Dark Faith: Devotions and ALL THINGS ME!!!

As the promotional efforts for Dark Faith begin in earnest, Apex Book Company has been running a series of mini-interviews with some of the contributors called Dark Faith: DEVOTIONS. I’ve been loving the responses and want to collect the links to them here. And take a moment to appreciate how much my friends love and respect me…

DEVOTIONS

Alethea Kontis - “The God of Last Moments”

Mary Robinette Kowal – “Ring Road”

D.T. Friedman - “Paint Box, Puzzle Box”

Wrath James White - “He Who Would Not Bow”

Tom Piccirilli - "Scrawl"

Jennifer Pelland - "Ghosts of New York"

Nick Mamatas - “The Last Words of Dutch Schultz Jesus Christ”

Ekaterina Sedia - "You Dream"

Lucy A. Snyder - “Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects”

Linda D. Addison - "The Story of Non-Belief"

Rain Graves - "Lilith"

Richard Dansky - "The Mad Eyes of the King Heron"

Lavie Tidhar - "To the Jerusalem Crater"

Geoffrey Girard - "First Communions"

Kelli Dunlap - "Good Enough"


Related Posts

Flames Rising - Dark Faith Preview (including my introduction to Dark Faith)

Kelli Owen - "Dark first, Faith second"

Jason Sizemore - "The Ups and Downs of an Anthology"

INTERVIEWS

On my end, I have the unprecedented (in my career thus far) problem (and hopefully this will be a recurring “problem”) of promoting two projects at a time. Thus, the latest bouts of interviews (though King Maker was mentioned in Publishers Weekly all on its own):

Examiner.com - Maurice Broaddus has 'Dark Faith'

Random Musings - Interview with Maurice Broaddus

Innsmouth Free Press - Interview: Maurice Broaddus

Omnivoracious - Jeff Vandermeer - King Maker Maurice Broaddus on the Anthology “Dark Faith”

The Occult Detective - Soul Searching with Maurice Broaddus


AAAAAAAND, reviews of Dark Faith are already rolling in:

REVIEWS
Shroud Magazine

Publisher’s Weekly


P.S.

Rounding out this “All Things Me” post, I’d like to point to two more items:

1) Zoe E. Whitten, hysterically funny writer and tweeter, was wrestling with my novella, Devil’s Marionette in this moving piece.

2) My story “Hootchie Cootchie Man” was listed as an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow’s list of notable stories for the year.

A Couple New Stories Out...

My story "Hootchie Cootchie Man" is in the current issue of Black Static (#14). Look at this beauty:
It was reviewed on Suite101.com. The review reads in part:

The eponymous 'Hootchie Cootchie Man' by Maurice Broaddus is a car thief who steals to order - but the order is placed by those wishing to ditch their cars by leaving a couple of hundred dollars under the floor mat. Nathaniel gives a girl a lift and then keeps running into her over the next few hours, as 'Like a desperately needed word on the tip of his tongue, Nathaniel was on the verge of realizing an important truth.' There is something slightly reminiscent in tone of Broaddus' spare prose of Michael Moorcock, in that Nathaniel is somewhat iconographic in the same way as Jerry Cornelius and the Eternal Champion. The pick of the issue.

I have a story, "Closer Than They Appear," and have been interviewed by the sexiest editor in horror, Michael Knost,* in the current issue of Shroud (#7).

And here is the Amazon review which reads in part:

"Closer Than They Appear" is far and away the best tale in the issue, a painful story of self-doubt, self-hatred and self-destruction that rocked my ass in three pages flat.

GO BUY THESE ISSUES!!!



*I know, I've just made Jason Sizemore weep in his coffee.

Checking in on My Arch-Enemy

Long time readers of my blog will remember that as part of the up and coming writer code, it’s important that you do one of two things: 1) randomly attack either Brian Keene or Nick Mamatas or 2) get an arch-enemy. Though I had temporarily resigned, it has been a while since I’ve checked in on my arch-enemy, Nick Kaufmann. So I’ve decided to check in and see what he’s up to (after all, you should always know where your enemies are and if they are being more successful than you. Remember, you’re only doing well if your friends and enemies are doing worse than you.)

Crap, his short story, "Mysteries of the Cure" from the Shivers V anthology, is getting decent buzz. I have been away for too long and neglecting my duties. As all young writers must know, there is a cabal of writers, the 'circle jerk' of in-crowd mid-list authors who are killing teh genre, who exists to keep them down. I have only recently received my ticket to the cool kids table, and I will be kicked out if Kaufmann isn’t successfully oppressed. I must learn more! Luckily he makes it easy to catch up on him with an interview over at FearZone.

His “State of the Genre” column for FearZone has become "Dead Air" for The Internet Review of Science Fiction. (And in his wise as a serpent way, he has not once mentioned me. NOT THAT I’VE BEEN READING IT!!!!) Double crap! Chizine sold out the limited edition of his new novella, Chasing the Dragon, which will be published in December. And now he has a mass market novel, Hunt at World's End, out (it’s a new series of pulp adventures written by different authors under the pseudonym of "Gabriel Hunt”, but we know this one is Kaufmann).

HE’S DOING WELL?!?

*drops to knees and yells in best Shatner-esque voice*

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!



Um, on the personal pimpage front, my story “Uncle Boogeyman” is now live in the Dark Recesses Press PDF Issue #11 with some special art from their featured artist Dholl. (Note, I made the cover of yet another magazine, writing under my pseudonym “Plus So Much More”).

I was also interviewed for the Flashes in the Dark website and I forgot to plug the seven question interview I had with the Writing Raw website.

Interview with Coach Culbertson

I had a chance to catch up with the uber-busy Coach Culbertson of Relief: A Christian Literary Expression as well as, of special interest to me as a horror writer, Coach's Midnight Diner.

What is Relief and how does it relate to the Midnight Diner?

Relief: A Christian Literary Expression (often just called Relief Journal) is currently a bi-annual literary journal that publishes literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. In our first reading submission period back in 2006, we received a lot of great genre submissions, but the editorial team thought that Relief should remain literary in scope. So instead, we decided to launch Coach's Midnight Diner, a genre anthology made up of hardboiled genre works with a Christian slant. Both publications have an uncensored edge.

What do you see as your mission? How would you describe it?

We started Relief and the Diner after my wife and I both left the inner city where we taught high school. Kimberly wanted to be able to write about our experiences at the high school, but the question quickly became, "Where would it get published?" There were way too many amazing interactions with God for her stuff to be published in the secular markets, and way too much reality that shouldn't be censored as it would diminish the power of God's interactions with the students we took care of. So we ended up creating a venue for writing that falls in the gap between the Christian publishing markets and secular publishing markets.

Christian writing has long since been criticized as being too censored, too fluffy, lacking in artistic excellence, and way too preachy. We wanted to create an outlet where authors can have the freedom just write the damn story--to practice excellent craft, use authentic dialog (not - "gee whiz, Beav, what are we going to do with all this swell crack? Oh fiddlesticks, they just busted a cap in my rear end." ) have characters talk about and have sex (and yes, Song of Solomon is not just symbolic--it really is about sex), wrestle with doubts and huge questions, interact with God, all in an authentic and real fashion.

Life is messy, rough, and difficult. It's also wondrous, amazing, and sublime. Our writing should reflect reality, not sugarcoat it. No one lives in a "perfect" world, and neither should our words. We bridge the gap for writers who want to write real stories, poems, and creative nonfiction about real characters in real situations with a real God, without compromising the work's integrity.

How hard is it living in the tension between ministry, art, and commerce?

Overall, the Relief and Diner projects have met with a very warm reception. So many authors and readers have said, "Oh wow, what a relief," (pun intended, once they discover what we're about. We find that overall Christians and non-Christians find a sense of understanding and acceptance when they read our books. They feel like they can breathe again.

