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James Reilly is a writer, a film critic, and a graphic designer-slash-artist. Yes, he is a man of many talents. He founded (and runs) the popular horror film website Horrorview.com. And recently, James served as editor and copy designer for City Slab magazine.
James made a splash in Apex-land with his gritty alien-invasion story "The Tow." I put on my yellow CDC suit and braved the inner caverns of this madman's mind to bring you the following interview, that, incidentally, does a decent job showcasing just how twisted Mr. Reilly can be:
Q2) You mentioned to me once about a film where a bunch of kids raise a baby and teach it to do evil things. Remember what I'm talking about?
Q4) Which freaked you out more: JOSHUA, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, or vomit-gore?
I'm probably not the only person in the world who writes this way, but, for me, a story begins with an image, a chunk of dialogue, or a single sentence that I feel compelled to write down, and then I work from there. I never have any idea where anything I'm writing is headed, and, usually, the first draft is the final draft, meaning that I edit as I go along, so nothing is planned out in advance. With "The Tow", I had no idea that Lex was going to end up duct-taped to a mattress and force fed extraterrestrial semen; it just sort of happened. When I sat down to write the story, the only thing I knew was that I was going to write a story about a guy whose car had broken down in a rainstorm. There's just something about the sound of rain hitting the roof of a car that I find inherently creepy, so that's where I started. After that, the thing just sort of wrote itself. It was the same deal with the City Slab story, "Midnight at the Quick n' Save". It's about a group of people stuck in a convenience store on a very hot night. The first line of the story is something that hit me when I snuck out to get some ice cream at 2 in the morning on a brutally hot evening and found myself standing in a store with a group of people and wondering what each of their individual stories were. Then I started thinking about what it would be like to find myself trapped in there with them due to extreme circumstances. I had no clue as to what those circumstances would be until I was literally typing about the rapidly deteriorating man charging through the doors, followed by the unmarked vans and men in Hazmat suits. It all just falls into place (although not nearly as often as I like, or I'd have a lot more stories to send out for rejection).
Q6) Yuck, so in "The Tow" that stuff they fed Lex was extraterristial semen. I guess I knew all along but my mind didn't want to accept it. That story has taken on a new level of disgusting for me.
Well it's not exactly semen; in my head it was more of a fertilized egg/sperm combo, but several thousand of them. They're sort of in limbo inside of Lex's belly until he gets back to the city. I see it as there being hundreds of Lex's around the world, all harboring thousands of these little guys inside of them, waiting for "further instructions". While it certainly wasn't my intention when I started writing the story, "The Tow" ended up being something of an intimate look at an epic alien invasion. I'm not much of a Sci-Fi writer, but I wouldn't mind expanding on this particular story to see how the invasion plays out, or maybe look into how some of the other hosts were impregnated in other parts of the world. The way Bossy force-fed Lex the worms is just his personal method; I'm sure others would have their own equally disgusting ways of stuffing their particular "turkey".
Q7) Ah, I sense your next Apex story! So what's the best part of running a website like Horrorview.com?
A lot of good has come out of Horrorview. I've made loads of friends around the world, gotten to see hundreds of films I'd probably have missed out on otherwise, and, most importantly, it gives me a reason to write every day. While we're not nearly as popular as some of the huge genre sites out there, we do well enough, and tens of thousands of people enjoy what we do on a monthly basis, which is a huge reward in and of itself.
Q8) Okay, Jim, Jennifer Pelland confronts you in a dark alley holding pen and paper. Is that a blood baby she's holding or just an unformed twin growing from her belly...perhaps little sister? She challenges you to a writing duel. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?
Q9) So you would probably crouch into a fetal position and pass out from fear?
(Ed. Note: Yes, Mr. Reilly has written and seen published such a story...)
Q10) Okay, let's get back on course. You've been a big supporter and reader of Apex Digest since its earliest days. And I love you for that. You have any particular favorite Apex stories (other than "The Tow", of course)?
