CHIP SKELTON, Webcomics - Interview

Today we welcome Chip Skelton, the creator of the webcomics-turned-print-comics BROKEN and TERRAN SANDZ. In his own words, Chip has “drawn my whole life. Discovered comics in my early teens and found I loved ‘em, but was too chicken to pursue a career in them. Eventually my passion for storytelling overcame my fear and, bam!, I created two graphic novels.”

Broken, Chip Skelton

BROKEN is a southern gothic, coming-of-age tale about the monumental battles that happen closer to home. It is about the things that live and die within us, that leave us either broken or better for the experience. A teenager in western Kentucky faces family, high school, and a mass murderer. A mystery that is not what it seems.

TERRAN SANDZ: ONE BAD DAY focuses on one day in the life of Terran Sandz, an alien who has drawn the short straw for most of his long life. Unfortunately, the day in question is a really crappy one. Terran Sandz must fight an entire planet, his own people, the two greatest warriors to ever exist, and his own god. It’s an all-out, nonstop slugfest that still manages to explore ideas of faith and individuality. Or maybe it’s just a brainless, all out slugfest.

Anthony: Chip, thanks for agreeing to the interview.

Chip: It’s cool to be interviewed by you. Hopefully I’ll make more sense than normal.

A: Haha. No worries. You’ve recently released two short graphic novels: BROKEN Book One and TERRAN SANDZ Book One. Both were originally serialized on the Drunk Duck webcomics site. What made you decide now was the right time to go from webcomic to print for each of these projects?

C: Basically, my lovely wife said it was time to crap or get off the pot. She suggested I really commit to seeing if I can make something of this passion of mine by not only printing my books, but attending conventions and promoting myself as well. I raised the money by creating and selling sketch cards, as well as selling a few other odds and ends, on ebay.

A: How long was the process of going from web to print?

C: Really it was pretty easy. It took me a few nights to size the pages to the printing template, make a few edits, and compile the guest art. All in all, it was surprising easy.

A: BROKEN and TERRAN SANDZ are two very different stories, not just in genre and plot but also in tone and execution. You have a great ability to suit style to story without losing what makes you you. How did you decide on the art style for each story?

C: At least for me, EVERYTHING serves the story. Since I seem to be able to alter my style, I make that a slave to the story as well. TERRAN SANDZ is intended to be a big-production action flick, so I chose a more frenetic art style as well as dynamic page layouts (I was aiming for Kirbyesque) to help me achieve the desired effect. I also wanted an 80’s feel to the first mini-series, so I created the zippatone-like effect for the shading.

BROKEN, on the other hand is the exact opposite of TS. BROKEN is my homage to Koike and Kojima’s LONE WOLF AND CUB, perhaps one of the best series of graphic novels EVER. I wanted the storytelling in BROKEN to be as stripped down as I could make it. I sought to focus on the quiet, poignant moments that seem too trivial but are in the truth often the most impactful.

I didn’t always achieve my goals, but overall, I’m happy with the outcome of both books.

A: The one thing both stories have in common (and I think this is true of your unfinished story DEAD as well) is a deep background mystery. Is mystery/crime fiction a genre you particularly enjoy, and if it is, what authors/works have influenced the way you’re developing the background mysteries in each story?

I’m not really a mystery guy. I read horror and fantasy for the most part. From my perspective, a good story always has aspects of the unknown. I love when a story, be it prose or cinematic, intimates that I’m only seeing a small part of a bigger mosaic. I love to be teased that I have much more to learn if I turn the next page or don’t turn away from the screen. So I guess I include that in my storytelling.

A: TERRAN SANDZ is, as I think I once put in a comment to you, “balls-to-the-wall action that still manages to include a plot and characterization and raise questions about faith and loyalty.” The pace of Book One is absolutely brutal. Did you ever look at a sequence and think, “man, I need to cut this guy a break, give him a chance to breathe,” or did you pretty much know from the get-go that he was going to take a non-stop beating? I guess I’m asking for a little insight into the way you put the story together, and used the action to deliver character and plot and hints at the greater mystery of the story.

C: Never thought of giving the poor guy a break. His story will never be an easy one. In fact, should I ever get to tell the story I intend to tell, things get far, FAR worse for him. I’m not a big fan of “happy” characters. I like the complexity of troubled individuals. Plus, I think that’s more realistic.

As far as how I plot a story, there I take a more organic approach. I sorta know where I want a story to go, but I let the characters have varying degrees of control, plus I like to sometimes go in the exact opposite direction of what I intended. If I can catch myself off guard, then I’m likely to do the same with the reader.

Whether its TERRAN SANDZ, BROKEN, or a short graphic story, I tend to plot as I thumbnail a page. I block out a page as though it were a movie. The arrangement of the panels, flow of the images within the panels, and how they relate to the pages before and set up those to follow are all considered with a cinematic sensibility. How would Leone, Wu, Lean, the Coen brothers, Miyazaki, or Tarantino not only direct, but write this scene? Sometimes I don’t even have any dialogue until I’ve finished illustrating the page, but I do have all the emotion I want for the page.

Geez, long answer. Hope I answered the question.

A: Definitely. Speaking of similarity to film: right now, TERRAN SANDZ is printed in black-and-white. Given the opportunity, would you go to a full-color format? Or was the decision to do it in black-and-white for the web and in print a permanent decision? This harks back to the age-old question: to colorize or not to colorize. (Personally, I’m a believer in not colorizing old movies – films shot in black-and-white involve decisions about lighting that don’t translate to a color presentation without losing some sense of reality, in my humble opinion.)

C: Naw, it’ll stay black and white. I’ve always seen TERRAN SANDZ as a black and white movie. Not saying it’ll never be in color, but I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.

A: I don’t think I’m the only person who has described BROKEN as “Southern Gothic.” Compared to TS, the pace is almost languid, and even the fight sequences are a study in pacing. A lot happens in this first book, but it doesn’t feel rushed. Again, is the pacing a conscious decision or something that’s grown organically as you’ve worked on the story?

C: The pacing in BROKEN is 100% intentional. I don’t know if I always succeed, but I consciously aim for an emotional impact for every scene and page. I’m interested in distilling the emotional core of a scene, whether its action, solitude, or drama. I want to go “ooh” and “aah”. I aim for the reader to have the same experience. Again, I don’t know how well I succeed, but that is my goal.

A: I find it hard to ask specific character questions because I don’t want to spoil anything about BROKEN for potential readers, but I have point something out that I didn’t notice reading the story a page at a time on the web but which stands out in the print version – and you can plead the Fifth if you’d like to this one – It almost seems like you’re working in two different time-frames. The graveyard sequences where Dan talks to his mother’s grave feel like they are at a remove from all of the other action (school, home, mall, etc). Are there really two different stories going on here? Or am I just reading way too much into the layout of the story?

What a prescient question.

And feel free to ask any character questions you’d like. I enjoy taking about them.

A: Nice non-answer, haha. I think I’ll save character questions for a follow-up interview. BROKEN is in black-and-white, but rather differently from TERRAN SANDZ. You work in little drops of red throughout the book. Was it always intentional, or did it start out as an artistic device that then became a larger part of the story? And without spoiling anything, can you tell us whether that red will continue to be important after the strong cliff-hanger ending of book one?

The red was intentional from the start. It IS, and will remain an important symbol within the story.

A: Both books have very cinematic art-styles. TS is full-on block-buster; BROKEN is very indie-film, with lingering shots of rain, stars and fireflies in the natural world, and close-ups of broken lockers and nasty bathrooms in the school setting. How hard do you work on that aspect in the plotting stage, and how much of it comes as you’re drawing?

C: I see a scene in my head, and I play it out mentally, moving the camera, editing the pacing, and setting the characters on different marks until I find the blocking that I think achieves the result I imagine for that particular moment. Though it sounds like I work hard, all of what I described happens within seconds. I seldom do more than one set of thumbnails for a page, and hardly ever redraw a panel more than once. Maybe I could create better pages if I spent more time noodling them, but I’ve never believed it would be worth the time.

