Time for another UnCommon Bodies interview, this time with Samantha Warren about her mermaid ninja story, Saltwater Assassin. What’s your favourite part of being involved in the UnCommon Bodies project? It gave me the chance to write the mermaid ninja story I had rolling around in my head but no place to put. What do you hope readers will take away from the story? I hope people realize that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. You can change your life. You don’t have to be stuck. Are there any authors that influenced your story or your writing in general? I’m definitely influenced in general by JK Rowling and Jonathan Maberry. I also like weird, quirky stories. What are you most proud of about the story? I thought I was going to kill her off, but I managed to save the end without having to do that, giving her a chance to redeem herself. Any plans to revisit the world of your story? Not at the moment, but anything’s possible. Once readers have read your story, which of your books/stories should they read next? All of them! If you like short stories, I recommend the Vampire Assassin series. About Samantha Warren … Read More
UnCommon Bodies Q&A: Bob Williams
A new anthology, UnCommon Bodies, containing my story, Phantom Pain, comes out on November 24th and to celebrate I’ve lined up interviews with a lot of the authors from the book. Today, I’m talking to Bob Williams, author of Ruby. What attracted you to the UnCommon Bodies project? I was about half-way through my story for the upcoming “Shape Shifter” Chronicles and I’d hit a snag. I had just chosen the day before to put it down for a couple of weeks when Aletia Meyers (a friend to the Indie publishing scene) alerted me to Pavarti’s UnCommon Bodies Anthology. Oddly enough I knocked out this story in about a week. Maybe I found my genre. What’s the setting for your story? The setting for my story “Ruby,” is 1936 Ransom, Oklahoma. A fictional hard luck town barely surviving after the devastating “Dust Bowl” storm from the year before. Most of the townsfolk left after the storms and the few that are left feel hopeless and have given up. In to town comes a traveling freak show: Melvin Mitchell Presents: Ruby and Her Amazing Freak Show Friends. An odd assortment of freakish characters with a genuine appearing barker in Melvin Mitchell. However all is in … Read More
UnCommon Bodies Q&A: Keira Michelle Telford
For my third UnCommon Bodies interview, I’m talking to Keira Michelle Telford about her dark erotic story, All the Devils. What attracted you to the UnCommon Bodies project? There aren’t many projects that welcome the particular uncommon body I like to write about! When I saw the call for submissions for UnCommon Bodies, I nearly peed myself with excitement. Usually I’m too weird for people. But in UnCommon Bodies, I fit right in! 🙂 Tell us about your lead character, what makes them UnCommon? My lead character is a futa woman, which means she has a fully functioning penis in addition to her vagina. What inspired you to write All the Devils? Futanari fascinates me. I think there’s a lot of potential in the subject matter, and I believe I’m writing it in a unique way. I don’t know of any other authors who are truly incorporating it into lesbian romance and erotica in an authentically lesbian-oriented way, and this is something I’ve always wanted to explore. What are you most proud of about the story? The futanari genre (if one can call it a genre all unto itself) is saturated with bad erotica. Futa women are usually written as a … Read More
UnCommon Bodies Q&A: Robb Grindstaff
For the second of my UnCommon Bodies interviews, I’m joined by Robb Grindstaff. His story, Rudy and Deidre, is described as “A shorter than average man admires a taller than average woman from afar.” What’s your favourite part of being involved in the UnCommon Bodies project? I’ve been able to participate along with some writers I’ve known for quite a while and have a lot of respect for, along with some excellent writers I’d never met before. Writing is, by its nature, such a solitary endeavour, so it’s great on occasion to be a part of something a little bigger. Are there any authors that influenced your story or your writing in general? In general, a lot of writers over many years. To narrow down the main influences to perhaps the top three (and ask me again tomorrow, I might list a different three authors): 1. John Irving 2. F. Scott Fitzgerald 3. Ernest Hemingway 4. Edgar Allan Poe (yeah, that’s four, I know) What music should readers listen to when they read your story? None. Read with no distractions. After reading, listen to some melt-your-heart blues and set-your-hair-on-fire guitar. Think Stevie Ray Vaughan and Samantha Fish. How will … Read More
UnCommon Bodies Q&A: Laxmi Hariharan
UnCommon Bodies, a new short story anthology edited by Pavarti K Tyler will be released on November 24. My short story, Phantom Pain, is featured in the book alongside some great authors. I’m working my way through the book at the moment and so far, every story has been a winner. It’s been a while since I posted any interviews on the site so I got in touch with the other UnCommon Bodies authors and put together a series of Q&As that all be posting here in the run up to the release of the book. First up is Laxmi Hariharan, whose story, UnTamed, is a coming of age tale with a twist. What attracted you to the UnCommon Bodies project? I actually saw a call for entries from Pavarti Taylor, specifically she was looking for a wolf girl story and something clicked there for me. Tell us about your lead character, what makes them UnCommon? Wolf girl Leana Iyeroy, the first hybrid in her family, only ever wanted to be 100% human. When she inherits her grandmother’s ancient sword, she decides take it back to Bombay; to the temple where her grandma had touched the sword to the altar and set off a … Read More
I Have Hugh Howey’s DNA
Nautically inclined indie author, Hugh Howey, is taking to the seas to live the life of a pirate or something. Sadly, the catamaran Hugh is having built doesn’t have space for all the books he collected during his rise to super-stardom so, a few months ago, he held The Most Spectacular Pot Luck Book Signing in the History of the Universe to clear out his storage. For a flat fee per item, fans could request items from his collection – anything from simple signed copies of his books to a Boba Fett action figure. The catch being that there was no guarantee they’d get exactly what they ordered – hence the Pot Luck in The Most Spectacular Pot Luck Book Signing in the History of the Universe. I ordered three “items” but was deliberately vague about what I wanted. I enjoyed Hugh’s Wool novels but Sand is actually my favourite of his and his “dark” story – I, Zombie is just too tempting to ignore. So, I asked for something related to those two books. The parcel arrived a few days ago and I wasn’t disappointed. First up, I got these: That’s a complete set of the individual Sand novellas, all signed. Next, there was a manuscript page from one of his Molly Fyde books. And … Read More
Six Things I Learned About the Apocalypse
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a series of interviews with the authors of the first five Apocalypse Weird books. As part of those interviews, I asked each author to tell me something about the Apocalypse Weird project that people might not know. Here’s what I learned. Texocalypse Now (originally Digger) was the original book project that developed into the whole Apocalypse Weird world, and it was originally conceived as a video game. [Courtesy of Michael Bunker] Amazon through their 47North imprint originally passed on what became the Apocalypse Weird project because it was too big of a concept. [Courtesy of Michael Bunker] Tim Grahl came up with name of the parent company, Wonderment, after reading a history of Marvel Comics. We wanted Wonderment to become the Marvel Comics digital publishing. [Courtesy of Nick Cole] The stable of Apocalypse Weird writers is not an exclusive club. We want anyone and everyone to come in and write in this world. Hence, the formation of the Apocalypse Weird: Survivors Facebook group. You can invent your own Apocalypse and Boss, or you can write in someone else’s (there’s a Rules document posted for the group). All fanfic will be published on a site … Read More
Apocalypse Weird Q&A: Jennifer Ellis
This week, I’ve been posting Q&As with the authors of the first five Apocalypse Weird books. So far, I’ve spoken to Michael Bunker, Nick Cole, Chris Pourteau and E. E. Giorgi. Today, we have Jennifer Ellis, author of Reversal. Hi Jennifer, welcome to the site. Tell us a little bit about your Apocalypse Weird book, Reversal. Reversal is set in an isolated research station on Ellesmere Island where Sasha Wood and Soren Anderson wake up one morning to find that not only are they blind, and several of their colleagues are missing, but the poles appear to have reversed and giant methane-venting craters have opened up all over the tundra. They are cut off from the outside world, and the other researchers keep turning up dead, or on snowmobiles with guns. What follows is an action-packed thriller filled with feral polar bears, trips to the Antarctic, the four horsemen of the environmental apocalypse, and many questions regarding Soren’s past and his research on volcanoes. The Arctic is an unusual setting for an Apocalyptic novel. What made you decide to set the book there? Well, I’m from Canada, and I live in a ski town, so I love snow and generally prefer to spend six … Read More
Apocalypse Weird Q&A: E. E. Giorgi
Next up in my series of Q&As with the first wave of Apocalypse Weird authors is E. E. Giorgi, author of Immunity. Hi Elena, welcome to the site. Tell us a little bit about your Apocalypse Weird book, Immunity. My book Immunity takes place in New Mexico and follows the stories of thrash metal lover and computer geek David Ashberg and career-driven scientist Anu Sharma as they fight an unprecedented viral outbreak. I set the story in New Mexico because I love the landscape and it’s quite easy to imagine a post-apocalyptic world out here in the high deserts. What can you tell us about your two main characters, Anu and David? The two are quite different, as David is mellow and good natured, whereas Anu is ambitious and very possessive of her data. Circumstances will force them to come together against a common enemy that’s far more evil than the virus itself. Your background is as a scientist, how did that influence Immunity? As part of my day job I research viruses (HIV in particular), so I wanted to give my unique spin to the Apocalypse Weird world and describe the apocalypse from the point of view of scientists. We work … Read More
Apocalypse Weird Q&A: Chris Pourteau
For the third in my series of Apocalypse Weird Q&As, I’m talking to Chris Pourteau, author of The Serenity Strain. I’ve read several of Chris’ books, including his Pennsylvania fan fiction, Gettysburg and Susquehanna and he’s an excellent writer. I’m really looking forward to reading The Serenity Strain. Hi Chris, welcome to the site. Tell us a little bit about your Apocalypse Weird book, The Serenity Strain. Well, it’s a contemporary dystopian horror novel set in Houston, Texas. Basically, three huge hurricanes hit the city, causing massive damage. Remember Hurricane Katrina and the chaotic breakdown of society in the weeks after? Ramp that up on steroids! Before the hurricanes hit, a university researcher who’s trying out a new gene therapy to help control impulsivity—the root of problems like ADHD, addictions, and some violent crime—is weeks into his Phase 1 trial with his test subjects. Nicknamed the Serenity Six (named after the virus that’s introducing the therapy to rewrite their genetic makeup), the test subjects are murderers, the worst of the worst. (The thinking is, if it can modify their behavior, Serenity can help millions of people.) The therapy starts to go wrong (of course! It’s the Apocalypse!) just as the storms wreak havoc across Houston, … Read More