CYNTHIA J. LEO, Author - Guest Post

This week, while I’m slaving away writing and re-writing several short stories, I’ve got a short guest post from author Cynthia J. Leo, talking about her book JAGGED PEAKS.

Jagged Peaks Cover Art

The idea for Jagged Peaks came from my fascination with mountain climbing and the climbers who push the limits.  As a person who has always tried to stay within my comfort zone, I was intrigued by the mentality of these climbers.  Though there is a wealth of non-fiction available about climbing, there is not much fiction about climbing.  Pushing out of my comfort zone, I began writing Jagged Peaks a fictional mountain climbing romance and adventure story.  Jagged Peaks explores three very different characters that are brought together for one expedition that will forever bind them together.  The characters are forced out of their comfort zones as they struggle to adjust to the changes that life throws at them.  While romance is certainly a focus of the book, Jagged Peaks also offers adventure, suspense, and secrets that will eventually be exposed.

Excerpt from Jagged Peaks:

“Oh here’s another one – this one looks good, and oh wow there’s a whole bunch on the next shelf,” Taylor said quickly, as she tilted her head sideways to read the titles of the books on the shelves in the Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on her mission of finding climbing books. Deep in concentration, she was unaware of the sideways glances from the jean-clad outdoorsy types in the Sports section as they took in her skin-tight beige pencil skirt and sky-high stilettos. Grabbing another book, she added it to the ever-growing stack perched on her friend, Dylan’s lap.

“Sweetie, are you for real? You cannot possibly read all of these before you leave next week,” commented Dylan as he sat in the large, paisley chair sipping his latte.

She turned quickly, causing her long brunette hair with the copper highlights that cost a small fortune to maintain, to wrap around her head.  Tapping her foot impatiently, she frowned.

“Crucify me for trying to be prepared,” she snorted as she went back to looking at the shelf.  Frowning she muttered, “I thought I could count on you two to help, but I guess I was wrong.”

Dylan rolled his eyes as Kevin slumped against the corner of the bookshelf.

“Dylan’s right.  You are never going to find time to open one of those books and besides reading about mountain climbing is not going to help,” muttered Kevin pulling at his tie.

Even though she knew they were both right, her frustration was mounting, and with a glare at Kevin, she snorted, “Like I should take advice from you.  Your preparation has entailed drinking and hitting on every woman in sight.”

Dylan laughed as Kevin ran his fingers through his wavy, blonde hair.

Shaking his head Kevin muttered, “Listen as least I’ve done some climbing, the only experience you have is climbing the escalator for the latest shoe sale at Macy’s.”

Her friends were right.  She was in over her head, but there was no turning back now.

ALIVIA LATIMER, actress - Interview

This week’s interview is with Alivia Latimer, a young actress just starting out her career, with a lot of great family support, in Florida.

Alivia Latimer

ANTHONY: Hi, Alivia! Thanks for taking some time to chat. How are you?

ALIVIA: Hi Anthony! I am fantastic, thank you for asking!

ANTHONY: Let’s start off with the basics: How long have you been acting professionally, and what was your first job?

ALIVIA: I began my acting career in January 2011 when I started taking an on-going acting class. But it wasn’t until December 2011 that I booked my first job; a commercial for SeaWorld!

ANTHONY: Is most of your experience on stage or on screen?

ALIVIA: All of my experience has been on screen! I actually have never been in a professional theater production.

ANTHONY: You’ve done a lot of work on YouTube and the web. Tell me how you got started making and posting videos.

ALIVIA: About two years ago, I made a YouTube video with my little brother Caden entitled “The Silly Band Stealer” — a short video about a boy who steals Silly Bandz. (LOL) I got a few requests to make more videos, so “The Silly Band Stealer” become a miniseries!

I really have a passion for filmmaking, and have posted over a dozen short videos on my YouTube channel, which is currently under construction.

ANTHONY: Has posting your short films on YouTube helped make connections with casting directors?

ALIVIA: Not yet, although it would be so cool if a popular casting director saw my videos! (Preferably a Disney casting director! Haha)

ANTHONY: Tell me about your new project, “UnCovered”. What is it about?

ALIVIA: The story follows four kids who embark on a journey to uncover the mystery that lies within an old diary they find while camping out in the woods on the darkest night of the year … October 31st, 2012.

ANTHONY: What was your writing process like while you were working on the script? Did you plot it all out ahead of time, or make it up as you went along?

ALIVIA: Since “UnCovered” is a series of multiple episodes, I pretty much just make it all up as we progress. I mean, I know what I want to happen, so I just need to get it out of my head and put it into words!

ANTHONY: Did you write the characters with specific local actors in mind, or did you cast them after you’d created the characters?

ALIVIA: Most roles were created and then cast later on to local actors with little acting experience. I wanted to give the new kids a chance. But we have a mixture of beginners and professionals in the series, which gives it a nice balance.

Alivia Latimer

ANTHONY: Who else is in the movie, and have they done any other filmed work?

ALIVIA: Our principal cast consists of Anthony Porrey, Allie Hendron, Kalil Hamdaoui, Ben Kyle, and myself. This is Ben’s first time acting and he’s doing a phenomenal job! Kalil has done a short film, and a lot of commercials/print! Allie and I actually worked together on an independent film earlier this year, and Anthony is just getting started in the business. So as I stated before, we have a nice mixture of beginners and professionals!

ANTHONY: How long did it take to film, and where?

ALIVIA: Well, we are taking it one episode at a time. One episode a month from July-December is the plan! We are filming around the Tampa area in cast members’ houses, parks, bike paths, and even in the woods!

ANTHONY: Did you make any changes to the script based on things that happened while filming? 

ALIVIA: Yes! Right before we were about to shoot, an actor cancelled on us. So I changed things up, wrote in an entire scene with dialog and the actors memorized it in like, five minutes! The scene turned out great!

ANTHONY: When and where will people be able to see “UnCovered”?

ALIVIA: The trailer is up now and you can see it at youtube.com/UnCoveredWebSeries. The first episode premiered on October 31st, 2012 on that same YouTube channel, and episode two is up as well.

ANTHONY:  Okay, now let’s talk about your acting. What other projects have you done recently? Didn’t you spend some time shooting at Disney in Orlando?

ALIVIA: Recently I have been working on tons of short and independent films, web series’, commercials, and print shoots. So you can say I’ve been BUSY! My most recent commercials are for Universal Studios Orlando and Disney World!

ANTHONY: How do you prepare for your auditions?

ALIVIA: If it’s a commercial audition, I practice facial expressions and my “happy commercial voice”! I also research any past commercials for that client and see if there is anything I can add to my performance to “wow” the casting directors. If it is a TV or Film audition, I watch Disney Channel/Disney XD sitcoms like “Lab Rats” and “A.N.T Farm” to study the actors’ comedic timing and facial expressions! I love Disney shows!

ANTHONY: The Disney shows are a lot of fun, for sure. A lot of the teens I interview are involved in charitable causes. I know you are too — what causes do you support and how can people help?

ALIVIA: I am a huge supporter of Jaylen’s Challenge Foundation, which is a non-profit anti-bullying organization. I am very passionate about the subject of bullying and do all I can to help out my friend Jaylen! He is a very special 12 year old boy with a big heart. If you would like to learn more about JCF and how you can help, read Jaylen’s touching story at jaylenschallenge.org   Bullying No Way!!!

