Interview with short story writer (and novelist) Bobby Nash

Today’s interview is with short story writer Bobby Nash. We’re chatting about his crime fiction within the anthology MAMA TRIED: Crime Fiction Inspired by Outlaw Country Music.

Bio:

Bobby Nash is an award-winning author of novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay for a number of publishers and production companies. He is a member in good standing of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers.

An award-winning author, Bobby Nash writes novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay for a number of publishers and production companies. He is also a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers.

Bobby was named Best Author in the 2013 Pulp Ark Awards. Rick Ruby, a character co-created by Bobby and author Sean Taylor also snagged a Pulp Ark Award for Best New Pulp Character of 2013. Bobby has also been nominated for the 2014 New Pulp Awards and Pulp Factory Awards for his work. In 2015, Bobby's novel, Alexandra Holzer's Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt won a Paranormal Literary Award in the 2015 Paranormal Awards.

For more information on Bobby Nash please visit him at www.bobbynash.com.

Welcome, Bobby. What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

Short stories are great fun. They are a good way to dip your creative toe into a genre that you might not normally write, which is how I wrote a western and a boxing story. Short stories are also useful when I feel experimental. I can try new things in short form and see how they work. It is also a chance to work with some characters I find interesting. Because of short stories I got to write The Green Hornet. That was cool.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

Writing “Domino Lady” was a big deal for me, although I did not realize it when I did the first one. Back then, I was just telling one story about this pulp character from the 1930’s. Little did I know that I would become so associated with the character as time went on, she’s a character I still write to this day and hope to continue writing into the future.

“Lance Star: Sky Ranger” was where my short story writing career really began. The publisher invited me to write this aviation pulp character and had so much fun with the format that I wrote more short stories. Before Lance Star, I focused on novels and comic books. I still write those, but love doing shorts as well.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I love crime fiction in general, but there are many sub-genres of crime fiction that allow a lot of freedom to play. Superheroes, action, thriller, mystery, suspense, cozy, paranormal, and even sci fi and westerns can all have a crime fiction element to them. The sky is the limit.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I am currently writing a novel for Moonstone Books featuring the classic pulp character, The Avenger. I’m nearing the finish line on that story. The Avenger is a crime fighter who forms Justice, Inc. after his wife and daughter vanish and are killed. The shock causes muscle paralysis, bleaching his skin stark white in the process, and giving him the ability to change his appearance at will, making him perfect for undercover work. After that, I have a Lance Star: Sky Ranger novel to put the finishing touches on and then I’m adapting a comic book series called The Wraith into novel form. Then, it’s on to Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal book 2.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I was in high school when the storytelling bug really hit hard. I’d dabbled a bit before that though. I wanted to be a comic book artist so I started writing comic book stories so I would have something to draw. Turns out that I was better at the writing side of things than I was at the art so on the advice of a friend, I focused on the writing and here I am.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

Check out the publisher’s website, look at what types of books they’ve published to see if your book is what they are looking for, contact some of the authors that they’ve published (easy enough if they are on social media) and ask questions (politely, of course), and check them out on Preditors & Editors. That’s usually a good way to start vetting potential publishers. Also, and this is very important, read their submission guidelines and follow them. That is your first impression with a publisher and/or editor. If you can’t follow instructions there, that can hurt your chances by starting off with a bad impression.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Not sure I have any quirks. Oh, I’m sure I probably have them, but haven’t noticed them for what they really are yet. I try to sit down and write.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was young, it changed from week to week. One week I wanted to be a cop, the next a scientist, an explorer, an astronaut, an artist, an actor, a writer. Sometimes now I don’t know precisely what I want to be when I grow up.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I love what I do. Writing is fun. I love creating worlds and characters that I enjoy spending time with and then putting them through hell. Good, clean fun.

Thank you for being here today, Bobby. All the best with your writing!

Interview with short story writer Nath Jones

Short story writer Nath Jones joins me today to talk about one of her literary collections, Radar Road: The Best of On Impulse.

Bio:

Best New American Voices nominee Nath Jones received an MFA in creative writing from Northwestern University. Her publishing credits include PANK Magazine, There Are No Rules, and Sailing World. She lives and writes in Chicago.

