Vultures”, and “In Winter”. I’m satisfied with the former two but I think the latter still needs some tweaks.

I’m taking things a lot more seriously now. I wouldn’t say I didn’t take my writing seriously before, but I’ve really knuckled down to the reality of editing. And I’ve decided I will have to split my fiction writing time with non-fiction writing, as unfortunately non-fiction pays better and I need to earn money.

Hoping, of course, that my first sale wasn’t a fluke!

So including non-fiction and poetry, I currently have 12 submissions out in the wild.

Just keep subbing, just keep subbing…

Drought.

Two recent articles have brought up some angst for me. The first was this one:

The 5 Most Dangerous Creativity Killers

and the second was:

What if I Don’t “Make It?”

At the end of the first article number 5 is:

Discouragement/No Positive Feedback

It’s tough to continue working on novel ideas when you haven’t received any positive feedback. This feeling is backed by psychological research that shows people who’ve started a new undertaking are most likely to give up the first time things come crashing down, also known at the “what the hell!” effect.

Creative people thrive on having others impacted by their ideas. Without feedback, their motivation begins to wither and die.

So far I’m struggling on through my acceptance drought, surviving on the feedback of people whose opinions I respect and who will tell me straight if something is no good. But the positive feedback I crave above all else is the “I’d like to accept X for our publication” or whatever variation that letter takes. Because if no one likes my stuff enough to buy it, then how can I be sure it’s actually any good?

Which brings me to Adam’s blog post about “making it”. I’m really feeling this at the moment. My version of “making it” involves selling stories on a semi-consistent basis. Having a name that people may actually recognise without having met me. But what if that never happens? I feel a kind of fear that this is my big opportunity, while the Goo-toddler is still little and I’m still able to justify being home with him, to build up my writing CV and start to make some money off my work (at least enough to perhaps justify continuing past the time I should be earning money for my family). And if I don’t start selling stories soon, will I have to give up writing (or at least relegate it to a hobby when I get the chance?) Because any work will take up time, and so do my children, and that doesn’t leave much time left over for lots of writing.

I know I periodically revisit this. It’s painful. I’m writing non-fiction as well to try to branch out. I’ve only just started that so I am reserving judgement so far.

You need a strong will to keep going in the face of so much rejection. I’m a stubborn piece of shit. But it takes a toll. I wonder if I’m insane to keep putting myself through this.

And then I sit down and start another story. It’s an addiction.

And maybe, just maybe, I’ll sell this one.

Review: Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

When I met Margo Lanagan last year I made a point of picking this story up as I’d been looking for it for a while without success. My to-read pile demanded I relinquish it so it was a while before I was able to sit down and begin.

I’m not going to lie, the first section of the book is painful to read. The subject matter is raw and devastating but, in my opinion, handled with delicacy and well-researched insight. I can imagine for some people it would be a wrenching experience.

Imagine a terrible situation, then imagine somehow magic allows you to escape. You are transported to a protected bubble formed of your own happy dreams. And you live there, and you and your children grow in peace. Blissful, right? Except the outside world intrudes, poking where it’s not welcome, until the bubble bursts and you end up back where you began—except you are older, and wiser, and infinitely better-prepared to negotiate life in the real world. For me, Tender Morsels is Liga’s story, a story about being a survivor, and more: a thriver. Although there are multiple points-of-view—daughters Branza and Urdda; the bear-men Ramstrong, Bullock and Teasel; the mudwitch Annie and the littlee man who begins the mischief in the first place—the narrative brings everything back to Liga.

My heart broke near the end, for Liga, for all she’d endured and her fledgling hopes dashed (I confess I cried). If anyone deserves a happily ever after, it’s her. But as I finished, I thought: there is still hope for Liga. This is not the end, but the beginning.

The only part of the book that jarred was reading the male point-of-views in first person, especially when they were close together. I do wonder at the choice to present the men in first person and the women in third—was this a comment on the perception of men as subjects and women as objects? Or was there a more prosaic reason for the decision?

So with trigger warnings for abuse (of different kinds), I enjoyed what I consider to be a deft handling of some troubling subject matter, and an exploration of the ramifications (even into the second generation) rather than an exploitation for emotional response. Tread carefully: it may hurt. But life goes on, and can still be beautiful.

In Fabula-divino Blog Hop

Today I’m hosting two ToC buddies from the In Fabula-divino anthology. Tony Owens and A.E. Decker talk about their experience with In Fabula-divino. First up, A. E. Decker, who wrote “In the Wood”.

1. What was your inspiration for the story?

I talk about this in my afterword for the story, actually. My inspiration was an illustration from Snow White where the huntsman was portrayed in a different way then I’d ever seen before: young, wearing a long coat, and indifferent to Snow’s plight. Although I’ve never seen that picture since, I keep putting that huntsman in my stories. He’s a were-saber-tooth tiger in my current YA novel, in fact. And if anyone has a Snow White illustration book with that picture in it, please let me know! I’d love to see it again.

2. How different has the In Fabula-divino journey been from what you expected when you first submitted your story?

The In Fabula-divino journey was fairly like I expected; a lot of editing and changing and occasional banging of the head against the wall. I didn’t know which parts Nicole would want to keep and which she’d think were worth saving, so it was a fascinating process developing the story under her guidance. I believe she had a much clearer idea than I did of the direction it should go in. I wonder if I could hire her for all my work, in fact?

3. What is the best thing about having your story in this anthology?

This is the second anthology I’ve gotten a story in, (the first, BTW is World Weaver Press’s Specter Spectacular anthology) and I must say I just love anthologies, both for personal reading pleasure and for the joy of being in company with other fine writers. In anthologies, I always feel the various parts strengthen the whole. What I particularly like about this anthology is the feeling of freshness about it, as if all the authors were challenged to write something they might not have done left to their own devices.

4. Is there anything scary about having your story in the anthology?

There’s always the nagging fear that people will read all the stories and decide that yours is the crap one. But that’s just general writer paranoia. In truth, it’s all good. Very good.

5. What was the most important thing you learnt during the In Fabula-divino process?

I got a good lesson on not underestimating the importance of character motivation, even if that character never appears on the page. I tend to write on the fly, as it were, so what I put on the page sometimes resembles a sort of gumbo. It was good discipline to have to step back and consider the separate ingredients, and I’ve tried to apply that thinking to my work since.

In the Woods

by A. E. Decker

“Felicia told you to do what?”

“Look, babe,” drawled her stepmother’s chauffeur-cum-gamekeeper-cum-lackey, boredom lacing his Northern British accent. “I’m not happy about it either.”

“You’re not happy about it.”

He shrugged. Noncommittally, Snow felt.

“Felicia commands you to murder me and leave my body in the woods and you’re not happy about it.”

He held up a finger. “Murder you and cut your heart out.” He clicked his tongue. “That’s just freaky serial-killer-type stuff.”

A. E. Decker,  a former ESL tutor and doll-maker, earned a BA in English and an MA in History. Then, having gone through all that effort, “Dee” chucked it and decided to become a writer instead, eventually earning a spot at the 2011 Odyssey Writers’ Workshop. Dee’s writing has since appeared in World Weaver Press’s Specter Spectacular, The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and Every Day Fiction. In 2013, Dee will have stories published by Fireside Magazine and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Like all writers, Dee is owned by three cats.

***

We also have Tony Owens, who wrote “Digging Out the Ribs of Gold”.

1. What was your inspiration for the story?

A few years ago I had an idea for a similar story based on an elite school that sacrificed students to pagan gods in order to maintain high marks. It was, rather unimaginatively, called ‘Sacrifice’. Then the GFC happened and I decided to make it a little more topical by setting the story in a large corporation. From there it all fell into place. Of course, none of this was influenced by my Catholic school education or thirteen years of working for a large telecommunications company.

2. How different has the In Fabula-divino journey been from what you expected when you first submitted your story?

I found working to a deadline quite energising. Like a lot of amateur writers, I’m a world champion at faffing about, so having Nicole standing over me made me lift my game. Also I discovered that editors were human, and could be quite nice as well.

3. What is the best thing about having your story in this anthology?

It enabled me to ‘come out’ as a writer to my friends. In the past I was too embarrassed to tell them about my nocturnal activities. This time I thought ‘It’s now or never.’ They’ve been very supportive and that certainly helps. One of them even told me the story reminded her of the Terry Gilliam movie Brazil, which I was very chuffed about. Though in retrospect, maybe she meant I’m not very original.

4. Is there anything scary about having your story in the anthology?

I guess there’s nowhere to hide now. My little story is out there in the big wide world where people can say all sorts of nasty things about it. Having said that, it’s better than nobody ever reading it.

5. What was the most important thing you learnt during the In Fabula-divino process?

Not to take the readers for granted. Just because I understand what’s happening in my head, or why my idea is so neat, it’s got to get on the page as well. Also there’s that old writers’ cliché about ‘killing your darlings’. I learnt not to be afraid to cut whole scenes if they don’t advance the story

Tony is an ESL teacher living in Brisbane with his wife and son. He has written book and movie reviews for Black Magazine and the late lamented blog Horrorscope.

His short fiction has appeared in the anthology Zombies Ain’t Funny and his very short fiction has appeared on the Antipodean SF website.  His latest piece of flash fiction in the Hernandez’s Circus of Terror series, “The Facts in the Case of K. Klown” will appear in the June edition of Antipodean SF. Influences on his work include Terry Pratchett, Kurt Vonnegut and P.G. Wodehouse (although they themselves might have some issues with that).

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Hop along to A. E. Decker’s's blog: Small Triumphs for her interviews with PJ Keuning and Joseph W Patterson
Holly Kench is hosting me at The Stuffed Olive.
PJ Keuning is hosting Holly Kench at The Rick Blog.

The anthology is available electronically via Amazon and Smashwords with a print copy to be launched at Conflux on the 28th of April.

Wednesday Writers

Today I am guest blogging over at my mentor brother David McDonald’s place Ebon Shores. I’m writing about Suburban Gothic, having appropriated the 50s form of horror to describe a style of character-driven, intensely personal writing, usually centred around the darkness in parenting.

Hope you enjoy!

Difficult themes

CC by PSMandrake on Flickr

Sometimes when I write I worry what readers will think. I know that’s not something you should care about when you’re writing, and I don’t usually start to think about it until I’m in the editing phase.

I’m not bothered by swearing in my stories. At first I was a bit squeamish about writing sex scenes, but now I’m totally wotevs about it (well, that’s not entirely true, I get embarrassed by perverted sex in my stories! But normal sex is totes fine). It’s tackling difficult themes that makes me anxious.

For instance, I have a story in the wild right now that could so easily be picked apart and labelled misogynist (even though it isn’t, it’s set in a misogynist society and reflects things that are commonplace in some areas in real life, but the actual story is not misogynist). I worry that my female protagonist doesn’t have enough agency… that I’ve used her to tell a story, and have done what so many sexist writers do without thinking (written a passive female character). I agonised over the way the story had to unfold.  I tried to give her some agency. I’m a feminist and here I am writing a terrible story because I needed to get it off my chest after seeing something truly horrible. I’m anxious that it will never be published but I’m almost more anxious that it will.

And then there’s the story that explores the darkness of motherhood, using my own experience of PND, but I took my character into hell and left her there. I wonder, will people read this as being purely about mental illness, or will they read it the way I intended? And if they read it as being just about mental illness, what does that say about me, to them? I suppose in a way I’m lucky that parenting-themed stories are a hard sell!

There is another story I have in the editing phase that is really horrifying to me. I sometimes write stuff as a kind of therapy, using symbols and tropes to explore my psyche and my trauma (FWIW, I don’t always, so don’t bother trying to figure out which stories are and which stories aren’t!) This story is icky and it worries me what people would think after reading it… I wonder if I have the guts to send it out into the world. Again, the fear of it being published probably outweighs the fear of rejection, but I think it’s a story with legs. I would be doing myself a disservice to keep it on my harddrive… right?

It’s pretty silly to worry that my readers will think I’m sexist/racist/a bad mother/twisted and perverted when I am writing speculative fiction, but as other authors have said, the reader doesn’t always know me and my beliefs so I will just keep putting my stuff out there, blogging here, and wait for the day I get accused of heinous crimes via review .