ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: MAT FESTA

If you’ve followed my convention reviews, then you know who Mat Festa is. He’s done books like MISERERI NOBIS and PASSAGE, and you can find his work in PRODUCT OF SOCIETY. When you see him, you wouldn’t think such a short, skinny, bearded guy would be capable of the madness and beauty you find in his books, but that is a part of his genius. Here is my question for him.

ME: You’ve got an odd juxtaposition of horrible things and really beautiful things in your work. What must your dreams be like?

MAT FESTA: My dreams are far stranger and horrible than anything I’ve put down on paper. In fact, my first book was largely composed of most of my nightmares. They get very surreal and abstract. What’s interesting is, I’ve noticed that I don’t have recurring nightmares, but I do have recurring places in my dreams, and over the years I’ve started to network and map it out, and I’ve realized that where I’ve been dreaming is one big enormous labyrinthine city. If I found this place in real life, I’d be able to work my way and find my way around in it. That’s my reflection of life itself.

At this point, Angel Onofre, a fellow artist at DanCon, interrupted this interview by posting a sticky note to Mat’s back, a gift from CheeseLord’s Jon Lennon and Leo Perez that said simply, “Kill yourself.”

MF: And I always get interrupted during interviews by terrible people . . . One more thing. Jon Lennon is a pedophile.

His work can be found here. Buy something, will ya’?

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: JOHN EVERSON

John Everson is a Stoker-winning horror novelist located in Naperville, IL. He was one of the Dorchester writers before the company collapsed. Under their banner, he wrote books like COVENANT, SACRIFICE, THE 13^TH and SIREN. He is now working with Samhain. I first met him at Flashback Weekend, where I bought the limited edition hardcover of THE 13^TH, which has amazing artwork on the dust jacket, and I ran into him again at DanCon. This is my question for him:

ME: I noticed in the acknowledgements of THE 13^TH that a lot of the book had been written in bars, notoriously loud places with plenty of distractions. How do you manage to write in such a strange, loud environment?

JOHN EVERSON: That one’s easy, actually. The wall of noise creates a Cone of Silence, really. If I’m in a bar when they’re not playing music and there are only a few people in there, my ear will immediately pick up the conversation at the table next to me, and I won’t be able to do anything. When it’s really busy and the music’s loud, it’s just a buzz, and I can go into my own space. The thing I like about writing in that environment is, unlike in my house, where there are a million things that need to be done—I can feed the birds or clean the bird cages or clean up my office or make dinner or whatever, or talk to my son. In a bar, I can’t do anything. I’m not going to just walk around. I stay seated at the booth, people bring me beer, which is always a good thing until the bill comes, so I get a lot done there. I’ll spend three or four hours there, and it’s private me time.

His new book is VIOLET EYES and can be purchased here. Usually, I just leave plugs nice and simple like that, but he said a bit more when I asked him about the new book, and I thought you might enjoy this, so here you go.

JE: The new book is called VIOLET EYES, and it was also written in many bars. It’s sort of my big KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS book. It was a lot of fun to write. And in the acknowledgements, I say I’ve always done a lot of writing in pubs. In this one, I put where it was written. Bars in Ft. Worth, TX, Florida, Toronto, Vancouver and Munich, Germany, my first trip abroad. I went there for business a few days and got some writing done.

John Everson’s website is here, and you can follow him on Twitter at @JohnEverson

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: LEO PEREZ

Poorly photoshopped artwork by Jon Lennon

I’ve known Leo Perez for quite a few years now. In fact, we worked on the Napalm Assault together for a while. When I first met him, he was an artist, but he wasn’t doing a whole lot with his talent. He wanted to do comics, but he never really found direction as far as that went. Then came the day I introduced him to Jon Lennon, and Leo turned into an absolute beast of a comics illustrator. He is now an integral part of CheeseLord Comics. Here is my question for him:

ME: Imagine a world without CheeseLord Comics, and you never met Jon Lennon. Where would you be as an artist now?

LEO PEREZ: Fuck. I’m going to have to go deep here, aren’t I? I’ve always considered myself an artist, but obviously Jon Lennon was the guy that woke the beast up, roped the beast and then helped me to tame it. I learned a lot from Jon, but most importantly Jon helped me financially as well. Jon fronted most of our cons and trips while I found my legs and became this somewhat self-reliant artist I am today. It’s even to the point where Jon and I have begun to explore different art styles together and have become more involved in our art than our comic creating. I owe a lot to Jon and CheeseLord because of the work and focus that he’s helped me put into my work, and in doing so we’ve become full partners in this comics business. This year alone we were able to win a bid in a huge project where we got paid extremely well and I could not have confidently done my part without the guidance and teachings of Lennon. That is 100% real and true. So going forward as we continue to grow artistically and as a company, I can always look back and say yeah, I did it, but not without my friends, family, my wife and notably Jon Lennon. Oh God . . . he’s going to read this and have the biggest dick in the room!