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

ALIVIA: I will admit I am not much of a reader, (unless it’s a script) but I have read this particular two part series called “iQ”. It’s about three kids that become involved with the FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security. It’s really intriguing if you like the mystery/ government/terrorism genre. Seriously, it’s so intense that once you read the first chapter, you cannot put the book down. I loved the series so much, I sent an email to the author asking if he would write a third book…and this is coming from someone who doesn’t read! LOL. So go check out “iQ” at your local library!

ANTHONY: Thanks again, Alivia!

ALIVIA: Anytime! Thanks so much for having me!

You can catch up on Alivia’s series unCovered on the Youtube channel and by visiting the series’ Facebook page. You can also learn more about Alivia by checking out her IMDb page, and you can follow her on Twitter as @alivialatimer.

MAURICE BROADDUS & JERRY GORDON, authors - Interview

This week’s interview, delayed from last week due to lots of personal circumstances, is with Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon, the editors of Apex Publications’ DARK FAITH and DARK FAITH: INVOCATIONS.

Jason Sizemore, Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon

ANTHONY: Before we talk about the new book you’ve co-edited, DARK FAITH: INVOCATIONS, I’d like to talk about the experience of putting together the first DARK FAITH anthology. How did that come about, and what did you learn from that process that influenced your work on the new volume?

MAURICE:  I host an annual convention called Mo*Con (http://www.mocon.indianahorror.org/).  Each year I invite a few horror, science fiction, and fantasy writers in, we hold the convention in a church, and we discuss topics related to genre and faith.  You tell people you’re having a convention in a church, all they hear is “church” and, again, there are preconceptions to what goes on there.  With the great line up of writers that we have regularly attending Mo*Con, we talked with Jason Sizemore, of Apex Books, about doing a Mo*Con anthology.  That project evolved into Dark Faith.  I guess you could say that I’ve always been fascinated with hearing people’s stories about faith, no matter where that story takes them.

I think every writer should take a turn behind the slush pile to see what an editor faces every day.  From the lack of professionalism, the inability to follow guidelines, to the ideas/stories they see all the time.  That was my first major take away lesson.  The second was that after we put together the original Dark Faith, we had a better idea of what kind of stories we were looking for.  Our writers did also, which was reflected in the (much better) slush pile.

JERRY:  Mo*Con gives people with wildly divergent views a place to discuss controversial issues.  The respect for ideas and emphasis on civil discourse at the heart of the convention went a long way toward winning me over when Maurice brought up the idea of doing Dark Faith together.

ANTHONY: What is the focus of DARK FAITH: INVOCATIONS, and does it differ at all from the intent or theme of the first volume?

MAURICE:  The focus honed in even more on the idea of faith.  That being said, I think the second volume is lighter in tone overall, even as it is still soul crushing.

Dark Faith 2: Invocations

JERRY:  Invocations is tightly focused on the testing of faith from a broad variety of belief systems (atheism to magic and everything organized in between).  The book does have more fun with the subject.  Imagine hunting giant Buddhas in a post-apocalyptic future or learning the secrets of the universe from a wish-granting vending machine.

ANTHONY: You held an open call for submissions for INVOCATIONS, correct? How many submissions did you receive, and how long did it take to whittle the slush down to your final choices?

JERRY:  We received just over seven hundred total submissions, enough to fill twenty-six anthologies.  It took about four months to whittle that avalanche down to a final table of contents.  From a process perspective, we went through four rounds of cuts:

Round 1 – Top 150 stories

Round 2 – Top 75 stories

Round 3 – Top 40 stories

Round 4 – Final 26 stories

The first round involved weeding out the amateur, semi-pro, and off-topic stories.  Once the easy cuts were made, thematic overlap, space constraints, and a whole host of editorial issues guided the rest.  I posted a detailed deconstruction of the process on my website (http://www.jerrygordon.net/2012/06/01/behind-the-scenes-dark-faith-2/).

ANTHONY: You’ve co-edited both volumes. What is your process for deciding the final Table of Contents and then story order? Have there been any violent disagreements? (I’m picturing Editor-Dome in Maurice’s living room right now…)

MAURICE:  The first time around was a lot easier.  The stories that worked REALLY worked and stood out from the rest.  This time around, there were so many GREAT stories that it was a lot tougher to get that final pool cut.  I really feel like at times we were team captains and we were choosing up members of our side until we hit our word count limit.  This whole process was made easier by judicious application of Riesling.  Another place where Riesling is your friend is in figuring out the order.  It becomes a lot easier to see a flow to the stories…

JERRY:  We had forty stories left when we met to decide the final table of contents.  We played with half a dozen potential approaches, discussing the merits of each story and how they might work in concert.  In the end, we took turns drafting stories like NFL players.  With each round we recalculated the word count, talked about the remaining stories, and made another round of picks.  The last few rounds were positively heart wrenching.  This is a small business, and putting on the editor’s hat means disappointing talented writers that also happen to be good friends.

ANTHONY: Do your individual editing styles differ when you’re working on an anthology of your own? What do you each bring to the table as co-editors?

MAURICE:  I do quite a bit of freelance editing, but my style doesn’t really change.  I’m looking for the best stories, ideas that intrigue me, or some ineffable quality that makes a story great.

I like to think that I bring a particular vision to Dark Faith.  It’s a project that’s close to my heart and who I am.

JERRY:  On the first book, Maurice set the initial vision and worked very hard to solicit a cadre of amazing writers.  I honed that vision and handled the logistics.  This time around we traded duties back and forth, stepping in for each other when our schedules turned from busy to insane.

Maurice Broaddus

ANTHONY: I won’t ask you each to pick a favorite story from INVOCATIONS, but I will ask what authors we can expect to see in the book and if there’s anything in particular you think will stun readers.

MAURICE:  “Subletting God’s Head” by Tom Piccirilli kind of sets the tone for this volume (which is why it is first) then “The Cancer Catechism” by Jay Lake immediately rips your heart out.  “Magdala Amygdala” demonstrates that there is something fundamentally wrong with Lucy A. Snyder (I kid because I love).  And “A Strange Form of Life” by Laird Barron is a particular favorite of mine (I’m not scared to choose a favorite child!)

JERRY:  Readers are almost universally surprised by the broad range of stories and ideology.  An Asian artist that can reshape reality with her sketches.  A middle-eastern robot fighting his addiction to a futuristic drug called faith.  African folk magic and family rivalries mixing it up in the boxing ring.  A small-town boutique that offers you the chance to shop for your own personal god.  I could go on.  It’s an eclectic mix of tones and worldviews.

As for personal favorites, I love Richard Wright’s “The Sandfather.”  This story sneaks up on you emotionally, and I’ve already had several reviewers email me to say the story blew them away.  The subtle beauty of Alma Alexander’s “Night Train” also impresses.  Looking at the table of contents, I want to hijack this interview so I can talk about Kyle S. Johnson’s haunting portrayal of a North Korean family and Tim Pratt’s wishful fantasy and K. Tempest Bradford’s take on mythology.

ANTHONY: Are there any authors who have work in both volumes, or was that something you consciously avoided?

MAURICE:  The answer’s a little bit of both.  We didn’t want to completely overlap TOCs, but we didn’t want to rule out great stories from writers who have already demonstrated that they get what we’re looking for.  I think we set some arbitrary percentage of how many authors could repeat (which we probably ignored, thus I can’t remember what it was).

JERRY:  We went into the book hoping to bring about a third of the original authors back.  Maurice and I solicited a second third and dove into the slush pile to find the remaining stories.

