Podcast - Interview with John R. Fultz

I had the chance to talk tribal fantasy with fantasy author John R. Fultz, author of the fantasy trilogy THE BOOKS OF THE SHAPER, short fiction anthology THE REVELATIONS OF ZANG, and the brand new stand alone "tribal fantasy" novel, THE TESTAMENT OF TALL EAGLE.

http://thegrimtidingspodcast.podbean.com/e/episode-five-tribal-fantasy-with-john-r-fultz

My Interview with S.C. Flynn

Hey! I had the awsome opportunity to be interviewed by blogger S.C. Flynn who's doing a fantastic work featuring bloggers from across the web who are covering genre fiction.  Be sure to pop on over and check out my interview, and scope out the rest of the site as well.

http://scflynn.com/2015/05/25/interview-with-rob-matheny-grimdark-fiction-and-the-grim-tidings-podcast/

NEW PODCAST! The Grim Tidings Podcast

I'm very excited to announce the launch of an all new podcast that I'll be co-hosting. It's called The Grim Tidings Podcast, and I'm proud to say it will be a podcast about all things Grimdark! Joining me will be Philip Overby and Ross Evans.  It's a show for fans, by fans, and we hope to bring listeners a weekly dose of all the cool things happening in Grimdark realism, including books, movies, tv, video games, news, interviews, and much more. If it's grim, gritty, and all together awesome, you can expect us to talk about. I've been working in professional broadcasting for over a decade, so my hope is to deliver a high quality program, that's both listenable and entertaining. You can find The Grim Tidings Podcast on iTunes and Stiticher, or drop by our Facebook page. If you like the show, please be so kind as to leave a review, and spread the word. But that's not all... We also plan to do companion episodes that focus specifically on writing.  We're not experts, but we want you to join us on our journey toward publication. We'll speak to other writers and experts in the field to get tips and insights to writing and publishing fantasy fiction. 

Grim Interview: Peter Newman

I was excited to see that Marc Alpin and the awesome folks over at Fantasy Faction had scheduled another Grim Gathering event, April 10th in Bristol, UK (for anyone living across the pond you can get all the details here). Then I scrolled across the names of those who'd be in attendance. Mark Lawrence, check. Peter V. Brett, check. Joe Abercrombie, check. Peter Newman. Peter Newman? The name didn't ring a bell. But my curiosity was instantly spiked, and I set off to some serious Google-fu just to find out how this stranger could just somehow show up from nowhere and rub elbows with my literary superheroes. So today I simply aim to find out, just who the hell is Peter Newman? What I've discovered is that Peter is a professional, a gentleman, and his forthcoming title from Harper Voyager, titled The Vagrant, available April 23rd, has some pretty epic praise already, and is one of the most anticipated debut releases scheduled for 2015.

Where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets? Secret identities?

I grew up just outside Watford (which is just NW of London for those of you outside the UK). I now live in Somerset with my wife, Emma and our son, sometimes referred to as the Bean. I sometimes pretend to be a butler.

When did you first start writing? 

I always loved that kind of thing at school but it seems (sadly) that most of the creative writing in primary school and early secondary school gets replaced with literary criticism as you get older. I first had a ‘proper’ go at writing in my early twenties. It ended badly and I didn't write anything else till 2011.

What authors and / or books have had an influence on your craft as a writer?

That’s quite hard to answer. I know a lot of books where I thought ‘I wish I could write like that!’ and I know a lot of books that I love even though they may not be the finest examples of literature, but it’s hard to say what exactly influenced my craft. Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light and the Amber chronicles blew my mind when I was growing up. The books were incredibly imaginative, fast paced and the world building is excellent. Neil Gaiman’s Sandman was another major winner for me. He seems able to write so deeply so easily. Weis and Hickman’s Dragonlance chronicles imprinted on me early so I’ll always have a soft spot for them. And Watchman by Alan Moore. I’m still processing that and I read it nearly twenty years ago.

Tell us about your forthcoming debut novel The Vagrant?

It’s an epic fantasy set in a far future world that has recently suffered a demonic apocalypse. It features a silent protagonist, singing swords, demon knights, a baby and a badass goat.

Many of our readers are aspiring writers. Can you give us just a few details on how you landed your publishing deal?

It was pretty straightforward really. I wrote a book. It sucked (but I’m still fond of it). I wrote a sequel. It sucked less. I wrote a third book in a new world. It only sucked a little. I re-wrote it and it was good but not good enough. Then I wrote The Vagrant. It didn’t suck at all. It still went through multiple drafts, test readers and all that kind of thing.

Then I looked at all of the agents that were taking on submissions for SFF and all of the publishers taking unsolicited manuscripts and read their guidelines very carefully. I also went to some UK conventions and attended the panels on getting an agent and how to write submission letters.

After that it was just a case of picking who I liked (which was quite liberating). Then, in August 2013 I sent it out to publishers and agents. I was signed on by Juliet Mushens in December 2013 and she got me a deal with Harper Voyager in January 2014.

What does a writing day look like for you?

On a happy day when I’m not doing my other work, I’ll take my son to school, make a nice strong coffee and indulge my social media fetish for about fifteen minutes. Then I switch everything extraneous off and get started. I like to have music to help transition into the writing. After a while I associate a particular album with a particular project and the opening bars of the first track spark that world in my head. For The Vagrant it was the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack.

I write fairly slowly, excavating as I go. When I’ve written a scene I read it aloud to Emma for feedback and reassurance. I find I notice problems reading to another person that I don’t notice when reading it in my head. When I’m in a project I try to write something every day, even if it’s just a few hundred words, five or six days a week.

You also happen to be a writer for the Hugo nominated podcast Tea & Jeopardy, tell us about the show.

It’s a geeky interview show crossed with a dash of audio drama and a lot of silliness. Each episode is set in a special Tea Lair. Past examples have included an undersea base, a volcano, a giant robot and the labyrinth. A guest comes to the lair and has tea and cake with Emma while she interviews them. Afterwards they have to survive a peril of some sort, often instigated by the butler, Latimer (I voice the butler). Past guests include: Aliette de Bodard, Joe Abercrombie, Myke Cole, Seanan McGuire, John Hornor Jacobs and N.K. Jemisin.

If you’re interested, you can find all the episodes here.

Tell us how you came to join the panel at the upcoming Grim Gathering 2 event? What are you looking forward to at the event?

It went something like this:

Harper Voyager: Would you like to be part of the Grim Gathering?

Me: HELL YES!

The end.

As to what I’m looking forward to: ALL OF IT! Honestly, it feels incredible to be alongside such a great collection of writers. It’s a touch intimidating too. I think I’ll be more than ready for a drink afterwards!

