ON SPEC'S NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS

Cover Artist: Robert Pasternak

AS MOST OF YOU LIKELY KNOW, ON SPEC has now opened a new window for submissions. We're accepting original speculative fiction work, short stories (6000 word limit) and poetry from now until December 31st, 2013. I asked Diane Walton, our Managing Editor, if she might bring everyone up to date as to what we're doing with our new submission process using Submittable.com. Here's what she had to say:

THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN SENDING STORIES to On Spec over the years know we were originally a "snail-mail manuscripts only" magazine, even when other publications were embracing the email submissions process. We read stories year-round, with arbitrary cut-off dates, after which we evaluated the stories received by the date, and held onto the others until after the next cut-off.

Then we changed, and opened the floodgates to email submissions. Stories began to arrive daily, and the numbers pretty much paralyzed us. So we closed the doors, until we had gone through a painfully long process of sorting, reading, evaluating and responding to about 400 manuscripts. In an attempt to manage things better, we next set an "open window" for receiving emailed stories. That seems to have worked best. In six weeks, we get around 300 submissions, and that is more manageable for the editors, most of whom have writing careers of their own, and families they'd like to see once in a while. We were using a dedicated gmail address, and were able to assign labels to the email submissions from authors, so that we more or less knew a current status of a story, or at least which editor was assigned to it.

We knew, but the authors didn't know.

So we also had to read and respond to those "did you get my story?" queries, and the "have you made a decision yet?" emails. Some months ago, we became aware of a rather elegant product, a manuscript submission manager called Submittable.com. For the current On Spec submission period, that is the process for sending us your work.  If you have used Submittable already, you know pretty much how it works.

Behind the scenes, we will still be dividing up the slush for editors to read, and we still have a six week window for sending us your work, after which the evaluation process will begin. Each editor becomes First Reader for a portion of the manuscripts received. Each editor is responsible for the rejection letters to authors of stories that don't make the first cut. Each editor will then identify the remaining stories in their batch, for reading by the other On Spec editors, and for eventual discussion at our Fight Night. Often we get together for a day to discuss the stories over coffee, tea, food and occasionally wine. We may also use other technology like Skype or Google hangouts, especially when weather and other commitments make travel difficult for some of us.

We can't promise any faster turnaround time for the manuscripts. Each editor devotes what time they can to this volunteer job, and we are grateful for the patience of our writers. If you submit your manuscript to us, you can check on its status from time to time, and you can be assured that we did receive it, and that it will be given a fair reading.

(THANKS, DIANE, AND ON A FINAL NOTE, I'd like to point out that although On Spec is required by its granting agencies to publish 60% Canadian work, we also receive and publish excellent work from writers all over the world. Which goes to show, great speculative fiction knows no boundaries. Happy writing everyone, and the best of luck. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've sent us in the slush. - Susan.)

ON THE NATURE OF HUMOR and SPECULATIVE FICTION: A SERIES of UNSATISFACTORY EXPLANATIONS and COMPLAINTS by HUGH A.D. SPENCER

Artist: Richard Bartop

I LOVE IT WHEN WE GET FUNNY STUFF AT ON SPEC. Over the years, we've featured some very funny writers, one of whom is fellow writer and friend, Hugh A.D. Spencer. We first published Hugh's story Why I Hunt Flying Saucers in 1991 and later included it in On Spec's First Five Years anthology because it was that good. His more recent story (and one of my personal favorites), Sticky Wonder Tales, will appear in On Spec's upcoming 25th Year anthology through Tyche books. But first, a Guest Post by Hugh, on the slaps and tickles it takes to write humorous speculative fiction. 

ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES associated with writing about humor is that it's just not terribly amusing to read about why certain things are (or are not) funny. Writing about humor and science fiction (fantasy too, but I really don't care about that genre very much) is even more challenging because at least 30% of all people who write or read science fiction suffer from serious cognitive and emotional deficiencies that render them incapable of understanding or appreciating humor. (Don't ask me where I get these statistics, you'll just have to trust me.) These are the sorts of people who think that laughter is some kind of secret language employed by those who were the cool kids in high school and who have actually had sex. (The SF people are mistaken in this belief. The cool kids at high school are also humor-handicapped and only laugh when they're inflicting pain on a smart unpopular kid, who ironically, is likely to be an SF person). Have I offended you yet? If I have, you're part of the 30% group and nobody worries about what you think, anyway. 

Pie in the Face.  Pie in the Face on Mars...  When I was young and embarked on the hopeless task of trying to convince people that SF was important, respectable, and above all cool literature, I used to say things like, “Science fiction is a way of looking at the real world from alternative perspectives, that helps us explore the limits of the possible, and even is a means of contemplating the nature of the universe and our place in it.” SF, of course, is none of these things. 

SF is where people go to escape the uncertain, the unsettling, and other stuff that makes us feel uncomfortable. (Fantasy even more so. People who read that crap are complete wimps.) That's why back in the 1980s and 1990s, they were able to sell all those unnecessary Rama, Foundation, and Dune books. I admit it, I was doing this, too. I was only going back to the later works because I was looking for the same buzz that I got from the original trilogies. But it was all in vain; it wasn't the same imaginative Blue Meth. (Nowadays, when I feel the need to revert to my childhood state and suckle at the literary breast of emotional reassurance, I read Winnie the Pooh or Wind in the Willows. The Alice books, on the other hand, are just too darned weird and scary.) 

Sigh. Bring back that pure Asimovian Blue Meth. 

Most SF works because it's able to engage your interest, but doesn't make you think too much and doesn't get you too upset or angry. The problem with humor is that it is fundamentally subversive and has to make you at least a little bit uncomfortable. 

Humor that's too safe, too mild, is like reruns of The Brady Bunch or The Red Skelton Show or all those kid sitcoms on the Family Channel. Sure, your mom will let you watch them but they just aren't very funny. Humor at its best, is like that T-Rex in Jurassic Park. It's unpredictable, impossible to contain, and really dangerous (to take the metaphor even further, humor should also have giant razor-sharp teeth, really small useless claws, and scientists shouldn't be able to figure out how it manages to reproduce.) Humor demands – as both a writer and a reader – that you surrender a great deal of control. Once you start turning things upside down, distorting your own perceptions, challenging your assumptions …well, you can never be sure where you're going to end up and what will still be standing when you get there. If you're unsure of yourself and what you're really looking for in your art and literature is reassurance, then humor may not be the way to go. 