Funnily enough, I was going to comment on how Ms. Pelland's "Blood Baby" is one of the best stories I've read in Apex thus far. I really liked that one quite a bit as it was a refreshing blend of horror and fantasy, as well as a scathing bit of sociopolitical commentary on a woman's right to choose. As with the best transgressive fiction, Pelland flips that issue on its head, presenting us with a young woman who is told she cannot conceive because doing so would have great consequences on her and her people. Much like women in our society, Pelland's protagonist finds her rights challenged by outmoded beliefs and values, exposing the illusion of parity between the sexes.
Q11) Wow, thank you for the compliments! When you get between the pages of Apex Digest again, who would you love to be sharing the ToC with?
Q12) Hey, isn't that the guy that writes horror involving Baptist preachers, hillbillies, and aliens?
Yeah, but I think he also writes anthropomorphic erotica under the pen name Bun E. Beware!
Q13) See, this is why you're the perfect guy to be in the next featured writer anthology, GRATIA PLACENTI (translates to "For the sake of pleasing"). Exactly how gruesome will your contribution be?
Well, what I have in mind is a sort of cross between "Anne of Green Gables", Backdoor Sluts Vol. 16, and a documentary about making blood sausages.
Q14) What's the literary future have in store for James Reilly? Got any new fiction coming out soon?
Q15) Well, best of luck, and we look forward to your GRATIA PLACENTI contribution! And maybe another Apex Digest appearance someday.
Your lips to God's ears, baby! You folks are pretty picky, so it could be a long while before I get something that meets your crotchety editor's crazy demands, but I'll do my damndest, that's for certain. I just want to say I'm honored to be featured this month, and especially honored to be invited to take part in GRATIA PLACENTI, and I really hope the folks dig my contributions!
Adrienne Jones, our February Featured Writer took the best I had to give her and even gave back a little. Enjoy this brief look into the mysterious, the fabulous, Adrienne Jones...
1) It seems to this interviewer that you're woefully unknown. Tell our readers a little about yourself, including at least one dark secret.
Wow. Woefully unknown. I'm certainly glad my book sales don't share that opinion. I'll guess you're referring to a couple of things here; one being that I don't write a lot of short stories. While I enjoy the challenge of writing to a specific theme, I like to save my energy for what I truly love, which is novel writing, or novella length works. I've never really understood how people can kill themselves writing eighty thousand short stories, then claim to have no patience to write a novel.
The other thing is, my writing genre is extremely mixed, and tends to lean more toward science fiction or dark fantasy. While there are plenty of forums for fantasy geeks, they involve a lot less showboating and the readership is less visible (because they're all in their parents basements--just kidding.) I'm getting my 'name' out via the venues I feel will benefit me best in the long run. While having an online presence in the genre circles can be productive and fun, as a writer you have to choose the best target for your work. THE HOAX for instance has become popular in Christian Scifi circles, something I never intended, but you gotta roll where your readers are. They're what matters.My dark secret, you ask? I killed Bambi.
2) Don't know if you know this, but my interest in Adrienne Jones was sparked by a chance encounter with your blog. It's delightfully snarky, opinionated, and you do a good job of sounding intellectual without being an ass about it. You think I'm the only fan you've gained via your blog, or has it earned you a massive army of people jonesing for Jones?
Yes, my research for THE HOAX involved training in mass hypnosis, and you are all now under my power. Please bark like a dog.
The writing blog is just me being me, cutting through the bullshit and sharing a laugh. Most writers and artists don't have a lot of peers 'in real life', so having people to share these unique gripes with is great. It can be tough having a sense of humor in a world full of solemn dullards. Through the writing journals, I've met some of the funniest people I know, people that share my smirking view of the world. If other people enjoy my ramblings, I'm pleased.
