Tag: Author

V.C. Linde writes poetry and prose in her Staffordshire home where she is surrounded by books and a rebellious garden. She has a degree in politics, which makes her especially good at making things up and writing them down. She won the 2012 New York Times Found Poetry competition and has been published in various print anthologies and online publications.She runs a Patreon campaign focused on poetry and prose.

http://www.patreon.com/vc 

Ren’s a writer of weird things, not known for an ability to fit into boxes of any description. Published in various places, including anthologies by the fabulous FoxSpirit and Anachron presses, and THIS IS HOW YOU DIE, from Grand Central publishing. Represented by the fabulous Jennifer Udden of Donald Maass Literary Agency, Ren’s looking to invade book shops near you very soon. Find her on twitter @RenWarom, on Facebook /ren.warom and on the web at http://renwaromsumwelt.wordpress.com.

Quick Q&A

Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.

The battle of Maldon apparently raged on the causeway between the mainland and Northey island on the Blackwater, a place my friends and I used to spend many hours (many of them in absentia from school *coff*). I once almost had a chunk taken out of my leg by a Barracuda there. I only saw its eyes and teeth, its mouth was almost as long as my leg. The Blackwater was a wild, wonderful place (despite the odd sewage outlet). It was the *only* thing I loved about living in Maldon.

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?

From when I was about junior school age till my early teens I wanted to be these things alternately, and occasionally all at once: a jet pilot, a racing driver, a jockey, an astronaut, an actress. Then it all boiled down to one thing: Alive. That last one became very pertinent for far too long a time. In many ways it still is.

Which superhero would you most like to be and why?

Black Widow. She’s awesome, way more physically capable than I could ever be, and smart as a whip.

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.

My primary weapon is a CAS-Hanwei Tak-Wak (tactical Wakizashi). Four things I would definitely need in my bag are a fire-starting kit, oil/cloths/sharpener for my sword, a multi-function tool, and a first aid kit including an array of pills to combat anything easily treatable.

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new?

Duma Key by Stephen King. Every time. Hedges against the night, bitches. Build them.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?

Panic. No really. If I don’t panic about a story, about getting it right, I know I won’t finish it or be able to fix any problems it has. The stories I feel most passionate about engage with my panic in deeply intimate ways, forcing me to go and fix them no matter how horrifying the amount of fixing they need. The rest of my process is a big old mess of writing by the seat of my pants and getting bored of research after two seconds (yes, I know, I’m unnatural in that, I do not apologise).

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?

Bill Burroughs, though he’d probably laugh at me. And we’d write some seriously weird shit together. Something to melt the frontal lobe. NB: I wouldn’t allow him to use the words ‘anal mucus’ more than once every five chapters. Frankly that’s *more* than enough.

Steven Savile has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Slaine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, Arkham Horror, Risen, and other popular game and comic worlds.

Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.

I used to joke that I emigrated to Sweden because it smelled so good. Even the subway smelled good, crowded with people at rush hour, even on the hottest days, both women and men. It was all expensive designer cologne and perfume, obviously, but beyond that I was renting a little place and on the street corner was one of the biggest bakeries in the area, so I’d come home at one in the morning from the pub and the entire street smelled of cinnamon. The experience actually inspired one of my favourite—and I suspect best—short stories, Icarus Descending, which was published by Len and Mick at Engimatic Press. The notion behind it was that there are only so many real people in the world and that they’re creating the world around them as they move through it, and all of those really powerful smells, fresh cut grass, cinnamon from the bakery etc, are all signature scents of those real people busy creating.

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?

I always wanted to be a sports journalist – football specifically. But in terms of more esoteric choices, I wanted to be a professional cricketer. I used to train down at Sussex with Imran Kahn and Paul Parker as, at the time, I was one of the better slip fielders in the county, but I was convinced to go get an education and find a real job. Well, I showed them, I went and became a writer. Bet they wished I’d become a cricketer now!

Which super hero would you most like to be and why?

I can only name about three superheroes, and I have very little interest in all of the Marvel stuff. I’m not a fan of the idea of super powers, so for that reason, I’d be the big black bat. I mean, who doesn’t want to say ‘I’m Batman’ at least once and mean it?

