Category Archives: Musings

Blending the Con

19 Tuesday Jan 2021

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In case you hadn’t noticed, there is something of a global pandemic going on at the moment. You may have picked up hints of it amongst the news of insurrection in the US… This pandemic has led to a series of different measures to try to manage the impact ranging from total lockdown to the uniquely confusing Tier system in the UK.

RomanceSFF panel

Photo of me on the SFF Romance Panel at Worldcon 2019 taken by Carien Ubink‎

This has, understandably, led to some issues with the normal running of events. Anything that requires a large number of people to get together in one place for an extended period of time is a high risk for spreading a virus so any number of LARP events, conferences, conventions and the like have been cancelled since March last year and in some cases we have got to the point where the rescheduled events are at risk of being cancelled as well. Some events, such as the New Zealand Worldcon in August, went fully virtual. Others are still waiting for when they can plan new dates for fully in person meets.

With this in mind, Eastercon (which was due to be in Birmingham last year but got cancelled) has been planning for a number of possible outcomes when it returns on the 1st to the 4th of April, 2021. This is probably wise as there seems to currently be no reliable way to predict the extent of the virus or the progress of the government’s response to it by then and therefore no real way to know what restrictions will or will not be in place.

So, Eastercon’s plans are to assume that at least some of the con will be virtual. Even if hotels are allowed to have guests and host events, even if a significant portion of the UK population have been vaccinated, there is still a high risk that international members of the con will not be allowed to travel into the UK so they need to work on accomodating them. So, working with available technology to figure out how to have both in person and virtual attendees both on panels and in the audience.

Which led me to thinking… assuming we eventually do rid ourselves of the pandemic with its Tiers and Lockdowns and endless Zoom meetings, how should this change conventions in the future?

During the first lockdown in March 2020, there was a lot of talk about ‘the new normal’ and how our newfound powers of being able to ‘work from home’ (that we’ve really sort of had since the 90s but nevermind) would change the workplace. Some assumed that once the pandemic was gone ther would be a return to the ‘old normal’. Others suggested that, having realised that it is possible, some might ask for more chances to work from home. How will conventions go in this? Will they return to as it was before or will they adapt by adopting some of the tricks they learned during lockdown? I’m going to consider some possible benefits of the latter…

Authors incliding Jacey Bedford and Ruth Long doing a panel at Mancunicon Eastercon

Mancunicon – me on a panel about Romance with Jacey Bedford and some others. There was standing room only… Taken by Russell Smith

One huge advantage will be space. Eastercon and Worldcon are both getting much bigger. To the extent that some venues can no longer house them adequetly. In 2016, Mancunicon in Manchester had significant  problems with space, with some panels being in rooms that were too small for the audiences who wanted to see them. Hell, this was so bad that even a panel I was on had standing room only and people waiting outside because they were not allowed in. At Worldcon 2019 in Dublin, a guest of honour almost did not make it to a panel I was moderating because the room was full so they were stopping people getting in. Luckily they knew who she was and let her in. This can lead to disappointed attendees because they cannot get into something they wanted to see and be an issue for the organisers who might have to deal with complaints and also set up systems for queuing for panels so there is no huge crush at the door. While the obvious solution might be ‘hire bigger venues’ that comes with the problem that, actually, in the UK at least we seem to be running out of ones that are big enough.

So, running the convention virtually will minimise this to an extent. First of all, attendees present in person might be disappointed that they could not get into the room. However, if the panelists are all on camera and the panel is being streamed, they can access it on a laptop or tablet or even a smart phone in the bar or even their hotel room.

Secondly, more people can be members of the convention full stop. A set number of ‘physical tickets’ can be sold to those who want to attend in person but there can also be ‘virtual tickets’ on sale at a lower price. This increases the overall income of the convention, which should hopefully cover additional cost of the tech to achieve it. This may be an option for some international attendees. I know that I could never afford the travel to the US or New Zealand for a Worldcon but I could afford a ticket to watch elements of it online.

Another issue, linked to the above, is volunteers appearing on panels, workshops, talks etc. As pointed out above, not everyone can travel to a con. Some simply due to distance but others maybe because of disability or childcare issues or similar commitments. There have been a few people who I would love to see on a panel or doing a talk at a UK convention like Eastercon but they have been based in the US or Canada and while some Eastercon attendees are from the States, it is still a significant investment in time and money to make the trip. If the tech can be in place to project a panelist on a screen so they don’t have to be present in the room but they can still interact with the panelists who are present and the audience if needed this would be an improvement.