What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

I enjoy being transported into the settings. I also enjoy putting together beautiful ways to convey what’s best about this life.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

“Bleach & White Towels” is a simple story of two guys at a bar one night in Milwaukee. “Hollace and Some Girl” is about an accountant who sits next to the right wrong person on an airplane. In “Norma L.” an elderly couple shares a meal with a combat veteran, who’s battered their nerves with his loud music and scratched up their antique table with his wheelchair.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I write literary fiction because at its best it gets to the core of who we are as people.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’ve just finished a novel. It’s about a woman named Jenks after she gets out of prison. She has two men in her life. One who knows what she did and one who doesn’t.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I had a zine in college with a fairly significant readership. That started in 1998. Many people have considered me a writer since then. But it was ten years ago that I rearranged my life to make writing my first priority.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

My advice would be to find organic ways to incorporate marketing into your life, allow it to be an extension of who you are.

In planning my most recent book tour, I was sitting in a coffee shop in the morning—like I did every morning—surrounded by likeminded people. I wondered, “How can I reach readers?” I could have spent years with the analytics. Instead I lifted my head up, looked around, and realized I was right in the middle of my demographic. The coffee shop book tour was formed from that. We had a lot of fun in twenty-two cities and ended up in thirty-three cities for the year.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I used to type ove instead of of. Currently I get up and write for an hour every morning, Monday through Friday—not too quirky. But going back a few years on New Years Eve of 2007 I had invitations to five parties. As I thought about my resolutions I realized I didn’t want to go to any of them. I wanted to write a book. So I stayed home and didn’t leave the house until I had. It took me about four days.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a bubble, but my mother said it would be impossible. I also wanted to sell shoes. I loved the way the shoe salesman would measure my feet so carefully, pick options, and find them in the back. Somehow I ended up in the army and later became a pharmacist. Through it all I knew I wanted to write.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I hope you’ll enjoy the book. This collection is the best of a series that explores narrative from catharsis to craft. I was really dealing with that tipping point between what is emotionally cathartic for the writer ala social media and the blogosphere and what is universally emotionally cathartic for the reader in the best literary fiction. For this book I printed out every piece in the first four books and mailed a huge binder to the editor in San Francisco. I said, “Tear out what you don’t want.” She sent back the most lovely manuscript.

Thanks for joining me today!

Interview with short story writer Micah Castle

Short story writer Micah Castle is here today telling me about his weird fiction/horror collection, The Stone Man and Other Weird Tales.

Bio:

Micah is a person who writes short stories, mainly horror, weird fiction, and Lovecraftian. While away from the keyboard, he enjoys hiking nature trails, playing with his animals, listening to a wide variety of music, and can typically be found reading a book in his living room.

Welcome, Micah. What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

They are long enough to get a good story told, but short enough to where I don't waste months at a time on just one story. I get a lot of ideas for stories, some good, most bad, and short stories give me the flexibility to tell them all within a short amount of time.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

My two favorites from The Stone Man and Other Weird Tales is "The Stone Man" and "Hugo The Clown."

"The Stone Man" is about a professor of geology who stumbles upon stacked stones in his town's river, but he soon discovers there is more to the stones than just their queer structure. He becomes driven to meet who stacks those stones, and when he does meet The Stone Man, he receives more than just a homeless man living in the forest.

"Hugo The Clown" is a story about a childhood performer who lives in the suburbs, in which he hates and desperately wants to escape from. Through his performances he steals the life force from the children he entertains. With this life force, he plans to use to unlock the gateway to another world in his basement. But, like a lot of things in life, it doesn't work the way he planned.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

Horror. I think horror is such a broad genre that almost anything can be done within its boundaries. Also, I've always been to drawn to darker things, and I naturally became engrossed by horror stories and how they play out.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I'm currently going through my backlog of stories for the next collection.

Right now, I'm on "A Star Collector," which is a combination of fantasy and horror. It's a simple story about a boy who meets a man on the way home one night, in which he discovers what the man carries in his large bag are not rocks, but stars. It's simple and sounds boring, but it gives me the of Ray Bradbury's work Something Wicked This Way Comes gives.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I still don't consider myself a writer. I think the title "writer," is saved for those who have established themselves to live off their works. I consider myself "a person who writes," though it's a bit awkward to describe myself as such.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

If the story is influenced by something that actually happened to me, like "The Stone Man," I spent a lot of time in the area where the story is based (in a river in the middle of the woods). Also, spending a lot of time Googling information, and ensuring what I want to write about is factual and realistic.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Not really a quirk, but I have to write in the early morning or it seems I can't really write anything at all.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Honestly, I never had a goal of what I wanted to be when I was young. It never really crossed my mind, or anything I thought about. I always lived in the present, even if that ended up biting me in the ass later on (which it did when I grew up, started college, and moved out of my mother's house).

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Do something that you love to do, even if you don't get paid to do it.