Keep up on all Leo Perez (and CheeseLord) news here. Follow him on Twitter here.

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: KEVIN STRANGE

Back in the day, Kevin Strange was a filmmaker. He wrote and directed several indie pictures, like COLONEL KILL MOTHERFUCKERS, DEAD SHIT and COCKHAMMER. Now he’s writing books and publishing them through his own company, StrangeHouse Books. He’s the author of ROBAMAPOCALYPSE, VAMPIRE GUTS IN NUKE TOWN and THE LAST GIG ON PLANET EARTH AND OTHER STRANGE STORIES, among others. I’ve been lucky to be a part of his company. They published stories by me in ZOMBIE! ZOMBIE! BRAIN BANG! and STRANGE FUCKING STORIES, they published my second book TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE and we’re poised to do more business.

ME: After working in film for quite a while, you switched over to publishing. It’s easy to see why someone would want to publish their own work, but you’ve been encouraging a stable of writers for several years now. What drew you to championing other people’s work?

KEVIN STRANGE: Thanks for having me on your blog, John. You asked me this question a few months ago, and I’m still struggling with my answer. “Why did you choose to publish other authors?”

Why DID I choose to work with other authors? That’s a great question. And one of the hardest questions I’ve ever been asked. It’s a question I ask myself two or three times a week. I am constantly torn away from my own novels so that I can tend to and promote the needs and books of my fellow SHB authors. I’m always trying to find a balance between Kevin Strange the novelist and Kevin Strange the publisher.

Wouldn’t life be soooo much easier if I just wrote books?

Sure. And a lot less of a headache. And a lot less drama. But ultimately a lot less fulfilling. You see, when I wrote and directed feature films, I was surrounded by people. I had casts of actors who looked to me to direct them through their crazy dialogue and ridiculous scenes. I had the behind the scenes crew looking to me for guidance as they set up lighting and chose the angles and depth of their shots. I had musicians sculpting my soundtracks and editors putting all the footage together into a (mostly) cohesive whole. I was never alone in my creativity and yet, I was the driving force, the engine. The stop and the go. It was all up to me.

When I stepped away from that, there was a huge vacuum. I was now a guy alone in a room with a lap top. Sure I’d always pecked away at my own scripts, but not a single one of them was over 50 or 60 pages of mostly dialogue. My scripts were easy to write and basically just a reference for my actors to look at so they could memorize their lines. They took me a week each to write, once I sat down and did the job.

Writing fiction was hard as fuck. I had to write EVERYTHING and it took a long time. Days and nights turned into weeks and months for a few dozen pages. Each short story took a chunk of my being with it. My longer works felt like black holes, threatening to drag me down into myself forever.

It was like going from a brightly lit party with driving music, sexy girls, cool bros and lots of drugs and booze, to a pitch black locked basement.

It was a hard transition, one I’m not completely through. If I was, I’d have six books coming out this year instead of three. Sometimes, I still hide from my work because it’s too lonely, too quiet, too ME. The easiest way to overcome this shocking loneliness was to team up with a crew of like-minded weirdos and do this thing together. It didn’t feel so lonely when it was HEY GANG! STRANGEHOUSE BOOKS!!!!! instead of just Kevin and his computer.

But one thing I wasn’t ready for, after years of being THE GUY who controlled everything from how much toilet paper we brought to the set, to how long a beautiful woman had to stand in front of me with her tits out while talking about buttholes and huge dicks, was that my new author buddies who I teamed up with to fight the good fight with . . . well, they had egos of their own.

I didn’t write their books. I didn’t control their books. As their publisher, they saw me as the guy who magically made them money, and I could fuck myself if I had anything else to say about it. Those two things, the ego of a film maker and the ego of a writer are two things you never want to see clash.

It’s been over two years now, and I’ve learned to adjust. Some people still think I’m an ego maniac who steals all of authors’ money and jacks off with it. But anyone currently working with me knows I’ve mellowed out.

I’ve learned to deal with author egos, and how to keep my own bullshit in check. I had to lose a few books from my catalog, and let several talented authors (and a couple of business partners) walk on down the road before I figured out how to run my shit. But we’re good now.