OK, my experience of conrunning is limited – I volunteer at some cons but have not had to organise the logistics of one to any extent – and my experience of AV is based purely on using it to teach and the same experience as pretty much everyone else since March 2020 so I may be missing huge issues with this. However, I do see that this is an opportunity to think about this longer term than just the current crisis. Like workplaces in general, maybe it is time to start working out what the ‘new normal’ is actually going to be.

Photo-editing

03 Tuesday Nov 2020

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Triggered by a recent Facebook group post, I’m going to talk about something that seems to be a really controversial thing in photography – editing.

There is such a lot to unpack with this and everyone seems to have an opinion. There are those, for example, who claim you ‘should just get it right in camera’ or say they ‘never edit’. Others edit liberally to the extent you can sometimes not see the original image under the processing. And, just as in the aforementioned Facebook group post, it seems to polarise the community.

I guess there is good reason why it does. After all, there are often celebrity controversies about it. Claims that they present an unrealistic body image are justified. In a recent (September 2020) government survey (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmwomeq/805/80502.html) the following question was asked:

This indicates that social media images (mostly edited with filters and similar) and celebrity images (both on TV and in social media) are huge influences on how many feel about their appearance. The use of photoshop style editing is part of that.

However, my opinion is that this is a more nuanced issue.

First of all, those who claim they never edit or ‘they didn’t edit back in the days of film’ are a little misled. Back in the day of film a hell of a lot of editing did occur. The very act of processing film required making decisions about exposure and timing the developing process to suit and many of the features of Photoshop (layers, dodging, burning) are based on activities that used to occur all the time in dark rooms. For example, photographers would use acetate sheets with different elements layered over an image in the same way a modern editor will copy and paste layers of image to make a composite.

As for ‘I don’t edit my digital images’, it has to be understood here that every digital camera – whether it is your camera phone, a compact ‘point and click’, a DSLR or a mirrorless – edits the image before it shows it to you. All digital cameras will record the data of the image taken as a RAW file – usually a huge file that takes up a lot of storage space – and will convert that into a more compressed jpeg or similar so you can view it on the screen. In making this compressed file, the computer in the camera uses algorithms to make decisions about the exposure etc. based on what it thinks you want to see in that image. Some cameras (e.g. DSLRs or mirrorless set to ‘manual mode’) store the RAW file so you can do your edits. Others (such as most camera phones) delete the RAW file after it has made the conversion.

Now, in my opinion, the issue should not be so polarised. We can accept that editing can be used in a way that causes harm to others. We can also accept that all images need some editing, even if that is achieved by an algorithm. What we actually need to be considering is not ‘whether editing should be done at all’ but rather ‘editing should be done as appropriate for the image’. Journalistic or sports photography is always going to need less editing than high art. The trick is deciding where you feel your image fits and how much editing it needs as a result and whether that editing is ethical. This can be a very personal decision.

I do a lot of fantasy and SF themed photography. While you can do a lot with make up and special effects on the set, there will inevitably need to be some form of edit in photoshop to give the images oomph. This might be changing the background to a fantasy scene instead of the studio backdrop or plain brick wall of the original. It might be replacing a bland sky with something with storm clouds. It could be adding lightning flashes or other things to make a character look like they are doing magic. All of these are changes that an editing critic might say were deviating from the original image too much. However, in these specific examples, I would argue they are essential to create the image. The two images below are an example from a trip out with a vampire a few years ago…

Before
After

Interview: Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

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In the final (for now) Vampire month style interview in celebration of the release of Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire, we have Nigerian author Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki talking to us about Anne Rice and other aspects of writing about vampires.

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer, slush reader and editor. He was awarded an honourable mention, twice in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. His short story won the Nommo award for best short story by an African. He has been published in African Writer, Omenana magazine, Selene Quarterly, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Tor.  

He co-edited the Invictus Quarterly, Selene Quarterly, and the Dominion Anthology

He also happens to be a member of the African Speculative Fiction Society, Codex, BFA, BSFA, HWA and the SFWA.