What are your thoughts on the Grimdark sub-genre? Where do you see the future of Grimdark?

Tricky one! I suppose when somebody says Grimdark to me, I think of fantasy with a more realistic edge (even if there is world-shaking magic). Where a happy ending is unlikely and where there isn’t necessarily any kind of narrative justice.

I think Grimdark makes a nice counterpoint to more heroic fantasy. I also think at the moment there’s a really healthy range of fantasy out there and there’s plenty of room in it for more gritty and epic stories (as well as lighter romps).

Wizard, rogue, warrior, or cleric?

If we’re talking 5e then Wizard all the way. I’m all for standing at the back and blowing stuff up. I’m also quite a fan of teleportation, reading lots and magical servants to clean the house.

Speaking of D&D 5e, what role has gaming (video games, table top gaming, etc) played in your writing?

Quite a big role, I think. I've roleplayed constantly since the age of eleven. I ran a Warhammer campaign for six years and used to know the rulebook so well I didn’t need it. I've also run Amber, Gurps, Exalted and D&D 3rd edition (I’m proud to say I took a party from 1st to 20th level). Gaming taught me about world building and making interesting characters; however running a game isn’t the same as writing and while a game might help generate ideas and flesh out areas of a secondary world, it won’t deliver you the perfect novel on a plate. Trust me on that one.  I've played a lot of video games too and I have no doubt that Final Fantasy 7 has left deep marks in my delicate brain, as has most of Bioware’s back catalogue. Yes, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect (MASS EFFECT!), Dragon Age, I’m looking at you. Oh, oh, and Torment. What a game that was.

What is the single most profound piece of writing advice you've ever received?

I don’t know about profound but I’d say keep writing is the most important thing, especially while out on submission.

Following the release of The Vagrant, what other projects are on the horizon?

Next up is the sequel, due out early next year. All other projects are highly secret but have a high probability of containing demons.

Where do you see Peter Newman in the next 10 years?

Ha! I’m finding it hard to see past April at the moment. But okay, it’d be lovely if, in ten years, I’m chatting to you about my tenth book coming out in a new series and we’re looking fondly back on this interview. That or I’m a bitter drunk, ranting about the good old days, when I used to hang out with Abercrombie, Brett and Lawrence. Let’s go with option one, shall we?

Also, is there anywhere on the web where we can read some of what you've written? And where can our readers find out more about you?

Well, you can certainly hear something I’ve written. I did a short story for the Pseudopod podcast last Halloween that you can listen to here.  Mine is the last story in the episode called The Biggest Candle of Them All.

I blog at www.runpetewrite.com and I’m @runpetewrite on twitter. Feel free to come and say hi.

~

Thanks so much Peter, best of luck with The Vagrant release, and we'll be seeing you soon at the Grim Gathering.

Grim Interview: Daniel Polansky

Today we're joined by Daniel Polansky, a Brooklyn native and author of the Low Town trilogy, and the upcoming Empty Throne duology, of which the first installment Those Above, is slated to hit the shelves on February 26th in the US. 

The Low Town series was a blend of noir and fantasy. Would you say that your upcoming series (Those Above) is more traditional fantasy, or can we expect more genre blending?

A: It's a little hard to say--the Low Town stuff had a very deliberate sort of an aesthetic, being in first person and with that stylized hard boiled dialogue. Those Above is somewhat grander, both in terms of the language and some of the themes. It's sort of a noir on a much larger scale, the foolishness and brutality of nations as opposed to of individuals.

One of the reasons why so many people loved your first trilogy was because of the genre blend. Can readers expect more noir in your upcoming novel?

A: Yes, though perhaps of a less conventional sort. There's a strand of the novel dealing with urban poverty and the crime that runs through that, and there's generally a lot of violence and malfeasance and drinking and bad behavior.

Who would you say was your biggest influence as a writer?

A:I suppose it would maybe depend on the book? The Low Town stuff was all Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, but Those Above is somewhat more flowery. I like to think that my writing is evolving, and so therefore my influences evolve as well. Hopefully that doesn't sound pretentious.

You’ve said in the past that Westerns were a big influence for Low Town and it’s respective sequels, what influences were you inspired by to write Those Above?

A: It's really hard to go back and pull apart all of the original threads. I'm a big history buff, have been for a long time, I think I was reading Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire while I was coming up with some of the ideas for Those Above. Robert Graves's I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Lots and lots of other things, probably.

Do you read any other authors in the genre, and if so who are your favorites?

A: Sure, lots of people. Myke Cole and Mark Lawrence and Stark Holborne and John Hornor Jacobs. I always say Gene Wolfe so Gene Wolfe once again. Tim Powers is awesome. I could go on for a while here.

Considering you were published by the time you were in your mid twenties, what advice could you offer to struggling writers?

A:Read a lot. Read more than you're reading. Read the most difficult books that you can make yourself read, push your comprehension skills, sharpen your understanding of language and your knowledge of the world.

Where do you see the fantasy and science fiction genre in the next ten years?

I am honestly the absolute worst person to answer this question. Trends and currents in the marketplace are just not something I have a very good grip on, probably to my detriment. I suppose there will be some good books and a lot of bad ones, but that's hardly a change in the status quo.

What does an average day of writing look like for you?

A:I'm a night owl, so I wake up late morning and brew a pot of coffee and just get to it. I try to get down a thousand words or so, then I go for a long walk and find a coffee shop and try to do it again. This pattern repeats until happy hour, and then I trade coffee for beer.

How do you feel about the rise of Grimdark? Do you consider your books Grimdark?

A: In any genre or subgenre there are some good things and some bad ones, so without trying to be pedantic I would say I like good grimdark and dislike bad grimdark. As far as my own books go, I can understand why someone would group them in under that rubric, but again you have a very different perspective on the stuff you've written. They just have their own look to you.

The synopsis for Those Above hints at the three main characters we will get to meet, a woman, a general, and a boy killer. Was there one in particular that was especially fun to write?

A: You're not really supposed to pick favorites (like with children) but yes, totally. The woman referred to in the blurb is Eudokia, the Revered Mother, sort of a Machiavellian type controlling the strings of empire from behind the scenes, and on a bunch of levels she was just so much fun to write.

If Low Town was made into a film, whom could you see playing The Warden?

A: Me. I would play him. I would make like Stallone with Rocky and refuse to grant the rights unless I was the lead also. would have to bulk up about sixty pounds and get taller and also a lot older and have my face beat up. But I could do it.

When you aren’t busy writing, what other hobbies or activities are you involved in?

