Kevin Candela | Titles: Mushroom Summer, The Ballad of Chalice Rayne and Dragon’s Game (a.k.a. The Dragon’s Game Trilogy) on Riot Forge, also nine short stories featured in the following J. Ellington Ashton Press collections: Straight to Video, Straight 2 Video, JEApers Creepers, Doorway to Death, Suburban Secrets: A Neighborhood of Nightmares and Drowning in Gore. Upcoming JEA novel A Year in the Borderlands. 1. If you had one image/idea to represent you, what would it be? I think the Mona Lisa dragon face depicted so brilliantly by artist Kati Drinkwine on the cover of my book Dragon’s Game is probably it. I’m the kind of guy who figures the dragon was saving the beautiful young girl from her selfish fellow townsfolk, all of whom were willing to sell her off for good crops or protection. 2. What’s one theme you cover and explore within your writing? The Truth. I know this is an elusive cryptid in a subjective universe but the world epidemic of pro-conflict propaganda, denial and self-delusion is something I feel compelled to resist. The Dragon’s Game Trilogy, a twelve year effort, pulls back the media lies and reveals the ultimate greed and power lust of a few individuals bent on controlling the Earth and using it to further their own raw, selfish ambitions. |
3. Give us one (or 2) character(s), tell us the book(s) and tell us why you admire/hate/love that person.
Chalice Rayne is sweet and loveable and wants to save the world but doesn’t really know how. She’s the farthest thing from a modern era butt kicking female protagonist though: an absolute peacenik, she is extremely vulnerable to the dark forces she seeks to expose as the trilogy begins. But she deals with it. In the end she doesn’t become what they are. She finds another way (admittedly with the help of a couple of more world-wise people with the same noble intentions.) Still, I love her for her wondrous heart. She’s kind of a really hot little Gandhi.
4. Pick one of your covers and tell us how that represents your book. Who did the cover? How was the experience? What was the planning like?
Well, since I already mentioned Kati’s great work on Dragon’s Game (she did the beautifully eerie cover for The Ballad of Chalice Rayne too) I’ll go with the cover “Superman” Don (D.F.) Noble did for Mushroom Summer. I told Don “Well, how about some bright red-yellow-green fungi on there to both grab the eye of the potential buyer and depict the core concept of the first book: that alien intelligences may well exist within the networks of mycelia of mushrooms?” Don knew well where I was coming from as he and I had talked of Terence McKenna, cathedrals of the mind and machine elves the first time we met. And so the trippy cover, with Chalice in the center of a mind expansion mandala, was born.
5. What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Is it easy? Why?
Like anything (self) publishing is easier if you know someone who is doing it already. The groundbreaker again here was Don, who was already self-publishing and had the system more or less down. He showed me how to format so I do that for myself now (unless I sign a contract to let someone else do it.) He also put together the books once they were formatted, adding his (and later Kati’s) artwork and finishing the documents for upload. We had to go back and forth some once I went into upload mode so that I checked and marked all the right boxes for Createspace and Kindle. But once I had published Mushroom Summer I went back, looked at everything I’d marked and written and created a “publishing guide” MS Word document to make the process much easier for subsequent book uploads. After three books I pretty much know where to put the check marks, etc. anyway though.
6. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
Ideally that it is important and that I have created something worthy of those writers, musicians, scientists, philosophers and movie makers who influenced me. Oh, and that I was on the good guys’ side and I went about it all very cleverly. That’s ideally. I’d settle for “the guy was out there but his books are really fun.”
7. Do you have favorite words to use in writing? What are they?
I like to work in every word I can. It bugs me when I catch myself repeating an uncommon word twice in a paragraph or two; makes me feel like the thing is echoing around in my head. Specific words really appeal to me but I can’t just pick one. I roll D and D dice on occasion to determine alien character names, but by the same token I often seek meaning in the name by going to behindthename.com and running a little research. The real key is that in the end whatever words you use run like a roller coaster and don’t hit snags.
8. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had?
Well, I’ve made myself laugh a few times. I guess tops to this point would be my short story Emerald City Confidential, which is to be featured in an upcoming Riot Forge anthology called Baum-Ass Tales. The story is narrated by the No Longer Cowardly Lion, who is telling a tale of intrigue in which he gets drunk in a bar, is shanghaied and eventually tortured for information. The torture is unique: he’s still drunk, very proud of his fine clothes, and his interrogator straps him to a rotating wheel and spins him around until he throws up and ruins his suit. Thinking about that scene is making me smile again even now. His best line: “If you’re not supposed to eat them how come they’re called Munchkins?”
9. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
Mushroom Summer came out of the cosmos while I was mowing our lawn. After its completion a similar bolt from the blue named both of its sequels at the same time. I knew The Ballad of Chalice Rayne and Dragon’s Game would be the titles the moment they popped into my head (in the hot tub, in fact.) A Year in the Borderlands came from the concept (one story dedicated to each month of the year) and the idea that the Borderlands were the space where our reality meets others. Plus Twilight Zone and Outer Limits were already taken. I guess, like my man Keith Richards has said many times, “I’m just an antenna and it’s coming to me from somewhere else.”
10. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
Character and plot. I’m an engineer by trade, not a writer, so all that book-standard technique has had to come to me as I’ve struggled along. I like to think that I can envision very believable and well-defined characters without beating on the details. And I’ll stand by my plots. My stories start somewhere, go somewhere and the path can be traced (generally without too much effort and with little contradiction.) I’d also like to think that I have my style down fairly well by now and my work is an easy read.
Chalice Rayne is sweet and loveable and wants to save the world but doesn’t really know how. She’s the farthest thing from a modern era butt kicking female protagonist though: an absolute peacenik, she is extremely vulnerable to the dark forces she seeks to expose as the trilogy begins. But she deals with it. In the end she doesn’t become what they are. She finds another way (admittedly with the help of a couple of more world-wise people with the same noble intentions.) Still, I love her for her wondrous heart. She’s kind of a really hot little Gandhi.
4. Pick one of your covers and tell us how that represents your book. Who did the cover? How was the experience? What was the planning like?
Well, since I already mentioned Kati’s great work on Dragon’s Game (she did the beautifully eerie cover for The Ballad of Chalice Rayne too) I’ll go with the cover “Superman” Don (D.F.) Noble did for Mushroom Summer. I told Don “Well, how about some bright red-yellow-green fungi on there to both grab the eye of the potential buyer and depict the core concept of the first book: that alien intelligences may well exist within the networks of mycelia of mushrooms?” Don knew well where I was coming from as he and I had talked of Terence McKenna, cathedrals of the mind and machine elves the first time we met. And so the trippy cover, with Chalice in the center of a mind expansion mandala, was born.
5. What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Is it easy? Why?
Like anything (self) publishing is easier if you know someone who is doing it already. The groundbreaker again here was Don, who was already self-publishing and had the system more or less down. He showed me how to format so I do that for myself now (unless I sign a contract to let someone else do it.) He also put together the books once they were formatted, adding his (and later Kati’s) artwork and finishing the documents for upload. We had to go back and forth some once I went into upload mode so that I checked and marked all the right boxes for Createspace and Kindle. But once I had published Mushroom Summer I went back, looked at everything I’d marked and written and created a “publishing guide” MS Word document to make the process much easier for subsequent book uploads. After three books I pretty much know where to put the check marks, etc. anyway though.
6. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
Ideally that it is important and that I have created something worthy of those writers, musicians, scientists, philosophers and movie makers who influenced me. Oh, and that I was on the good guys’ side and I went about it all very cleverly. That’s ideally. I’d settle for “the guy was out there but his books are really fun.”
7. Do you have favorite words to use in writing? What are they?
I like to work in every word I can. It bugs me when I catch myself repeating an uncommon word twice in a paragraph or two; makes me feel like the thing is echoing around in my head. Specific words really appeal to me but I can’t just pick one. I roll D and D dice on occasion to determine alien character names, but by the same token I often seek meaning in the name by going to behindthename.com and running a little research. The real key is that in the end whatever words you use run like a roller coaster and don’t hit snags.
8. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had?
Well, I’ve made myself laugh a few times. I guess tops to this point would be my short story Emerald City Confidential, which is to be featured in an upcoming Riot Forge anthology called Baum-Ass Tales. The story is narrated by the No Longer Cowardly Lion, who is telling a tale of intrigue in which he gets drunk in a bar, is shanghaied and eventually tortured for information. The torture is unique: he’s still drunk, very proud of his fine clothes, and his interrogator straps him to a rotating wheel and spins him around until he throws up and ruins his suit. Thinking about that scene is making me smile again even now. His best line: “If you’re not supposed to eat them how come they’re called Munchkins?”
9. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
Mushroom Summer came out of the cosmos while I was mowing our lawn. After its completion a similar bolt from the blue named both of its sequels at the same time. I knew The Ballad of Chalice Rayne and Dragon’s Game would be the titles the moment they popped into my head (in the hot tub, in fact.) A Year in the Borderlands came from the concept (one story dedicated to each month of the year) and the idea that the Borderlands were the space where our reality meets others. Plus Twilight Zone and Outer Limits were already taken. I guess, like my man Keith Richards has said many times, “I’m just an antenna and it’s coming to me from somewhere else.”
10. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
Character and plot. I’m an engineer by trade, not a writer, so all that book-standard technique has had to come to me as I’ve struggled along. I like to think that I can envision very believable and well-defined characters without beating on the details. And I’ll stand by my plots. My stories start somewhere, go somewhere and the path can be traced (generally without too much effort and with little contradiction.) I’d also like to think that I have my style down fairly well by now and my work is an easy read.
| Name: Samantha Gregory Titles: After, Queen of Hell Down and Dirty Questions: 1. What s one theme you cover and explore within your writing? I’ve always liked the idea of the outsider or the outcast being the hero. I think being an outsider gives you a unique perspective. 2. Give us one (or 2) character (s) (tell us the book(s)) and tell us why you admire/hate/ love that person. I think my favorite character to date is Mackenzie Murphy from Daemon Persuasion. She’s tough, kicks butt and can take care of herself. Despite being a half demon, she cares about others. 3. Pick one of your covers and tell us how that represents your book. Who did the cover? How was the experience? What was the planning like? I’ve loved all the covers of my books but I love the After cover. It’s eye-catching and creepy. I wouldn’t have thought of using the zombie Jenna comes across as the cover photo but it works. It is the first moment where Jenna realizes that zombies are still out there. The cover was created by Susan Simone. |  |
4. What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Easy? Why?
For me, getting published was relatively easy, but I believe that it was timing and luck. While I had submitted other work in the past to publishers, it was nowhere near ready for publication. I think small presses are the future. Sure, everyone would love the big name publisher and the royalty check that comes with it, but with a smaller press you know you are being listened to and you have more of a say. I love the atmosphere of JEA. It is a real community, which you wouldn’t get with a big publisher.
5. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
I would like them to say –She tells great stories. If one person loves my books and looks forward to future releases then I’ll be happy.
6. Do you have favorite words to use in writing? What are they?
I don’t have favorite words but I do find myself using the odd phrase in different projects and then I have to change it.
7.. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
Sometimes the title comes first, although this is rare. Once the book is written I try to think of a theme or phrase that works. After was actually the file name on my computer and it stuck. I chose Queen of Hell for my other book because I think it is an interesting title and tells you what the story is about.
8. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
I think I write good dialogue. I try to sound as natural as possible and read it out loud. It helps that I like to talk so I have plenty of practice.
For me, getting published was relatively easy, but I believe that it was timing and luck. While I had submitted other work in the past to publishers, it was nowhere near ready for publication. I think small presses are the future. Sure, everyone would love the big name publisher and the royalty check that comes with it, but with a smaller press you know you are being listened to and you have more of a say. I love the atmosphere of JEA. It is a real community, which you wouldn’t get with a big publisher.
5. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
I would like them to say –She tells great stories. If one person loves my books and looks forward to future releases then I’ll be happy.
6. Do you have favorite words to use in writing? What are they?
I don’t have favorite words but I do find myself using the odd phrase in different projects and then I have to change it.
7.. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
Sometimes the title comes first, although this is rare. Once the book is written I try to think of a theme or phrase that works. After was actually the file name on my computer and it stuck. I chose Queen of Hell for my other book because I think it is an interesting title and tells you what the story is about.
8. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
I think I write good dialogue. I try to sound as natural as possible and read it out loud. It helps that I like to talk so I have plenty of practice.
 coming soon | Name: Tina Piney Titles: The Warp in Whittick Estates Down and Dirty Questions: 1. If you had one image/idea to represent you, what would it be? That would be impossible. I am so many people, all within myself. If I was so limited, I would feel as though my soul had been jailed. 2. What s one theme you cover and explore within your writing? Dementia. Is there anything really, more terrifying than losing your mind and who you are. Spiders and trees that grow out of deep water, yes, also scary but putting your whole life into who you are just to lose it near the end. When my grandfather, who was a brilliant man, lost his grip on reality in the end, he would do things like phone me up and ask me for the number to call his dead mother. He knew she was dead but thought it would be so much easier to call her because he kept seeing her ghost and wanted to speak with her again. It made me think about how it feels to have your body in reality and your mind somewhere else. |
3 What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Easy? Why?
I’m new to this. Suburban Secrets is only my second published story so I would have to say the whole idea is still pretty damned exciting.
4. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
“I can’t wait to read what she writes next!”
5. Do you have favorite words to use in writing?
I always thought bamboozled was a funny word though, maybe I’ll work that in somewhere. “Ham bag” also funny.
6. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had?
When I was writing “Chuckles” and he weighs his new role as the liberator of the dead dogs against his current moniker and decides to keep Chuckles because Liberator would make a shitty clown name. I still laugh out loud when I read it.
7. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
My stories so far have sort of named themselves due to content. I did have a couple of ideas for “Warp” though and I put them out there to my fellow writers to see which one sparked the most interest. It was so helpful to have that kind of support.
8. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
I’m a beginner so I can’t really say for sure but it seems no matter what I’m writing about I always seem to find the character’s emotional flaws and drag them out in the open.
I’m new to this. Suburban Secrets is only my second published story so I would have to say the whole idea is still pretty damned exciting.
4. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you?
“I can’t wait to read what she writes next!”
5. Do you have favorite words to use in writing?
I always thought bamboozled was a funny word though, maybe I’ll work that in somewhere. “Ham bag” also funny.
6. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had?
When I was writing “Chuckles” and he weighs his new role as the liberator of the dead dogs against his current moniker and decides to keep Chuckles because Liberator would make a shitty clown name. I still laugh out loud when I read it.
7. How do you title a book? Where does it come from?
My stories so far have sort of named themselves due to content. I did have a couple of ideas for “Warp” though and I put them out there to my fellow writers to see which one sparked the most interest. It was so helpful to have that kind of support.
8. What are your strongest abilities in writing?
I’m a beginner so I can’t really say for sure but it seems no matter what I’m writing about I always seem to find the character’s emotional flaws and drag them out in the open.
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