ANTHONY: What else would you like potential readers to know about INVOCATIONS?

MAURICE:  You need to buy many copies of it and pass them out to your friends.

JERRY:  This book will entertain you, make you think, and magically remove ten pounds from your waistline.

ANTHONY: What’s in the near future for each of you?

MAURICE:  My urban fantasy trilogy, The Knights of Breton Court, is being re-released as an omnibus (by Angry Robot Books).  I have a short story in the current issue of Shroud Magazine and have stories coming out in a bunch of upcoming anthologies (Appalachian Undead, The New Hero, Vampires Don’t Sparkle, Relics and Remains, and Cadence in Decay).  My short story, “Awaiting Redemption”, will be in the HorrorWorld Anthology as well as available for a listen on Pseudopod.com.  Apex Books will also be publishing my novella, I Can Transform You.

Jerry Gordon

JERRY:  My apocalyptic novella, Breaking The World, is set to be released in 2013 (Apex Publications).  It follows a trio of teenagers forced into adulthood by the end of the world.  I also have a short story out in the current issue of Shroud called “Ghost in the Machine.”  In it third-party politics, torture bans, and a mysterious ‘Ghost Program’ conspire to change the course of our Republic.  Add to that “Vampire Nation” for the forthcoming Vampires Don’t Sparkle! tribute anthology (Seventh Star).

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

MAURICE:  The Gift by Patrick O’Leary, Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, and Beloved (heck, anything) by Toni Morrison.  If I have to convince you to read any of them, especially Morrison, I’ll just pluck out your eyes because you obviously aren’t doing anything worthwhile with them anyway.

JERRY:  Talk about your impossible questions!  My brain freezes just trying to come up with a top ten list.  I can’t give you a favorite, so I’ll just give you a recommendation.  The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.  The book, given to me during a rough patch in my life, contains a lifetime of wisdom.  I’ve purchased several copies for friends over the years.

ANTHONY: Thanks again to you both!

You can purchase DARK FAITH: INVOCATIONS through Amazon, Barnes & Noble or directly from Apex Publications. On Twitter, you can follow @MauriceBroaddus and @jerrylgordon. You can also keep track of the authors/editors on Maurice’s website and Jerry’s website, and they’re both on Facebook: Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon.

Frankenstormsnoreastercanepocalyptigeddon

I tweeted earlier today “So which is it? #frankenstorm or #snoreastercane? Or maybe “frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalpytigeddon?” And then my friend and coworker Regan pointed out how well that fit with “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” and a parody was born. Note: I will not be recording this — but if someone else wants to, just give us proper credit!

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon.

Could this be the perfect storm that everyone is fretting

Or will it be a big ol’ bust that we’ll all be regretting?

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Because we were afraid of storms
Disasters by the score,
Forecasters gave our fears a form
and kept us feeling sore
And then one day we heard a word
to sum up all our woes,
The biggest word you ever heard
and this is how it goes… Oh!

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon.

Could this be the perfect storm that everyone is fretting

Or will it be a big ol’ bust that we’ll all be regretting?

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle aye

I travel all around the world
And everywhere I go
I dress for weather of all types
For earthquake and tornado.
When forecasters try to pass
the time of day with me
I say my special word and then
they ask me out to tea. Oh!

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon.

Could this be the perfect storm that everyone is fretting

Or will it be a big ol’ bust that we’ll all be regretting?

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon

(Spoken): Of course you can say it backwards, which is

“gedd-apocalypti-cane-snoreaster-storm-nekfran”

But that’s going a bit far, don’t you think?

So when the forecast has got you down
There’s no need to dismay
Just summon up this word and
Laugh at every word they say.
Let’s just hope they’ve got it wrong

And Sandy will blow past
Cause when they get it right on us
We’ve never moved so fast. Oh!

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon.

Could this be the perfect storm that everyone is fretting

Or will it be a big ol’ bust that we’ll all be regretting?

Frankenstormsnoreastercaneapocalyptigeddon

ALMOST HERO, Boy Band - Interview

I met Chris Beloud, Brandon Mion, Andrew Rogers and Daniel Aguirre, also known as Almost Hero, when they joined Hollywood Ending and The After Party for the “Boys of Summer” Tour, and I’ve now had the pleasure of seeing them play three times (tour dates in Nutley NJ, Poughkeepsie NY and Las Vegas NV). Not only are they tight as a band, they are four genuinely nice guys.  I brought my niece Renee to the Poughkeepsie show, her first concert, and Brandon (who had no clue who I was at that point) immediately introduced himself to Renee, gave her an Almost Hero bracelet and a postcard, had the rest of the band sign it, and even gave her a drumstick after the show. The band didn’t have to be nice, they just were.  So of course, I had to arrange an interview, which the guys completed after the second leg of the BOTS Tour.

ANTHONY: Hi guys! Thanks for taking the time to chat. How’s everyone doing?

ALMOST HERO: Everything is going better than planned! We are all very pleased by the outcome of touring.

ANTHONY: I only recently started listening to your music, thanks to meeting you on the Boys of Summer Tour. So tell me a little about the band’s history — how long have you been together and how did the group get started?

ALMOST HERO: We have been a 4 piece band for 3 years, but the name Almost Hero has been around for 4 years, Chris started Almost Hero as a solo project when he was 15, but decided he wanted a full band to play his originally written songs. Andrew and him have been friends since the ages of (Chris) 7 and (Andrew) 4, and started producing demos together. Chris transferred high schools for his junior and senior year where he met Brandon and Daniel on the soccer team. Brandon was a talented drummer with 12 years of experience, and Danny became the Merch guy due lack of instrumental ability. A few months pass by and the band is still without a bassist and Danny mentions he wants to learn bass. Chris jumped on the opportunity and sat down and started teaching him the roots. He learned super quick and was practicing with the band within 2 weeks. Danny was the final member completing the four piece band.

ANTHONY: What was the inspiration for the band’s name?

ALMOST HERO: The idea that anyone average person can be a hero without having your name in lights. Ambition and courage comes natural to human beings it is just up to the individual to find it within them.

ANTHONY: What’s your songwriting process like? Who brings what to the table creatively?

ALMOST HERO: Chris writes the Base of the lyrics and musical melodies, then sits down with Andrew to come up with hooks and structure. Brandon and Daniel edit the song, whether lyrics should be changed or parts should be changed. In the end it is a very efficient system.

Almost Hero

ANTHONY: “Still Young” is out now, available on itunes, and the lyric video is on Youtube. How much fun was it filming the video?

ALMOST HERO: Filming the Video was 100% fun and easy, it was done in Andrew’s living room and we had a lot of time to finish it so we we’re enjoying the non-stressful environment.

ANTHONY: You’ve written more than one song. How soon until you release an album?

ALMOST HERO: You can expect at least 2-3 more singles before we decide to do an Album or EP, It is really up to where we are at when it comes that time.

ANTHONY: Are you working with any other songwriters or producers?

ALMOST HERO: We have worked with one “Songwriter/Producer” by the name of Linus Dotson. He recorded and co-wrote Still Young with Almost Hero.

ANTHONY: How did you get involved with the Boys of Summer tour, and what’s been everyone’s favorite part of touring?