A: Both titles are “Book One,” and both end with cliff-hangers. Obviously, the intention is to continue both stories. I know as you were working on BROKEN, occasionally scenes grew beyond what you’d originally plotted as characters interacted, so obviously your creative process is not completely static. So how far out are things plotted in both cases? And in what level of detail?

BROKEN will be three books. I know the high beats I really want to hit, but my characters will have a great deal to say about that. Still, I know the whole story. The details will reveal themselves as the characters interact.

TERRAN SANDZ has the same structure as HELLBOY. It’s intended to be a series of tightly-related mini-series. Should I ever get around to the second mini, it will be called “The Good, the Bad, and the Alien”, and will be 100% a Leone western. I know what I want to do for the following ten or so minis, but heaven only know if I’ll ever get the chance. We’ll see.

A: Chip, thanks again for being here. You know I’m looking forward to the continuation of both stories. My final question, as it is with every interview, is this: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who hasn’t read it yet?

C: Gee, not really sure. I don’t have one favorite. And my favorites shift depending on my mood and circumstances. I love Steven Boyett’s “Ariel” and “Architect of Sleep” because the characters and bizarre worlds they find themselves in are just around the next corner. Koontz’s “Watcher” is the only book to ever scare me. Tanith Lee’s “Kill the Dead” is a morbid character study of shameful regret. “Planetary”, the graphic novel by Ellis and Cassaday not only breaks down the clichéd superhero genre, but tells you how to write it. I could keep going, but that should do.

Thanks a ton for this opportunity, Anthony. These were fun questions.

* * * * * * * *
While Chip’s eponymous website is still under construction, you can see more of his work on the Chip Skelton SketchCards Facebook page, as well as finding Broken and Terran Sandz on DrunkDuck. If you’d like to order copies of either (or both!) graphic novels, you can contact Chip at cs.ink@verizon.net

BRANDON TYLER RUSSELL, Actor - Interview

Today, I ramble on a bit with up-and-coming actor Brandon Tyler Russell. I have to say, in the short time I’ve known him, Brandon (or, “the real BTR” as his fans call him) has impressed me with his work ethic and his concern for the charitable causes we talk about below.

Brandon Tyler Russell

Brandon Tyler Russell was raised in Lake Forest IL and did a lot of local stage work with the Lyric Opera of Chicago and other groups before relocating to California to pursue acting and modeling full time. He’s done a number of short films and stars in SMITTY (with Lou Gossett Jr, Peter Fonda and Mira Sorvino), which will be released in 2012.

ANTHONY: You’ve been acting and modeling almost your entire life. How are you balancing career and school? When you’re not on a set, are you attending regular school or are you home-schooled?

BRANDON: It’s not difficult to balance because I am home-schooled. When I am onset, a studio teacher works with me for 3 hours a day. On days when I have auditions or coaching, I just do my school work at another time during the day. I only meet with my teacher 2x a week for 1 hour to take tests & turn in my work. I have been home-schooled since 8th grade. Before that, I was always enrolled in a public school.

ANTHONY: Do you work with an acting coach, and if so how does he or she help you prepare for each individual audition?

BRANDON: Yes, I take acting classes regularly. But, I also work with a private coach for the bigger auditions and they help pick apart certain spots that need more attention. So, I think it really helps to work with a coach for larger roles because the coaches seem to think of things that you don’t sometimes & can see things from a different perspective.

ANTHONY: You’ve done live theater in Chicago, you’ve done television guest appearances, short films and a feature film. If you had to choose one type of performing art to spend the rest of your career in, which would it be?

BRANDON: Feature films….HANDS DOWN! Working on feature films, you spend more time building relationships with people and it becomes like a family-which makes it easier to work! It is fun to travel to new places and be different characters each and every time.

ANTHONY: Okay, let’s talk a little bit about that feature film, SMITTY. What was the experience like, working with Peter Fonda, Mira Sorvino, and Louis Gossett, Jr? That’s a heck of a cast to be at the center of!

BRANDON: It was a lot of fun! I learned a great deal from each and every one of them. I have a special relationship with each of them and still talk to all of them today. The experience of working with Academy Award nominated actors is one that is hard to come by & I will forever remember working with all of them!

ANTHONY: How long did you spend filming the movie? Any favorite moments you’d like to share?

BRANDON: I was in Iowa for 5 weeks, but only spent 4 weeks filming. The first week there I spent getting settled in and training with the dog. All of the moments I had were special, but some of my favorite moments were spent with the dog. His name is Freddy James. We had a special bond and I enjoyed learning tricks to get him to focus on camera!

ANTHONY: According to the movie’s Facebook page, a release date still hasn’t been announced but it sounds like a decision might be made soon. When the movie comes out, will you be doing press appearances for it?

BRANDON: Actually, we have been told a distribution deal was signed and it is slated for release in April 2012. That is really all I know at this point. But, I should be doing some press for it…I think it’s in my contract. HAHA

ANTHONY: You’ve done a few short films, most recently playing the title role in THE EXEMPTION OF HUNTER RILEY. Tell us a little about the experience of working on a short film like this, and how it’s different from working on a feature film.

BRANDON: I actually filmed The Exemption of Hunter Riley a while ago, but it took a while to finish up. I actually worked on the film for a while, as I spent 3 weeks doing fight and stunt training. But, I only filmed for 7 days total and then had 2 days in post for ADR work. Most short films, you only work on for 2-10 days. So, that is the main difference between a feature and a short. Another difference is that there is usually less crew (not as many grips, camera operators, pa’s, etc…). And lastly, most of the time – you work on short films for the experience and not for the pay or exposure. Most short films are used for students studying the craft and have minimal exposure. I did The Exemption of Hunter Riley because bullying is an important topic & the film has a very powerful message. It was a GREAT film to work on!!

ANTHONY: Tell us a bit more about the message of The Exemption of Hunter Riley.

BRANDON: Well, the story is about bullying and how much words can hurt people. The message is that bullying needs to stop because it can have serious consequences. In the film, Hunter is so angry and hurt that no one seems to care about the constant bullying he faces daily (even his mom ignores him), that he takes his own life. My message to others is: If you are being bullied, tell an adult before it’s too late. Bullying can happen to anyone…it’s happened to me, too. You are not alone. Know that you are beautiful no matter what anyone says.

ANTHONY: Where can people interested in seeing your short films find them?

BRANDON: Well, most of them you wouldn’t be able to see unless you came over my house. HAHA But, some of them have trailers available on their websites or on YouTube. A few of them will be showing at film festivals soon—so you could always check them out there.

ANTHONY: I know your favorite actor is Johnny Depp. If you could work with him, what would your dream project be?

BRANDON: I would love to play his son in a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie! I LOVE Johnny Depp and it would be so amazing to work with him! Any role alongside him would be my dream job!!

ANTHONY: Do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about?

BRANDON: I am currently the voice of the new EA SPORTS Madden 2012 Holiday Face commercial. But, other than that….just plugging away with auditions right now.

ANTHONY: You recently took part in the Keep A Breast cancer awareness campaign. As a cancer survivor and fundraiser myself, thank you for that! What causes/charities are most important to you?

BRANDON: My grandparents are cancer survivors, so I love to raise awareness about Cancer charities! But, the causes closest to my heart involve animals. I love all animals and I am a speaker for the LA Animal Alliance. I have done PSA’s for the American Humane Society, as well as the LA Animal Alliance. If anyone is wanting to adopt a pet–please adopt from you local shelter! There are so many animals in need of homes!

ANTHONY: How can your fans help with those causes?

BRANDON: ADOPT a new pet from a local shelter or volunteer your time working at a shelter!! These animals need your help. 

ANTHONY: Speaking of animals: your resume lists “elephant” as a special skill, with the note “ask me.” So I’m asking!

BRANDON: I can make an elephant noise with my mouth and it sounds real.

ANTHONY: Very cool! And now my usual closing question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who had never read it?

BRANDON: The Secret World of Johnny Depp–which is an intimate biography about him. I have read the book over 30 times!! If you are a Depp fan….BEST BOOK EVER! Lots of interesting facts about him. My favorite and most interesting fact is that he never intended to be an actor. He was playing a gig at a club & someone thought he had a cool look and asked him to be an extra on 21 Jump Street. Then, once he arrived on set-they asked him to do a few lines and the rest is history!

