Recently I reviewed the debut novel by Genevieve Valentine, Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti. I thought it a brilliant and intriguing book, and as a writer, I wondered about the thought process behind some of the concepts. Genevieve was kind enough to answer some questions for me. The bones (in the story, circus aerialists have their human bones … Read More
Review: Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine
Bruce Springsteen says his classic song “Born to Run” is about people looking for “connection.” The great crime novelist Andrew Vachss fills his stories with people forming “families of choice” to retain their humanity against the brutal outside world. And in the same vein, the heart of Genevieve Valentine’s Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti shows how the bonds … Read More
Look back in chagrin
Recently I’ve been revising an old manuscript that I originally wrote over a decade ago, and haven’t touched in at least seven years. It’s an interesting window into the past of my own creative process, and some lessons I’ve since learned are vividly displayed in all their teeth-gnashing glory. Here are some examples. 1) A little description goes a long … Read More
Interview with Teresa Frohock, author of Miserere
Teresa Frohock is both a friend and the author of Miserere: an Autumn Tale, a book I enjoyed so much that I gave her the following blurb: “Miserere is about redemption, and the triumph of our best impulses over our worst. It’s also about swords, monsters, chases, ghosts, magic, court intrigues and battles to the death. It’s also (and this … Read More
Advice to writers: swing for the fence
Sometimes I get asked for advice about being a writer.* Usually it’s a general question such as, “How can I become a writer?” or “What should I write about?” The answer to the first is easy: you either are or you aren’t, and deep down you know. But that second question is a tricky one. Conventional wisdom says “write what … Read More
Horton Foote’s Beginnings: A Memoir
Like pretty much everyone I know, I have a massive TBR (To Be Read) pile of books filled with probably awesome literature. Some I’ve started, and for whatever reason never quite returned to. Some I know I’ll have to make myself read one day. And some–often the unexpected ones–I pick up and literally can’t put down. That’s the joy of … Read More
The Wicked Day: the weight of legend
It’s no secret that my new Eddie LaCrosse novel Dark Jenny (which hits stores tomorrow, March 29) draws its inspiration from Arthurian sources. So on the eve of its release I’d like to write about the straight Arthurian novel that’s so good, I wish I’d written it: Mary Stewart’s The Wicked Day. Stewart’s first three Arthurian novels (The Crystal Cave, … Read More
Review: Alice Hoffman’s The Red Garden
If Alice Hoffman was a painter, her brush strokes would barely touch the canvas, yet her pictures would be as vivid as Monet’s. She crafts delicate stories that always seem on the verge of wafting away until they come back to earth with some devastating, perfect detail. The Red Garden is something new from her: a book pitched somewhere between … Read More
Reality…what a (necessary) concept
Reality may seem a strange concern for a writer who focuses on fantasy and horror. After all, how can you claim anything is “real” in tales of faux-medieval warriors, disco-era vampires and supernatural hillbillies? Yet it’s an overwhelming concern to me, and one that leads me repeatedly back to the films of John Cassavetes. His work–among them Shadows, Faces, the … Read More
Hundreds of little people living under his skin.*
Coming up with character names is, as the master Charles Dickens probably knew, one of the most fun aspects of writing. Unlike real life, where you’re named long before your identity is formed, you have the chance to give someone a handle that reflects their personality. Villains can be named “Uriah Heep”; plucky young urchins can be “Pip” or “The … Read More