Into the Mothership…  Why I Hunt Flying Saucers was my second story published in On Spec Magazine, way back in 1991. It is possibly my most popular story in that it was anthologized, nominated for an Aurora Award, and adapted for radio. Richard Bartop's illustration for the story (a Grey Alien slipping on a rubber glove as it prepares to administer a rectal probe) was incredibly funny and On Spec later used it as part of their marketing with the caption ‘Examine Us.’ 

I sometimes wonder why that one story had so much impact. Partly, I think it was because I was writing about something that really bugged me: all those alien abduction and ‘missing time’ stories that were coming into fashion as we were waiting for The X-Files to start up. If you read the story, my view is that the ETs' motives really suck. 

I have noticed that when I'm really annoyed I tend to get funnier. Or grumpier. I'm never completely sure how it's going to go. 

I think another reason Why I Hunt Flying Saucers had some legs was that it was a surprise attack. On Spec was still a relatively new venue back then and they had (and still have) a unique voice. It took over a year to sell that story. The usual (i.e. American) markets weren't touching it, and they gave me a very clear reason why: stories about flying saucers just aren't done by serious SF writers. I was very grateful that On Spec decided to publish a humor issue because doing things that just aren't done is usually what makes something funny. 

Which Way, Passworthy? (Check out the movie Things to Come if you're bored enough to wonder who this Passworthy person is.) Why I Hunt Flying Saucers was also the source of my favorite rejection letter. I pitched it as an episode of that second version of The Outer Limits they were making in the 1990s. The story editor said some very nice things about the script – that it was smart, witty, and well-structured. He then said that they couldn't produce the script because it was very funny and “The Outer Limits is admittedly, a humorless affair." Such candor! I loved that letter. 

Not everything I write is meant to be funny. Some of it is just plain angry. But I do take the surrender of control quite seriously. Often when I start a story, I'm not sure if it will be a comedy or a tragedy – it's only as the shape of things start to emerge on the page that I discover if I'll be laughing or crying at the end.   

Hugh's Bio: Hugh A.D. Spencer completed graduate studies at the University of Toronto and McMaster University where he conducted anthropological studies into the origins of religious movements in science fiction fandom. Worried that this field of inquiry might lead to actual paying work, Hugh decided to write some science fiction as a delaying tactic. Inexplicably twice nominated for Canada's Aurora Award, Hugh’s science fiction has been published in On Spec, Tesseracts 8, 11, and 6, Interzone, Descant and New Writings in the Fantastic. Many of his short stories have been dramatized by Shoestring Radio Theatre for the Satellite Network of National Public Radio.  His story John, Paul, Xavier, Ironside & George (but not Vincent) is scheduled for release in the new Ominous Realities anthology. Hugh is still confused why this body of work has not resulted in a Nobel Prize for Science Fiction. His latest project is training his dogs to type and copyedit. 

Coming in April 2014, from Brain Lag Publications: Extreme Dentistry by Hugh A.D. Spencer: Middle-aged, middle-income and lapsed Mormon, Arthur Percy felt his life lurch from a difficult normality onto the rails of a carnival ride heading somewhere too much like The Twilight Zone for his liking. Perhaps it is more the “Anti-Twilight Zone” that Arthur enters – where vampires, shape shifters, and ghouls are not gorgeous or glamorous but genetic parasites from a hideous communal intelligence known as the Hive. Who will save the human race? Arthur finds out as he joins a group of middle-aged, middle-income suburbanites (many of them Mormon dentists) who call themselves “the Project”.

(Thanks, Hugh. I'm sure you've made everybody's morning much brighter! I can't wait to read your novel.)

A NICE REVIEW of THE URBAN GREEN MAN, including MY STORY, 'EVERGREEN'

I JUST RECENTLY READ A REALLY NICE REVIEW of the Urban Green Man anthology, written by friend and writer, Derek Newman-Stille. I featured Derek recently on Suzenyms: his guest post on writing horror has been one of the most visited on this blog. This is a short note, as I'm getting ready for the Pure Speculation Festival this weekend, but I thought I'd point you all to Derek's blog Speculating Canada, to take a look at what he says about the Urban Green Man anthology (Edge Books), and my story 'Evergreen'.

Here's the link to Derek's post where he talks about the anthology in, 'A Face of Shifting Leaves':

And here's the link to his previous post about 'Evergreen' in 'A Clear-Cut Future'.

Have a great weekend, everybody. Early next week, you're in for a treat. I'm guest hosting Hugh A.D. Spencer, who talks about writing humor in speculative fiction.

PURE SPECULATION CONVENTION, HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED: GUEST POST by DIANE WALTON (Plus, the PANELS I'M ON, by Yours Truly....)

November 16-17, 2013

Ramada Conference Centre Edmonton

20,000 Leagues Under the Spec!

THIS WEEKEND, I'LL BE ATTENDING one of the annual SF conventions I never miss, the Pure Speculation Festival held every November, here in Edmonton. With Arthur Slade and Gail Carriger as our GoHs, I'm looking forward to it. I also want to credit Diane Walton, our Managing Editor of On Spec Magazine, for it was she who brought the literary side of the convention to life. I asked her to comment on Pure Spec's beginnings, why she got involved, and why she continues to be an instrumental force.

ON SPEC (and I) BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE PURE SPECULATION FESTIVAL as a vendor, the first year Pure Speculation ran in a huge, cold, hotel convention space. It had come to my attention through social media, although I did not know any of the organizers, especially Brent Jans, whose dream it was to revive the convention tradition in Edmonton. Back in the 1980's and 90's, I was heavily involved with the annual NonCon Science Fiction convention, and I made dozens of good and long-lasting friends, many of whom I would only see once a year. A new convention on the block was something I could welcome with open arms. I immediately offered our services to enhance a comics and gaming event with some literary content. On Spec had a moderate budget for marketing and promotions, and so we agreed to sponsor the festival by paying the costs to have a Canadian author guest. Pure Speculation operates on a sponsorship model, so a business, group, or individual who wants to have a specific guest is more than welcome to subsidize the travel and accommodation costs, and be included in the planning for the festival.

I head the team that decides on the Literary stream of Pure Speculation programming, and I have made a point of including members of the academic community as well as writers and poets. We are blessed in having a strong writing community in Edmonton, and it is fun to stretch them a bit by offering new challenges in programming topics. The joy of Pure Speculation is that we tackle topics ranging from the serious (racism and discrimination in the SF community), to the educational (panels about the techniques of genre writing), to the absolutely outrageous (great discussion about exactly how you'd get a woman's underwear off when writing a Victorian or Regency sex scene). Anything goes!

