Art - Tiziano Cremonini

Art - Tiziano Cremonini 

Space Battle

Sketch (untitled)

Astronaught and Dying Satellite Above Planet

Untitled (Atmosphere)

Space Battle Over Mountains

(Untitled) View of Planet

You can check out Tiziano's bio here

Interview with D J. Elton

Interview with D J. Elton

Q. Welcome to the blog. I’d like to begin by giving you a chance to introduce yourself. I guess author bios grow with every story you get published.

A: Hi Chris! Thanks for the opportunity to do this interview for your blog. It’s always a good reflective time, as someone else’s questions can trigger new ideas and attitudes to do with the writing journey. Actually, in my bio I don’t usually name specific stories or poetry, just share a growing list of publishers who’ve accepted my work. There’s probably around ten or twelve indie publishers that I’ve worked with, and some have come and gone, unfortunately, especially this year. I usually keep a bio size of around a hundred words. In fact I haven’t considered putting every published story into it, that could grow too big! I’m hopeful! All that aside, I write speculative fiction which includes dark fantasy, science fiction (mine is always about robots), and some horror (mostly with humour). I also write poetry about anything at all, some essays and paranormal romance.

Q. You’ve appeared in over 24 anthologies in the last three years. How did it all start?

A: My first accepted microfiction story, or drabble was called Crow and it went in a Black Hare Press anthology by the name of Angels. It was very, very exciting. The initial buzz of having one’s work recognised enough to be accepted is something very thrilling. So I kept on going, submitting to various calls from Black Hare Press, who were really into their drabble phase at the time. A drabble is a 100 word story. So, more acceptances and then I was writing short stories averaging around 5000 words or so for BHP, and other publishers as I got to know the field more.

Q. I get the feeling from your blog that your inspiration often comes from the anthology itself. When you’re given a theme to write about, the ideas come and the sparks start flying. Is this the secret to your success?

A: Earlier this year there were some anthology calls from a few publishers that were looking for legends and tales of old myths, as well as some Asian magical creatures. I did the research into these areas and found what really held my interest and what I could weave a story around. It was great fun to do. So there’s the research on various themes as well as one's own spark of inspiration, the personal stylistic weaving of the tale added to the mix. I did some postgraduate studies on Writing and Literature so that has also helped in my general repertoire.

Q. You’ve worked with a number of publishers. Who have been your favourites?

A: I continue to work with Black Hare Press although in the past couple of months I haven’t written or submitted too much as I’ve been packing up a house and all that it entails. I’m involved in a collection of stories about the versatile Alice, (of Wonderland fame), having pitched an idea, having it accepted, and then along with 12 other authors an anthology is being put together, which I’ve led. It’s been a good learning curve – working with the publisher plus with twelve authors. The Thirteen Lives of Alice is due out in November 2021. BHP are my favourite and they have grown broadly in what they can offer writers these days. Sweetycat Press and Clarendon House Publishing have also accepted my work including poetry, essays, and stories. Both have been super easy to work with and are fairly rock-steady, which is healthy. Kelly Matsuura at Insignia Stories is always a delight to work with; she is based in Japan. So I have publishers in Australia, US, and UK mostly. One was even in Pakistan!

Q. So if there are publishers you tend to go back to, how about the ones you vow never to contact again? Best not mention any by name here, but I’m interested to ask about any of the bad experiences you’ve had too. What advice do you have to publishers about how to (and how not to) treat their authors?

A: Actually I’ve never thought, “oh, I’ll never work with that group again.” What I have seen happen, in my fairly brief yet productive indie writing career, is that some publishers come and go. Of course there is a lot of interest in the new press, and I am speaking about speculative fiction here. Everyone is attracted to interesting, exciting calls to write, and especially if there is some form of payment. However if the publisher gets too zealous with putting out too many calls, and writers can be a voracious lot, the publishing team – if not well-organised and forward-visioning – can tend to burn out with work overload. I’ve seen this happen and it’s unfortunate. One minute here and then they are gone, and it becomes complicated when you may have work with them, contracts and expectations of publication. Publishers are good when they are well aware of their capacity of what calls they can manage and have a timely response to the submissions being received. Sometimes the crossing of business and personal boundaries complicates things too, as in any work environment.

Q. How about an introduction to the Zero Hour Anthology. It looks like a great sci-fi collection.

A: Zero Hour is a great cyberpunk read. It’s one of Black Hare Press’s 13 author series and David Green brilliantly moved it along. It’s about a time in the future where body parts can be readily augmented although there are degrees of quality in the results. It's big business and so corruption and power-hunger is there. The overall story covers the athletic side of augments, and details some fascinating characters including a female prize fighter and a renegade DJ. I’m happy to plug the book as it's a very interesting read, and I’ve been in quite a few anthologies with most of the authors, so I like to read their work.

