OMINOUS 13 INTERVIEW SERIES: CHANTAL NOORDELOOS

OMINOUS 13 DARK FICTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES: CHANTAL NOORDELOOS

Hi Chantal, thanks for appearing on Ominous 13! Just for the record, I love your work. You’re a star in the making. With a lucky break, you could be a household name. With that out of the way, let’s dive right in!

Your first full length novel offering, Coyote, the Outlander, a well-received steampunk/sci-fi novel, follows a sexy female bounty hunter chasing alien bad guys, and coming to grips with her own personal issues, especially with her father. What can you tell us about this story, without spoilers, that would convince readers who’ve never heard of you to buy and read?

Argl, so I can’t just rely on my blurb? Darn, I’m a terrible sales person. I guess what I could point out that Coyote is a story with a difference? For one the book is accompanied with a second screen experience, in which we hope to pull the reader more into the world. I would tell you that I’d like to think Coyote is a very character driven story, and though it’s a steampunk novel (or technically Dustpunk) it’s the story that truly counts and will still be very accessible for readers who have no affinity with Steampunk. And then I would probably have to tip my hat at you, and mutter something about this being one hell of a deal sir / little lady… and give you my best smarmy car salesman smile.

With the success of Coyote, how far and what direction do you plan to take this fantastic story?

You flatter me, sir! (there’s that hat tipping thing again… I can’t seem to stop) There will be five books. I’m hoping to add a second screen to all of them. The first book was quite short, but I have a sneaky suspicion the second book will be a lot longer (since I already surpassed the word count of book one, and am about half way in the story.) I have a general idea where I want to go, and I already have the title for the second book, which will be called: “The Clockwork Dragonfly”.

Though you write in different genres, horror seems to be your specialty. What drew you into the world of horror writing?

I’m a big fat coward… and that may sound silly, but that actually helps. Everything scares me, so it’s easy to come up with a horror plot. It’s funny, because I never pictured myself as a ‘horror writer’, though I could have known. I’ve been a role player for a great many years (almost 22) and when I started being the dungeon master (or games master) the games got a bit of a dark side. I became quite infamous for my horror games, and I guess I just continued that in my writing. It all started when I wrote for anthologies. The first one I wrote for was called ‘Hell’. I really love using angels and demons in stories, so this felt like a perfect fit. I wrote a little tale called ‘Only Forgotten’, and that was the first thing I published. I won’t bore you with the long story around it (it ended up somewhere else first), but in the end I wrote more short stories for the same publisher. And because of that, I rolled into the horror world. I do other things, but horror feels like my ‘go to genre’.

You’re from the Netherlands, but you’ve have made quite a splash across the great pond, in America. Was this a conscious decision on your part, or did America discover your impressive talents by sheer good fortune?

I have a guilty confession to make: I have NO affinity with Dutch writing. It’s not just the language, but the type of writing is so different from what I enjoy to write (or read really). I always knew I wasn’t going to write for my own people (I sound like an alien, I am aware of this… Chanti phone home) To me the US or the UK market are the same. They’re both not in my country, and I love them both… but I’ve noticed that I happened to get more of a ‘following’ (if we can call it that) in the US, and that stuck more. So I decided to write my work in US English (though I would naturally write UK English, since I went to college there). I love the American audience, they are such enthused readers and that really boosts the ole writer’s ego.

How difficult is it, being the mother of a young daughter, to delve in and out of the real world for her and your family, and the imaginative worlds that you create?

When she’s at school, I have no problems. We treat writing as my job, so I get a lot of space to write. When Elora’s home, it’s more difficult, because she’s quite… ehm… present? In other words, she’s always making a lot of noise, and I’m one of those horrible people who needs silence. When she goes to bed I tend to work a little bit more, so I get long work days after all. In this house we do have a rule: Work hard play hard, so my husband doesn’t mind that I make 9-12 hour days on average, as long as we do fun things too, and I give my all to the family as well as the writing.

Your latest offering, a short story anthology entitled Deeply Twisted, has quite an interesting cover, which I love by the way. Tell us about the concept of the cover and what makes your anthology so ‘twisted’?

The girl on the cover is Judit Smits, who is a friend of mine. She did a photo shoot and this picture (and the one on the back cover) were part of that shoot. I fell in love with the pictures and she introduced me to the photographer Marc Price.

I was thinking of bundling all my short stories for quite a few months, and this was the perfect excuse. I had some stories that were previously published and a few stories that I was still working on. Instead of sending them out, I decided to use them for my own collection. When I saw the picture, I changed one of the characters from a Dutch story I had, from an old hag to a young woman. It was a bit of a challenge for me, to change a character so drastically and I had to rewrite it quite a bit because I kept going back to the ‘hag’ I had in my head. In the end I wrote another story with the same character, which I called Deeply Twisted, to tie the cover in with the book. It was a lot of fun to work on.

I think the twisted part is that I like to write stories that are not as they seem. Now some of the stories are more ‘surprising’ than others, but because twisted has so many meanings, I believed it would be the most suitable description for my collection. 

