Preparation for my return to prison leaves little time for other things.

As many of you know, I am heading back in to prison on Thursday...the great thing is that I will be leaving on the same day! I am going in to speak to some of the inmates about making preparations for transition BEFORE they exit. Hopefully I will be able to instill a bit of hope for a few. Because of that engagement, I have been very busy preparing. That means Short Attention Span Theater will be back next week. I have two new titles already picked, so if you want to jump in, they are Odium by Claire Riley and one other that I am still deciding on. So, let me leave you in the capable hands of fellow Booked Anthology author, Amanda Hugandkiss...I mean...Amanda Gowin.

But First...something freaking hilarious...

"What are some of the best and worst things about being an author?"

Writing stories is phenomenal, just you know, taking your brain to all of these strange and wonderful places then describing it and the people that live there, putting it on paper. That's magical and good. 

At some point you hit a weird spot though, where people in your Real Life sort of know,and you have at least become comfortable with saying 'writing' out loud in the list of things you like to do. And then temper your expectations as to the level of interest by other people. In your head, it's on par with building universes and controlling worlds that exist within realms that only you can access, and having said it out loud or uncomfortably 'confessed', you can't want to just punch every one in the face for classifying it as the same importance as interest in, say, air hockey. Unless you're making a million dollars, writing stories doesn't sound all that interesting in conversation (to other people who do not write stories). Probably the level of interest you'd have if someone told you they were very interested in air hockey, but hadn't made a million dollars playing air hockey.

So - best thing: writing. Worst thing: vulnerability after admitting you write.

"What can you share about your writing process with new or up and coming writers?"

If you're new to showing people your work, find a good workshop for a year or two, to learn to take criticism and become aware of your obvious flaws and repetitions and weak spots, and to learn the art of revision, then GET OUT. Leave before too many of the lessons and rules start to stomp out your voice and make you doubt yourself. Always keep a few people close (writers AND readers), a network of peers if you can, whose opinions you trust and you know won't lie to you, but in the end do exactly what you want anyway. 

I don't really have a process. Make time, and don't feel guilty about taking time away to write, that's the hardest part of the process. We all struggle with that, off and on, I think. But your characters are people, too, and they deserve attention just like everyone else in your life! So, you know, fight the clock-guilt. Keep fighting it. 

"If you were to change genres, what would be your next choice?"

I don't have a genre. I think all genres are fantastic, if they do indeed exist. Not positive they do....

"What could traditional publishing learn from the Indies? And how about the other way around?"

Well, it's like making films, yes? Indies take the risks and Traditional takes the safe bets, sequels, and remakes. Risks are always worth taking. But Indies have to step carefully when pigeonholing quality, just the same, or run the risk of sounding like everyone in the 90s that used the word "corporate." Prejudice about quality runs both ways, sadly. The Beatles were PHENOMENALLY popular and commercially viable, it doesn't mean they sucked. But it also doesn't mean their popularity made them automatically better than The Kinks. Wait, didn't I start with a film metaphor? I got a bit lost.

"The writing community can be its own worst enemy at times. What are some of the issues you see cropping up? Solutions?"

There are a lot more people calling themselves writers and talking about writing and ideas and theories and other writers and schools of thought and schedules and methods and on and on than there are actual words of fiction being written. But it solves itself, doesn't it? People have to eventually show their wares or disappear quietly, don't they? 

"The social media is…"

Like photoshop for life. Say, everything everyone knows about you is just what random people happened to have caught on disposables cameras, and they pass these pictures around (gossip, conversations, etc.). But social media is the chance to go in and repair and upgrade those photos, to essentially say 'No, that was from a bad angle, I look fat and kind of sweaty and like I'm saying something mean. But as you can see from THIS angle, I'm actually quite thin, and smiling. You know what, though, let me just trim my tummy a BIT more, widen my smile - erase that zit, crop out the pile of laundry in the background, clean the food off my kid's face...' And on and on. It's the illusion of image control, that's why people are so obsessed.

"Share some information about your work with us:"

Pretty much everything I've written can be matched with a specific song. Either as part of the nexus of the idea, or the shaping of the thing as I wrote it.

"What is one question you are sick of being asked—not in interviews, but by individuals who know you write?"

Hahaha! This doesn't happen in real life, does it??

"How much reading do you get in, and can a writer excel at his or her craft if they do not read?"

Always too much or not enough. Three or four books at a stretch being totally consumed and not writing at all, or writing and not reading anything. I can sort of hit a balance sometimes, if I read short stories I can still write. You have to read, though, don't you? It helps stoke the fire, whether with awe, jealousy or pure appreciation.

"When does self-promotion cross the line and become a nuisance?"

Self-promotion is a horribly loathsome thing, but I don't know where the line is. I share links. It feels a lot like elementary school, selling cookies or candy or magazine subscriptions for fundraisers and prizes - no one really wanted to do it, and no one really wanted to help you do it, but there wasn't a lot of getting around it. 

