Questions and Answers Who (Fact or Fiction) would you most like to meet, and what would you ask them? Without question, I would like to meet Stephen King. He was the first horror author I have ever read and still remains my favorite. He is so incredibly prolific, so engaging. I have always found his talent amazing. I'd love to sit with him for a while and listen to him spin a yarn. As for what I might ask him, gee, what wouldn't I ask is the better question! As a reader, do you prefer Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror? I am an avid Horror fan. I rarely read Science Fiction or Fantasy. I enjoy the sense of the surreal, the psychology of fear. I think that is why I chose to focus on Horror fiction more so than standard drama and/or poetry, both of which I have written in the past. The element of fear is a powerful tool, and I enjoy both using it and having it used on me in a good tale. There is a difference, however, between fear and gore, at least in my opinion. Not everything that is frightening in a book includes gore and bloodletting. I think that for far too long those two elements were tied together. I applaud authors who separate the two, make them living things independent of each other. That's the kind of horror I enjoy reading and writing. What was your first professional sale? How did it feel? My first professional sale was a poetry sale in the late 1990s with an outfit that has since gone out of business. Romance poetry, no less. The furthest thing from my current writings as you can get (though, that's up for debate!). I was elated when I received the notice in the mail that I had been accepted and that a contract would be forthcoming! It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It's one thing to have your family and friends tell you they like something you've written, but another thing entirely when a stranger, a person in the business of choosing prose for publication in a print medium, to tell you they like it. It's validating. You can't help but hold your head a little higher than you had before you opened your mail. I still get the same feeling every time I receive an acceptance. Who is your favourite author? Stephen King. I've read almost everything he's published – own it all, but haven't gotten through it all. Working on his latest release now, when I find time to read. If you could give one piece of advice to a would-be author, what would it be? I would tell a new author to keep writing. No matter what happens, keep going for it. Rejections will come – more than you ever thought you would get. But you can't let them get you down. Take them in stride. If there are suggestions given, consider them. Revisit your work and revamp it. Then sub out again. Never stop trying. When did you first decide you wanted to be an author? I have been writing since I was nine years old but I don't think I really considered being an author – a published author – until much later. After stopping and starting on work throughout my teens, I fell in love and wrote my first poem in 1994. It was published in my college newspaper in 1995. Seeing my work in print sparked something inside me. I always knew I wanted to write and do "something" with it, but it wasn't until then that I realized that something was publishing. After a while of climbing the corporate ladder and dedicating all of my time to that, I decided not to let my dream of being published wait any longer. I wrote my novel CRESCENDO in three months and inked a deal to publish it within six. Do you have a favourite place to write? No. I will write anywhere and everywhere, and have. I have written while on the beach in the Caribbean, in the lobby of a hotel, at a bar, in a bathroom, in my car on the side of the road, at a friend's house during a get together. I don't always write long passages in these places, but I certainly jot down an idea, flesh it out a bit, and decide if it's worth keeping. My husband has gotten used to me stopping what I'm doing and jotting down a bit – sometimes right in the middle of a conversation! When it comes time to write a chapter or two I am usually in the office and it is usually 12:30 a.m. If I have a favorite time to write, it is the wee hours of the morning. Why do you like SF/F/H? I like horror because it give me a release, both when writing it and reading it. As a reader, you can enter a new world, one that is completely foreign to you, and discover new things. The people you meet there, the antiques, the décor, the nip of the wind; these are all things you can take away with you, that you can allow yourself to be engrossed in. It's like watching a movie, except you feel you're actually on the set rather than watching the movie on a big screen. As a writer, I enjoy meeting the characters that my mind dreams up. I love to see what new places my mind puts together, the neighborhood street with its abandoned houses, the family mobile home with its odd uncle in tow – I am surprised every time. To finish a book is to say goodbye to the folks you've met there. It should be a moving experience, if the work was good, that is! Have you ever used real life horrors for inspiration? Certainly! I am terrified of spiders. One day, I got in my car and there was one, looking out at me from the air vent! I felt like I was paralyzed and all I could do was stare back at the hideous thing (sorry, to the spider lovers out there!). At that moment I decided to write a story about my experience… if I ever got out of the car! Hence the story 'A NICE, SUNNY DAY' in my collection titled CALIGINY. I'm getting the creeps just thinking about it! Is there anything more that can be done with vampires, demons, and zombies? Of course! There's always more! I am particularly fond of vampires. In fact, my second novel is about a vampire of African descent. The story travels the world over, leaving Togo, West Africa and stopping in London, St. Maarten (an island in the Caribbean), and New York in the 1930s. It's unlike your typical vampire story of blood sucking and underworlds, and that's what I think writers will need to focus on if they are going to revisit those time-tested themes. There's a wonderful mystery surrounding vampires and werewolves: the immortals. I would love to see a romance between the two – that might be an incredibly interesting union! And demons – never underestimate their power! Possession, poltergeists – how could anyone ever tire of that kind of fiction? Short story, single novel, novel series – which do you think is the best medium for horror? I don't think there is a "best medium" for horror. I think that all three that you mentioned have their place. I know some people who are only interested in short stories- it certainly is a great way to flesh out an idea without adding filler to meet a word count. Single novels can be particularly effective for the writer whose ideas and/or style rarely mirror previous work. It allows the author to delve into different topics/ideas with every book. Novel series, though, creates name and character recognition. I think all three work well. Do you always know a story's ending when you begin writing? Yes and no. I know what, ultimately, will happen. But I'm not always sure how I'll get there. Or which of my characters will do it, for that matter. I usually write out the ending first. That piece gets changed at least three times before all is said and done! Knowing the ending gives me the "why". When I consider a story idea I first need to know why a character would do X. If I can't come up with even an obscure reason, I put the idea aside. I've got a couple of ideas looking for their "why" right now! Plug away – what do you have coming out? My first novel, a psychological horror titled Crescendo, will be released on November 2, 2003 by PublishAmerica! It will be available online and through brick and mortar stores. You can read an excerpt and check out the reviews at www.lmariewood.com. I just got a deal with Cyber-Pulp to publish my short story collection Caliginy. It's a collection of thirty-five short stories centered around the surreal. That will hit stores in early 2004. The first three of six anthologies that I edited will be released in early 2004 by Cyber-Pulp: Be Mine, Carnival of Horror, and Hauntings. I will have guidelines for part two of Be Mine and two others toward the end of 2003. I am finishing my second novel called The Promise Keeper. Keep your eye out for that one! To keep updated on what I'm doing, sign up for my newsletter at www.lmariewood.com/newsletter.htm. Many Thanks, Lisa Relevant Links L. Marie Wood Main Bibliography L. Marie Wood's Website