Today? As 2014 grows its first boner, I couldn’t be happier to work with my team of authors, artists and our editor Sean Ferrari. I understand that our authors’ books belong to them, emotionally, and I’ve learned to feel people out before I sign them to contracts. I don’t let the cunts ruin the fun for the rest of us. I’ve learned that blindly accepting novel submissions is mostly a waste of time, and that helping an author build a book that both of us are happy with is the best way to do business.

I choose to work with other authors because I feel like I have something to offer them beyond writing them a check 4 times a year. I feel like our team compliments everyone on our roster and that as a whole, SHB is stronger, louder and more successful than any one of us would be without each other.

Working with authors like you, John Bruni, and author/artist Jesse Wheeler makes me excited to be an author, makes me proud to be a publisher. I don’t’ know if I’d still be a writer today if I hadn’t met you guys and helped bring your books to life. You guys make me want to be a better leader and a better author. Without you guys, I’m just the guy typing in the dark.

Thank you for making SHB what it is, and for making me who I am today. YOU are why I do what I do.

Kevin’s books can be bought here. Follow him on Twitter here. Don’t forget to check out SHB and buy all of their releases (including mine).

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: Z.M. THOMAS

Z.M. Thomas is the comic book writer behind great books such as ABE THE ABORTED FETUS and THE BIBLE 2, both of which I’ve reviewed here and here, respectively. As you can probably tell, most people don’t get the joke and have said quite a few negative things about his work. Here’s what I had to ask him.

ME: You take on a lot of touchy topics in your work for the purpose of making people laugh, and that tends to rub people the wrong way. What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you because of your books?

Z.M. THOMAS: Honestly, the hate that people send to me is pretty much the generic rhetoric that you’d expect someone to say if they disagree with you on a fundamental religious level, which usually involves the threat of Hell. As if threatening Hell to an atheist is much of a threat at all, considering there’s a certain level of insanity in trying to justify having an imaginary enemy. But, either way, I’ve been lucky in the sense that there hasn’t been much said in the form of bodily harm or death threats, just a lot of passive aggressive bullshit which appears to have been written by those with the intellectual equivalent of first graders. However, the only time anyone has said anything to me that really pissed me off was when an individual sarcastically tried to ask if “I or anyone I knew had a gun placed to their head and forced into Christianity,” which actually has happened to my family. So I engaged in a long condescending answer which you can find here. Of course he deleted his comment within hours, but that was probably the most offensive thing anyone has ever said to me.

His work can be found here. It is well-researched, as he is a fellow fan of history. If you haven’t read anything of his, despite my reviews, now is the time. He’s planning to have a new book released soon. I won’t say anything about it, but if it’s anything like he’s told me, it’s going to top the awesomeness of ABE and BIBLE 2, hands down.

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: JOSH FILER

Josh Filer is a sick motherfucker. Anyone who has read his series, GROSS, GRANDPA! can attest, he’s the master of showing you fucked up shit you could have never possibly imagined. I couldn’t think of anything he wouldn’t put down on paper, so here’s my question for him.

ME: You have depicted some of the most awesomely grotesque images ever in your work. Was there ever anything you wanted to do but it just wouldn’t translate to comic books?

JOSH FILER: Yeah, once I wrote this story called “The Andys” that I wanted terribly to make into a comic. It was about these two guys I knew both named Andy and I made them out to be rabid pedophiles. They got all pedo-crazy and a little kid fucking monster grew off one of them and invaded my body turning me into an Andy and forcing me to run my car through an elementary school playground in an attempt to fuck kids. But it hasn’t worked out for me to draw because a lot of the humor was in my choice of words and I never really worked out making the visuals worth a shit.

He also guest-starred on an Everyone’s Got One column I dida while ago about censorship. I’ve also reviewed him several times here (links within the previous link). If you see him at a con, make sure you get his books. You won't be disappointed. (Grossed out? Yep. Offended? Probably. But not disappointed.)

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: FORCED VIEWING

According to the website, “Forced Viewing is an irreverent collaborative blog focusing on horror in film and on television. Reviews of classic and contemporary horror movies are published Monday through Friday; plus reviews of horror on television and in other media; interviews; convention and event coverage; a monthly podcast; and more.” There are quite a few reviewers on the site, including myself, but the core has been and always will be, Jori, Lackey and the Drudgeon. True to form, there is only one question this week, but there are three answers, as you will see below.

ME: Forced Viewing is a great site to go to for irreverent reviews, and it has drawn quite a bit of attention from the indie filmmakers you discuss. It brings little money, but it does bring some recognition. What moves you to make your voices be heard?