"What projects are you currently working on?" 

I'm trying to write this novel, FINISH this novel - and you know, not hate it when I finish, like I do with everything else longer than five or six pages that I've written. It's called 'Boxing Day.' It's sort of about characters that are painfully aware of the stereotypes they've somehow played into in the course of their lives, and the effort to break free and move forward - it may also be about a stripper who falls in love with a priest and her best friend (a pool hustler) simultaneously, and there might be a couple of murders....it's about all those things at the same time. Also, of course, it ends the day after Christmas. It's set right here in Appalachia, but I took a few liberties with the area - mainly re-opening The American Restaurant in Portsmouth, OH so my characters could hang out in it. 

"What is one thing about you that would surprise the readers who do not know you personally?"

I think most of the things I've published are sort of moody, dark, maybe even a touch melancholic and quiet - so maybe it would be surprising that I'm compelled, maybe to an unhealthy level, to put people at ease and make them laugh and feel comfortable in social situations. I will say or do almost anything to break the ice and diffuse tension, take the shoulders down and smooth out eyebrows, you know? It's physically painful for me when people are ill at ease. Also, I rarely say anything of any significance out loud.

"Is there anyone you’d like to give a mention?"

This is a trick, isn't it? There's no way to NOT leave people out. In the past year, Craig Wallwork, Richard Thomas and Mike Gonzalez are the people I've been most directly involved with as far as projects recently, and I love them dearly. But of course there's that whole 'network' I mentioned earlier, and all the love - I'm going to take the safe route and say 'You know who you are' because in this case I actually think they do...I don't think I have to point out Robb, Liv and Pela directly, as they're obviously the reason I'm doing an interview.

"What is in your “to be read” pile right now?"

Dr. Sleep, Junkie Love, Red Holler: Contemporary Appalachian Fiction (to name a few!)

Today I will be enjoying various festive things. Today is my 48th birthday and so I will not be around much. I will be playing video games with my daughter and who knows what else Denise has planned this evening. So, Short Attention Span Theater will return on Friday. I turn things over to one of my fellow authors who appears in the Booked Anthology with me...Caleb J. Ross. So, please enjoy.

Sometimes a reader has to read a story more than once to really get the vibe the author was laying down. Your story did that to me and at the end, I was very entertained, but was there some super-secret subtext that I might be missing?

If there is, it’s a secret even to me. It’s a story of a man and wife pair who sell live rats in jars to oddball collectors (Merkle, the lead protagonist, says about the jars: “Not exactly a ship in a bottle. More like a battleship stuffed into an eyedropper, or if Cinderella were a nineteenth century Chinese princess with a glass slipper binding her feet.”). The impetus to the story is when one of the sales goes wrong; Merkle accidentally brings the wrong man back to her hotel room for the transaction. She spends the story trying to find the correct seller while simultaneously dealing with the recent loss of her unborn child. The two issues come together in quite a disturbing climax. Typical Caleb J. Ross domestic grotesque stuff.

What can you share about your writing process?

I have two young kids, so my writing time is sparse. During the day I keep scrap paper in my pocket to jot down ideas. I then, in the evening, transcribe those ideas until I hit my 250 words/day minimum goal.

I used to have time to romance the writer’s life a bit more. I’d have a cigar or two, turn the lights low, and really fall into a special zone. Not anymore.

I’ve also had to expand my idea of “writing” to keep from punishing myself for lack of productivity. Over the last couple of years—sans the past few months as I focus on my next novel—I’ve gotten into making YouTube videos in a big way. So, I started counting my video making time as writing time. It’s all creative in the end, I suppose. In fact, I hope I get this damn novel finished so I can go back to videos for a while.

For anyone interested, check out my channel, Burning Books.

Share some Booked dirt if you have any dirty little tales to tell about Robb and Livius.

If I said anything, they’d certainly unleash back at me ten-fold. Actually, they are both stand-up guys. In fact, consider this my official dare for them to do something interview-response-worthy. Your move Booked.

How did you find the podcast to begin with?

They actually found me, in a round-about way. Back in April 2011 I sent a tweet from the @TheVelvet account about Christopher Dwyer’s novel When October Falls being a good way to bide time until Christopher Baer writers another novel. Robb and Livius were apparently Baer fans. Our friendship blossomed from there.

In fact, I think that was the start of Robb and Livius’ involvement in The Velvet community, which ultimately grew into many of the relationships they have now with many of the writers they’ve had on the show.

The writing community can be its own worst enemy at times. What are some of the issues you see cropping up? Solutions?

I’m not entirely sure what you mean. Any community has faults, especially when members outgrow what originally brought them in. But my experience with writing communities has been largely positive.

I suppose if I can say anything it’s that writing communities do have the potential to insulate its members from the wider reading public. Members get so obsessed with the memes and trends within the circle of writers that they forget they are writing for readers, not other writers.

The social media is…(your chance to expound in as abstract a manner as you wish.)

From a marketing (re: book selling) perspective social media is the online “mouth” part of “word of mouth,” but it’s not both the “word” and the “mouth.”  Authors still need a worthwhile “word” to mouth about.

What is one question you are sick of being asked—not in interviews, but by individuals who know you are a writer?

What do you write about? This, because, most of the people who ask me have no idea what domestic grotesque is, nor do they have sense enough to thinking about what it is before jumping to the conclusion that grotesque = perverted/gross/sexual/prison-worthy. Domestic grotesque is simply a term I use to define the combination of domestic situations (family, marriage, etc) with strange or visually jarring imagery.

What else do you have out or coming soon for readers to grab?

I recently got the rights back to my novella As a Machine and Parts, so I released it under my personal imprint. It’s a fantastic short book about a man who is slowly turning into a machine. Before that, my first novel, Stranger Will, was re-released in March. Readers who like dark fiction with heavy themes will love Stranger Will.

Do you think that a writer can a writer excel at his or her craft if they do not read?

No. Definitely not. Craft is learned from reading. Sure, anyone can write a workable narrative without reading—movies, video games, and life in general will develop a sense of narrative—but when it comes to learning craft, reading is a necessity.

What is in your TBR pile right now?

I’ve got over 100 books on my Goodreads to-read shelf, but of those the contenders for my next reads are Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird (somehow I never read this growing up), and a collection of Harry Crews works. I’ve never read Crews, but friends who know my tastes say I’ll love him.

What is one thing about you that would surprise the readers who do not know you personally?

I don’t care for poetry. Even though I love the beauty of language, and often pride myself in being able to craft a narrative that has a strong sense of language, it’s tough for me to respect poetry.

Share something interesting but completely trivial about yourself.

Growing up, I collected everything. A few collections: tea bags, Kool-Aid packets, condoms, single serving restaurant condiments, and fishing tackle.

Links:

Homepage: http://www.calebjross.com

YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/calebjross

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3174113.Caleb_J_Ross

Twitter: http://twitter.com/calebjross

Caleb’s books: http://www.calebjross.com/works/booklength/

Pictures and bios you can use if you want can be found at this link:

http://www.calebjross.com/bio/press-page/

Twitter status that started it all with Booked. Podcast.

https://twitter.com/TheVelvet/status/57972233141878784)

The STARS of the World Famous, Award Winning Booked Podcast!

Absolute Literary Hoodlums

Almost two years ago, I discovered the Booked Podcast. They were talking about a story that was soon to be released in one of the early MDP anthologies, Midnight Movie Creature Feature. The story is titled Revenge of the Zombie Pussy Eaters. To be honest, the story almost did not make the anthology based on title alone...and then I read it. It is brilliant! There is some supreme humor couched in that tale along with a very well thought out story that fit the motif of the anthology to a 'T'.

Since then, I tune in at totally random times just to hear what these guys talk about in the world of books. When they mentioned that they were going to produce an "invitation only" anthology and that the proceeds were going to be slated for literacy based charities...I waited and hoped. When my invitation came, I was thrilled. When my story, Faces on a Milk Carton, got accepted, I was honored. 

This interview is a short story in itself, so I have decided to divide it up into two parts. So come back tomorrow for the rest. Also, over the coming weeks, I will be inviting several of my fellow contributors to stop in and yammer about what ever random stuff comes to mind.

Without further delay...the award winning (seriously, these two yahoos actually won an award!) hosts of the only podcast you ever need. Robb Olson and Livius Nedin.

 So, you are better known for talking about books. How did putting together your first anthology feel?

Livius: Daunting. There are so many elements you can’t anticipate until you’ve gone through it. To be honest, at one point I thought there would just be a lot of copying and pasting. There, book = done. It turns out that what publishers do is a lot of work. It’s like working on one of those 1,000 piece puzzles. Not the one that’s a nice scene of people in a park, more like those weird patternless ones masochistic puzzle people do. The reward, though, that part is pretty awesome. Getting to touch that bad boy for the first time and to realize that there’s a physical product that was born of the work that you put in, that’s pretty awesome.

Robb: Exciting. I’ve always had a publishing bug, so I’ve been wanting to do something at this level for years. It also feels like a lot of work, and I’m very thankful Pela Via agreed to work with us. I don’t know if we could have found a better fit. Our styles are very similar, and she is an editing genius. She never ceases to amaze me.

What are some of the lessons you have learned that caught you off guard?

Livius: The stuff I expected to be difficult wasn’t and vice-versa. There are a lot of small things that require great consideration and those things can hold up the project more than the selection process, more than the editing, more than the things you’d expect.

Oh, and the fact that between Lightening Source and Amazon, your book can go up 12 days early and that you’ll only find out about it when someone sends you a Facebook message. I’m not sure how big publishers can make sure their books go out on Tuesday and we can barely get it narrowed down to under 14 days.

Robb: 1) No matter how polished someone thinks their story is, there are always problems. Lots of them. 2) Deadlines are universally meaningless. Nobody respects them, and most don’t even acknowledge their existence. 3) It’s possible to be in love with a book.

What can you share about your selection process?

Livius not on the set of Twilight

Livius: In some ways I think this part was easier than what many go through because we were working through an invitation process and no genre structure. There was no slush pile of submissions, no real “does this fit” issues. We sent out invites to talented folks and they responded with great stories. I can’t imagine having open submissions and having to go through the process of selecting that way.

Robb not on the set of Cocktail

Robb: Our submission criteria took care of most of the screening. We only accepted submissions from authors that have been guests on the podcast, so we knew we were going to feel pretty good about the stories we were receiving. We also required the stories to not be previously published, which I think helped as well. That removed an entire conversation about how many new vs. previously published stories we could take, etc. So most of the hard work was done well before we started actually reading stories.

Any ambitions to write your own?

Livius: There’s a story that’s been kicking around in my head for almost two years now. The idea presented itself during a road trip we took with Richard Thomas and Chris Deal. Working through this anthology did nothing to enhance my desire to get it written. This writing stuff is hard work and not all of us are cut out for it. I do continue to say that I’ll write it one day, but that’s mostly so Richard Thomas can’t lay claim to it.

Robb: I’ve got a handful of short stories under my belt. One you may see sooner than you may have guessed. But really I use the podcast and all the work that goes into it as an excuse to not have time for writing. So far, it’s the most successful excuse of my life.

What could traditional publishing learn from the Indies? And how about the other way around?

Livius: I think that they don’t take enough chances. Most of them seem to play it pretty straight. Sometimes I’m convinced that they would pass on the greatest story ever written if there wasn’t a specific audience to mark it to. I’ve read plenty of books that if put on enough shelves and promoted properly would be best-sellers, but there was no specific demographic to market to. The Big Six should spend more time with story and prose and not how likely an 18-34-year-old female is to pick this up from the shelf at Walmart.

Indies, well, they need to figure out how to usurp one of The Big Six. It would be interesting to see what would happen if a small press published one great novel and put all of their efforts behind marketing that for a significant period of time, say one year. I say novel specifically because it’s a rarity to see a collection on the best-seller list. Short story readers are a very devoted, but rather small demographic. I’m going to feel terrible if any one takes that advice and has to close down shop.

Robb: In a broad sense, I see the big six (ahem, five) as risk averse and formulaic. Because that’s how they make tons of money. The indies, on the other hand, often do the exact opposite in order to make money - they’re experimental and eager to strike new ground. Sadly, the big five don’t really need to learn from indies because they can just find a method that works from an indie source and either ape it or buy it outright. I can’t imagine that business practice will change much.

We’re living in a time where success is measured by when your startup can sell to a major corporation for a hundred million dollars. So any indie press that is worth a damn will eventually become an imprint of one of the big five. What I think could cause a shift in the power dynamic between the bigs and the indies is when the indies focus on quality editing, production and marketing and fair compensation of their authors and remain a small (or become a medium), independent press. Is it viable? I’d love to see it. You don’t hear much about medium-sized publishing companies, right?

The writing community can be its own worst enemy at times. What are some of the issues you see cropping up? Solutions?

Livius: The writing community for the most part seems to be very supportive of its members and I have to say that they’ve been terrific to our podcast. I have seen some pettiness and ugly fights, but the thing that’s the most disturbing is how fragile some writers can be. I know this is true of all types of people, but it seems worse when it happens to someone who has an art form to share with others. Facebook didn’t teach people how to show their asses to the world, it just gave them a bigger stage.

Robb: I think Authors themselves can be their own worst enemies at times. Making The Booked. Anthology has taught me that publishing should not be a one person operation. We had four main staff, and a dozen other people on call to proofread and do minor edit work. It took us ten months to come out with a finished product because we wanted the fewest possible mistakes to slip past us. It’s hard work.

So when I see people have written and published their own work, I’m happy that they’re getting themselves out there, but I worry that they are doing themselves a disservice. Editing isn’t a luxury - it’s a necessity.

As far as the community goes, I see some inspirational collaboration happening. But writers are people of very large and very delicate egos. So there are the occasional petty squabbles. But to be completely honest, I see far more good coming from the writing community than bad.

Come back tomorrow for the rest...and until then, grab a copy of the eclectic Booked. Anthology!  

Links:

website: http://www.bookedpodcast.com

shirts: http://basementshirts.com/booked