I read a conversation between you and one of your fans on your website, where you stated you were afraid of poodles. Besides their gnashing, gnarling teeth and growl, why in the world would you be afraid of them?

Hahahaha, that wasn’t me! Not that I will start the Poodle fan club any time soon (I’m more of a cat person, and I prefer large dogs over small ones) but no particular fear. My phobias are quite bland, heights, spiders… scary little girls. The latter fuel a lot of my writing fear.

You seem to very fond of drawing. What kinds of subjects draw your attention in the area?

At the risk of sounding cheesy… I like drawing people. Especially women, but that’s because I find them easier to draw and I have a weird fascination for drawing breasts… (don’t ask, I can’t tell you why)

I draw all sorts of things, but cartoons / comic book style have my preference. I do a lot of drawing for Coyote, but that character really inspires me.

Being an incredibly creative and driven person, how do you handle the times when you, for one reason or another, circumstances prevent you to be able to write or draw or create?

You picked the absolute right timing for that question. I haven’t written in about a week at the moment due to holiday madness and this crappy virus that has been terrorizing my house for days. 

It’s been driving me up the wall. I hate not writing, it makes me very on edge and grumpy. I need an outlet for my creativity, or I go a bit funny (not funny, ha-ha… more funny, back away and avoid eye contact)

Before I started writing fulltime, I had this creative ‘hole’ to fill. So I would organize about 4 larp events in a year, and would do all sorts of little projects to keep me entertained. Writing has been very fulfilling, and my life turned a bit more boring after that. I think my husband is relieved, because we don’t have people over at our house every weekend anymore, like we used to… and he is no longer subjected to all the crazy plans I came up with in the name of creativity.

Being your friend on Facebook, I often see your real life stories of grown up game nights. I am amazed at how seriously you and your friends take the games and how much fun you have. I’m not saying that game playing isn’t big over her in the States, but you gals and guys seem to take the intensity of the games to an entirely new level. Is this part of the culture of the Netherlands?

Ehm… I don’t think it is. Only with a small group of people (who happen to be my friends) We like to role play a lot, but board games are also fun. Especially co-op games. I know there are a few game conventions here, but I think it takes a particular ‘kind’ of people to really enjoy gaming.

You also seem to enjoy playing LARP games. For those of us who don’t know, that is Live Action Role Playing. Tell us a little about what kinds of games your play and what drew you into that sub-culture?

I started to take Larp serious when I lived in the UK. In the Netherlands I went to a little indoor event, and I liked it, but in the UK I was dragged to ‘the Gathering’ by some of my friends, and I attended a couple of smaller larp events too. When I came back to the Netherlands, I decided I was going to organize my own fantasy events, and I did so under the name Moonblade. When I got pregnant with Elora I stopped for a while. But I missed it, though I was ready for new things. We decided to move away from the standard ‘mediaeval fantasy’ settings, and moved towards… you guessed it… contemporary horror. Much more my genre *grin*

I saw a picture of one of you LARP games in which you dressed as a lady vampire. It looked very realistic and scary. Have you ever thought of using your experiences with LARP into an acting career?

I’ve received quite a few compliments on my acting skills, and people have invited me to join their theater groups, but to be honest, I don’t think I would do well with acting. I suck at remembering lines and I’m too hyper for studying. I was in a few plays when I was younger (my favourite was the Gingerbread Lady, by Neil Simon) and I always had good grades in Drama, but I prefer to improvise. I also love playing the bad guy. I’m not dainty princess material, I rather strike terror in the hearts of my ‘players’.

What can we expect from Chantal Noordeloos in the future?

I’m a busy little bee, so I hope a lot. Right now I’m working on several projects for 2014. The first (of seven) installment of my “Even Hell has Standards” series, called ‘Pride’ (which is the rewrite of Only Forgotten). I’m working on the second Coyote book, and am outlining the third. Another project I want to finish for 2014 is the first novel in my Celestials series. I actually wrote that book about 3 years ago, and am rewriting it now. I’m about 89.000 words in, but other things have been getting in the way. First I’ll need to finish the current project, which I started for NaNoWrimo, a dark fantasy YA novel called Alleria. Quite a challenge that one, because it’s out of my comfort zone, but this story has also been haunting me for years. Lastly I want to write a haunted house novel. And yes… all this by the end of 2014.

Thanks again Chantal, for answering our questions and allowing us to take a peek into your personal and professional life. If you would be so kind as to send along a few pics, especially the darling one of you dressed as a vampire that would be great. Also, please add links to your sites here:

Thank you so much for this Paul. This was a wonderful interview! I love how personal you made this.

My sites are: www.coyotethebooks.com

And: www.chantalnoordeloos.info (but this is my website that needs some updating)

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OMINOUS 13 DARK FICTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES: PAULA D. ASHE

Hi Paula, thanks for agreeing to do an interview in my Ominous 13 series. You live in the very conservative state of Indiana, yet you are married to a woman. Why do you think that at this time, in this country, which was built on the principles of separation of church and state, and individual freedoms, that gay marriage is even an issue any more?