You can find him on the following social media links:

Twitter www.twitter.com/penprince_

Facebook www.facebook.com/penprince

Instagram www.instagram.com/penprince

What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

I would say I was writing since I could write. I always used to make up my own version of the stories I read as early as I could read. About the same time I could write. Then I started to actually write it down a bit later, before I was a teenager. Mostly fight scenes with made up characters but having the abilities of the ones in stories I read. I did try my hand at original stories too as a teenager. I even have this novella/novel about ancient Egypt. Which no, you won’t be seeing. Lol.

When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

Well, professional. I’ll say that was much later when I discovered literary mags and selling of stories. That was much later on in life. My mid 20s. By then I had given up on writing for like half a decade. Sold my first spec fic story to a pro market in 2018. Published in a couple places before then in like 2015.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

Greatest strength, I would say is my experience as a reader. I think it influences my writing and gives it the quality or feel that it has. Weakness, I’ll say is my stamina. I’m not very prolific. I wrote in short bursts and not as often as I would like. There’s no magic cure. I just have to motivate myself daily to work at it. Food helps as a motivating factor. *smile*

Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

I currently live in Lagos, Nigeria. And move around a bit. I can’t say that my place or abode has influenced me so much. I tend to live in my head, and Carry my home with me. Although the times I’ve been in a location that’s been really bad, it’s affected my writing, negatively. But other than that, a few creature comforts, and I and my writing are good.

Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

There’s so many books, it would be hard to say. But it would be a tie between the DragonLance Chronicles and Legends by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, and the Dark Elf Trilogy/Icewindale Trilogy by RA Silvatore. You can toss in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, and the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. We can also add the Sword of Truth series. Bless Terry Goodkind.

What drove you to write about Vampires?

Anne Rice. And the fact that they are sleek, sexy, powerful, immortal, dark creaturse. What’s not to love about them?

What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

I think it’s the dangerous elegance of it. The danger is exciting. The beauty is alluring. Must be why we keep going back to them so many times, no matter how much they have been explored.

In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

Lestat de Lioncourt.

What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

Tie between the count Dracula and Queen Akansha. They are royalty afteral. Come on.

How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

Pretty well. Considering my characters are mainly gods, devils and geniuses.

Tell us the basic premise behind your latest novel.

In a post apocalyptic world where a third world war has wiped out nearly all life on the African continent, the survivors gather in Ife-Iyoku, the spiritual capital of the ancient Oyo empire and birth place of all life, where they evolve due to the magic and power of the place and gain powers to survive the radiation and twisted environs they find themselves.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) A tongue-in-cheek analysis by Steve Van Samson



16 Friday Oct 2020

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Amazon.com: The Last Man on Earth [VHS]: Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Umberto Raho, Christi Courtland, Antonio Corevi, Ettore Ribotta, Carolyn De Fonseca, Rolando De Rossi, Giuseppe Mattei,First, a little history…

