Believe it or not, this is the final post about the closing stories in “The Living Dead” anthology, something I didn’t believe I would get to, considering how often I forgot to read the anthology. This is the problem with electronic versions of books. The icon always fades in comparison to the Mozilla Firefox short cut. With no further ado, let’s finally wrap this up.
“Passion Play” by Nancy Holder: When you read about zombies, at least I would like to believe; your thoughts point towards the apocalypse and then more or less to good old fateful Bible and the Second Coming. But zombie stories are usually either psychological or survival horror or just plain weird and religion gets elbowed away by primal instincts. Thank you Miss Holder for your author intervention and showing some zombie turmoil in the hearts of clergy men. This story isn’t gruesome, well not most of the time, but explores the gruesome nature of humans and the hypocrisy of the church. In a nutshell the German Father Meyer has to witness the sacrilege of the Christian principles and human morals all for praising the glory and greatness of God by enacting the Passions of Christ using a zombie and crucifying it. The reason is to keep the small village of Oberammergau protected from the new plague aka zombies, an old tradition that worked like a charm back with the great plague. What bothers the crap out of me is that every clergy man is okay with the idea of torturing a former living being for two reasons: 1) the holy Church has gone through a transformation to accommodate itself with the new reality and 2) everybody in showbiz does it and why not, when all humane organizations claim that zombies are not really people. The subtle notion that Christianity in all its forms just adapts to whatever comes and in the process swallows everything its path just so that it remains number one in the Religion Top Five Chart List is impressively displayed with a very morbid and uncomfortable experience for the reader. Best part about this story is that everybody get what they deserve aka die miserably.
“Almost the Last Story by Almost the Last Man” by Scott Edelman: I rather enjoyed this story, because it indulges in one of my guilty pleasures and namely the stream-of-consciousness gig, but as with all things guilty, when you kick it into excess it sours the whole experience. Basically we have an author, who is caught in the library, when the zombie apocalypse strikes and he works out his stress by depicting various unfortunate and a little eccentric people, dying in often bizarre ways or handling the situation in an interesting manner. Prose is amusing enough to keep you going, but the self conscious narration and often self correction can affect the nerves of the readers as it happened with me. In its essence the story is more or less a scrapbook of thoughts about zombies, survival, life and vignettes that bring the point. Even as I list all these things that bugged me I also would like to point out that they are more or less dictated by my own taste rather than the skill of Mister Edelman, who has done a formidable job at this genre and wins my overall thumbs-up for the great concept.
“How the Day Runs Down” by John Langan: I find this the perfect closing story for the anthology once I got to the ending, but the sad part was that I had to skip the second half to satisfy my curiosity. Much like “Almost the Last Story by the Almost Last Man” this is a series of monologues and dialogues about zombies spreading through the world and killing people off. However what tired me and killed my interest was the format. I just don’t like screenplays and the theatre and this story was morphed to be a performance in a theatre, depicted word by word with the audience and stage effects and the typical typed lines with no description fitted. This just turns me off from even the greatest ideas, a reason I also didn’t enjoy Faust as well [though it had that verse thing as well to make me go crazy].
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Artist Corner: Sandara
The Artist Corner comes and offers you, the readers, another interesting experience in the world of art. As you will notice the high quality of the art featured here speaks as plentiful as the artist does for herself. This week we have an enigma, who would like to remain simply known by the art pseudonym Sandara. In the same spirit of remaining mysterious this person says little, but enough. With no further ado here is what I managed out of Sandara:
Harry Markov: Hello and thank you for accepting my invitation. It is a real pleasure having you here in my virtual chair. Let’s start with the simple and basic questions. What was your first encounter with art and how did you decide you would become an artist?
Sandara: Hi there!
I was drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, I guess. I’ve always loved drawing since I was a kid. But I didn’t take up drawing professionally until very much later. In fact, only when I was in my early twenties. It was a profession my parents frowned on, since it was relatively unheard of, in my country, back in those days (the 90s, lol). They thought I wouldn’t be able to make a living from it.
HM: Another tradition with the “Artist Corner” is to say something about yourself. Who is Sandara and why did you chose this interesting sounding username for your DA profile?
S: Well, my username… I’ve been using it almost since I first got on the internet. It’s actually from the Final Fantasy games, which I love. There’s a spell in that game, the bolt1, 2, 3 spells, in romaji, it’s written as sandaa, sandara and sandaga. I just picked the middle one because it sounded nice. In fact, everyone calls me by Sandara in real life now. Hardly anyone uses my real name.
HM: Who are the artists that inspired and influenced you the most?
S: I wouldn’t say there was any one particular artist, or rather, too many to name! But I particularly like Thierry Doizon and Jeff Simpson, their kind of style. Actually, DA is very inspiring as a whole. I spend a lot of time surfing around it and looking at all the great art there.
HM: Your work is diverse and stretches through the different fantasy nuances from dragons to characters to macabre and even some anthropomorphic. How do you feed such an active imagination and where does your inspiration come from?
S: I get asked this a lot… but I can’t really pinpoint my inspiration…sometimes it’s from books, music, or from something I saw online, sometimes when I’m taking a shower and zoning out. All sorts of things.
HM: What attracts you to fantasy? Different people find something entirely unique for themselves and I always like hearing a new answer on the subject.
S: It’s attractive because I can always create something new. Since it’s fantasy, you can draw whatever you like, your own world, your own creatures. Also, fantasy is more organic… I’m bad at doing sci-fi, robots and such
HM: It would seem that you are a fan of dragons and are quite adept at portraying them. You must have had a lot of practice. Where does the love for dragons come from?
S: I’m not sure, really. I’ve loved dragons ever since young. There’s just something very appealing about these huge, majestic, magical creatures.
HM: What’s the hardest part in drawing a dragon? Perhaps you can give out a small advice to anyone new to drawing this magical beast.
S: Well, for aspiring dragon artists… it’s most important to get the anatomy of your dragon right. It’s an imaginary creature, but for it to look believable, it’s got to look right. The other decorative stuff like the horns, patterns etc, can be added on later.
HM: Just to keep on the same trail of thought is there anything that you and other people haven’t experimented with dragons?
S: I doubt it. I’ve seen all sorts of dragons on the net. If you can think of it, there’s probably an image of it online somewhere. And that applies to anything, not just dragons, lol
HM: The most remarkable aspect of your work style is that despite seeming digital all your work seems to imitate traditional brush techniques. What’s the secret? Is it both or do you just get this effect from Photoshop?
S: It’s the custom brushes you can make in Photoshop, or if you use Painter. I used to work traditionally in watercolors, so I like my digital works to look a bit traditional as well.
HM: Another completely customary question would be about your work process. How much does it usually take to complete a piece from start to finish and what’s your way of doing things?
S: The average is about 8 hours. I start with a sketch, either in pencil and scanned, or drawn directly in Photoshop. I paint the flat colors on it, plus the rough lightings and shadows and the rest of the time is spent cleaning it up and detailing.