We have yet to be condemned to hell or called the whore of Babylon, so I guess that's good. Issues of Relief and the Diner have been known to show up in church libraries occasionally. Every once in a while we'll get a standard "Oh, Christians shouldn't write like the world," or "All Christians should only write so the lost can get saved" argument, but not very often. We publish the kind of stuff that hits people where they really live, and that's the artistic impact we're out to make.

The commerce side is a little more difficult. Most people don't know what a literary journal is, and many Christians think that a Christian horror story is an oxymoron. So we have a small, loyal audience at this point in time who appreciates what we're doing, but I still have to reach into my own pocket every once in a while to pay the tab when sales are sucking. The economic downturn doesn't help, but we're making it through anyway.

We're a 501c3 nonprofit, and part of the reason we can continue to exist is that the Relief and Diner communities pony up dollars to make these projects possible. Nobody's making any money on this deal, our staff is completely volunteer, including me, which does make it a little easier to stretch the dollars way further than they might stretch in a different company.

Where do you see yourself in the genre/marketplace?

I see the Diner and Relief as a launching pad for authors (and editors and cover artists, etc.) who write brilliant unrelenting works who have very few (if any) outlets for it. We're in the small press/micropress segment. But an interesting bit of trivia: we have editors from both big Christian publishing houses and big secular publishing houses on our customer and subscriber lists.

What sort of stories are you looking for?

I've actually hung up my spatula and retired from my position as Head Fry Cook of the Diner. Michelle Pendergrass now has the keys to the Diner as the new Editor-In-Chief (or Midnight Waitress, if you will), so that question might be better asked to her and the team for the 3rd Diner. But I can tell you that the team will be looking for stories of horror, crime, and the paranormal that do not suck. Michelle just posted up the specs for the next Diner up on http://www.themidnightdiner.com, so go take a look.

Who would you like to see submit to you? Beginning writers? Pro/name writers?

Ummm, I'd say Michelle and the Diner team will looking for (italics)good(italics) writers. Name recognition doesn't mean much when it comes to what we publish. It's nice when we get a well-known name on the menu, but as a company, writers who are starting out have just as much of a chance to get published as the "big names." It's about writing a great story.

Writers who think that every word they write are drops of God's holy grace to the world, however, need not submit. We're looking for authors who are easy to work with, and understand that "the relationship between editor and author is sacrosanct" (thanks to Relief author Anthony Connelly for that statement).

Some might see the midnight diner as somewhere between a 4theluv type market (paying writers in exposure) and a semi-pro (with 5 cents/word being the demarcation between pro and semi-pro). Could you explain the thought process behind your policy of paying a few writers vs. giving all an equal, if only token, payment?

It's not so much a thought process as it is a matter of economics. Hell, I'd love to pay every author a hundred bucks or more for their work, but that's not a feasible option with our current financial situation. The Horror Writers Association requires a paid publication of at least $70, so great authors like Kevin Lucia who are just starting out can get their foot in the door, so we can at least help a couple folks take another step in their careers per issue. I didn't really plan that initially, I just wanted to get people to write Jesus Vs. Cthulhu stories, but it was a nice side effect.

How do you see yourself growing in the market place and building your base audience? Where would you like to be 5 years from now?

5 years from now, I'd like to be sipping margaritas in Cancun on a beach for a living, but seeing that's probably not going to be the case, I'd like to see the Diner be the go-to publication for new talent and fresh writing, an almost sure-fire ticket to furthering an author's career.

But largely, the future of the Diner will be in the hands of the new team. I've built the sandbox, with the help of Vennessa Ng, Mike Duran, Melody Graves, Adrian Rivero (the cover artist for the 2nd Diner), Robert Garbacz, Matt Mikalatos, and of course Relief's Editor-In-Chief (who also happens to be my lovely wife) Kimberly Culbertson, but now it's time for other folks to play in it. The Diner's in good hands with Michelle at the grill.

What story have you put out that you're the most proud of?

Damn, that's a good question. Just the fact that we've put out the Diner at all is a miracle, and the fact that the quality has been so high has been due to the fact that there's Christian and non-Christian authors who have been willing to go to that place of tough symbolic reality with me. So I'm going to cop out and say all of them.

When can we expect the next volume?

Michelle and her new crew (which is also made of some of the old Kitchen Staff as well) plan on getting the next one out sometime next year, I think. Watch http://themidnightdiner.com and http://www.reliefjournal.com for news about it.

JA Konrath and Extreme Horror

Author JA Konrath is on a blog tour promoting his latest work, Afraid (a horror novel written under the pen name Jack Kilborn coming out next month, in paperback and audio). His widely popular blog, A Newbie's Guide Publishing, just wasn't big enough, so he's going around invading other people's turf. Today, he joins me for a visit as we chat about extreme horror:

M: In the tradition of “less filling”/”tastes great”, are you an atmospheric horror guy or an extreme horror guy?

J: I won the World Horror Con Gross Out Contest a few years ago, so I'm no stranger to extreme horror. But I also beleive that a reader's imagination is more powerful than any detailed description of gore I could come up with.

So I sort of straddle the line. I like suspense, and atmosphere, and terrible things certainly happen in my books... AFRAID has a body count of over nine hundred. But I prefer a tense lead up to the horrible deed, and then keeping the gore to a minimum. In my writing.

When someone tells me I'm being too graphic, I ask them to tell me which scene they're referring to. In every case, they use many more words to describe the scene than I did.


M: Folks keep tossing around different phrases that may be describing the same thing. What's the difference between splatterpunk and extreme horror (or even gross out), and why is that sort of approach making a comeback?

J: If the goal is to cause fear, it's straight horror. If the goal is to make you gag, then it's extreme horror. Or extreme something. It's possible to write a disgusting scene without blood or violence.

The written word is provocative. Always has been. If used properly, it can make people laugh, cry, think, get angry, or get ill.

As a species, we're fascinated by disgusting things. As writers, it's our jobs to make our readers feel something. Put the two together, and some writers are bound to go for the gross out.

M: How much do you think is due to the rise in “torture porn” movies like Saw?

J: That's just a new name for something that has been around forever. Shakespeare, DeSade, Gran Guignol, freak shows. In the 60s we had the first splatter and mondo films, in the 70s grindhouse exploitation, in the 80s slasher flims. One of the first films was the electrocution of an elephant. Reality TV shows actual death. Go on YouTube and count the number of videos featuring skaters breaking their bones.

Pain, and death, are part of life. It fascinates us. Because art imitates life, we're going to have movies like SAW.

M: Is it just me, or is this exactly the kind of horror that seems really easy to do, and many category horror writers attempt to emulate it to be hardcore, but is actually difficult to do well? In other words, extreme stuff is easy to screw up, isn’t it?
J: Grossing someone out is a particular talent, but it's not very hard to do. Grossing them out while also making them care is really difficult. If the reader feels for your characters, they will fear anything bad happening to them.

In AFRAID, some people die horribly. I don't do that to titillate the reader with graphic descriptions of gore. I do that to make the reader afraid that the same thing might happen to the characters they've grown to like.

M: Let’s face it, there are only so many ways to describe viscera to the point where it gets tedious. We ought to be about more than just splattering blood all over the place. Artistically, we near a precipice to do, for example, postmodern exploration of horror. How can writers better use extreme horror to explore the literary form?
J: We have a prurient fascination with violence and and gore and death, whether we want to admit it or not. Whenever there's an accident, there are rubberneckers.

As authors, we should use violence for more than just prurient thrills. Done properly, violence can enrich a story, raise the stakes, add depth and dimension, and also enhance themes.

I'm pretty sure there will be people who won't finish AFRAID because of the violence. But those who stick with it will find themes of love, forgiveness, redemption, and courage.

So it's like a feelgood book, that will also scare the crap out of you.

M: Is there room for extreme horror in mainstream book selling, or do you see it always being the fringe of even the horror market?
J: It's fringe, and it will stay fringe. We're still too conservative a society, still too uptight and judgmental, still too interested in our own sense of right and wrong and what people should and shouldn't be allowed to read, watch, believe, smoke, etc.