ANTHONY: Thanks again, Brandon! Good luck, and keep us posted on your projects!

BRANDON: Thank You so much! And be sure to check me out on IMDB or follow me on TWITTER at @IllinoisActor.

And don’t forget, you can also check out Brandon’s own web-page or his Facebook fan page for more information on his career.

And here’s the trailer for SMITTY:

VALENTINE'S DAY SCROOGE - Anthony Cardno

Reposting, as is my tradition. It always makes me laugh.

I am the self-proclaimed Scrooge of Valentine’s Day, and in that spirit I imagine the following someday happening:

Anthonius Scrooge is hard at work in his office when his nephew enters with a large cardboard heart filled with chocolates.

Nephew: Happy Valentine’s Day, Uncle!
Scrooge: Bah! Humbug!
Nephew: Valentine’s Day a humbug, Uncle? Surely you don’t mean that.
Scrooge: I do mean it. It’s a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every 14th of February .. chocolates, hearts, cards, gifts.  I’ll say it again: Bah!  Humbug!!
Nephew: Well I don’t think it’s a humbug at all.  I think it’s a day when human caring is at its strongest, and we show our love for our family and friends.
Scrooge: Then keep the day in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.
Nephew: But Uncle, you DON’T keep it at all!
Scrooge: Then let me leave it alone! Good afternoon.
Nephew: Happy Valentine’s Day!
Scrooge: Good afternoon!

JESS FARADAY, Author - Interview

Join me this week to ramble on with author Jess Faraday.

Jess Faraday

Jess Faraday is the author of one novel, three book translations, a handful of short stories, and numerous nonfiction articles. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona (B.A.) and UCLA (M.A.). Since then, she has earned her daily bread in a number of questionable ways, including translation, lexicography, copyediting, teaching high school Russian, and hawking shoes to the overprivileged offspring of Los Angeles-area B-listers. She enjoys martial arts, the outdoors, strong coffee and a robust Pinot Noir. She also receives a trickle of income from Faraday Bags, her line of data shielding handbags and clothing. She is also a reviewer at Speak Its Name.

ANTHONY: Hi, Jess! Thanks for joining us.

JESS: Hi! ::waves::

ANTHONY: Let’s start with THE AFFAIR OF THE PORCELAIN DOG’s genre. What drew you to writing historical mysteries featuring LGBT characters, rather than working in a different genre or more current time-frame?

JESS: The Affair of the Porcelain Dog began as an exercise for my writing group. The challenge was to take a character from a WIP and put her/him in a different setting. I’m a longtime Holmes fan and have always had a thing for Victorian London, so I took a magician’s apprentice from a swords and sorcery novel I was working on and dropped him into a Holmes story. As I worked on the story, the characters grew beyond the boundaries of Doyle’s world and took on a life of their own. Four years later, the little 700-word fic had become its own 77,000 word novel.

I didn’t start out intending to be a Writer Of Historicals, but research kept turning up these nuggets that just screamed to become their own stories. My current WIP, for instance, arose from research about the history of Scotland Yard. The Yard has its roots in the Sûreté, the Paris Police. The original Sûreté was a network of informants and reformed criminals, quite a few of whom were women–in the early 19th century. Who’d’a thunk it? At that point, I knew I *had* to write a story about one of those women.

And now I’m just Hooked on History.

Why work with LGBT characters? Oh so many reasons. But as regards Porcelain Dog, while researching, I came across the 1885 Labouchere Amendment. This piece of…legislation expanded the law against criminal sodomy (rarely prosecuted as it required physical evidence to prove) to include any act–or attempted act–of “indecency” between men, as reported by a single witness. The justification for enacting what amounted to a blackmailer’s charter was to protect women and children from exploitation (yeah, think about that for a moment). The parallels with the current arguments against full civil rights for LGBT people were too great to ignore. I knew it had to be part of the story.

ANTHONY: I’ve been describing AFFAIR to everyone I meet as “Sherlockian,” (a term that is becoming more popular thanks to the book by that name), and almost gleefully so. The book is stuffed with allusions to Conan Doyle’s works. Aside from the time and place (late 1800s London), your main character’s name is Ira Adler, a nod to The Woman of the Holmes canon, Irene Adler. I’m sure that was purposeful, but can you talk a bit about the connections, literally and figuratively, between Ira and Irene?

JESS: Hee hee! I’m tickled that you saw that. If anyone else has, they haven’t mentioned it =)

Ira began as Moriarty’s Watson. As the story expanded and evolved to include the Labouchere Amendment, it became clear that he was more than just the crime lord’s assistant. And if the Great Detective’s Lost Love was Irene Adler, what would be a fitting name for the Crime Lord’s man?

ANTHONY: You also have two characters who served in Afghanistan, just like Doyle’s Doctor John Watson and Colonel Sebastian Moran. Your doctors seem to split Watson’s traits (and in at least one case, Moran’s) between them. Was that a conscious decision or did it just progress naturally as you introduced each character?

JESS: Dr. Lazarus’s backstory, and subsequently Dr. Acton’s character, developed out of the need to explain Lazarus’s stake in the opium plot. Lazarus isn’t stupid. He might have been sentimental about Ira, but he wasn’t going to put himself in danger over it. He needed to have a compelling personal reason to become involved in such a dangerous case.

While researching the history of the opium trade, I came across the story of the massacre of Elphinstone’s army and camp followers. After being promised safe passage from Kabul to Jalalabad, the 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 camp followers were massacred by tribesmen–everyone, save for a single British surgeon and a handful of Indian soldiers in service to the British. Originally, I thought to give Dr. Lazarus that bit of heroism in his past, but it didn’t fit the timeline. Then I thought what a tough SOB someone would become who survived something like that, and I gave it to Dr. Acton.

I really didn’t have Colonel Moran in mind at all. Although I may think about it in the next installment! =)

ANTHONY: Interestingly, you opt to “sideline” the characters most like Holmes and Moriarty at first glance, and concentrate on “the sidekicks.” Was there ever a point where you thought about giving more screen-time to the would-be Great Detective and Master Criminal?

JESS: No.

Ira sprang to life and stole the show. It was always his story, no question.

I’ve always been more interested in the sidekicks than the “stars”. If you want to dig deeper, I identify with them. I’m definitely a second-in-command type person, and it annoys me to see the sidekick get short shrift. Some of my favorite stories, like Without a Clue, are told from the point of view of the assistant, the sidekick, the junior, the secretary or housekeeper. So this was the kind of story I set out to write.

ANTHONY: I could go on with the Holmes comparisons forever, but let’s move on. There is a somewhat complex web of inter-relationships between the “heroes” and “villains” of the piece. Did you map all of that out before beginning the book, or did it come together as you progressed?

JESS: Some things I outline ahead of times, and other things develop while I’m writing the scenes in the outline. The nest of snakes that is the MCs relationships developed as I went along.

ANTHONY: I’m always interested in process, so that question leads somewhat logically to these: how heavily did you plot/outline the book and how far did you deviate, if at all, from the original plan?

JESS: This was the book that taught me to outline.

I wrote the first half of the book “organically”, and then realized if Ira was going to get himself out of the hole he’d dug, and explain how circumstances conspired to get him there, there would have to be a plan. I rewrote the book four times before I made that discovery, and wow, was that a lot of time wasted.
For my current WIP, I had to submit an outline to my publisher before they’d OK the project, and I’m glad. It’s a lot easier to work the plot kinks out of 20 pages of outline than out of 400 pages of text!

I don’t outline in great detail–just enough to figure out what happens and why. A lot of ideas come to light as I’m writing. But it’s important for me to have the main plot points already decided and set up in a logical cause-and-effect manner.

ANTHONY: How much research did you do in the period the book is set in, especially in regards to society’s view of homosexuality and male prostitution?

JESS: A LOT.