A: Reading. Chess. I walk around the city. I talk to people occasionally. I don't travel like I used to but I'm usually still out of the country a few months a year.

If you lived in Low Town, what would your job be?

A: Oh Christ, nothing very impressive--I'm clever enough to get into trouble but not tough enough to get out of it. I guess everyone's clever enough to get into trouble. Anyway. I'm going to go with dream vine tester. I would be good at that.

Considering your novels have many darker elements to them, have you received any negative reactions from family, friends, or readers?

A: Well, some people just don't like my books, obviously, but I gather you're asking more along the lines of if I've offended anyone, to which the answer would be; a few people. Some readers have a way of taking the things a character says as being things you think, something especially common with a first person perspective. But that's pretty rare, honestly.

Is there a certain novel you would suggest is essential reading for struggling authors who want to write in the fantasy genre?

A: Not really, not one guy in particular. There are a lot of great writers but there's not really a silver bullet answer here. But just to say something I'll say Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, which is pretty tremendous.

Fantasy has many mediums these days ranging from films, to video games. Are you a fan of any of these popular franchises?

A:Sure, some of them, probably not anything unexpected. Firefly was great. Lord of the Rings was really cool. Game of Thrones, except having read them it's a little less exciting. I had my Xbox stolen a year ago and never got around to buying another, so my video games skills have kind of atrophied. My peak video game skills are all centered around like, early 2000's rpg's. My Morrowind character was on point.

Without giving away any spoilers, what can fans look forward to with Those Above?

A: Sex, blood, greed, death, hope, despair, evil. Lots of evil. It's bigger and more expansive than the Low Town stuff, there are a lot of viewpoints, I swung a bit more for the fences, if that makes sense. Hopefully people respond in a positive way.

How many books are planned for your newest series?

A:Two! Just the two of them. I don't know why people don't write duologies more. Did I spell that correctly? THESE ARE SO RARE THAT I DON'T KNOW THE PROPER SPELLING. Anyway, two. But a strong two! Like a kick in the head, two.

Thanks for joining us Daniel, looking forward to the new book, and best of luck with the release.

Thanks tons for having me! Please, if you have any interest, go out and pick a copy of my book. You could read it, or you could use it for terribly uncomfortable toilet paper, or you could buy a bunch of copies and build a fort. I think this last plan is probably the best.

Grim Interview: Tim Marquitz of Ragnarok Publications

Today we have editor in chief of indie press Ragnarok Publications, Tim Marquitz. Tim has an extensive resume as not only an experienced dark / urban fantasy author, including the Demon Squad series and the Blood War Trilogy, but he has also worked as an editor and contributor on many anthologies and other projects, including the Dead West Series and Neverland’s Library. His most recent professional endeavor is taking the helm of the new indie press Ragnarok Publications. Coming off the heels of the amazing Kickstarter Campaign for Blackgaurds, (which damn near tripled it's funding goal), we're chatting with Tim for a little insight into the beast that is Ragnarok Publications...

~

So, give us the story of how Ragnarok Publications got started. 

Joe Martin approached me originally to work on a project (which ended up being Dead West) and he and I got to talking about publishing in general. I’d been wanting to spearhead something different publishing-wise, expanding on my editing work, and along the way I realized Joe would be the perfect partner for this project given his experiences. We sat down and chatted about it. The idea exploded, and here we are.

What does a day in the life of the editor-in-chief look like? 

Coffee, coffee, coffee, followed by words. My days are actually split between all the different things I need to get done. Some days are slower, when I get to write and focus on my own stuff, but most days are spent dealing with the vagaries of Ragnarok, from contract creation to editing to doling out assignments to talking to agents to formatting to promoting. There’s a constant stream of little tasks that aren’t scheduled so it’s hard to define each day. That said, I love every minute of it, chaotic as it can sometimes be. 

What are some of the challenges of running an indie press? 

The biggest I can think of is staying (becoming) relevant. There are thousands of smaller presses out there these days. The hardest part for us is to stand out above and beyond these folks as a press authors want to share their work with and be published by. We push ourselves every release, every day for that matter, to do better, to learn more, to become more competitive. 

Another huge challenge is finding an audience. We’ve been lucky to turn our Kickstarter successes into a soapbox, so to speak, but it doesn’t translate across the board for all of our titles. We’re constantly struggling to find a larger audience so the amazing authors we’ve picked up can shine as they should. 

What do you enjoy most about running and operating Ragnarok? 

For me, it’s finding and promoting authors I love who haven’t quite found their place in publishing yet. While we publish folks who are successes in their own right, we have a number of authors who should be successful but just haven’t hit that point yet. It’s frustrating because they’re talented and fantastic story tellers but just haven’t stumbled across the luck factor yet. I love being a part of these peoples’ careers this early on and helping to push the out there. 

Why the focus on darker fiction stories? 

I think that’s just the direction that appeals to us most. There’s a beauty in darkness that we like to tap into with our books. We’re comfortable in that darkness. 

Overall, how has Ragnarok Publications been received by readers and the industry? 

You’d have to tell me. I feel we’re fairly well received given our limited time in existence. Our Kickstarter campaigns have spread our name far and wide and we produce quality books consistently. People likely still see us as a small outfit, and they wouldn't be wrong, but we have huge aspirations. I think I’ll have a better feel for how we’re received as we get a little older in the business. 

How has social media played a part in the development and promotion of Ragnarok Publications? 

Social media has played a huge role in our development. We’ve a dedicated social media team who promote the hell out of us and do everything they can to get our name out there in a positive light. We’ve also used social media to coordinate and create our greatest successes along the way. If it weren’t for the current atmosphere of social media, I don’t think Ragnarok would exist. 

Currently Ragnarok isn't taking new submissions, but once you open the flood gates, what sort of works will you be looking to receive?

We want dark but different. We don’t have a specific type of story (outside of our basic genre preferences) but we want to be hit over the head by a story. We want something that screams at us to be published, whether it’s horror or urban fantasy isn’t an issue. 

I think our preference falls in the little-left-of-center category. 

Can you give us your take on the publishing industry eBook revolution that’s taking place right now? Where do you see the future of the publishing and eBooks headed? 

I feel there will be a slight correcting of course, paperbacks coming back a little more while eBooks begin to settle in sales comparison to paper. That said, eBooks will continue to be the new market, the technology spurring new directions for innovative and interactive eBooks. 

Small and self-publishers will continue to thrive for a long time to come. They’re becoming more adept at adapting to the climate while the larger presses stumble against tradition and investors’ needs. I suspect you’ll see a number of smaller presses explode over the next 3-4 years, becoming monsters in their own rights, but then the cycle will reset. 