On the other hand, we do have a capitalist, open market economy. If there were a huge demand for gornogrpahy, someone would be selling it by the truckload.

M: Who are some of the folks you are reading these days? And who do you think are some folks doing extreme horror well?
J: Ed Lee and Wrath James White are experts at it, though Lee is more tongue in cheek and Wrath tends to be a little more serious, except in his short stories, which are hilarious. I recently shared pages in an anthology called LIKE A CHINESE TATTOO with Cullen Bunn, who has a really gross, and very funny, story in that collection.

Jack Ketchum has an heir in Jeff Strand. Strand is known for his funny gore stories (I even collaborated with him on one called SUCKERS), but his new novel PRESSURE is a real kick in the teeth. Like Ketchum, Stand makes you care about his characters before putting them through hell.

If you want to see who is currently pushing the limits of good taste, visit www.horror-mall.com, and you'll find a wealth of vile prose to enjoy.

Ultimately, whatever your personal taste, we need to remember that stories are there to entertain. Different people are entertained by different things.

For some, it's a CGI lion with Ben Stiller's voice. For others, it's a group of psychopaths who slaughter everyone in a sleepy Midwestern town.

If you prefer the latter, AFRAID goes on sale March 31.


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Interview with Scott A. Shuford

I'm a big fan of comics even though the cost of collecting them has kept me from enjoying them as much as I would like. Still, I love to stay in touch with creators, fans, and all manner of interested parties. I recently had a chance to chat with Scott Shuford of the Christian Comics Art Society to pick his brain about the group.




What drew you to comics?

God really called me to support Christians involved in comics. It's kind of a funny story. A few years ago, over time while I was seeking God about a few new places to serve, I felt a draw to two areas: comics and film/tv. I continued to pray about both areas, and started looking for opportunities to understand what He was doing in those areas. Over a period of time, one of the places I found for comics was the Christian Comic Arts Society, and one for film/tv was the Biola Media Conference. I met a lot of people and companies along the way. For the first year, I just attended to learn and understand about those organizations. In the second year, I volunteered to serve with my gifts in connecting people and ideas through marketing in various ways. Now I'm serving on the Advisory Boards for both organizations. It has been a huge blessing for me to see what God is doing and to be involved.

What titles do you (still) collect?

As shocking as this might be, I don't collect. I've had several friends who collected various series, and I was a fan of a few series that I can't even remember the names of now. I'm more interested in helping to connect creators and consumers, to see ministry happen through evangelistic comics, and to see culture influenced by story-driven comics and characters.

Are there any publishers folks should keep an eye on?

Christian comics is still in its infancy. The Christians involved in comics are where Christians involved in film/tv were about 10 years ago. There are a lot of creators looking to increase the quality of their work. Distribution is a major challenge. Two of the major Christian publishers, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, are experimenting with comics distribution. This is a time of growth. I think that God wants to do something with comics. There are some great pioneers out there looking for ways to blaze a trail, people like Nate Butler, Brett Burner, Patrick Scott, Eric Jansen, Doug TenNapel, Buzz Dixon, Scott Wong, Mark Carpenter, Robert Luedke, Ben Avery, Bud Rogers... That's not an exhaustive list certainly.

With changes in technology, what impact to you foresee for the medium? What does it mean for the creators? And what impact do you see it having on distribution and the artist's ability to get their name/work out there?

The internet and social networking systems have allowed any creator to connect to as large an audience as they can build. For the first time in history, a creator can reach out beyond his local area without leaving his house! This has been great as a new distribution channel, but difficult for many because it takes a tremendous amount of consistent effort to reach out and build a loyal following. It would be a lot easier for the creator to be able to sell 5,000 or 50,000 copies of something through retail stores including comic stores, Christian stores, or even mass market stores like Wal-Mart, but that's not really an option for many at this point. There's a shift happening with the move to online digital comics and to digital readers, just like the music shift that occurred to MP3 players and the iPod. It will be interesting to see how consumers adapt to and adopt these new technology options. Distribution cost drops considerably with these new options, so there can be a whole new audience ready for comics, or they may decide they don't like the technology and prefer to hold their comics in their hands. Really, some of both will happen.

What is the CCAS?

The Christian Comic Arts Society has existed for over 20 years through print publications, conventions, and local meetings. In the last 3 or so years, the Society has really seen a lot of growth, and with the recent debut of the CCAS Social Network at http://christiancomicart.ning.com, there are amazing things beginning to happen as God connects industry people and comics fans together. In just a short time, we've gather almost 500 comics pros, amateurs and fans together in one place, and we're increasing our presence at the various Cons in 2009.

Is there a specific message/platform that the CCAS stands on?

Our goal is to provide opportunities for networking, mentoring and fellowship among Christian comic book enthusiasts and professionals. We are strongly committed to living out the Gospel through both evangelistic comics and through our personal lives as living examples of Christianity as we work in our professions. God calls us all to be different parts of one body. Some of those parts work professionally in the comics industry, some work in full or part time ministry, others are fans who spread the word through their passion for comics. The sum of all the parts is greater glory to God than the individual parts are alone.

How can it benefit creators?

Creators will find fellowship with other creators and fans: collaborators and constructive critics, information and inspiration, and encouragement in their comics passion to be faithful to their calling(s) for what God has for them to do through their lives.

What is on the horizon for you? What can we be on the look out for from you?

We have a few irons in the fire as they say. I am very excited about the growth for CCAS. I'll be traveling to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in February, the CIA Summit in March, Gospel Music Week in April, and then at the The Biola Media Conference on April 25th at CBS Studios. At FrontGate Media (www.frontgatemedia.com), we were recently featured in Adweek. As the largest pop-culture media group reaching the Christian audience, we recently expanded our promotions and advertising services to include Social Networking and Public Relations. In first quarter of 2009, we're making our official announcement about Extra Mile Merch (www.extramilemerch.com), my latest venture in partnership with Scott Brinson, co-founder of Truth Soul Armor. We've already created truly fashion-forward merch lines for The Groovaloos who are featured on NBC's Superstars of Dance, for the tween brand and movement iShine and its affiliated artists The Rubyz, Robert Pierre and Paige Armstrong, for B. Reith (Gotee) and for Matt Brouwer (Indie Extreme), and I'm looking forward to several new projects there as we coach brands and bands, church ministries and companies on how to create and execute a strategic merchandising line to generate revenue and for promotional purposes. For me, all these things are a fit with my calling to help connect companies with consumers in the overall Christian movement.

If you could pick one, what would your super power be?

That's a tough question! A bunch of things came to mind, but the very first thing was that I would be invisible. I'd love to be able to watch all that is going on and influence it without anyone knowing or caring that I was there.

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Ruby – An Interview

I had a chance to catch up to Ruby Gettinger of the reality show Ruby and ask her a few questions:

Me: I can’t imagine living my life on camera. What made you decide to do this show?

Ruby: I was changing channels one day and I came to Oprah and there were these women on there and they weren’t as big as me. They were suffering from obesity and they were crying about how they couldn’t go out in public, people make fun of them, they don’t go out to the malls … and they don’t know why they can’t beat this. And I understood what they were talking about, but I live my life and I don’t let people stop me. So something just triggered in me that I need to do a documentary and show, beginning to end, my whole body and everything I go through to find out the truth. What is it—mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically—what is the truth of obesity?

My friend, Brittany Daniels, knew I was doing this and got in touch with a producer that does reality shows and then Style Network heard about my story and got in contact with me. They had a vision, they had the passion, and when I saw how much they believed in it, I said let’s do it.

Me: What’s one thing you love about doing this show?

Ruby: What I love about this show is that it’s one of the first reality shows that lets you talk about my passion. My passion is God and people and I really wanted to be able to talk about God – and they’re letting me do that is amazing. They’re showing me teaching Sunday School. They’re showing me praying.

