Issue 20: Risky Business

Back before Christmas, but after I’d made my 2018 recap, I had a chance to read Imogen’s Secret  and Imogen’s Journey. Absolutely could not put these novels down, so I reached out to the author to ask a few questions and B Fleetwood talks about how a novel became a trilogy and what’s next for Imogen.

Micah Dean Hicks picks the Playlist for Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones. And note: tonight Micah Dean Hicks has an event in Florida. Details at the end of the playlist.

Of Elections and Influences: How the 2016 Election Inspired Libby Fischer Hellmann’s HIGH CRIMES

Barbara Winkes chats about her new book, Killer Instinct, and talks about her writing spaces.

• Writing Spaces: Where Barbara Winkes Pens Her Works
• Killer Instinct: Barbara Winkes Writes About an Ex-Cop With Regrets and Shares Which of Her Characters She’d Take With Her to a Deserted Island

Almost forgot … my review of The 19th Bladesman. It should have run elsewhere, but the site wasn’t one I wanted to continue working with, so here it is.

Did You Miss It?

Brian wrote about his favorite TV Characters, posted another Eclectic Mayhem and shared his best reads of 2018.

Plus, Issue 19 went live a few weeks ago, with Isabella Maldonado, Dana King and Susanna Beard.

Risky Business: Stepping Out Side Our Comfort Zones

 

There will always be something to react to on social media, and the publishing world has given us plenty lately.

Yesterday, when I saw saw some of the responses to Jason Heller’s thread, the top tweet here was the one that had been retweeted. Now, if you go to the thread this is part of and start at the actual top, the response made more sense.

But as it was, what I saw that seemed to be the source of ire was these two tweets. And I have no issue with them at all. Heller is absolutely correct – each person makes a choice about how to approach their craft.

He’s also very right about something else that doesn’t have to do with money. He’s right about the fact that writers are often approaching their craft from a comfort zone and afraid to take risks. I’m not talking about with earning a living; I’m talking about taking chances to blend genres and push boundaries.

To even push ourselves.

There’s a real wisdom here that has been obscured by the tweets that came before. I get why some people are defensive about the money thing (Heller encouraged quitting the day job and writing) and unwilling to go there. Forget about that. I am not talking about that.

I am simply talking about the balls-free approach to writing that so many have settled for. In this past year I wrote a manuscript outside my genre. So far outside it scared the crap out of me. It ended up being a passion project that I fell in love with. It forced me to stretch as a writer.

I didn’t want to let it go. I was ready to be done writing police procedurals, to put crime writing behind me.

And then along came another character. Something I learned in the process of writing that passion project infused with this character and she didn’t just tap on my shoulder and suggest we spend some time together. Nope. She showed me the story.

I started writing January 9. Yesterday, I finished what I’m calling an unprocedural. It may be crime, and the character may be a cop, but it is far outside the lines of what I’ve done with any of my books to date. It’s personal and messy and – like that passion project I penned last year – it made me cry writing it.

Again, I have a manuscript I don’t want to let go of. For the second time in less than a year I’ve finished something I’m voluntarily re-reading. Since I re-read and revise as I go I’m usually sick of it by the time I’ve written the final words.

Not this time.

I credit how I feel about these two books to taking personal risks and infusing more of myself into the narrative. Not that the books are about me, but because I have found my emotions that connect to the character’s stories and channeled that into them.

Even at the end of this story, I wrote the last chapter and then the next day had to sit down and write it again, because there’s a second POV character in this book and I realized that I’d sidestepped the emotional depth of the scene by looking at it through the wrong eyes.

Will it matter to anyone else? Who knows. What I know is that I am most proud of these two manuscripts, and the short story I wrote last year, Crossing Jordan. That was very personal, because one of my parents is trans, but still very much in the closet day to day.

Frankly, the overwhelming majority of us aren’t making much money writing. Why should I worry about writing to formula, convention or expectations when there’s so little to gain from it?

Instead, I will take those risks, step outside my comfort zone, push myself to grow. I may not have royalty checks to cash, but I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that I didn’t play it safe.

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Micah Dean Hicks picks the Playlist for Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones

 

 

“One of my front teeth is half fake from a knife-throwing incident when I was a kid.” – Micah Dean Hicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If readers were listening to music as they enjoyed your book, what song would be playing with the opening scene? Why?

