How did you come up with the idea for "Alien Dust"?
I came up with the idea for the story as I was trying to figure out how a person would stop a vampire with modern technology. The Dustbuster (TM) just jumped into mind, and I laughed my head off. However, it wasn't that funny with humans; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural have pretty much worn the shine off of the idea. But aliens! Who have never seen a vampire! Area 51 meets Dracula, it was too good! How do you handle the challenges to your writing time? You seem to live with a crowd of people and animals. Challenges to my writing time occurred while the kids were growing up. Now that they're adults, it's easier to find the time to myself. Do you see writing as an eventual career for you, or a sideline? I always wanted to be a writer as a career. But look around. Less than 100 people make a living off of writing, and I am nowhere near the quality to manage that. So I kept my day job. Do you have hobbies? If so, do they influence your writing? My hobbies are gardening, taking care of the critters, and walking. I fit anything else in as there is time (and energy). And yes, they always influence my writing. What is your next project? My next project is to finish one of the list of stories I have the kernel of an idea for (I have the list written, now I need to point my finger at whichever one draws my interest). I'm thinking dice would be a better way to decide which story is next.
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Once again, we welcome the multitalented Chantal Boudreau to our pages. In addition to being a CMA-MBA, she has a BA with a major in English from Dalhousie University. A member of the Horror Writers Association, she writes and illustrates predominantly horror, dark fantasy and fantasy and has had several of her short stories published in anthologies. Your story involves a ghost writer who isn't a ghost. :) How did you come up with the idea for "Dead to Write"? I have several writer friends with whom I chat regularly and occasionally collaborate. One of these friends, Brad Filipone, is primarily a playright and I speak with him a few times every week. He does write some fiction but he struggles with getting things finished...we have a joint project that has been a work in progress for years. Anyway, we were talking about my zombie stories and funny concepts and he planted a seed for this story in my head. He has a quirky sense of humour and a great imagination. With his permission, I used the idea to write "Dead to Write." A lot of my story ideas are sparked by things friends and family say. Can you tell us a little about your writing process? (For example, do you have to be alone, do you play background music, etc.) I'm a full-time accountant with a busy household: a stay-at-home, self-employed husband, two kids, one a teenager and one with special needs, a mother-in-law and a cat. I also have chickens and a demanding garden. What this means is I have to steal time to write whenever I can get it. Usually it's when I'm on the bus, commuting to and from work, or during my lunch hour. I like to have music on when I write, but it's not required. I find it inspirational. With short stories I find it's one quick burst of an idea and I write around it. With novels, I do a lot of plotting. While planning, I start with an ending, go back to the beginning, set out the major plot points that will get me to my end and fill in the gaps. The characters create themselves as I go and my writing is very fluid. The outline is there as a guideline, but it can change with little warning. Do you see writing as a career for you, or a sideline? Maybe when I retire ... if I retire ... it may become more of a career, but for now it's a sideline that helps keep me sane when I'm stressed. I'm quite happy with my day job. I have a great boss and co-workers and they support my writing efforts. It's secure, pays well and makes good use of my education. I only have one pro-rate writing sale (and a few semi-pro sales) so far, along with several token payments and royalty contracts. I'd need a great deal more than that before I could consider giving up being an accountant. Do you have hobbies? If so, do they influence your writing? I love to read, listen to music and draw, all of which influence my writing. I also like to dabble, trying out varous sports, crafts, art forms and leisure activities. I also like to travel. I think a broad range of diverse experiences translates to more fodder for stories. What is your next project? My current project is working on the sixth novel in my Fervor dystopian series. I'm more than halfway through the first draft. I'm not sure what my next project will be - wherever whimsy happens to take me, I guess.
Now that we've shown you the cover to Tales of The Bastard Drunk, we would like to better introduce you to the author, D.M. Woon. You started writing at a young age. What were those early stories like? One of the first stories I remember writing was about a young girl moving to a new school and finding her classmates reluctant to accept her as one of their own because she was different. As much as I'd like to say that my earliest work was teeming with social commentary, it was actually pretty nonsensical. I think her name was Safari and she had a magic watch; either way, it was all child-friendly until the likes of R.L. Stine and Louise Cooper corrupted my mind. I read Say Cheese And Die! and pretty much everything I wrote from then on was horror. Tell us more about the origins of The Bastard Drunk, a character with an undeniably strong voice. He emerged from one of your short stories? The Bastard's voice came from a short story I wrote during my final year at university, when I was actually supposed to be writing my dissertation. I was working on a submission for an anthology that was looking for homages to the kind of films you'd see in Grindhouse theaters. I was already a fan of the Tarantino/Rodriguez double-feature, and the next thing I knew I was writing my own B movie, with all the sex and violence that were characteristic of the genre. Grindhouse is an American term, so the narrator was American. It was my first real attempt at writing in a voice different to my own, and I wanted to explore it further. Gina is a major power in Kramusville, and a real shock to read. Would you tell us a little more about her? Gina has always been aware of her 'special abilities'; her memory stretches back to when she was still in the womb, and she claims to have used her powers for only good, to ensure that her mother felt no pain. Her parents did not believe her, nor did they accept that she had a gift, and for this their relationship suffered. School was Gina's escape - her classmates were in awe of her. She felt in control of them, and as she grew, so did her desire for command over children. They gave her solace. When her parents announced they were expecting a second child, Gina wasn't so kind with her powers... Did any of the story inspirations come from real life? The tales are pretty horrifying, but so are people sometimes. The tales weren't inspired by any specific real life events; at least, not from my own personal experiences. 'Clean Up On Aisle Gore' was the first tale I started to write, and at the time, all I wanted to do was place my narrator into a mundane setting and have something extraordinary occur. I tend to write horror that preys on the fear of the horrible things that could occur in everyday life, but with Tales Of The Bastard Drunk I wanted to incorporate the paranormal to broaden the scope and have a bit more fun with it. Who are your current favorite authors? What do you enjoy about them? Stephen King will always be a firm favourite for obvious reasons, and I've been reading classic Raymond Carver quite a bit recently. I like to think that I'm versatile when it comes to reading, and believe it or not I prefer books that make me laugh. I really like Danny Wallace, and Yes Man is one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. Comedy is a welcome escape from my own writing; when I finished writing The Bastard's tales, the first book I picked up was Ron Burgundy's autobiography. What are you working on next? I recently finished a short novella called The Recherché, which is set in an alternate, dystopian reality where blood is currency. Among my current projects is The Cure, which is a short fantasy story set largely in the imagination of a young girl, who is confined to her bed due to illness, as she searches for her remedy. There is another novella in progress with a working title of Kentucky Fried Christian, and there's always the possibility of more tales from The Bastard in the future... “Buy The Bastard a brandy, an’ he might jus’ tell you a tale ’bout this town…” Kramusville is a town with a long and bloody history. When Paul and Fitz arrive on foot, desperate for shelter, they only find one place that appears to be open – The Finger Inn. There’s a train in the morning, but during the long night they hear the Tales of The Bastard Drunk. Tales filled with depravity and gore, each worse than the one before. They pray for the dawn to come, so they can leave – but will Kramusville let them go? Stories like "Vannigan’s Grudge", "Mr. Creeper", and "Clean Up On Aisle Gore" are darker than anything we've previously published. Warning: this novella contains violence, blood, and extreme sexual content. Print copies of Tales of the Bastard Drunk are now available for preorder (domestic only) through our site. The Kindle version will be available on Amazon.com shortly. About the Author:An avid reader from an early age, one of D.M. Woon's earliest memories of writing was of completing the remaining pages of a scrapbook filled with short stories cut from a magazine, and adopting the style of the authors. A fan of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series and Louise Cooper’s Creatures, it wasn't long before he began to write his own collection of short horror stories.
D.M. Woon has a first-class Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Creative and Professional Writing. Since graduating, Woon has had two further pieces of work published: a 100 word drabble called ‘Stains’, and the popular short story ‘Saturday the Eighth’ which features in Necro Publications’ anthology Into The Darkness. The written ‘voice’ Woon assumed for the piece, and the response he received, inspired him to write Tales of The Bastard Drunk. Learn more about D.M. Woon from his blog and Facebook author page. On Monday, we'll be doing another cover reveal... but for a much darker work than anything MAHLLC has published before. Definitely not for the faint of heart or the easily shocked!
Goodreads Book GiveawayStrangely Funny 2 1/2by Sarah E. GlennGiveaway ends June 17, 2015. See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Don't miss out! We're giving away three free copies of Strangely Funny 2 1/2 on Goodreads. Goodreads is a great place to visit anyway, so get over there. :)
Because one book wasn't big enough to contain the insanity! Seventeen MORE tales of supernatural hilarity from new authors and previous Strangely Funny favorites. Strangely Funny 2 1/2 is now available for preorder (domestic only) through our site. The cover art was done by Monstermatt Patterson, author/artist of Ha-Ha! Horror, mad podcast punster, and the 2014 Winner in Artvoice's "Best of Buffalo" Awards (Best Painter). The Stories:"Knewscast" By Kevin Quirt - Reporting the news before it happens can still leave one prey to the unexpected.
"The New Kid" By Tim McDaniel - What happens when the new kid in school is the Antichrist? "The Pillow" By Fred McGavran - The fountain of youth can also give you a magnetic personality. "Inheritance" By Kristina R. Mosley - Every family has its skeletons. "The Snout" By Matthew Pegg - Jon Darkness meets The Gnawer at the Threshold. "Alien Dust" By Chelsea Nolen - The latest alien abductee isn't getting probed. "Outsourcing" By Gary Piserchio & Frank Tagader - If you can code in your sleep, these guys still have you beat. "The Demon of City Hall" By Rosalind Barden - A troll doll is the first victim of demonic activity in an unimportant government office. "Sadie's Selkie" By C.A. Rowland - A selkie's kiss can be dangerous, given some allergies. "Getting A Head" By Joette Rozanski - Troll weddings have unusual party favors. "Folkesmuir" By John Grey - The village's first director of tourism gives his all to bring in visitors. "Hell's Working Girl" By Dan Foley - A succubus walks into a bar... "Unimpressed" By David Neilsen - Summoning eldritch creatures as party entertainment proves ill-advised. "Stephen, the Well-Adjusted Vampire" By Katrina Nicholson - How can a nice vampire find love, when all the girls prefer his bad-boy brother? "Beehives of the Dead" By Elizabeth Allen - A woman is buried with the wrong hairdo and takes exception. "The Other Half" By A. Steven Clark - A doctor has a sure-fire vaccine to prevent zombism. "Dead to Write" By Chantal Boudreau - The alternative to ghost writers. Why would bats need space helmets? Only cover artist Monstermatt Patterson knows... for now. Stay tuned for the reveal of an unannounced anthology, one that exists because there was just too much insanity for one book to contain! Nightmare Noir is now available on Amazon in the Kindle store, and on Smashwords in other e-book formats. In other news: the winner of the Goodreads Giveaway is Barbara in Florida. And no, we don't know her. :) We had 715 entries for the drawing, which is our highest total ever.
Our Goodreads giveaway for Nightmare Noir ends on April 30th! If you haven't entered yet, now is the time. If you'd like to learn more about Alex Azar and the creation of James S. Peckman, check out his interview on Patricia Abbott's blog.
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Mystery and Horror, LLC, is an indie press interested in what the name suggests. Contact us at: mysteryandhorrorllc@gmail.com
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