ALMOST HERO: We became friends with Hollywood Ending’s manager, Richard Reines, and he invited us to the Allstar Weekend “Life as We Know It” Music video shoot where we met Hollywood Ending and immediately hit it off as friends. Within 2 days Richard emailed us regarding interest in bringing us on tour with them. We jumped on the opportunity and within 3 months we were playing in Pittsburgh with Hollywood ending and The After Party.

ANTHONY: The keytar is not an instrument usually associated with performers your age. Andrew, how long have you been playing it and what does it give you (either in the studio or live) that a regular keyboard doesn’t?

ALMOST HERO: Andrew has been playing the keytar for almost 2 years and it gives a keyboardist the physical freedom to walk around on stage. It looks really cool and gets a lot of compliments. Studio wise it’s just an ordinary midi controller, there are no actual sounds built into the key tar, but with the right Midi Transmitter you can make the keytar trigger the sounds of any instrument!

ANTHONY: Now that the second leg of the Boys of Summer Tour is over, what’s next for Almost Hero?

ALMOST HERO: Expect more California shows and touring, more photo shoots and cover videos, and new singles to be released in the future!

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

ALMOST HERO: We all would have to agree with any of the Dr. Seuss books, because they are very entertaining and educational. We would tell someone who hasn’t read it, that wait.. who hasn’t read Dr. Seuss?? haha

ANTHONY: That’s funny – when I interviewed Hollywood Ending, Dan’s answer to this question was “Hop On Pop.” Clearly, you all were destined to be tour mates! Thanks again, guys!

ALMOST HERO will be guests on the Beyond The Spotlight radio show on Global Voice Radio on Saturday November 3rd, at 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern. BTS is hosted by frequent Rambling On guest Sam Lant and singer/actress Lauren Dair Owens. Tune in on the 3rd, watch the Twitcam Livestream from the studio, and call in with your questions for Almost Hero! Or you can tweet your questions in advance to @BeyondSpotlight on Twitter with the hashtag #askbts

You can check out Almost Hero on Facebook; on their Youtube channels; and you can follow the band collectively or individually on Twitter: @AlmostHero @ChrisBeloudAH @BrandonMionAH @AndrewRogersAH and @DanielAguirreAH

Here’s their newest video, a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Red.” You can tell I wasn’t at this video shoot — Brandon’s singing. Every time I’m at a show, Brandon’s mic has problems.

BEYOND THE SUN - Fundraiser

The answer is: To Open The Sky.

The question: What was the first book about colonizing outer space you remember reading?

Robert Silverberg’s To Open The Sky is not anywhere near as well-known as space colonization novels by Ray Bradbury ( The Martian Chronicles, the second colonization book I ever read), Arthur C. Clarke, Gene Wolfe, and countless others. It’s also not as well-known as other Silverberg works (The Chronicles of Majipoor, for example) and in fact is long out of print.  Regardless of all of that, it holds a special place in my heart. I reread it every few years and feel the excitement I felt the first time I read it, as I realize what religious founder Noel Vorst’s long-term master plan is, played out over a century or more, for getting humanity beyond our own system and out to the stars. We never get to see the actual colonies that are founded, but Silverberg’s future Earth and colonial Mars and Venus tell us enough.

I’m not the only science fiction fan fascinated with the concept of humanity’s colonization of other planets.  Bryan Thomas Schmidt is inspired and fascinated by colonization stories, even moreso than I am. With the essential end of NASA’s space shuttle program and the slow beginning of the commercial space program (with SpaceX’s Dragon rocket launching just this week), Bryan sees a need now more than ever for readers to look to the stars and regain the excitement that sf of the ’40s and ’50s, and the real events of the ’60s to the present, gave us.

So Bryan, a writer and editor of science fiction (his own first sf novel, The Worker Prince, was an Honorable Mention on the Barnes and Noble Notable SF List and he recently edited Space Battles for Flying Pen Press), has decided to put together an anthology of mostly-new colonization stories. The book will be called Beyond The Sun. Bryan’s invited twenty-something authors to submit stories to be considered for approximately sixteen slots in the book, joining four headliners: Mike Resnick. Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Nancy Kress. And …. Robert Silverberg.

Now, the Silverberg story will be one of the book’s few reprints but it’s a story I’ve never seen before. This is one of the two main reasons I want to see Beyond The Sun published, to readily access a Robert Silverberg story about space colonization that isn’t part of the universe he gave me in To Open The Sky, but which will be vibrant and exciting nonetheless.

But the book won’t be published if Bryan can’t raise the funds to pay the authors (the headliners and the mid-list and the newbies he’s invited).  He’s got just a few hours over 5 days to hit the funding goal of $5,000, and with Kickstarter (unlike IndieGoGo), it’s all or nothing. If we get to the deadline and Bryan’s not at $5,000 … no Beyond The Sun. Which is a shame considering how passionate Bryan is about this project, and considering how wonderful the contents are bound to be regardless of which sixteen authors get chosen to join the headliners.

And here’s the other reason I want to see this project fully funded, and it’s a very selfish one: I’m one of the twenty or so authors Bryan invited to submit a story for consideration. If Beyond The Sun gets funded, and Bryan chooses my story to be included … my colonization story would be in the same book with Robert Silverberg, one of the men who excited my own interest in SF more than thirty years ago. And that is just too cool an opportunity to pass up.

So that’s why I’ve backed the BTS Kickstarter at the highest level I can afford — not for the perks I’ll get for pledging at that level, but to increase the chances that the book will see print. It’s a book I’ll want to read whether I’m in it or not (and there’s no guarantee I will be, until I finish the story and Bryan accepts it).

Why should you back it?  Well, if you love good science fiction, especially good sf about colonization, consider it like pre-ordering a book through BN or Amazon, without the risk. If you pledge and the book doesn’t get fully-funded, you’re not out a cent. If you pledge and it does get funded, you’re guaranteed a first printing of a great anthology, and you’ll get whatever other perks are attached to your pledge level (which include things like personalized, autographed copies; having yourself Tuckerized into a story; or a critique by a well-known sf editor, among others).

Why else should you back it? Because (especially if you’re a friend of mine, sf fan or not) you’ll possibly be helping me achieve a dream: being included in the same anthology with Robert Silverberg.

So click the link, watch Bryan’s video explaining why this book is so important to him, read the bios of the headliners. If you choose to back, there are some story excerpts on the Updates page and links to where you can find other excerpts. And even if you can’t back the project financially … please spread the word. Hit the “Like” button and the Tweet button. Get the word out there. We’ve got 5 days to raise over $3,000 dollars. More has been raised in short time periods on Kickstarter, with the right word of mouth.

And thank you in advance to all of you who do help Bryan make his dream, his book, a reality, and thus possibly help mine as well.

BEYOND THE SUN KICKSTARTER PAGE

THOMAS FISS, Singer - Interview

First of all, I owe this week’s guest an apology. Thomas Fiss was good enough to take time from his schedule to do this interview back in early September, and due to personal commitments I lost track of the fact that I hadn’t posted it yet. His album, which we talk about, has already been released. Still, I think you’ll all enjoy the interview and go out and check out Thomas’ work.

Thomas Fiss

Thomas Fiss’ career  runs from Broadway (one of the two boys to play the son of Patrick Wilson’s main character in THE FULL MONTY) through boy bands (as a member of Varsity Fanclub) and on to a solo career ( four albums, including the current “Chasing Satellites”).

ANTHONY: Hi, Thomas, thanks for agreeing to this interview. Where in the world are you right now, and what are you up to?