Me: Tell me a little bit about where you come from spiritually.

Ruby: I go to a non-denominational church, I teach Sunday School, and I love kids. One of the messages I want to teach kids is to not define yourself by the physical. All these young kids, teenages, especially girls, there’s so much more to them but society teaches them that it’s just about the physical. But, no, it won’t last. Unless you’re a good person inside, unless you love unconditionally … who you are is who you are on the inside.

Me: We know how society tends to see obese people, or how you might even see yourself, but how do you think God sees you?

Ruby: The reason I’m able to face when people are laughing at me or making fun of me when I go to a restaurant, when I go to a hospital—you hear the whispers, you hear the talking—is because I do see how God sees me. He created me. He sees me as a beautiful person. He doesn’t see me with all of my flaws. He sees how I can be and what I’m trying to do. And my faith kicks in, when God says “the impossible is possible. You can do this, Ruby.” He tells me in His word and He tells me in me. And the way He sees me is the way I want to see me.

I’m not a judgmental person. Is it because I’m overweight? It amazes me how much people judge one another. And everyone of us wants the same things. We want to be loved, we want to be needed. Yet we’re the first to be so cruel to one another. But my faith in God gets me through it all. Sometimes me and God have to have little talks. “God why in the world did You let my skin stretch out to the outer limits? I don’t understand and I’m not happy with You about this.” Even though it’s me doing it, so it’s my little joke with God. It’s better than hearing “you did this to yourself, little girl.”

Me: I believe that a lot of people’s sexiness is about what they believe about themselves and they sort o project it. In your show you have such a bright and warm personality that really shines through, so I was wondering how much you believe in your own sexiness?

Ruby: You’re in trouble! (laughs) I think what it is is that I’m really happy. I’m limited to do a lot of things because of my weight, but I’ve lived such a great life. But now I find out that there’s so many dreams that I’ve yet to have conquered. There are days when I don’t. It’s funny, I’ll say to my friends, Jeff and Georgie, and we’re getting dressed and Georgie’ll call and say “what are you wearing tonight?” And I’ll say “well, I guess I’m gonna wear a pair of jeans and a T. What do you think I’m gonna wear? I’ve got like four choices, these dresses that I call ‘tents’.” Then she’ll be like “oh, Ruby, I’m so sorry,” but I’m like “shut up.” (laughs) But there are nights when they’ll come over and I’ll say “I look hot, don’t i?” Or “do I look beautiful, hot, or you don’t want to look at me because I’m so hot?” and they’ll say “all of the above” because they know they’ll get killed if they don’t say all of the above. Like anybody, there are days when I say “I look really good tonight” and times when I just feel ugee. But I do feel good about myself.

Me: How do you see your spirituality helping you?

Ruby: I actually took that Scripture “the truth shall set you free” and I felt like … there are people in this market making billions of dollars on diet gimmicks and every diet product out there. But nobody’s changing. The world is getting bigger. The politicians are getting into it because their saying that by 2010, 75% of Americans are going to be obese. That’s pretty scary. There’s something going on and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find out truth through all this and that someone watching the show something will trigger in them that “that’s what it is. That’s what the problem is.” I’m finding out more and more that it’s mental. Nobody dreams of being this big. They always say “why don’t you just lose the weight?” and I’m going “if it were that simple, I’d have already lost the weight.”

I knew that it was something bigger than me when I realized I was losing the love of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it.

There’s stuff I’m finding out for the first time, when I find out you find out. I’m like “oh my gosh, everyone’s gonna know this,” but I have to say “this is what you want. You’ve got to let other people know so you can help other people, too. This is not your journey, it’s everyone’s journey.”


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Interview with Lawrence C. Connolly

Fleeing from what should have been a perfect crime, four crooks in a black Mustang race into the Pennsylvania highlands. On the backseat, a briefcase full of cash. On their tail, a tattooed madman who wants them dead. The driver calls himself Axle. A local boy, he knows the landscape, the coal-hauling roads and steep trails that lead to the perfect hideout: the crater of an abandoned mine. But Axle fears the crater. Terrible things happened there. Things that he has spent years trying to forget. Enter Kwetis, the nightflyer, a specter from Axle's ancestral past. Part memory, part nightmare, Kwetis has planned a heist of his own. And soon Axle, his partners in crime, and their pursuer will learn that their arrival at the mine was foretold long ago . . . and that each of them is a piece of a plan devised by the spirits of the Earth.

Available from Fantasist Enterprises, Veins is Lawrence C. Connolly’s debut novel. I had a chance to sit down with Larry at GenCon and run a few questions by him:

What is your spiritual background/journey?

I’m from western Pennsylvania, where forests fold into valley and rise along mountain crags. Enter those forests, start walking, and sooner or later you’ll come to a place where the earth opens into an unnatural valley of sumac, hemlock, and weedy grass. These are the wounds that never heal, the deep man-made scars left behind after the veins of the earth have been carted away for heat and industry. My spiritual journey begins in such places.

I’m not an environmentalist. That term doesn’t go deep enough. It doesn’t begin to reach the level of spiritual connection that I feel to this part of the world. My spiritual journey is one of discovering how I connect to this place, why I feel at home here, and why I sometimes sense the pain of cleared forests and leveled mountains.

What do you see as the power of myth?

Some truths can’t stand the weight of fact. They can only be grasped through metaphor, allegory, parable. The great prophets knew this. They were storytellers, after all. They understood the transcendent power of a well-told tale.

What is the mythology behind your novel?

The protagonist in Veins is a young man who calls himself Axle. He’s the hub, the center of something he does not understand. His great grandmother tries guiding him with half remembered stories from her childhood, fables about the land. One night she leads him to the brink of a machine-scarred valley, and there he begins to understand … but the understanding frightens him. He dismisses her teachings as lies. And for a while, until the threat of death forces him back to that same valley nine years later, he believes he was right to dismiss them.

Mythology is like that. We hear the stories as children, learn to doubt them as we approach adulthood, and ultimately return to them when we develop the wisdom to see the truth within their fiction.

I like the idea of people seeing the same images yet they are interpreted through their different
spiritual perspectives. What is your spiritual take on your novel?

I intend to play with this premise of multiple interpretations throughout the next two books in the Veins series.

In Veins, the first book, Axle’s great grandmother tries explaining the mysteries of the land by telling young Axle the stories she learned as a child. She believes that her stories are authentic American Indian tales, but her memory is foggy, and the things she knows are actually amalgams of second-hand myth and false memory. She passes these versions of her stories onto Axle, who in turn comes to his own understanding of them.

Eventually, Axle realizes that it doesn’t matter what he chooses to believe. He can rationalize and reinterpret the old stories all he wants, but reinterpretation doesn’t change his growing realization that the earth is alive … and it has plans for him.

You use Native American culture as a backdrop and use the spirits of the Earth. How do they work in the context of your novel?

The reference to Native American culture in the novel is an attempt to acknowledge that there are forces in the land that transcend contemporary culture.

Axle is a rural American kid with dreams of fast cars and open roads. As a child he longs to hit the highway and race off for parts unknown, but as his story progresses he realizes that his own front yard rests in the shadow of the biggest unknown of all.

The book’s allusions to indigenous cultures serve, I hope, as a reminder that our personal beliefs may be short-sighted, that we must look beyond ourselves for the big answers.

Your story hints and wrestles with the idea of something beyond this world. How does this idea work itself out in your writing and in your characters?

We live our lives in a moment of geologic time, and yet we consider ourselves masters of the earth. In Veins, Axle comes to realize the folly of such a conceit. The realization changes him. Indeed, it may very well kill him if he isn’t careful. I dare say no more. This element of the book is best discovered in the reading.

What are you working on? What can we look for next from you?