I read a ton of primary source material, and even double-checked the etymology of most words to make sure that they were appropriate to the time and place. I researched medicine and medical superstition. Entertainment. Lighting. Food. Personal grooming. Transportation. Law. Underwear. I even consulted a few Real Live English People regarding phrasing and word choice. BSB made me change the spelling back to American standard, but yes, I wanted that to be authentic as well.

Doing history right is a lot of work. I did a lot of work, and I hope most readers will think that I did the history right.

ANTHONY: I know I’d really love to see more of Ira Adler and Timothy Lazarus and the rest of the cast. Will you be writing a sequel? You left your main characters in a very good place for further adventures.

JESS: There are two more books planned. The next one will give Lazarus a bigger role, and may even include some sections told from his POV. The third will be set abroad, and will be full of surprises for all of the characters. But first I have to finish the current WIP.

I’m trying to alternate books with female protagonists with the Ira Adler books. So after the current WIP (female detective, 1827 Paris), there will be Adler’s second book. Then a noir story (female detective, 1943 Los Angeles), then Adler’s third. All of this depends, of course upon whether my publisher agrees.

ANTHONY: What else are you working on at the moment?

JESS: Right now I’m working on a mystery set in 1827 Paris. The heroine is a Sûreté agent and former criminal, and, in the course of a kidnapping investigation, her crimes come back to bite her in the…dossier.

I also have a short story coming out in an anthology called Women of the Dark Streets (Bold Strokes Books, Spring 2012). It’s set in 1943 Los Angeles, and features a mouthy female detective and a mangy mutt that’s quite a bit more than it appears.

ANTHONY: Well, as much as I now love Ira and Timothy, I’m intrigued by your 1943 female gumshoe as well. Can’t wait to read her adventures. Now, for my usual final question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to someone who hasn’t read it to convince them to read it?

JESS: That’s a tough one. And it changes. Right now, I would have to say it’s “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova. Why is this book so great? Let me count the reasons. First, it makes 700+ pages fly by as if they were 70–and that’s a magic trick if you ask me. Second, because it’s everything that a great supernatural story should be: a well-constructed story, don’t-read-at-night creepy–but in a subtle way, and without gore–with a plot that transcends genre. It’s also an incredibly well-researched historical that spans dizzying expanses of time and space. And it’s a lovely story about different kinds of relationships–none of them romantic. I’ve read that the author received a two million dollar advance. In my opinion, she earned every penny of it.

ANTHONY: Thank you, Jess!

JESS: Thank you!

You can find more about Jess’ doings on her website, and by following @jessfaraday on Twitter.

BURNHAM, Singers - Interview

Today I’m very happy to be able to ramble on with the brothers Burnham.

Burnham

They’ve been performing together for half their lives, but after meeting producers Freddy Shehadi and Andy Marvel of Headspinners, things moved to a whole new level. A demo with Headspinners led to a meeting with Island Def Jam CEO Antonio “LA” Reid. Reid refused to let the brothers leave without being signed. The fact that youngest brother and lead singer Forrest beat Reid at pool before signing is bound to become one of those classic music industry stories. They’ve since worked with a number of well-known producers and songwriters on their debut, including OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder (on the track “Catch Me If You Can”). They’ve also weathered Forrest’s voice change with the help of expert vocal coaches. In October, Burnham will open for All-Star Weekend at the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, MA, and then go on a several month, multi-city tour sharing the stage with Action Item and Hollywood Ending.

Andre, Forrest and Alex Burnham, photo credit Timothy Peters

ANTHONY: I’ve been waiting months to be able to type this. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome brothers Forrest, Alex and Andre, better known as … BURNHAM! Hi, guys!

BURNHAM: Hey. How’s it going?

A: It’s going well, thanks. The best place to start this is probably with a question about influences. Who do each of you count as your primary musical influences / heroes?

B: You probably heard this before but Coldplay, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin, The Who and currently Bruno Mars, OneRepublic, Kings Of Leon, etc.

A: As a three-piece “band of brothers,” you’ve been compared to Hanson, the Jonas Brothers, and fellow up-and-comers Kropp Circle. We know what you have in common with those bands … what sets you apart?

B: Well, there are many brother bands even ones like Kings of Leon and Van Halen so it isn’t that uncommon. But every band is set apart by their uniqueness of sound. When you hear Kings of Leon you know it’s them. When you hear Hanson you definitely know it’s them. We hope to bring that to our audience.

A: Good point about KoL and VH. I first became familiar with you through the covers you were posting on Youtube. What goes into deciding which songs you’ll cover and what format you’ll use (acoustic vs. electric, etc)?

B: Usually, we decide to cover songs that we love and songs that the audience already knows and loves.

A: How much effort goes into making a version that is uniquely “Burnham” while still retaining what is loved and recognizable about the original?

B: We love playing acoustic. It’s how we got signed— with a couple of guitars and three voices. We think our front man brings uniqueness with his voice. A lot of effort goes into each song but after we learn it we hope that it becomes our own.

A: Will you be doing the “12 Covers of Christmas” project again this year, or will your upcoming tour with Action Item and Hollywood Ending interfere with that?

B: Well, we did that after the Bieber tour and it was “let’s learn this song quickly today so we can get it on Youtube for our fans.” We had to learn a song a day if we didn’t know it already. Forrest is a quick study. We might do it again. It was pretty fun.

A: I think it was fun for the fans as well. Okay: last, and possibly the most important, question about cover songs: When are you going to cover “Come On, Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners? Your mother wants to hear you do that almost as much as I do!

B: Ha ha. We joke about the 80’s to our mother. It is a cool song but we might try another 80’s song at some point. We mostly like to cover current songs though.

A: In other words, “Anthony, Stop Tweeting about ‘Come On, Eileen!’” haha Okay, now, let’s talk about your original songs. We’ve seen Youtube footage of Forrest working on a song at the keyboards, but what’s the full-band creative process like? How do you decide who writes lyrics, who writes melody, etc?

B: We don’t decide who writes what. Sometimes it’s Forrest or Alex or me, Andre. When you have a song idea you just start working on it. Sometimes it’s just the melody. Sometimes it’s making a track in our home studio. Sometimes one might come up with lyrics and then someone else has a better idea. Any original we have is all of ours together. It’s really an amazing feeling when you finish an original song.

A: When you’re starting to develop a song idea, do you ever think far ahead to how the song will fit into an EP or full album, or do you let each song tell its own story in its own way?

B: No. We never think ahead. A lot of songs get put to the side. You have to be able to say goodbye to a song that just doesn’t work or maybe you will use that idea later.

A: As a writer, you can imagine I’m not a fan of the “where do you get your ideas” question. But I do like hearing about tactics and tools. When you’re stuck for a lyric or idea, where do you turn for inspiration? What do you do to break a creative block?

B: It kind of just comes for all of us. Sometimes we get an idea for a song and it get recorded and sits there for months and then we go back and come up with a new lyric idea for it. We usually write words that just pop into our heads.

A: Have you collaborated with anyone on songwriting chores? And if you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

B: We have collaborated with many people and in the beginning before we ever got signed we collaborated with our two producers. We have collaborated with Ryan Tedder of One Republic, James Bourne of Busted, and many producers in the business that have collaborated with Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and artists like that.

A: I know I have a trunk of story fragments that didn’t work out but might find a home in a story someday. Have you ever abandoned a song idea because it just wasn’t “clicking?”

B: Like we said before we abandon song ideas a lot. We even abandon whole songs. Well, not really abandon it’s more like put them away. We never throw them out.

A: Andre, you’re building amplifiers these days, right? How’s that going?

B: No. It’s me Alex building cabs. It’s going amazing. I am working on custom orders right now for Burnham Custom Amplifications and already made a cab and head to bring on The Stronger The Love Tour.

A: I’m going to just pretend it’s all the “A” names confusing me to explain why I aimed that question at the wrong brother. Forrest, I’d get in trouble with my nieces if I didn’t ask this question: when is your episode of BIG TIME RUSH going to air, and what was it like working on the show?

B: We are not supposed to say the date but I can tell you that it is in October sometime.

A: Alex, rumor has it (okay, it was actually Andre on Twitter) that Forrest recently dropped a motorcycle on your head. What was that all about? And will there be retaliation?