Where would you like to see Ragnarok five years down the road? 

I’ve been blown away by Ragnarok’s success so far, so I can only imagine what five years would do for us. I think we’ll have ironed out the “in store” aspect of distribution and will expand into the market. We have big plans yet we still want to retain the creator-comfortable atmosphere we’ve developed. Ultimately, Ragnarok will succeed, expand, become better and wiser, as the years progress. Beyond that, I can’t say. 

What are the next titles coming down the pike that we should be keeping an eye out for? 

We’ve just re-released the first book in the Red Reaper series, Sword Sisters, by Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe as well as the first book in the Gnomesaga series, Rough Magick, by Kenny Soward. We’re looking at releasing Rob J. Haye’s gritty, The Ties that Bind series so there will finally be a paperback version of it out there in the world. We’ve also got Skinjumper by Lincoln Crisler coming up and a bunch more. 

Tim, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us.

Thanks so much for having us. We’re grateful to everyone who’s help make Ragnarok a success and we plan to hang around a long time and give y’all plenty of dark fiction to hunker down with.

~

To learn more about Ragnarok Publications, just head on over to ragnarokpub.com, and to find out more about everything Tim Marquitz, check out his blog at tmarquitz.com. Tim, thanks again for hanging out, and best of luck to you and Ragnarok Publications.

Free GRIMDARK Fiction Short Story Compendium!

The Grimdark Short Story Writing Challenge Compendium for Summer 2014 is now available as a pdf to download and enjoy for free. The compendium features two original short pieces from C.L. Werner and Timothy Baker, and a host of aspiring authors.

Click the link to download... http://tinyurl.com/ke5npw3

Grimdark Writing Challenge

Write a short story up to 1,000 words using the picture as 'grimspiration' (art by Kai Lim). When you’re done, just post a link to the story in the comments (please do not post your story in the comments). Just giving this a try to see if it’s something people enjoy. Please make sure your story is “Grimdark”, or you will be summarily dispatched with a battleax to the knee. Deadline will be 8/31/2014, and I’ll collect all the final pieces and post them on the GFRW blog. Thanks to all who join in.

Update: The Grimdark Writing Challenge is now a Contest! Thanks to the team at Ragnarok Publications, I'll select a 1st place and 2nd place winner who I feel best meets the challenge, and each will get to select (1) eBook title from the Ragnarok Library.  Deadline is 8/31/14, winners will be notified by 9/8/14.  And for the best in dark genre fiction, check out ragnarokpub.com...

Grim Interview: Janet Morris

I'm honored to have Janet Morris as our next guest. Janet has been a prolific author, with more than 40 novels, her career started in 1976 and since then, she's been offering heaping helpings of darker fantasy, scifi, and short fiction. Often co-writing with her husband Chris Morris, there's so much to choose from in their extensive bibliography. For those who prefer something darker, there's The Sacred Band Of Stepsons series, based around the ancient warriors known as the sacred band of Thebes. Or there's the Heroes In Hell series, a sprawling set of anthologies, each featuring a broad cast of characters who find their final resting place in the pits of the underworld; selected titles in the series include Angels In Hell, War In Hell, and the latest edition (currently priced at $6.66 on Amazon), Poets In Hell. And for those who want science fiction with a dark twist, there's Outpassage, a scifi thriller offering plenty of intrigue and adventure. When Janet isn't creating writing, she is a championship level horse breeder, and an advocate for non-lethal military proliferation.

Janet, thanks so much for taking some time out of your busy schedule to talk with us.

Thanks for having me with you here at Grimdark, Rob. Grimdark well describes much of what I read and what I write.

Grimdark fiction is on the rise. It seems that, at least for now, fantasy fiction readers have given up on the black or white, good or evil, PG rated writing that has saturated much of the genre for years. People seem to want a true sense of the human condition, that life is sometimes brutal, and sometimes the good guys lose. In your opinion, what factors do you think have contributed to rise of darker storytelling?
 

Grimdark fiction has always been out there; from as far back as the epic of Gilgamesh, writers and poets and mythologists framed their worlds around struggle: struggle against Nature, struggle against their gods, who often controlled elements of nature; struggle against each other; struggle to define themselves in a hostile world. As the early Greeks evolved the novel form, writers found ways to show the human condition and tell the stories that still haunt our dreams. Once Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, Grimdark fiction had its calling card. And from there on, all great writers, and would-be great writers, tried to set their characters daunting tasks in a world where their hearts and souls would be tested. The heroic monomyth itself ( as it defines our sense of heroism and ethics and morality) defines Grimdark: if a hero isn’t faced with great trials, he is not truly a hero. At times, this model has been sweetened and softened for children and for reasons of religious persuasion, creating stories of perfect heroes in various versions of Camelot, and peopling these visions with watered-down beasties such as friendly fairies and elves and such. These elementals weren’t sweet at their beginnings. But then came warfare utilizing naphtha fireballs, plague-bearing rats thrown over the walls of besieged cities, and two things happened: the darkness of humanity’s soul became overwhelming; writers either wrote about man’s failings, or pretended those failings didn’t exist. In the 20th century alone, over 180 million people were killed in warfare. Mustard gas, carpet bombing, napalm – all these made humanity admit the increasing lethality of our species. This plus the first atomic bombs, and the threat of nuclear annihilation by a single push of a button, made people ask “Is God dead?” In the face of the unanswerable question, fiction and the other arts reacted; from Kandinsky and Klee and Sartre and Kafka onward, from horror movies and the rise of science fiction, two reactions rocked the world: tell fairy tales and stories of perfect heroes who’ll save us; tell the truth about the human condition as history revealed it and as we know it: penetrate and understand the Grimdark reaches of the human soul.

In the 1970s, when I started my writing career by selling the first draft of my first novel, “High Couch of Silistra,” I wrote because I couldn’t find the book I wanted to read. Any ethical writer writes that book for the self; writing less is pandering. Silistra turned into a quartet of novels exploring the link between sex and power in the human psyche, and the responsibilities that come with overwhelming power; the books were smart, erotic, philosophical and took no prisoners. They looked like science fantasy, or what is now called sword and planet. Soon Silistra, a series whose hero is a bisexual prostitute, had four million in print. This series was very dark and made me few friends among the old guard of science fiction or the woman’s movement, for it broke new ground and gored all oxen. This issue of limits to power and responsibility can be found in many other writers now thought ‘Grimdark’ at that time, the days of Stephen King’s first novel and many other anti-heroic views of humanity. Whence the anti-heroism? All around us was proof that humanity is self-destructive and hates any members of our species even slightly different from ourselves; that we can’t be trusted with power; that we are lethal to one another and every other species on the planet. This focus on the worst elements of the human condition is our way of coming to term with ourselves as recent history shows us to be: willing to destroy wantonly for reasons of politics, greed, and metaphor. Since those who grew up in the “duck and cover” days when children learned to hide under school desks before the A-bombs hit, is it any wonder that today, faced with the horror of what we have become, writers feel compelled to explore the darkest part of our fictionalized souls?