I like to concentrate on one art at a time. It’s terrible when I have to divide my attention between several artworks at once. I completely lose the flow of the artwork when that happens.
HM: Not a small number of pieces in your gallery are tied with Blizzard’s World of Warcraft games series. Are you an avid gamer and what character you play?
S: I used to be addicted to WoW, and played it every day. But due to work and other commitments, I’ve had to cut down, and recently I have stopped playing completely. Maybe when I have more time in the future, I’ll get back to it. My main is a warlock, and I have a deathknight alt. Both are male blood elves. They’re the only race (other than tauren) that I will play.
HM: At the same time what’s your opinion on fan art. A lot of people bash it the same way they bash fan fiction and anything else that uses an established brand and has been done by other people than the company. What does fan art give you apart from a great practice?
S: I love fan art and fan fiction and whatever fan tributes there are. It’s a way of showing our love of a particular game or book or manga, etc. I just do fanart because I like that particular character so much… it makes me very happy to draw them.
HM: With such a high level of skill you ought to have found some kind of professional outlet that pays the bills. Of course I may be wrong and in that case blame all the companies searching for an artist blind for not seeing your work. But you are the one who can say something on the subject. Are you one of the lucky ones living off their work?
S: Yes, well, luckily for me, I managed to find a job that pays me for drawing all day long.
HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. What can we expect?
S: I’m working in a Taiwanese game company, and our first MMO is going to launch soon… but I can’t really say much about it right now.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
"Reviewer Time" Guest: Mihai and "Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews"
The “Reviewer Time” wagon makes another stop this week and this Sunday we have another all time favorite for readers and bloggers alike: “Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviewers”. If you stay long enough on the whole blog-reviewer scene it would be hard to miss Mihai, who is linked to virtually every fantasy review blogs and his user name Dark Wolf appears quite frequently in the comment sections [hopefully mine too after awhile]. It’s impressive that he managed to get the word of his site around for just about a year with his first post being in March, 2008, but this is our Mihai, always driven and always everywhere and producing.
“Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviewers” is not fashionable. The layout is simplistic, white and not flashy at all, which is a sort of in the grey zone quality. From one side it leaves the quality of what he posts speak for itself; grab the readers’ attention, but a fast browsing random person [who more or less might need a hook for the eye] might judge the site by its layout pretty much the same way a person judges a book by its cover. But a blog is not all about the colors and right here Mihai displays a well rounded and diversified array of blog posts even though the center is traditional fantasy.
Review-wise I am not exactly comfortable to judge, since I have a different perceptive of how a review should go down. What I find positive is that Mihai manages to keep his reviews short and yet informative, also balancing what he thought of the book through his personal point of view and also as a critic. His reviews are perfect for the busy individual, who wants to know something quick about a book enough to buy it and yet they arouse curiosity that is left unsatisfied. I have been on both ends of this spectrum, so I know what I am talking about.
Above all the most important quality is that Mihai keeps his reviews honest about what he likes and doesn’t like and doesn’t fall into complex explanations why, how and etcetra [a flaw I sometimes am guilty of]. Also don’t be afraid to comment with the thought that your comments will be left without response, since Mihai is incredibly friendly and is always ready to help. He really did help me out back in the beginning, when I was green and did most of things wrong from my perspective.
Besides the reviews there is much more for the reader to expect from “Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviewers” like the occasional giveaways, information about awards and other news in the pub business. We both have been having conversations about fantasy art and interviewing artists and chronologically he did start his own feature with artist interviews, who are always impressive and strong. For fans of fantasy art, who are curious about the work process and also about the artists themselves will fall in love with Mihai’s interviews. As an extra art bonus you can find art previews and ‘In the Mailbox’ specials, which usually make me and I think every book addict green with jealousy.
There is basically no reason not to visit “Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews”. So just do it now.
___
Harry Markov: Since we know so little about the people behind the reviews, let’s start with some personal questions. Who are you in your real life and how does one typical day look like for you?
Mihai Adascalitei: My name is Mihai Adascalitei and I am 31 years old. My greatest passion is literature, but I do enjoy art and photography too. I’ve studied Economics, but at my work I’m not doing only this. My usual day is spent mostly at work, but I have time for reading and hobbies. Usually I read at breakfast a little, at lunch break I deal with the blogging and in the evening it depends.
HM: Tell us three things that people would probably never ever guess about you.
MA: I don’t know what to say, I don’t consider myself such a mystery.
HM: How did you start your blog?
MA: Well, first of all I discovered the blogs as a reader. I started with Robert’s Fantasy Book Critic and Chris’ The Book Swede. But not only these two, there were others too. After about 6 months I tried to write a review for a book and I liked it. And when a publishing house offered reduced titles for reviews I tried that. My review was published on their blog and that was the catalyser. And with the initial advices and help from Robert and Chris I’ve started my blog
HM: How did you choose your name and your genres?
MA: When I started reading I was attracted by these genres, although Fantasy and Horror titles were hard to find and the Sci-Fi were pretty scarce. Anyway, after the December 1989 Revolution the market of books became free also. And I discovered the works of Stephen King and “The Lord of the Rings”. I enjoyed these ones so much, that it became obvious that they were my favorite genres.
As for the name, I used to play a lot of computer games (I still am when I have the time) and the majority of them asked for a screen name. That screen name was Dark Wolf, a nickname born from my love for wolves and dogs and for a particular Dark Elf ;)
HM: Was it easy to start, was it easy to supply enough books and how were you received at first?
MA: It wasn’t hard at all. The books were easy to find in my personal library, which is growing every day. And I believe that I was received pretty well, because I made a lot of friends after starting my blog.
HM: What’s your approach to writing reviews, your signature so to say that makes you different from all the others? Can you give a tip or share something you do to make it easier?
MA: I try to be honest in all my reviews, because otherwise I believe I will full myself and the author. I would not praise a novel if I don’t like it. When I write a review I try to point to the things I liked and focus on the positive aspects, but I will not neglect those I don’t like either. Still I try not to be rude, because I know that the authors put a lot of work in their novels. They deserve an honest opinion, but not an offending one.
HM: What’s your reading schedule? I see how many books you review in so little time. How do you arrange your day to find time to read and review as fast?
MA: I am not a fast reader, but I try to read as much as I can. I almost always have a book with me and if the time allows it I will read it. When I was in college the time permitted more reading, I wish I have that time now, but I’m not complaining.
HM: In retrospect, have you ever done a negative review and how did you handle the situation? Every once in a while a book comes that doesn’t agree with a reviewer and there was a heated discussion revolving around negative reviews and what comes afterwards. Was there any fear of ruining your relationship with publishers?
MA: I’ve done negative reviews. And in the majority of the cases the authors were very nice and understanding. I felt sorry a little after talking with them, but like I said before it wouldn’t be fair for me or for them if I write a positive review only because of this.
If someday one of my reviews will be very different from others I will not change my opinion. I consider that the review must reflect the opinions of the reader and we can’t be all the same. And even the greatest writers don’t have only fans.