Well, the USA was not initially founded on the separation of church and state and individual freedoms for everyone; just for wealthy, landowning, straight, white men. Those characteristics are what make someone a citizen, nothing else. Paul Atwood's War and Empire: The American Way of Life, William Appleman Williams' Empire as a Way of Life, and A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn all provide different perspectives on the founding of the country. I mention this just to provide some context for my initial statement. So, with that in mind, its only when marginalized groups (ie. those who are not wealthy, landowning, straight, white men) resist and demand to be treated as citizens are rights extended. So, I think the reason why it's still an issue is because same sex marriage requires granting rights to everyone, beyond just marital rights. Marriage is the core of social relationships in the United States. Marriage determines taxes, child custody, where you can live, your credit score, medical insurance, and so much more. Therefore, same sex marriage again opens up a floodgate of additional rights and protections. The perception (based on the myth of scarcity) is that if people receive more rights, then less power remains concentrated among certain groups. So those groups that are accustomed to having power work very hard to restrict who has access to various privileges.

You’re working on a PhD from Purdue University and currently serve on the English Faculty at Ivy Tech. I actually took some classes there on my way towards my bachelor’s degree. Great school and a noble day job for you. What is the hardest thing about being an instructor?

Thank you! The grading! It isn't difficult; just tedious and absurd. It's nearly impossible to distill someone's progress with a discipline as ephemeral as writing into a single letter grade.

What is the most common mistake your students make and what advice would you give to clear that up?

Following instructions. Seriously, I wish I had a more…philosophical response, but it’s true: follow the dang instructions! ;-) Even students who are exceptional writers need to develop an eye for detail and consistency.

Can you see yourself becoming a full-time novel writer, or are you content teaching full-time and pumping out short stories and novellas as time allows?

Hmm…I think the more appropriate set-up for me personally would be half and half; teaching part-time and writing full time. Just writing and never leaving the house and staying in my head all the time is a bad idea. I need to have some kind of schedule or routine that exists outside of my own plans for the day. Plus, I love teaching.

I grew up in a small Kentucky town and was struck by lightning when I was eight.  When I was nine I saw the local undertaker digging up a hundred year old grave. I’ve been drawn to dark fiction ever since. What prompted you to go to the dark side in your writings?

You were struck by lightning? Do you have a Lichtenberg figure scar? Those are cool. Not that getting struck by lightning is cool but...y'know. Anyway, that’s a great question and I never have (what I feel is) a ‘good’ response. I’ve always been drawn to the dark side. The first short story I can recall writing was about a little boy who lost his puppy and the puppy drowned. What five year old writes about that? I also wrote a story about the Christian apocalypse when I was…in another interview I said three or four, which I don’t believe…so maybe six or seven. I’ve always been pretty sensitive and as an adult, I know that many of my fears and anxieties are worked out through my fiction.

“PDR: No for some reason, I escaped unharmed and unscarred, at least physically. I remember my mom rushing me to the doctors, who gave me a clean bill of health. Lucky, they said. But my mom wouldn’t relent and soon took me to a psychiatrist, I guess because she didn’t understand the new creative side I began showing. Nevertheless, they put me on some pills called phenobarbital. But I didn’t take those long. Couldn’t stand being sedated! At least not until many years later! ;)”

On your website, http://pauladashe.net/, you have some very impressive movie reviews. Is this an avenue you could see yourself becoming a professional at?

Thanks! I don’t think I could become a professional film reviewer; I’ve seen so many more films than what I review and post online. However, if someone wants to pay me to write reviews when I feel like it, my contact info is below. That will also probably never happen. *laughs* Although, I will be reviewing the film adaptation of Elizabeth Massie’s short story “Abed”, directed by Ryan Lieske. I CANNOT wait to watch that movie!

What are your favorite all-time horror movies?

I have a top 20 list posted here for your convenience! http://pauladashe.net/2012/07/07/my-20-favorite-horror-films/

My top five from the list are: Alien, Aliens, Hellraiser, Event Horizon, and High Tension.

You have quite a few published short stories out there. Which do you consider your best work, and where can it be purchased?

Oh boy…um…I suppose ‘The Mother of All Monsters’ is my current favorite, mostly because many people have told me it is their favorite. Also, --get this—my MOM loves it! It is available in the Serial Killers: Iterum collection published by JWKFiction.

You contributed the lead story of Four Ghosts, entitled Mater Nihil. The premise of the four ghost stories involves redemption of some sorts. Excluding spoilers, tell us what about this story could draw us into reading it?

Blood. Infanticide. Magic. Pregnancy. Crows. Dismemberment. Love. Poor hair styles. Gore. Obsession. Darkness. Terror. Parenthood. Malamutes. If any of those things interest you, give it a read. I have free electronic review copies available. Just holler. 

I typically light a candle, some incense and put on some heavy metal music at low volume when I write. Do you have any sort of ritual or prefer a certain atmosphere when you write?