Tricky, “Hell Is Round the Corner”

 

This is the perfect song to open the book. Eerie, cautious, a warning. Martina Topley-Bird’s ethereal voice and Tricky’s prophetic chant. “Hell is round the corner where I shelter,” and it is for Jane and her brother Henry, living amongst the ghosts of Swine Hill. The spirits are swallowing the town, growing restless, drawing closer. Bad things are coming.

What song do you think best illustrates your protagonist’s emotional state during the first part of your book? Why?

St. Vincent, “Fast Slow Disco”

 

This is a great song for Jane. Possessed by a ghost that allows her to read people’s minds, Jane is always “thinking what everybody’s thinking,” even when she doesn’t want to. She’s stuck in a town she desperately wants to leave, her ghost her only friend. Still, the spirit is better than nothing. And maybe there’s reason to be hopeful. She just met someone new.

There are often significant turning points in a story that advance the plot. This can coincide with an emotional shift for a character. Do you feel like there’s a song that illustrates a defining turning point for your character? If so, which one and why?

Portishead, “Mourning Air”

 

After Jane loses everything and with nowhere else to go, she drives to her ex-boyfriend Trigger’s house. The two of them were only together a short time, “a moment … in a half lit world.” She’s almost completely alone, “reaching out in this mourning air.” Jane knows they weren’t great for each other, but Trigger is someone she can depend on. He’ll be there for her, won’t he?

Are there other songs that you imagine would be really fitting for specific scenes in your book? If so, feel free to share the songs and a little about why these songs would be fitting for your soundtrack. (For example, they can illustrate the emotions of your protagonist, antagonist, or another character, or fit thematically with an event in the story or the plot.)

The Noisettes, “Scratch Your Name”

 

This song is for Bethany, the unbeatable girl trailing thousands of ghosts in her wake. The dead won’t let her leave the dying town of Swine Hill, though, so Bethany’s stuck. She can fight and claw and rage, but nothing she does, no matter how big, seems enough to save her.

Maddie Medley, “Coming of Age”

 

This might the theme song for Jane’s boyfriend Trigger. Jane wants to know everything about him, but Trigger has secrets. No one visits his house. Something bad happened to his family, and they don’t talk about it. Still, even if he feels like he can’t tell Jane everything, he loves how she puzzles over him.

Santigold, “Creator”

 

This is Henry’s anthem. A boy possessed by a ghost that helps him build impossible machines. Henry is all unbridled confidence, thrilling in what his hands can make. He doesn’t ask should I, only can I, and the answer is always yes.

What song would be suitable for the conclusion of your novel?

She Keeps Bees, “Radiance”

 

This song is an ending. Triumphant and sweet, but so sorrowful too. How much did Jane lose to get here? What was she able to keep in the end? Read and find out.

Do you have any special events coming up? Where can people catch up with you in person or on a podcast?

On February 7th at 7pm, I’ll have a release party in Orlando, Florida, at Writers Block Bookstore. And on March 20th at 7pm, I’ll be doing an event at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’ll have a bunch of other events all through the spring. I should have an updated event schedule up on my website soon

 

Micah Dean Hicks is a Calvino Prize-winning author of fantasy, fabulism, and fairy tale retellings. His writing has appeared in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, The New York Times, Lightspeed, and Nightmare, among others. His story collection Electricity and Other Dreams is available from New American Press. Hicks teaches creative writing at the University of Central Florida. His novel Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones is coming February 2019 from John Joseph Adams Books.

Online Issue 17: “Living My Best Life”

This issue begins and ends with mourning. We mark the passing of long-time reviewer and crime fiction enthusiast, Theodore Feit, with his final review.

We’re also reeling with the fresh pain from the news that Evie Swierczynski has passed away after her fight with leukemia. Many years ago, I was hired to travel to Philadelphia and interview Duane Swierczynski for a magazine feature. I got to meet his children and Meredith. I’m lucky enough to say I’ve known Duane for many years, and yet I do not know him and his family well … and yet Duane’s posts over the past several months have made many of us feel as though Evie was a part of our family, because he captured her spirit and shared her with us all.

All I really know today is that their grief is unfathomable. In the days and weeks ahead I’ll be thinking of Duane, Meredith and Parker as they begin the unfathomable journey forward without Evie.

One thing Duane mentioned months ago was that Evie always said, “Living my best life.” For her, it was a statement of sarcasm in response to misfortunes. (DS FB June 7)

May we all cherish the moments we have and truly live our best lives.