Q. I’m also interested in your Alice in Wonderland themed anthology. Is this still a project in the works? How does the copyright work with such a project?

A: I spoke a little about The Thirteen Lives of Alice before. You’re right, it’s still a work in progress and will be out later in 2021. All the stories are uniquely new takes on a girl called Alice having an adventure whether it be dark fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, crime or horror. So it contains a range of these flavours and from what I have seen so far – some great stories - Alice gets to go everywhere! It’s very 2021 and even futuristic. (No spoilers!) The authors invited to be part of this all have their own exceptional style, so it’s very exciting. I can’t wait to see the end product. As Alice in Wonderland was originally published over one hundred years ago, in the 1860s, it’s long-time been in the public domain, so it can be freely used and produced. Copyright would be with newer works; e.g. Disney and other movie versions.

Q. Okay, back to your writing. You say on your blog that typically you’re a 5 a.m. writer. Take us through the routine.

A: Actually I would be getting up quite early, to do an hour of meditation, then I would write for an hour or so. This changed lately as I’ve been in Sydney, in a different environment, so my writing got a bit haphazard. Since July it’s picked up though, and now I’m intending to write at night, between 8-10pm, as the early morning time can’t work now in the way it previously did. Early morning writing is good though, as you are more clear-headed and it flows better. But we snatch what time we can get. My busy life doesn’t allow me to sit at a desk all day to write. That would be such a luxury.

Q. Do you do research for all of your stories?

A: I do research more and more these days. I love it! I love history anyway, especially medieval and Wars of the Roses, that era, but I’ve also branched into Norse mythology earlier this year and it’s something quite interesting, as is the SE Asian research on mythical creatures etc. A little bit of research can give so many great ideas to follow through with a story, or at least a piece of 100 word microfiction. The drabble is a complete story, even at 100 words. But yes, I research events and people for most stories.

Q. Has the lockdown been a help or hindrance to your writing?

A: I don’t have a designated writing space although where I am currently had a big solid beautiful desk, so that’s definitely an incentive to write! So usually I go to a library close by. I like libraries a lot, especially big spacious ones. I often do edits there or write up a plot. So with lockdown the libraries are unfortunately shut. That’s one thing. Otherwise lockdown hasn’t dictated too much of an effect on my writing. I would think perhaps some writers are relishing the time at home to write longer and more freely.

Q. I guess I haven’t asked much about your life away from writing and it’s nice to include at least one question about that. So what do you do when you’re away from all this?

A: Lately I’ve been packing up a house, and then spending time living in a few different communities of people I have known for a long time who are meditators. It’s a really positive environment with people who are doing work on themselves and coming together within a group. I like it a lot. So I am getting healthier and fitter as there is a lot of walking during the day, and the air here in the mountains is cleaner and certainly very fresh. I’m getting a huge dose of nature! Usually I go yearly to India, and perhaps also the Philippines or Malaysia, but that’s not possible now, even interstate travel is problematic with Covid, so life has adapted to this. And of course I like to read, and catch up with people here and globally.

Q. Would you ever consider writing a novel about your travel experiences?

A: I have a few novel ideas floating on the backburner. They are usually something of a fantasy-memoir mix. Possibly urban fantasy. This year I intend to take the NanoWriMo month of writing more seriously and get cracking on a novella at least. I could throw in some travel experiences I guess, (thanks for the suggestion), as I have certainly had some adventures whilst travelling that could take a fantasy direction. Haha! Some of my short stories are set in foreign lands I have visited; India, Sumatra..Asian countries.

Thanks very much for the interview D J. Elton.

Thanks to you too Chris, for the opportunity! (Alice was always very curious!)

You can check out D J. Elton's blog here

connect with her on twitter here

and on facebook here

Bookspot - Jack Stellar: The Galactic Misadventure by Jeremy P Bickham

Bookspot - Jack Stellar: The Galactic Misadventure by Jeremy P Bickham 

Plenty of fast-paced fun and packed with adventure, this is the kind of sci-fi book you always wanted to read when you were a kid.

From a Dwarf Galaxy many light years away, comes the story of an unlikely hero who comes to the aid of a young princess with the help of some equally unusual companions. Join Jack Stellar and his little galactic gang in a space fantasy filled with adventure, humor and fun in Jack Stellar: The Galactic Misadventure!

Interview with E. E. King

Interview with Elizabeth Eve King (E. E. King)

Q. Your short story The Roots of Benevolence (great story by the way!) has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Am I right in saying that this is the fifth time you’ve been nominated?