I previously had a very similar ritual as you Paul, but because of my schedule, it’s nearly impossible for me to create that sort of atmosphere without needing to turn around in undo it after twenty minutes or so. So ideally; incense, candles, metal. Realistically; any atmosphere will (have to) do. I’ve also gotten quite adept at drafting while my students are doing in class writing. I am also sometimes rude and will write when socializing. Sorry. 

What can we expect from dark fiction writer, Paula D. Ashe in the future?

All sorts of foolishness. I am subbing some stories for a couple of projects with Chupa Cabra House, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I am also working on a story for an erotica anthology featuring African American writers/characters, to be released sometime in February. Related to that project is another adult-fiction collection featuring LGBTQ African American writers/characters, edited by yours truly. Over the summer I’m releasing a not-yet- titled collection of short stories and novellas; a mixture of previously published and new stuff.

(PDR: Fingers crossed!)

Thanks so much for your incredible patience, Paul! (Paul sent me this interview in early November. It’s almost 2014. Shame.)   

(PDR: Good things come to those who wait. This interview was worth waiting for. Incredibly eye opening!)

About this author:

Paula D. Ashe is a thirty-something writer of dark fiction who only feels comfortable writing about herself in third person. Originally from Ohio, She resides in Indiana with her wife and too many animals. Paula works as an instructor of English at a community college. She is also a PhD student in American Studies at Purdue University. Before that she earned a BA in Creative Writing and a minor in Psychology, then an MA in Composition and Rhetoric and a graduate certificate in Women's Studies, all from Wright State University. You can find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pauladashe and Twitter @pauladashe if you're into that sort of thing.

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OMINOUS 13 Dark Fiction Author Interview Series: WILLIAM COOK

Hi William, thanks for agreeing to this interview for my Ominous 13 dark fiction author spotlight series! For starters, let me note that as far as dark fiction, or the macabre, goes, your work is about impressive as it gets: very dark, very creepy. Is it easy for you to get into that kind of vibe to create your dark works?

Thanks Paul – I have always had a morbid fascination with the darker things in life so I am usually in that state of mind anyway. I do use certain techniques to raise the energy/darkness levels when it comes to writing horror. Some things I do to get ideas and the heartbeat racing are to listen to my favorite music while I’m tapping away on the keyboard. I listen to a lot of soundtracks, horror and otherwise. Some of my favorites include the soundtracks to Halloween, Taxi Driver, Maniac (Jay Chattaway), Hannibal etc and other albums from Acanthus, Fantomas, and anything by Danny Elfman and Joel McNeely, to name a few. I have a small study room lined with a lifetime’s collection horror books and related ephemera which certainly helps ‘ set the mood’ so to speak. So I guess it is relatively easy form me to get a dark ‘vibe’ going, although I wish it was as simple to get the motivation to actually write something down.

I read in an interview with you by another dark fiction author, Donald White, where you stated that personal tragedy seemed to lead you in the direction of creating dark fiction. Did it help you find closure at all?

On some level I think that the process of writing is cathartic, if not for any other reason than just getting thoughts and emotion on the page. Personal tragedy does provide grist for the mill, so to speak, but “finding closure” through the act of writing about it does not necessarily happen because one writes about it. Events never happen verbatim in my stories; on some level the event or experience may be retold but usually I prefer to use an analogous situation to relay my personal feelings. I make stories from experiences and that’s all most times, although the event in question to which you refer (murder/suicide of close friends) will become a story/novella at some point in 2014. I feel the need to tell the event from my own perspective and to impart the message within the story, that suicide has no mercy on anyone that survives.

Your recent work, Fresh Fear anthology, ranks #1 Best Horror Anthologies. Congratulations. How do you manage to get so many great authors to collaborate with you on projects such as this?

Thank you. Fresh Fear was my ‘outside’ project for 2013. I have worked in publishing as a sub-editor and a proof-reader in the past and wanted to reinvent myself. I put the anthology together as a labor of love as much as it is/was a career move. I have been a ‘stay at home dad’ for the past five years and have some serious gaps in my CV which have me concerned with the inevitable return to the work force just around the corner. Hopefully it won’t be the last of such projects as I found the whole experience to be challenging and rewarding. Hey, I managed to get stories from the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Robert Dunbar, JF Gonzalez, Billie Sue Mosiman and one of my personal favorites – the fantastic Charlee Jacob. Admittedly, the stories from Campbell, Dann, Dunbar and Gonzalez are reprints but they are no less powerful examples of the horror genre than the day they were crafted. I approached a lot of the authors mainly through social networking sites like FaceBook and Goodreads etc. I crafted a well thought out introductory letter to let them know what it was I had in mind with the anthology. I designed the cover and used that to solicit stories and interest in the anthology and as a result word of mouth spread and the submissions started rolling in. I sent personal invitations to most of the authors included in Fresh Fear and was very pleased with the response. A number of the authors have been online friends for a number of years, which definitely made it easier; I have only met one of them in person, fellow New Zealander Tim Jones, who is a fine writer and was high on my wish list from day one.