As for the relationship with the publishers, it is true that sometimes I have a doubt in my mind when it comes to negative reviews. But until now that didn’t affect my relationship with the publishers. And hypothetical speaking if a publisher will demand a positive review for a book than is better not to send that book, because I will not do that.
HM: Now, how do you think you and your blog have grown from your first post up until now? Did the formula ever change and can you describe the path of your evolution?
MA: First of all, after starting my blog I learned many new things and I learned them about the things I like best, Fantasy literature and Fantasy art, so I grew as a person. And with the help of my blog I made new wonderful friends and I met a lot of nice people. Also I am still amazed and happy when an author or artist answers my mails and agrees for interviews. I don’t exactly know the evolution of my blog, but I hope that it’s because those who read it like what they find there. And I want to thank them for reading it
HM: So as we know some bloggers that review books and know enough about literature, have writing aspirations. Do you want to stand on the other side of the business?
MA: No, I don’t have writing aspirations. But I will certainly like to work in the publishing process.
HM: Whose your favorite author and why? And who is the author you will never ever read a book from and why?
MA: Well, they are so many and for so many different reasons that is very difficult to pick one in particular Too many, honestly, but to name a few Stephen King, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, Henryk Sienkiewicz, F.M. Dostoievski, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Dean Koontz, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Arturo Perez-Reverte and so on.
And there is no author I wouldn’t read. If I have a novel by a new author or with only negative opinions about him I would still like to read at least one of his works, because I like to have my own opinion about him.
HM: What are the clichés in what you read on a regular basis?
MA: Oh, there are quite a few. But I try to ignore them or to take the best of them. If only those clichés are too obvious I’m having a problem.
HM: Is there a tendency for these clichés to resolve?
MA: Well, I don’t think there is an actual solution. The main one it will be the originality, but now it is very hard to come up with something completely new and unheard before.
HM: What motivates you to go outside just book reviews and host interviews with fantasy artists? It’s a very good move, which I myself have been thinking of.
MA: The motivation is simple. I always loved art, I grew up in a house of artists, my mother is an amateur painter and my father is a drawing teacher. So I was surrounded by art since my early days. This is the main reason. For the second I like to spice my blog a little and add an original and personal touch. That’s why I like to make posts about Fantasy art.
HM: Do you think there are still areas fantasy has slipped that you would like to cover in other mediums? And how far do you think the fantasy/sci-fi culture will enter our own culture?
MA: I believe that these genres are a constant presence in our lives. Everybody dreams or has a dream, so fantasy plays a part of our lives. I know that Fantasy genre is denied and seen as without much value, but I believe that is because some people just forgot to dream.
HM: I am not sure what a closing question sounds like at this topic, so you are free to say some closing words on your own regarding reviewing.
MA: I love reviewing books and as long as I would have fun doing it I will do it. I hope that those reading them like them. They are another reason which makes blogging so pleasant. So I want to thank them very much
Thank you very much for this interview, Harry.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Artist Corner: Cari Corene
After a not so brief vacation, your art channel feature “The Artists Corner” returns with a brand new interview for you to enjoy. This Friday we have a very energetic bundle of creativity on my virtual chair. Please welcome the immensely talkative and fun Cari Corene [DA/LJ blog] , who is going to document all her secrets and opinions about art, fantasy and comics. Sit back and hold tight, because it’s going to be rollercoaster ride.
Harry Markov: Hello and thank you for accepting my invitation. It is a real pleasure having you here in my virtual chair. Let’s start with the simple and basic questions. What was your first encounter with art and how did you decide you would become an artist?
Cari Corene: My first encounter with art made me decide to NEVER be an artist. XD I distinctly recall it being a kindergarten assignment ... we would get these sheets, one for each letter of the alphabet. One would write the letter over and over and over again, and then the sheet had an animal on it whose name started with the letter and one would color it. Well .... I never had the patience for that coloring yuck. Other children did, they would color theirs beautifully, and the best were posted on a bulletin board ... From a young age, I've just had a very sophisticated sense of what is and isn't stupid. ANYWAY, Page F came. By this time, I had suffered much ridicule due to my badly colored animals [you see, coloring animals fell under my category of "stupid"]. This page came with a frog. I colored that frog RAINBOW PINK, MAGENTA, AND ORANGE, and then I colored the rest of my worksheet and my letters similarly wild colors. That worksheet made the billboard.
After that, I decided I never wanted to draw or color again. [famous last words.]
A few years later, I discovered my calling in life - drawing doggies with wings. [The long version of this is actually that my family and I moved from Alaska to WA state, I had no friends, I read piles and PILES of books, which eventually ignited a very small creative spark which prompted me to draw. I eventually made friends who were intensely into drawing cat princesses, my creative spark was further fueled by this.]
It wasn't until junior year of high school [age 16ish] that I spontaneously quit sports, quit math, quit choir, and proceeded to do nothing but art in an effort to prepare myself for a bachelor's degree in art. [Previously I had thought of doing nothing but being a pilot like my father and sister.]
HM: Another tradition with the “Artist Corner” is to say something about yourself. Who is blix-it and why did you chose this interesting sounding username for your DA profile?
CC: 'blix' is a misspelling of the German word "blitz" ... at age 13 or so, spelling correctly fell under my category of "stupid". It still does.
the "-it" at the end of my name refers to cheese-its, the best snack ever ... I was eating some at the time I created my deviantart account.
Beyond that, blix isn't a character of mine. Blix, and variations on blix, have always been what I've used online to refer to myself.
HM: Who are the artists that inspired and influenced you the most?
CC: When I was very young, I was oblivious to other artists. Reading is what I was most interested in. Around age 9, I started getting into some heavy reading material. Jack London was my favorite. [But now children are being raised on Twighlight..... ah .... I can only hope children enjoy reading after such an introduction and proceed onward to written words of true worth] I also liked Walt Morrey and Phillip Pullman.
My mother was a teacher, she owned a lot of picture books. I remember them very clearly as well. My favorite authors/illustrators were Paul Goble, the San Souci brothers, and Stan and Jan Berenstein.
Later, age 13ish, one of my friends started buying Sailor Moon comics .... I borrowed them from her, and you can somewhat imagine what happened from there. At the same time, my family finally got a second hand computer which exposed me to the internet and so many incredible internet artists. I also started listening to music on the radio about that time. [Those were the premier years of Ms. Spears and the boy bands.]
HM: Your work is diverse and ranges from fantasy, portraits, to posters and usually surrealistic. How do you feed such an active imagination and where does your inspiration come from?
CC: Most of my inspiration comes from nature. For as much time as I spend at my computer, I do go out every day. Now that I'm somewhat older [22], I can look back and see how my childhood has shaped my current self. I've spent so much time outside in solitary pursuits, that even now, living the city life, I still get my inspiration from going outside and looking at stuff. I'll be wandering around, thinking of what I might like to draw ... my inspiration for Toilet Genie [discussed later] first came from a wandering through desert hills as I pondered things I want to draw. The thought, very clear and concise, crossed my mind: "I want to draw a toilet." A
lmost exactly a year later, the story has morphed into a genie in a toilet.