After Silistra, I then wrote “I, the Sun,” the biography of Suppiluliumas, Great King of the Hittites – not scifi or fantasy but a rigorous biographical novel about a man who raised his Ancient Near East empire from ashes, took three queens, made twenty-four of his sons kings, and sired at least forty-six children while he brought chariot warfare to a new peak, took slaves and countries, and conquered his way from the Black Sea to the gates of Amarna Egypt. The book was called “a masterpiece of historical fiction” by Dr. Jerry Pournelle, and the Hittite expert O.R. Gurney praised it as: “familiar with every part of Hittite society.” In Hittite society, if you cut off a man’s ear, you paid him twenty shekels of silver; in Hittite society, sorcery was punishable by death; in Hittite society, if two men had sex with the same free woman, there was no harm in it; in Hittite society, sack and pillage were normal tactics of warfare. That book, reprinted today, still incenses and scandalizes those who want to recast history in a kind and gentler light.

When I had just finished “I, the Sun,” Bob Asprin asked me on a conference panel to write for “Thieves’ World,” and described it as the “meanest town in fantasy, dark and gritty and filled with mankind’s worst.” Having determined he was serious, I brought my character Tempus, an immortalized son of a storm-god, and his “sister” whom he loved, and their ancient ethos into sword and sorcery-style fantasy. In the early 1980s, as the stories progressed, readers saw a man dragged to death by the entrails; another staked out over a badger’s bower while the badger was smoked out with nowhere to go but through the man’s body to freedom, and more. Some readers found Tempus a villain – I can’t think why. Any ethical writer can confront these issues of state-sanctioned incest, murder, pederasty and treachery through the right character, and Tempus was – and is – the right character. He applied historically-acceptable corrections to wrong-doers, from knee-capping to burning alive, but he also brought the Sacred Band ethos to life in fantasy. In his turn, Tempus is saddled with a female elemental of great power who has her way with him when she chooses. The Sacred Band, male/male pairs of bisexual and homosexual fighters, have since graduated into my Sacred Band of Stepsons series, which, from those early days to these, is not for the faint of heart. A good sense of history pervades all Grimdark fiction: not so much what disturbing methods were used, but why they were used, and the characters of those who use them: our heroes of Tempus’ Sacred Band fight valiantly, mercenaries of the god of war – realistic war, not a pastel childlike view of humans and their failings. Much darker than Conan or Elric novels, our Sacred Band of Stepsons fight more and worse enemies, but realistic ones. They do this because no writer of good conscience can write about anything but the human condition, and how realistic heroes deal with the horrors within us all, often worse than any dragon or demon or plague.

In science fiction, I wrote Outpassage, a bleak future wherein governments and corporations collude for reasons of national security (sound familiar now? It didn’t, then.), and a Ranger outfit finds aliens where aliens shouldn’t be… But when given orders to mine the equatorial faults of a planet with nukes to blow it apart, my Rangers balk – at first. I won’t tell you the story, but having spent twenty years in government, that story seems more plausible than ever. And the dystopian Kerrion Consortium Dream Dancer books, based in science but truly about dynasties exported into space, had two volumes on the Locus bestseller list at the same time. Meanwhile, many other writers were beginning to write dark and darker still, including not only King but Clancy and Tom Wolfe and Truman Capote.

Whatever I write, whether solo, or co-author with Chris Morris or others, my sense of history and what it tells us of the human condition pervades the story. I don’t write horror per se, but what I write may be horrific, sometimes, but inspiring, always. One of the most important things about our species is its capacity for hope. All Grimdark writers realize that hope is the only justification for heroics: hope of glory, hope of love, hope of honor, hope of triumph, hope of survival. 

And beneath all subterfuge, the Grimdark writer faces the final truth: every one of us lives to die. It is the quality of that living which matters. And by my lights, this is what Grimdark is about: taking bold action in service to an ideal when you know that death is at the end of all striving. 

No doubt that you have an extensive body of work, and there's no doubt you have a broad perspective on the ebb and flow of the publishing industry. Tell us a bit of your experience with the industry, the industry at present, and direction you see it going.

When I sold my first novel, I had no familiarity with publishing as a business. I had written the story for myself and my friends to read. I was completely unaware of science fiction politics, or conventions, or its fan network. Because my books made a few bucks and publishers called me “bestselling author Janet Morris,” I was thrust into an arena where you sold books and were paid half before you wrote them, half on delivery. I took multiple book contracts. I had books go to auction in the US and England because more than one publisher wanted them. I did this until an editor, making a multi-book deal with me in a bar on a napkin, said that what she wanted in these books was “blood on every page.” In her mind what she meant, I am sure, given my body of work, was a bestseller. In mine, she had slapped me across the face: I didn’t write for those reasons. I took the contract, wrote the books, but decided that if this was where the industry was going, I’d do something else.

About then I started writing primarily nonfiction for government customers, and found it difficult to write fiction that wasn’t in some way related to my nonfiction. So for about 20 years I wrote only nonfiction, primarily in the defense and policy arenas. Because of this, I was on the sidelines of the implosion of the book business: since much of what I did for my government customers was predictive, one could stretch a point and say I took a look at what was coming and got out of the line of fire.

With the internet came book piracy, which made the old publishing model unsound. For example, one pirate had 57 editions of my work on the internet for free – probably for years, until I started fighting back. Since every writer expects royalties and is judged by their sales, piracy hurts: not only does it hurt publishers, it makes publishers less likely to invest in new writers. Big publishers died off and tiny publishers sprouted. People tried marketing on the internet. Confusion reigned.

In the first decade of the 21st century, when I knew I wanted to write fiction again, I talked to my New York agent, who said that the book business had radically changed, and we couldn’t offer a book to what was left of NY publishing without offering digital rights. So, since I wanted to keep my digital rights, we formed a small publishing company to do the kind of books we liked to read: edgy, dark, and well-written: that publisher is “theperseidpress.com”. During the time we had not been concerned with fiction, the “worldwide” bestseller became a possibility. These were and often are books written to suit youngsters-to-adults of minimal sophistication and education, books with simple plot and vocabulary. In the 20th century a book needed to be readable by a twelve-year-old; now, in the 21st, publsihers wanted to pitch to a nine-year-. Perseid doesn’t do those books. Perseid, heading into the wind as is our nature, does books for a literate audience. We’re publishing to stick a thumb into the dike holding back a newer and darker dark age; we publish the book we want to read: dark, lyric, literate, and compelling. Others like us are trying micro-publishing, and none of us “know” where that will lead us. But we are slowly publishing more books, by more writers, and getting our backlist into modern print (sometimes as “Author’s Cut editions,” revised and expanded because now we are not limited by a publisher’s contract to a certain word count) in editions with more readable print. Will this get us ‘worldwide’ bestsellers. There’s no way to tell.