I’m also a musician. For the past few months I’ve been working on a collection of trance, rock, and ambient compositions designed to enhance the reading of Veins. Fantasist Enterprises plans to release the CD this Fall, but a nice preview is available at the novel’s promotional website: www.VeinsTheNovel.com. Beyond that, Fantasist is talking about bringing out a two-volume set of all of my previously published stories, nearly three decades of fiction bound up in two illustrated editions. Then there’s Vipers, the second novel in the Veins series, which is due to come out sometime next year.

And there are lots and lots of new stories and novelettes in the pipeline, things due out from Cemetery Dance, PS Publishing (where I’m doing music-inspired stories for anthologies based on the songs of Bruce Springsteen and Nick Cave), Ash-Tree Press, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Dark Hart Press, and others.

A lot of the new stuff is set in western Pennsylvania. The more I write, the more convinced I am that I’m getting close to something … a revelation of place … an uncovering of deep truths hidden right underfoot. That truth is out there somewhere, just beyond the point where the ground opens and the forest falls away. When I find it, I’ll let you know.


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Gen Con 2008 V: Gamer’s Delight – A Wrap Up

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” –Matthew 5:16

From what I was told, that Matthew verse was Gary E. Gygax’s favorite Scripture and goes a long way to illuminating how Gary chose to live his life. Gary, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons and founder of Gen Con, passed away earlier this year. His death sent reverberations throughout the gaming world and at Gen Con we were reminded of not only his legacy, but also of how many lives he touched. As D&D sees its 4th edition this year, the equivalent of seeing a new pope, his loss was felt by the entire gaming community and community is what Gen Con is all about.

Gen Con is kind of like taking the typical high school hierarchy and inverting it. Suddenly the A/V squad, band members, and chess club as shoving jocks into lockers (literally, as Colts fans anxious to tour the newly opened Lukas Stadium had to give way to a parade of stormtroopers).

We all want a place where we can be included, where we can be who we are and not only accepted, but understood. For many folks, conventions like Gen Con are family reunions, where the blood of the family is found in their united passion for all things related to gaming.
The gaming community/culture encompasses writers, artists (like Steve and Becky Gilberts), gamers, collectors, role-players, filkers, and a whole host of like-minded individuals. The overwhelming spectacle of costumes, exhibits, games and activities takes four days to experience. Or at least do as much as possible. By Sunday, the body breaks down and almost everyone has “gamer’s cough”, that rasp from talking, laughing, partying, and gaming too much (while sleeping too little).

Of course there’s a hierarchy of nerds. Where would we be as a society and culture if we weren’t able to compartmentalize folks or better yet, rank them. Of course I consider myself in the upper echelon of nerdom (he who makes the list is automatically at the top). I’m good for a little Dungeons and Dragons, maybe a few games of Magic: the Gathering. I like my share of sci-fi shows. Star Trek (Deep Space Nine was the best. This isn’t even a discussion.) Babylon 5. Farscape. Dr. Who (Tom Baker and Christopher Eccleston – this isn’t even a discussion). So I’ll leave you with a few last Gen Con thoughts:

-Lucien Soulban was robbed at the ENnies!
-Seriously, spandex wasn’t made for everyone.
-Black nerds unite! (Cause we represented at Gen Con)
(And I may have one more follow up piece to the Gen Con Experience. I had to earn my free press pass.)

Gen Con 2008 IV: Christian Gamers Part II

Continued from Part I: The Sinister Minister and the Geek Preacher
Is this another way people can learn to minister to others through gaming?

Derek: We, as Christians, need to be social. We need to get outside the four walls of the church and be in our communities in every way. If you love to game, get out there and game. If you love to play golf, get out there and play golf with everybody else. Don’t segregate yourselves. We have ghettoized ourselves as a community and we need to break down the four walls, get out there, and be Christians and love people. And let them know we are Christians. Don’t just be a nice person. Let them know that “I’m a Christian and I’m going to love and care for you.” Do it in our games and do it in our every day lives.

Dave: Two stories about that. Seven years ago, I was living in an apartment and got a new neighbor. I was at work, my wife was helping them unpack, and said “oh, Dungeons and Dragons books. My husband used to play that kind of stuff. Fantasy’s not my genre and D&D is not what I usually play, but I thought, “hey, it’s a way to get to know the neighbor.” And what was nifty was that on a Tuesday night, around 8:30, put the kids to bed, knock on the door and say “hey, how about we play for an hour.” That was really convenient. We got to know them really well and within five months, he started coming to church with me and he and his wife were baptized. He asked me if I would be the one who would baptize him and I was really honored.

But, a sadder story, is that a year and a half ago, a friend of a friend, who had just joined my game, died in his sleep. He was just 25 and it was real obvious that he wasn’t leading a godly life. But I was never able to bring up the topic of God to him. And the opportunity was closed. I decided from that point that anyone at my gaming table was going to know where I stand and if there’s any way that I can help, I will do that.

How can people better develop a sense of discernment when it comes to gaming?

Dave: I suppose the same way you develop discernment in any category: you learn by making mistakes. The only way to get good is to start off being bad.

Andy: I think prayer is key in everything that we do. When we’re trusting God to lead us, I think God will do that for us. And I think God will give us discernment even if we’re not emotionally or spiritually mature enough to have that discernment. If we’re trusting in Him, I think He comes through for us.

Derek: I’d add to it get a good education. We have so many people who are woefully ignorant about the origins of things. I am an uber-geek. At nine years old, I read Bullfinch’s mythology. So I understood when I read the D&D books that this was based off Greek mythology. Many kids don’t have a good, classical education nor do their parents. Being married to a teacher makes me say this as well. So get a good education, have prayer, and the Bible better be central to a good Christian’s life in that. There’s no pat answer, you just have to work at it.

In light of all of the “what would Jesus do?” slogan, would Jesus game?

Dave: I think he certainly would. He sat and ate with “sinners”. He met the woman at the well and spoke with her. There’s a book called God Loves the Freaks (it’s the book centered on the site FansForChrist.org). In it, he takes the approach that Jesus approached everyone differently. He walks up to Zaccheus and says “hey, I’m going to have dinner at your house tonight.” And he talked to the wise young ruler, who was not all that wise, and said “I want you to give away all that you have and then come follow me.” He didn’t have any pat answers or pat approaches. He used people where they are as a way to get into their lives. And if Jesus was trying to minister to a gaming community, he would sit down and he would start gaming.

Derek: I would say that there’s not an easy answer to that question. I’m sure Jesus played games as a child. I’m sure He played games and used his imagination. A great book that I read was Christ the Lord by Anne Rice. Of course it was a fictionalized account of Jesus’ childhood but I think she does a great job of talking about some things.

But I also view Jesus’ life as His vocation. Jesus came for a purpose. So while He is fully man and fully God, I think sometimes we try to bring Jesus down to our level and that negates His vocation. What would Jesus do? Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. Jesus came to die on a cross to redeem an entire world that we might be resurrected and have new bodies and have a new life for all eternity with Him. When we ask ourselves those questions, we miss the central part of who Jesus is and that is the Redeemer of the world.


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Gen Con 2008 IV: Christian Gamers Part I

“We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.” –Proverbs 16:33

The Church has a lot in common with gaming, from arguing over which edition (version) to use to arguing over the minutiae of gaming rules. So on a related note, the Christian Gamers Guild, founded in 1996, is an online community of Christians who play games of all kinds. They believe that "Christians have too long allowed non-Christians to dominate the imagined world of role-playing, which was originally inspired by Christian men like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (not to mention Dante, John Bunyan, and John Milton). And that it’s time to be a creative force in role-playing and other forms of faming for the true author of all creativity and imagination, Almighty God Himself."