So To me, horror, like sex, is like a universal language. Being a New Zealander, what is the horror culture like there?

Well, New Zealand (NZ) is a small country and is still relatively young compared to the rest of the world. Our literary traditions stem back to England and as a result English literary tradition has steeped most of the work produced here. As far as Horror goes as a genre, film production/movies have the strongest output as part of the horror genre. Most people think of Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Brain Dead, The Frighteners etc) as New Zealand’s only producer of Horror films but we have other talented directors such as David Blyth (Death Warmed Up, Angel Mine, Wound) and others like Paul Campion, Glenn Standring, and Garth Maxwell to name a few. We don’t have any horror conventions etc – the closest we come is something called Armageddon – which is more of a pop culture convention. The first real Horror novel produced in NZ (in my opinion) was ‘The Scarecrow’ by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, followed closely by Maurice Gee’s ‘Fire Starter.’ More recently we have begun to produce authors who write what would be considered ‘Horror,’ examples include: Paul Mannering, Tim Jones, Paul Haines, Lee Pletzers, Cat Connor, Rocky Wood, Marty Young and Tracie McBride. There are a few fledgling presses set up now who publish ‘Spec fiction,’ which tends to incorporate fantasy, horror, steampunk and dark fiction but none of the subsidiaries of the traditional publishers seem interested in NZ Horror to date.  Most of our Horror writers (myself included) tend to write with an American or English audience in mind so it is quite hard to pin-point a distinctively unique NZ horror perspective or voice. I have recently set up a FB group called New Zealand Horror Writers and hope to setup an accompanying website early 2014. I feel we have enough talented writers of horror here in NZ to start a bit of a groundswell now and to let the world know that the horror genre is alive and well in Aotearoa (indigenous New Zealand).

You seem like a tireless worker, William, with novels, short stories, cover art and poetry to your credit. Which comes first, the story or the accompanying art?

I’m a very visual person and before I ever started writing horror stories I was drawing monsters and skulls. When I write I tend to plot/think in cinematic terms – Blood Related for example was written with a movie in mind. Ie, I wrote it with a view to develop the story as a screenplay eventually. Sometimes when I’m doing a cover design for someone I will go off on a tangent and create something that I’ll attempt to transcribe to the page as a written story. Most of my art is character based and it does help to develop story characters and their various attributes in a visually compelling way (I hope so at least).  But for me the two don’t necessarily go together and I quiet often use the different mediums (art + writing) as a form of relief from each other when things get a bit wrought.

From reading your biography, you’ve worked quite a bit of odd jobs, from making rat poison to working in meat packing. Which was the absolute worst of these?

Oh man, I’ve had a few shitty jobs. Probably the worst one was when I worked for a huge chemical company as a process worker bottling something called Baquashock, which is basically concentrated hydrochloric acid used for cleaning swimming pools. I can remember having to wear a disposable full body suit with gloves and gas mask but having on occasion splashes of the liquid burn the pigment from my skin leaving white marks on my flesh. On Friday nights after work they had a social club and I’d only need two-three beers and I’d be nearly rolling on the floor – the chemicals seemed to enhance the effects of alcohol, which made the job bearable.

You seemed to have done a bit of everything in the macabre horror genre, except movies. Is there a certain work of yours that you feel would translate best into video form?

Yes. I’d love to see Blood Related made into a film one day – as I mentioned above, I wrote it with this view in mind. I am also currently working on an approved novelization of a great New Zealand Horror movie by director David Blyth, called ‘Wound.’

For someone totally unfamiliar with your work, which of your works would be a good starting point to discover the darkest nature of your work?

‘Creep’ is an easy read at about a 10k word count and has received many favorable reviews. I think it’s one of my better works and it also happens to be the first story in an exciting and gritty new psychological thriller series. Here’s the blurb – “Cassandra: Hunter of Darkness, is a hero to the victim and a merciless angel of death to the evil ones. A killer of killers, she strikes fear into the hearts of those who get their kicks off hurting others. Join Cassandra on her quest for justice and revenge as she begins her journey into the dark underbelly of serial murder and takes care of business, as only she knows how.”

Which do you prefer writing: novels, short stories or poetry?

I love writing short stories but I’m looking forward to writing my second novel. I actually started writing poetry seriously before short fiction and I feel that poetry prepared me for prose with a good understanding of cadence, strong imagery, and most importantly an ability to use language/words economically. The novella is my preferred format/word length as it seems to have many positive spin-offs in that if it’s too short it still works as a piece of short fiction and if it’s too long it can easily be worked up to novel length. So next year, I plan on writing at least three novellas and I hope that will result in at least one novel length work.

What are your current projects and what can we expect from William Cook in the future?

I am currently working on the novelization of David Blyth’s movie ‘Wound’ and expect to have that completed (pitch ready) by March 2014.  I’m also halfway through the sequel to ‘Blood Related’ and hope to have that completed mid-2014. I’m also working on a collaborative novel/novella with friend and publisher James Ward Kirk and have a collection of short fiction nearly ready for submission, amongst other things.