THOMAS: What’s up man!  I’m always down for a good interview.  –I’m literally just getting back into my place in LA.  I was just out on a quick radio tour through the Mid-West again.  I actually head back out next week for a West-Coast run.  Always on the road….

ANTHONY: You’ve been working on the new album for a while now. When is it officially due out, and will there be a new music video for it?

THOMAS: Believe me, I know….haha.  I’ve been working on my new album Chasing Satellites for about 8 months and I’m BEYOND ready to let it loose.  I think people will be excited with these songs.  If you’re a fan of Walk The Moon, The Wanted, Coldplay, U2 and One Republic….You’re going to be all over this thing!  I’m planning on having a music video for every song.  It’s a HUGE expectation, but I’m determined to make it happen.  I already have 2 new videos ready to go and I’m really proud with what my team and I are turning out.  It officially releases September 18th, but my single “Let Go” iss available now on iTunes!

ANTHONY: What’s your song-writing process like? Lyrics first then music, or the other way around, or somewhere in between?

THOMAS: Honestly, I just write.  It kinda bugs me sometimes too…I have a really hard time shutting down and not thinking of new concepts or song ideas.  I don’t have a road map for how I write a song…normally it’s music first, but I’ve had some great songs come from a simple lyric idea.  I’m also really picky about how my songs are written and produced.  You could ask anyone I’ve worked with and they’ll tell you it’s my way or the highway when we’re in a studio.  Not out of pride or ego…I just know what I want as an artist.  I’ve worked with too many writers and producers who waste time…who are careless and lazy.  If you ever get in the studio with me, pack a lunch and bring coffee, cause we’re not leaving until a song is done.  I do a lot of work with Gabe Lopez (amazing producer), he understands, more than anyone, that a 16 hour session with me is out of a vision, not a hobby.  The studio is my second home, so I’m very protective of who I let in.

ANTHONY: Has your Broadway experience influenced your songwriting process?

THOMAS: Sure has.  It allows me to transport myself into a character when I’m writing…to pretend that I’m really living out a situation or emotion in real time…When I write a song, I live it.  Either as a true life situation or in my head….All my lyrics come from a place and have a reason for being sung.  Acting has definitely been a trick I up my sleeve compared to other writers or artists…keeps me away from singing about “Dollar bills” or “Hittin’ the club”.

ANTHONY: How does the music you’ve written for the new album compare to the songs on your earlier EPs? How have you grown/changed as an artist?

THOMAS: This new album is my sound.  It took me a while to find out what that meant really.  It’s crazy to listen back to my last EPs and hear my voice on those songs.  A few I’m proud of, like “Jealous of Distance”.  Songs like that don’t come to writers everyday….I’m going to be chasing that song for a while.  As far as my new album…I’m so proud of every song!  The writing, production….it’s all perfect to me.  Hopefully my fans, new and old, feel the same!

ANTHONY: Have you collaborated with anyone for this album? And how do the songs from those collaborations differ from the songs you’ve written on your own?

THOMAS: I spent a few months working with a lot of big A-List producers.  Which is always an honor, but I was having a hard time translating my vision with outside sources.  I think collaborations only work for me when I’m writing for an artist other than myself.  I LOVE collaborating on songs, but for this new album, I discovered I was the only one should be writing it.  A few people think that doing so is a suicide mission when you get too far into your own work.  It might be true but screw ‘em.

ANTHONY: Who are your biggest musical influences?

THOMAS: Oh man, this is a long list!  The Dream, The Beatles, Walk The Moon, Something Corporate, The Fray, The Wanted, Justin Timberlake, John Mayer….everything I listen to on the radio influences me, whether I know it or not.  I spend a lot of time on Youtube listening to bands no one has ever heard of…There’s so much good music out there…It’s painful to know what makes it to radio rather than what should.  

ANTHONY: Will you be touring in support of the album when it releases?

THOMAS: Sure will!  I’m pushing to radio now so most of my shows will be focused around radio festivals….Jingle Ball, etc.  I’ve been lucky enough to play with some amazing artists this summer.  Karmin, The Wanted, Cobra Starship, Austin Mahone, Chiddy Bang, Sammy Adams….They’ve all been super cool.  I’m working with MTV-U for a national tour at the end of this year, so stay tuned!

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

THOMAS: Haha, awesome question! My favorite book is called “The Los Angeles Diaries”.  It’s a true story about this kids life growing up during the “seedy” time of LA.  If you like a good true story, you’ll dig this one!

ANTHONY: Thanks again, Thomas, for the interview and for the great music. I’m really enjoying the new album!

THOMAS: Thanks so much sir!

You can find Thomas on Facebook, on Youtube, as @thomasfiss on Twitter, and on his own website.
And here’s the video for “Chasing Satellites:”

BEYOND THE SUN - Interview

Every now and then I like to feature Kickstarter projects that I’m particularly interested in, and more often than not those projects involve short story anthologies. Here’s the latest, a chat with frequent guest Bryan Thomas Schmidt.

Beyond The Sun

Bryan Thomas Schmidt is an author and editor of adult and children’s speculative fiction. His debut novel, The Worker Prince (2011) received Honorable Mention on Barnes & Noble Book Club’s Year’s Best Science Fiction Releases for 2011. A sequel The Returning followed in 2012 and The Exodus will appear in 2013, completing the space opera Saga Of Davi Rhii. His first children’s books, 102 More Hilarious Dinosaur Books For Kids (ebook only) and Abraham Lincoln: Dinosaur Hunter- Lost In A Land Of Legends (forthcoming) appeared from Delabarre Publishing in 2012.  His short stories have appeared in magazines, anthologies and online. He edited the anthology Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 (2012) and is working on Beyond The Sun,forthcoming. He hosts #sffwrtcht (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Chat) Wednesdays at 9 pm ET on Twitter and is an affiliate member of the SFWA.

ANTHONY: So Space Battles: Full Throttle Space Tales #6 seems to have gotten good reviews and had steady sales, and now you’re raising backers for another anthology, Beyond The Sun. Tell us how that came about?

BRYAN: Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by the Universe and space travel, the idea that one day humans could go out and discover what’s out there. An anthology on space colonization seemed a natural extension of that. And with the recent downsizing of NASA and death of Neil Armstrong, I found myself remembering all the times I spent dreaming about other planets and worlds. As an adult, I’ve travelled the world, exploring other cultures, and in large part, it comes from that same drive to discover the other, the different, the new. Beyond that though, I hear about young people, particularly boys, not being into reading like they used to be, and I want to create stories kids like me would enjoy. Additionally, I wanted to create something teachers and parents might use to encourage that urge to discover in younger generations. Lastly, I love working with other writers, and I saw a chance to bring pros and newcomers together to fulfill this in a way that benefits all of us.

ANTHONY: Well, you do have some big names involved.

BRYAN: I do. Robert Silverberg gave me an old story that has not appeared much which is really good, of course. Mike Resnick is a good friend and headlined Space Battles. He’s done so much to help me, my only way to return that is to give him work, and luckily, he gladly accepts.  Nancy Kress is a new friend but she’s explored colonialism a lot in her work so she’s a perfect fit. All of these, of course, are Hugo and Nebula winners on multiple occasions. But I also have a fourth headliner who’s won the same awards and she’ll be joining us if we get the funding.