The Christian Gamers Guild not only had a panel on what it means to be a Christian gamer, but also held a standing room only traditional church service: including hymns, a sermon, and communion. Reverend Derek White preached out of Galatians 2:14-16 about the branding of the church, that what should define it should be to remember the poor, to be inclusive, and to love.
I had the chance to sit down with Rev. White, a United Methodist Church pastor; Dave Mattingly, the president of BlackWyrm Games, the exectutive director of the Games Publishers Association, and vice president of the Christian Gamers Guild; and Andy Mathews, the art director for Hero Games (Derek and Andy pictured).
How did the Christian Gamers Guild get started?

Dave: It’s primarily a mailing list, people gathering together to talk about how their games affect their faith and how their faith affects their games. Various issues of how do you deal with evil in a role-playing game or magic; where do you draw the line between what is good/right, and what is a hobby.

At your panel, you discussed the idea of honoring God in gaming. What sort of issues are involved in that?

Derek: At its plainest, we should be honoring God in all aspects of our life. As long as you honor Him in everything that you do, you’ll honor Him in your gaming.

Dave: And this is not a hard line in the sand of “you have to do this” and “you have to do that”. If you feel uncomfortable doing a certain thing in a game then don’t do it. We went through the “weaker brother argument” which is where some people feel okay eating meat that was sacrificed to a pagan idol and some did not. So when you’re with your friends who don’t feel comfortable, then don’t eat that pagan-sacrificed meat around them. But when you’re by yourself or with other who feel like you do, then it’s fine. You can go ahead and, in a super hero game, send your heroes to hell and have them make a deal with a demon to get back home. As long as those around the table are all okay with it, then it works.

Why do you think the church, as a whole, has been hesitant to embrace gaming?

Dave: A lot of it came from the suicide of Irving Pulling in the early 80s. A woman had lost track of her son for two years and blamed gaming. It’s a long story, but to us it looks like a case of bad parenting rather than some books. He struggled with manic depression and had been off his medication, yet it wasn’t her fault, it was these “weird” games that must’ve done it.

Derek: To add to that, I think today more and more churches are becoming open to gamers. Not as much as we’d like, but for the church to survive, and to be true to the biblical text, it must be inclusive.
And to many more than gamers. And I think that’s the easiest way. “So you’re going to reject someone because you don’t like gaming?” My response has been “good, because I don’t like golfers.”

Andy: In a lot of ways, gaming suffered from some bad design decisions and bad press. Some of the early D&D books—Fiends Folio, Dieties and Demi-gods—it would be easy for someone not ready for it to see that and think the entire game was slanted against Christianity. The fact that you can play evil characters rubbed my mother the wrong way.

Derek: Even though Gary (Gygax) said in numerous Dragon articles that you shouldn’t play evil characters. He put it there so that there could be a balance of the alignments so that the DM would have the evil characters. But Gary, the game’s creator, steadfastly referred to [D&D] as heroic fantasy and that’s what he always wanted to see people do. Now don’t get me wrong, he didn’t mind seeing them take a bad path or a dark turn, but it would be like falling away and coming back.

How would you respond to people saying that magic is glorified through role-playing?

Derek: The first thing I’d do is laugh to be honest. I know people that I’ve talked to, that are friends, who are Wiccans or pagans and they laugh at the concept because their own view of these spells are so completely different. A lot of it was just Gary’s sense of humor. To say that it glorifies magic, I’d say “okay, then what about you guys that like to play Risk or Axis and Allies? Are you glorifying war? Or Monopoly … so you glorify greed?” It’s nothing more than a game. You glorify what you want to glorify.

Dave: One of the things we can do is show that evil does have consequences. The game master can say “okay, if you really want to torture your prisoner for information when there’s no real need to … you can do that but it will come back on you.”

Do you think there is a moral stumbling block to playing evil characters?

Dave: As a game master, we have to role play evil characters: we are all of the antagonists in one person. While the player characters play heroes. Sometimes we have to come up with sick, twisted characters and play them out in order to make our heroes shine more brightly.

Derek: I’d have to agree with that. But I’ve seen some people work through some issues playing evil characters. As I’ve run games, and I’ve had people want to play an evil character, sure I’ll let them do that because I like to tell a story and I want my game worlds to be consistent. They face the consequences of their actions. But I’ve also seen these people, some Christian, some adamantly not, want to turn their character around and want to make their character better. And sometimes I see people just go down this dark, dark path and I realized—as a friend, not as a minister, but as a friend—that they were dealing with some issues in their own lives and they were trying to find an outlet in the game. The thing is, as a mature friend, what do I do? Do I condemn them or say “wait a second”? to me, it’s like any other game. When I was playing baseball with my brothers and I’d see my brother just pounding the ball it was just coming off, I knew my brother was angry about something. There’s always something going on.

That’s the good thing about the social aspect of a game, is that in the many games I’ve just played in as a player, other folks will come up to me and say “you know, his girlfriend just broke up with him.” It lets me see them as a real human being.

(to be continued)


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Gen Con 2008 III: Flames Rising Interview

Flames Rising is an online resource for fans of Horror and Dark Fantasy entertainment. This horror fanzine offers reviews of Games, Fiction, Movies as well as interviews. The site took the Silver ENnie for the Best Fan Product category at the Gen Con 2008 ceremonies. I sat down with project manager/reviewer for Flames Rising—as well as horror and dark fantasy writer—Monica Valentinelli.

How did Flames Rising get started?

Flames Rising started out as a site dedicated to a vampire LARP. From there it grew into exploring all forms of gaming, including indie gaming and White Wolf. And from there, we started expanding the content into some industrial music with bands like Midnight Syndicate. After that we started really expanding our content, doing reviews for Tor, DAW, Permuted Press – big publishers, small publishers, even some self-published authors. Recently we started doing indie films. We recently got an indie film called The Beckoning which we reviewed for our site.

We continue to keep growing the content focusing on both the quality and market of the product. By keeping in mind the market, we strip away the branding of if it was an indie game or a larger budget project and focusing on the quality.

What are you trying to do in terms of reaching out to the horror community?

We always encourage interviews with names in the industry, whether they’ve worked on one specific project or multiples. We have a project going on right now that’s a horror design project, where, for example, we have a first time screen writer who is talking about what gave him the idea, who helped him put it together, how he got his start, and a little bit about what the movie is about. So it’s a little bit more about the design aspect of what goes into a horror movie rather than just a back cover promo for the movie. It’s a little bit more from the creators viewpoint which is really fascinating to a lot of our readers because they get a more intimate take of what horror is about.

We also like to tie in interviews to our reviews. One of the most recent interviews we did which we’re most excited about is with the guy who created Darkwing Duck, Tad Stones, who worked on the animated Hellboy films. He had the chance to talk about not only the two animated Hellboys that came out, but his experiences working with Mike Mignola, the creative staff, what it’s like for new people getting into the industry (he’s a long time veteran). And also about the status of the third animated Hellboy, which he had written himself.

Where do you see Flames Rising going in the next year? What would you like to see happen?

Well, a lot of it is dependent on where we can take the content, because we never want to lose the focus on where that content is going to go. We don’t want to sacrifice the content in terms of the larger scale stuff. We don’t want to scale that back but rather develop more of it and have this community where people feel like they can really review and get into the products and get excited about what they’re fans of and interested in. And to be able to share that with a community of readers.

How does it feel to bring home an ENnie?

We’re just very grateful. One of the things we’re very grateful for is anybody that has either “fed the fire” or “spread the flame” as we like to call it. This is not something that we’re doing to shine the spotlight on us. The whole reason behind Flames Rising is to shine the spotlight on other people and let them know what the cool products are that are out there. It’s really about the genre of horror as a whole, but focusing on ways people contribute to that. We’re about what goes into these products, the love and the passion. That’s why the indie gaming and independent publishers have been so important to us because they’re very passionate people—just as much as the large guys—but never get that exposure.


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Author Interview: Weston Ochse

I've been friends with Weston Ochse for a few years now and it's always great (in a "I hate you" sort of way) to watch your friends blow up. Luckily, he still remembers who I am. His novel, Scarecrow Gods, won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in First Novel, and is about to be re-released as a trade paperback by Delirium Books. All of this made for a great excuse for me to pester him with a few questions.