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.

A toothbrush, because dental hygiene is important, obviously. Soap, because come on, it might be the end of the world, but no one wants to die smelly. A bullet with my name on it. That way I know I’m not going to get shot as I’ve got the offending lump of lead. A corker, and a cricket bat. It doesn’t have to be the end of civilisation just because the dead have risen after all. Maybe we can get a few overs in and defend ourselves at the same time.

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new?

I don’t really. There are only a few books I’ve ever read twice. I do have a few writers I’ll queue up to buy their new books, and always put down whatever I’m reading to start theirs: Stephen Lawhead, Clive Barker, Lee Child, Jonathan Carroll, and most of those are down to the fact I’ve been reading the guys for a long time now.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?

Coffee. It’s a ritual. It gets me out of the house. Without coffee I’d never see another living soul. I’d be locked away in my basement studio writing and never come up for air. Coffee is my social lubricant.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?

Clive Barker. I have no idea what we’d write. Something fabulous and dark and sexy, obviously.

Geraldine was raised on a diet of Nancy Drew and pancakes, and her passion for creative writing blossomed. Travel fed her imagination, filling it with ideas and stories of dragons, water gods, epic battles and so much more. Her first published story was featured in ‘Tales of the Nun and Dragon’ from Fox Spirit Books, with a collection of short stories, ‘Weird Wild’, a YA novel ‘Akane: Last of the Orions’ also published. Her first preteen novella, ‘Ghoulsome Graveyard’ is published through Fennec Books, an imprint of Fox Spirit and for whom Geraldine is Commissioning Editor. Her short stories have featured in Siren’s Call and Fantasy Faction as well as the upcoming ‘My Wandering Uterus’.  Geraldine currently lives in the UK with a magic teapot, a sock-stealing pup, biscuit-stealing child and a very patient husband.

More about her crazy world can be found at www.geraldineclarkhellery.co.uk

Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.

I’ve been really lucky to live in a number of different countries so here goes: I loved in the Galapagos being able to walk down to the beach to swim with turtles, I found the mix of modern and ancient cultures in Japan fascinating (I’d have students with their latest gadgets stopping to make offerings to crumbling forest gods), I loved how passionate people got about food and wine in Spain and the general laid-back air of Australia. However, I’m fascinated by where I grew up because the changing seasons make it different every time I go home, but it’s still the same.  

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?

A princess! A bit of a cliche but my princess role models were She-Ra, Leia and Sarah from Labyrinth. I learned early that princesses need compassion, weapons knowledge, a love of reading and accessories. 

Which super hero would you most like to be and why?

Squirrel Girl! 

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.

Notebook & pen, shampoo bar (just cos it’s the end of the world is no excuse not to look good!), walking boots and a good book (title of this changes frequently). 

As for weapon, as an Apocalypse Girl, I’ve obviously thought about this a lot and think a sword might be good but could prove heavy and unwieldy (unless you’ve got a little one like Arya Stark’s ‘Needle’). Guns have too many parts which might jam and are useless when you’re out of bullets. Bows and arrows are pretty cool and making arrows during long dark nights when the zombies are roaming would be pretty relaxing.

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new? 

I love Stephen King’s ‘Skeleton Crew’ which I’ve read so many times. Neil Gaimen’s work is always a treat, although (the horror) I prefer the movie of ‘Stardust’ to the book. However, if I’m too tired/attention deficit to read a proper book, I love the Hellboy comics.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?

Time and discipline. When I have one, I rarely have the other. 

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?

I’ve read a little of Marilyn Monroe’s poetry, essays and mish-mashed thoughts so I think it would be really interesting to see what would happen with a full length book, although I’m not sure she was a genre fan so I’d have to throw a few unicorns in during editing!

Interviews

Geraldine was interviewed by Margret Helgadottir, Cat Connor and Starburst mag. 

Margrét Helgadóttir

Quick Q&A
Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.
I’ve been so lucky to live several places in Africa as a child and huge chunks of my heart is left there. What I both loved most and hated most, was the different rhytmn. The African time, as we called it. It could be extremely frustrating when being a restless and impatient soul, but I like to think that I got a more relaxed attitude towards looking at my watch all the time and allow the things that were happening, to happen. Go with the flow. Also, how bizarre it was, if you stopped driving in the middle of the wilderness, there would always be someone coming out from the bush to check us out. There were people everywhere! Quite different when compared to living in a sparsely populated Northern country. I also loved to listen to the drums in the night or to wake up to the mosque calling to prayer in the morning.

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?
They say I declared to my grandmother when I was five years old that I’d become an author and write a book about her. I was a strange child, always deep into my books, reading adult books about explorers, the cold war and spies. So, other wishes were to become a professor (the Oxford kind, maybe an archeologist), a war journalist, a jet plane pilot, or an aid worker. I also played with the idea of becoming an artist fulltime. When I turned fifteen and had to choose further education, I badly wanted to become a psychologist, but I knew I wasn’t tough enough. Looking back, I think I’ve done well. I might still write a book about my grandmother, btw. Writing is the one wish that has always been with me.

Which super hero would you most like to be and why?
I’m not sure this hero exists. But of the ones that exist, probably Cat Woman, because you know, kick ass, and cats.

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.
First: Eeek! Second: Maps, solar powered torch, something to filtrate water with, a wool blanket. I would have wanted a notebook and pen, but have to take mental notes instead. I thought of bringing a swiss army knife, but since my pet weapon would be a machete, it would do. A machete means close encounters, not firing from a safe distance, but it will last if you remember to wipe off the gore and sharpen it now and then.

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new?
I’m huge at rereading. It’s more about what mood particular books/stories put me in, rather than who wrote them. I’m the same with movies. Fantasy and science fiction are always good choices when needing to escape real world and seek comfort. Also, I often reread Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, and writers such as Haruki Murakami, John Irving and Amy Tan. I also have Norwegian and Nordic writers I come back to, like Thore Hansen, Astrid Lindgren and Tove Jansson.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?
I need a deadline.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?
I’m not sure about particular authors, but I’ve often thought it would have been fun to either create a world with someone where other authors write from different angles than me. I’ve also thought about a correspondence of some sorts.

Goodreads author page

Amazon author page

The quick Q&A

 Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.

I love Dundee, this city on the side of a hill sloping down to the silvery Tay. I’m happiest when I’m close to water. I love that the city has a dragon and statues of famous cartoon characters as well as penguins. I love that love brought me here, to a city I never dreamed of having a home in—as my sweetie would say, “magic”.

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?

For a long time, I wanted to be a veterinarian after reading James Herriott’s books. I do love animals and am not too bothered by blood and oogey stuff, but eventually I realised that it wasn’t really about being a vet in Yorkshire (although yay, Yorkshire!) but about writing and it had always been about the writing.

Which super hero would you most like to be and why?

I suppose Buffy — not just because an internet quiz told me that because well, I love the series and hello? Fox Spirit Origin Story! But also because for all her kick ass ability she knew the most important thing was having friends and having their backs. And getting it on all kinky with Spike (wait, I didn’t say that!).

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.

I’d go with rope, an axe, a flask and a sustainable torch (one of those that you can shake to relight).
And I’d need some books or at least the collected works of Jane Austen. Or my shiny full of ebooks but wait! Apocalypse! No electricity I suppose. Oh god! Some blank journals and lots of pens—wait, how many things?

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new?

So many, so many—Jane Austen I suppose, any of them. Wilkie Collins? Big 19th century novels like Elizabeth Gaskell’s or Anthony Trollope’s.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?

Tea. Lots and lots of tea. My sweetie is the tea fairy who brings it to me and I am so lucky.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?

Oh, so hard to choose! Peter Cook, because all I would have to do would be type what he said between fits of laughter? We would write the funniest joke in the world and then everyone would die laughing—wait, that’s horrible! Laughter apocalypse—not with a bang but a titter. I better rethink this…

Interviews

The Overflowing Library hosts our lovely guest editor K.A.Laity

Chloë Yates writes odd stories (she’ll have a bash at anything, given half a chance). English born, she currently lives in the middle of Switzerland with her bearded paramour, Mr Y, and their disapproving dog, Miss Maudie, surrounded by books, effigies of owls, and the great god Ganesh. She’s currently working on her edition of Feral Tales for her fearless leader at Fox Spirit as well as her novel, The Chronicles of Douchester: Iggy Rising, both due out 2014.

Find out more about her via her invariably ranty blog http://www.chloe-yates.blogspot.com or her website, which can be found down the rabbit hole at http://www.chloeyates.com

The quick Q&A

Tell us one thing you loved or found fascinating about a place you have lived.
I live in the middle of Switzerland so I’m obscenely lucky. It’s beautiful, and I’m not just talking about snow and mountains. Any season is worth seeing in Switz. The country and its people have a conservative image, but there are all kinds of odd things here that make a lie of the stereotype. For example, the bar Elvis et Moi in town is a gaudy retro heaven, while down the road in Gruyères, a walled town with incredible views, you can drink an Alien Coffee in the Giger Café, which is opposite the HR Giger museum. I love that while the Swiss are low-key, they have a rich vein of oddness that isn’t scorned or derided, it’s just a part of them.

What did you want to be when you grew up (other than a writer if that was an option)?
I was a precocious reader as a kid and my first “grown up” book was Jane Eyre, which I read when I was 5 and a half. I remember reading the introduction to the Penguin edition I had and while I didn’t understand what it was knocking on about, I very much wanted to be the person who talked about stories for a living. In a fancy pants way. It was either that or I liked the sound of Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss. Professor Chloe. Sounds good, right? Shallow. Other than that I wanted to be Doris Day in Calamity Jane. Or The Mighty Thor’s pants.

Which super hero would you most like to be and why?
Bananaman. Then reality could meet the fantasy in my head where the Goodies narrate my everyday life.

It’s finally happened! The zompoc is here! Name four things in your ‘go bag’ and your primary weapon.
I already have my weapon ready. I have a big stick that was carved into a baseball bat for me when I was a kid. It’s big and heavy and I could knock a good portion of shit out of the undead with it.
What would be in my bag? A big bottle of Dettol (doubles as a blunt instrument), one of those multi-tool things Alec’s banging on about with a firestarting thingummy and an everlasting torch feature (I bet the Swiss Army have one), a can opener and a sewing/first aid kit. Five’s my lucky number though, so I’d have to have another item too. Probably a good pair of spare socks. Wet socks are all the miserable.

What is your go to comfort book or writer when you can’t settle into anything new?
I don’t really have a comfort book or writer and I very rarely re-read things, except Jane Austen, who I can read until the cows come home. The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell was the book I read and re-read over and over as a kid. I have a first edition of it (which I bought in Looe, Cornwall for a fiver!) and, while I haven’t read it since I was 8, owning it makes me feel better about the world. I do always try to have a Christopher Fowler Bryant and May novel ready and waiting for one of those dark days when I just can’t decide on a book to read. They are, without exception, fucking brilliant.

What is the single most important thing to your writing process?
Getting it down on the page. Once that’s done, it might turn into something completely different, but if I don’t get a beginning, middle and end of some sort down, I get lost in a fog of my own ballbaggery. I hate being a ballbag, drives me mad.

If you could collaborate with any author who would it be and what would you write together?
Enid Blyton. Woman was a fricking genius. There’d be jolly cloud-born tree boarding schools with magical oddballs who ride giant incandescent bumblebees in pursuit of the oblong desire of the wicked demon teeth who is holding Big Ears to ransom. Or something. With swearing. And cannibalism. Natch.

Chloe Yates is available for interviews and guest posts. Please contact adele@(nospam)foxspirit.co.uk

Hardeep was born in the city of Wolverhampton, on the very day, one hundred years prior, legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday dropped former army scout Mike Gordon with one flawless shot. He currently resides in Leicester, where he spends the majority of his day perfecting the art of the quick draw, and compiling endless lists of words, ready for the hour when the urge to write seizes him.

The quick Q&A