People who read and enjoy science fiction, fantasy, horror and the like, are often solitary in this pursuit, but nothing compares to the joy you find when you are in a room full of people who instantly know the answer to the Ultimate Question about Life, the Universe, and Everything. Cheers!

(Thanks, Diane. And if you'd like to read Diane's Bio, you can find the link to it here, on the post she wrote for Suzenyms on the Geek Girl Con held in Seattle.)

AS FOR ME, I'M ON THE FOLLOWING PANELS:

On Saturday, November 16th, at 3:15 PM: Writing Slipstream or Cross-Genre Fiction, with writers Marty Chan, Natasha Deen, and Sandra Wong.
On Sunday, November 17th, at 11:30 AM: Pure Spec Idol, with writers Billie Milholland, Barb Galler-Smith, and Sandra Wong.
...then on Sunday at 3:00 PM: Writing History Based Fantasy Fiction, with On Spec co-editors/writers Barb Galler-Smith and Ann Marston.

If I'm not participating in or attending a panel or reading, I'll be at the On Spec booth, where I'll be representing both On Spec and Five Rivers Publishing. Copies of The Tattooed Witch, among other Five Rivers' titles, will be available for purchase.

If you're attending Pure Spec, I hope to see you there!

GUEST POST BY LORINA STEPHENS, PUBLISHER of FIVE RIVERS PUBLISHING

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY PEOPLE WHO DECIDE to get into the publishing business as small press publishers. I've wondered at what their initial motivations were, what prompted them to take on such responsibilities, and what the depth of their business acumen must be in order to ensure their house is a success. Over the next while, I plan to host a number of small press publishers on Suzenyms, to offer you their stories. Since Five Rivers Publishing represents my own work, it made sense to start with my publisher, the talented and formidable Lorina Stephens:

WHEN FIVE RIVERS LAUNCHED INTO PUBLISHING in 2008, it was with humble beginnings and a small catalog, primarily my own works. It was never my intention for Five Rivers to be a vanity house, yet in those first two years we were very embryonic, soliciting manuscripts and developing our mandate, which was to be a showcase of new and established Canadian voices. We tested the waters with two of my books: Shadow Song (August 2008), and And the Angels Sang (September 2008), also Elephant's Breath and London Smoke, by Deb Salisbury (February 2009). In July, 2009, we also published another one of my books, From Mountains of Ice.

Why publish these four books? Shadow Song had been the rounds of major publishers, often garnering positive comments, but always falling just short of that illusive publishing contract, mostly, it would seem, because of its hybrid nature. I decided to venture out on my own, given there was enough response to make me believe a small house and sufficient marketing could bring in a reasonable expectation of success. Turns out that decision was sound, and while Shadow Song has not hit bestseller, it has certainly performed better than the majority of self-published books which usually only see a maximum of 200 units sold.

Since I'd already decided to commit the, then, sin of self-publishing, I figured I'd publish a collection of my own short stories, And the Angels Sang. (For those of you who have or are reading Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda, you may find the title story of this collection of interest.) If nothing else, it would gain me experience in the publishing world, in all of its facets from creation to the business of distribution and accounts collection. 

Around about that time an old colleague of mine, Deb Salisbury—who researched and created historical sewing patterns under her business, The Mantua-Maker—told me about a dictionary of historic colour names on which she was working. That piqued my curiosity, and after several discussions with her I asked her to let me publish the book. I knew very well Elephant's Breath and London Smoke would be an ultra-niche market book. But for those who were after this kind of esoteric historical material, it would be invaluable. And given my life-long penchant for ignoring the status-quo—that became a recurring theme in the publishing house—the decision to publish the dictionary just seemed logical. It was impeccably researched, well-organized, an ease to layout and publish. During that time I also took on several books on the business of writing by freelancer, Paul Lima. Paul went on to take control of his own publishing. 

By 2010 the pattern for Five Rivers was cast; remember that statement about ignoring the status-quo? Yeah, pretty much. I found myself keeping company with blissful renegades who scoffed at the concept of warehousing inventory and print runs, who giggled at the accepted policy of book returns whenever and wherever, who mined the reality of online sales and marketing through the major online booksellers on a global scale. Small publishers, after all, stood an almost non-existent chance of gaining space on the expensive real estate of bricks and mortar store-shelves. So why compete? And why bleed funds into expensive distribution which would only target a limited market with limited success? Why not target online global booksellers amenable to the kind of guerrilla marketing we happy few employed? 

There was an attendant cost, however, to that new-age thinking; it meant we sank or succeeded on our own nickel, without the floatation devices offered through government arts grants and funding. It meant reviewers and awards jurors having a problem with a curling lip when our print-on-demand, micro-press books showed up for consideration. That’s fine. A problem is simply a solution waiting to happen. We went to grassroots reviews, rather than critical reviews. (Ask yourself, does the average reader ever open the pages of a critical review journal?) We mostly eschewed literary awards which required a fee or some proof of pedigree. Instead, we again went to the people. And therein lays another phenomenon: there is no such thing as bad publicity. So even when one reader trashes a book, another reader purchases that same book just to find out about the hype. 

By 2010 I’d acquired a few orphaned titles from authors with a backlist, broadening our base, and through them other manuscripts, both non-fiction and fiction, started appearing in my email. That all seemed a little weird somehow, and there were days I felt like the kid wearing the superhero costume playing Let’s Pretend. But through it all was an honest desire to create something unique, to build relationships of trust and common purpose, so that author and publisher could work together toward a greater ideal. 

I knew what it was to be the writer in the dark of the closet, stuffing pages under the door. I knew what it was to sit on the other side of a desk as an editor, and find an endless repeat of errors from authors, and how to wield that blue pencil with both compassion and uncompromising standards. And now, I knew what it was to be a publisher, balancing a writer’s dreams with the imperatives of profitability. I felt, and still do, as though I’d found my life’s work, that I could still be the writer, but I could also share and put to good use my experience as an editor, and now as a publisher. But I get ahead of myself. The most pivotal event of 2010 was when I made the acquaintance of Dr. Robert Runté, whom I met through SFCanada. Our relationship, and subsequent friendship, developed around a query he sent me for a review copy of that hybrid novel of mine, Shadow Song. I’m sure, if Robert’s honest, he was expecting to find some sort of drek. He didn’t. And so a relationship of mutual respect and trust developed, so much that by 2011, Robert’s name was on Five Rivers’ masthead as Editor in Chief. Robert brought with him an immense body of knowledge and editorial skills. He believed in the vision I had for this crazy publishing house, and was willing to work alongside me as my Wing Man. How great is that?  