Continued on the FearZone.


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Road to Mo*Con III: Interview with Bob Freeman Part I

One of the dangers of being my friend is that not only am I prone to playing cell phone lottery, but when I have questions I’m likely to call you just as randomly ... and I take notes. In this case, my friends have no one to blame but themselves: Louise Bohmer and Bob Freeman were talking about their spiritual beliefs on a message board, so I had to stick my nose in it and ask Bob some follow up questions. One of the great things about having conversations with people is that you can find a lot of common ground with them. First, go read Bob defining his beliefs and then you’ll be caught up (then suppress your urge to go see Beowulf and 300 again and read my interview):


Would it be right to say that you embrace the principles represented by the pantheon rather than worship the pantheon itself?

One of the more appealing aspects of Odinism is that it is not enabling... Odinists are free to shape their lives to the extent allowed by their skill, courage, and might. There is no predestination, no fatalism, and certainly no limitations imposed by the will of any external deity. An Odinist does not need salvation. All they need is the freedom to face their destiny with courage and honor. An Odinist does not fear the Gods, or consider themselves their slaves. We do not bow or cower before them. On the contrary, we share community and fellowship with the Divine. We break bread with them and join them in drink because we are family... of shared blood. The Gods encourage us to grow and advance to higher levels because we are their offpring... We are the Children of Odin. Odinism/Asatru is often referred to as "the Folkway". We see ourselves as being connected to all our ancestors. They are a part of us as we in turn will be a part of our descendants, but we are also linked to all our living kin - to our families and to every man and woman rooted in the tribes of Europe. They are, in a very real sense, our "greater family." The Gods are an intregal part of that family. It is Odin who sits at the head of our table He is our All-Father, and we are his children.

Could you go over the relationship of the Asatru to your beliefs?

Asatru is reconstructionist Norse polytheism. The word itself is Old Norse meaning "Belief in the Gods". My problem with modern Asatru stems from the fact that our numbers are small. Add to that an even smaller element of the White Power crowd who have filtered into our ranks. This vocal minority sounds even louder when you consider we are a fledgling movement.

I am constantly at odds with this, one part of me wanting to remain more or less solitary, exploring my spirituality outside the politics of the movement... While there's another part of me that thinks I should be screaming from the rooftops, shouting down those who dishonor the names of our Gods. It's the one thing that weighs most heavily on my soul.

Part of your religion being defined by a loud minority that embarrasses most of you? Can't relate to that at all. I understand where you’re coming from: part of my spirituality is quite personal (the spiritual disciplines like prayer and fasting for example), which appeals to my introverted nature. YetIi have to balance that against the calls for community, for learning, worship, and fellowship (which appeals to my extroverted self). Is there a "scripture" that informs your faith or do you hold to the ancient Norse stories? How do your ancestors inform you today?

Probably the most important source would be the Havamal which is an epic poem that comes to us in four parts.

1. The Gestapatrr's main focus is that of hospitality, offering up maxims on good manners and how to treat guests.

2. The Loddfafnismal deals with morality and the code of ethics one is expected to adhere to.

3. The Runatal instructs us in the history of and use of the Runes, the sacred alphabet brought to us by Odin's self-sacrifice.

4. The Ljodatal deals with the deeper mysteries and of magick.

The Havamal is but one part of the Eddas which is the collection of stories and myths of our gods and heroes. These include The Ring Cycle, popularized I guess by Wagner...And we mustn't forget Beowulf. I learn from these works, but more importantly I trust in the guidance of that inner voice, which is the voice of my line of ancestors that stretches back through time, back to the beginning.

Again, the focus of one of Odin's Children is being true to one's orlog, which is one's True Will (hence my Thelemic leanings). We all have a "special purpose" (cue The Jerk) ... Our journey is divining that purpose and being true to our wyrd (think non-predestination fate), which we cultivate and examine as a unfathomable mystery, as it ebbs and flows like the tides, forward and back through time.

Confused yet? The concepts make more sense in one's heart than they do when writ out... lol... It's the great Northern Mystery Tradition

[to be continued]

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Road to Mo*Con III: Interview with Bob Freeman Part II

To catch up, go here for part I of this conversation. So we also share an appreciation for mystery. What sort of traditions and rituals do you have?

As a solitary practitioner I lean toward a more eclectic approach. I perform a personalized ritual during full and new moons, the eight holy days of the wheel, Leif Eriksson Day (which is also my son's birthday) and my birthday. I also perform a libation and sacrifice during each of the twelve days of the Yuletide honoring Odinn and the Wild Hunt.

Additionally I honor Aleister Crowley's birth and death, the nativity of the Scarlet Woman, and the anniversary of the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law.

What are the best ways for you to connect/commune with your ancestors?

Meditation. Trance. Ascending to the Astral Plane... Every ritual I perform, I invite my ancestors into my circle. They are always with me. Blood will have blood.

Is it too personal to ask how your faith journey is worked out practically? Like what a worship time would look like?

Generically speaking, at midnight I would purify my sacred space, conjuring a magic circle about me and whatever tools I might be working with. By will and sacred word I would cast out negative energies and invite in my ancestors and whatever gods I intend to work with that night. Then I'd go to work, either reciting poetry or weaving magick... Most often it is a relaxed atmosphere, unless I have a major undertaking planned.

I know you've said that you practice your religion in a solitary way, but are there occasions where those who share faith similar to yours can gather as a community?

Asatruar gather locally in Kindreds (think Covens, though they would balk at that comparison) while nationally, Kindreds are invited to The Althing, which is akin to a "gathering of the clans". Non-solitary Thelemites can join, for example, the Ordo Templi Orientis, or Kenneth Grant's Typhonian OTO...

Does your family hold to your religion or is it just you? How do you pass it down/along or do you?

My wife is a Christian, though she doesn't attend Church or read the Bible. She believes what she was taught by her mother and that's good enough for her. She thinks I'm a nutter, as my British friends say.

My son is only four so everything is still a mystery to him. He believes in everything... from Santa Claus to Giant Alien Robots. I have read to him some of the Norse myths, just as I've told him the Nativity story. He will get to find his own path. It is my job as a father to lead by example. His mind is his own, and if he comes to view the world as I do, then I will be thrilled, but it is his journey. All I can do is show him where the road begins...

Could you explain "the nativity of the Scarlet Woman" a bit more? It reminds me of a passage in the Book of Revelation.

The Scarlet Woman, or Babalon as she is known in Thelema, represents the liberated woman and the full expression of the sexual impulse. From Chapter I of The Book of the Law:

15. Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men. 16. For he is ever a sun, and she a moon. But to him is the winged secret flame, and to her the stooping starlight. —AL I:15-16

How do you (or do you see yourself doing this at all) work out your faith in your fiction?

I cut my teeth on Robert E. Howard and bought into the whole "barbarism is the natural state of man" that was such a large part of his fiction. What I try to impart in my work is a sense of wonder, coupled with, at times, a savage brutality that is often but a heartbeat away. I always try to look at the light and the dark and how they dance with one another, the beauty and the beast, if you will. I think you'll find that, in my stories, I bring an air of "power, mystery, and the hammer of the gods" to every tale. And that is indicative of the conflict that rages inside of me, and my faith in the elder gods, the primal forces, are played out in my characters more often than not, because that's what's boiling inside of me, seeking release. If my writing were a stew, the ingredients would be comprised of the sword and sorcery of Robert E. Howard, the paranormal mystery of Algernon Blackwood, the gothic romance of Dan Curtis, all tied together with the historical resonance of Katherine Kurtz. But in the end, the defining ingredient, the spice, if you will, is the heart of my ancestors that is beating strong inside my chest.

Speaking of similarity, one of the rituals of Kwanzaa, the pouring of libations, is about remembering my ancestors.