Inspiration for art and solitude / physical exercise may seem sort of unrelated, but for me, they're very related. Also, simply going outside and seeing things is the source of all color inspiration. People often remark on my coloring. I cannot say how I do it. I think I've just seen so much nature that it now comes naturally. Since I was very young, I've practiced taking pictures with my mind. It was something my father told me to do when I kept asking for a camera. A filled memory is all kinds of inspiration.
HM: What attracts you to the out-of-the-ordinary and that doesn’t necessarily include fantasy? Different people find something entirely unique for themselves and I always like hearing a new answer on the subject.
CC: I think maybe ... my main interest in story telling is ... writing about learning to live with living. I like out of the ordinary characters because a normal situation that occurs in a normal person's life can also be incredibly out of the ordinary if the character his or herself is out of the ordinary. Using Toilet Genie as an example again, since it's on my mind [erg. I need to draw another page for it right now! XD] there is a basic problem that we all encounter. We tie ourselves up, put ourselves in our own little prisons, too afraid to change for the better or let go of lost things. It keeps us from moving forward. I am a normal person ... sometimes I feel my troubles have put me in a solitary little place while visibly leading a normal life. Vidu though [the genie in the toilet], his same struggle has found him finally tied forever to a toilet, unable to move forward even if he really wanted to.
I like to put a physical symbol on concepts and ideas. Maybe it is easier to express a feeling that way.
HM: What I noticed right away was that you are an aspiring comic book artist/writer. With massive Internet access isn’t it harder than usual to break though and what has been your experience so far?
CC: I kind of think the massive internet access is the ultimate best thing to ever happen to comics. 8D Better even than the printing press. Speaking from the inside of America's badly going economy, not really knowing how comics are doing in the rest of the world, I think the internet makes producing a comic twice as easy. Publishers here are taking fewer and fewer submissions. Some publishers [er, certain manga publishers] will print the first volume of a series and quit, never finishing it .... yet other publishers will hire overseas artists who will work for far less money per page than an American would [to be fair, in the countries of origin that some of these artists are from, the dollar goes infinitely farther than it does in America.] It used to be easier to self print one's comics and distribute them, as well, but Diamond is the only comics distributor left in America. They now require any comic they distribute to have a rather large print run. [large for a just begun strip, I think, anyway...]
If in print was the only way to produce a comic, I'd pretty much stop trying.
BUT OH WAIT THERE'S THE INTERNET.
Not that webcomics will immediately pay one's living expenses, but that isn't my personal goal. I just want to draw a comic and have a readership! Honest, webcomics are a better fit for me than print comics. I can be much much closer to the people who like my comics. My comics often have kind of a nitch audience anyway, so the internet puts my comic in front of a bigger audience to find those with nitch interests.
Also, I know it's possible to make a living at webcomics, but I'm not the person to interview for that. Go see what the creators of Sheldon and PVP have to say on it.
HM: You are I think the first to be both the intellectual creator of both story and art. I am talking about your little project on your LJ blog “The Toilet Genie”. What comes easier the art or the plot behind it?
CC: Dunno if you've seen, but that project has moved from concept art on my blog to finished pages on my deviantart. Soon I hope, it will move to my own website. 8D
The characters come easiest, then the art, and then the story is hardest for me. For always, as long as I can remember, characters have lived in my head. It isn't even a big effort for
me to create them, in fact, it is such a small effort that I worry they're badly done sometimes. But I can't change them! O_O; It isn't even that I don't want to, it's just that once the character has emerged, they're practically their own little person. They exist separately from any plot I might put them in. Drawing them is only slightly less easy than thinking of them, since drawing takes slight amounts of work. But their stories ............. my stories are the most intimate part of my craft. I draw comics because I want to tell those stories. I'm not a writer. I'm not an illustrator. I've tried both, they both felt painfully incomplete in my hands. I am definitely a comic artist, and a comic is nearly worthless without a good story.
My difficulty with writing is that my stories are born from whatever hard thing is currently shaping my life. To write the story, I have to first figure out what I personally want to say about that hard thing that troubles me so deeply. To that end, it does take me literally years to form the best stories that I can.
The characters will shape that message, as they also are created from that hard thing. They give a voice [or a symbol] to things I can't say for myself, or things I can't say directly to someone. Yet, these are things I can't NOT say.
HM: Also even though it’s more or less personal, can you explain what this peculiar project is about and what plans you have for it?
CC: As you can maybe tell by now, what Toilet Genie is about is definitely on the More Personal side of that spectrum. XD It's one of several stories that I collectively call "Door". The Door stories are all about change and moving forward. Toilet Genie is particularly about loving someone so much, you build yourself a little prison from which you can't move forward anymore. I wish I had more of it done, because then I could talk more on it! But I don't. 8D better work on it more. ><>___>;
HM: What is your personal favorite: traditional or digital? As an additional question I guess I will poke around the usual debate what is better. What do you think?
CC: Traditional is my favorite. Watercolor is the most beautiful thing ever created by man. It is it's own person, even... when I paint with it, I feel it does only what it wants. I end up with beautiful accidents! Or sometimes... horrible accidents. ;__; But when it and I work together, the result is like nothing I could make on a computer. ......... However, that isn't realistic for work with deadlines. So I use Photoshop more. Photoshop and I have an uke/seme relationship in which it gives me exactly what I want when I want it in perfect detail at all times.
As for which is better ... uh... all I can say is that I think the media should be allowed to be exactly what it is. In my own learning, I could never accomplish with watercolor what I do in Photoshop and I could never accomplish in Photoshop what I do in watercolor. If I want something to be liquid, gestural, beautifully textured, and spectacularly accidental, I'll NOT color it in Photoshop. Conversely, God help me if I ever need to render scientific level detail and clarity with watercolor.
HM: I have been wondering this for quite awhile, but never got around to asking artists, regarding their characters. As a writer, I get my original characters in full outfit with their own story, abilities, looks and personality. So what’s the case with an artist? Do you also receive the full package or just the visual?
CC: I guess I've already sort of answered this. XD Their personality is what comes first. Before even a name, I know at least topically who they are. And then later, a name will simply stick to them. From there, I begin doodling stupid pictures of them. [for instance ... my latest toilet genie drawing that wasn't a page was a picture of the two main characters pretending to be Wallace and Gromit.] As I draw them, their faces become easier for me to reproduce quickly. Ultimately, the deepest aspects of my characters develop slowly and in tandem with the story I've decided to tell them in.
Notice: "story I've decided to tell them in." ... I guess I don't think of it as THEIR story.... maybe because even the characters who appear to be side characters in a given plot could potentially have a plot of their own.
Some of my favorite characters that I've created haven't got a story in which they are the main character. Rather, they come and go throughout so many different stories and have so many different faces to their personality, it would be impossible to show their entire self within the continuity of one plot without making that one plot the size of a World History book.
HM: You have entered a lot of contests for posters and other art. How has your skill carried you through so far? Most people find contests usually too grueling for the nerves and that tension and competition can crush you. Is that so with art contests?
CC: I don't really think I've entered that many contests. XD haha... but maybe I've entered a fair few of them. Before age 16 or so when I dedicated myself to just doing art, I played loads of sports. My entire FAMILY is into sports, they all seem to compete. I've been surrounded by people who "play to win" since always. Thankfully they also value learning in losing, and so do I ... but anyway, it was really natural that I should see an opportunity I was interested in, pour all my effort into it, and have enough courage to have my ass kicked and then return to try again next contest. It took me 4 times to finally make it into Rising Stars of Manga and it was so worth it! O_O
I think being competitive will make a person grow in whatever discipline they're competing in. Just drawing by yourself, in your room or wherever, will only get a person so far ... after so much practice practice practice one may plateau and find it hard to improve ... at that point, the opinions of an audience may push one forward to the next level.
There's also a lot of self confidence to be gained from competition. If only to know that you failed but you're still trying. I have a lot of pride in knowing the hardships I've been through, not just in art, and knowing that I'm still here.
HM: With so much activity have you managed to land some contracts or commissions?
CC: Yes, I've worked contracts and commissions. Humorously, I don't like them ... I guess I thought I would, or something. I've toned for Tokyopop, which was fun, and I've done several small coloring projects for a variety of other people and publishers. The more I work as a contractor though, the more I utterly hate it. I have too much passion for my own ideas and stories. I'm seeing more and more that the contract work is a valuable experience, yes ... working with better artists has taught me a lot too. But it's kind of a dead end job...... the only benefit to it is immediate money.
A variety of factors recently have pushed me to it, but I think I've just about decided to put contract work on hold, if only briefly, and fully dedicate all of my effort to something that is truly mine ~ Toilet Genie.
HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. What can we expect?
CC: Really just Toilet Genie. And assorted other illustrations. I've been actively turning down work for hire in an effort to make way for my own project. It takes some courage for me to do this. ;__; But I really believe in this project and its time for me stop putting it off. It will easily be more rewarding to my humanity than contract work and I understand enough about small business and commercial art to manage a bit of revenue in the foreseeable future.
So er... you can expect me to continue quitting cool job prospects in preference to doodling comics alone in my room and posting them for free online. 8D
Harry Markov: Hello and thank you for accepting my invitation. It is a real pleasure having you here in my virtual chair. Let’s start with the simple and basic questions. What was your first encounter with art and how did you decide you would become an artist?
Cari Corene: My first encounter with art made me decide to NEVER be an artist. XD I distinctly recall it being a kindergarten assignment ... we would get these sheets, one for each letter of the alphabet. One would write the letter over and over and over again, and then the sheet had an animal on it whose name started with the letter and one would color it. Well .... I never had the patience for that coloring yuck. Other children did, they would color theirs beautifully, and the best were posted on a bulletin board ... From a young age, I've just had a very sophisticated sense of what is and isn't stupid. ANYWAY, Page F came. By this time, I had suffered much ridicule due to my badly colored animals [you see, coloring animals fell under my category of "stupid"]. This page came with a frog. I colored that frog RAINBOW PINK, MAGENTA, AND ORANGE, and then I colored the rest of my worksheet and my letters similarly wild colors. That worksheet made the billboard.After that, I decided I never wanted to draw or color again. [famous last words.]
A few years later, I discovered my calling in life - drawing doggies with wings. [The long version of this is actually that my family and I moved from Alaska to WA state, I had no friends, I read piles and PILES of books, which eventually ignited a very small creative spark which prompted me to draw. I eventually made friends who were intensely into drawing cat princesses, my creative spark was further fueled by this.]
It wasn't until junior year of high school [age 16ish] that I spontaneously quit sports, quit math, quit choir, and proceeded to do nothing but art in an effort to prepare myself for a bachelor's degree in art. [Previously I had thought of doing nothing but being a pilot like my father and sister.]
HM: Another tradition with the “Artist Corner” is to say something about yourself. Who is blix-it and why did you chose this interesting sounding username for your DA profile?
CC: 'blix' is a misspelling of the German word "blitz" ... at age 13 or so, spelling correctly fell under my category of "stupid". It still does.
the "-it" at the end of my name refers to cheese-its, the best snack ever ... I was eating some at the time I created my deviantart account.
Beyond that, blix isn't a character of mine. Blix, and variations on blix, have always been what I've used online to refer to myself.
HM: Who are the artists that inspired and influenced you the most?
CC: When I was very young, I was oblivious to other artists. Reading is what I was most interested in. Around age 9, I started getting into some heavy reading material. Jack London was my favorite. [But now children are being raised on Twighlight..... ah .... I can only hope children enjoy reading after such an introduction and proceed onward to written words of true worth] I also liked Walt Morrey and Phillip Pullman.
My mother was a teacher, she owned a lot of picture books. I remember them very clearly as well. My favorite authors/illustrators were Paul Goble, the San Souci brothers, and Stan and Jan Berenstein.
Later, age 13ish, one of my friends started buying Sailor Moon comics .... I borrowed them from her, and you can somewhat imagine what happened from there. At the same time, my family finally got a second hand computer which exposed me to the internet and so many incredible internet artists. I also started listening to music on the radio about that time. [Those were the premier years of Ms. Spears and the boy bands.]
HM: Your work is diverse and ranges from fantasy, portraits, to posters and usually surrealistic. How do you feed such an active imagination and where does your inspiration come from?
CC: Most of my inspiration comes from nature. For as much time as I spend at my computer, I do go out every day. Now that I'm somewhat older [22], I can look back and see how my childhood has shaped my current self. I've spent so much time outside in solitary pursuits, that even now, living the city life, I still get my inspiration from going outside and looking at stuff. I'll be wandering around, thinking of what I might like to draw ... my inspiration for Toilet Genie [discussed later] first came from a wandering through desert hills as I pondered things I want to draw. The thought, very clear and concise, crossed my mind: "I want to draw a toilet." A
lmost exactly a year later, the story has morphed into a genie in a toilet.Inspiration for art and solitude / physical exercise may seem sort of unrelated, but for me, they're very related. Also, simply going outside and seeing things is the source of all color inspiration. People often remark on my coloring. I cannot say how I do it. I think I've just seen so much nature that it now comes naturally. Since I was very young, I've practiced taking pictures with my mind. It was something my father told me to do when I kept asking for a camera. A filled memory is all kinds of inspiration.
HM: What attracts you to the out-of-the-ordinary and that doesn’t necessarily include fantasy? Different people find something entirely unique for themselves and I always like hearing a new answer on the subject.
CC: I think maybe ... my main interest in story telling is ... writing about learning to live with living. I like out of the ordinary characters because a normal situation that occurs in a normal person's life can also be incredibly out of the ordinary if the character his or herself is out of the ordinary. Using Toilet Genie as an example again, since it's on my mind [erg. I need to draw another page for it right now! XD] there is a basic problem that we all encounter. We tie ourselves up, put ourselves in our own little prisons, too afraid to change for the better or let go of lost things. It keeps us from moving forward. I am a normal person ... sometimes I feel my troubles have put me in a solitary little place while visibly leading a normal life. Vidu though [the genie in the toilet], his same struggle has found him finally tied forever to a toilet, unable to move forward even if he really wanted to.
I like to put a physical symbol on concepts and ideas. Maybe it is easier to express a feeling that way.
HM: What I noticed right away was that you are an aspiring comic book artist/writer. With massive Internet access isn’t it harder than usual to break though and what has been your experience so far?
CC: I kind of think the massive internet access is the ultimate best thing to ever happen to comics. 8D Better even than the printing press. Speaking from the inside of America's badly going economy, not really knowing how comics are doing in the rest of the world, I think the internet makes producing a comic twice as easy. Publishers here are taking fewer and fewer submissions. Some publishers [er, certain manga publishers] will print the first volume of a series and quit, never finishing it .... yet other publishers will hire overseas artists who will work for far less money per page than an American would [to be fair, in the countries of origin that some of these artists are from, the dollar goes infinitely farther than it does in America.] It used to be easier to self print one's comics and distribute them, as well, but Diamond is the only comics distributor left in America. They now require any comic they distribute to have a rather large print run. [large for a just begun strip, I think, anyway...]
If in print was the only way to produce a comic, I'd pretty much stop trying.
BUT OH WAIT THERE'S THE INTERNET.
Not that webcomics will immediately pay one's living expenses, but that isn't my personal goal. I just want to draw a comic and have a readership! Honest, webcomics are a better fit for me than print comics. I can be much much closer to the people who like my comics. My comics often have kind of a nitch audience anyway, so the internet puts my comic in front of a bigger audience to find those with nitch interests.
Also, I know it's possible to make a living at webcomics, but I'm not the person to interview for that. Go see what the creators of Sheldon and PVP have to say on it.
HM: You are I think the first to be both the intellectual creator of both story and art. I am talking about your little project on your LJ blog “The Toilet Genie”. What comes easier the art or the plot behind it?
CC: Dunno if you've seen, but that project has moved from concept art on my blog to finished pages on my deviantart. Soon I hope, it will move to my own website. 8D
The characters come easiest, then the art, and then the story is hardest for me. For always, as long as I can remember, characters have lived in my head. It isn't even a big effort for
me to create them, in fact, it is such a small effort that I worry they're badly done sometimes. But I can't change them! O_O; It isn't even that I don't want to, it's just that once the character has emerged, they're practically their own little person. They exist separately from any plot I might put them in. Drawing them is only slightly less easy than thinking of them, since drawing takes slight amounts of work. But their stories ............. my stories are the most intimate part of my craft. I draw comics because I want to tell those stories. I'm not a writer. I'm not an illustrator. I've tried both, they both felt painfully incomplete in my hands. I am definitely a comic artist, and a comic is nearly worthless without a good story.My difficulty with writing is that my stories are born from whatever hard thing is currently shaping my life. To write the story, I have to first figure out what I personally want to say about that hard thing that troubles me so deeply. To that end, it does take me literally years to form the best stories that I can.
The characters will shape that message, as they also are created from that hard thing. They give a voice [or a symbol] to things I can't say for myself, or things I can't say directly to someone. Yet, these are things I can't NOT say.
HM: Also even though it’s more or less personal, can you explain what this peculiar project is about and what plans you have for it?
CC: As you can maybe tell by now, what Toilet Genie is about is definitely on the More Personal side of that spectrum. XD It's one of several stories that I collectively call "Door". The Door stories are all about change and moving forward. Toilet Genie is particularly about loving someone so much, you build yourself a little prison from which you can't move forward anymore. I wish I had more of it done, because then I could talk more on it! But I don't. 8D better work on it more. ><>___>;
HM: What is your personal favorite: traditional or digital? As an additional question I guess I will poke around the usual debate what is better. What do you think?
CC: Traditional is my favorite. Watercolor is the most beautiful thing ever created by man. It is it's own person, even... when I paint with it, I feel it does only what it wants. I end up with beautiful accidents! Or sometimes... horrible accidents. ;__; But when it and I work together, the result is like nothing I could make on a computer. ......... However, that isn't realistic for work with deadlines. So I use Photoshop more. Photoshop and I have an uke/seme relationship in which it gives me exactly what I want when I want it in perfect detail at all times.
As for which is better ... uh... all I can say is that I think the media should be allowed to be exactly what it is. In my own learning, I could never accomplish with watercolor what I do in Photoshop and I could never accomplish in Photoshop what I do in watercolor. If I want something to be liquid, gestural, beautifully textured, and spectacularly accidental, I'll NOT color it in Photoshop. Conversely, God help me if I ever need to render scientific level detail and clarity with watercolor.
HM: I have been wondering this for quite awhile, but never got around to asking artists, regarding their characters. As a writer, I get my original characters in full outfit with their own story, abilities, looks and personality. So what’s the case with an artist? Do you also receive the full package or just the visual?
CC: I guess I've already sort of answered this. XD Their personality is what comes first. Before even a name, I know at least topically who they are. And then later, a name will simply stick to them. From there, I begin doodling stupid pictures of them. [for instance ... my latest toilet genie drawing that wasn't a page was a picture of the two main characters pretending to be Wallace and Gromit.] As I draw them, their faces become easier for me to reproduce quickly. Ultimately, the deepest aspects of my characters develop slowly and in tandem with the story I've decided to tell them in.
Notice: "story I've decided to tell them in." ... I guess I don't think of it as THEIR story.... maybe because even the characters who appear to be side characters in a given plot could potentially have a plot of their own.
Some of my favorite characters that I've created haven't got a story in which they are the main character. Rather, they come and go throughout so many different stories and have so many different faces to their personality, it would be impossible to show their entire self within the continuity of one plot without making that one plot the size of a World History book.
HM: You have entered a lot of contests for posters and other art. How has your skill carried you through so far? Most people find contests usually too grueling for the nerves and that tension and competition can crush you. Is that so with art contests?
CC: I don't really think I've entered that many contests. XD haha... but maybe I've entered a fair few of them. Before age 16 or so when I dedicated myself to just doing art, I played loads of sports. My entire FAMILY is into sports, they all seem to compete. I've been surrounded by people who "play to win" since always. Thankfully they also value learning in losing, and so do I ... but anyway, it was really natural that I should see an opportunity I was interested in, pour all my effort into it, and have enough courage to have my ass kicked and then return to try again next contest. It took me 4 times to finally make it into Rising Stars of Manga and it was so worth it! O_O
I think being competitive will make a person grow in whatever discipline they're competing in. Just drawing by yourself, in your room or wherever, will only get a person so far ... after so much practice practice practice one may plateau and find it hard to improve ... at that point, the opinions of an audience may push one forward to the next level.
There's also a lot of self confidence to be gained from competition. If only to know that you failed but you're still trying. I have a lot of pride in knowing the hardships I've been through, not just in art, and knowing that I'm still here.
HM: With so much activity have you managed to land some contracts or commissions?
CC: Yes, I've worked contracts and commissions. Humorously, I don't like them ... I guess I thought I would, or something. I've toned for Tokyopop, which was fun, and I've done several small coloring projects for a variety of other people and publishers. The more I work as a contractor though, the more I utterly hate it. I have too much passion for my own ideas and stories. I'm seeing more and more that the contract work is a valuable experience, yes ... working with better artists has taught me a lot too. But it's kind of a dead end job...... the only benefit to it is immediate money.
A variety of factors recently have pushed me to it, but I think I've just about decided to put contract work on hold, if only briefly, and fully dedicate all of my effort to something that is truly mine ~ Toilet Genie.
HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. What can we expect?
CC: Really just Toilet Genie. And assorted other illustrations. I've been actively turning down work for hire in an effort to make way for my own project. It takes some courage for me to do this. ;__; But I really believe in this project and its time for me stop putting it off. It will easily be more rewarding to my humanity than contract work and I understand enough about small business and commercial art to manage a bit of revenue in the foreseeable future.
So er... you can expect me to continue quitting cool job prospects in preference to doodling comics alone in my room and posting them for free online. 8D
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Zombie Three: “Calcutta, Lord of Nerves”,“Followed”,“The Song The Zombie Sang”
“Calcutta, Lord of Nerves” by Poppy Z. Brite: I am heavily relying on the author’s comment about the story itself to get in its nature and thank god it’s labeled as a freakish travelogue, because this story is not driven by plot and its goal isn’t to sweep you into a whirlwind of action and adrenaline. I guess it primarily aims to paint a surrealistic portrait of Calcutta with its living and its dead entwined together into a lazy, scorching and uneventful summer told by a very strange protagonist. In the Indian spirit, where beauty and the gruesome mix together in an irresistible and exotic experience, I was mesmerized by the picturesque prose and the high caliber descriptions with much imagination. What was even more impressive was the fact that the language was utilized into highly detailed depictions of zombies eating people and still manages to captivate me as a reader in a certain state of shock, disgust and at the same time magnetic awe. There is also a certain sense of mythology involved as the protagonist seems to be fond of the goddess Kali, who here seems to watch over the risen dead. My only disappointment came from the fact that the story just wandered into the nothing with almost no plot to tie the scenes together. Nevertheless my blood got frozen and so shall yours be as well.
“Followed” by Will McIntosh: I felt this to be an extremely interesting story world building wise, mainly for the way zombies are used as a device within the story. It would seem that the living dead are a common part of everyday life and people just try to ignore them, unless they are being followed by the zombies. The way I understand things in this story having a zombie on your heels would mean that you haven’t been living your life according to the norms and moral rules. This happens to our protagonist Peter, who is a generally good guy and a professor at a university, who falls into hysteria, when he is stalked by a creepy little dead girl. Peter’s emotional breakdown has been executed flawlessly and I personally felt a little nervous for quite some time after reading the story, like I have had too much coffee and anxiety was getting the best of me. At the same time with relatively less plot we are also given an interesting lesson about the sins we have committed and whether or not we can live and accept ourselves. A strange way to make a statement like that, but interesting nevertheless.
“The Song The Zombie Sang” by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg: Again this is not horror, but at least it’s entertaining and very thought through and deep. The reader is introduced to a future, where the dead can be raised for a couple of hours and so is the case with the great pianist Nils Bekh, who is forced to play seemingly forever on concerts. Being a thing, neither dead nor alive, is torture for the artist, who feels wretched, used and just an instrument for show has lost his talent and ability to grow artistically. In a word, he is a player piano. At the same time Rhoda, who attended Bekh’s latest concert and is a talented and flawless musician as well, detaches herself from the world more and more and in a sense has become automated in her art. This is until both meet, when Rhoda decides to confront Bekh about the abomination he has become. It takes both sides, the living and the dead to experience music as an experience, as a powerful wave of emotions and power. Precisely this looking into the mirror and seeing the opposite, which is a part of the real object, is what happens here. I am not sure whether I am making any sense in how I perceive the whole picture, but I encourage you to read and judge for yourselves.
“Followed” by Will McIntosh: I felt this to be an extremely interesting story world building wise, mainly for the way zombies are used as a device within the story. It would seem that the living dead are a common part of everyday life and people just try to ignore them, unless they are being followed by the zombies. The way I understand things in this story having a zombie on your heels would mean that you haven’t been living your life according to the norms and moral rules. This happens to our protagonist Peter, who is a generally good guy and a professor at a university, who falls into hysteria, when he is stalked by a creepy little dead girl. Peter’s emotional breakdown has been executed flawlessly and I personally felt a little nervous for quite some time after reading the story, like I have had too much coffee and anxiety was getting the best of me. At the same time with relatively less plot we are also given an interesting lesson about the sins we have committed and whether or not we can live and accept ourselves. A strange way to make a statement like that, but interesting nevertheless.
“The Song The Zombie Sang” by Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg: Again this is not horror, but at least it’s entertaining and very thought through and deep. The reader is introduced to a future, where the dead can be raised for a couple of hours and so is the case with the great pianist Nils Bekh, who is forced to play seemingly forever on concerts. Being a thing, neither dead nor alive, is torture for the artist, who feels wretched, used and just an instrument for show has lost his talent and ability to grow artistically. In a word, he is a player piano. At the same time Rhoda, who attended Bekh’s latest concert and is a talented and flawless musician as well, detaches herself from the world more and more and in a sense has become automated in her art. This is until both meet, when Rhoda decides to confront Bekh about the abomination he has become. It takes both sides, the living and the dead to experience music as an experience, as a powerful wave of emotions and power. Precisely this looking into the mirror and seeing the opposite, which is a part of the real object, is what happens here. I am not sure whether I am making any sense in how I perceive the whole picture, but I encourage you to read and judge for yourselves.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Nebula Award
It's that time of the year again and awards come sweeping through the fantasy and sci-fi scenes like wild storms. Here are the the new Nebula winners:
Best novel: “Powers” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Best Novella: “The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro
Best Novelette: “Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel
Best Short Story: “Trophy Wives” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Best Script: “WALL-E” by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon
Best novel: “Powers” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Best Novella: “The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro
Best Novelette: “Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel
Best Short Story: “Trophy Wives” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Best Script: “WALL-E” by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon
Sunday, April 26, 2009
"Reviewer Time" Guest: Theresa and "The Fantasy and Sci-Fi News and Reviews"
Wherever you turn it’s there, on the side bars, on every single review blog or blog of a fan of review or just fantasy blogs, this ridiculously long title: “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ News and Reviews” and the mysterious owner SQT [with a Mystique icon] behind it. And there is a fine reason for this being so. In the review blogger community, the fantasy and sci-fi department, Theresa is a veteran with a three year presence and 740 posts. I think that the biggest reason, why she managed to stay afloat was because Theresa brings an interesting angle to all of her posts and is too damned funny as well.