If someone wanted to inquire about working with you on a cover project, what is the best way to reach you and even more importantly, what would make you interested?

Come and check out my design website – http://bloodsoakedgraphics.tumblr.com. There you’ll find prices, examples and testimonials from other clients. I am cutting back on my cover designs in 2014 to concentrate on my writing but I’m always interested in interesting projects. My main website has plenty of contact details/links also – http://williamcookwriter.com

Being a single father of three, I can totally respect your role of father to young girls. I often have to flip the switch from creator of darkness to big softy, often at the blink of an eye. Do your girls have any idea what your macabre works are about and do how do you manage to delve in and out of those roles?

No, they’re too young to know what I do although they do comment on my ‘spooky books’ etc. I have two older girls also (25 yr olds) who like reading similar books and seem to respect my obsession with writing and creating horror. I write in the evenings and when my youngest are at school/pre-school so I always keep my work separate from them really. I definitely have two separate realities in that respect.

Thanks for your time, William! It was a great pleasure digging into the mind of a great creator of darkness!!

Website - http://www.williamcookwriter.com/

Blog - http://bloodrelated.wordpress.com/

Twitter - @williamcook666

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NUMBER 3 WITCH OF ALL TIME: JESSICA LANGE as FIONA GOODE, AHS COVEN

The first time I can remember seeing Jessica Lange was in The Postman Always Rings Twice. As a young teen, the blatant sexual prowess portrayed between her and Jack Nicolson was simply mind blowing. If this was what sex was all about, I had to have some! It was awkward, in your face, gritty, powerful. There is any number of powerful adjectives one could throw in here if inclined to grammatical gymnastics. You get the picture though. All references to Mrs. Robinson from 1967’s classic, The Graduate, aside, at that tender age I would have done Jessica Lange.

Back to the present. Jessica has lead an all-star ensemble cast through three seasons of American Horror Story. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if her character is good or bad. Not since the days of Larry Hagman’s portrayal of J.R. Ewing in Dallas, has an actor played a character that is so reviled, yet be nearly universally loved. Scruples could never get in the way of juicy roles such as these, which would explain her three year run, with talk of a fourth, before she goes her merry way, as she has publically stated.

This year she is once again, the ‘supreme’. Ironically, she is one of the few actresses I know that could steal the show even when she is the show’s main focus! Her delivery of the character, Fiona Goode, is flawless. A powerful leader of a dying witch coven, Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, Fiona is both strong and diabolical. She doesn’t flinch at killing anyone that stands in her way of achieving the power she so desperately craves. Her antics would rank her with some of the wickedest witches in fictional history. In my Top Ten Witches of All-Time Blog Series she comes in at #3.

There is more to this character, however. Jessica is as talented an actress as there ever was, so being able to flip the script and tug on the hearts of her audience is something she accomplishes effortlessly. Fiona’s character has a soft side after all. Fi as she displays a convincing, yet un-crippling, amount of self-esteem issues. She aging, and in fact dying of cancer. Huge ego hit on both counts. Years of affairs have left her feeling unfulfilled in her love life, with her only choice at present a ghostly axe murderer. Add this to the fact that as a new supreme emerges among the younger coven witches, he powers wane, leaving her quite defenseless as her wasting disease progresses.

Fiona’s answer to this? Dig up a centuries old witch, buried alive while carrying the curse of immortality. The problem is that the person responsible for the curse is equally evil New Orleans Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, who is also an immortal. She also has a profound dislike for witches, white girls and particularly, Fiona.

The biggest sin in the coven is murdering a fellow coven member. Halfway through the season, Fiona has killed three in her attempt to gain and preserve her title of Supreme. First she offed her predecessor Supreme, when she was just a teenager, to take power the old fashioned way: in a coup.

Next, after her daughter brought in perhaps the final class of coven witches, she slashes the throat of the one she first fears to be her replacement, thinking it would restore her power. But, she picked the wrong one.

After that, Fiona executed her longtime rival, Myrtle, by casting blame on her for the murder of the young witch she thought was stealing her powers. Burning Myrtle alive at the stake, Fiona sets an indelible impression on the young members of the coven, who decided to take Fiona on in a high stakes game of chicken. The climatic final episode of the season looks to be extraordinary, if only to see who wins control of the coven, and title of Supreme. I wouldn’t count Fiona out!

Meanwhile, I will be thinking to myself that the 17 year difference between Jessica and myself isn’t as big as it was when I was 15. Yes, I would still do the beautiful Ms. Lange!

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OMINOUS 13 DARK FICTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES: APRIL M. REIGN

Hi April! Thanks for allowing me to interview you. I really admire your work, as well as your style.  I feel honored to be able to ask you a few questions.

Thank you for having me featured on your wonderful website. I am honored to be here.

You started off writing poems as a teen and later in life went after your dream and started writing novels. I had a very similar experience. Do you ever wish you had started writing right after college or do you think that waiting made you relish this opportunity more, thus allowing you to really put your heart and soul into it? 