B: Funny. Yeah, Forrest was on our uncle’s dirt bike and it was in the garage. I was working on one of my cabs and Forrest lost his balance and the bike kind of fell on me. I had a headache for two days. I already retaliated but I can’t say what I did haha.

A: It’ll all come out in the Unofficial Biography someone will publish about you guys in a year or two. One of the many things that impresses me about you is your commitment to your fans. Your weekly ustream sessions have gone without missing a week for how long now? Tell my readers when and where they can find the live chats.

B: Yeah, we started the ustream in October of 2010 and we haven’t missed a Wednesday since then. You can catch the livechat here on Wednesdays at 7 pm EST/ 4pm PT

A: You’re about to head out on tour, as we mentioned earlier. What’s the most exciting part of touring, and what’s the most grueling?

B: The most exciting part about tour is performing and meeting the audience. We like the meet and greets before the performance because we can recognize the people in the audience that we just met. It was pretty cool. The grueling part is the long miles in between shows and getting up when you really just want to sleep in. Packing up in hotels is tiring too. You don’t want to leave anything in a hotel room because you can’t go back and get anything because the schedule is just that tight.

A: Since I travel about one-third of the year for my day job, I can relate to the “leaving things behind in a hotel room” problem. I don’t know how many power cords I’ve lost. Right now, three of your songs are available as an EP on itunes. When can we expect a full album to appear?

B: That’s the big question everyone wants to hear the answer to. As you know, Forrest went through a voice change so we had to rerecord some songs and it even inspired us to come up with a lot of new ones. We don’t know when we will release more songs or a full album. We just wanna release it at the perfect moment.

A: Well, I know your fans, including me, will be ready for it whenever it drops! I always wrap things up with this question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to recommend it to someone who has never read it?

B: We argued back and forth about this one but we all agree the Harry Potter series!

A: Alright, well, good luck with everything and thanks for the chance to chat, boys!

B: You are welcome.

FIRESIDE MAGAZINE'S BRIAN WHITE - Interview

In this special weekend interview post, I’m chatting with Brian White, the founder of the soon-to-debut FIRESIDE fiction magazine. Brian is hosting a Kickstarter project to raise money to publish the first of what will hopefully be many issues.

Brian White

ANTHONY: Hi Brian! Thanks for sitting down to ramble on for a few! What inspired you to start Fireside magazine?

BRIAN: A lot of the people who I follow on Twitter are creative types: writers, artists, journalists (yes many of us are creative), musicians. Which means that there is a lot of shop talk, which these days means thinking about all the different tools there are for creative people to promote and support their careers. Things like crowdfunding and self-publishing. A lot of this stuff was bubbling at a low simmer in a stew in the back of my brain, and one night I just thought, “Hey, I could publish a magazine. And with something like Kickstarter, I wouldn’t be taking a huge financial risk.”

As soon as I had that idea, I knew I wanted to do a fiction magazine. I am a big sci-fi reader, and I also like crime, fantasy, horror, and a lot of other genres. So when I was thinking about what shape I’d like the magazine to take, I thought of the anthology “Stories” edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio that came out last year. There is a great passage in the introduction, in which Gaiman writes of his response to a question about what quote he would want inscribed on the wall of the kids’ section in a public library. He captured the reason why we love good stories:

I’m not sure I’d put a quote up, if it was me, and I had a library wall to deface. I think I’d just remind people of the power of stories, of why they exist in the first place. I’d put up the four words that anyone telling a story wants to hear. The ones that show it’s working, and that pages will be turned:

“… and then what happened?”

That’s the spirit of Fireside magazine. Good stories, no matter what the genre.

ANTHONY: I love that quote from Neil, and really enjoyed the whole Stories anthology. When you say “all genres” are welcome — what can readers expect not just from the first issue, but from any issues that may come along after?

BRIAN: I have a feeling that the first issue will have a sci-fi slant, but I really don’t know, because I told the short story writers — Tobias Buckell, Ken Liu, Chuck Wendig, and Christie Yant — they could really do whatever they wanted. The same goes for the comic that D.J. Kirkbride and Adam P. Knave are working on.

As for art, Amy Houser will be doing the cover for issue one. Ahe has kind of a whimsical, colorful style that I think matches up really well with the spirit of stories that spark the imagination.

For the future, I’d love to mix things up as much as possible. Maybe one issue will be crime and fantasy and mystery. Or steampunk and noir. Or … well, anything. I’m truly trying to keep an open mind and look for good stories anywhere they might grow. I’m not much for romance novels, but if I found a really great romance story, I’d run with it.

And there will be a comic in every issue. I only have started reading comics in the past few years, but I am really in love with them now and want them to be a core part of Fireside.

ANTHONY: The fiction magazine market is a notoriously difficult one these days, especially in print form. So why start a magazine now? Why not just post stories to your personal website?

BRIAN: Hopeless optimism? I’m 28 and I work at a newspaper, which is facing a lot of the same problems that fiction magazines do, or at least the problems share some roots. But I love the paper, and I love short stories. I want them both to live and grow and thrive in one form or another, and I figure if I want that to happen, I have to do what I can to make it happen.

And part of that is paying the creative people, the writers and artists, fairly and in a way that helps them make a living being creative. To do that, I have to raise a lot of money on Kickstarter, and I didn’t think I’d be able to do that just with a website, since Kickstarter is all rewards-driven. By actually creating an electronic and print magazine, I’m able to offer a bunch of different rewards, especially with the print magazine, which opens up the option of paying a higher price to get an issue autographed by one of the writers or cover artist.

ANTHONY: Let’s talk Kickstarter for a moment. Tell my readers a bit about how Kickstarter works and what the rewards are for donating to Fireside magazine.

BRIAN: I’ve been explaining Kickstarter by saying that it is a lot like a PBS or NPR pledge drive. You ask people to contribute, and based on how much they give you, they can pick from any of the various rewards at that dollar level or lower. In Fireside’s case, this means electronic or print editions of the magazine, and at higher levels, autographs and even having a character in a story named after you or getting drawn into a special illustration.

But the big difference from PBS or NPR is that Kickstarter only turns over the money if the campaign reaches its stated goal, in Fireside’s case $6,500. And that is great because it really removes the risk for everyone. I only had to spend a relatively small amount out of pocket to lay the groundwork, so if it doesn’t succeed, I’m not out a lot of money. The backers’ credit cards don’t get charged unless the campaign is successful, so again, if it fails, they don’t lose their money. And the writers and artist for the Fireside don’t have to turn anything in until a month after the Kickstarter is funded, so they don’t lose all that time on something that ends up not paying.

ANTHONY: The Kickstarter is mostly based around getting that first issue out and into the public’s hands. What are your plans for funding future issues?

BRIAN: My Kickstarter goal, $6,500, covers pretty much to the penny just the costs of the first issue. I hope to raise more than that to sink into future issues. But if this succeeds, I do plan on Kickstarting the second issue as well. I will also be selling single copies, and hopefully that will generate some money to help it become a self-sustaining thing. And I also plan to offer subscriptions if we get beyond a first issue, which would help wean us from Kickstarter.

ANTHONY: The line-up for the first issue is already set. For future issues, will you be having open submitting and a slush pile, or will you will continue “invitation only?”

BRIAN: I definitely plan on holding at least one slot in future issues open for submissions, but having a lineup is important with the Kickstarter funding model because it means there is a group to collaborate with on the campaign, which has been a great help to me, and that group is committed to the success of the issue, which means a lot of promotion from both the creators and their networks, which is really key to a successful Kickstarter.

ANTHONY: Any other information you’d like to share about Fireside?

BRIAN: Just that I am really grateful for all the support we have already received and for all the people out there who seem to be as interested in finding good stories as I am.

Thanks so much, Anthony.

ANTHONY: You’re welcome, Brian! I hope the Kickstarter is successful. I already made my donation.

You can follow Brian’s progress on Twitter @FiresideMag, you can visit the magazine’s website and you can donate by visiting the Kickstarter page.

CAROL HANSEN, Author - Interview

This week, I chat with author Carol Hansen.

