Due to my absence for yet another week - I am extending the contest until the 13th of July!

I am on vacation with my family in West Virginia visiting family and unable to spend the time I need to spend to gather entries and such to send to Conrad.  As much as I know how disappointed everyone will be, I wanted to give you all something in return.

I am extending the contest to July 13, 2009.  For those of you who have already entered, I will be doing something special for you, but it’s going to be a surprise.  I feel badly about not getting to this, but dang it, bear with me - I just don’t have the time currently.  Those of you who enter AFTER the 13th of July, your entry will be weighted the same as the first batch.

Please feel free to leave any comments in the fields below and I will get to them ASAP.

Contest details are below.

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Hey all! Sorry for my brief hiatus - been preparing to go back to WV from CO and visit family and friends for a couple of weeks. But don’t think I’m gonna leave you all hanging!

The writing contest for Conrad Williams’s ONE is over and I am gathering the enties to read over and send to Conrad via email. He’ll read them over and pick the best and I’ll announce it next Saturday around 12:00 mountain time
Next, keep your eyes on this blog. I have another writing contest for you for another signed book as well as an interview by the author - who is it? You ask.. Tune in Monday and find out

– Post From My iPhone

Well, no, not really - at least not one that I was able to be involved in.  On Tuesday, June 16, 2008, Al met up with several thousand of his fans on Twitter and Ustream to answer questions for an hour.  This is the result of that meeting.

Those of you who know me may know about my love for everything that is “Weird Al.”  I’ve often joked with my hubby that he’s pretty lucky that I didn’t meet Al first.  :)  I have all of his albums and listen to him frequently while I clean.  We (my hubby and I) went to a “Weird Al” concert the year before last in Pueblo at the Colorado State Fair.  It was my first “Weird Al” concert and, to be honest, I really wasn’t disappointed.  The next day, my voice had left me because of all the singing, screaming and “fan-like” behavior I put in the night before.  I even waited around near his bus after the concert, hoping, wishing to meet him.  He didn’t come out and say hi to us (I was with about twenty other people) but I did see him autograph all the backstage workers’ stuff and take pictures with them.

I never really knew, or realized, how big of a star he was until that moment.  For a long time, it had been just me and Al in my speakers.  Now, it’s me and Al and millions of his fans.

I’m not mad at you anymore, Al, for not coming out to see me (those other twenty people could have waited) at the Colorado State Fair.  Sometimes I just wish that I could thank you for what your music has meant to me and how it has carried me through some pretty rough times in my life.  But then, that would probably be extremely sappy and you’d tell me thanks, we’d take a picture and you’d leave, never to see me again.

Such is the life of one fan in the midst of millions.

Once again, Twitter gives me a great contact!

Neil Gaiman, author of AMERICAN GODS: A NOVEL,CORALINE, and THE SANDMAN, is on Twitter and, unlike a lot of the famous celebrities on Twitter, he does take the time to try and respond to those who Tweet him.  I say try because he’s got over half a million followers and to respond to EVERY SINGLE ONE would take him forever and a day and we definitely want him to take lots of his time to write those novels that we all love so dearly.

At the end of May, I Tweeted him and asked if he would give me an interview.  His response:

@kippras good blog! Not for a while. @fabulouslorrain is my assistant and is the person to talk to for things like interviews.

I’ve been kinda wondering if that means I can put somewhere on my blog that Neil Gaiman thinks my blog is good and if that will draw attention/followers/readers to it? ;)  You guys know I’m kidding, right? But it did make my day

As you may or may not know, one of my favorite questions to ask an author is whether or not they use a thesaurus.  My reasoning behind this is that, well, I use one, and it’s always nice to know if the authors that you admire has just a naturally large vocabulary or whether they use thesaurus’ (thesaurii?) the way you and I do

One of my Twitterpals, @kacsaful asked Neil that question and got the response:

@kacsaful I don’t use thesauruses much any longer. But I used to read them for pleasure as a boy.

And now the world can rest easy

So I Tweeted Fabulous Lorraine and the Princess of NO kindly said NO for the interview with Neil, but that she would be happy to answer some questions for me if I would send them and be patient as to her responses.

I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t ask her about what five things she would want to have with her for the upcoming zombie apocalypse, but I’m hoping that maybe she’ll leave us a comment when she reads this post?  Who knows?  Neil, if YOU read this post, would you also be kind enough to leave us a comment as well? We can only hope

Hi Lorraine and thanks for the opportunity to interview you

I find it extremely interesting that you have been working with Neil for 17 years as his assistant.  You’ve seen his climb to success from an interesting perspective.  On Twitter, you told me that he needed help and you provided it.  Can you elaborate on how you got the position?  Did you know him beforehand or apply for the job?  Is there anything in particular that you have learned from the past 17 years that you would like to share for posterity?

