Niteblade News

There were 78 entries into the draw (comments + pdf purchases)  for an autographed copy of S.G. Browne’s novel, Breathers. The random number generator has spoken and the winner is Greg Schwartz. The winning comment was left on the poem ‘He Wanted’. Congratulations Greg!

I am calling this a rousing success and thus will be having another book giveaway with the next issue of Niteblade in September

Once before, I featured the pencil creations of Shane Lees in the Niteblade art blog. Well, Shane is back, and his art is wilder than ever! Whether it be jellyfish floating in space, a Roman fort sitting beneath a triad of moons, whales soaring through the sky, or a spider web eye, Shane’s fantastic visions sweep the viewer away to surreal locales and strange realities.

An overwhelming desire to draw overcame Shane when he was but a young lad growing up in Tacoma, Washington. He earned a  B.F.A. in Graphic Illustration from the Art Institute of Tacoma, and has won several art competitions. Among his various credits, he has been commissioned to illustrate gaming cards for the on-line roll playing game Dark Confrontation by Hand Made Games, and book covers for Dreamspinner Press. More recently, Shane has been commissioned to illustrate Dave Hitt’s podiobook Blood Witness.

Being a sketcher at heart, Shane’s artistic weapon of choice is a regular number two pencil. Occasionally, he resorts to wielding a 9B or charcoal. His art betrays his love for the fantasy and science-fiction genres, and his style often mixes realism with the fantastical.

Let Shane’s weird and wonderful works carry you off to somewhere else, somewhere strange, somewhere out of this world.

Shane’s bio, full list of credits and achievements, and on-line portfolio containing more examples of his artwork, can be found here.

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Help Catherynne M. Valente

I don’t actually know yuki_onna or justbeast . I’ve never read any of Catherynne’s work and they aren’t on my friends list. That being said, when I read about their troubles I wanted to help. So I’m donating ad space on Niteblade, a copy of Lost Innocence and a copy of Sister Margaret to the auction to raise some money for them.

My auction is here. Please stop by and place a bid. For $5 you could win two great things to read and ad space on Niteblade Magazine. Plus, you’ll be help some people who really need it. If you can think of something else I could throw in on the auction to make it better let me know, I’m very open to suggestions.

The deadline is tomorrow night.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Christopher Hivner a few times since Niteblade began. Some of his poetry graces our pages and I’ve always found him very personable and easy to work with. When he emailed to ask if one of our reviewers might be interested in taking a look at his short story collection The Spaces Between Your Screams I didn’t hesitate to agree. (Amber’s review appears here) and at the same time asked if he’d be interested in an interview. He said yes. It’s been a while since then, but finally the interview is done and ready to share. Enjoy

First of all, thank you so much for your patience. We’ve been meaning to do this interview for ages, but something always kept coming up on my end that put it off. Do you find that the business of publishing tests your patience on a regular basis? The whole waiting to hear back from publishers, waiting to publish…that sort of thing?

Absolutely. Patience is something I’ve had to learn in all aspects of life, I certainly wasn’t born with it. I started trying to get published around 1992 and had no idea what I was doing or what I was in for. Back then it was looking for the SASEs in the mail and when one showed up it was like Christmas morning. The longest I’ve waited for something to get published was 18 months. It was a poem in a British zine called Krax. They warned me ahead of time it would be a wait so I forgot all about it. When the contributor’s copy appeared in the mail one day I had no idea what it was. The longest response time I’ve had was 2 years and I had already sent a communication to them withdrawing it, submitted it elsewhere, had it accepted and published by the time they told me they weren’t interested. I’ve learned to busy myself with other projects after submitting something so I don’t think about it.

I’m looking at a copy of The Spaces Between Your Screams right now, is this your first short story collection?

Yes, this is my first full length collection of anything. I had a chapbook of mainstream poetry, “Edged in Blue”, published in 2004, but this is my first published full length book. I have enough stories for a 2nd one but they all need edited and revised and I’m still trying to get Spaces out there, so that’s down the road.

People enjoy hearing about how something came to be published. Do you have an interesting story about The Spaces Between Your Screams?