These days, the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse can hardly be considered jaw droppingly original. With such beloved properties such as THE WALKING DEAD (2010), NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) and about a million in between, the zombie hoard concept has staggered and moaned its way into our hearts. Funny thing is, boil ‘em down to their component parts and you’ll find there are essentially two types of zombie films: Pre-Apocalypse and Post. But in the early 1950s, the idea of a world where mankind had been put on the endangered species list was unheard of. Lucky for us that in 1954, genre master Richard Matheson penned a novel that changed all of that.
In the world of Science Fiction and Horror, “I Am Legend” is kind of an important book. It inspired not only what is considered by many to be the quintessential zombie film (Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, 1968), but also three direct adaptations (including THE OMEGA MAN, 1971 & I AM LEGEND, 2007) and essentially an entire subgenre of horror. In other words, if the Zombie Apocalypse compels you to write a thank you note, it should probably be addressed to Richard Matheson.
But enough of that…
Tonight’s film is not only the first to adapt the story “I Am Legend”, it also happens to be the most faithful to the source material.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) is constructed of three distinct acts, beginning with a series of aerial shots depicting a sprawling, if barren metropolis. As these progress, the shots become more and more grim, eventually depicting dead bodies strewn over sidewalks, streets and stairs as well as a church’s marquee which boldly proclaims that THE END HAS COME. The sequence comes to its conclusion on a sleepy street, which would surely be charming if not for all the bodies.
It is here that through a broken and boarded window, we catch the first glimpse of our hero. Starring as Dr. Robert Morgan we have the great Vincent Price (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, 1959, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, 1971). Initially asleep, Robert is jarred awake to the shrill sound of an alarm clock. And like many of us are apt to, he greets the morning with all the excitement of getting a root canal, as he shuffles off and into the business of the day.
“Another day to live through. Better get started.”
With this haunting line, so begins the film’s first act.
For quite a while, the movie trudges along as a sort of one man show–depicting a typical day in the life of the titular LAST MAN ON EARTH. Initially, all of the film’s dialog is delivered via an inner monologue–providing vital insight into the mind of our protagonist, as well as establishing the ins and outs of this post-apocalyptic world. Apparently it has been three years since Morgan inherited the Earth, though by his own account if feels quite a bit longer.
After checking his calendar and adding oil to the ole’ generator, Morgan steps outside to greet the morning sun as well as some fresh dead folk on his lawn. These he regards with all the awe one typically reserves for the first glimpse of the morning paper. It is about this time that we begin to learn about the film’s so-called monsters. Though I have thus far likened these infected humans to “zombies”, this is not entirely accurate. While the infecteds are certainly zombie-esque (given their apparent penchant for moaning, shuffling, blank stares, etc.) they also share quite a few similarities with another classic monster–the vampire.
We soon learn that Morgan has fortified his home with such oddities as strands of garlic and mirrors. According to this film’s mythology, mirrors can be used to repel the infecteds who have a serious hate-on for their own hideous reflections. Of course later when we are treated to the limits of the makeup department, this fact becomes quite silly since the monsters (zompires?) look about as monstrous as the average post-bender collegiate.
But I digress…
After a few more steps in the morning routine, Morgan packs his kit with some freshly made stakes, loads up the car with two bodies from the lawn and hits the road. Better get a move on, Morgan–you’ve got a full day of errands ahead of you and daylight, she’s a burnin’.
After a quick fill-up, the good doctor’s first stop is “the pit”. Basically a perpetually burning gorge of insinuated bodies (insinuated since we never actually see any besides the ones Morgan tosses in). Admittedly, out of the many daily functions we have seen Dr. Robert Morgan perform so far, throwing dead zompires into the mouth of hell is probably the most exciting. The sequence ends with Morgan chasing the bodies with a whole can of petrol and a jumbo novelty torch–just to let the we the audience know that they the filmmakers were also wondering what was keeping this pit thing going.BlueisKewl: The Last Man on Earth 1964
Stop number two on Morgan’s crazy Saturday adventure is a visit to the local supermarket. Surprisingly, he passes through aisles stocked with cans and boxes of viable food, ignoring the lot. The item he’s after today is garlic since his home supply has apparently lost its potency. A good thing indeed that the market’s freezer is still working and there is a large supply of the stinky vampire repelling bulb inside. After stocking up on all the garlic he can carry, Morgan moves on to the really fun part of the day… FULL THROTTLE ZOMPIRE KILLING SPREE!!!
The score blares, all brass and swagger as we are treated to a montage of Vincent Price kicking in doors, hammering down stakes and feeding “the pit” with some freshly slain zompire folk. Then wash, rinse, repeat–it’s all very exciting. Eventually though, the sun starts to get low in that western sky. Noticing this, Morgan decides he had better head home, batten down the hatches and hunker in for another long night. And so he does. One safely settled in, the zompires appear almost at once, planks of wood in hand–they assault the doctor’s home, even calling him by name!
“Morgan… Come out Morgan…”
Fortunately for the good doctor, his zompire assailants have the approximate upper body strength of Spongebob Squarepants. After three years of nightly onslaughts, they have yet to set as much as one wormy toe into his fine, upper middle class home.
At its core, the point of act 1 is to show us a typical day in the life of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH. The mundanities feel mundane for a very good reason–Morgan is running on fumes. He exists simply to exist. Filling his time with the self appointed purpose of exterminating as many zompires as possible–making sure not to die in the process so he can do it all over again the next day, and the next… and the next.
The Last Man on Earth 1964: 15 things you didn't know! | Spooky Isles
Act 2 appears pretty much out of nowhere and is basically one big flashback. In it, we are able to glimpse a portion of Morgan’s life prior to the human race’s nigh-extinction. We get to meet his lovely wife and adorable young daughter, as well as his best friend Ben (who we’ve already met as the hero zompire who endlessly calls Morgan by name). These are the early days of the disease and they aren’t pretty–what with all the panic and hazmat suits and dead kids getting hauled away in trucks. The sequence is certainly interesting enough and adds some depth to our main character.
With the flashback over, we smack headlong into act 3. The final portion of the film takes what we think we know about the world and turns it on its head. Without giving too much away, I will say that the conclusion does a good job of providing an alternate look at Morgan’s unique outlook and situation.
THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964) is admittedly something of a sluggish affair. It’s production is low and it features some seriously terrible audio quality as well as glaringly looped voice overs.–however, the film is certainly not without its charm. Price’s character, while incredibly disillusioned and apathetic, is fascinating when juxtaposed against the dystopian world just outside his door. We come to understand that Dr. Robert Morgan is a shell of his former self. A man resigned to continue the business of living–somehow finding balance in day to day survival, but perhaps without knowing why. And somewhere along the way, he became something unrecognizable.
I think Nietzsche probably said it best.