I started working for Neil when he moved to America 17 years ago, he had  a new library and needed someone to put the books in order, and after that, there were more things to do, so I thought I would stay until things were done. I didn’t know him well, tho we had met, music types and writer types were all pretty connected in Minneapolis at the time, so I knew a lot of writers, and we met thru them.

What have I learned…. ???? The better I am doing my job, the more time he has free to write. Which is the most important thing.

I really, really liked AMERICAN GODS.  It’s probably one of my all-time favorite books.  Do you read all of Neil’s work?  Do you have a favorite?  I guess the big question I should have asked is: do you have TIME to read with all that you do and who is your favorite author, if you do?  Yeah, the “favorite author” question is a bit funny, but it’s ok if you have a favorite author OTHER than Neil ;)  We won’t tell him.  Honest.

I do read all of his work. Sometimes I transcribe it, as he writes. (He writes with a fountain pen in a blank notebook) , like with the Graveyard Book.  I think the Graveyard book is my favorite, but it’s a really hard call.

Time, yes, very hard to come by these days, but I do manage to read. OTHER than Neil, hard to pick, but I would have to say Martin Millar. I’ve read everything he has written many times over. His “The Lonely Werewolf Girl was the best book to come out since Robin McKinnley’s “Sunshine”

As a writer’s assistant, I know you probably get some really strange requests - in fact, I’d like to link your list of “What not to send to your favorite author” if you don’t mind.  What are some of the weirdest things that you’ve ever been asked to do by a fan?

Link away! That was a fun essay. The coolest thing with Neil’s fans is that they are not what you would expect. They are extremely  respectful , and even protective, of him. I do get requests, but the letters are really lovely, and phrased in the nicest terms possible, generally asking for things we can do, and then not wanting to be a bother. And if we can’t, I invariably get a note back thanking me anyway and saying they understand.

The stranger requests come from people in the business, not the ones we are currently working with, but in the past.

And one more question about your relationship with Neil: what’s the STRANGEST, oddest thing that he has either asked you to do or that you have had to do as his assistant?

Oh my. Well, there have been a few odd ones. One of the things I love most about my job is that it does really go all over the place. It’s 24/7 and whatever he needs, I need to be there and be really good at it. The bees are a good example, he had wanted them for years, and I told him fine, but NOT ME I have a Bee Phobia, and can’t DO it…

Long story short, we did send the Birdchick to bee school, but when the bees arrived, Neil was out of town, and I could not let my friend install the hives alone, and so got covered in Bees!

Which turned out to be one of the most life changing events of my life. Facing a fear like that changes you.

On your website, you talk about your love for Bengal cats and the adoption agency that you’re working with, Great Lakes Bengal Rescue. I’m familiar with Savannah cats and, when my two loving cats pass on, I am seriously thinking about getting a Bengal or a Savannah as they are absolutely some of the more beautiful cats I have ever seen.  What started you down this path?  What advice would you give to someone looking to adopt a Bengal?  I travel cross country a couple times a year.  Do they travel well?

I do love Bengals, I have two of my own, and another early generation rescue who is staying. And of course whatever fosters I have room for.

The best advice I can give anyone thinking about adopting a Bengal is DO YOUR HOMEWORK. There are a lot of myths out there. They are dommestic cats, but they are a lot of cat. They are bred from the Asian Leopard Cat, NOT a Leopard, (Lion, tiger, Scottish wildcat..) The ALC is an animial that can live with humans, and quite nicely, unlike the true wild cats.

But that said, a lot of people get them, and find out they are not cute little kitties with spots.  They need a lot of time, and attention. Especially the early generation Bengals. You need to get one that is at least 4 generations away from the ALC. Early gen kitties need to be with people who know what they are doing, and they do have special needs.

The later gen kitties are wonderful, if you are REALLY a cat person, and want a really smart kitty who will love and bond with you like nothing you have ever had in a cat.

There are so very many in rescue right now, I have two that need to be in the just exactly perfect home right now. Bengals are expensive, pet kittens start at $600, but there are many in rescue that so need homes.

If your Bengal loves you, sure, depending on the kitty, they can travel. Mostly I would just say READ everything you can find on the breed, and then talk to people who have them. Write me, I’ll be happy to talk.

Also, what are these “Fiends” that you speak of?  Can I join?  Do I want to join?