LACKEY: I like to think of Forced Viewing as my half-a-million-word-long writing sample for RUE MORGUE. All I need to know is who to send it to . . .

JORI: I was originally dragged into this kicking and screaming by Drudgie. I never even considered that I had something to say. Discovering good movies keeps me going. We all lament the death of horror, but the idea that just because big Hollywood productions aren’t churning out the quality we want is very narrow minded. I keep going because I want to remind everyone (including myself) that there is so much horror left to be enjoyed, you just have to search a bit deeper.

THE DRUDGEON: Mainly it started when I read a few things, like Roger Ebert reviews where he doesn’t seem to give the movie a chance just because it’s horror and when Joss Whedon talked about why he made BUFFY and talked about stuff that (pretty much) never happens in horror. So now I finally have my say and for me it was a way for me to complain about the movies that always seem to get awards and praise movies that are overlooked. I love the indie scene and most of the time there is some great stuff there. But now it’s more about . . . well the same thing, but for me it’s finally come full circle. I loved watching Svengoolie as a kid and now I’m actually trying to do the same thing by going into making videos.

Forced Viewing can be found here. They are open to recommendations as to what to watch and review next. If you have a short horror film you would like them to feature on their Blood on the Net feature, please let them know. And keep an eye out for the Drudgeon Dungeon, a vlog now available on theirYouTube channel.

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: J. MICHAEL SHELL

J. Michael Shell has made his rounds as a writer, having work that has appeared in many publications, most notably BOUND FOR EVIL, which was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. (And, *ahem* TABARD INN: TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE, of course.) When he attended the University of South Carolina, he actually studied under James Dickey, who wrote TO THE WHITE SEA, THE EAGLE’S MILE and, most famously, DELIVERANCE.

ME: We became friends because of my old fiction magazine, TABARD INN. I published a story by you, “Dick Dog,” in issue three. However, there was one story that almost made it into issue two. If you’ll recall, I liked the story, but I disagreed with the ending, and I said I’d buy it if you changed the ending. You stuck to your guns and politely declined when a lesser writer would have probably caved in, afraid to lose a sale. What advice do you have for up-and-comers in regards to holding your own with editors?

JMS: If I remember correctly, the story you’re referring to was, “Home to Roost (The Missionary’s Position).” Your objection was that humans as a food source for aliens had been done before. You might even have referenced an old TWILIGHT ZONE episode, but this was some time ago, and I can’t be sure. I do remember being polite about it, and I can almost quote verbatim what I told you: “A writer should never be held responsible for what has been written before by somebody else.” I did, by the way, end up selling the piece, and it was published “as is.”

I mentioned that I was polite about it for this reason—it’s always a good idea. Especially if the venue is one you’d like to break into. TABARD INN was one of those. I knew its editor had an excellent, literary eye (not to mention magnificently questionable taste). I showed respect because I HAD respect (and ultimately ended up with a story in a truly great issue of a splendid magazine).

HOWEVER, I would never tell a writer not to burn a bridge if it needed burning, and I’ve burned a few with some serious invective. Some editors are dilettantes, some are failed writers holding a grudge. These you need to guard against. NEVER let one of these have their way with you just to get something into print. It’s whorish and pitiful.

That said, I have, on occasion, made suggested edits when I found them thoughtful and intelligent, OR when I didn’t think they were harmful to the piece and I really wanted the sale. I have to admit, I never LIKE making changes. SO, when it comes to short fiction, I don’t submit until I’ve read the piece at least thirty times with a red pen in my hand. If the manuscript is clean as a fat-tongued cat’s ass, and exactly the way you want it, you’ll absolutely know if an editor with critical remarks has the wherewithal to diddle your work. If you don’t like what he’s asking for, tell him nicely that you simply cannot make those changes, but the piece is still available as is. If he rejects, fine, that’s his legitimate prerogative. Send it elsewhere. If he still clamors about the changes he wants, tell him to fuck off.

The great author Muriel Spark (who was big enough in her day to forbid ANY editing) said, “If I wrote it, it’s grammatical.” I love that kind of chutzpah! But a good editor—especially if we’re talking about a novel—can be an asset. Let’s face it, if you’re a serious writer, you’re much too close to your work. And even if you edit the thing fifty times, in three hundred or more pages, you WILL MISS SOMETHING. Usually it’s something that will piss you off royally if it appears in print. So don’t be a dick. Listen carefully and think before you explode. If you DO, however, decide on detonation, go ahead and be bloody brilliant about it. If nothing else, it feels good.