One thing is certain: as long as digital editions exist, good books will be available, sometimes for free, sometimes not.

You've paired up with your spouse Chris to coauthor a number of works. Give us an insight into your collaboration process, and what you like best about working together. And have your two hit any bumps along the road in learning each others work habits?
 
Chris and I fell into full collaboration naturally: he was always my first reader; he always contributed ideas. But in those days and still today a book written by a man and a woman is less desirable to some than a book written by one male. We had to fight hard to get his name on our books once it was obvious to us that this would be the next step. We sold a book at auction for a high five figure advance that we wrote under the pseudonym of a single male, and got more for it than we’d ever gotten for a book written by a woman or a man and wife team. Nevertheless, fair is fair: if Chris contributes substantial to my work, or me to his, both names go on the product.

Our collaboration process goes like this: One of us suggests a title or a story line. We discuss it, expand it. I type the draft because I am a faster typist. He then comes in o my office and we go through the draft line by line, aloud. We argue and discuss, sometimes for as much as fifteen minutes on one line, until we have each line as we want it. Then we break and eat and discuss what needs to happen in the story on the following day and how the characters will be impacted by the new events. So we both live with the characters around the clock. Then I type that next bit of draft, always early in the day. Thus it has evolved: separate work early, combined work late on any day. We take notes on good lines or points to be included for the next day. If one of us doesn’t like something, we pull it out and try again, until each line is as we want it. The result is an increasingly strong sense of presence and character. In the early days of drafting on paper, when I would finish draft, Chris would take it all the way across the room before he started reading, so I couldn’t grab the paper away from him and rewrite in pen then and there. Now, with computers, it is much easier.

My work habits are three hours of concentrated drafting per day; his read/edit mode and mine are truly combinatory, to the point where often neither of us will know who actually first came up with a line or a quip or a piece of description.

Writing and editing together creates a whole that is more cohesive than any other way. When I’ve written with other collaborators, I don’t get the seamless quality I do when Chris and I write together, or the depth of insight that putting both male and female eyes on a story can yield.

The rise of the e-book has had an enormous impact on the industry as a whole, and with that eBook piracy has also been a factor. Give us your take the effects of piracy and how your think authors, readers, and publishers should respond.

The first thing the internet brought us was piracy, which has virtually destroyed the book business as big business, and forced print publishers into e-books to try to hold onto their rights. One pirate had 57 editions of my works on the internet for free. Like others trying to make a living writing, this was distressing. And remains distressing. The wonderful thing about the internet is you can get nearly any book immediately. The horrific thing is you can steal almost any book without fear. For the midlist writer, piracy has meant tremendous privation. The writer can’t keep track of sales or popularity. “Beyond Sanctuary”, one of my most popular pirated books, has been available from numerous pirates for at least fifteen years, before real e-books existed, as ugly scanned copies. People who would never break into my house and steal my clothes or food or medicine or animals are without compunction when it comes to stealing my livelihood: my books. Because of this overwhelming piracy, we began the “Author’s Cut” series of books at Perseid Press with the “Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy,” which is expanded by fifty-thousand words over the three volumes and contains new scenes and new insights; on these editions, I am trying harder to control the piracy. I ask people not to steal my books or books of other writers: in doing so, these people harm not only the writers, who need royalties to live and write more, but other readers, who may lose access to talented writers because the piracy problem is insoluble unless readers refuse to read pirated books. Today if your book is pirated you can report the pirate, and if the pirate doesn’t remove your book, they are banned from the internet. So now the pirates ask you to sign up before you see their list of illicit titles, and often that sign up agrees abiding by their rules… which may preclude your right to report them. This is an issue of ethics and morality, person by person. The unethical will steal e-books, others will not. Thieves will always be with us. But consider: there are many free books available from young writers, fledgling publishers, and from big companies such as Amazon; there is no real reason to steal. But as long as e-books exist, people will steal them unless and until an internet methodology for banning pirates permanently is found.

Many of our readers are aspiring writers of Grimdark fantasy and scifi fiction. What advice would you give to new writers when it comes to writing about darker themes?

 
Tough question, and an easy one. The writer knows darker themes; they are a part of each of us. If the writer chooses to write a character-driven piece, rather than get caught up in techno-babble or historicity for mechanical propulsion of plot, that piece will succeed; someone will see it and want to publish it – IF that writer has enough basic grammatical skills, literacy, and understanding of dramatic modalities to create a viable story. The good editor is seeking the good writer; the good writer is seeking the good editor. When those two find one another, great things happen. However, too much of what I see today is derivative: fiction written by people who have not read the basic Western Canon, which you must read if you want to be a fluent writer of fiction, and instead take their cues from hack writers who have impressed them because some hack’s book sold many copies. To make things worse, the internet is full of scalpers who claim to be copy-editors, editors, and publishers but have little understanding of what is needed beyond how to upload a file and secure an ISBN number. Don’t use people to help you with your work who are not better than you at something; a BA in English does not make a competent copy-editor, much less a savvy editor or publisher. When I read a manuscript from someone whose editor and copy-editor haven’t done a good job, I can only blame the writer for allowing their work to fall into clumsy hands.

As for how to write dark, if you don’t feel the magic, read some ancient history. Read those who shaped literature, all the early Mesopotamians and Greeks. If you want truly dark, read Milton’s Paradise Lost: don’t skim it, read it. True ‘dark” isn’t a matter of window-dressing: it’s inherent in the viewpoint character on every line and page. Spend a bit of money and buy Pritchard’s Ancient Near Eastern Texts, and hear the words of those historical characters that shaped our world. Then read Homer, Xenophon, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca. You waste your time if you read derivative works for inspiration: read the source material, always, as those before you have read these works and been inspired.

What projects are you currently working on?
 