ANTHONY: Some of the lesser names, you might call them, are not unknown either: Cat Rambo, Jennifer Brozek, Jason Sanford…

BRYAN: Yeah, all of whom have become friends and are people whose work I admire. Joining them are Analog regulars Brad R. Torgersen (Hugo/Nebula nominee this year) and Jamie Todd Rubin, and Sanford’s Interzone fellow Matthew Cook, along with novelists Jean Johnson and Erin Hoffman.

ANTHONY: And then there’s the little people…like me.

BRYAN: Well, you’re not unknown, just not as much for your writing yet, but that will come. You were in Space Battles, and so were several others. But as people may know from SFFWRTCHT (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Chat), encouraging and helping others, especially fellow writers, is something I love to do. And to be in an anthology with people of this caliber and make pro or semi-pro rates is a huge opportunity. I like helping others achieve their dreams, but the advantage here is that, in the process, they help me achieve mine, which is a cool parallel to have. At the same time, I have to make sure the anthology is the best it can be, so I’ve invited twenty writers to vie for thirteen spots alongside the headliners.

ANTHONY: You mentioned that Silverberg gave you a reprint and I know there are a couple of others, but the plan is mostly for brand new stories, right?

BRYAN: Yes, Resnick, Kress and our fourth headliner all plan to write new stories. Resnick’s promised to use his African knowledge for it, in fact. Those Hugo winning stories are amongst my favorites of his. I have reprints from Silverberg, Jason Sanford, and Autumn Rachel Dryden, whose story, “Respite,” is one of the inspirations for this anthology. Hers and Jason’s appeared previously in early issues of IGMS and it’s a privilege to reintroduce them to people now.

ANTHONY: Like Space Battles, there wasn’t an open call for submissions. Is that going to be your modus operandi? Why not invite the public?

BRYAN: Space Battles wound up with a far more open call than this but I have novels to write and promote, freelance editing clients to please and 7 anthology projects in the works. I just can’t read that much slush and it’s hard to find someone whose sensibilities are identical enough that you can let them do it for you. I do invite new people with every project and I do look for people I’d like to work with and haven’t. But I have to face certain time limits realistically and so, at this time, an open call just doesn’t make sense. I’m not opposed to it in general though.

ANTHONY: Why Kickstarter as opposed to finding a publisher?

BRYAN: One, anthologies are a hard sale right now. Two, KS actually provides me a chance to use more up and coming writers. A publisher would want 10 headline names. Three, I get more creative freedom. Four, I can raise enough to pay far higher rates to artists and writers than a press would allow me, unless a big NY trade house came aboard, and I am still proving myself, so trusting me with a project like this, when they do so few, is a hard sell.

ANTHONY: How hard is putting a Kickstarter together?

BRYAN:  Not too bad but you do need to do your research. The hardest part is that being unemployed since May 2010 and surviving on freelance, I just don’t have much money for videos and promotion. But I found a woman who did a great video for $15 provided I did a voice over, gave her a concept and provided some images. And Mitch Bentley chipped in on cover mock ups as well as other artists. Plus the writers are allowing me to tease their stories to backers when we reach certain levels, so that will also be great to show people that we really will have not just variety but quality.

ANTHONY: Well, the headliner’s names kind of speak for themselves, right?

BRYAN: Yes, but even diehard fans may not love every story an author writes, and the new talent is a question mark for some. Sharing Jason and Autumn’s stories allows me to show stories from all three writing tiers.

ANTHONY: Very cool. Well, I’m going to write the best story I can in the hopes of making one of those open spots, but either way, I can’t wait to see it.

BRYAN: Thanks, me, too. I’m very excited. I loved the diversity I got from my writers for Space Battles, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do with this concept.

GIBSON TWIST, Author - Interview

Concluding Canada Week here, today we ramble on with Gibson Twist, the creator of one of my favorite webcomics, PICTURES OF YOU. POI is part coming-of-age story, part relationship drama, part college comedy, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Gibson Twist

Gibson Twist claims to be a fictional entity. In reality, he writes several other webcomics in addition to PICTURES OF YOU, and yet somehow manages to find time for his wife and his cat.

ANTHONY: Welcome to Rambling On, Gibson. How’s things?

GIBSON: Things are ridiculously good. It’s a bit shocking how good. I know it’s de rigueur for people to be unappreciated as they roll a rock uphill, but honestly, I’m riding one of those life-highs lately, and I’m not so much of a selfish asshole not to appreciate that. People love and support what I do, solid home life with someone who challenges and excites me. If it were cool to be happy, I’d be the Fonz over here.

ANTHONY: So tell me a little bit about the genesis of PICTURES OF YOU. Why this story, and these characters?

GIBSON: The first inklings of what would become Pictures of You began during a hangover. It was an earned hangover, I’ll say that. It came after a couple days spent with some old friends, most of us hadn’t seen or spent any time together in years, and we hadn’t all parted on the greatest terms, but all the water was under the bridge and we were enjoying each other and remembering good times, remembering why we liked each other in the first place. Someone tried to climb over the table and ended up in someone’s lap, then we were asked to leave. It was that kind of night.

While I was nursing my hangover with wine, white zinfandel to be exact, I started writing down a bunch of the more memorable times I’d spent with that group, and the others who couldn’t make it. It turned into sort of a project, to document it all. The more I wrote down, the more I realized how much I couldn’t remember, why people had done certain things, who was where when what was destroyed. There were also things that, out of context, made some of us look like bigger assholes than we were, and things where the context took too much time to explain.

I still wanted to tell the story, so I decided to fictionalize the whole thing, from the ground up. I threw everyone into a blender and started building characters, and shaped those characters to the story that began emerging, and as I grew to understand the characters, the story changed as well. They are compossible, as any good story/character realization should be, I suppose.

No one character is a depiction of a real person, but of the collection of them is meant to depict the spirit of the group of people that inspired the story. The story too is just a reflection of what happened in those years, fictionalized to make for a good soap opera.

ANTHONY: I get so caught up in the story that I occasionally forget you started this with a framing device, Peter looking back on the past. So do you have a planned end-point, and an idea of when you’re going to get to that point? Or is the series more open-ended?

GIBSON: The series has a definite end-point, and it’s where everything is going. I spent years drafting the plot, and despite a few variations here and there, the storyline is fairly well set. At the risk of a spoiler, the scene in the Prologue does get reached and even surpassed in the regular story.

ANTHONY: PICTURES is clearly your baby — you write it and you draw the majority of it. What’s your creative process like? Do you fully script before you start the art?

GIBSON: I like to have stories plotted quite deeply before I begin crafting the final product, but the length of Pictures of You didn’t really allow that as much as I’d like. The basic skeleton of the story is there, and I plot more deeply on each book before I sit down to script.

I script each book in full before I begin, with the exception of Book Three for which I’d done a large amount of art before scripting the entire volume. Oh, and Book Four’s final chapter is unfinished, but I know how it wraps up. I do rewrite a lot as I go, most chapters get at least a quick retouch before I begin penciling. Sometimes I’m revising pages as I’m drawing them, and it’s not uncommon for me to rework dialogue during the lettering process. If I have a process, and I might not, it’s to start with the big picture and refine details on an increasingly smaller level as I come to them.

I’m already working on the script to Book Five in my head.

ANTHONY: Once you start a page, what is that process like, from drafting through final art?

GIBSON: Well, the first thing I do when I start a page is to ignore it. I’m no good with blank pages, they are my enemy. Almost invariably, the next step is draw a lot of terrible things that I erase. That is followed by me putting on some music or video for background, and I pencil in probably finer detail than most. This is largely due to the fact that I’m not strong as an artist, and it’s still a struggle for me to produce lines I like. And of course the inks, which are strangely my favourite part of the art.