Carol Hansen

From her blog: Carol J. Hansen has always had a passion for reading and her intrigue with the mystical aspects of life, whether real or fantasy, are what motivated her to write DarkStar, her first novel. Setting and accomplishing goals are a big part of Carol’s life and DarkStar is the result of her latest goal. The strength in her story comes from her understanding of what the youth like and how they think. Raising three children, being active with and observing the youth for many years gives her an advantage as she has the ability to combine her knowledge with a vivid imagination and come up with a believable fantasy laced with mystery, gripping drama and an unforgettable love story. Carol has worked in the cosmetology industry as a stylist, educator and salon owner for many years and enjoys it immensely. She loves traveling and anything that has to do with the outdoors, especially camping and riding four wheelers. The most important aspect of her life is her family and she resides in Utah with her husband and has three married children and five beautiful grandchildren.

Dark Star by Carol Hansen

Darkstar is the story of an ancient obligation, a reluctant wizard who despises having it forced upon him, a mystical romance full of passion, mystery and intrigue and a conflicting power struggle haunting two magical brothers. DarkStar is the first novel of a trilogy and the epic will continue in the much anticipated; Wizard.

ANTHONY: Hi Carol! Thanks for sitting down to chat with me for a little while. Tell me a bit about the process of writing DarkStar. Where did the idea for the book come from?

CAROL: When I was in high school my friends and I had nicknames and a symbol. A special friend gave me the name of DarkStar and my symbol was the moon and star. I have carried the name in my heart and collected moon/star symbols for years. I always thought that it would be an awesome basis for a story or a movie, but little did I know that I would be the one writing the book!

With the title, “DarkStar,” I knew the genre would be fantasy and I chose the storyline to be about a wizard, not because of the popularity of them, but because my friend’s nickname was Wizard. It just felt right.

I’ve always been an avid reader and have written a few things for my family but it’s crazy how DarkStar came about–because I really wasn’t planning on writing this particular book. I actually had another one in my head at the time. I was going through a tough time in my life and one night I couldn’t sleep. While sitting in the dark thinking about everything and what direction I wanted my life to go, for some reason, DarkStar popped into my head and I remember thinking that maybe I should try writing a book. I knew that there was a huge fan base for the fantasy genre (because I was one of them) so I decided, “What do I have to lose?” So, I got a pad of paper, started writing and, well, the rest is history…DarkStar was released on April 1 of this year. (No April fools either)

ANTHONY: How long did it take to go from your original idea to a finished manuscript?

CAROL: The night I began DarkStar was the first of July, 2008. My manuscript was written by October but the editing and re-writing took until spring 2009. Since I was new in this crazy literary world, I had no clue where to even begin and I learned that you can waste a lot of precious time trying to figure everything out. Of course, I’m sure you never figure everything out because things are changing too fast. It’s all part of an ongoing process and I’m learning so much. I know there are a lot of things I will do differently with “Wizard,” the second book in the sequel– because of what I have learned.

We’re so lucky to have the internet and so many channels we can turn to for information and help. It has given me a whole new appreciation for authors from the past. How in the world did they write without all the technological advancements we have today? I bow to them.

ANTHONY: You’ve got quite a bit going on at the center of the novel. A reluctant hero who just wants his life to be normal. Deadly sibling rivalry. Family commitment and honor. Forbidden love. How did you keep all these strands organized as you wrote? Are you a detailed outliner or a “see where the characters take me” kind of writer?

CAROL: It’s interesting how easy it was for me to keep all of the strands in my book organized, especially because this be my first novel. I am, by nature, an organized person, I have to be with everything I’m involved in, but as a writer, I think I’m a little of both. I’m definitely not a detailed outliner, knowing the specifics of everything; I don’t know how you could be with this type of a book. A good analogy; it’s like raising a child, you bring them into the world and give them a direction and a path to follow, but once they leave, even with your guidance, they’re gonna decide what’s going to happen. While writing DarkStar, I knew some of the things that I wanted to happen and some that “needed” to happen but then, (like a child) unexpectedly a character goes and does something that is totally unexpected and you have to stop and re-group. You pretty much have to go back and adjust the story so that everything will fit. It’s really kinda cool when it happens.

I chose the Cache Valley in Utah as one of the settings for DarkStar, knowing I needed somewhere magical and mystical for Alec to experience the events that were going to take place. Since I’m acquainted with that area, I was aware of the locations certain things would happen. In that aspect, I did have an outline but I wasn’t sure of the sequence until the story was being written. I actually visited the sites and wrote while I was there so my characters were familiar with them and so I had an accurate picture in my mind.

ANTHONY: Tell me a bit about writing your two central characters, Alex and Amrie. How did they develop in your mind, and did they change at all once they were on the page?

CAROL: I love Alec and Amrie. It is an amazing experience exploring characters and selecting the distinct qualities and characteristics that make them each unique individuals. I am amazed at how personal it is and how protective you become of them–and I am very protective of Alec and Amrie. I knew that as I developed them, since they were both dealing with their own struggles in two very different parts of the world, they would have to have compatible personalities and something amazing that would bring them together.

DarkStar is written from both Alec and Amrie’s perspective. Alec is being forced into a magical world where he detests becoming a wizard. Amrie is a very strong, independent girl who is mature beyond her years and the caretaker of everyone she cares about. Their worlds intertwine as she curiously witnesses his struggles with peculiar powers and they find comfort and strength in each other as they try to figure out the strange but definite connection that bonds them together.

My favorite subject to write is Alec. I love helping him try to figure everything out and I especially like creating the communication between him and his wizard grandfather.

Alec and Amrie didn’t change once written, they only became stronger.

ANTHONY: You’ve already announced that DarkStar is the first in a trilogy, and that the second book, Wizard, is on its way to completion. Do you have the full details of all three books plotted out, or are you allowing the story to grow and change?

CAROL: The story will definitely grow and change. Once again, I am aware of certain things that I want to happen but nothing is set in stone. As DarkStar developed, I became aware of characters that I will introduce in Wizard and I’m in the process of exploring and developing them now. I’ve been a bit reluctant though, because I have to step into the “dark side” for some of them and it’s not my favorite place to be. I am very happy with the way Wizard is progressing. DarkStar is a “can’t put down” book and leaves you wanting the story to continue so I want to make sure that all my readers will be as intrigued with Wizard. My final book in the sequel, The Mysticryss, is already forming in my mind. With all of the different directions I could take and the individual character stories I could expand on, I could very well write more than three books, but I do believe I will try to keep it as a trilogy. I have other story ideas emerging and I can only keep so many characters in my head at once. Lol

ANTHONY: You self-published DarkStar through CreateSpace. Tell me a bit about that experience and process.

CAROL: Once I had my novel to where I felt comfortable with it, I began researching and querying agents, trying to be patient as I learned the process of attempting to find someone to represent me and my novel. Needless to say, it was very disheartening. I also researched every form of publishing and at one point, considered putting DarkStar out exclusively as an e-book. I connected with an amazing graphic artist, Liviu Peicu, who took the images from my head and designed my beautiful cover. I personally setup the interior of my book in e-book form and was ready to submit–but it just didn’t feel right. I knew I wanted DarkStar as an e-book, but it was important for me to have an actual hard copy in hand also. That’s when I reverted back to researching and querying again. I was accepted by a couple publishers but turned down their offers after reading their contracts and as much as I would have loved to publish the traditional way, I knew the chances were more than slim. Things are changing so fast in the literary world and with the technological advances, even agents and publishers are changing their strategy. E-books and self-publish are the wave of the future so that’s the direction I chose. I decided to sign with CreateSpace because they are an Amazon company. My experience with them has been awesome and because I already had my cover designed and my interior set up–the process was quicker. CreateSpace offers many services, anything from editing to trailers–and everything in between but, of course, it comes with a price. They actually designed a second cover for me because they wanted me to have two to choose from, but I went with my original cover. Once I submitted my manuscript, they put it into the files used to print my book. At that point, they sent me a digital proof on which I could request changes or approve it. Once approved, they printed my first soft cover book, (so cool to receive that first book!) and once I approved the book….it was ready to print!! It took about three weeks beyond that to have the files set up to make DarkStar available as an e-book on Amazon and all the extended distributions channels. I’ve been very happy with my decision to self-publish and would highly recommend CreateSpace. 