We’re writing a new novel with a new hero, “Rhesos of Thrace: The Black Sword” is the working title. Rhesos is a quasi-mythical hero, and his small part in the Iliad convinced me that, were I bold enough, I could tell his story. He’s a hero forgotten in modern times, whose assassination Pallas Athene decreed, for, if he fought at Troy, the Danaäns would lose the war. I’ve done the beginning of this story, published in “Nine Heroes” edited by Walter Rhein, and fifteen thousand words beyond that. I’m also doing a new Sacred Band of Stepsons novel, a sciamachy; and a new series of “Grimdark” heroic anthologies, “Heroica,” the first of which I hope will be out in mid 2015. Speaking of dark, we’re at work on the yearly Heroes in Hell volume, this one being “Doctors in Hell.” And we have a hush-hush project with a new collaborator.

To date, what has been the most rewarding part of being a writer? In hindsight, anything you might have done differently? 
 
The most rewarding part of writing is drafting: being whisked away into another time, another place, another life, and seeing the world through a different temperament. The writer of a tale experiences about 90% more than he can communicate to the reader; for these pale shadowings, some of us are royally paid, some not. I love to draft; when I have been drafting for three days, my endorphins take over: after that, until I skip a drafting day, I have no discomfort, no concerns but getting back to that world awaiting; the story tells itself, subject only to the limitations of my physical body’s ability to sit still and take down what I see and hear and feel. This is what I write to accomplish: to fall through the words into another world, and hopefully take you with me.

In hindsight, as far as fictional work, I probably should have stayed with my first editor, who was brilliant and protective of me. But I was young and impetuous, headstrong. However, I am happy with what I have accomplished. And because of our nonfiction work, people are alive today who might not have been if Chris and I hadn’t written that door and ushered others through it. So we’re content enough, and busy writing using what we’ve learned.


Thanks again to Janet for taking the time to give us some insight. To win a kindle eBook copy of The Sacred Band, Poets In Hell, or Outpassage, just email us, grimdarkfcition@gmail.com, with the subject line JANET MORRIS, and we'll pick a random winner on August 31st, 2014, U.S. only.

Grim Interview: Jake Scholl

Our next guest for Grim Interviews is Jake Scholl. As author of the forthcoming dark fantasy novel Blade Of The Broken, Jake has traveled the road of self publishing, and offers some insights to other new authors aspiring to get their work published and noticed. Jake is a blogger, gamer, metal head, and a true fan of speculative fiction, movies, and more.

Roll call: Name, age, where do you live, and what do you do with your spare time when you’re not writing?

Name is Jake Scholl. I'm 22, and live in southwestern Idaho. In my spare time I collect comics, watch movies, and spend time with family and friends.

Can you tell us about the moment when you sat down and decided you wanted to be a writer?

It was back in 3rd grade, and it happened rather by accident. We were assigned to create a picture book, and I remember being the only kid disappointed that I had to draw pictures. I wanted to make a real novel! Thankfully that book is hidden in place I only know. It may be embarrassing, and a flagrant rip-off of Jurassic Park and Neverending Story. So to avoid a lawsuit, it will stay in hiding. But we all have to start somewhere.

What other writers or books have most influenced your writing?

Quite a few. Most people say Tolkien, but Tolkien wasn’t the Fantasy writer I read first. It was Dennis L. McKiernan’s Iron Tower Trilogy. (Those first edition paperbacks I read were well used. Definitely a good sign.) People say that series is a Tolkien rip-off, but that is far from the truth. It was darker, and the characters were very complex and layered. The story may be simplistic compared to long running series, but I’d rather read a book series that gets to the point quick than not deliver. This was the book series that made me want to be a writer for a living.

Michael Moorcock would be high on the list too. His Elric novels are some of the best Fantasy books ever written. A lot of books, songs, and of all things video games, have been influenced in some way by Moorcock’s novels. His writing style is what always brings me back.

Ray Bradbury is another. His writing style will never be equaled, and is best read out loud. And that’s why I read my books and stories to myself. If your book doesn’t sound good out loud, something is wrong.

Tell us about your new novel, Blade Of The Broken. Give us an elevator pitch. Is this the first of a series? When do you expect the novel to be released?

The focus of the book is on a ranger by the name of Stefan. The rangers in Blade Of The Broken are the only law in the book’s world. Since this world is like a medieval one, most “justice” is solved by killing, or beating the hell out of people who hurt others. Sometimes arrests happen.

He gets sent on a mission to stop someone who allegedly wants to kill a bunch of people with a magical item. Though things aren’t as they seem… And dark things from the past are waiting to strike Stefan once again.

That’s the most I can say without spoiling the book. J It will come out either in October or November. You can find out more on my blog.

With your latest novel, Blade Of The Broken, can you go into some of the details of your writing process? What were the circumstances around your initial concept for the novel? Did you do an outline, or “discovery” write? How long did it take for you to get to a completed manuscript?

I began outlining my novel around the end of July of 2011 with a character I’d been “seeing” in my mind. (I thought it would be smart to outline before I participated in National Novel Writing Month, and I was thinking of writing an epic fantasy novel like the books I grew up reading.) Then in August 2011, I was rushed to the hospital, and went septic.

Real life craziness can really change plans, and book outlines. So the book became more of a heroic, and gritty fantasy tale. The fighting theme of the genre resonated even more so after the hospital, and I couldn’t read epic fantasy that wasn’t about people who couldn’t wield a weapon, or weren’t intelligent. The stories I read had to be realistic; so the story I would write had to be honest to the reader.

So in November, I started writing, and it took one month. I didn’t follow the outline word by word, but I didn’t go full-on discovery mode either. It was a good mix of the two. The first draft was horrible, and it’s taken 3 ½ years of rewriting and having an editor to go through it to get to the point I’m at now.

Thankful I never threw the book away.
 

Can you tell us about how you came up with the cover art for Blade Of The Broken?

The MacGuffin of the story, if you will, is a sword called the Runeblade. I don’t want to get too much into it, but it connects all of the characters together in one way or the other. (Trust me, it’s more than an old blade with runes scribbled on it.) So I always thought it should be on the cover, and I worked with my amazing cover artist Rene Folsom, she works at Phycel Designs.

The fiery, and dark background worked best to set the mood. There are quite a bit of sword fights and carnage throughout the tale… Speaking of the background, when I got the first cover proof I could’ve sworn I saw a raven with talon’s extended. When I said I liked the raven, Rene asked “What raven? I didn’t put one in!” but said it was a great idea. So she added a raven… That’s part of the magic of a writer and cover artist working together!

How would you describe your experience with self-publishing your novel? Do you plan to stick with self-publishing, or do you hope to someday go with a publishing house?

It’s been good. I like having a direct influence on every aspect of my book, rather than having another person make all the calls for me. I’m planning to stick with self-publishing. In this day and age, it’s possible to produce a great looking book without the publisher as a middle man. I’ve been told money should flow to the author, rather than making the pittance publishers pay. The model traditional publishing uses is rather outdated, especially since we use eReaders now. It doesn’t mean you don’t need editors or cover artists, etc, but rather can hire those people directly, and make your own decisions on your books.