I've always felt it important to meet over the common ground, rather than to become mired in our differences. Those differences are, more often than not, superficial at best.

That's my guiding philosophy. That and mutual respect and you can have meaningful dialogue about religion and spirituality. I thought I’d leave you all with a peek at a book trailer for his latest project, Keepers of the Dead. What else can we be looking forward to from you?

The sequel to Shadows Over Somerset, Keepers of the Dead, will be released this coming Spring by Black Death Books. I'm very excited about the Indiana Horror Writers anthology, Dark Harvest, that we're both a part of. It's very strong, filled with some truly fantastic fiction. I'm honored to be a part of it. You can also read a non-fiction article on my paranormal investigations of the Eastern Woodland Carvers Building that will be in the March issue of Doorways magazine (which also features a short story by a certain "sinister minister", if I'm not mistaken). You can also catch me in a few upcoming anthologies, including Michael Knost's Legends of the Mountain State 2 (which again, you're a part of). I also have some artwork gracing the covers of two of Dr. Kim Paffenroth's works, Orpheus and the Pearl (published by Magus Press) and Dying to Live 2: Life Sentence (published by Permuted Press), as well as some art that has found its way into various private collections by some rather prestigious Occult Orders that I have become associated with.


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Author/Editor Interview: Mort Castle

I should probably mention that I have a couple personal connections to Mort Castle. For one thing, his 2002 WHC workshop in Chicago served as one of the purest experiences in honing my craft and introduced me to many folks who would be come my peers and dearest friends in the business. As another, Mort recently accepted a story of mine for Doorways Magazine whose fiction he edits, thus proving the age old adage that the student shall one day ... well, remain a student. That's why I'm here with some questions

[Continued on FearZone. Make with the clicky-clicky]



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On this Day We Become Legendary - Archive

Maurice Broaddus Interview with OTDWBL I've had the great pleasure of interviewing Maurice Broaddus. He piqued my interest in part because he's a man of apparent contradictions: a man who operates as a rational, pragmatic scientist by day and a literary creative at night; a Christian church leader who writes horror stories, and a person who would love to meet both Alexander the Great and Malcolm X. Somehow, though, all these apparent differences combine to create an intelligent, complex writer with a lot to say. So, without further ado: the Legendary interview with Maurice Broaddus.

1. At a glance, you're a man whose life juxtaposes many things that one wouldn't normally pair together. For example, you write about pop culture, but from a Christian point of view with Hollywood Jesus. And you're a Christian who writes horror movies that would love to meet one of the most famous American Muslims, Malcolm X. (Note: I've actually read some of your philosophy about this in one of your blog posts awhile back, but I think it's an interesting topic.)

It's funny that you mention that. The idea of identity is a major thread in a lot of my stories and I have to guess that stems from my own journey of reconciling these different aspects of myself. I'm a scientist by training and vocation, I help run a church, I write. I'm Black. I'm Christian. I'm American. I'm a man. Sometimes these aspects are in sync with each other, other times at war. Either way, it keeps my life interesting.

2. There are relatively few Black writers in the horror genre. What attracted you to the genre? Beyond that, what motivates you to write? How did you get into writing? When did you realize that you had a gift for it?

There are relatively few of us, but we're growing. We even had a bit of a roundtable discussion about this very fact.

I've always felt like I've snuck into the genre through a backdoor because it's not like I grew up loving it. I've always been drawn to writing dark stories. The first story I ever wrote was in 5th grade and it was the tale of a Big Mac being devoured … from the Big Mac's perspective. After that, I was the kid in Sunday School class freaking out the teacher by having her go over the gorier stories in the Bible. I never knew it was "horror" until a friend pointed it out to me and directed me to similar stories.

The actual realizing of any sort of a gift came in high school when a teacher took an interest in my work and started pushing me. I tried setting writing aside when I got to college, but by then it was in my blood and I had to keep writing.

3. Your stories have been featured in several books. Any plans for a book of your own?

There's always plans. I actually have two novels that I am actively shopping around now, one horror and the other fantasy. In the meantime, I have at least one novella due out next year, with a couple other projects in the works.

4. What was your road to getting published, particularly with your fiction?

My road has been paved with the right people showing up at the right time. In college I took a few creative writing classes, but it was when I entered a mentorship program with a professor, who, as it turned out, was writing a thesis on Stephen King and Clive Barker, that I was pointed in the right direction in terms of how to go about submitting stories. A few years later, after my first story sold, another writer came into my life through a fluke and convinced me that I ought to start attending conventions and making contacts in the business. Making friends, be they fellow writers or editors, has been one of the essentials to the business side of writing.

5. What does your writing process look like? How do you develop your characters and plot?

I do a lot of prep work so that I never have to face a blank page. I jot down any ideas for the story, any plot points or scenes that come to mind. I outline because I'm a control freak and I like to have an idea of where the story's going before I start. Then I research. It's what gives me the time to think through what I want to do with the story.

Next comes the character sketches. I try to "bio" my characters, especially in my longer works, trying to get their stories down. Not just their physical descriptions and names, but how they know the other characters.

While I'm still at the note stage of the game, I figure out the overall plot and arrange the scenes. I like the scattering of all my notes then, like a jigsaw puzzle, shape them into an outline of a plot and putting which notes with which scene. Only then, armed with a rough story, scattered bits of dialogue descriptions and turns of phrase, can I then sit down and write. I wish my process was more organic, but it works for me.

6. I noticed that you've won a few awards for your writing. To what extent does that motivate you? How did you feel about winning? And is there any award that you would just love to win?

My big win was the World Horror Convention 2003 short story contest. The year before I had received an honorable mention and was handed my award by one of my heroes, Neil Gaiman. As great as that was, winning the whole thing was better. It helped validate my dream and encourage me that I was on the right track (and that story ended up being published in Weird Tales). While I'd be honored to win a Stoker or one from the International Horror Guild, I always believe that if I'm going to dream, dream big: I'm aiming for a Pulitzer.

7. Random question: the paintings of you and your family on your website: did you do those?

Not me, but a close friend of the family. I tend to surround myself with creative people in all areas of my life.

8. What scares a horror writer?

Deadlines and not getting a check for my work.

9. What's the "after" of publishing a story or book? Many writers spend a lot of time on the "before." What do you do in the "after" so that your work is commercially successful?

Well, you have to know going in that a lot of the promotion and marketing of your book is going to fall on your shoulders. So the after involves having a plan to get your book to the attention of as many folks as possible. I'm already thinking through various online campaigns, possible book tours (though I'm losing faith in how much they actually do for a book), lining up book clubs, and arranging speaking engagements. As much time as you devote to editing your work "before" you have to put in just as much, if not more, into marketing it "after."

10. You do a lot, from your 9 to 5 to writing for several different blogs and publications, not to mention maintaining your website and continuing with your fiction work. Besides that, you facilitate for your church and you're a husband and father. How do you find time to write what's important to you?

I'm all about multi-tasking. I carry a notepad and pen everywhere I go and every minute I can, I squeeze out words. That and I only sleep three hours a night. And in the "credit where credit is due" department, my wife has been great about helping me carve out time to write.

11. What do you hope to accomplish as a writer? This sort of goes back to the question of why you write in the first place, but I would specifically like to know about the connection you hope to have with the reader.

Answering this question is much like a magician revealing their tricks as it is the fact that it's hard to explain the strange alchemy of imagination, writer, creation, and reader and not sound, well, rather silly. Ultimately, though, I simply want to make a connection. I'm going to write from my heart, being as frank and open as possible, trying to find that elusive bit of … honesty, I guess. Some essential truth. Once it leaves my hands, I'm hoping for it to hit home with the reader in some form or another. It may not be even what I intended, but that doesn't mean would be a bad thing, either.

You can read Maurice Broaddus regularly at his blog or read his short story "Nurse's Requiem" in the anthology Whispers in the Night (Kensington, 2006)


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