I have a frustrating one that harkens back to the whole patience question. I put The Spaces Between Your Screams together after a 2 year hiatus from writing. I thought the process of compiling the stories and revising them would be a good way of easing back into things. When it was finished the publisher I had been planning on sending it to was out of business. I found another publisher that wanted only a sample of 20 pages which they said they would respond to in a month. 10 months later I got a letter saying they were intrigued and would like to read the whole book so I packed it up and mailed it off, expecting to hear something in 6 months. A year passed and I started sending query letters and emails. Finally one day they answered that they were inundated with submissions and were behind in their reading, but assured me they would get around to my manuscript.

So I waited and waited and waited . . . and waited. I got involved in other things, putting it in the back of my mind and soon another year had passed. More letters and emails went out into the ether and eventually I received this answer: So and So publishing will be going out of business within the month. We have no record of receiving your manuscript or of having ever read it. We apologize for any inconvenience.

I don’t know, is 3 years of my life an inconvenience? After I stopped swearing I sent it to eTreasures Publishing and the publisher, Vickie Kennedy, accepted it in a few weeks. It was published as an ebook in September 2007 and as a paperback in September 2008.

I haven’t finished reading The Spaces Between Your Screams yet but so far one of my favorite stories is Eyes Wide Open. Do you have a favorite story in this collection?

When the Machines Arrive is my favorite. I’m a sucker for a post-apocalyptic story, especially one with no neat and tidy ending. I’ve always figured if the scenario ever plays out for real, we won’t truly understand what happened so why should it be written in a packaged way. Also, I’ve always had this weird fear of a large object falling on me from the sky. I used to lie on the grass as a kid and look at the clouds imagining one descending onto me.

I have a soft spot for Water and Wine as well. I’m not hugely invested in vampires but I like to write humor and it’s a challenge to blend it with another genre.

I’m a big fan of your poetry, Niteblade has been honored to include several of your pieces in the past. Do you occasionally find that something you start writing as a poem instead would work better as a short story or vice versa?

I have definitely taken the poem to story route. Most of my poetry is begun as stream of consciousness and after I hit on something I like then I start shaping it. Because I use a narrative style quite often, many of my pieces could go either way.

I have a stubborn streak so at times I’ll keep trying to force a poem to remain what it began life as, until one day I finally admit that it’s truly awful, but could be a good story.

I don’t remember every turning a story into a poem, but maybe I should take a second look at some of the things in my unfinished pile.

What are you working on now?

Currently I’m the king of the half finished projects. I’m about 37,000 words into a horror novel that started life as a 5000 word short story that wasn’t working. I shortened it to 2000 words and it was worse. One day I hit upon an idea to expand it to novel length and now I’m excited about it if I do it right.

I also have 35 pages finished of a screenplay based on one of my old short stories, The White Line. I would like to put together a collection of my horror poems. I started a preliminary one a few years ago but it needs revised.

I am writing a series of humorous stories based on a fictitious community I created. Not the most original concept I’ll grant you, but I really like the stories and characters that are emerging from it. So far I have 6 stories at about 40,000 words.

What are your plans for the future?

I have several chapbook and full length books of mainstream poetry I’m trying to get published so I will continue that search.

I also started a blog in March called Cosmic Overdrive. I satirize anything in the news that I have a strong opinion about. It’s turned out to be about American politicians 75% of the time because they just keep doing and saying stupid things.

My main focus now is to get word out about The Spaces Between Your Screams. To that end, something I have to do in the near future is overcome a fear of drawing attention to myself. I am an introvert who would like to be similar to the birds I hear every morning in the trees next to my home; they surround me with their songs but I can never see them. In a perfect world for me my writing would make the noise and I would stay unseen in the shadows. That’s unrealistic so I have to learn to deal with attention and sell my work.

Where is the best place for people to get a copy of The Spaces Between Your Screams?

My book can be found at 2 places online:
www.Amazon.com where it is available in paperback and kindle device
www.etreasurespublishing.com where it is available in paperback, ebook or CD-Rom

Where can they find you online?

http://www.squidoo.com/screams is a page I created to advertise The Spaces Between Your Screams. There are excerpts from 3 of the stories in the book, and links to a few of my favorite horror novels and zines. There are also links to some horror-themed t-shirts that my sister and brother and I designed and sell at an online store we run, Yoe Creek Designs .

My blog can be found at http://cosmicoverdrive.blogspot.com

I have just recently joined Facebook. If you search my full name, Christopher Hivner, you will find a page I created where I will be posting anything that has to with my writing.

Thank you so much for taking the time for this interview. Again, I apologise for how long it took for me to get my act in gear. Thank you for giving me your time and allowing me the exposure in Niteblade. Good luck in the future.

In my humble opinion it was time for Niteblade to get a new look, and so it has. Do you like it?

June 17 ETA: I’ve temporarily switched the June issue back to an older look so I can fix the errors with comments and the link to leave comments not showing up.

ETA: Fixed! Thank you for your patience.

Yay! I just finished adding all the stories and poems from the September 2007 issue into the pre-2009 archives. It’s a lot of work, but there is a perk to this task — I get to re-read all the work

The September 2007 issue was the very first issue of Niteblade and I have learned so much since then but I’m happy to say that the quality of the work we featured then was as fantastic as it is now.

If you’ve not read the September issue I strongly recommend taking some time out to do so. Some of my favorite stories from issue #1 include Shine On, Whispers and, of course, the cover story, Dark Angel. If you’re more in the mood for poetry be sure and check out Hall of Shadows and Cut at the very least.

Don’t forget we’re giving away an autographed copy of S.G. Browne’s novel Breathers. Every comment left on/in Issue #8 will count as one entry for the draw and every purchase of a .pdf will count as five entries. I’ll be making the draw on July 1st.

Issue #8 is live. Yay!

I think it looks phenomenal. BD did a fantastic job on the web version and Jo kicked butt with the .pdf. We’ve got a very strong line up of poetry and stories combined with Marge’s fantastic artwork. It doesn’t get much better than this…but wait! There’s more!

We are giving away an autographed copy of BREATHERS by S.G. Browne this month too! Every comment left on/in Issue #8 will count as one entry for the draw and every purchase of a .pdf will count as five entries. I’ll be making the draw on July 1st so there’s lots of time for you to wrack up entries.

Enjoy!

In this installment of the Niteblade art blog, I’m pleased to present a few samples of the mythical and magickal art of Lori Baratta. Hailing from the mystical Catskill Mountains,  Lori is a full-time professional artist and illustrator. Her works have graced the covers and interior pages of tomes such as The Wicca Handbook and A Witches Book of Answers, as well as various magazines and catalogs. Her art also appears on various products, including stained glass items, reference charts, decorative and spell candles, tarot bags, and note cards.

Interested in myth and fantasy since she was a wee lass, Lori delves deeply into the historical, religious, and cultural importance of any symbols used in her metaphysical artworks. Possessing a great love of colour, Lori utilizes various media to create vibrant compositions. In addition to her mythical and New Age designs, she also produces commissioned portraits and contemporary fine art. Examples of her work can be found hanging in various public and private collections.

Products featuring Lori’s designs can be found at Lori Baratta Artworks.

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It was my distinct pleasure to meet and hang out with Conrad Williams at the World Horror Convention in Winnipeg. I was also lucky enough to be one of the first people to claim a copy of his newest novel, One.  As it turns out he sold out and had to take mail orders, but I snagged one before that happened. It gave me something to read on the plane back to Edmonton, and I devoured it. You can check out my review on my personal blog.

Once I finished the book I shot Conrad an email that sort of said “Hey, can I interview you for Niteblade? Please, pretty please?”

He said yes.

Enjoy

Your work, at least what I’ve read of it, tends to deal a lot with delusions and insanity. Is that something you’ve always been interested in?

I think horror fiction certainly lends itself to these subjects. Insanity certainly hovers at the margins of my latest novel, ONE. It can’t be avoided. End of the world, uncertainty, fear. Insanity can’t be far away. I like to explore the limits of endurance that people suffer before they crack. I think we’re a pretty hardy breed and can deal with most things that nature throws at us, but that borderline where enough is enough, it’s an interesting place to tread, creatively.

When I finish one of your stories, I am compelled to go back and re-read it again. Not because I don’t understand it, but because I feel like there are layers upon layers and that it will take several reads to really excavate them all. Do you know if other people feel that way, or am I over-thinking things a bit?

Readers who are also writers go back over stories they’ve enjoyed or found interesting because they’re fascinated by the craft. They want to see the nuts and bolts, how it’s been done. And also what they might have missed. There may be different levels, there might even be levels that the author wasn’t thinking of when he/she wrote it but the reader interprets for him/herself.