3) From your blog, then to your website, and then I found it...a rather unassuming little chapbook titled TEMPLE OF COD. I bought a copy, and pushed through it in one night. Your writing style knocked me off my feet. Funny, irreverent, and you certainly knew how to crank up the horror. Naturally, from an Apex perspective this made me salivate. How did you go about finding a market for TEMPLE OF COD?
Thank you. TEMPLE OF COD has been the biggest surprise, since I sort of wrote it as a joke, but people are absolutely loving it. Novella markets are scarce, but I was lucky to have published my other novella Gypsies Stole my Tequila through Creative Guy Publishing. That was a good experience, so I queried Pete Allen about Cod. His response was “Unless you suddenly started sucking, I'm sure I want it.” And although after reading it he told someone he thinks I ate lead paint as a child, he did publish it and it's been very well received.
4) TEMPLE OF COD certainly has Lovecraft-qualities about it. You a fan of H.P.?
You know, although my fantasy geek colleagues always draw swords when I say this, I'm not a big Lovecraft fan. I've had a lot of people bring up Lovecraft in reference to TEMPLE OF COD, but despite the tentacles on 'Man Thing', I don't see any similarities. I do find him interesting as an early science fiction author. His grave is in Rhode Island, where I live, and I've been told college students dug it up recently and….dum dum DUM! There was no one in there. I think he may be secretly immortal and is comfortably enjoying his post mortem fame.
5) Your novel, THE HOAX, recently was published by Mundania Press. Was it a tough decision to go with a small press instead of slogging it through the bigger markets? Any regrets? Any positives?
I couldn't be happier with my choice to go with Mundania Press. There were so many 'almosts' with THE HOAX, and the ongoing snags of writing a 'cross-genre' novel in an industry that thrives on solid categorization. By opening themselves up to mixed genres, Mundania is publishing some of the greatest speculative fiction out there. I don't feel in anyway hindered that they're not one of the giants. Not only do they publish some of the top names in science fiction, they also have a drive and professionalism that I sense is really going to keep them on the map.
6) Having read THE HOAX, I can tell you that it was a big book. But I've read on your blog that you had cut tens of thousands of words from the original manuscript. Was this to be your War and Peace?
Seeing that I struggled getting my latest novel to half the word count of THE HOAX, I'm guessing it will stand as my only epic. I certainly honed my editing skills and cut my teeth on it. While I'm really enjoying my newer work, THE HOAX will always be my masterpiece. Fortunately, all that sweating and chiseling and carving paid off, and it's getting a nice fan base.
7) I do know that some people say THE HOAX reminds them of Mary Doria Russell's classic sf novel The Sparrow. While I don't see the similarity, do you?
The Sparrow comes up a lot. The first person to mention it was Gary K. Wolf, the author of the Roger Rabbit novels, who wrote me a blurb for THE HOAX. After reading it, he contacted me all passionate and adamant that I read The Sparrow. Then after THE HOAX was released, I got several more comments, insisting that I read this one book. I was panicked. I thought great, here I think I've stretched the bounds of originality, and now it turns out I'm channeling some best seller. I actually avoided reading this book and felt sick whenever someone brought it up. Then finally, a friend in Boston had a copy sent to me as a gift.
Lo and behold, it was nothing like THE HOAX in plot, but the style was similar to mine, and it's a definite mix of genres. There are also two characters that are similar; she has a tall red haired young Irishman from South Boston, who's friends with a dark skinned, rather unconventional priest. So do I. But to my relief, that's where the similarities end.
8) Although THE HOAX has plenty of lighter moments, over all, it's an extremely dark novel. Is this an interpretation of a greater personal view of life?
I don't think I have a dark view of life. Life can certainly BE dark, but you've got to have a sense of humor about it. In my fiction however, I like to take full advantage of the safeties being off in the holodeck. Everything intense and extreme and fantastic you can never experience in real life, you can live out on the page. And in light of that, why would you not want to take it as far as it can go?
9) Which writer from AEGRI SOMNIA would you like to challenge to a writing duel?
Any one that has the spine to go up against me in all my streamlined warrior omnipotence. Then maybe we can all go get a beer.
10) Other than GRATIA PLACENTI (the next Apex featured writer anthology), what's in store for Adrienne Jones?
I've got an anthology coming out from Mundania Press this July called Grimm and Grimmer, a mixed author collection I edited and contributed to. I've also got two new novels I'm tweaking and getting ready to sub, as well as working on a sequel to THE HOAX and writing two more segments for Temple of Cod. That, and trying to take over the world.
After playing an important part in those critical days of what type of fiction we truly wanted, and lending a steady, experienced hand to the editorial team, she decided to move on to focus on her on writing and other artistic pursuits. She's had fiction appear in the much hyped anthology Corpse Blossoms and most recently appeared in the popular new magazined GUD.
We're pleased to bring you this interview with our former comrade who now makes her mark on Apex by becoming a featured writer.
1) As many people know, you were once a senior editor for Apex Digest. Inquiring minds want to know...what have you been up to over the past year?
Mostly doing artwork. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, and have been a professional calligrapher for over twenty years, but I don't think I found my true voice and style until 2006. It's been a joy, all these new ideas popping into my head, and people are really enjoying my work. I've also gotten into photography. I'm an idiot when it comes to mechanical stuff, and could never figure out the manual settings on a camera no matter how many times I was shown, but auto settings and digital cameras are a godsend. I'm learning to look at the world through the eye of a lens, and it's a lot of fun. Not so sure it's fun to my family-- every trip we take, they have to wait for me because I tend to stop a lot and snap away.
2) "Chocolate Ex-Lax Cake and the Sucker Man" certainly ramps up the "ick" factor along with delivering a few chuckles. What madness inspired such madness?
3) Before your stint with Apex, you ran the popular e-zine Lost in the Dark. What is it about editing that keeps drawing into that side of the field?
4) As someone with plenty of past editorial experience, what's the one greatest writing tip you've came away with while reading submissions?
5) One of our most popular stories is your issue two contribution "An Odd Day in I-Forgot." I know you wrote a novelette based in the same world, but do you have any future plans to expand this world into a novel length work?
6) I'd call you a well-rounded artistic type, a crafty person, good with the pen in both writing and drawing. Tell us about some of your "art" successes.
7) How many times has somebody slapped you and said "Why the hell did you give up your post with Apex?" Come on, you can tell us...
8) There's hillbillies in your stories. Are you a hillbilly?
9) The ghost of Philip K. Dick walks up to you in a bar. Offers you a drink. What do you say?
10) Another interesting aspect of Athena Workman is your considerable cooking talents. Tell us some about the awards you have won.
11) Please, use this question to promote yourself the best you can. You have 30 seconds, GO!
And probably the most entertaining newsletter in the business. I'm serious, it's practically a quarterly magazine production.
Hope you enjoy our interview with this horror diva...
Jason Sizemore: For those reading this interview, what about you should we fear the most?
Okay, now I’ll admit that I write across genres – horror, mystery and romantic adventure, and in all three I have fun putting my characters in titillating situations.
JS: Fear and sex, they're an inseparable combination. What's some of your favorite examples of these two emotions in the written word?
DK: So many, but Clive Barker immediately comes to mind, especially his earlier works. And I’ve always been a fan of vampire fiction, which is highly erotic. Novels by Anne Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Poppy Z. Brite, and even Bram Stoker’s “
JS: Tell us about the books you’ve written.
DK: Only three so far, though I’m currently working on two others. In 1997, I finished my first novel, “Barbara Alice,” a supernatural mystery. However, due to my severe lack of confidence back then, I never even tried to get it published. I’ve posted it on my website as an e-book, and readers have given it good reviews.
In 2001 I wrote a romantic adventure called “Mason’s Will,” set mostly in 1993
And then there’s the mystery, “Up the
JS: The first time we met, you and I had a lengthy discussion about how fascinating your trip to the Louisville City Morgue was.
DK: I had to go to a dinner party after that tour and my clothes still smelled like decomposing flesh. Obviously, we’re both a creepy kind of cool. Everyone else I’ve told about that experience has called me “ghoulish.” You definitely understand me, Jason.
JS: You're buddies with some of the best writers in the horror genre, including a preacher who writes horror, and an angry man most certainly condemned to eternal damnation. So, if Maurice Broaddus and
DK: Hey, wait a minute.
Hehe. Just kidding, guys.
JS: What book has had the greatest influence on you as a horror writer?
DK: I was ten years old when I devoured Bram Stoker’s “
JS: You live in
DK: Actually, I haven’t, completely. I touched on the subject of horse racing in my first book, which takes place in
JS: What's the creepiest situation you've ever been (in terms of potential supernatural occurrences)?
DK: It happened at Waverly Hills, an abandoned tuberculosis sanatorium here in
I toured Waverly one afternoon during a spring thunderstorm. But some ghost hunter I am – I forgot to bring a flashlight along. Of course, I couldn’t say no when the tour guide offered to let me descend into The
On the right side of the 500 foot tunnel was a ramp used for the stretchers, and on the left was a flight of long steps, in sets of three, divided by short landings. Once I got about twenty feet down, things got so dark I had to lean against the cold, damp concrete wall and move slowly, counting the slippery steps so I wouldn’t fall. (1-2-3 – walk four more steps – 1-2-3.) I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it didn’t help much.
I was more than halfway to the end when I suddenly stepped on something that was covering part of a step, something big and squishy-feeling. It caused me to lose my balance and I let out an involuntary shriek. I managed to throw myself against the wall instead of falling forward.
Immediately afterwards, I heard a soft, reassuring female voice whisper in my right ear.
“It’s okay,” said the woman.
I froze for a moment, and then turned around. No one was there.
JB: If the character "
DK: God, that really would be a horror flick! I would have to choose a redhead, and the first person that comes to mind is Alyson Hannigan of “Buffy” and “American Pie” fame.
“This one time, at the City Morgue…”
KC: Why did you choose to write your current series of novels from a female POV?
KC: Do you have any help with getting the details of the feminine POV right?
KC: What kind of research do you do for each book?
KC: One of my favorite characters from the Jack Daniels series is one that I rarely get to see, though he features as the protagonist of "Suffer" -- Phineas Troutt. Will we see more of Phin in future novels?
JK: Thanks! Phin has been in Whiskey Sour, Rusty Nail, and will play a large role in Fuzzy Navel (June 2008.) He may be in later books as well, but he keeps demanding more money, and is difficult to work with.
KC: Can we expect to see more short stories about him?
KC: Phin is a new slant on the anti-hero -- what prompted you to create him?
KC: In addition to your Jack Daniels police procedural mysteries, you also write a fair amount of horror, including your short story, "Symbios," which appeared in Apex's Issue 6. Even your mysteries have a generous splash of graphic horror to them, with their emphasis on serial killers. Which genre are you more drawn to?
KC: Do you plan on writing a "straight" horror novel sometime in the foreseeable future? If so, can you tell us about that?
JK: I'm working on a stand alone horror novel right now, but I have to keep it hush hush. Suffice to say, it's about a possessed car that kills people.
KC: In "Symbios." you detail the degeneration of a human being from an average Joe to a ruthless cannibal. In "Suffer," you examine the realm of sadistic sexual torture and murder. Why are your monsters all human?
KC: What scares you?
KC: Back to the real world now, your blog is arguably the most helpful site in the blogosphere for aspiring and beginning writers trying to learn the ropes. What prompted you to reach out to struggling writers?
KC: Who are you reading right now (blogs or books)?
KC: When's your next novel coming out, and can you give us a sketch of the story?
KC: What other projects do you have on the burners, and where can we find more of your short fiction?
JK: I've got lots of things I'm working on, probably. I'd tell you about them, but I have to get on the Internet right now to, um, research some things.