I’ve always loved writing. For me, I think everything happened the way it should have. One thing I never do is look back and wish I had done something differently. If I second-guess my decisions and myself then it stops me from appreciating the moment. Therefore, I’d have to say that waiting made me relish the experience of it that much more.

Which came first, novels or short stories?

In my early twenties, I started writing short stories. None of them were published though.

You are a prolific writer, with quite a lot of work out. Are you a multi-tasker, who works on several projects at a time, or do you stick with your work in progress?

Oh, I try to multi-task, but I always fall short of deadlines. When that happens, I pull back the reins on all the extra projects and focus solely on the main book that I’m writing. It’s a continually changing process for me. I’m always working on streamlining the method around my own personal way of doing things.

You spent a good deal of time working the corporate world, in the law field. Which is more demanding, writing legal documents or fiction?

Both are demanding because they both come with deadlines. Although, most of my deadlines are self-imposed, they are also calculated around my readers. Needless to say, that alone puts more pressure on me.

You’re a So-Cal girl that spent some quality time on the beach, and in the water, surfing. That must’ve been a sensational experience growing up. Describe for us who’ve never been surfing, what the first time on a board meant to you?

My first time on a surfboard, I was ten years old. My father took me to San Clemente Beach. With his longboard under his arm and me at his side, we hit the water. He first had me lie on my stomach and use the whitewash of a wave to practice standing on the board. Being a tiny ten year old, on a fifteen-foot surfboard, it was easy to stand and ride the whitewash in toward the shore. It was also an exhilarating experience. My family and I went to the beach often. Each trip to the beach included the surfboards and a surf lesson. By my teenage years, I was riding on a shorter board, feeling the seawater splashing my face, the breeze caressing my skin and the excitement of challenging a wave that I never thought I’d be able to ride. Every crash and burn, every bruise my body took from hitting the bottom of the ocean floor and every tumble against a wild wave that sent my head somersaulting over my feet was worth that one moment when you ride the perfect wave—when you glide along the ocean’s surface in a euphoric state of bravado and skill.

Obviously family means a lot to you. You’ve sacrificed a lot being a single parent. Kudos to you for that, coming from a fellow single parent. Have your kids read your works and how do they feel about them?

No, my kids have not read my books. Although my sons are avid readers, they have their favorite authors and I think they stick pretty close to them. For years, I wouldn’t let them read my work because the subject matter wasn’t for their age group.

You stated in your biography that you’re close to your parents and your sisters are your best friends. That’s pretty awesome! Give them a shout out and tell us about how they have supported you in your path to being a dark fiction author?

A big hello to my family! They are each supportive in their own ways. My mom has a tendency to call me when she has a dream that she thinks could be a story. I take those dreams, sometimes a paragraph in length in her explanation, and I create a story from them. Dividing Destiny and Torn by Fate are both stories that started with a concept that my mother gave me.

My sister, Kathy, is one of my beta readers. I trust her opinion because she’s blunt and honest and doesn’t know how to hold back punches. J That’s what I want in a beta reader. The rest of my family reads my books and listens to me talk about my writing career almost nonstop. For that, I am so thankful to have such an amazing support system.

As an indie author, one of the toughest things is building a fan base from scratch. Fans are very loyal to their favorite authors. How much do you consider your fans feedback in determining future projects?

I always listen to my fans. I may not be able to do exactly what they want me to do, but I consider their comments. When I started writing Disciples of the Damned, it was supposed to be similar to a television series with ten short stories (one a month) and a season finale novel. The readers wanted the books to be longer and they voiced it in almost every review that I received. Because of that, I created the series as four short stories and a season finale novel. So yes, I do take their comments and suggestions into consideration.

Enticing the Moon was your first title. Is it your favorite, or has another stolen your heart?

All of my books have a place in my heart. Because Enticing the Moon was my first book, it knows my blood, sweat and tears the best. However, I have fallen in love with each book I’ve ever written. There really is no favorite, but if I had to choose the character who really grabs me, it would be Dhellia in Witch Road to Take.

What is your most recent work? Tell us why we should buy it.

I just finished Vampire Vengeance, which is the third book in The Turning Series. If you’ve read and enjoyed book one and two then I know you’ll enjoy the third book. Here’s the book description:

“His sister is in the hands of the enemy.

The town where he lives claims that the woman he loves is dead.

The Sanguis clan leader has disappeared.

And Apollo is running out of time.

In a harrowing attempt to find the woman he loves, Apollo confronts his adversaries and the dark secrets of his birthplace. One clue leads to another until he runs into a dead end. As the clock to rescue his sister runs out of time, Apollo leads the remaining Sanguis clan to the werewolf compound in Spain. Once inside and behind enemy lines, he will come face to face with his most dangerous enemies, unravel family secrets and discover an heirloom with powers far stronger than he knew existed. As he leaves one life behind, he will discover another, where he will be forced to choose between good and evil, family and solitude.”

You are very experienced in martial arts. How much did you accomplish in karate and what is your favorite experience?