After that, things grew exponentially. Manuscripts flooded in. The usual two week or less turn-around for reading submissions expanded into weeks, then months. We went from those initial two books in 2008 to 32 now in publication (34 by the close of 2013.) And the beauty of the business model we embraced ensured all titles remain in publication until the agreement is terminated by either the author or Five Rivers. So, in essence, our titles earn money while we all sleep. 

In 2012 Jeff Minkevics came aboard as Five Rivers’ Art Director. Jeff’s background as a graphic artist and his own extraordinary vision and skill, marked another evolution for the publishing house. He has an ability to take an author’s vision and translate it into some of the most dynamic cover art we feel we’ve ever seen. 

Our publishing docket now projects forward eight years, with approximately 50 titles scheduled and under contract. Late in 2012, I had to make the painful decision to close our doors to submissions, simply because it was unfair to authors to ask them to wait so long for a response to their queries and to push publication dates out so far. I never wanted to be one of those houses. But there are attendant responsibilities to success. I am toying, however, with the concept of opening to submissions for a brief window every year, perhaps a two week period, just to keep the literary gene pool fresh. If we do, our mandate, however, still remains: to give voice to Canadian writers. 

Should that happen, what would snag our attention? In non-fiction we’re always looking for well-researched and documented material in a conversational tone. We’d likely be quite partial to meticulously documented experimental archeology, biographies of forgotten (or otherwise) Canadian figures, and First Nations issues. We are very unlikely to be interested in self-help, how-to, or religious offerings. In fiction, we always gravitate toward strong characterization, and focused point of view, elegance and precision in the use of language, and quirky twists and fresh insights. Whether literary fiction, or genre, there should never be a compromise in the beauty of the written word. Just write the most honest, compelling tale you can. Put it all out there, the beauty and the beasts, the subtlety and sometimes vagary of life. Capture us. Compel us to read the next word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, page. Hold us willing prisoner to the skill of your story-telling. 

Tell us a story. It’s that simple. And that hard. 

If you’re at all curious about the kind of work Five Rivers publishes, simply visit our website at www.fiveriverspublishing.com. You'll find our catalogue there. You will also find a series of posts under the Why We Published tag; those posts will give you further insight as to why a particular title snagged our acceptance. We can also be found on Facebook as both a group and page, and on Twitter under the handle @5rivers. 

Lorina's Bio: In 2008, Lorina established her own indie publishing house in direct response to the changing face of publishing. She brings with her over 20 years of experience as a freelance writer, author, and editor, and a commitment to publishing new Canadian voices which might otherwise remain silent. She has worked as editor, freelance journalist for national and regional print media, is author of seven books both fiction and non-fiction, been a festival organizer, publicist, lectures on many topics from historical textiles and domestic technologies, to publishing and writing, teaches, and continues to work as a writer, artist, and publisher.  She has had several short fiction pieces published in Canada’s acclaimed On Spec magazine and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s fantasy anthology Sword & Sorceress X. Her book credits include Stonehouse Cooks, Five Rivers Publishing 2011, From Mountains of Ice, Five Rivers Publishing 2009, And the Angels Sang, Five Rivers Publishing 2008, Shadow Song, Five Rivers Publishing 2008, Recipes of a Dumb Housewife, Lulu Publishing 2007, Credit River Valley, Boston Mills Press 1994, Touring the Giant's Rib: A Guide to the Niagara Escarpment, Boston Mills Press 1993. She is presently working on two new novels, The Rose Guardian and Caliban. She lives with her husband of nearly 40 years, and cat, in an historic stone house in Neustadt, Ontario. Lorina can be found at her website lorinastephens.blogspot.ca, Facebook and Twitter (@LorinaStephens).

(Thanks, Lorina. You're awesome!)

DROPPING THE 'F' BOMB: GUEST POST BY MICHAEL R. FLETCHER, AUTHOR OF '88'

THE FOLLOWING GUEST POST is by Michael R. Fletcher, author or 88, a book which, IMHO, deserves its five star rating (and which I'll be featuring in an upcoming interview). Below, Mike responds to a recent conversation some of us had on the I Read On Spec Facebook site, where the use of profanity was the topic. For those of you who might object to it, take this as a warning: the following post includes strong language:

THIS POST WAS BORN of a conversation on On Spec's Facebook page. Someone asked how the editors felt about the 'F' word and those editors responded in detail here. That conversation got me thinking about the use of profanity in fantastic literature. To be clear, I'm not talking about language intended to hurt or marginalize or disrespect. I'm not talking about racial or sexual epithets. I am strictly looking at those words commonly referred to as curse words. I'm talking (mostly) about George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words.

Where to start?

There are no bad words, just words. The bad is in the eye of the beholder. Some people choose to be offended by certain words. They might not understand they're making a choice in being offended, but they are. We all have the option of growing beyond childhood/religious/societal programming and choosing not to be upset by any given word. For some folks it's easy. Others will never achieve this simple freedom. Judging from the behavior I see in rush-hour traffic, I'd say most people are victims to their emotions. He cut me off and made me angry. This is an illusion. Think it over. Next time someone cuts you off in traffic, shrug it away. Maybe you'll arrive at your destination seconds later. So what?

I am, in my roundabout way, making a point. We are writers. Words are our tools. If you want to build a house, there is little to be gained by arbitrarily limiting the types of tools you are willing to use. You don't have to use every single tool each time you build a house, but should you need to reach into the tool box and pull out a fuck, go for it.

Many folks suggest limiting the use of swear words because overuse reduces their shock value. This is correct. Yes, overusing any word will reduce its effectiveness, but I don't think we use naughty words strictly for shock value. Seriously, if you're shocked by the word fuck, you need to grow up. That said, Susan made a good point (we bounced this post back and forth a bit, refining ideas) when she mentioned the possibility of being shocked by a character's use of profanity when you don't see it coming. That's good character writing.

I think their value (to the writer) is in the emotional resonance. Used at the right time and in the right place, profanity can be powerful. It can give a simple sentence a punch in the gut. For example:

Bob was angry.

Bob was fucking angry.

Same meaning in both sentences, but the second—still a very short sentence—carries more weight.

Obviously that's not the only use. Profanity can help differentiate character dialogue: Dave never swears, Gertrude swears all the time. It can also be part of the flavour of your world. If your profanity is religious in nature—rather than sexual or excretory—this tells us something about your world. Cursing in fantastic literature begins with world building. If you're writing a modern fantasy (that takes place in something close to today's society) you can use whatever colourful language makes sense. Overuse will lessen its impact but that's a decision you (and your editor) will have to make. 

In historical/medieval fantasy you have a more difficult choice to make. Do you write historically accurate language and risk alienating/confusing/educating readers? Or should you use modern language and risk sounding like you haven't done your research? Is there a comfortable middle-ground? That, I suspect depends on your reader. Not being a huge fan of historical literature, I am less likely to notice anachronisms than someone well-versed in the genre.

Secondary world fantasy—that taking place in a wholly fabricated world—offers its own challenges. Using modern words can throw the reader out of the story, but entirely made up words are often annoying. And by often, I mean almost always. I'm pretty sure the only way to get away with inventing words is to time-travel to the sixties and get published back then. (If you can do that, please stop by my house in a little town called Jerseyville in the early eighties—and tell me not to wait until I'm almost forty write a book. As long as you're at it, tell me not to order the chicken during a power outage in Costa Rica.)

And now, here at the end, I can't help but think of all the amazing fantasy books I've read, virtually all of it secondary world fantasy, with nary a single naughty word. Are things changing? Are we getting lazy in our writing? I fucking hope not.

Bio: Michael R. Fletcher lives in Toronto with his stunningly gorgeous wife and their daughter, the Centre of the Universe—who apparently thinks she can live entirely off fig newtons. His 2 ½ year old daughter was recently quoted as saying, I'm too fucking cute! It's possible he swears a little too often. Fuelled by hugs, red wine, and death metal, he somehow managed to rein in his ADD long enough to write 88, a science fiction novel. He recently finished writing Beyond Redemption, a truly messed up dark fantasy novel about manifest delusion, and is trying to work up the nerve to send it to his publisher. He probably needs another hug.

(Thanks, Mike. And might I add, Mike's use of the 'F' word in 88 is powerfully done and not overly used. If you want a great SF novel to read, I recommend it highly. You can buy it here.)

Next Post: The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction - 'A' is for Action: This is my first helpful post featuring writing tips—what not to do—based on my twenty+ years experience as an editor with On Spec Magazine. If you're a 'pro', please feel free to contribute and comment, if you're experienced but are still receiving the occasional rejection slip, these pointers may show you why, if you're relatively new to writing, these are the pitfalls to avoid. 

Stay tuned!

THE URBAN GREEN MAN ANTHOLOGY - INTERVIEW WITH EDITORS, ADRIA LAYCRAFT AND JANICE BLAINE

AS ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS to the Urban Green Man anthology, I'm excited about the book's launch this coming August through Edge Books. (I'm also thrilled that my story Evergreen is the lead and appears right after Charles de Lint's introduction.) I thought I'd pin down editors Adria Laycraft and Janice Blaine to talk about the anthology, how it came about, and what their experience was with it.

Ladies, your inspiration for the anthology was the Green Man in all of his (or her) manifestations. Question #1. In a nutshell, what is a Green Man? What drew you to this subject in the first place?

Adria: As a gardener, I’ve always been fascinated with the Green Man faces that are a popular garden decoration. As a writer, I had to know what the story behind the face was. The research taught me about the archetype of renewal and protection of all green growing things, and that many societies had their own version of this mythology. It seemed an obvious idea for a themed anthology, rich with symbolism and ripe for visual art as well. When I mentioned my idea to Janice when we worked in the EDGE office, her excitement led me to invite her to team up on the project and present it to Brian Hades—with very happy results.

Janice:  In college, I was introduced to the writings of Joseph Campbell and Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. The universal myths and archetypes that they wrote about—the idea that we are connected by the stories we tell—fascinated me. I love stories that have a purpose, stories that explore the world and our role in it, myths as metaphors. The Green Man is one of those stories that shows up in many different forms all over the world. He is an Earth spirit who represents the connection between humanity and nature. He represents the cycles of life, renewal, and rebirth. He is often carved on old churches, surrounded by greenery with leaves protruding from his mouth. I've been painting and studying him for years, so I was thrilled with the opportunity to work on an anthology that celebrated him.

2). Before you received submissions, what overall ‘vision’ did you have for the anthology? Was there a particular message or theme you wanted to get across to the reader? Does your original vision reflect what the book has become? 

Adria: My original vision was simply to explore the mythology in all its facets, especially because many people I talked to hadn’t even heard of the Green Man. When we decided to narrow submissions to Urban Fantasy, the project took on a life of its own as we saw this myth brought into the modern day. Janice and I realized we wanted this be our way of being environmentalists of a sort, to talk about how the Green Man would feel if he ‘woke up’ to the world today. Our vision was met again and again in the stories and poems we received.

Janice: Because the Green Man is such a huge theme, we needed to narrow it down from the beginning. There seemed to be many Green Man books out there, but most of the ones we found explored the history of the archetype. We thought it would be interesting to bring the myth into a contemporary setting, to see how the Green Man might react to what humanity has done to his wild, natural world. For me, this anthology is an environmental statement. Some of the stories are hopeful visions of the future. Some are cautionary tales. All are explorations of green magic that can still be found in concrete jungles. 

3). Did the two of you two choose to work on this anthology together, or were you assigned to work on it? What do you feel you both brought to the process?

Adria: The original idea was mine, and as I said, Janice became an obvious partner because of her enthusiasm for the project, her knowledge of the mythology, and her strengths that were so different and complementary to mine. Janice turned this fantastic collection into a veritable work of art, enhancing our theme and making it something to collect and treasure. I can’t thank her enough for that. My job was to be a fast reader and to bring my writing, editing, and critiquing experience to the table. 

Janice: The idea was originally Adria's. She mentioned it to me one day while we were working at the EDGE office, and my excitement prompted her to ask me to partner with her. At first I was a bit hesitant, because I'm not a writer by trade. However, I am a storyteller, an illustrator, and an environmentalist. I've spent years studying and painting tree mythology and the Green Man legend. This anthology gave me the opportunity to explore these passions in a way I never expected. Adria and I come from very different backgrounds. Our skill sets compliment each other brilliantly. 

4). Of course, the stories you liked best were the ones you chose for the book. But what drew you to particular stories the most? Was it theme, characterization, plot? 

Adria: We had to reject some stories that we were very much in love with because they didn’t fit the theme. Once we were clear on our theme, we knew that we needed to stay true to it. At first we worried we might not get enough stories that fit—we shouldn’t have worried. The excitement over the project blew us away and provided enough amazing stories for several anthologies! I won't be surprised to see many of the stories we couldn’t keep appear in other publications.

Janice: The response we got to our call for submissions was incredible, not only in volume, but also in quality. We could easily have put together two full length anthologies with the number of excellent stories we received. This was clearly a theme that many people were very passionate about. In the end, we had to reject many excellent stories simply because they didn't quite fit the theme we wanted to reflect.

5). Were there any stories that surprised you? Why? 

Adria: Many of our stories go beyond the speculative fiction I expected to receive. Some of them expanded my mind and left me asking all the right questions, which is what good stories do. The book actually ends on a question, and it fits what the entire project was trying to do, overall. 

Janice: This was my first experience in this type of role, so I honestly didn't know what to expect. A part of me was concerned that there might not be enough interest in the project . (The humble side of me worries about that with every project I take on.) In this case, I had nothing to worry about. The submissions we received exceeded my expectations. I was most surprised by the volume and scope of the stories. We had people submitting from all over the world. 

6). What was the best thing about editing this anthology? The worst? What advice would you give to anyone who might consider writing for, or editing one?

Adria: There have been many wonderful moments. Reading through the stories the first time was a thrill and a privilege, and I enjoyed the process despite receiving three times as many submissions as expected. The worst thing by far was sending out rejection letters. I don’t like getting them, and now I know I don’t like sending them either. It got harder with every round. As to advice, I would say to be sure you’re up for the sheer magnitude of work involved. That, and don’t be surprised in how invested you become. When you write, your stories become your babies. This is no different.

Janice: I am an incredibly slow, meticulous reader, so the biggest challenge for me in this project was working through the volume of submissions. The majority of the slush pile was filtered by Adria. I loved watching our theme take shape as we added more and more stories to the "Interested" pile. I loved exploring creative ways we could arrange the final selections so that the stories would flow and complement each other. And, of course, I loved building all the visual elements. Creating the cover, illustrations, and layout was my role once the stories were chosen, while Adria had the job of editing and polishing the collection.

7). What’s next for you both? Another anthology, perhaps? 

Adria: I would be honoured to work with Janice again, but at this point we’re not sure what that might look like. I know we certainly work well together, but I also know the project has to be right before I would commit to it. I have my own novels and short stories I’m working on, including a middle grade science fiction series that I’d like to see in schools someday.

Janice: I would welcome the opportunity to work with Adria on another project. What that project might be, I can't say at this point.

Adria’s Bio: Adria Laycraft is a grateful member of IFWA and a proud survivor of the Odyssey Writers Workshop. She works as a freelance writer and editor of The Write Initiative. Look for her stories in Tesseracts 16, Neo-opsis, On-Spec, James Gunn's Ad Astra, DKA Magazine, Hypersonic Tales, The Alien Next Door, and In Places Between. Author of Be a Freelance Writer Now, Adria lives in Calgary with her husband and son. Learn more about Adria at www.adrialaycraft.com or at www.thewriteinitiative.com. 

Janice’s Bio: Janice Blaine is a professional commercial artist working out of Calgary. Throughout her career, she has worked on a wide variety of projects, ranging from pre-production animation to design and illustration of children’s books. Her illustrations have appeared on the covers of numerous magazines and books. Her cover illustration for Neo-Opsis's Issue #20 was nominated for an Aurora Award. She currently works as the Production Manager at EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. She also does freelance illustration and design work. Her personal work is fuelled by a passion for storytelling and a love of nature. Her paintings explore the universal language of myth and folklore. Her portfolio may be viewed a www.paintersblock.com. 

(Thanks Adria and Janice! For those who are interested, you can pre-order the book from Edge Books here: 

Next Post: Dropping the 'F' Bomb, Guest Post by Michael R. Fletcher

Stay tuned.

NEW BEGINNINGS - THE TATTOOED ROSE and THE ABC'S of How NOT TO WRITE SPECULATIVE FICTION

The Fool Card from Artist's Vision Tarot

SOME PEOPLE GET THEIR DAILY HOROSCOPES mailed to them. I get daily tarot cards. This morning, I received The Fool which is appropriate, considering I'm about to begin work on The Tattooed Rose. I always find starting a new book daunting. I have so much I want to say, I've scribbled down plot, but there are still many details I need to work out. Here's a short version of what my daily tarot reading said:

"The Fool card affirms that my alter ego today is a Quantum Leaper with a hero's heart. I am liberated by free will and trust, which lead me to explore simple speculations for their own sake. I can move beyond the fear factor. I don't know where I'm going, and I don't care where I've been. I only know that, as the hero of my own story, it's for me to find out. Like Alice, I'm on the verge of stepping into the rabbit hole, unless I stop short and play it safe. I'll know soon enough where following my own feet has landed me on this curious venture. So despite familiar warnings, irresistible promise draws my eyes wide open and away from domestic comfort zones. I'll never know until I try."

The Fool is always about beginnings.

Here's another 'beginning' that may interest some of you. I was thinking of re-vamping my non-fiction book on how not to write - The ABC's of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction. The book will cover an A to Z span of all the writing errors I've encountered as an On Spec editor over the last twenty years. When I looked at the book yesterday, I realized there was so much more I wanted to say compared to what I wrote seven years ago. If I were to revise it in one go, it would take me several months to finish it. Sooooo...I've decided to post the ABC's as I rewrite them here, on Suzenyms. If you want some writing tips, or you want to make sure you're not committing the errors I'll be posting about, or if you're already error-savvy and have things you want to contribute for everyone's benefit, please feel free. Once I'm done, I may put all the new posts in a book and sell it on Amazon. So far, the book has had two small printings through On Spec, so why not publish it as an e-book?

And while we're on the subject of tarot cards, my story Evergreen (soon to be published in the Urban Green Man Anthology, Edge Publishing) opens with a tarot reading. Check out the link if you want to know more about the anthology or you'd like to pre-order. The collection is set to launch this August in Calgary at When Words Collide. I'll be featuring co-editors Adria Laycraft and Janice Blaine in a guest interview in the next week or so.

Next Post: Publicists, Part Three: What 'Exactly' Can a Publicist Do For Me, and How Much Will It Cost? by Rachel Sentes.

Stay tuned.

FOOD FOR THE GODS by KAREN DUDLEY - INTERVIEW

I JUST FINISHED READING Karen Dudley's Food for the Gods through Turnstone Press. It's such a fun read that I had to ask her for an interview. Hopefully, you'll find her answers both intriguing and illuminating, particularly if you like mixing light fantasy (comedy) with ancient history and Greek myth:

1). Karen, your book is set in ancient Greece where Dionysus and Hermes, as well as some of the other Greek gods are secondary characters to your protagonist. Why ancient Greece? And why these characters? What drew you to this particular setting?

I’ve loved the Greek myths since I was a kid so when I got to university, one of the first courses I took was Introduction to Greek Mythology. That led to a course in comparative mythology which was taught by the fabulous Dr. R.J. Buck. Dr. Buck was hands-down the best professor—the best teacher—I’ve ever had. And when you experience a truly gifted teacher, you want to take every course they offer, and that’s what happened to me. Dr. Buck taught Greek history, so naturally I took all his Greek history courses and in the process, I fell in love with ancient Greece. Dr. Buck was fond of telling us that there were no new stories under the sun, just different ways of telling old ones. So years later, when I decided I wanted to write an historical fantasy, the setting, the Greek gods, and even some of the plot came quite naturally out of his teachings.

2). The book shows that you’ve done a great deal of research to get the details of everyday life in ancient Greece just right. What were some of your sources? What are some of the things you found most interesting?

I’m one of those nerdy people who kept their university class notes—at least for the classes I loved—so I had those to start with. I did a lot of library research and found some really helpful sources, everything from a book about the debaucheries of Classical Athens (Courtesans and Fishcakes) to Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day (which is pretty much what it sounds like) to Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece. I think the most interesting piece of information I found was in a book called Ancient Inventions in which I discovered that the Greeks were the inventors of bread dildos. Yes, that’s right. Bread dildos. I mean, really, how could I resist putting that particular tidbit in my book? I don’t think my writers’ group was ever the same after that submission!

3). Your main character, Pelops, is a celebrity chef. In the first couple of chapters, you reveal his unfortunate past, where, as a youth, his father served him in a stew to the gods at a feast. The gods resurrected him (save for his ivory shoulder) and have been embarrassed about it ever since. Is this part of the story based on an actual Greek myth, as other parts are? And why a chef?

Oh yes, Pelops and his rather unpleasant adolescence come directly from the Greek myth of Tantalus, who was Pelops’ father.  There are several variations of the myth about what Tantalus does. The one I chose to riff on (in which he kills Pelops and serves him to the gods for tea) is one of the more famous versions.

As for the chef bit...well, when I began working on the idea for the book, I thought I might make Pelops a student of Archimedes, the famous Greek engineer and inventor. I’ve always been fascinated by some of the cool inventions of ancient Greece, and I thought if I made Pelops an apprentice of Archimedes, I could write about them. I played around with this a bit, but somehow, it just didn’t feel quite right. And then one day, I was flipping through a book called The Life of Greece, when I came across a passage that said in ancient Athens when people wanted a special dinner, they couldn’t go to a restaurant because they didn’t exist yet, so what they would do was hire the services of a professional cook, who was usually a foreigner. That was my ‘Eureka!’ moment. I was already intrigued by the whole celebrity chef culture, and given what happens to Pelops with the whole getting-chopped-up-and-served-for-tea thing, making him a chef seemed to fit perfectly.

4). Your characters are a lot of fun. When creating the characters of Dionysus, Hermes, and Ares in particular, you make them stand-out, often in hilarious ways. When you build character, what goes through your mind? Do you base your characters on people you know? What were your thoughts in stepping away from the stereotype of what we think of, when we think of a specific Greek god?

With all my characters, I usually start out with someone I know, whether it’s a certain appearance or gesture, a way of walking or talking. But, of course, that’s just the start of it. Most of each character comes from me. Not sure what that says about me, but there you have it! I wanted the gods in my book to be fun. So often, the Greek gods are portrayed in movies as stiff and superior sorts, complete with snooty accents and white draperies and laurel wreaths on their heads. But when you read the myths, the gods were, shall we say, somewhat earthier than that, and that’s how I wanted to portray them. Not only is it more accurate, but it’s a lot more fun.

5). Your dialogue, especially among the lower Greek classes reminds me of working class Brits. A nice example of this is when Pharsalia the bread-wife says, “Now, don’t you worry your sweet self about it, luv. They’ll never hire the stupid sod, again. I should know, I was there, if you please.” I would never have thought of combining that style of speech with the ancient Greeks, but it’s fun and it works. What was your inspiration for the ‘pairing’?

You know, Susan, I honestly couldn’t tell you what my inspiration for that was. The characters just started talking to me in these crazy anachronistic voices and that’s how I wrote them. I do adore the movie A Knight’s Tale, however, so I suspect that the inspiration for it originated with that film.

6). You’ve interspersed the book with advertisements, ‘Sacrificing for Simpletons’ or ‘Dinner Parties for Dummies’ and recipes 'Pelop’s Roast Lamb with Plums', for example. These work quite nicely to foreshadow what’s coming. Some writers might have used these to augment what’s already occurred. What was your inspiration for using these?

Because I’m writing about an historical period that most readers might not be familiar with, I had to figure out a way to get certain information across without slowing down the narrative with the dreaded info dump. Years ago, I read a wonderful kids’ book published by Usborne called The Greek Gazette. Basically it was Greek history written as a tabloid. It was hilarious! I still have a copy of it. And when I started working on Food for the Gods and realized I needed to impart all this information without including it in the narrative, I decided to play with the Gazette idea and include stuff like advertisements and excerpts from self-help scrolls.

7). I love that you don’t hold back with making things miserable for Pelops, your main character. Did you ever have a moment where you wondered, how on earth am I going to get him out of this particular situation?

Oddly enough, I knew almost from the beginning how the book was going to end—I even wrote the last scene before I’d completed the first 70 pages!—so I knew things would come out right for him in the end. Having said that, I did put poor Pelops in some really nasty places. For that I have to thank Sheila Gilbert, an editor at DAW. I heard Sheila speak at KeyCon (Winnipeg’s local con) a few years back and she mentioned that the biggest problem most writers had was in doing—or, really, not doing—terrible things to their protagonists. Writers, she said, got too attached to their main characters and didn’t want anything horrible to happen to them; the result was always a bland, uninteresting book. After hearing this, I promptly went home and did terrible, terrible things to Pelops. I always knew how to get him out though because, let’s face it, I am rather attached to him!

8). You tell the story in First Person. I think it works really well, but why did you choose this particular POV?

My Robyn Devara mysteries are written in first person too, so it’s a POV that comes naturally to me. I did, however, make a conscious decision to use first person in Food for the Gods largely to better connect the readers with a setting which may be unfamiliar to them, but also to have them feel more like they’re part of Pelops’ stranger-in-a-strange-land experience.

9). How long did it take you to write the book, and how many revisions did you go through? Was there anything in the process that you learned about writing, when penning it?

I first got the idea years before I could actually do anything about it. I’d written the first fifty pages, but my publisher wanted another Robyn Devara book, so I had to shelve it. Then, in the middle of the Robyn Devara novel, we got a call from the adoption agency and I suddenly became a mum, so I had to shelve that book too!

I think the most educational thing that happened when I finally got the chance to write Food for the Gods was when I gave the first 100 or so pages to my publisher. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Here’s my new mystery! What do you think?
My publisher (after reading it): I think you’re writing a fantasy.
Me: What!?!

It was funny, but I was completely liberated by that insight! I’d been a bit blocked in terms of the story, but as soon as I knew I was writing a fantasy—as soon as I gave myself permission to write a fantasy—all kinds of interesting things were suddenly able to happen. I learned not to worry too much about categorizing what I’m writing and just to write the damn story. I can worry about what it is later. A valuable lesson!

10). Do you think the book reflects the writer? Do your books reflect you?

Absolutely! On both counts. I can’t tell you how many of my friends and family have told me that reading my stuff is just like hanging out with me. Hmmm...I hope that’s a good thing!

Thanks, Karen. It's a great book, everyone! Give it a read. And vote for it later - it's up for an Aurora!

You can find the link to the trade paperback here: Food for the Gods, by Karen Dudley through Turnstone Press at Amazon.com, or buy the e-book like I did for my Kobo Mini at Kobo: Food for the Gods, which saves paper and is even better!

Next Post: Do I Need a Publicist And If So, What Kind? Guest Post by Rachel Sentes of gal-friday publicity.

Stay tuned!

NEW COMIC SERIES AT ON SPEC - THE LAST DIVISION AND FINAL FRONTIER, GUEST POST by CAT McDONALD

from The Last Division and Final Frontier by Kyle Charles

THE FOLLOWING IS A GUEST POST by Cat McDonald. I asked her to tell us about the latest thing happening at On Spec - COMICS! Here's what she says:

"Those of you who subscribe to On Spec have a treat coming soon. On Spec is running a comic! We’ve started working with the delightful Kyle Charles to bring you The Last Division, an eight-part story about heroism in the future of reality TV, told in Kyle’s slick, expressive comic style. I can’t tell you how excited I am that On Spec now has a space for comic artists.

The idea that speculative fiction in inherently 'un-literary' has stuck in my craw since I first heard it. My youth had been full of starry-eyed wonder at the classics of fantasy, and later, I broke my heart over 1984 and A Wizard of Earthsea. And yet, when I talked to others, I was as likely as not to hear the entirety of genre fiction roundly dismissed! In my college classes, fellow students wriggled with visible discomfort at the idea of “magic realism”. Orwell and Le Guin were ignored or dismissed as rare exceptions.

I have always been of the opinion that literature is not limited to memoirs and certain coming-of-age novels. To dismiss speculative fiction is to say, “Only those stories about the reality I know and understand are important,” - the working of a spectacularly limited mind. But then, while working at On Spec, I realized something. I had been saying something similar; “Only those stories that exist on my terms are important.” Speculative fiction is one thing certainly, but geek pop culture in general tends to be tarred with the same brush. Video games, blockbuster movies, TV series, comics, tabletop games - there were other media that I dismissed all too easily. Especially comics. Speculative fiction gets a bad rep all around, and there’s no good in just protecting the stuff that’s made purely out of words; our culture is much, much larger than that. Yes, some of it is just fluffy escapism, and some of it is callously commercial, but some of it is rich with truth and meaning, with feeling and beauty and every other sentiment we call literature. A true artist is a true artist no matter what the medium. 

 So, I suggested that we start running a comic, and volunteered to be the editor in charge of the project.  I put together a submissions call with the help of some friends in the local comic scene and got a good fistful of solid submissions. Some I liked, some I loved, some I seriously regretted having to reject, but only one I had to insist upon. Kyle’s proposal was exactly what I wanted; it was action-packed but intelligent, offbeat and sensitive. I loved starting our comic feature with a cyberpunk story because of the great literary pedigree the subgenre bears. Kyle also understood what I meant when I asked for a series of stand-alone short stories. The Last Division’s chapters are connected, but a reader can pick up any issue without having to feel like she’s getting someone else’s leftovers. 

So, pick up any issue of On Spec, starting with this spring’s issue, and you’ll be able to see Kyle at work. Once his contract is up, we plan to open for submissions again. I would love for literary, intelligent comics to be a permanent fixture of the magazine.

And you know what? If On Spec ever becomes capable of printing a video game, then I’ll take submissions for those, too."

Cat's Bio: Cat McDonald is a notorious troublemaker working in Edmonton, Alberta. She edits and designs for On Spec magazine, and her fiction can be read in Tesseracts Fifteen: A Case of Quite Curious Tales and Here Be Monsters: Tongues and Teeth. Currently, she’s trying to sell a weird western novel, madly researching organized crime history, learning to make chicken soup from scratch, and judging furry dance contests. She keeps busy.

Kyle's Bio: Kyle Charles is an Edmonton born and raised comic artist who still resides in the city. After graduating from visual arts post-secondary and completing his stint as Happy Harbor's Artist-in-Residence, Kyle has broken into the comic industry with upcoming work for Image Comics' '68: Hallowed Ground.

(Thanks, Cat and Kyle).

Next Post: Interview with Karen Dudley and her fantastic new fantasy, Food for the Gods. You might find some of the things she has to say surprising!

Stay tuned!