Scroll down a bit and you’ll see a list of ways to pay tribute to a loved one’s memory.

Sticking with the Music Theme

Paul D. Brazill’s Supernatural Noir is out in stores now, and he’s sharing his new work’s playlist with us.

Author Interviews

Kelli Owen talks being a Nerdy Klutz, how that impacts her zombie apocalypse plan, and what a vampire story has to do with prejudice.

Brian Lindenmuth chats with Terrence McCauley about writing westerns.

Robert White talks about Thomas Harris, David Lindsey and Martin Cruz Smith, his protagonist’s biggest fear, and how real life events inspired Northtown Eclipse.

When The Hunger Games and The Handmaid’s Tale Collide: Barbara Winkes talks about her Dystopian tale, Cypher.

Reviews:

Sandra Ruttan takes a look at In The Galway Silence, the latest Jack Taylor novel by Ken Bruen.

Brian also has a horror review column up, just in time for Halloween.

And, in sad news, the review of The Line by Martin Limon marks Theodore Feit’s final review. Our condolences to Gloria on Ted’s unexpected passing last month. He was a long-standing reviewer who was committed to sharing his love of books, and will be missed.

Actors Wanted

Tom Leins picks the Actors who Could play Joe Rey, the Gunrunner, Slattery and Wila.

To Be Read Features

Wondering what some of your favorite author are reading these days and hoping to crack open soon?

What Do John Verdon, Annette Dashofy, Gwen Floria, Eric Beetner and Kyle Mills Have in Common? JJ Hensley talks recent reads and more.

J.L. Abramo talks about global events that impact his current reading, works by Erik Larson and Bryan Burroughs and his hopes for new Tim O’Brien novels.

 

 

Paul D. Brazill’s Supernatural Noir Playlist

 

Supernatural Noir is collection of my short stories that I consider to be both supernatural and, er, noir. And of course, there’s music all over the place!

Drunk On The Moon by Tom Waits

It started with a song. Tom Waits’ Drunk On The Moon, to be precise. A neon soaked torch song with more than a twist of noir. A song of the city at night, sung by a man who sounded like a wolf- and not just Howlin’ Wolf. And once upon a time, there was a magazine named Dark Valentine who were looking for cross genre short stories. So, I wrote a yarn about a werewolf private eye. And I called it Drunk On The Moon.

Gloomy Sunday by Mel Torme

One of the regular cast of the Roman Dalton world in Duffy, bar owner and Mel Torme fan.

I Ain’t Superstitious by Howlin Wolf.

The first song on the Wurlitzer jukebox in Duffy’s Bar when Roman Dalton – werewolf private eye- walks into the bar.

She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler

Sometimes a You Tube recommendation is good. And sometimes, it’s so good you have to use its title for one of your yarns.

Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Bad Moon Rising has probably used in dozens of werewolf books and films. Not that would stop me using it for one of my yarns.  But since my sister sent me a t-shirt that said Black Moon Rising, that was the title I used.

The Endless Sleep by Robert Gordon

Teenage Death Songs were popular in the late ‘50s and ‘60s. The most famous is probably the Shangri Las Leader of the Pack. Some of those ditties even had a supernatural aspect, such as John Leyton’s Johnny Remember Me or Jody Reynolds’ Endless Sleep. I’ve chosen the version by the effortlessly cool Robert Gordon.

Stamp Of A Vamp by Vic Godard and Subway Sect

Vic Godard’s Subway Sect were on of the first handful of British punk bands. Blatantly anti-rock and ant-stupid, they had little to no chance of the commercial success of the likes of The Clash and Sex Pistols. By the time I eventually got to see them – at Marton Country Club in the early ‘80s- Vic Godard had ditched dirty, smelly rock completely and had embraced swing and crooning with great gusto. Stamp Of A Vamp was their first single from that period and although major commercial success continues to elude Vic, he is still on the go and out and about.

Spectre vs Rector by The Fall

Even as early as their second album – Dragnet, 1979 – The Fall’s professionally cantankerous Mark E. Smith was keen to alienate as many people as possible with this painfully produced, but brilliant album. Spectre vs. Rector is a ghost story. As is my gangster yarn Spectres.

Supernatural Noir is published on 31st October but you can pre-order it now, if you fancy!

Paul also dropped by to share his playlist for Small Time Crimes.

Cheers!

Bio: Paul D. Brazill’s books include Last Year’s Man, Supernatural Noir, A Case Of Noir, and Kill Me Quick. He has had writing published in various magazines and anthologies, including The Mammoth Books of Best British Crime. He has even edited a few anthologies, including the best-selling True Brit Grit – with Luca Veste. His blog is here.

Online Issue 14

Author Lee Murray talks about her novel, Into the Sounds, and how traveling has shaped her life and writing, the actor she’d pick to play her protagonist for the series and her faithful author assistant, Bella.

Stuart R. West drops by to talk about his faithful companion, Zak, and his novels Secret Society (which may be one of the most original takes on a serial killer story) and how a real-life ghost town inspired Ghosts of Gannaway.

Jon O’Bergh is back to share the music his characters in The Shatter Point would listen to.

S.D. Hintz is also giving us the goods on the nosey neighbors who inspired The Witching Well and the reason he may just live in the creepiest house, ever.

ICYMI, Brian talked to Steph Post and Nik Norpon about their tattoos. And there’s a new story up at Zombie Cat: Waiting on the Stress Boxes by David Hagerty.

Goldilocks and the Dark Barometer

Every now and again, someone writes about the darkness that permeates Young Adult fiction. This leads to speculation about whether it is too dark, and summaries on the topic. I could do likewise, but I felt Alyssa Monera already did that so well, I don’t need to.

What I did decide was that I would focus on reading some popular YA authors and titles and see what I thought. So, reads over the past few months classified as YA have included Nightwolf, Salt, The Fragile Ordinary, The Forest of Hands and Teeth…

Out of all of these offerings, Nightwolf is probably the darkest. Salt has monsters and The Forest of Hands and Teeth has zombies, but Nightwolf focuses on real horrors some kids today live with, and although it isn’t pure noir, there is a sense of hopelessness and futility that permeate the story. It isn’t what I’d call cheery. The other titles have varying degrees of hope – for resolution of problems, for overcoming difficult situations, for the future. I didn’t find any of this unrelentingly dark.

Now, your mileage may vary. But here’s the thing. Young people are dealing with a lot of crap. We did, too, in our day. They’re trying to figure out who they are, what they want out of life and what others expect of them. They have to make decisions that will shape their entire future. And they’re looking at a war of words between politicians that might lead to war with North Korea and all kinds of other crap going on that could change their future. They want to assume control of their lives but they aren’t adults, so they’re caught between taking responsibility for their actions and having limited authority for their choices.

And everything they do is presented on social media for all the world to see.

Frankly, the stuff I’ve heard about via the kids over recent years has been numbing. They are far more aware of a lot of crap than I ever was. And I specifically started watching The Walking Dead because their biomom was watching it with them when they were eleven. Brian and I always felt we should have some sense of what they were watching and being exposed to so that we could have informed conversations about it, so a show I’d resisted watching became part of our regular viewing. (And they had some good seasons, so for a while it wasn’t a chore at all.) Frankly, if they can watch that when they aren’t even teens, it’s got to be pretty damn hard to top that level of darkness in fiction.

People read for all kinds of reasons, and one of those reasons is to escape. Another is to learn about things they otherwise wouldn’t get answers about. And another is to help them process things they’re dealing with.

Hells bells, I’m just glad to see young people reading. You want to read dark? Read on, I say.

Reviews:

Review: Salt by Hannah Moskowitz

 

Review: The Fragile Ordinary by Samantha Young

 

Review: Creatures of Want and Ruin by Molly Tanzer

 

Review: The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer

 

Review: Walking Shadows by Faye Kellerman

 

Review: Robert B. Parker’s Colorblind by Reed Farrel Coleman

 

Bye Bye Kindle Boards

From their new terms of service:

“You agree to grant to KBOARDS.COM a non exclusive, royalty free, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual license to reproduce, distribute, transmit, sublicense, create derivative works of, publicly display, publish and perform any materials and other information you submit to any public areas, chat rooms, bulletin boards, newsgroups or forums of KBOARDS.COM or which you provide by email or any other means to KBOARDS.COM and in any media now known or hereafter developed. Further, you grant to KBOARDS.COM the right to use your name and or user name in connection with the submitted materials and other information as well as in connection with all advertising, marketing and promotional material related thereto, together with use on any other VerticalScope Inc. web sites. You agree that you shall have no recourse against VerticalScope Inc. for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your communications to KBOARDS.COM.”

You have to email and ask for all your information to be removed. Always nice for some assholes to come along and change the terms of service after the fact so that people’s information is already being sold. Jerks. Time to sign off.

Hulu Programming Campaign for Letterkenny

Now, Brian’s new favorite show is a Canadian show called Letterkenny. The first two seasons are on Hulu, and he wants them to get all the seasons added. So here’s hoping some of you will have a full appreciation for the quirky humor and jump on the bandwagon. Season 1 has a running joke starting episode 2 that has payoff in the final episode of the season…. just brilliant. These clips have nothing to do with the ostrich fucker, or my favorite joke about a certain book, or even the super-soft birthday party, but they do help set the tone of the show.

 

Now, this one… maybe not young kid friendly. But a great illustration of ‘show not tell’ writing. I know exactly what Wayne and Daryl think about Squirrely Dan’s revelation about his sexual experience without so much as a word from either of them.

 

Soundtrack: What The Shatter Point Characters are Rockin’ Out To

Asher Williams is a sensitive musician in a band inspired by Little Dragon. He’s always been drawn to music, and begged his parents for piano lessons after seeing a Tori Amos video. His tastes are shaped by a deeper connection with music, so he favors artistry and complexity over simplistic music with mass appeal. “Flavor” by Tori Amos captures Asher’s initial spirit as he struggles with his own choices not unlike those presented in the lyrics.

In a more boisterous mood, he rocks out to “Klapp Klapp” by Little Dragon since it’s one of his favorite bands and he once saw them perform in Los Angeles.

 

Asher’s girlfriend, Jada Mercer, is quite different from him. Men are drawn into her brisk orbit like shooting stars that flame briefly before burning out. She’s always pushing the envelope in search of excitement. Plugged into all the latest trends, she follows a popular but violent rapper named ‘Lil Freaky. She imagines being able to run her hands through a pile of gems like Rhianna does at the start of “Diamonds”.

Her favorite song is “Money (That’s What I Want)” by Charli XCX, but she doesn’t realize it’s a cover of a song that has been recorded numerous times since the 1950s.

 

Ruth Littleton came of age during the 1970s and stopped listening to popular music not long thereafter, as if her life became frozen in time. Her perpetually pinched mouth betrays a judgmental view of the world. She adored Joni Mitchell’s album For the Roses when it came out in 1972, and thinks of it fondly years later, after gardening and roses became her passion. In 1975 she fell in love with the fragility of Joni’s “Shades of Scarlett Conquering,” perhaps because she identifies with the woman at the heart of the song.

At her funeral, she would like the traditional song “Bread and Roses” played, as recorded by Judy Collins.

 

After divorcing her abusive husband, Donna Woods devoted her life to raising her toddler son. It was not easy as a single mother, especially during his teenage years when he became destructive. Despite the struggles, her eyes still gleam with the look of a perennial optimist. Yet she’s no fool, and her mouth suggests a sensible disposition. Recently remarried, she anticipates that things are finally looking up. When she was fifteen, the new hit “Rhythm Nation” by Janet Jackson energized her so much that she learned all the moves.

She also finds such lyrics inspiring. Having grown up listening to Prince and Sheila E., Donna was thrilled when Sheila E. released “Funky National Anthem: Message 2 America” in 2017.

 

Donna’s son, Billy Nicodemus, fears that he inherited his father’s propensity to violence. He remains resentful about his father’s abandonment. Perhaps that is why he is drawn to Ugly Kid Joe’s version of the Harry Chapin hit “Cat’s in the Cradle”.

Not many years ago, as a teenager, Billy would break into people’s houses and smash their televisions. But how long can he keep those demons at bay? He drove away the one girlfriend who could have saved him, and now he’s in a melancholy mood, listening to “Floating” by Sun Kil Moon.

 

Jon has a music blog, Song of Fire (https://obergh.net/songoffire), where he posts various musings on music from time to time. He’s also regularly active on Twitter @jon_obergh

Check out our interview with Jon about The Shatter Point,

what he’s been reading lately,

and where he got his love of story-telling from.

 

Jon O’Bergh is an author and musician who loves a good scare. He grew up in Southern California, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California at Irvine. A fan of ghost stories and horror movies, Jon came up with the idea for “The Shatter Point” after watching a documentary about extreme haunts. He has released over a dozen albums in a variety of styles, including the atmospheric album “Ghost Story.” After many years living in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., he now spends most of his time with his husband in Toronto.