Interview: Steve Van Samson

15 Thursday Oct 2020

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Our second interview for our series celebrating the release of Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire is with Steve Van Samson. Here he describes himself in his own words:

I’m the author of the “Predator World” novels (The Bone Eater King and Picture of Steve Van SamsonMarrow Dust) as well as numerous short stories which all tend to be on the pulpy, adventure side of horror, with an eye on character diversity. Aside from writing, I have also sung lead vocals on 2 albums with the band Enchanted Exile and co-host a fun nostalgia podcast on The Dorkening Network, called Retro Ridoctopus!

You can find him in these places:

Amazon

Facebook: Steve Van Samson 

Twitter: @SteveVansamson

Publisher for press releases: www.roughhousepublishing.com

 

What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

Though I didn’t think of it as a form of writing then, when 10 year old me would come up with characters and scenarios to pretend and play through with my friends, I think I was actually world building. Later, I also recall writing down (and improving on) certain weird dreams that I had at the time, for use as fodder for assignments in high school. There was one involving being invited over to a teacher’s house and discovering a pocket dimension beneath their swimming pool. That one was my mom’s favorite.

When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

I’m just a huge fan of creating and meeting/interacting with new people. Writing allows me to do both in spades. I also really like the idea that by putting out books, I’m leaving something behind that my kids can always look back to and (hopefully) be proud of!

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

I love it when long-running TV shows reference specific scenes from earlier seasons. Buffy did this masterfully and so does Supernatural. It’s the sort of thing both that can both reward long-time fans while breathing new life to something they’ve already experienced. Possibly spurring new interest into seeking out and re-watching the old episodes that were just brought up. I try to do the same thing with my writing by always leaving little seeds throughout. Even if these details are glossed over initially, they may just bloom in subsequent readings. I also take great pride in my endings, which my readers consistently point out as being fulfilling and exciting.

I became interested in writing long after college and, unfortunately, do not have an English degree. As such, my grammar and punctuation tend to be a bit on the spotty side. It’s a weakness for sure, but I am always learning and improving!

Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

I live in the USA. In a quiet, very old town in Massachusetts called Lancaster. As such, history is all around and I drink it in constantly. As far as settings for stories go, I generally like to write about varied places and people. That said, my story “The Root of All Noise” (which appears in More Lore From The Mythos Volume 2) does actually take place in MA and features many actual features of the hiking trails around Mount Greylock.

Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

I don’t think there is one specific book, but rather certain authors whom I am consistently in awe over. Somewhere between the no nonsense, everyman prose of Joe R. Lansdale and the fairy-tale magic of Neil Gaiman is generally where I generally hope to land.

What drove you to write about Vampires?

There is a story called “The Hills of the Dead” by Robert E. Howard that I absolutely love. It has the roving Puritan evil fighter, Solomon Kane, travelling to Africa and battling a very unique breed of vampires. Everything about this story was exciting and new to me. Not only was this a very different take on vampires as creatures, but Howard placed them in an atypical setting. These decisions encapsulate pretty much everything I try to accomplish in writing. Give the reader something familiar and a whole lot of “holy crap, I’ve never seen that before”!

What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

Vampires are a very diverse monster. They can be sexy, dangerous or a combination of the two and no matter what the genre (horror, romance, sci-fi, weird westerns) if one of the characters is a vampire, it becomes a vampire story!

In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

As much as I love Carmilla, Dracula and Blade, I really enjoyed the Alpha Vampire from Supernatural. Rick Worthy played him as a quiet, restrained threat. As a character who had mastered his beast, but was keeping it by his side rather than in a cage. I really wish we got to see more of him.