And, I'd like to give an enormous thank you to my fiancé Nicole, for her love, care and patience.

Links:

Website | Twitter | Amazon

You can check out my most recent published short story, Under The Earth!

Thanks for being here today, Micah. All the best with your writing projects!

Interview with short story writer Sean Fesko

My special guest today is short story writer Sean Fesko. We’re chatting about The Raven Bride (historical fiction) and The Metamorphosis of Marc Sullivan (science fiction).

Bio:

Sean can’t remember a time when he wasn’t telling stories. When he was little, he’d pen simple, thirty page “novels” about spies and superheroes, and although his works have gotten longer and more complex in the years since, he’s just as enamored with the written word as he was then. He currently works in marketing for SAP PRESS while pursuing his own publishing startup on the side, Red Finch Publishing. It is through the latter that he’s published two short stories and a self-help guide for college students.

Welcome, Sean. What do you enjoy most about writing short stories?

I like that they’re manageable. Writing a novel is fun and all (I’ve done it once and started who knows how many more), but they take so long to write. With a short story, you can take a few weeks to draft, another few weeks to edit, and then you’re set to publish. But that doesn’t mean that the stories are any less interesting than if it were a novel. You can dig into a situation and tell just as good a story via shorter form writing. Plus, I don’t write as well if there are no deadlines, so knowing the story isn’t novel length self-motivates me to get the job done.

Can you give us a little insight into a few of your short stories – perhaps some of your favorites?

I only have two right now, and each is dear to me for different reasons. The Raven Bride was born out of the requirements of a college course I took. I already had the idea of exploring the Salem Witch Trials and this was the perfect excuse to dive into that world. I hadn’t shared my work with many people up until that point, and the reaction that I got from my peers and my college professor was so positive that it validated for me that perhaps I could do this for the rest of my life.

The Metamorphosis of Marc Sullivan is close to my heart because it explores the issue of social anxiety, which is something that I’ve dealt with off and on since high school. The writing process for that was more therapeutic than anything else, but the final draft was solid enough that I figured “why not put it out there?” The reactions to that one have been positive too.

Excerpt from The Raven Bride:

“Victoria!” she whispered. I could feel her pushing me with as much strength as she could muster. “Victoria!” Abigail repeated emphatically, continuing to shake me with her little hands. I mumbled and before I could ask her what was wrong, three reverberating knocks bounced off the door. It sounded like a thunderclap and I opened my eyes and found my sister huddling next to me on the floor beside her cot. Between the dim light of the room and my sleepiness I could barely make out her face, but her eyes were wide enough that I instinctively pulled her in.

“Open up!” an authoritative voice commanded from the other side of the door. I looked towards the door and saw the window beside it was filled with the oranges and yellows of many lanterns. Abigail asked me if we were going to be okay, and without turning my head back to her, I assured her we would. But would we be? All I knew was my heart had gone from beating peacefully to racing in a matter of seconds. I knew nothing but fear.

What genre are you inspired to write in the most? Why?

I try not to hold myself to any one genre. I’ve done historical and science fiction, and have drafts of other stories that would be considered young adult contemporary and even the superhero genre. It’s more a matter of me wondering what would make a good story and then writing in whatever genre that it happens to fall in.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on a novel-length sequel to The Raven Bride, and have a nearly-edited novel finished that I hope to put out in the next six months.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been writing since late elementary school. Back then, I was really into spies and so my stories were putting me into these cool situations where I had to save the day. The Spy Kids franchise played a big role in that, I think.

How do you research markets for your work, perhaps as some advice for writers?

That’s something I’m still working on figuring out. It’s a lot of hustle, a lot of cold-emailing and Google searches to find the right avenues to promote and be reviewed. I’d suggest starting with friends and family and go from there. Would I suggest writing for a market just because it’s hot? Not at all. You need to be passionate about your words, and if you’re writing to make a buck then you’re likely to be disappointed. There’s not a ton of money to be made in writing, especially as you start out and even more so if you self-publish, so write what you want to write about. There’s

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I can’t be interrupted, at all. If I have a free hour but know someone is going to need something or I’m going to get a phone call, I rarely bother trying to write because it takes me long enough to get into the process that once I’m in I don’t want to stop. And if I do have to stop, the process of getting focused starts all over. So I write a lot late at night when there are fewer distractions.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

The typical boyhood dreams: firefighter, race car driver, etc. Around high school, though, I decided I needed to work with the written word, so that’s what I’ve done.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

You can find both of my short stories on Amazon, Kobo, and Nook.

Links:

Amazon | Goodreads | Twitter

Thanks for being here today, Sean!