Speaking of blades, weapon of choice: letter opener, Swiss army knife, or Ginsu blade?

 
Ginsu blade. The other choices aren’t barbaric enough.
 

This isn’t your first self-published piece, though; tell us a bit about Demon Stone.

Demon Stone was first written back in 2009. I was reading old school sword & sorcery a lot that year, by authors’ such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, and Michael Moorcock. So I decided to write a tale inspired by these stories. It started out as a hack job, but over many revisions, I had something original in my character Dagr. I kept getting rejection letters, and kept revising, changing, adding… Then I gave up, and kept it saved. I went back to it in 2011, and kept revising. Then I sent it to an e-magazine and it was accepted, and was published in the first issue of Fantasy Short Stories, ran by Mark Lord.

By that time, I’d been working on the book that would become Blade Of the Broken. And when I got the rights back, I decided to self-publish a special edition version of the Demon Stone short that had more changes, to help with the hard task of building an audience.

The story is a quest about a King who lost everything to try and save his wife. If you like sword & sorcery, and heroic fantasy, this story may appeal to you. It’s on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, iTunes, and a lot of other eBook sites.

What do you find most appealing about writing darker fantasy?

Being able to explore parts that normally isn’t explored in other genres. In traditional epic fantasy, it seems to be a big no no to explore what makes the villains tick rather than just that they want “world domination” or “destroy everything”. Doesn’t the reader want to know why the villain does what he does? Or see what the other characters want you to see?

Also, with the heroes, they don’t have to be perfect in “dark fantasy”. George R. R. Martin, Gary Gygax, Michael Moorcock and many others were/are of the mind that everyone has good and bad, so why not write people realistically, rather than make the heroes saints? Even bad people at times have done good things.

I think “dark” fantasy should be called “realistic”. But that would be a weird word pairing. 

What influence has gaming had on your writing?

Games have had quite an influence on me. Before I even touched a novel, I’d been enjoying playing as Mario on the SNES, and trying to rescue Princess Peach, only to find out I was in the wrong castle. Or Banjo on the N64, trying to rescue his sister from the witch… And incidentally, these games had stories just as engaging as any novel, and inspired me to dream up stories in my mind with unlimited FX budget. Thus, writing was very attractive to me.

What do you find most aggravating aspect about the fantasy publishing industry today?

Probably the assumption most self-published books are crap. Yeah, there is some self-published drivel, but I’ve read quite a bit of crap published by people like Random House. Crap is crap no matter who the publisher is. It doesn’t care where it’s from. It just goes splat!

*Note to all self-publishers or would be writers: Hire an editor. Not your mother or father, or a friend or family member. We writers need editors who will say what needs to be said. No matter if it hurts your feelings.

Not only do you rock dark fantasy novels and short fiction, but you’re also a blogger. When did you start blogging? What is your blog about? Where can folks check it out?

I started blogging in ’08, originally just writing fantasy and sci-fi novel reviews, and posted them on my website called Goblins, Swords, Elves, Oh My! Then that progressed to also interviewing authors like Dennis L. McKiernan, Margaret Weiss, and fellow indie authors.

That site built up my writing confidence dramatically, so I decided to also write about my crazy life on another website called Jake’s Blog. I’ve been in a wheelchair most of my life, and was diagnosed with Duchene Muscular Dystrophy at age five. I really didn’t have that odd of a childhood as people would think, nor am I some broken soul… I just have some definite opinions on life and writing.

Now it has a dual function of being a blog, and an author’s website. I haven’t posted much lately on either site, but there’s quite a backlog of posts dating back to ‘08. So now you can see how bad of a writer I was.

I was pleased to read that you were also a lover of cinema and heavy metal music, now I’m pretty much convinced we were separated at birth. Give us your top three movies of all time, and top three metal albums.

Another favorite’s question? This is like choosing which children I’d keep around, and which I’d put up for adoption! I was raised watching old black & white movies my parents grew up watching. John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and tons of other movies. I hope they forgive me if I don’t name any classics, haha. Plus, being disabled, movies are one thing I do to pass the time.

I would put the original, and uncut (Han shot first!) Star Wars Trilogy. (This was literally my first exposure to the science fiction / fantasy genre, and without it I probably wouldn’t be interested in fantasy or heroic fiction at all.)

Second, I would say Pan’s Labyrinth. It’s a great play on traditional fairy tale films, and has a great plot and writing. It may have subtitles, but it’s worth reading through for two hours. I usually like quest type fantasy films, but at times I prefer the morality tales my mother and grandparents read to me as a child. There’s something comforting about stories about children and the small folk of the woods.

Since you asked for three movies, I’m going to have to skip a ton of others outstanding films, so here’s the third one; Mad Max: The Road Warrior. The story is probably one of the best in modern cinema, and The Road Warrior was a great improvement from Mad Max, from a writing and acting standpoint.

As for favorite Metal Albums, where do I begin?! Holy Diver by Dio is great. Summer Of Darkness by Demon Hunter. And currently 7th Symphony by Apocalyptica is a great album… And I’ll cheat and say every Iron Maiden album is amazing! (And Maiden is a fun band to write to!)

For writers just starting out, what advice or wisdom can you offer?

Listen to all criticism. All of it. Too many beginners have a thin skin, and that isn’t good when you’re a writer. Believe me, I was there too. I had my sister read my very first novel in 4th grade, and she said it was crap. I was devastated, didn’t listen to her criticism, and threw all the pages in the garbage.

Everything you write has potential to be a great novel, or story. Listen, and keep revising, and repeat. If you don’t have friends who have time to critique, find a group like Critters. There are thousands of people that use Critters, and I’ve gotten great input from the group. (Especially when I was working the early drafts of Blade Of the Broken.)

Also, watch out for scams. There are a lot of people wanting to scam writers, so I recommend checking out Writer’s Beware, Preditors & Editors, A Newbie’s Guide toPublishing, and David Gaughran’s blog.

What’s the next project on the horizon for Jake Scholl?

I’m currently planning a sequel to Blade Of The Broken, and maybe a short story or novel sequel to Demon Stone. Or maybe a Horror novel? We’ll see what the guy upstairs has in store.

You can find Jake Scholl on Facebook, Twitter (@JakeSCholl), Goodreads, and you can grab a copy of Demon Stone here for a mere $0.99. A special thanks to Jake for taking the time to talk to us, and wish him the best of luck with the release of Blade Of The Broken.