I stopped just shy of taking my brown belt test. I started out with Kenpo and did that for many years but then moved into doing Taekwondo. My favorite experience would be the years that my family and I attended the international tournaments in Long Beach. Martial artists from around the world came out to this tournament to compete. It was a huge event and being that my entire family was in karate together; we would cheer each other on during our competitions. It’s one of my fondest memories.

Have you ever had to use your skills in karate in real-life self-defense?

No! Thank God. The confidence of knowing that I can protect myself against an attacker is worth its weight in gold. Let’s hope I never have to use my training.

What does the future hold for Ms. April Reign?

Well, in 2014, I will be releasing nine new novels, including a new series and sixteen short stories. I plan to write, travel, share my time with family and friends and continue to get to know my readers and assist my peers with their own writing endeavors. My youngest son has just finished his first Sci-Fi romance novel and I hope to assist him with the creative process of getting his book out to readers as well. It’s a fun time in the publishing world and I’m so happy to be a part of it.

Thanks April, for taking part in Ominous 13! Congrats to your son, we wish you and him the best and hope that you both take over the writing world with fantastic stories! Any closing thoughts?

Thank you so much, Paul. I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’d also like to thank your fans and readers for checking out this interview and I’d like to thank my own readers for stopping by. I can be found at the following links:

http://aprilmreign.com

http://facebook.com/aprilmreign.author

http://twitter.com/aprilmreign

Click to Purchase April's Books

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WITCHCRAZE: A LOOK AT MODERN WITCHCRAFT

Alrighty folks, being a lifelong football fan, I know when to punt. Today’s blog was supposed to further the Knights of Lore series, but an older series of mine, The Top Ten Witches of All-Time, is still far surpassing the Knights’ series, so I’ve decided to jump back on the bandwagon and further explore the new ‘Witchcraze’!

It’s hard to believe that just a few hundred years ago, claiming to be a witch, or even being accused of being one, would get you burned at the stake! My, how times have changed. It seems like the only mythical creatures that can rival the skyrocketing popularity of witches is vampires. From a personal standpoint, I see witches winning that battle.

Nothing against those immortal blood sucking creatures of the night, but I will take witches any day! Hey, witches are pretty sexy! All one has to do is look at shows like American Horror Story: Coven, to see what I’m talking about.

That show, which is my favorite AHS yet, has sexy witches from all age groups and walks of life. From perennial bad girls, Fiona Goode and Delphine LaLaurie (portrayed by the esteemed actresses Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates), to younger bad girls like Madison Montgomery and Zoe Benson (Emma Roberts, Taissa Farmiga) and even witches in between, Marie Laveau, Misty Day and Cordelia Foxx (Angela Bassett, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, respectively).

The AHS: Coven witches are bad to the bone! And like all naughty witches should be, they are charming and beautiful, thus belying their own wickedness. So far, the Coven witches have shown incredible powers of second sight, telegraphic fire starting, resurrection, death by sex, control over zombies, reverse empathetic pain, and, of course, murder.

During the upcoming blog installments for Witchcraze! A look at modern witches, we will explore these incredible witches and see what makes them tick. 

On the flip side, American Horror Story producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk aren’t the only production company zeroing in on witchcraft. We also have the Lifetime television series Witches of East End, and Fox’s Sleepy Hollow, which has witches that Ichabod Crane must deal with.  CW’s The Originals is full of witches too.

In the land of Hollywood we’ve recently seen witches on the big screen in Beautiful Creatures, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz, the Great and Powerful, and Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem. Later this year we can expect to be enchanted by Disney’s upcoming cartoon movie, Frozen.

2014 promises to be just as epically wicked with potential blockbusters such as Maleficent, Seventh Son, The Last Witch Hunter, The Good Witch’s Wonder and Into the Woods.

Is this just a result of the last witchcraft trend, in which the kids that grew up watching Buffy and Charmed are putting their own spin on things? I think it is, and I also think that is a very good thing. When the Harry Potter kids and the kids that are currently learning the ins and outs of witchcraft from today’s shows, grow up, the cycle will repeat and their witches will be even bigger and even more wicked and epic.

In real life, witchcraft is more openly popular than ever before. However, even in today’s time there is still a great degree of discrimination for those who practice. Just mention the word Wicca to a fundamentalist of other religions and you will see exactly what I’m talking about. It seems that some just can’t get past the ‘do not suffer a witch to live’ mentality from religious edicts from thousands of years ago.

Though these aren’t the burning times, I wouldn’t encourage any kid to go to school and claim witchery. While it’s ok to be proud, it invites too much negativity. Who would want to deal with all that in a religion that teaches positivity? Let’s not be like the religions that preach peace and practice war! We are witches damn it! Like good heavy metal music, it’s a helluva lot better when it comes from underground!

Somewhere in the midst of this series, I would like to take a close look at Wicca, what it entails, how it works, and what real coven witches are like. So, if you know some fantastic witch, particularly one that is an author or one that lives in or around Cincinnati, I would love to chat you up and profile you on my blog. Hit me up on facebook or twitter and let’s talk!

In closing I can only add this: Witches: You’ve come a long way baby!

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