There’s a blog chain going around called “The Next Big Thing.” The idea is, each writer answers some questions about their next big project… and lines up more authors to do the same, encouraging people to discover other authors’ books and blogs. My good friend, fellow beer lover, and ex-Dorchester Publishing co-survivor John Everson did one of these last week, and was kind enough to tag me. I’ve tagged four more authors worthy of your support (see the bottom of this blog). So here are my answers:

What is the working title of your book?

I’m going to cheat a little and promote three books instead of one. Don’t worry though, they are actually tied together in that they are my brand new short story collection, which I’m releasing in three volumes.

Vol. 1: GODS & MONSTERS – my religious based horror and dark fantasy.

Vol. 2: TIME & SPACE – my SF, alternate time, and end of the world fiction.

Vol. 3: FLESH & BLOOD – my most hardcore and violent horror stories.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It was mine. I’ve been in the process of re-releasing all of my backlist titles in both ebook and trade paperback versions through a great new small press called EnemyOne and my editor there, Adam Geen, asked me about my short fiction. We discussed releasing a ‘best of’ sort of thing but I found that I had a larger selection of stories that I really loved than would fit into one book. I was trying to find my favorites when I realized there was really no reason why I had to narrow them down to the ten best or whatever. I could release more than one book. After going through all of my stuff, I saw certain patterns and themes in a lot of my best stories and that is how I came up with the three loosely-themed volumes.

What genre does your book fall under?

That’s the fun part. I tend to write in several genres, sometimes in the same story. I like to think a story should go in whatever direction it needs to go in, regardless if that is toward horror, science fiction, or even fantasy. My novels and longer work tends to stick a bit closer to horror, but my short fiction is a bit all over the place. I actually like that. It keeps writing short stories fun and different for me.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Yikes! Now there’s a tough question. With all these stories to choose from, I don’t think I could make you a list of all the actors and actresses I’d need. How about I pick one story. Let’s choose PEELER, one of my favorites and definitely the most extreme story I’ve ever written. It’s the final story in the FLESH & BLOOD volume. Peeler basically has two main characters. It’s about a young chef at an insane asylum named Randy who is battling some self-abuse issues from his childhood. He ends up learning about an inmate they call Peeler, who is in the process of trying to remove every last inch of skin from his body and he thinks that if he meets this strange man he might be able to understand his own bad urges. In a perfect world, I think I’d have a great actor like Edward Norton play Randy. He’s terrific at quirky, slightly damaged characters and he’d be great at this role. Peeler could be a lot of people, seeing as his skin is mostly gone when you see him for the first time. That said, it would still take a big, intimidating dude to pull it off. I’d choose Mickey Rourke.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A three volume eclectic collection gathering the very best of author Gord Rollo’s short fiction.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is being published by Enemy One Press, a publisher in Southern Ontario that I think is going to make some noise in the next few years. Make sure you check them out at www.enemyone.com when you get a chance.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Ha! About 20 years I suppose. Most of these stories were written in the last 10 years or so but there are some very early gems in these volumes as well. I’d say the stories range for the early 1990′s right up to brand spanking new, never before published stories. I’m excited about all of them!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I think there are a lot of great short story collections out there but I tend to like ones that are a bit strange and unique. I like collections that have longer stories as well as flash fiction and everything in between. Keep me off balance and I will enjoy it. I’d compare it (humbly I might add, as both these writers are personal favorites of mine) to Norman Partridge’s THE MAN WITH THE BARBED-WIRE FISTS, and Brian Keene’s UNHAPPY ENDINGS. Those are the collections I’d like to be compared to anyway.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My father has always been the person who inspired me to write and gave me my life long love of books and literature but it’s my writing mentor and friend Gene O’Neill who is always pushing me to stretch my wings as an author and never settle into a rut. Gene is the guy that gets me to explore different genres and cultures and writing using different points of view. He’s also the guy who’ll tell you I still have a lot to learn. And I’d agree with him!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Well, I’m hoping just the prospect of checking out my short fiction will pique readers interest. A fair number of people who read this might have read one or two of my novel or novella length work (and God love them for that!) but seeing as I’ve never have had a short story collection before, there are loads of readers our there who have never read my shorter length work. Now they have three volumes of them to choose from. Here’s hoping they decide to give one, or better yet, all of them a try. The first two volumes have already been released in ebook as well as trade paperback versions, with the third volume set to be released early in the new year.

You can find GODS & MONSTERS right HERE.

You can find TIME & SPACE right HERE.

Well, that’s the end of the questions folks. I hope you’ll give my short story collections a chance and don’t forget to keep an eye out for volume three, FLESH & BLOOD, coming soon. In the meantime, check out the blogs of the other authors I’ve tagged as part of “The Next Big Thing”. They are all excellent writers and good friends who definitely deserve your support. I’m sure they will appreciate your support as much as I do.Their own blog answers should go live around December 10th:

Thomas Erb, author of Tones of Home and editor of Death Be Not Proud: http://taerb.blogspot.com

Sheldon Higdon, author of Hand-Carved Coffins: http://www.sheldonhigdon.com/blog

Jimmy Z. Johnston, author, editor, and owner of Horror-Web: http://www.littlebunnycthulhu.com/

Tim Marquitz, author of Prey and editor of Fading Light: http://tmarquitz.com/blog/

And don’t forget to visit my inviter:

John Everson, acclaimed editor and author of the Bram Stoker Award winning first novel, COVENANT and many other terrific books: http://www.johneverson.com

Cheers!

Message for the tagged authors and interested others:

Rules of the Next Big Thing

***Use this format for your post

***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)

***Tag four or five other writers/bloggers (however many you can get) and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book?

Where did the idea come from for the book?

What genre does your book fall under?

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.

Be sure to line up your other people in advance for the following week.

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