The pencils and finishes are done on actual paper with actual pencils and actual ink, which seems to be a dying process, especially among webcomickers. I will say I notice people of a certain age are more likely to use paper and ink while people under that certain age are more likely to use pixels. I’ll be honest, while I enjoy paper, I don’t work digitally because computers scare me, and I can’t figure out how make smooth lines with them.

I do colour and letter digitally, which is a fairly painless process, and I’m able to clean up ink blunders there as well, much more easily than with correction fluid or the like. More recently, I’ve been able to go back digitally and clean up let’s just call it bad art from earlier pages, and make them look nicer.

I think the only really interesting or unique thing that I do is that I flip the page around in circles as I draw, to get angles and curves and so on. And I only know this is unique because my wife looks at me weird whenever she sees me do it, and then she pretends it’s not weird. And what I’ve noticed since then is that I flip it clockwise. I couldn’t even begin to tell you why, and I’m pretty sure it’s better for me not to know.

Michelle Cutter

ANTHONY: What tools do you favor for drawing, coloring, etc.?

GIBSON: I draw on large board, specifically Strathmore 11×17 Comic Pages and I scream myself blue in the face begging people more talented than I to do the same. It allows me to draw bigger, with more space to work, and then reduce later. I have yet to meet the artist whose work doesn’t look better reduced. It pulls all the lines together and makes a lot of mistakes disappear. But yes, 11×17 paper.

I work with non-photo blue pencil leads. Currently, I’m using Uniball’s new “soft blue” mechanical 0.5 leads, which are a dream even if they break more easily and I go through them faster. Before that, I used Pentel’s blue leads, which worked but were not technically non-photo, and I had to scan lighter, which did no favours for the line quality. Before that, for years, I used Prismacolor Col-Erase NPB pencils. I got a great line from them, but was forever sharpening, sharpening, sharpening.

My inking has been done since day one with Koh-i-nor rapidographs and Black India ink (which is not india ink) for paper and film, which I adore. I’ve never been able to ink particularly well with anything else. Before Pictures of You, I tried working with disposable pens, which dried out too quickly or just didn’t give a nice line. I’m useless with brushes or brush pens.

Colours and letters are all done with GiMP, which is a free imaging program. I just can’t afford the big stuff, and I won’t use pirated software.

Would it be strange to admit I’m picky about my rulers? I use the clear plastic ones with the beveled edge. They let me see the page while I use them, and the bevel lets me ink straight lines. I hope someone out there finds that information useful because I feel like an amazing nerd talking about it.

ANTHONY: When PICTURES started out, it was black and white. What brought on the shift to full color, and how did that change your creative process if at all?

GIBSON: Colour came about after doing a little thank you/incentive thing, and I found I was a little better at it than I thought, and I was happy with how it turned out, so I tried colouring some older pages just for kicks, and I was pretty happy with that too. I knew comics with colour did better at drawing audiences, too, so there was also a bit of marketing involved in the decision.

My inking has become cleaner since switching to colour, which is a result of having to colour in all sorts of sloppy hatch marks and broken lines, and I think that’s also moved me into refining the lines that I make, and grow the quality of my pencils as well.

Truthfully, colour made me like the visuals of Pictures of You a lot more. I thought, and still think, it brought a new kind of life to it. I got a lot of static from people, purists, I guess, when I switched to colour, but the simple fact is that my numbers tripled within a few months after. So what are you gonna do about that?

ANTHONY: Between books you run “Snapshot” segments with other artists. How does that process work?

GIBSON: Pretty simply, I ask friends of mine who are fans of the comic, whose work I enjoy, if they want to do some pages for fun. I ask them what characters they’d like to draw and if they have any preference for subject or theme, then I write them a script based on that. I try to find a range of styles, from cartoony to manga, and in one case a photo comic from one of the few people I’ve seen do photo comics really well. It was serendipitous that he bore a striking resemblance to the main character.

It’s fun for me, because I really enjoy working with other artists and don’t get to do it enough. I hope they have fun too. It seems like they do, most of them. Maybe they’re too polite to tell me I’m horrible to work with.

We’re reducing the number of guest strips for next time to three or maybe four shorter pieces. Two artists have already signed on and I’m in love with both of their work. Number three is still a toss-up, mostly on whomever is first to say yes.

ANTHONY: PICTURES is divided into books, with the books divided into smaller arcs. Have you ever started an arc, or a book, and realized it was going someplace different from where you intended? I guess what I’m asking is the classic “have the characters ever taken over and moved the story in a different direction?”

GIBSON: This happened a number of times in Book Three, which might have been inevitable considering its length. Everything ends up more or less the way I intended. The important things, at least, but things happened in different orders, some things had to be scrapped. The relationship between Peter and Kara, for one, was supposed to play out differently, in different chronology, but as I wrote other things and other characters’ storylines, it made more sense to happen the way it has. There was supposed to be more with Devon and Melanie as well, but had to be truncated, and the Devon storyline was changed as a result.

I wouldn’t say it’s ever happened that a character speaks to me, but sometimes the plotted story doesn’t mesh with a character’s personality, and the writing changes to be more true to them. I’m not someone who believes characters speak, but act and react the way they should to what’s happening, and that’s not always the way I planned it. It’s the balance of telling the story you want to tell and representing fully realized characters in their own realistic fashion.

ANTHONY: Peter is clearly the narrator and focal point of the series. Other than him, I think my favorite characters are Andy, Melanie and Wylie (who I wish would get a “front burner” storyline, honestly). Overall, which characters have garnered the biggest response from readers? Who gets the most “fan mail?”

Wiley Ryan

GIBSON: Michelle is clearly the fan favourite. She seems to resonate with both the female readers for being strong yet vulnerable, and with male readers for being good looking and kicking ass. Kara gets a lot of love too, far more so now than in the first couple books when no one seemed to like her much. The most curious and divided reaction is to Mulligan, of course. Lots of hate, a fair amount of love, no one seems to be luke warm about him.

Patrick and Wiley are also up there, at least for the cooing that happens in the comments section. Wiley definitely comes to the forefront in the upcoming books. I get a lot of messages asking what happens to Wiley, there seems to be a consensus that something bad happens to him, but I try to tell people, something bad happens to all of them. Well, except one, but I’m not telling who.

I suspect reactions will change as the books go forward and different characters are brought to the front of the story. Sam and Lauren, for instance, will certainly be given more of their due in the next few books.

ANTHONY: PICTURES isn’t your only webcomic. Tell us about some of the other projects you’ve got going on.

GIBSON: Well, there’s Our Time in Eden with artist Ben Steeves that we’ve been working on for years. I started writing the novel on which it’s based in 1996, I adapted the comic script in 2004, and we started working on the art for the comic in 2006. It’s been incredibly rewarding working with Ben on it, he’s brought a vision to it I never could.

The only other project that’s in development with an artist attached at the moment is Little Earthquakes with Rori making the pictures. This is one we’ve been working on for a while as well, the first version of the plot hit paper in late 2008. I can’t say a lot about it, but it’s going to rival, perhaps surpass Our Time in Eden for darkness. We don’t have any kind of release date for this, as we’re going to shop it around before we post it as a webcomic.

I have a wide range of projects sitting on my Future Projects list, and I’ve been itching to do some more prose work in the near future. It’s hard to say which ones will get worked on first, depends on what artists want to work with me and take a shine to which projects.