The Fiends are what the people who post on my blog call themselves. No need to Join, just hop on in and have some fun. All you have to do is comment, say hi, they love everyone if their heart is good. They are gathering in MN at the end of June, from all over the US, Canada, France and the UK, believe it or not, for a weekend of , well, who knows? <g> All I know is my band will play.

You seem like a really fun person to know (and not just because you’re Neil’s assistant).  I only know one other person who is a beekeeper and he’s a West Virginia circuit court judge.  How long have you and Neil been beekeeping?  What do you do with the honey?

We eat it.  We are going to be doing a few auctions of the honey, for charity, but there may be less than you might think, chancy business, Bees are. We do share it.

-00-

After reading that, now tell me how fabulous she is!  Thank you, Fabulous Lorraine!!  Please feel free in the comments to let me know what you thought of the interview!

Pictures used by permission of Lorraine Garland

Today I’ve been following an author whose book, PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART, was released today nationwide.  J. C. Hutchins (”Hutch,” to his friends) has put together a package that is very much something I want to read and have a copy of.

This is a trailer for that book.  The guy in it… well, let’s just say: us horror buffs, we owe him a debt. And probably paid it in full throughout TWELVE movies.

Enjoy!

And now, I’ve got to get me a copy as well.  I really, really do.  The more I hear about it, the more I want it.  When I get a copy of it - of course, I’ll review it

I would make a bet that I will never be able to interview Stephen King for this blog.  You know, I kinda feel lucky having been able to interview Conrad Williams and Christopher Moore so far.  There are a couple more interviews I have lined up - one will be in July and the other… well, the other will be when I can get the responses to my questions! :)  Yeah, I do think it’s worth it - so we shall just be patient for now.

Below is an article I heard about on Twitter and because it was listed on the site with a Creative Commons license, I chose to list it here as well in lieu of an interview.

“Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully - in Ten Minutes”

by Stephen King (reprinted in Sylvia K. Burack, ed. The Writer’s Handbook. Boston, MA: Writer, Inc., 1988: 3-9)

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I am ALWAYS looking for a better horror author - ALWAYS.  And I feel like I’m getting more and more picky as to the books I spend time with.  Before marriage and my daughter, I had all the time in the world to read books and I did.  I read all sorts of books and the good ones - the very good ones - I wouldn’t be able to put down until they were finished because they captured my imagination so well that I HAD to know what was going to happen and how it was going to end.

Recently, however, I have been a bit more picky due to wanting to use my time wisely and, upon finding a copy of THE UNBLEMISHED by Conrad Williams, I eagerly picked it up and began to read, hoping for the best.

The book starts with the chase and the beginnings of a brutal rape of a teenage girl, explicit enough in itself that we do not need the description of the rape itself to be horrified by what is to happen to her.  The next chapters introduce us to the main characters of the story, a photographer named Bo who becomes the “map-keeper” and Sarah who is in search of a doctor who can help her daughter Claire who’s consciousness has been varied between somewhat comatose, promiscious and just extremely strange.

Sarah is on the run from a hitman named Malcolm Manser who she believes murdered her husband due late payments on an outstanding loan from a disreputable source.  And Manser has his own issues being a lap dog for a defunct serial killer/ cannibal named Gyorsi Salavaria as well as having his own amputee fetish which he satiates in the meantime.

And it keeps on going.

The imagery that Conrad Williams has invoked in this novel is rather intense.   There were occasions that I had to put the book down to simply digest what the novel said.  It was also probably a good thing that I have a fairly strong stomach because some of Conrad’s imagery is so horrific that I could see someone with a weaker stomach having to make a mad dash to the bathroom.  This is probably what I liked best about the novel - skillfully written, the book draws us into the world that his protagonists must face and sets us down, right in the middle, pulling no punches.

However, while having gore-ific visual imagery, it is most definitely NOT over-used.  You are not dealing with an amateur here.  It is not gore and horror for gore and horror’s sake.

In my opinion, there are two things that make a great horror novel: the characters and the imagery.  The characters must be strong and each of their actions must seem normal for them.  The imagery must be able to put us into the situation like we are there, the movie in our minds being so realistic that it feels like a memory.

This book has both.  I think I might have a new favorite author.

You can read my interview with Conrad here.  Don’t forget! You have a chance to win a SIGNED copy of Conrad’s newest book! The contest ends on June 27, 2009.

I guess the title of this post could be, “Why You Should Take Chances - The Worst They Can Do Is Say No”

So, I’m on Twitter and, while I’m following so many people that sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with everybody all at once, I do check out everybody once in a while.  I found CHRISTOPHER MOORE, author eleven novels including LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST’S CHILDHOOD PAL and his newest novel, FOOL, a retelling of King Lear from the perspective of Pocket, the Fool.  Being a small blog with a small following, when I asked Chris if he would be willing to do an email interview with me, I didn’t really expect him to say yes.  I went into this, really thinking that he would ignore me or say no.

We all have these perceptions of famous people.  They are the untouchable.  In times past, we could send them snail mail fan letters and because they were so popular and famous, naturally you didn’t expect to hear anything in response.  And to a reasonable degree, this really is understood.  Celebrities have their lives and their work and to respond personally to EACH and EVERY letter, would take up a LOT of their personal time.  And if they’re anything like me, they value their personal time because they don’t have much of it.

So when Chris messaged me on Twitter and told me that yes, he would be willing to do an email interview, I was thrilled!  It’s not often that you get to talk or ask questions of an author that you admire.  But looking into his website, I was actually kinda amazed at the information he has provided.  Really, if you haven’t checked it out, you should!  A lot of the good questions are already answered there in his FAQ and he has a forum where you can talk to other aspiring writers/authors about what you’re doing and you can even ask the man himself!

So, thank you Chris for doing this interview with me!  I feel quite humbled.

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Not too long ago, I happened to stumble across a book called “The Unblemished” with an author I had never heard of.  Somebody somewhere said it scared them and I said, “What the hell..” and picked it up and decided to read it.

It’s been a LONG while since I have read a good horror novel and I’m just not that interested in ghosts or vampires.

I’m currently in the middle of this novel and WOW! Let me tell you - I am SO pleased to be able to introduce you to this man, Conrad Williams.  I am truly impressed.  The novel grabs you tightly and shows you all these visions that truly scare and even shock you - kinda like what the doctors do to Alex in the movie “A Clockwork Orange,” but in a good way As I tend to read before I go to sleep at night, I’ve got my covers around me and my senses are heightened until I can relax enough to actually fall asleep.

Thank you Conrad for all that you are writing!

Come to find out that a friend of mine, Rhonda Parrish, actually met this guy at the World Horror Convention this year in Canada and she interviewed him herself for Niteblade News.  I wanted to see if he would do me the honors of being on my blog as well.

And voila! Here he is!

Hi Conrad. First of all, thanks for doing this interview with me. It really is an honor.

My pleasure, Kari.

You know, it’s a standard question to ask an author, “How do you come up with your ideas?” Different authors have different answers to this and I think Neil Gaiman said, “Out of my head. I make them up.” What I’d like to know is what you typically start out with when writing a novel. Do you start with a brief idea and then expand on it as you write, the whole “excavating” the story as Stephen King called in in ON WRITING, or do you organize your work into some sembalance of an outline, planning each scene?

The novels I’ve written have usually developed from a single idea. Something simple that occurs to me, such as ‘What if people behaved like insects?’ (THE UNBLEMISHED). I look for three or four strands to work with during the writing of a novel. With “ONE”
this took the form of Richard’s search for his son, the mysterious presence of the bird people, the skinners and the journey to the raft. I have a loose plan, a vague idea of where things are heading, but no firm end in sight and I’m willing to junk everything at a moment’s notice if something better occurs to me.

How often does the idea that you start with change or morph into what you think is a better idea than the original?

Frequently. I think that if you’re a slave to a detailed plan you’re in danger of not allowing the characters to develop to the point where they dictate, almost, what will happen next. I try not to be too controlling, and I definitely listen to my characters.

This past November, I wrote my first novel, THE BOOK COLLECTOR. 50,000+ words in 30 days. And I’m pretty sure it’s a shitty rough draft, but I think with a good deal of revision, I can make the novel work. How long does it take you to write the first draft of a novel usually? How many times do you go back and revise it?

That’s good going. My last two novels took, respectively, eight months and six months. But that doesn’t take into consideration the various edits that take place before publication. I usually go back over a first draft and try to solve plot problems, add or delete scenes, and then polish.

As writers, we tend to use our own emotions and experiences to give details to what we write as well as our imaginations. Is there anything that really stands out in your own past that you’d be willing to share that you use to create the mood/realism of your novels?

I’d like to be able to share with you amazing stories of a life spent in Eastern Europe as a freelance bounty hunter, dating a string of artists and actors while earning a living as a test pilot… but the reality is that I grew up in an industrial town in the north-west of England in a normal family. I’ve had a few unspectacular jobs and travelled a little. No traumatic events. No drug abuse. No criminal record. If I was a colour, I’d be a kind of beige, probably. But there’s something in my make-up that forces me to look at the world in a way that, I’m sure, would persuade some people to take their own lives. Maybe it’s genetic, maybe an overactive imagination, maybe a form of mental illness. I don’t know. Bottom line: I’ve always wanted to be a writer, so I’m grateful for this dark little quirk of mine. I shudder to think what I’d be if I wasn’t creating fictions.

Nowadays writers are innundated by books on writing, books on plot, dialogue, description, whatever. A quick search on the Internet for writing advice and how-to guides will give you a HUGE list of links, some of them rather valuable, some of them not so much. Are there any books on writing or websites that you have read/frequented that have helped you in your career? How about writing exercises?

It’s probably hypocritical of me, but I don’t read ‘how to write’ books. Most of the people who write them are no-marks you or I have never heard of. Why should I take advice from someone I’ve never heard of? I think it’s important to find your own way. However, I’ve read William Goldman’s excellent books on screenwriting, and Stephen King’s On Writing (but mainly because of the autobiographical nature of the book as opposed to his opinion on the craft of writing). That said, I teach creative writing and provide a number of exercises to my students, many of which seem to help. They’re designed more to oil the wheels rather than produce a finished piece of work. Most people I know who want to write have trouble getting started on something. My exercises are a trigger, in the main.

Where do you teach creative writing?  Do you have a degree?

I host a writers’ group at Borders in Warrington and also teach, occasionally, on the BA and MA programmes at Manchester Metropolitan University. I hold an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University. I lived in nearby Morecambe for six months while I wrote my first novel, Head Injuries, which is what I submitted for the degree.

I’m a stay-at-home mom and while I can’t write as much as I would like to during the day, I do make time for it every day. Are there any habits that you have picked up along the way that might be of use to someone just starting out?

Making time is one thing I advise people to do, rather than finding time. There’s a difference. Also I’d encourage new writers to embrace their rejection slips, because you will get them. Understand that it’s a subjective industry. If someone says no it’s not necessarily because it’s shit, just that that particular person didn’t like it. The next one might. Write to please yourself and forget about the audience. Don’t try to predict the next big thing on the market or surf the current wave of popularity. Write every day, even if it’s just a couple of lines.

Here’s a question I love to ask: Do you naturally have a large vocabulary? Or do you use a thesaurus occasionally?

I do have a large vocabulary, but I’ve always been interested in words. I get that off my dad, who would test me on spelling or the meaning of words when I was a kid. I read the dictionary for fun. I’m a bit of a word-geek. I do use a thesaurus. There’s no shame in that.

What’s your five weapons of choice in the coming zombie apocalypse? (Stolen from a Facebook quiz)

A big, noisy gun.
A flamethrower.
Hydrochloric acid.
A hatchet.
Grenades.

And, sorry, but I must ask: Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers?

In what context? Dinner? A date? Which one I’d want to behead me? Freddy, I think. He has a sense of humour, doesn’t feel the need to wear a mask and owns a cool jumper…

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to ask you questions!

Want to win a signed copy of Conrad’s newest novel, ONE?

So, how do you deal with emotional setbacks? 

I picked up House of Leaves today and simply by glancing at it, this complete dread of never being able to write anything that means something to someone else comes over me.  Because ultimately, I think, that’s what we all want.  We want someone else to tell us that yes, what we wrote affected them in some way.  Obviously, we hope for it to be in a positive way - but know what?  A small part of me wouldn’t care if was in a negative way - just that someone else - outside of me, myself and I - was affected by what I wrote.

I have read books like that and I always search for books like that to read.  There are a lot of books that I have started and decided I wanted to read something else instead, but that has a lot to do with the fact that I have a TON of books to read and a Sony Reader and I can’t read them all at the same time. 

In Holly’s course, the very first lesson is about the problems we all have.  She calls that first lesson, “Breaking the Four Thinking Barriers of Your Success.”

In that lesson, she gives us four lines to memorize which are the four thinking barriers:

In this lesson, Holly outlines what each of these barriers means. 

I think that I’m pretty much a great candidate for SAFE and PERFECT a lot of times.  I think that SAFE and PERFECT, in combination together, manage to give me the exact thought processes to procrastinate.  I’m good at putting things off until later where later is defined as when I’m reminded to do them by someone else.  My physics homework was both of those: I was SAFE if I didn’t start because I didn’t want the professor or anyone else to know how much I felt like I didn’t know about physics and I was PERFECT because when I did try, if I couldn’t do it exactly right the very first time, I didn’t want to do it anymore. 

To beat SAFE, I have to start.

To beat PERFECT, I have to set limits and to let go of my inner critic during that time.

Ok.  I can do that.  One step at a time, right?  Let’s go!