Oh yes, Mr. Bruni. If you remember correctly, I DID allow you to change the title of my story “Change of Venue” to “Dick Dog.” See how much I liked you—even when you were rejecting my work right and left! (Author smiles.)

All of the above is true, but it wasn’t “Home to Roost” that I was thinking about. It was another story, “Fishing Whole.” It would seem that the editor in me hasn’t died off, because I asked for a rewrite of the first paragraph. He chose to let his answer stand and added the following:

JMS: Having had my dubious memory (Oldtimer’s Disease) properly chastised, I am now aware that it was NOT “Home to Roost” that John wanted me to change, but “Fishing Whole” (which, to this day, I haven’t sold). “Home to Roost” John rejected outright for the reason stated above, and I simply wrote back to bitch. By that time (this was AFTER “Fishing Whole”), John and I (writers of similar ilk) had a rapport that allowed such bitching. DON’T DO IT WITH AN UNKNOWN EDITOR. If he rejects, suck it up and send something else. Burning a bridge is one thing (on a rare and well-deserved occasion), but bitching to an unknown editor is just stupid, and will get you nowhere.

J. Michael Shell’s recent novel, THE APPRENTICE JOURNALS, is out now and can be bought here.

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS: Jon Michael Lennon

Jon M. Lennon is the lunatic behind PRODUCT OF SOCIETY and the star of Matt Zingale’s documentary of the same title. Easily the most offensive artist you’ll find at any convention’s Artists Alley, he is a major force in indie comics.

ME: Your work has taken a new direction of late. What broke you out of your regular style and propelled you into this new transgressive style?

JML: Real life happened. I was shocked out of stagnation and complacency by a sudden, unexpected confrontation with my own mortality. In February 2013 I spent three days in the hospital with pancreatitis. A week later I fell in love with a woman who had no interest in me. These two events sent me on a new course that altered my life, art and future. I gave up fast food and pop and started exercising. The woman I was obsessed with was also an artist, so I started pushing myself to make better art to impress her. I eventually lost over a hundred pounds and was rejected by the woman who had been such a motivator for me. As an unexpected consequence of the weight loss more women began showing interest in me but I hadn’t really dated anyone for five years so I found myself unable to deal properly with normal dating experiences. As the physical changes and emotional trauma piled up inside of me I constantly worked on new art. I pushed my style and technique in ways I had never attempted before as the content of the pieces became darker and progressively nightmarish. The dust has still not settled on 2013 for me but what is clear is that I am physically and mentally healthier and I am more satisfied and excited about the artwork I am creating than I have been in years.

Jon can be found here. Be sure to buy his work here. Follow him on Twitter here.

ONE QUESTION INTERVIEWS

I’ve been thinking about the art form of the interview a lot lately. There are very few people who are good at it these days. As far as I’m concerned, the king of the interview is Ron Bennington, who does amazing things not just with UNMASKED, but also with his regular show, RON AND FEZ. The key is to make it seem like a conversation, rather than either a promotional tool or even an info-pumping session. Judging by the few interviews I’ve conducted, I’m not very good at that. Leo Perez is much better at it than I am, and I wish the interview he did with me would be posted someday so you can all see what I see. If he ever wants a career doing something like that, I’m sure he’d kick a lot of ass.

But the main thing I’m thinking about here is the internet interview. I’m not talking about podcasts, where the internet interview is thriving. I’m talking about written interviews. No one is good at this. It’s hard to be good at an interview that people will eventually read, instead of listen to. It always seems to be fill-in-the-blank, rather than two people sitting down and talking. I think the only good written interview is the monthly interview published by PLAYBOY.

But I want to see what I can do about making the internet interview much more interesting. There is no substitute for the fill-in-the-blank sensation, but there might not need to be. This, in combination with the idea that the internet is all about brevity, led to my new idea for TALES OF UNSPEAKABLE TASTE: one question interviews. I’ll grant, I’m not the first person to think of this, but I want to explore this method and see where it leads me.

I personally know a lot of incredibly smart, remarkably creative people. I hope to invite them to take part in this idea as a starting off point, and I’m interested in pursuing some creative people I don’t count as friends, as well. I have a list of people I want to try, of course, but who do you want to see me interview? Let me know in the comments, text me, email me, post to my Twitter, wherever you want to contact me, let me know. This is only in the idea stage so far, but if this sounds like something that could be cool, let me know. Keep in mind that I intend to ask a lot of people, not just writers or comics people, but also actors, stand-up comedians, painters, musicians and anyone who follows a creative path in their lives. Thanks for reading.