There’ve been a couple false starts in the last couple years, projects I began working on with artists who, for one reason or another, had to bail. Which is cool. Finding a collaborator is never easy. They have other priorities, they lose interest in the story, they find other stories, life steps up and demands time. I keep at it, though, there are too many artists with whom I want to work to stop, and too many stories untold.

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?

GIBSON: Favourite book of all time? Comic or prose?

Prose, I’d have to say High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. Fantastic read, no one shouldn’t read this. It’s the purest insight I’ve read into the mind of men of a certain age, which is good for men because it’s a mirror into which they can nod, and for women because we’re not as simple as sitcoms would have you believe. The movie was very well done and I watch it often, but the book goes deeper and tells more story than a movie ever could. The irony is that every time I’m asked what my favourite book/comic/movie/album is, I reenact a scene from this book.

Comic, that’s a tough one. If I can include a whole series, Jaime Hernandez’s Love and Rockets would win the prize. Hugely influential on my work, and just enjoyable no matter how many times I read it. If I have to pick a single volume, though, I’d probably go with Jeff Smith’s Bone. It’s hard to choose, since there are so many fantastic books out there that don’t get enough time in the spotlight. Joe Sacco, Evan Dorkin, Eddie Campbell, Chris Thompson, Marjane Satrapi…they all make brilliant comics that I love every time I read them.

You can find Gibson on Twitter as @GibsonTwist.  In addition to PICTURES OF YOU, you can also find OUR TIME IN EDENon the net. Gibson also has a Kickstarter running at the moment to get PICTURES into print form finally. Take a look at it, and consider helping bring one of my favorite webcomics to bookstores.

THE BROTHERS DUBE, Singers - Interview

Continuing Canada Week, today I’m rambling on with The Brothers Dube. Liam, Jan and Quinn are not only a tight and accomplished power trio, they are also committed to charity work — helping to improve impoverished conditions in Haiti and raising awareness and funds for breast cancer research at home. In the short time I’ve known of them, they have moved high on the list of today’s young performers who impress me because they’re doing more than just performing. We chatted via email about their recent musical releases and charity work.

ANTHONY: From looking at your videos, it looks like you all play multiple instruments. So what do you each play, and who plays the most different instruments?

LIAM: bass, guitar, drums, piano

JAN: banjo, bass, guitar

QUINN: piano, mandolin, ukelale, drums

ANTHONY: You write your own music, clearly. What’s the songwriting process like? Is it always a collaboration between the three of you? Do you ever collaborate with anyone else?

JAN: We collaborate with each other, we usually come up with some riff, chords… the music… then we come up with the lyrics and melody. We collaborate with others as well, we’ve written with Valdy, the Odds, Shaun Verreault (from Wide Mouth Mason), North Easton (My Favorite Tragedy)… Mike Goyette, and our producer Kaylen Prescott (oh and dad!).

ANTHONY: I feel like I can hear some country influences in some of your songs (like “One”) and then on others there’s a very RUSH sound. Who are your major musical influences?

JAN:  The country influence comes from our liking of southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Big Sugar, Big Wreck… while the Rush stuff comes from our taste in prog rock like Floyd, Phish, Rush and Zappa…. But we also like straight up rock and roll like Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine.

LIAM: we hear from some people “in the music business” that “kids aren’t into rock anymore”… we think that’s not true. kids like whatever they like… if it sounds good to them, they like it… it’s not like music can be boxed anymore… so we think rock is as alive and well as any other kind of music…

ANTHONY: Let’s talk about my favorite song of yours, “One.” Tell us the story behind writing the song, and the message the song conveys.

JAN: The song was written with the goal of explaining how we believe that our Mom (Michèle) is still with us in a different form than physical “Cuz we are One” means you are still with us no matter what. It’s pretty deep, and we don’t often talk about it, but when we were young and she died… our dad told us something important. He asked us to think about a sugar cube, and all the ways we’d describe it… we thought of it being square, shiny, hard, white, rough… and then he asked us to imagine dropping it into a glass of water, and stirring it around, and then asked whether the same ways we described it before were any good… he helped us realize that even though the sugar cube as we KNEW it is gone, it’s still actually there, in a different way, and we can KNOW this, know that the sugar cube is ONE with the water, just like our mom is ONE with everything in the universe…. pretty deep maybe but that’s ONE for ya (just listen to the words)!

ANTHONY: You started performing to raise funds for cancer research, right? Which cancer charities do you support, and how can people help?

LIAM: Breast cancer… but then we saw orphans in Haiti and started helping them because they also lost a parent, and in some cases BOTH… we now raise funds for two causes Little Brothers and Sisters Orphanage Gena Heraty Fund, and the KANPE Foundation… we are now focused on getting into schools and showing kids that you can change the world through art or anything you are passionate about. We call it the ART-IVISTS SHINE SHOW and we want to bring it to a school near YOU.

ANTHONY: Tell us about your recent trip to Haiti and what you did while you were there.

LIAM: We went to Haiti to see where and how our funds were invested… and film a documentary on where kids there were living, what their lives were like, what they were doing.

ANTHONY: Your videos include a lot of concert footage. Do you tour a lot, and if you do, how do you balance the touring and school?

JAN: We share school time with touring and with the studio… we stay on top of our school work and get it out of the way as soon as we can and make sure we’re in good standing at school so that they can continue to support us (Ecole Secondaire Catholique Garneau TOTALLY supports us, it’s awesome!)

ANTHONY: Your videos also include a lot of hockey-playing. What’s everyone’s favorite positions to play?  And who is your favorite team?

LIAM: Defence, Buffalo Sabers

JAN:  Goalie, Ottawa Senators

QUINN: Right Wing, Montreal Habs

ANTHONY: What other sports do you guys enjoy playing?

JAN: Megastar (it’s our own invented game) / leftovers batting (we bat leftovers at the cottage) / street hockey / frisbee / soccer / easter egg hunting

ANTHONY: I have no idea what Megastar involves, but I’ll admit “leftovers batting” sounds like a lot of fun. Your newest song is “I Kinda Like It,” and I admit, I more than kinda like it! How fun was the video shoot?

QUINN: Burning stuff is always fun when you’re a kid… so that was ALOT of fun… we have other ideas for videos too that we’re working on… that was a perfect day…. started snowing those BIG PUFFY snowflakes and we ran for the equipment, set up (thanks to our busking experience) and just started shooting right away.

ANTHONY: Quinn, burning stuff can be fun as an adult too. There’s a reason I love campfires, and it’s not just the songs and ‘smores! “I Kinda Like It” came out in March. Any other new music on the way?

JAN: LOTS. Got a full album under construction… we’re taking our time and want to make sure that we’re happy with absolutely everything.

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

LIAM: The Making of Pink Floyd The Wall – you find out about all the things that were happening behind the scenes.

JAN: Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle – it will change your entire perspective of life.

QUINN: I can’t remember, it was a French book, and you should really read it if you need a book to read that is easy to summarize, for people that aren’t completely advanced like me.

ANTHONY: Thanks, boys! Looking forward to the new music!

You can follow each Dube brother, as well as the band as a whole, on Twitter: @liamdube  @jigdube  @QuinndubeDube   @brothersdube  You can also find them on Facebook  and at their own website.

Then of course there’s their Youtube channel, the most recent video posting being an acoustic version of “One” that I’m going to share right here: