C.C. Adams's Blog: C.C. Does The Write Thing, page 6

The last few months have been busy. Having knocked out some new work, such as a couple of novels which are still in dire need of basic clean-up (let alone deep-dive editing). And other bits and pieces; such as online readings, and podcast sessions. Even now as I type this, I'm thinking that's all, but I'm sure I've forgotten something.

Anyhow.

One recurring thought I've had over the last few months is around newer writers; their entry into the realm of the genre and the game. Genre being the realm of horror fiction/media; from short stories to novels, but also the likes of screenplays, short film and such. Game in terms of how 'one' would navigate their way through the genre and produce work.

I don't see myself as a veteran - far from it. Having been writing with professional intent since 2009, I've seen my craft evolve, sure. I've definitely made progress, but I'm not 'there' yet. You know, every once in a while, Mama will ask how such hustle is going, whether I've finished writing another book or sold another one or done another Q&A session or whatever, and you know what the answer usually is? 'I'm satisfied.' And even that isn't strictly true, because - for better or worse - I'm not sure I'd ever be truly satisfied. Not to the point where I'd sit back on my laurels and look at my track record and think ' that'll do.'

Uh-uh.

Even before Stoker-Con earlier this year, I was mindful of newer exponents of the genre. Even outside of the current pandemic, the horror community is large and far-reaching; global. No surprise that it's nigh on impossible to get everyone in one room at the same time. Social media is a valuable asset in bridging those divides. I'm not a member of so many social media groups - and honestly, I want to limit how many I'm in, or they grow outta control like warts, boils and rashes. Those groups I'm in, I'm mindful of the questions the less experienced will have. Questions that I might take for granted: things that cover the likes of cover art, self-publishing, exposure markets, etc. Yes, cover art is important - I'll be judging a book by its cover; partly, at least. Yes, I might self-publish at some point but, right now, it's too much heavy lifting for me to take on when a dedicated publisher could handle the artwork, editing, marketing, etc. No, I don't write for exposure markets - I work hard on my craft: you want it, you need to pay me for it.

Seeing those who are perhaps less experienced makes me feel a little more ...protective, for want of a better word. Just to offer whatever insight and guidance I can. That includes everything from giving advice to my peers (and the beta reading is a part of that), to mentoring; also in an official capacity with the HWA. Mentoring is both an honour and a privilege, one I take seriously. One of my closest friends introduced me to a newer author for that purpose; to offer insight and guidance. And as trite as it might seem, my pitch is generally the same:

The bottom line is the writing. The writing makes everything else possible.

With a genre that so many are passionate about, understandably you might have a difference of opinion here and there. Disagreements. Arguments. Bias. Prejudice. 'How many books have you read?' 'How many of these books have you read?' 'Name your worst book/film/etc.' And so on and so on and so on. Social media is a minefield. A useful tool, certainly for us indie types, but still a tool. And, just like any other minefield, there's shit you should avoid.

I personally don't feel the need to attend every argument there is. Yes, there are some things I will discuss, debate or defend - but I don't have to follow each and every one to its bitter conclusion. Nor do I feel the need to lament any negative reviews, publisher rejections, social media unfriendings/unfollowings, fragile ego, misplaced sense of entitlement, etc. That's a lot of bullshit I don't want or need to deal with at all, let alone publicly. I do my best to stay humble and honourable, and devote time and effort to my craft. But don't take my word for it: social media's a big place, with a genre community that's relatively tight-knit. You're welcome to dig/Google/etc. if you're so inclined.

Writing and bullshit. Be about the former, not the latter.

That's something else I feel I should be passing on to the newer exponents.

As is, I'm finishing up my last beta-read before I can get back to my own work. While I currently have work sold before 2020 that's still due for publication, I feel the need to knock out more product; keeping my audience engaged. Seemingly, it's never enough. Already the muse is restless, looking to sink her teeth and claws into something; anything. Truth told, so am I - it's the writing and the business of it that gets me amped.

And that's no bullshit.

#game #bullshit #HWA #StokerCon #StokerCon2021 #writing #mentor #mentorship #themuse

As far as the UK genre conventions go, I'd like to think I was something of a regular. They have a number of benefits, after all. They get me out of the house. I get to connect with the like-minded; the authors, the publishers, the reviewers, et al. Some new business might shake loose; an anthology invite here, a podcast session there. And, getting to elevate myself and my brand - given that my name and/or work aren't on a billboard yet, the elevation thing is also a plus.

Anyhow.

Even with the usual summer trip to Toronto, I don't get to as many conventions/gatherings as I'd like - certainly not globally. There were plans for StokerCon to be held here in the UK last spring; a welcome change in my opinion, given how often it's been held in the U.S. But the pandemic decided all of this was fighting talk. So, no StokerCon in the UK. What did happen was a UK concession to a similar convention; ChillerCon, to be held in the spring of 2022. With StokerCon this year being moved to an online platform.

StokerCon™ 2021 – Virtually Thursday, May 20th through Sunday, May 23rd (stokercon2021.com)

For the uninitiated, StokerCon is a long weekend of a convention as hosted by the ,HWA (Horror Writers Association), attracting the likes of authors, publishers, editors, reviewers, podcasters, illustrators and designers. Even readers. Four days of programming that include readings of existing and new works, discussion panels, Q&A panels and such. Let's not forget the meet-&-greet, which is one of the key things about conventions. It's also where the Stoker Awards ceremony is held (named after Bram Stoker - the author of the novel Dracula): awards given to those exponents with superior achievement in horror fiction; be it a novel, novella, screenplay, etc. With the pandemic being nothing less than a challenge - what with the need for social distancing and other such safeguards - the decision was made to have StokerCon 2021 as a virtual event.

Which meant, as a result, a global audience could attend. And I should know, having now met those from the UK, the U.S., New Zealand and Russia. I'm sure there were more I wasn't aware of from other countries.

I have a reputation as a hugger at conventions; a genuine appreciation for my horror tribe. I know from my peers, that they, too, miss this sense of camaraderie as part of the convention circuit; they, too, want to dole out and receive hugs. That said, with a virtual convention, you truly do get a global audience. So, as part of my first StokerCon, I get to talk with those I know in the UK; catching up with Dave Jeffery (and it's only been a few years, boss) getting to 'meet' Stephanie Ellis at last. From overseas, the likes of Sarah Read, Jeff Strand (a joy to hear him talk productivity & back catalogue) and John F.D. Taff. In John's case, I just wandered into one of the virtual bars/lounges to see him in there. John is one of those people who I've spoken to briefly every now and then on Twitter around the author hustle and such. To catch this veteran author in real-time for a proper chat one-on-one was definitely a high point. Sadly, with an attendance of over 400 people (if memory serves), some were inevitably missed, such as Roni Stinger, Clare Castleberry and Brian Keene.

Most of the time at the convention was spent in the virtual bars, connecting with peers. Talking shop, talking about where we're from, what we watch, what we read, what food we like. Any and everything. I did attend some of the programming, including the actual Stoker award ceremony. Given the time difference between the UK and North America, I was up until the early hours. But the ceremony, along with the event as a whole, was well-executed, so props to the organisers for all their hard work. Given that this year's virtual convention was such a success, it'll be interesting to see how future StokerCons are managed. Post-pandemic, there may be more of a virtual element introduced. We'll see, I guess. I'll be looking forward to it.

#HWA #StokerCon #StokerCon2021 #davejeffery #stephanieellis #johnfdtaff #jeffstrand #covid19 #coronavirus

I'm usually blessed enough to see Nancy at least twice a year: firstly when I get out to Toronto's FanExpo in the summer and secondly, if she makes it to U.K. shores for FantasyCon in the autumn. Those times at FanExpo and the hangouts with the HWA's local (Ontario) chapter drove home to me what experience and game she has.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

Nancy Kilpatrick. Earthling. Writer of novels, short stories, editor of anthologies, all in one of these genres: dark fantasy, horror, fantasy, mystery, erotica, literary. I'm a lover of what some call the macabre that this planet has to offer, so when not writing, and not cloistering due to world pandemics I travel to hunt down cemeteries, ossuary's, mummies, Danse Macabre artwork, and my latest obsession, jewelled skeletons. I live in lovely Montreal and am currently catless.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

I'm not particularly organized. But I have an abundance of self-discipline so my projects are usually completed. I'm an emotional writer, meaning, I go with my emotional flow and write as the spirit moves me. Fortunately, the spirit moves me frequently. Some projects require more day-and-night dreaming than others, of course, but I generally spend a lot of time mulling.

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

I'll give you two because my first published novels were two novels for different publishers and it's hard to know which came first.

- Near Death was from Simon & Schuster's Pocket books, a vampire novel.

I had a story in an anthology from Pocket Books and received the galleys to proofread and called them in to the editor, as requested. This is before email was the norm. While talking with her, I mentioned I had a novel and she said to talk with a different editor and put me through. That editor asked to see the novel so I mailed the paper copy to her. I heard nothing and phoned after about 8 months, only to discover that she had left the company. A guy had taken over her work. He searched and couldn't find the manuscript and asked me to re-send it, which I did. This was all back in the day when the submission process was photocopying and then mailing the roughly 300 pages, paying postage there, and back! Old school publishing was expensive. This time, I only about 2 months, called, and...wait for it...that guy had left the company too. I remembered Rebecca Todd, the anthology editor and my story and fortunately, she was still there. I told her what happened. She was mortified, said she'd look for the MS. She called back to say she couldn't find it and please send it a third time to her. She promised to read it over the weekend, and did, and wanted to publish it. That's how my first novel saw the light of day.

- The Darker Passions: Dracula was from Masquerade Books, an arm of Crescent Publishing in NYC.

I sent a proposal to the editor for a single novel, The Darker Passions of Dracula. He called me about 3 weeks later. Apparently his then girlfriend, later wife, had read it to him as they drove down to Florida for a vacation. She loved it, he loved it, and he asked me if I'd consider a series of erotic horror novels, so I said yes, and ended up doing 7 novels. The series title is: The Darker Passions. The individual books are: Dracula; Frankenstein; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde; The Fall of the House of Usher; The Picture of Dorian Grey; Carmilla; The Pit and the Pendulum.

That's the overview of my 2 novels. Near Death was a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award in the First Novel Category and a finalist for the Aurora Award. It's been reprinted by 4 print publishers and one eBook publisher and is part of what turned out to be a 4 book series called Power of the Blood. It was optioned twice for film.

The Darker Passions series has been reprinted by other publishers both print and eBook, including a signed, limited-edition hardcover. There is an audio book of 2 of the Darker Passions titles and 1 audio book of one of the other titles in the Power of the Blood series.

My luck has always been strange, and outside all 'rules' for how things are done. One learns to live with weirdness.

4. You mention how Near Death has been optioned twice for film. Given that screen horror is more accessible to audiences now, especially with the likes of Netflix, how would you feel about writing for TV/film?

I'm up for writing a treatment or script or whatever, WITH HELP. Meaning, I haven't written for film or TV though I have scripted comics so I get the limitations of spoken words and actions, as opposed to written and oral fiction formats which allow a lot of description, and interior life of characters. I also understand that what works in a book might need alteration for a film. In other words, I'd need help, as in a co-writer.

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

Oh, so many. It's hard to pick a catastrophe. Here is a series of catastrophes for the same books and it had to do with the third publisher of the Power of the Blood series.

A publisher in the UK wanted to reprint Near Death and Child of the Night, the first two books of the series that existed at that time. He also wanted me to write a third book, Reborn, which I did. Sounds great, right? There were several mishaps along the way but I'll just mention three.

The cover of Reborn was done by the amazing artist Les Edwards and it's lovely. The publisher told me that Les wasn't available for books 1 and 2 but sent notes or sketches and another artist was commissioned to create the covers for books 1 and 2. When they arrived, the artist's had worked with his preferred medium, wood. Wood that was 6 feet by 4 feet! The publisher photocopied those 2 book covers section by section, pasted them together and formed two covers that are not anywhere close to the one Les did. I only knew about everything that went wrong much later when it was out of my hands and 'resolved'.

Next catastrophe was distribution. Somehow, the 3 books were in their boxes going to the warehouse in a truck that had an accident. The way it was described to me is that the boxes flew out the back doors and were run over on the highway. They had to be reprinted.

I was still breathing at this point.

After the reprinted books had been out a year, I was getting a lot of people asking me where they could buy them because everywhere they went (no online yet, just bookstore days), they weren't available. I, in my naivety, thought, gosh, they've sold out! How wonderful! And every time I mentioned this, the publisher said they were distributed.

I was at a convention in the UK, probably a World Fantasy or World Horror convention, and the publisher was there also. We had a meeting and this is what he told me (paraphrased):

There were some issues with the printing and told the printer he had to reprint the books. This was in the very early days of a file being sent to a printer. The printer reprinted. I guess they didn't exactly work out the arrangements beforehand because the printer had the books ready to ship to the warehouse but wanted to be paid for the reprinting. The publisher argued that the printer screwed up and should have reprinted for free. The printer blamed the publisher's file. All this led to a law suit which was going on for most of the year.

When I met with the publisher at the convention, he told me all this and then said: 'There's good news and bad news.' The good news was that they had worked out the money issue. The bad news? The printer said he would not pursue payment provided the books were pulped, to which the publisher agreed.

Yes, I sat there stunned. Now it was clear why the books were hard to find. I said, "Well, you're going to reprint them, aren't you?" No, he wasn't. He went out of business and left England for parts unknown shortly thereafter.

But, back at the convention... After that meeting with him, I had a meeting with the top editor at Ace/Berkley for whom I had edited 2 anthologies. I wanted to pitch another anthology to her but ended up babbling about what just happened and crying in the bar. I was a mess, the meeting was awful, I was so embarrassed. Fortunately, though, I was able to edit a 3rd antho for her down the road.

The whole experience was such a low point but, eventually, I bounced back. One has to.

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

My pep talks are always the same. From the I CHING (The Chinese Book of Changes): Perseverance Furthers. You've got to keep going if you want your work out there and read. It doesn't matter how big or small the work is, just write, keep at it, keep going. Writing is within your control, publishing and distribution are not, even if you self-publish. You'll win some and lose some but if you keep going, there's a progression. The more you write, the more you'll know how to write, the more savvy you'll be about this industry. The more you publish, the more you'll learn how publishing works. And that includes both trad and self-publishing. You need to wear a bunch of different caps, more so today. Writing is a business and if you want to succeed, persevere.

Latest works in HC, trade pb and eBook. Recently optioned for film and TV:

Thrones of Blood 6 book novel series:

Revenge of the Vampir King

Sacrifice of the Hybrid Princess

Abduction of Two Rulers

Savagery of the Rebel King

Anguish of the Sapiens Queen

Imperilment of the Hybrids (coming soon)

*

Vampires: Darker Desires - 2 novellas "Wild Hunt" and "Vampyre Theatre"

*

Recent Short Stories:

"Trogs" in Apostles of the Weird, PS Publishing

"Always a Castle?" in Lovecraft Mythos, Flame Tree Press

"The Promise" in The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 2 , Alchemy Press

"Vermiculture" in The Pulp Book of Phobias 2, Lycan Valley Publications

"Alien Lover" in A is for Aliens, Red Cap Publishing

Website: nancykilpatrick.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nancy.kilpatrick.31/

Twitter: @nancykwriter

Instagram: nancykilpatrickauthor

#game #gametalk #game101 #nancykilpatrick #editor #horror #erotica #fantasy

While it's only been in the last few years that I met Graham, I didn't realise that I'd grown up with his artwork; that of The Evil Dead and A Nightmare On Elm Street being prime examples. Distinctive work and nothing short of masterful, I'd have to talk game with him.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

I am a freelance illustrator and designer, my name is Graham Humphreys. I have been in this ‘game’ for 40 years.

Born in Bristol in 1960, my formative and educational years were spent in the West Country of England. At the age of 16, I entered Salisbury College Of Art to embark on a diploma in Graphic Design, this was followed by a further year in which I explored illustration as my prime objective. Completing my art education I moved to London, where I continue to live and work.

My specialist area is in horror film promotion. In the latter part of 1982 I designed a poster for the UK campaign promoting ‘The Evil Dead’, then a couple of years later I designed the UK poster for ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’. These remain my best remembered paintings, defining my role in UK horror history.

I found myself at the beginning of the home entertainment revolution that centered around VHS, painting many covers for terrible films (and a few that were good). From VHS to DVD and Blu-ray, my work in home entertainment continues. Along the way, I’ve designed many film posters and record sleeves, I’ve illustrated book jackets and editorial features, a smattering of advertising work, plus event and festival posters. My brief foray into storyboarding is represented in the early films of director/writer Richard Stanley: ‘Hardware’, ‘Dust Devil’ and ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’. My current schedule includes revisionary film posters, commissioned, non-commercial takes on well know horror films.

All my work is created using traditional paint on paper. It’s not digital.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

Being freelance requires a dedication, both to the craft and to the need of the clients. With rare exception, all my work has a commercial intent. I have to answer a brief to the best of my skills and knowledge - and respect the trust the client places in my abilities. All the work tends to be deadline driven, thus presenting challenges in what can be achieved and how I approach the work (particularly in budget constraints).

At a basic level, my painting techniques have evolved to deliver my work as swiftly as possible without compromising the end result. For example, my earliest work used a technique whereby a base layer of scribbled oil pastel could be partially revealed by scratches on the finished paint surface, producing sparks of bright colour. This was my attempt to recreate the laser light of holograms that I’d witnessed at a laser art exhibition during my college years. I abandoned the technique (seen in my ‘Evil Dead’ poster) by the time I worked on ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’. This was a practical decision as well as an artistic consideration; I had found that the water-based paint could flake away from the oil-based pastel, plus it had become a stylistic conceit that added nothing to the finished purpose.

When I am presented with a new job, the first things I need to know are the deadline and the fee. I can then judge if the job has value for my income, there is little point in indulging time on a project if it can’t pay basic living expenses - otherwise I’d swiftly be out of work and home! For this practical reason I have determined a daily rate that is my guide to charging. Most jobs take between two and five days, unless there are complex design elements to also consider - for instance an LP box set that requires illustrations, plus box, label and sleeve layouts - and the final delivery of print-ready files).

I instinctively know how long a job will take and can advise the client accordingly, sometime requiring compromises on what can be delivered within the budget.

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

Despite obvious similarities, each job is different, requiring its own disciplines and approaches. This might be better illustrated by two examples from many years ago.

Case one: ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’.

After the success enjoyed at the box office and in video rental/sales of ‘The Evil Dead’, I was commissioned to work on ‘Evil Dead II’. You can see a change in the style and techniques, though the sense of caricature and humour is still there, the imagery verges on cartoon.

Although I’d attended a packed preview screening of ‘Nightmare...’, I wasn’t expecting to be approached for a poster. I was a friend’s ‘plus one’ and not actually invited myself. The poster commission fell to some friends who had just set up their own design business and were now working with the same client (Palace Pictures). However, the illustration approach was still favoured, but the client had to be convinced that my style could adapt accordingly (fortunately, a couple of my book cover commissions already demonstrated flexibility). At a meeting we discussed the ‘look’ of the poster, ie. NOT cartoony or humerous (like the ‘Evil Dead’s’, but something more ‘classic’, ‘classy’ and muted - less ‘horror’.

I took my inspiration from the unlikely source of poster works by Jules Cheret and Alphonse Mucha, both known for printed theatre posters (C1860-1920). Although it may not be obvious from my final painting.

My challenge involved understanding how to convey the film without revealing the ‘monster’ or illustrated blood letting. I took the unusual step of choosing to portray the actor’s face with closed eyes, asleep. Eye contact creates engagement, eyes are also expressive and add character. Here there was none!

The only reference I had at my disposal was an early pre-production flyer that showed a lamp lit suburban street. It isn’t the street seen in the film, nevertheless, it’s the one I used.

In order to give myself the best possible reference material for Nancy’s (the character) portrait, I replayed my screener VHS to the scene where she is seen sleeping, I took a series of photographs in order to get at least one that would give me what I wanted. These were 35mm transparencies, requiring me to hold a hand held viewer to my eye whilst trying to draw and paint the face. I used a mirror to reflect my own hand as reference for Freddy’s own gloved fingers - finding reference for the leather and metal extensions from replaying the video. In order to create a more dream-like look, I photographed the final painting onto another 35mm slide, where the painting occupied only 50% of the available image area in the viewfinder. When enlarged to full poster size, the film grain softened the brush marks.

The title was hand-painted as a ‘horror’ touch and we decided to use a fluorescent orange ink to evoke the glow of the lit windows.

The poster was well liked and the film went on to became a huge success, thus my involvement with the subsequent sequels.

Case two: teaser poster for ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: Dream Warriors’

Ironically, the ‘Nightmare...’ franchise had taken on a humorous turn. The release of ‘Dream Warriors’ was set to coincide with a new James Bond film. We had the idea of making Freddy the 007 gun barrel Bond silhouette, with bold text playing on the famed Bond introduction “The name’s Bond, James Bond”, replacing it with Freddy Krueger’s name.

Without providing any sketches, we had our meeting at Palace Pictures, requesting the use of a video machine. Our VHS of ‘Dr. No’ was cued to the gun barrel sequence, we spoke our revised Bond quote. The client loved it! The simple black, white and red poster was printed and fly-posted around London. Eon (who owned the Bond franchise) were less impressed, demanding the removal of all posters pending legal action. The posters lasted a couple of days before disappearing. It was widely reported. The managing director of Palace Pictures, caught up with us in a pub and said we’d got them into so much trouble - but he was delighted!- they got so much more publicity than their budget could ever have delivered!

4. Good on you for contributing to such legendary properties. Are there any properties over more recent years that are on your bucket list, e.g. Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, etc?

I'm going to be working on 'Drag Me to Hell' and 'Dusk Till Dawn' (both private group commissions). Having recently created a licensed poster for Hammer's 1958 'Dracula', I'm hoping that 'The Curse of Frankenstein' might follow.

But more contemporary project... I also have 'Doctor Sleep' line-up as a private commission.

The most recent revisionist poster (from late last year) was 'Mandy'.

Other than these, I have nothing I can identify in a wish list.

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

Not every job has been a success. Some just limp through the process without any impact. In the past I’ve had work rejected (it wasn’t considered good enough or it was ‘pitched’ the wrong way). I remember painting an album cover for a band, thinking it was one of the most accomplished illustrations I’d produced at that point in my career (1983). I eagerly bought the NME (New Musical Express), knowing that the LP was going to be reviewed, curious to see if my ‘masterpiece’ was going to get a mention. It did. In fact most of the review seemed to be centred on how terrible the cover was!

Mortifying as it was... I had to accept that it’s not possible to be an impartial judge of your own work!

There is an amusing twist to the tale. I counted the NME as a client, having produced a number of illustrations for them over a period of a year. I’d been asked to provide an illustration to accompany the LP’s review. My caricature of the band accompanied the dismal review of my LP cover!

You learn to take the knocks!

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

It may seem clichéd, but there is nothing quite like experience to consolidate your craft. I have occasionally been asked to provide contacts and names so that people can find work with my clients. Often they will be people with no formal training and no basic knowledge of file delivery and print considerations. Whilst these are skills easily learned, you can’t expect to work at a professional level, earning professional fees, without knowing how to deliver professional work.

Additionally, working to deadlines, under pressure, requires experience and a professional attitude that hobbyists often don’t understand. An amazing piece of art that has taken weeks, or longer to produce isn’t going to work for a blu-ray cover that barely pays for two days work and is needed ‘next week’.

Earning a living is difficult for illustrators (unless they are working in visuals for gaming and film!).

In the 1980s, most illustrators could expect to pay their living expenses... often earning more. Or, they would teach part-time. My agent (I have one, though we rarely get to work with each other) will not take on anyone that cannot provide an income for themselves outside of illustration work, he simply cannot guarantee work anymore. Thus, I consider myself to be very lucky and only earning through 40 years of persistence!

I do this because I still can - and because I love doing the work. I’m constantly learning and evolving, always pushing to improve. It’s an ongoing process that will continue as long as I’m working.

Over the last five years I’ve attended conventions where I can meet the people that recognise my work (I also sell signed prints). The feedback is always useful, I can better understand the weaknesses and strengths in my work. and build on the knowledge. Ultimately, I am working for the ‘end-user’ through my clients, not for my own gratification... I always keep this in mind when I deliver a job.

Website: www.grahamhumphreys.com

Instagram: humphreys7120

Twitter: @GrahamHumphrey8

A book ‘Hung, Drawn and Executed’ should still be available through the publisher www.koreropress.com

It’s shortly to go to a second print run and will be available again through Amazon.

I’m working towards a follow up collection (hopefully at some point in 2022).

Once the horror conventions are up and running again, I’ll be appearing at a number of those. I’ll post information on social media.

#game #gametalk #game101 #grahamhumphreys #horror #illustrator #film #vhs #dvd #bluray

Having first met Joseph at FantasyCon years ago, I find out he's also based here in the capital. And not a million miles away from me - which, thankfully, has translated into drinks and/or pizza. The sci-fi and fantasy author knows the value of keeping his head down while letting game and achievement speak for itself.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

My name's Joseph Elliott-Coleman. Writer of science fiction and fantasy. My work has been published in Rebellion Books – short story in the anthology Not So Stories and a prequel novella set in the Judge Dredd universe entitled Judges: The Patriot/Judges Volume 2, NewCon Books - London Centric: tales of future London - and the comics magazine 2000AD

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

“Never teach the Wu-Tang!!”

But seriously, my process is very organic. Normally I start jotting ideas down in notebooks then write a very loose plot outline. Then I start work on the story proper. I never work on one thing to the exception of others, I always have multiple works on the go. That's why when I arrive at a problem, I switch gears work on something else. Normally I’m able to solve whatever problem I’ve encountered while writing something else. The brain is a funny old thing!

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

Well the manuscript I’ve just submitted to literary agents, a science fantasy novel entitled “Frostfeld: The End of The World As You Know” was a novel that took me 13 years and 20 drafts to write. It was the first novel I wrote when I started writing again at age 27 as a final major project for my Illustration degree. I meant it to be an illustrated novel, but in the doing of it I realised that the words were far more important to me than doing of the art. So I continued working on it after I graduated.

However, every draft I wrote wasn’t up to snuff. It didn’t have the kick or love that I wanted to permeate the pages.

At a certain point I wrote another novel entirely, (which I really should get back to rewriting because it quite good if I say so myself and it set in the same world) so that I could teach myself the skills need to write what I wanted.

So, roll on March 2020 and Corona hits and I’m furloughed from my job. I decide to focus all my energies to get the novel working. What it took was moving it from one country to another - it was originally set in the Netherlands. I moved it to the UK – rewriting almost 50% of the first half of the novel and almost entirely rewriting the second and third parts.

It worked. I was happy and satisfied. Sometimes if a thing isn’t working you have to junk it and start over.

4. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

My Judges story, The Patriots, due to working on a licenced property – its set in the Dreddverse decades before the Judge Dredd comics series - there was a strong editorial hand involved that made sure were contradicting anything that had happened, was about to, or was in the works. I got almost halfway though writing the story before my editor and I remembered that I hadn’t been specific as to the plot of the story. It was discovered that what I’d written needed to be rewritten due to major contradictory points, past present and future. We decided instead of junking everything and starting again, he’d extend my deadline and allow me to write the entire thing then go back and make the necessary changes.

Let that be a lesson, guys: always write a synopsis of the project you mean to write so your editor can sign off on it.

5. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Everyone has a method that works of them. Find yours. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, find what does. Though I’d humble suggest that you keep a notepad on your person or within arm’s reach because story ideas are like manner from heaven that falls constantly. You have to be ready to catch it. Also, if you find yourself in the position of having an editor you’re on good terms with, communicate with them if you’re running late. Don’t try to game them. Don’t wait until the 11th hour before you tell them you can’t make that deadline. You’re part of a system: links in a chain. When all else fails, be a professional.

Talk to your editor.

My story “Death Aid” in Ian Whates’ brilliant science fiction anthology “London Centric: Tales of future London” is one I’m particularly proud of. Alongside over great stories it tells of a veteran of the Eurowars in a very near future coming to terms with the reality of a derelict Croydon where the family of choice is of great importance.

It’s quite heartfelt and moving and it probably the work I’m most proud of.

http://www.newconpress.co.uk/info/book.asp?id=166&referer=Catalogue

#game #gametalk #game101 #josephelliottcoleman #scifi #fantasy #2000AD

Probably my earliest memory of Tracy is at the Birmingham Horror Con in 2018. In the middle of the afternoon, I'd escaped from all the bustle on the ground floor and was taking a breather upstairs. Tracy eventually walks past, sporting a bone pendant - with what appears to be half a lower jaw of a sheep. And ever since that encounter, I've known her to be nothing less than engaging and compelling. And damned near flawless when it comes to a live read.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

Hi! I’m Tracy Fahey, and I’m an Irish writer of horror fiction with a fixation on dark folklore, the domestic uncanny, and Gothic bodies. I’m primarily a writer of short fiction; my collections are the 2016 ‘The Unheimlich Manoeuvre’ (Boo Books) (shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award for Best Collection), the 2018 ‘New Music For Old Rituals’ (Black Shuck Books) and the 2020 ‘Unheimlich Manoeuvres In The Dark’ (Sinister Horror Company). My YA novel, ‘The Girl In The Fort’ was released in 2017 by Fox Spirit Press. My short stories are published in over thirty American, British, Australian and Irish anthologies. I’ve been awarded creative residencies in Ireland and Greece. I hold a PhD on the Gothic in visual arts, and my non-fiction writing is published in edited collections and journals.

At present I’ve just finished a new collection, coming out on 13th February 2021, ‘I Spit Myself Out’ (Sinister Horror Company) and I’m working on co-developing a screenplay based on my short story ‘I Look Like You, I Speak Like You, I Walk Like You,’ rights to which were acquired in 2020.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

I’m trying to be more organised with my game! I’m being stricter about setting writing goals. I started writing fiction in 2013, and to date I’ve gone from project to project without taking a breath - but during this lockdown I’ve been re-examining not just how I write, but how I manufacture opportunities to write, how I promote my work, and how I want to build to a sustainable career in writing. To this end I spent my New Year planning what I want to achieve this year, and breaking down these aims into smaller, achievable sub-goals. I intend to revisit these once a week and ask myself what I’ve done to contribute to the realisation of these goals.

Oh, and I always have a new collection in the pipeline. I find it useful to write thematically, so as I’ve just finished my female-voiced ‘I Spit Myself Out,’ I’m now contemplating two bodies of work, one on the Gothic dimensions of crime, and another based on Michel Foucault’s essay ‘Of Other Spaces.’

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

I should say the nomination for a British Fantasy Award or getting an Honourable Mention from Ellen Datlow for ‘The Best Horror of the Year,’ or being included in Stephen Jones’ latest edition of ‘Best New Horror’, but to be honest, it was when Lol Tolhurst, formerly of my all-time favourite band, The Cure, asked me for a copy of my book, and then supplied me with an amazing pull-quote. His agent, Marjie, had approached me to work on his book tour for ‘Cured’ in 2017 due to the fact I’d organised a large Gothic festival in 2014.

What can I say? Hard work, but a lot of serendipity (and one very star-struck me).

4. Excellent. Let’s come back to the screenplay thing. How did that come about; is this your first experience working on a screenplay?

Yes, this is my first screenplay, but I love the challenge of writing in different modes. It came about through the good offices of my publisher Justin Park who sent a copy of The Unheimlich Manoeuvre to LA, where it caught the eye of a producer who optioned one of the stories ('I Look Like You, I Speak Like You, I Walk Like You.') After several long transatlantic conversations, we discovered we made an excellent brainstorming team, and he invited me to co-develop the screenplay. And that is how fairytales happen in real life!

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

Well, my first collection ‘The Unheimlich Manoeuvre,’ was published by Boo Books, which folded almost immediately after launching my book in 2016. That was disappointing, but I continued to promote it through readings, panels and other genre events.

And then came a series of uncanny resurrections. It was nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 2017, the same year that Justin Park of the Sinister Horror Company acquired it - it’s now been released in two subsequent editions including the 2020 deluxe edition with additional stories, introductory essay and story-notes. Instead of disappearing from sight when the original press folded in 2016, it keeps returning in a series of uncanny recurrences. I often joke with my publisher, Mr. Park, that ‘it’s the book that just won’t die.’

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Read, read, read.

Write, write, write.

Be consistent with both practices. Learn from what you read. Write as much as you can. Know what you do well. Push your boundaries. Aspire.

But as well as that - keep an eye out for quality anthology calls, be aware of open calls by prestige publishers, attend Cons and events in your genre. Be the best advertisement for your work.

My new collection, ‘I Spit Myself Out,’ is published in February 13th 2021 by the Sinister Horror Company. In it, eighteen unsettling narratives map the female experience from puberty to menopause.

'I Spit Myself Out' is a collection of female-voiced stories exploring the terror that lurks beneath the surface of the skin. In this collection, an Anatomical Venus opens to display her organs, clients of a mysterious clinic disappear one by one, a police investigation reveals family secrets, revenge is inked in the skin, and bodies pulsate in the throes of illness, childbirth and religious ritual. Disturbing and provoking in equal turns, 'I Spit Myself Out' reinvents the body as a breeding ground of terrors that resurface inexorably in the present.

'I Spit Myself Out' will be available on Kindle, Paperback from Amazon and the Sinister Horror Company website. For any enquiries or further information visit: SinisterHorrorCompany.com

Website: www.tracyfahey.com

Twitter: @tracyfahey

Email: tracyfaheyauthor [at] gmail [dot] com

#game #gametalk #game101 #tracyfahey #horror #gothic #folklore #sinisterhorrorcompany #ispitmyselfout

First introduced to Dion in 2016 at FantasyCon (Scarborough) by Phil Sloman, I was struck by the man's sense of savvy. Soft-spoken and with an impish sense of humour, after introductions were made, we began to talk shop. The convo I remember was Dion's take on open submission calls and how an editor might manage them. That is the earliest moment I can remember thinking, "he's got game."

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

Hi folks, my name is Dion but you might also know me as The Fine-toothed Comb. I’ve been working as an editor on the side for the past 6 years, largely (though not exclusively) in the horror genre. It started out as a hobby but quickly became my passion, and I’ve been building up my business ever since. Over the years, I’ve spent far too much time toiling away in unsatisfying jobs so, when the dubious stars of Covid and Brexit shone a path to Redundancy, I pretty much ran down it. You might think it’s a hell of a time to leap into self-employment but, weighing it all up, I realised I’d never have a better opportunity. You only get one life, right?

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

It’s funny, I’ve never really thought of myself as having game, but I’ll take your word for it. I’m not what you’d call a natural businessman, so the only game I began my editing life with was the way my brain picks at words and my pleasure at helping them sing. I had some great responses from the authors I worked with on my first couple of books, so I was definitely doing something right, but it was only when I started hiring my services out that I started learning the harder lessons. The element I get paid for is the actual editing, but there’s a whole heap of unpaid work around the edges!

I knew from the start I’d have to build relationships. Editing is a covenant of trust, and that takes time and effort to build. Conventions were my route into the writing community, and social media my means of growing and maintaining those contacts. It helped that I wasn’t in any rush in those earliest of days – acquaintances grew into friendships quite naturally.

The website was the second part of the puzzle. My shop front, as it were. I’ve got no skills there, so that was something I had to invest money in. It took some time to get the look right, and I kind of want to revamp it now. Still, it’s given me a place to point at when people asked about my services, and a base from which I could blog (as and when I remembered). I’m taking that side of things a lot more seriously now I’m self-employed. Got to seriously up the game if I’m going to pay my bills off the back of it.

One thing I’ve discovered, to the cost of my health, is that the willingness to work is not enough; I’ve got to work smart. So I’ve been figuring out a plan recently, really digging into the behind-the scenes stuff: an actual honest-to-God analysis of where I am, where I want to get to (financially speaking) and how I can get there. I’m talking about attracting and retaining customers, adjusting my prices, reducing my costs, breaking down my work-pattern, systematising where possible, diarising tasks, producing regular content to engage people with etc.

It’s going to be exhausting at first, but this is a fundamental shift of practise and, as activity becomes habit, this is what will become my engine – regular, rhythmic, driving my business on to greater success. At least, that’s the plan…

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

I don’t know about ‘biggest’ achievement. Every step has felt huge and scary to me, but I’ve kind of grown to enjoy the challenges as I’ve faced them. Each success proves that it’s worth stretching myself to go further. I’ve already bored you with my escape from the day-job so…hmm…let’s go more personal: my biggest achievement recently was beating imposter syndrome—or at least kicking it out of the room long enough to play expert.

One of my very first authors, Angeline Trevena, has gone on to garner some pretty impressive success on the indie scene, earning herself a regular income from writing that frankly eclipses the wage from my old day-job. She invited me to present a workshop on editing at a convention she was organising and I said yes before my brain weasels had a chance to attack my confidence. (Top tip, by the way.) I went months without thinking about it, and the postponements-by-pandemic came close to freeing me of the responsibility. Of course, Indie Fire changed tack to become an online event, so there went my escape route…

Long story short, I had no choice but to knuckle down and do my prep: plotting out a journey to take my work-shoppers on, producing a couple of exercises for them to do remotely and – critically – finding a way to to get prompt notes directly in front of me so I’d be able to stick to the path without drying up or getting lost. I had the opportunity to pre-record it, but I decided that would be too horrible. My editor’s brain would be pushing perfectionism and that would only serve to ramp up my anxiety levels. Better to go live, keep agile, and just get through it.

And it went well! Hell – if we ever get back to the convention circuit, I may even do it in person. The buzz you get from defying your fears is extraordinary, and this is coming from somebody who has lived much of his life beset by social anxieties. Face them. It’s the only way to break free.

4. Now you've got a workshop presentation under your belt, is that something you'd do more of? Given the current pandemic, I'd imagine online events are more common now.

It’s something I’d be open to, sure, but I want to change gear and get the actual editing side humming along more efficiently before I put serious efforts into it. I think EdgeLit Alex gets a reasonable revenue from the workshops he runs, so it makes sense to keep my options open. I’m also starting to investigate the possibilities of other forms of freelance editing e.g. audio for podcasters.

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

Oooh. Okay. Hm. I mean, I’ve had things not go to plan, but I can’t say I’ve had any disasters yet. More like wobbles that have thrown me off. I managed to publicly embarrass an author at FantasyCon by being too effusive; I’ve got surnames mixed up to the point now where one publisher absolutely despises me (according to my brain weasels) because on numerous occasions I’ve talked about ‘him’ within his hearing – eliciting hard stares in my peripheral vision – when I was actually talking about somebody else; I’ve had testimonial requests rejected from people I thought everything had gone swimmingly with and so on. Social stuff. Patchable to a degree, but fundamentally there are some things you have to let go of. Allow them to wash away in the river of bygones.

One thing I’m constantly having to learn from (and refine my responses to) are those odd occasions when I’ve inadvertently upset a client with my appraisal of their work, or to be more precise, with how I’ve phrased that appraisal. A couple of people stand out in my mind as being particularly aggravated, and that blast of pure anger can be pretty traumatising at the time. Relationships are vital to my business though, as I’ve said, so repairing that damage is equally important. It takes time, care, and a proper empathic consideration of the author’s position. None of us are correct 100% of the time, the job still needs to be done to the best level possible, and for that you have to have an atmosphere of good will and trust. That’s why I think it’s so important to own my mistakes when I make them, and to apologise with sincerity where feelings have been hurt.

Of course, prevention is better than cure. I habitually review my Comments now before sending them off, checking them for tone and content, imagining myself as the reader and how I would feel to be given that piece of information. Better to over-explain, I think, than to be inadvertently dismissive of derogatory. It’s a work in progress, as are we all.

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Sheesh. Are you sure? I feel like I’ve already gone on too long. Is there anybody still here? Well look, if you are still reading this, and if you’re hanging on my words to help make your way in editing, I’m going to give you three pieces of key advice right here, right now.

i.) If you want to improve your game, you need to build a good reputation. That doesn’t happen overnight, but you need to keep it in mind with every interaction and every job. The biggest thing you can do to get a good reputation is to earn it. Put in the work, do the best job that you can, look for ways to improve at every turn, and – key to it all – make sure that the people you are working for feel that you have genuinely helped them improve their work.

ii.) It’s not a competition. You don’t need to be better than everybody else in order to build a career. There are vastly more writers out there than editors, all of whom will benefit from the safety-net observations and thoughtful insights of an editorial review. Develop yourself and your business as much as you can, of course. You want to be successful. But you can’t edit for every publisher, you can’t click your fingers and have people hammering at your door for help, and you certainly can’t turn every client into an author of unparalleled genius. Just do the job, improve where you can, and keep on keeping on.

iii.) Value yourself. This comes in two flavours: pride and price. When I started my career, my main concern was earning my stripes; any money I earned was a bit of a bonus. Testimonials were my true prize back then and, I have to say, they remain a strong benchmark of success—particularly when I’m having a low day on the emotional front. Reading those nuggets of praise reminds me of my value to others, and that gives me pep like little else.

However, now I’m reliant upon it to live, my income has become a greater concern. There is a tendency towards desperation when you begin freelance work – a race to the bottom of pricing in order to attract new clients, and an agreement to work on pretty much anything just so long as the work keeps coming in. BUT, as I said earlier, there is no shortage of potential clients out there. So think about what you’re doing and why. If you price yourself as cheap as possible, you will only attract clients for whom cost is more important than quality. That means more people, more often, but it also brings the tendency to lower quality manuscripts, each of which demands more work.

So aim high. Stand out as a mark of quality.

Ambition gives you work you can be proud of, clients who are more likely to succeed (and whose testimonials therefore hold greater reputational value), as well as an income that might actually be able to support you through these difficult times.

My website is at www.thefinetoothed.com

If you just want to see my past jobs, go straight to https://bit.ly/3bpTsXS

and my Testimonials are here: http://bit.ly/3nH2zpL

You can contact me via social media:-

Facebook: https://bit.ly/37kDk6u

Twitter: https://bit.ly/2KNswGf

Linked In: https://bit.ly/3q7fPGn

Instagram: https://bit.ly/37dzsnJ

or you can email [email protected]

#game #gametalk #game101 #dionwintonpolak #thefinetoothedcomb #editing #freelance

I'd been a member of Kelley Armstrong's (then) online discussion forum, having inhaled her work, since around 2003. This was the place where I'd joined the OWG (Online Writing Group) after warming up on fanfic. This was a place where I'd made a number of lifelong friends, including Terri Giesbrecht who, to date, is my longest serving beta reader. Never one to hold back, she's constructive and thorough - working consistently at pace. If you've read any of my work, odds are good it was her critique and savvy that helped get it into shape. MVC (Most Valuable Critiquer/Critter) status guaranteed.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

My name is Terri Giesbrecht, I’m an unpublished author and beta reader. I write whatever strikes my fancy, romance, paranormal romance, fantasy, and a wee bit of horror. I also beta read anything I can get my hands on.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

As an author, I’m not sure I have much organisation when it comes to writing. When I started this whole thing, I loved writing and would just sit down and write. It was just that simple. I still have not rhyme or reason to my process, I have an idea, I sit with it until I feel ready to make sure I can get the words out and do a good job of it. I pretty much write out scenes in my head every day until they drive me crazy enough to get them out.

I once tried to do an outline – because someone told me that that was the way to go – and I hated it. I lost all creativity due to the fact that I had it all written out already and then felt guilty for ignoring my guidelines. (I’ve been told that it’s okay to do this, but I just don’t like it).

Beta reading – I believe – is an art form. One of my favourite things is to get to delve into a new story and help the author with things they can’t see because they are too close to the work. The process hasn’t evolved that much, I read a story once to enjoy and to pick up on little things that stick out. The second read through is for picking up all the bigger things I missed during the first read.

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

For years I’d heard of this thing called Nano (NaNoWriMo), I had NO clue what the hell it was. I asked one of my author friends about it and she explained the concept. I was blown away that people could write that many words in that short a period of time. The next November I was determined to win Nano. I had no idea if I could do it but come November 30th, I had a novel of 50,000 words. I was flabbergasted that I could achieve that goal. Since then, I’ve done five or six Nano’s and won them all.

As a beta reader anytime I can help an author get published is a huge achievement for me. I’ve had a few authors message me and say I helped them get published and that makes me very happy.

4. As far as the beta reading goes, I know you've worked slush pile as well (for the likes of horror journal Deciduous Tales, if memory serves). How does that compare to reading ad-hoc for authors 'here and there'?

Beta reading is more about finding consistency errors. Like a character coming into a room they never left, or repetitive words, or a sentence that makes little sense in general. Things like that. With a slush pile, you are not looking for continuity errors (which have hopefully all been addressed by a beta reader), you are looking for a good solid story that fits well with the theme of the anthology. So, if they are looking for macabre stories, that’s what you look for; original, weird tales of the macabre.

The Deciduous Tales crew was awesome to work with. They sent us the first anthology so we could see the types of stories they were looking for, this made it way easier to flag the stories that we thought would fit that criteria.

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

Since I’ve never been published, yet, I don’t really have anything that didn’t go according to plan.

I did have a problem during my third Nano, I think. I’d finished early and was starting to do some edits when my laptop crashed, and I lost all 50 thousand words. I was devastated. From that I did learn that you should ALWAYS back-up your work.

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Best advice for an author is to read as many books and as many genres as you can. Don’t feel like you have to write every day, if you don’t feel like writing, don’t. I feel like this will go against every other author’s advice, but for myself I can’t force myself to write and if I try, I lose creativity.

As a beta reader, read as many books and as many genres as you can!

When doing the actual beta read try to pick out the good along with the bad. Nobody, and I mean nobody wants to open a story to find only negative things. If you laughed out loud at some point, tell them that. If you cried in an emotional scene, tell them that. If something doesn’t make sense to you, point it out, because if it didn’t make sense to you, chances are it won’t make sense to someone else. Let them know what touched you, and what didn’t. Be real, be honest, but in the end ALWAYS be kind.

#game #gametalk #game101 #terrigiesbrecht #romance #fantasy #horror #kelleyarmstrong #MVCs #betareader #crit

The middle of 2016 was when I first heard of J. Daniel Stone, having shared a TOC with him in Turn To Ash: Volume 1. This is notable for a number of reasons. One, because, for all the publications my work appears in, this was a rarity that I actually read it. All the stories hit me as distinctive and well-crafted (although my favourite is from Andrew Wilmot). By the end of 2016, I caught wind of J. Daniel Stone on the This Is Horror podcast - where, if memory serves, I popped my podcast cherry. Also notable, because this is where I heard of the A Story A Week challenge). Just hearing the man talk is like hearing a story. You know he's got game.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

Hello Everyone. My name is J. Daniel Stone and I write queer horror for the urban weirdo.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

I’m such a good organizer with everything in life except writing. I need to surprise myself when it comes to my art, so if I plan in advance, I become grossly uninspired. It all usually begins with an image in mind, or something I obsess with in that point in time. I’m what some people would call a “pantser” in the writing world. In terms of how my game has evolved over time, there has been less jotting down in notebooks, and more keyboard action. I do still love a nice longhand session, but the reality is that keyboard have taken over everything.

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

Perhaps it was when readers voted my story into a “best of” anthology called DREAD from Grey Matter Press. But that’s a very on-the-surface, explicit example. A true writing achievement (for us all, in my opinion) is to actually sit the fuck down and write! With all the distractions around us, it’s very difficult to actually just get the words out without being interrupted.

4. You mention that if you plan in advance, you get uninspired. Are there any instances when inspiration hits you for different stories, narratives, etc. at the same time? How do you manage them?

Inspiration hits me at the most random times. I can't ever really say that I can sit down and force myself to be inspired. It normally happens when I'm not even thinking about it. Then BAM! I need to get some madness out of my head. I usually only work on one project at a time. Focus is key to getting every project done.

The only way to truly manage them is to create a mental note. Or go the old fashioned way and jot down some notes. Then let all of that simmer and return it at a later date.

5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

I’m not a planner, because I don’t like to set myself up for failure. But I do give myself some light timelines, and if I don’t abide to them, I usually crumble. When that happens, I need to take time away and collect myself. Then when I calm down. I can get back to it. Sounds cheesy, but it’s the only way.

6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Write what you want to read. Don’t be a poseur.

For info on Stations of Shadow and more -

Website: www.SolitarySpiral.com

#game #gametalk #game101 #jdanielstone #horror #queer #LGBT #LGBTQ

V. is a force. The Mexican-American author now based in London regularly delivers stories with a Latinx flavour. Not one to sit idle; if she's not editing a collection, she's answering a Q&A session or appearing on a livestream video panel. If that wasn't enough, she continues to promote diversity, representation and inclusion in the horror genre. No hyperbole - I get a genuine sense that she's barely gotten started.

1. For those who don't know, who are you?

I’m Violet (V.Castro)! Mexican American woman from Texas now living in the UK. I write horror, erotica, erotic horror and science fiction.

2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?

I have children, so I get things done when I can. I prioritize the projects I have agreed to do followed by the longer pieces of fiction I’m working on. Short story calls are last.

When I first started it was very slow because I didn’t know anyone. I spent a lot of time just getting to know the writing community and how publishing worked. Now, I try to lift as many writers as possible, especially writers from marginalized communities. I’ve learned many lessons being a woman of color in publishing.

I also always write my authentic truth as a Latina. The story needs to be told.

3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?

Biggest achievement has to be getting Queen of The Cicadas and Mestiza Blood picked up by Flame Tree Press. After sending the manuscript (Queen of The Cicadas) to many agents and having very close calls, it was not finding any traction. My heart was sinking because it is about the Latina experience. It is Mexican history. I was about to just give it up even though I felt so strongly about the story. Not one to ever want to give up, I took a chance with a few more publishers not expecting anything. Not even a few days later it was accepted and so was my short story collection that is about the Mexican American experience told through urban legend and folklore. Two blessings at once for my patience and determination.

I’d like to talk more about Question 2. As my writing journey unfolded, I noticed there were not many places giving women of color the spotlight. I wanted a space for stories, promotion, essays, reviews, and anything to lift voices left behind. With my friend Sonora Taylor, we created the website ,www.frightgirlsummer.com

This was right about the time when Black Lives Matter had a huge push (finally). Now on the website we have a space to highlight Black women and a page for Latinx Heritage Month. We have reading lists with books by women and women from marginalized communities. Women in dark fiction can shine here and promote their work for free. It is a true blessing for me to do this because I know how lonely publishing can be. I know the wait is the hardest part of the journey.

4. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?

There was an anthology call with big names I was so sure I had to be in. I thought the story was right and it had to be a win. I needed a win. Well, it was a rejection. I cried and felt insecure for a minute. But then I read it again. I just kept on writing until it became a novella. Goddess of Filth was born.

I was contacted by a publisher about a novel that I was shopping around, however, I wanted to send it to agents. In the end I offered them the novella and they loved it!

What is meant for us will come to us.

5. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.

Don’t compare yourself to others. You may think you are on the same publishing journey, however, they are all different. We all evolve differently. With social media we are constantly bombarded with things that can make us feel inadequate, but the most important thing is to have your own vision and stick to it. Intuition goes a long way. If you are chasing someone else’s dream, you won’t get to yours.

Instagram and Twitter: @vlatinalondon

Website: www.vvcastro.com

Goddess of Filth is released March 2021 (not long now!) and can be preordered.

Latinx Screams is OUT NOW. It is a Latinx horror anthology I co-edited with Cina Pelayo.

Queen of The Cicadas is out June 2021 and can be preordered.

#game #gametalk #game101 #vcastro #latinx #frightgirlsummer #horror #erotica #scifi