A: Thanks so much! Yes, this is my fifth nomination. I had three nominations this year, one in 2015 and one in 2016. It’s an honour to be nominated, and I am very grateful. The Pushcart is small press, not big bucks. It’s the skinny street urchin who thumbs her nose at the fat, rich banker.

Q. You’ve had quite a successful career as a writer so far. How about taking us back to the beginning: how did it all start?

A: Well, my father was a writer, and my mother was a liar, so I grew up with stories.

I didn’t begin writing much myself, until about 2002. I was working as the Art & Science Director of Esperanza, a non-profit in LA. I suck at discipline. So, when I taught the art classes, I’d keep the kids quiet by telling them stories. One of these grew into my first children’s book, The Adventures of Emily Finfeather about a little girl who could manipulate dreams. I told the children many tales I later published.

Then I was bit by an idea about a Zagat Guide to the Afterlife which was published as a story and grew into a novel.

I’ve been very fortunate in working with publishers, but I’ve had nothing but grief with agents.

Q. Is it true that you met Ray Bradbury?

A: Yes – more than that. He was my mentor and second father.

He once said to me, “I am your rabbi and your priest, this is your temple, now go write!”

One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the steps into my parents’ living room and listening to the authors in my dad’s writers group read aloud from their latest works.

My father, Dolph Sharp, was born in Long Island N.Y. As a young man, he wrote reviews and satirical shorts for a Hempstead, Long Island paper, later moving to Tucson and then to California. Daddy made his living writing fiction for magazines like Colliers, The Saturday Evening Post and Women’s Day.

One of his works, “The Tragedy in Jancie Brierman’s Life,” was published in The Best American Short Stories of 1948. Having just moved to California for his health he was looking for literary companionship. Searching through the Table of Contents, he called all the writers living in Los Angeles.

Not long after, Ray Bradbury, Sanora Babb, Wilma Shore, Joseph Petracca, Elliott Grennard and Ben Maddow met, along with my father, each week, at Canters Deli. Over pastrami on rye with pickles and sauerkraut, they shared stories. My mother offered to pick up the deli supplies and host the meetings at our home in the Hollywood Hills. And so, for over 30 years, they came to Blair Drive. There were drinks and smokes and laughter…always laughter.

These were the best of times. The group formed in the 1940s and lasted all the way to the late 1970s when my father became too ill to host.

My father wrote a number of short parodies, “I’m OK you’re not so Hot,” and Ludwig Von Wolfgang Vulture.” When I began to write, long after my father’s death, Ray became my mentor.

He loved The Adventures of Emily Finfeather, because it deals with an outcast… Ray himself was such an outcast. When he was eight, his classmates mocked him for collecting Buck Rodger’s comic books. To be accepted, Ray burned the books. Afterwards, he became depressed and wondered why. Then it dawned on him… it was because he had burned Buck!

“These people were not my friends,” he said. “My friends would not have told me to burn Buck!” (Later, Ray would have much more to say about the burning of books, but that is another story. Though I have a letter he sent to my father saying he thought Fahrenheit 451 would, “make more of a splash.”)

Ray determined never again to let other people influence him or his work. Being true to your own voice and following your own star was Ray’s recipe for writers. Every time he saw me, he demanded, “Are you writing every day, Evie?” and I knew I had always better say yes.

“Throw it up in the morning and clean it up in the afternoon!” he said. And I do.

Q. You have a background in acting and comedy and now do literary stand up. So what exactly is literary stand up?

A: Haha. Well, it’s a word I invented for reading funny flash shorts. They don’t have to be funny, but I do like hearing an audience laugh, and many literary readings are stiff and not fun.

Q. One of your most famous books is Dirk Quigby's Guide to the Afterlife. How about a quick introduction to this, and of where the idea came from?

A: I first got the idea of a Zagat guide to the Afterlife, with ratings for food, drink, entry requirements and music.

My hapless hero Dirk is an unfulfilled adman who thinks there must be more to life than life. So, he takes a class in religion and the afterlife. Turn out it’s taught by Lucifer. The devil is unhappy. Hell is overcrowded. “What with overpopulation and global warming, Hell compares very favourably to New York or Tokyo on a hot day.”

So, Lucifer hires Dirk Quigby to pen a travel guide enticing travelers to different afterlives: Hindu, Catholic, Protestant (that one's got a lot of subdivisions), Scientology, and more.

Instead of writing a boffo best seller, Dirk unites all religions in a common goal: Kill Dirk.

I first wrote this as a short story. It was included in the anthology, “Next Stop Hollywood, Short stories that ought to be movies,” by Saint Martin’s Press.

But there’s only so many religions you can ridicule in a short, and so I extended it into a book.

Q. I’m assuming there was a lot of research involved?

A: YES!

Q. Have you ever made up your own religion for a story?

A: Interesting question. Yes. I made up a religion that takes place after the apocalypse. The survivors worship old stone monuments they find.

I have more than a few tales where society is formed around survival. So they have chants and ceremonies which take the place of religion.

Q. Another of your novels is Electric Detective which is part 1 of a series. I know a lot of your readers are asking – when is the next Eddie Evers book coming out?

A: Soon! This year! Feral Cat Publishing is issuing a gorgeous new edition of Electric Detective, shortly followed by the sequel, The Hollywood Portal.

The Electric Detective series is my attempt to marry Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick.

My hero, Eddie Evers was at the top of his game, but after his wife and child are killed in a car crash, he leaves the force and becomes a hard-drinking PI. While in pursuit of a phantom criminal, he’s hit by lightning, super-charging the biophotons in his brain, enabling him to see into other dimensions and experience electricity in a whole new light.

In The Hollywood Portal Book II: Celebrities attending an open house at a Hollywood Hill mansion disappear, leaving only their shadows scorched on the lawn. Only Eddy can see the missing. Haunted by his nemesis Connor Barlow, and aided by his dead wife, child, and a savant cat, Max, Eddy uses his eclectic, electric talents to find the missing and prevent more disappearances.

Q. Getting back to your short stories, I was interested to ask if you follow a set pattern when putting together a short? Also, what advice can you give us on how to write a short story?

A: There are many ways to write a story. Sometimes it just bites me in the leg, and I have to write, or it won’t let me go. Sometimes I have an idea – sometimes I have an ending, sometimes I just start writing and let words flow. Usually this doesn’t work as well for writing books, but I did write one that way, Blood Prism, and it might be my favourite.

Not everyone agrees, but I think you must have a beginning, a middle and an ending.

I don’t usually try to define characters on the first attempt, I let them expose themselves, then tweak them in later drafts.

Q. One of your bios describes you as having worked with children in Bosnia, crocodiles in Mexico, frogs in Puerto Rico, egrets in Bali, mushrooms in Montana, archaeologists in Spain, and butterflies in Los Angeles. Sounds like you’ve been quite busy …

A: And I spent the summer snorkelling with Sea Lions in California. Now I’m in Utah doing bird rescue. I hope to spend next winter volunteering on replanting corals in Bonaire. I figure if an opportunity presents itself, take it! If it doesn’t, make one!

Q. You’re also an award-winning painter, so I hear.

A: Yes. Thank you. I started seriously painting in my early 20’s and eventually had to decide between theatre and art. I choose art because it gave me control over my vision. I’ve been fortunate to get some grants and to have had the opportunity to paint murals and show my work internationally.

Q. Okay, last question. As well as a writer, painter, and adventurer, you’re also an environmentalist and I thought it might be interesting to hear your vision of what the future might hold in store for our environment. Also, the cities of the future – how do you picture them?

A: Oh. Well, there’s the world I think we’re heading toward, and the world I hope for. They are not the same.

I picture domes. It seems like we will poison the air and water and probably live on algae we grow in vats. Some algae are very interesting and can become fat, or protein, or carbohydrates depending on how much light they get. The ocean will have a proliferation of Jellyfish. There might be big, huge, enclosed Jeff Bezos type Yachts for the rich. (I have a story- One Million Ways Jeff Bezos Might Die. I’m not sure if I will ever write it, but it gives me delight imagining it.)

I have more than one tale about people evolving into plants. Think about it – plants have been evolving longer than mammals. They can make food out of light. They communicate with pheromones and roots sending nutrients or poisons to where they are needed. Human’s test everything by human intelligence. If a dog designed an intelligence test, it would depend on smell. We’d fail. Birds navigate in ways we can’t comprehend. Octopus can tell everything about you, etc, by a touch.

But – I can hope we will change course and in my last two stories I put forth some ideas, using hagfish slime to collect micro plastics, using live iridescence in solar cells. There are many scientists doing great things… but that’s not where the money goes- no- instead it’s flying out into space. Just when I try to turn my thoughts toward hope, heat killed an estimated 1 billion small sea creatures in the last two weeks. A BILLION! And what do our richest citizens do (besides pay no taxes)? They are producing huge amounts of Co2, pushing to be first ego in outer space. The die off wasn’t even front-page news.

If we are going to survive, we must realize we are a small part of a large system. The only reason we’re important is because we cause so much havoc. I’m not a big fan of our species.

Thanks very much for the interview E. E. King.

Thank you! These are amazing, thought provoking questions.

You can check out E. E. King's blog here

connect with her on goodreads here

and on twitter here

her wordpress page is here

and you'll find her amazon page here