Are the myriad of layers a conscious decision or simply something that comes from your personal writing style and choice of subject matter?

You want the story to be as rich and meaningful as possible, without miring it in too much ambiguity or signposting it to death. I think it’s sometimes best to simply write the story you want to write and hope that any deeper meaning comes about serendipitously.

What writers or books do you think have influenced you the most?

Early Stephen King (The Shining means a lot to me). Peter Straub. Ramsey Campbell. Derek Raymond’s Factory novels. Treasure Island. Graham Greene. Ray Bradbury. Patrick McGrath. Christopher Priest. M John Harrison. JG Ballard… Too many to mention, really.

Who is the favorite character you’ve ever created. Why?

I quite like MacCreadle, who appeared in the first story I sold to an anthology. He played a major role in my first novel, Head Injuries, and has had a cameo in each of the novels I’ve written since. He’s a mixture of school bully, nightmare legend and tragic failure.

Looking back on your writing career thus far, what are you the most proud of?

I’m honoured to have won a couple of awards. The International Horror Guild Award was special because Stephen King, one of my heroes, was on the shortlist too. Having that thing on my desk is a great confidence booster.

What do you still hope to accomplish?

I want to write lots more novels and stories. I want to be writing into my 70s, like Ray Bradbury and JG Ballard.

Have you any words of advice for aspiring writers?

Never stop. Listen to what is in you. Don’t take no for an answer.

Many writers find writing to be a very solitary and isolating occupation. Do you agree? If so, what do you do in order to counter that?

It’s necessarily solitary. I listen to music while I write. And I make sure I get outside for some fresh air, especially if it isn’t going well.

What is next for you?

Decay Inevitable is published by Solaris in the summer. It’s a story about what goes on at the threshold between life and death. And I’m working on a new novel concerning a pilot and a nurse. That’s all I’m saying!

Thank you so much for the interview Conrad   If anyone is interested in learning more about Conrad and his work you should check out his website by clicking the banner below.

I loved this book. Not only does Breathers have zombies it’s funny, romantic and has something to say. Mostly it’s just a lot of fun to read and I devoured it.

While at the World Horror Convention, S.G. Browne signed an extra copy of Breathers for me, and I will be giving it away to a lucky Niteblade reader.

The table of contents for the June issue of Niteblade, Of Warmth, Of Dragons, has been finalized and it’s going to be a great one.

Of Warmth, Of Dragons by Michael R. Fosburg
Untitled by Greg Schwartz
Blood Brother by Angel Zapata
Breathless Reunion by Ann K. Schwader
Brain Cookies by Kaolin Fire
Family Jaunt by Lucien E. G. Spelman
He Wanted by Stephanie Smith
The Price by Michael R. Fosburg
These Trees Outside the Window by John Grey
Dead Hands Claw by Anthony Bernstein
Keepsakes by R. J. Walker Miller
Work of Horror by Noel Sloboda
Brad Pitt Sells You His Doppelganger’s Home by Philip Coffeen

The Empty Crib at the End of the World by Beth Cato
A Night With Grimes by Bret Jordan
Cemetery Pet by Marge Simon
Rocky Road and a Dead End by David Flint
The Strawman and a Murder by Jeff Menapace
Monsters by Stephen Graham Jones
Whipped by Paul Ingrassia
Dream Spinner by Robert E. Keller
The Never Fair by Kenneth Schneyer
Giant Killer by Howie Good
The Parts of Justice by Gavin Hughes
Behind Blue Eyes by Sharon Kae Reamer
Copperheads by Catherine Brown

Amber Stults reviews The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
Kari Wolfe reviews Unabridged, Unabashed and Undead: A Collection of the Best Zombie Short Stories by Eric S. Brown

The online version of the June issue, like the March issue before it, will take the form of a wordpress blog. However, during the month of June any comments left on the blog will be considered entries into a draw for the signed copy of Breathers. Also, purchasing the .pdf version of the June issue will be considered five entries into the draw. A winner will be chosen on July 1st from all the entries.

So a great line up of stories, poems and book reviews, plus a chance to win a signed copy of a fantastic zombie novel. Niteblade is totally the place to be this June! Mark the first on your calendar, you won’t want to miss this.