|
Post by ian on Jun 19, 2009 9:45:25 GMT
Hi Dan - Hi Jim.
Off you go...
|
|
|
Post by shaun on Jun 20, 2009 6:29:57 GMT
As Jim hasn't asked anything yet, I thought I might pop in and ask you a question or two to get the ball rolling.
As you have one out, what's your opinion of Ebooks?
Having moved to Australia, do you think that will affect your writing and the opportunities for selling your work?
And do you see a difference in markets now you've moved half way around the world? What's the genre scene like in Austraila? What are the bookshops like? Do they stock much horror?
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 20, 2009 7:29:23 GMT
good questions Shaun
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 20, 2009 11:14:13 GMT
As you have one out, what's your opinion of Ebooks? Evenin' all. When I signed the contracts on the two books (one since has been pulled) ebooks were still relatively unheard of among the general public. There was no Kindle, nor any other moderately priced ereader. I was...informed that ebooks would be the new big thing. I think the publisher was being over optimistic! Ebooks certainly have their place, but I think the standard print will never be replaced. There's the talk of book shops being nothing more than computer terminals were you select books like you would on Amazon and the shop prints the book out while you wait using POD technology. That's quite an idea. But I can't see ebooks playing such a big roll. Plus, they hurt my eyes, I can't read them in the bath and I can't sign them! And for the record and shameless plug, my Ebook (have I put you off buying one yet? I suck at the sales pitch!) is called Samhane and is available from www.wildchildpublishing.com.
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 20, 2009 11:15:07 GMT
Having moved to Australia, do you think that will affect your writing and the opportunities for selling your work? I think that any form of travel broadens the mind...and the imagination! All of my stories were based in the UK in small towns or suburbs. Write what you know, and all that. Seeing Australia in November (and this is rural Australia, not Bondi Beach and Sydney Harbour) it opens the eyes to more remote settings and desolate country roads. You can drive for hours through the middle of nowhere and not see a another car. When you finally see a set of headlights in your rear view, you think of Wolf Creek straight away! It has certainly affected my short work (By the Banks of the Nabarra, The Taken and Tricks, Mischief and Mayhem), but so far, novels have been, and currently still are, set in the UK. Nothing much happens here in this slower way of life, and the events that support a novel would just be farfetched! As for sales, it has opened a few doors. In the spec markets, it seems only Oz favours writers living in the country to submit (just check out Ralan). I've submitted to two of the better markets, and am the short list at each, so I guess it has helped a little. Shame shortlists don't bring in the beer money!
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 20, 2009 11:30:13 GMT
And do you see a difference in markets now you've moved half way around the world? What's the genre scene like in Austraila? What are the bookshops like? Do they stock much horror? And disaster strikes! There seems barely a scene over here in Australia compared to the UK and especially the US. I was unaware of any big Australian names on the world horror stage, so thought I could caplitalise on a gap in the market. But then...there is no market! I searched for publishers and found one that published novellas in Tasmania. Not too shabby. Published Gary Braunbeck, I believe. Shame they were closed to subs... Bookshops are few and far between. Here in town, the newsagent has a corner converted into a bookshop. The next biggest town is an hour and a half away, and that has two bookshops. The typical one has a few King and about a million copies of Twilight. The other, second hand, has its own tiny horror section, but I managed to snag Guy N Smith, Kim Newman and Bentley Little, so I was happy!
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 20, 2009 13:51:19 GMT
are there any genres of horror, you wouldn't want to write, vamps, zombies etc
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 20, 2009 17:24:52 GMT
How do you feel about the collector markets. Is it fair play for authors to only release stories as expensive ultra limited editions, or should everyone get a chance to read it?
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 20, 2009 17:31:41 GMT
Are there any authors out there you would love to collaborate with?
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 20, 2009 17:33:29 GMT
You don't have to answer this one if you don't want to.
Have you ever based a character who die a horrible death, or who is just a total jerk, on someone you really didn't like? if so did they ever figure it out?
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 21, 2009 3:18:53 GMT
are there any genres of horror, you wouldn't want to write, vamps, zombies etc There's no genre I would shy away from at all, but I'd have to bring something original to the table at each outing. For example, zombies. There's been so many zombie themed anthos the last couple of years and there's no way I would write and sub something run of the mill. At Necrotic Tissue, we get so many zombie stories and to be honest, I get sick of reading them (sorry zombie fans!) Shiny Vampires has inspired a slurry of romantic vampre fiction, and most of that is complete pap. Like Sweet Valley High but with fangs and no action or blood! Do something new! However, looking at novels like Jonathan Maberry's Pine Deep Trilogy, he has vampires, zombies, werewolves and ghosts running around, and the way he used and combined the genres was refreshing! If I could do something like that, then bring on the classic genres! Saying that, something zombie-esque is coming in the new novel. I hope I do it justice!
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 21, 2009 3:22:07 GMT
How do you feel about the collector markets. Is it fair play for authors to only release stories as expensive ultra limited editions, or should everyone get a chance to read it? I think both. I haven't been one for buying limited editions, etc. Mainly because of financial reasons! But there is a market for them out there and some fans do get a big buzz out of owning a limited edition, signed hardback. But as for the story itself, no fan should ever be denied. A paperback run a few months down the line allows everyone to get a copy, yet the collectors can be happy with their limited editions in the safe behind the painting...
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 21, 2009 3:27:10 GMT
Are there any authors out there you would love to collaborate with? I have only collaborated once on a short story with an erotica writer. I shy away from sex scenes, as I've been informed by erotica editors that my style is 'porn and not erotica' and 'reads like instructions for building a bookcase. Insert rod A into slot B'. So I called in the help. The story has been lost in the sands of time, which is fine. it was awful and disjointed. I've never attempted the exercise since. I have a system when I write, and to change it might screw things up. Plus, I'm a very...modest (can I say that and still be modest?) writer and constantly lose confidence in my abilities. I'd probably worry that I'm dragging the other writer down and enter a shame spiral!
|
|
|
Post by danielirussell on Jun 21, 2009 3:33:16 GMT
Have you ever based a character who die a horrible death, or who is just a total jerk, on someone you really didn't like? if so did they ever figure it out? Has any horror writer NOT done this? I tend to base situations on real life, and have characters in crap jobs I've had, or difficult relationships. The odd person does sneak in. I wrote a story called 'Do You Want the Money, Mr Evans?' (again, sadly lost) about my landlord that took me to Court demanding rent he said I owed him. He lost in Court, but until that day, the story got me through! My old boss at a law firm is the bad guy in my current novel (although I had to make him nastier. The fact that he beats up strippers is artistic license!). Will he die a nasty death? Probably, but I'm only 40k into a 150k novel, so we'll to wait and see what happens to him! No one has ever figured it out. Probably because these people would never, ever read anything by lil' old me!
|
|
|
Post by Jim on Jun 23, 2009 19:26:14 GMT
As a writer of horror fiction, do you believe in he things that go bump in the night
|
|