What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

Oh, definitely Selene from Underworld. Who can say no to Kate Beckinsale in all that skin tight leather?

How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

I would love to see the Bone Eater King take on the Alpha Vampire. And while Supernatural’s Alpha definitely has the age advantage, I think the King’s raw power and size would ensure that he’d keep his crown. Selene would probably take him down though.

Tell us the basic premise behind your latest novel.

I know we’re doing vampire stuff here, but my latest is actually a bit of a departure. Mark of the Witchwyrm presents a father’s journey through a very cold, very grounded fantasy-type landscape.
Rander Belmorn is far from home. He searches tirelessly for the one man who might be able to cure his dying son, but time is running out. The road has led to a frozen waste at the very edge of the world. But what Rander Belmorn never learned on that long, lonely road was the answer to the last question. The only question. How do you kill a witch?
Mark of the Witchwyrm drops January 2021 from Rough House Publishing!

Interview: L. Marie Wood

13 Tuesday Oct 2020

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In our first special ‘itinerant Vampire Month’ post, we welcome L. Marie Wood into the special vampire interrogation chair (the one with all the gothic skulls and weird spikes) to answer questions about herself, her work and in particular her story in Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire.Picture of L. Marie Wood

L. Marie Wood is an award-winning author and screenwriter. She is the recipient of the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper, as well as the Harold L. Brown Award for her screenplay Home Party. Her short story, “The Ever After” is part of the Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology Sycorax’s Daughters.  Wood was recognized in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15 and as one of the 100+ Black Women in Horror Fiction.  

The questions…

What is the earliest memory you have of writing? What did you write about?

I was 5 years old and I wrote a horror story about a woman who was being chased.  She encountered all kinds of things that were creepy to my young mind and then, at the moment when she would either have to fight or die trying, she woke up!

When did you decide to become a professional writer? Why did you take this step?

In the middle of that very first story – yes, at age 5 – I decide that writing was what I wanted to do forever.  Writing is something that is as much a part of me as my eye color or my height.  I truly feel that I was born to do this and to ignore that would be to live life unrealized.

What would you consider to be your greatest strength as a writer? What about your greatest weakness? How do you overcome this weakness?

My greatest strength is that I can find ideas anywhere and everywhere.  Considering that my genre is psychological horror, I often am intrigued by what could be going on in someone’s head.  That allows for an endless supply of material – ideas can be generated by taking a walk or waiting at a stop light in the car.  Cover of The Realm by L. Marie Wood

My greatest weakness is the concept of boundaries – though, not the way you might think.  I used to not read when I was writing.  When I was working on my first novel, I thought that was the best way to keep other people’s ideas out of my head and keep my writing pure.  I found that limited the amount of reading I did in a year and if you are like me, the consumption of fiction is as important to you as air or water – well, almost.  😊  Because I write a lot, I found that I read less and less and that just bothered me.  So, I tried writing a few short stories while reading a novel that had been on my list for some time… and it worked!  I found that I didn’t actually need to keep the two separate at all – that I can actually walk and chew gum at the same time.  I take this approach with all boundaries, whether within the writing or from my daily life.  The way I overcame the weakness was simply to try it and see what happened. 

Tell us about the place where you live. Have you ever derived any inspiration from your home or from anywhere you have visited?

My town is like any other suburban town – same stores, same restaurants… some streets even look like ones in neighbouring states.  This is the perfect place to get inspiration.  I write about the lived experience – the mundane is my playground.

Which book, if any, would you consider to be your greatest influence and inspiration?

Not a book, but an author.  Ira Levin’s comfortable flow really spoke to me wheIra Levin (Playwright, Author) | StageAgentn I was trying to find my own voice.  He connects with readers in a way that makes you feel like you are chatting with him over a drink on a casual Sunday afternoon.  That ability to engage readers, to unsuspectingly get into their space and under their skin, has influenced my style considerably.

What drove you to write about Vampires?

They are the most human of the horror antagonists and their motivations just make sense to me.  The embodiment of excess regardless of what emotion is being displayed, vampires are excellent antagonists to use in psychological horror.

What do you think is the attraction for Vampire fiction? Why is it such a popular topic?

Vampires are sexy!  Vampires are misunderstood.  Vampires do what we wish we could and dare someone to levy a consequence.  Vampires are who want to be times 1000.