ANTHONY: You also connected with singer-songwriter Matt Lande and he’s created special music (three songs so far) for the book. How has that process been, and where and when will people be able to hear the songs Matt created based on the novel?

CAROL: One of my goals when I wrote DarkStar, was to have a song written and hopefully, made into a music video as part of my marketing stradegy. I was so excited when Matt Lande agreed to read DarkStar and write a song for it. What’s cool, though, is that in the process of reading it, he was inspired to write two additional songs! I recently received the lyrics to all three songs and that guy is seriously amazing! He wrote the original “DarkStar” song, an acoustic song called “Amrie” and a beautiful duet, “It’s In the Way We Are.”

Next summer, we will be going to where DarkStar takes place, Logan, Utah and Matt will make the music video in some of the locations in the book….so cool!

Matt is in the process of recording his second album, an acoustic called, “Welcome Home the Child.” I feel so fortunate that he took time out of his busy schedule to read, DarkStar and write three songs or me. He writes, arranges, produces and records all of his own music…so multi-talented!

Joining forces with Matt has been an amazing experience. This joint venture has proven lucrative for both of us as we are promoting each other along with our own projects.

Matt is scheduled to do an acoustic concert on February, 15, 2012 in the Eccles Theatre on the Snow College campus in Ephraim, Utah. He will be promoting his new album, “Welcome Home the Child,” and will debut our “DarkStar” songs! We have our fingers crossed that the recording will be done so the music will all be available at that point. You can follow my blog; http://dscarol78.blogspot.com for updates and information on my venture with both DarkStar and Matt Lande. I am extremely excited to see what we can do with this!

ANTHONY: And my usual final question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to someone who hasn’t read it to convince them that they should?

CAROL: Other than the scriptures, it’s hard for me to pinpoint a certain book because there are so many that I enjoy, but when I think of a favorite, it’s more an author. When I was in high school, I loved Victoria Holt books because they introduced me to castles on the mysterious moors of England and when I pondered where to begin DarkStar….that’s where it began….in a castle on the moors of England. Her books go back as far as 1960 when she released, “Mistress of Mellyn” and have given readers many years of enjoyable reading. I still love to get lost in one of her books.

ANTHONY: Thanks again, Carol, and good luck with the book and the sequels!

You can follow Carol on Twitter as @DarkStarDreamer, find her on Facebook, visit the book’s website and Carol’s blog, and order the book from CreateSpace or on Amazon.

NEW PAGE AND LINKS - Anthony R Cardno Blog

I have finally taken the time to add some of my short fiction to the site. Right now it’s just one short story. “Invisible Me” was first published by Willard & Maple magazine back in 2005.  I’ve edited it only slightly for presentation here — fixed some typographical errors and spacing oddities — but otherwise what you see is what readers of the magazine saw.

I’ve also added some links to the page: singer and friend Anthony Gargiula; author/editors Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Win Scott Eckert; storyteller and mentor Brian Fox Ellis; and webcomic Cura Te Ipsum. Please click on their links, check out their work, and tell them Anthony sent you!

I have also lined up several interviews with some of the above-named; those interviews should start showing up a week from today and will continue on a weekly basis for as long as people are silly enough to let me interview them! First up will be an interview with Evelyn Lafont, author of The Vampire Relationship Guide, Volume One.

Thanks for checking in, everyone!

CANCER CAN KISS MY....- Anthony R Cardno

This week got away from me. I’d planned on Wednesday to post the first of a series of email interviews I’ve been conducting with writers, musicians and artists (this one with Evelyn Lafont, author of THE VAMPIRE RELATIONSHIP GUIDE, Vol. 1) but migraines and work stress got the best of me throughout the week.  I’d considered posting the interview tonight, but something else has happened that I want to write about.

I had a great night out with friends, but came home to the news that yet another of my oldest friends has succumbed to cancer. Had a feeling the news was coming because her husband posted something on her Facebook yesterday (her birthday) about he and her mother sitting with her as she peacefully “approaches the next passage in her life.”  That could have been read any number of ways, but it was feeling all too much like what turned out to be the end for our friend Karen just a few years ago.  What hurts is that Karen and Kris were bestest friends in high school, and to have them both leave us essentially the same way so few years apart stings.

So yeah. I’m feeling better than I was two hours ago when I got the news, but …. fuck cancer. Just fuck it.  I’m sick of it hurting my loved ones, of taking them from us too early. Karen and Kris were two of the most beautiful souls I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. We fell out of touch, then fell back into it thanks to Livejournal (in Karen’s case) and Facebook (in Kris’). I managed to have good reunion time with Karen before she left us, but never got that chance to see Kris face to face. Another regret.  I’m angry, and I’m crying. And then I’m laughing at the memories. And then back to angry again. I suspect sleep tonight will be rough (considering it’s already 2:30 am).

And of course I don’t hate cancer just because of its effect on my family and immediate friends. I hate it for what it’s doing to jaylake , who is a hero of mine for his cancer battle and his fantastic writing, and for how it took the beautiful Lis Sladen (of Doctor Who) from her family and her fans so early. And for how pervasive it has become across all social strata, taking so many every day regardless of whether are famous or not, rich or poor.

So.  Another name to add to my List of Those I Walk For come my June Relay For Life in Mahopac. Another person to think of as I’m taking my laps, and to remember fondly our good times at the very school where the Relay takes place. I will walk at least one lap carrying Kris on one side of me and Karen on the other. They supported me and put up with me when I was at my least-perfect, and their memory will carry me around the track in June.

And in honor of Karen and Kris, and Jay, and Lis, and everyone else I walk for, I going to make my first official plea this year for donations to my American Cancer Society Relay For Life event, June 5-6 at Mahopac High School in Mahopac NY.  I will be at the event, and I will be selling copies of my book THE FIRFLAKE to raise money. If you’re in the area, please come by and say Hi.

If you’re not in the area, you can make a donation to my effort (and thus, to my team and to the ACS) by clicking on this link: www.tinyurl.com/My2011Relay or by copy-pasting into your web-browser address bar if the link is not clickable when you look.  Any donation is helpful.  If you donate, please leave me a comment to let me know who you’d like me to walk in honor or memory of. That part is as important to me as the money is.

And if any of the writers or musicians I know want to donate copies of their books or cds to be sold at the event to raise money, please contact me!

LIVING WITH JUVENILE DIABETES, Frank LaPinta - Interview

This interview is a bit different from the usual writers, singers, webcomics folks and actors I’ve been interviewing. It’s a bit more personal as well, so I thought I’d give it a chance to really stand out by posting it on the weekend, when perhaps more people will have a chance to really read it.

Today’s guests are my cousin Frank LaPinta and his nine-year-old son, Frank John. Both Frank and FJ live with Type One diabetes, more commonly known as Juvenile Diabetes. Yes, for my teenage readers, the same form of diabetes that Nick Jonas has. I wanted to give Frank and FJ a chance to tell their story. Here it is.

ANTHONY: Hi, guys! Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed! Let’s start out by talking a little bit about the Walk that you’re doing in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. When is the event this year, and where?

FRANK: The 2011 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes takes place in many locations throughout NY and the entire country. There are 3 walks on Long Island – 2 in Suffolk and 1 in Nassau County, which is where we walk. It’s on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury College. The entrance to the college is on Route 107 in Old Westbury, about 1 ½ miles north of the Long Island Expressway. Heading north on 107, it is on the left side.

ANTHONY: What’s the most common misconception people who don’t have diabetes seem to have about people who do have diabetes?

FRANK: It is unfortunate in a way, that misconceptions concerning the causes and effects of diabetes are becoming far and few between, because of the fact that it is becoming so much more common. One of the more common misconceptions is how one gets the disease, which even the best of scientists and doctors who are involved in some of the longest running research studies, still haven’t put a finger on.

Many think that it comes from someone eating too much of sweets and foods containing a lot of sugar. While that is clearly not good for you, and while it can indeed contribute to Type 2 Diabetes, with Type 1 or Juvenile Diabetes there has been strong evidence coming out of some of the research which suggests that a virus attacks the immune system causing ones own cells to attack the insulin producing islet cells of the pancreas until, over a short time, those cells are unable to produce any insulin. Findings like this have in recent years been cause to categorize Diabetes as an auto-immune disease.

Another common misconception is that someone with diabetes should not eat any sugary foods or carbohydrates or they will become very ill. Many years ago it was considered taboo, but today diabetes medicine has come so far that we now know that we can enjoy a lot of the same foods by carefully balancing our meals with insulin. And in fact, a reasonable amount of carbohydrates is absolutely necessary in everyone’s diet.

ANTHONY: Frank, as an adult dealing with the disease, tell me a little bit about your history: when were you initially diagnosed with juvenile diabetes? How quickly did you accept that this was something that would possibly be with you forever?

FRANK: I was first diagnosed with the disease about 2 weeks before my 17th birthday, on the day that was actually my brother’s birthday, almost 30 years ago. I had been to the doctor a few weeks earlier with symptoms of frequent urination and getting up a few times in the middle of the night. My family doctor treated me with medication for a kidney infection. About 2 weeks later, when that was giving me no relief, still having frequent urination, very thirsty and after losing a total of about 30 pounds, he did a quick urine analysis and sent me with my parents to the hospital where I spent 5 days being treated and learning how to give myself insulin injections and how to eat a whole new way.

As a teenager, this was obviously a very scary and upsetting thing. I learned very quickly from the doctors and nurses that this was not something that would go away, so I knew pretty much right away that this would be with me for the rest of my life. I knew of the disease and a couple of people that had it but didn’t know until then entirely what it meant to live with it. I had to accept it but I was not happy.

ANTHONY: How did it feel when your son was also diagnosed?

FRANK: Of course my wife Alison and I were devastated and again I was angry – an anger and fear that dwarfed the way I felt at 17. Until 4 1/2 years ago, I didn’t know the full effect it had on my parents. Anyone with a sick child can attest to that feeling of helplessness, even though we do all that we can to keep them safe and healthy.

The worry that I could pass on a gene to my kids had always plagued me to the point that at times I did not want to have children, even though I had been assured that the disease was not necessarily proven to be hereditary. It had always been on my mind to watch the kids for symptoms and whether or not it was all in my head, Frank John seemed to exhibit them sometimes. And during his regular doctor visits the pediatricians assured us that he was fine and indeed he was. He was a pretty typical and curious 4 year old and often watched me check my own blood sugar, asked a lot of questions and already knew a lot about how to take care of diabetes. I at times wanted to check him but when I asked him if I could, likely just afraid of the finger stick he said, “No, daddy. Maybe when I’m big like you.”

He was about 5 weeks short of his 5th birthday in January, 2007 when his preschool teacher requested that we send in some bottled water because he was drinking a lot. And on a day shortly after, I was home from work for about 20 minutes and noticed he had gone to the bathroom 3 times. He then finally agreed to let me check his blood sugar on my meter. He did not cry. In fact he was pleasantly surprised that it did not hurt. For me, the feeling was horrible waiting to see that number. 527 mg/dl. I will never forget it. I pounded the table in anger then composed myself for his benefit as Alison called the pediatrician who told us to take him to Schneider’s Children’s Hospital immediately.

How did I feel … after it all settled in? Sad! Very, very sad and very scared. I suppose we asked ourselves what any parent would ask, “Did I do something to cause this? Would this have happened if I did something differently?” While we still wish we had answers to those kinds of questions, we learned from his healthcare team that there are no answers other than “No.” Nobody really knows why, even with all the scientific studies going on for many years now. Thanks in no small part to support groups at Winthrop University Hospital, his endocrinology healthcare team at Schneider’s, and to JDRF and our involvement in the Walk to Cure Diabetes, we learned quickly that we are not alone. We are lucky that we caught it in time because we knew what to look for, and compared to a lot of families, lucky that we already have experienced this disease and we had some idea how to take care of him. For that, I am oddly happy that I was diagnosed when I was 17.

ANTHONY: Frank John, what’s the worst part of having diabetes?

FRANK JOHN: The worst part for me was in the beginning when I had to take shots – 3 to 5 times every day. And sometimes it was in a bad spot and it hurt very badly. Also when we were in restaurants, my dad had to take me into the bathroom to do the shots. That was annoying. Even now sometimes when the pump isn’t working, or when I need a new infusion set, I need to get a shot.

ANTHONY: What are your favorite sports to play? Does your diabetes ever get in the way of playing?

FRANK JOHN: I like to play soccer. I’m on a team that practices every Saturday in the Fall and the Spring. We practice for a tournament each season and for a game against the parents. We beat them every time! And NO! My diabetes doesn’t really get in the way. My dad checks me (my blood sugar) before the game and during our break. Sometimes I need a sugar tablet or juice box or a snack before I go play.

ANTHONY: What’s your favorite subject in school?

FRANK JOHN: My favorite subject in school …. hhmmmmm … Gym!

ANTHONY: What are your favorite movies?

FRANK JOHN: Hmmmmmm … Rango, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Rodrick Rules, Toy Story I, II & III, and Cars. Can’t wait for Cars II to come out on DVD.

ANTHONY: For both of you, what is your favorite book and what would you say to recommend it to someone who hasn’t read it yet?

FJ: I like SpongeBob books and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Rodrick Rules, The Last Straw, Doggie Days & The Ugly Truth. Me and my sister and my dad laugh when we read them. We are reading them a second time now. I would recommend the Wimpy Kid series because it has funny parts and the drawings that Greg puts in his diary are very funny.

FRANK: And Daddy has never really been fond of reading. I don’t remember which it was but I think the last novel I read was about 25 years ago or more in college. And now with a house and kids in school and one that requires more attention than the other, that’s pretty much out of the question. But I do wish I had the time to get involved in reading, if not for the enjoyment, then to set an example. I’m a firm believer that reading regularly makes a kid smarter and keeps you sharp, something that my wife might agree I’m not doing too well with in my middle years. But this interview isn’t about HER, now is it?

ANTHONY: Frank, I’m sure at the next family gathering Allie will yell at me for not interviewing her and Alexa too! Speaking of family: FJ, tell us a little about the person you dedicated your Walk to last year and this year.

FJ: We dedicated the Walk to my dad’s dad, my grandpa. He was the person I was named after and he loves me a lot. He always donated money to the Walk for the team every year since we started walking. He really wanted us to find a cure the most in the whole world.

ANTHONY: What is the team fundraising goal this year?

FRANK: $6000. FJ’s individual goal is $5000. It’s always a trick to set a goal and tough to get people involved if they are not directly affected, as I’m sure you know. The team has been absolutely fabulous though. Everyone is so busy but so extremely supportive and the feeling of love for Frank John has been amazing. So many people show up every year for him, rain or shine. And we’ve had rain, shine, wind & cold. And they come anyway.

The first year we did this, setting a goal was obviously an uncertain thing, at best, and the goal changed a few times along the way. Not knowing what to expect, I started low – I think about $1500 because that was recommended as an average for a particular type of fundraising effort like ours and for a first time. That year we raised over $7000, our best year to date.

ANTHONY: Where can people go to donate?

FRANK: JDRF offers a secure website for every team walker to set up their fundraising page. Frank John’s personal page is Frank’s Footers. From there you can donate to sponsor him at the Walk, join the team, access the team’s page to see who is on the team, and get hosts of information about JDRF itself, current research, life with diabetes and other ways to get involved in the fight against diabetes.

ANTHONY: Frank John, what would you like people to know about diabetes and about the Walk?

FJ: I want them to know that diabetes really exists. People are really suffering from this disease. We also want to let people know where the money is going. It’s going to JDRF who gives it to diabetes doctors and scientists who are working on finding a cure.

ANTHONY: Well, I’m proud that this year I’ll be able to be an active member of Frank’s Footers. I’ll be there with you guys on October 2nd! And I hope all of my readers will follow the link and donate. You’re at $2,000 tonight — I’d love to see you hit your goal before Walk day!