In a fight between all the greatest Vampires of fiction, who do you think would come out on top?

The smart ones.  The Lestats of the genre, impetuous as he is.  The Armands.  The ones who know there is more to the whole thing than just the taking of blood.  If I had to pick one, I’ll say Lestat.

What about in some other contest such as sexiness or dress sense? Who would win that one?

Same… I mean, just look at Lestat!

How well do you think one of your characters would fare against the winner(s) of the above?

Nah, there’s no competition in dress and style.  My characters are nowhere near as flashy as Lestat, however, they would give him a run for his money once he turned a little catty!

Tell us the basic premise behind your story in this anthology.

The short story in SLAY is a discovery tale that happens in a contemporary setting.  It is fast-paced and really dives into the internal turmoil that can exist when one’s humanity is staring back at them in the mirror.

You can find out more about L, Marie Wood on the following links:

Website:  www.lmariewood.com

Twitter: @LMarieWood1

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/lmariewood

Amazon Author Page

 

 

Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire.

11 Sunday Oct 2020

Posted by in Musings, Vampire Month

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What’s this? A title mentioning vampires on this blog and it isn’t March?

Yes, it is true. I am breaking the usual rules of this site by not saving vampire month until March. However, if you noticed, we didn’t have a Vampire Month this March so I feel perfectly justified in running a sort of itinerant Vampire Month in October.

Besides, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to have it in October. What with Halloween and all…

Plus, this is an exciting prospect. On October 13th this year, Mocha Memoirs Press is releasing a vampire themed anthology that has been funded on Kickstarter. The aim was Mocha Memoir press’s usual mission statement which is to ‘amplify marginalized voices in the areas of speculative fiction (science fiction, horror, and fantasy).’ In particular, to explore the black diaspora in Vampire fiction.

So, Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire, edited by my old Worldcon panel buddy Nicole Givens Kurtz, will soon be available from the usual booksellers and contains stories from a range of talented writers including:

L. Marie Wood

Steve Van Samson

Jessica Cage

Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Over the next few weeks, we will have interviews with all these authors so you can have a chance to get to know them better…

Cover reveal: The Elementals

04 Sunday Oct 2020

Posted by in Musings, Releases

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Way back in January 2019, long before the pandemic, I was involved in an anthology called ‘Out of this World Alphas’ for Knox publishing. This was a collection of novellas about dominant men and my entry for this (Gods of Diplomacy, in which Rachel Drake from Gods of the Deep pulls off a James Bond) managed to get some good reviews. So, on the back of the success of that, I jumped into another anthology from the same publisher called ‘The Elementals’. Not only that, but I dragged Russell A Smith along for the ride too…

The bulk of the work for this has now been completed. We are just waiting on final edits and have a release set for sometime in November, 2020 so not long to wait. Until then, you may have a cover to look at…

 

The brief for The Elementals was to create a story that involved someone who could manipulate the elements in some way. I don’t (yet) know how some of the other authors have done this (though I did get the chance to read through Russell’s entry before submission) but I can tell you how I did it.

My story is called ‘Transgressions’ and is the third in the series that began with Transitions and was continued with Transformations in Lurking Miscellany. I have brought Helen, Tina and Ash back together for more supernatural shenenighans, this time set in Manchester rather than Birmingham, and thrown in a character who may be familiar from another story in Lurking Miscellany – Simon the elementalist.

I will be announcing more about this anthology as and when they happen so stay tuned for more! Release announcements coming!

Back to the blogging stone… and a free book!

22 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by in Giveaway, Musings, Publications, Publicity

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Lurking Miscellany: A collection of short stories by [D.A Lascelles]It has been a while since I have been actively blogging, mainly because I have been working on my writing and trying to get a few projects completed. Also because, due to lockdown, a lot of the things I had planned to do this year and blog about didn’t happen.

Also, I’ve been lazy…

But I am making a commitment to blog more. Mainly because I have now made significant progress on those aforementioned projects and I might want to tell you about them.

But first, to celebrate my return and the fact that last week I finished a complete first draft of a new novella, I am offering free copies of the ebook to Lurking Miscellany for any who want it…

UK version here

US version here

The free promotion lasts for the rest of this week so get in quick if you want to claim it.

If you read and enjoy, feel free to drop a review on Amazon or Goodreads!