I wish I could remember how many designs SQT changed before she settled down, but there had been some major make-over periods, which ended in this slick purple number and the lots and lots of clickable places. The powers that be know that I am a mess in managing my links and other trivia, but Theresa manages to solve this issue with fines. However I am not a Fashion TV correspondent, so I will move to the intellectual merits and there are a great deal of them to be found in “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ News and Reviews”.
Starting with the basics we have CONTENT: which as the title pretty much states has a lot to do with fantasy and sci-fi, but catches a broad spectrum of mediums. SQT is ready to push the red button of information and provide reviews of novels and movies, news from the show biz, newest releases, TV shows, heated discussions that sweep the blogger community or perhaps some insight of a heated topic and so much more trivia. All of this is garnered with necessary enthusiasm and a slice of humor. If you are new to “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ News and Reviews” than be sure that you will be treated as a VIP guest and your comments will be welcomed by SQT and the respective author of the post with a smile. Another side of the “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ News and Reviews” experience is that you can tune in every day [almost] and find a new post [waiting your comments]. This effect is achieved with the help of the resident contributors myself included.
This part will be tricky, since I am one of the contributors and reviewing my reviews is a tad strange, so I will exclude myself from the picture. Review-wise I don’t think there is much to demand to quality. Depending on the taste there is a type of a review, varying in length and approach, with or without an excerpt, more personal or more entangle-y [like mine], but helpful and informative in general. Walking hand in hand with the reviews come giveaways and Theresa is the Santa with long lasting giveaways open usually to readers world-wide something I cherish highly due to my Eastern European base of operation. And with so many books given everybody can test their luck and feel a winner and I have had the pleasure of winning, so it’s a definite reason to keep coming back.
Then there are the minor things like the memes, tests, funny pictures and videos that just amuse and give you a good time. There are too many good things than any bad I can think of and most of my opinion comes from the fact that I find everything matching my taste.
___
Harry Markov: Since we know so little about the people behind the reviews, let’s start with some personal questions. Who are you in your real life and how does one typical day look like for you?
SQT: Oh my gosh, I am so boring. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the last 9 years. I spend most of my time schlepping my kids around, trying to avoid laundry, spending way too much time on the Internet, going to the gym and of course, reading.
HM: Tell us three things that people would probably never ever guess about you. That includes possible serial killer tendencies and love for shiny things.
SQT: The closest thing I have to serial killer tendencies is a strange love of fighting. I’ve mentioned it before on my blog, so maybe it’s no mystery, but I have a black belt in Kenpo karate and have been actively involved in the art since 1992. I also went to school in Japan while in college but have been away for so long I can barely speak the language at all-- though I did get a little training in Shorinji Kempo karate while I was there. I got a Journalism degree in college with a minor in Japanese, and later a teaching credential. I also worked in the mid-90’s for a really cheesy syndicated TV show called “Real TV” but I haven’t been in the business since then and have no contacts in the industry left (I have to specify this because someone always asks).
HM: How did you decide to start the “Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin’ Reviews”?
SQT: I had been a stay-at-home mom for about 6 years and I was going a little batty. I like being with my kids but I also need to keep my brain busy. I’m afraid I don’t find laundry to be that fulfilling (did I already mention the time spent avoiding laundry?) Since I have a journalism background my first blog was a website focused on media bias but I didn’t have the time to do it justice-- at least for what I aimed to do. The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin’ thing was just a whim. I never even intended to keep the title. But like a lot of things we do because we really enjoy it, it kind of takes on a life of its own and I got traffic a lot faster than I expected.
HM: So why did you go for the name and why did you name yourself the mysterious SQT?
SQT: I used to post on a website dedicated to the housing market in Northern California. Since I live near Sacramento I dubbed myself SactoQt-- you know Sacto-cutie. I understand if you don’t like me after knowing that. Anyway, people said the name was a pain to write out when responding to my comments so I shortened the name and kept it when I set up my blog so people would still know it was me.
HM: Was it easy to start, was it easy to supply enough books and how were you received at first?
SQT: I really didn’t review books at first. I just kind of posted about stuff I thought was interesting. In fact, I’d like to go back to doing that more. I got into reviewing because I saw what Robert was doing over at Fantasy Book Critic and I liked the way he was offering new books and introducing new authors to his audience. I had been around long enough that I was getting fairly regular emails from all kinds of different outlets, either requesting I review certain books or help advertise new TV shows or movies. I still get a lot of those (and don’t link nearly as much as I should). I started emailing different publishers and requesting books for review. Orbit publishers were great right off the bat and so was Pyr. The other big names were a lot tougher. My big breakthrough was when I emailed an author (who shall remain nameless since I didn’t ask permission to use her name) and asked her for an interview. She said she was too busy, but put me in touch with her publicist at Penguin who put me on her reviewer list. Since then I think I’ve gotten on almost every mailing list Penguin has. Tor Books has also been good to me.
HM: What’s your approach to writing reviews, your signature so to say that makes you different from all the others? Can you give a tip or share something you do to make it easier?
SQT: It’s actually evolving. I tend to be fairly informal in that I will refer to myself in my reviews and say what “I” like. But I recently started doing reviews for The Sacramento Book review and I can’t do that when I review for them. I also can only use up to 200 words-- which is really hard to do. Doing the short reviews is helping me learn to streamline my reviews but I still tend to be longer winded on the blog since that’s where I can get into more detail about what I do or don’t like. I’m not sure I have a signature. I like to use excerpts if I can so the reader can get a feel for the book and the writer’s style-- though I can’t do that if I’m reviewing from a review copy as they are not the “official” edit. Ideally, I like to incorporate a description of the book and then say what I did and didn’t like about the book. Pretty standard stuff really.
HM: What’s your reading schedule? I have seen how many books you review in so little time. How do you arrange your day to find time to read and review as fast?
SQT: Lately I’ve been reading a lot more since I now commit to reviewing for someone else and I don’t want to be unreliable. It’s tough to schedule because I have other things I have to do everyday. But I carry whatever I’m reading with me and fit it in when I can. I’m a night owl, so I do a lot of reading at night. Also, I don’t need more than about 6 hours of sleep at night, so I can get a couple of hours in after everyone else has gone to bed.
HM: For two years of reviewing there must have been several occasions, when a book doesn’t agree with your tastes. How do try to handle the situation with negative reviews?
SQT: I’ve only really slammed one book in a review because it was so bad. I totally chickened out on notifying the publisher because it was a book that was randomly sent to me and I wasn’t sure there was any value in letting the author know I didn’t like the book (or how much I didn‘t like it). That’s the only time I’ve done that. Usually I try to offer some positive feedback, even on books I don’t like and then notify the publisher when the review is up. It’s hard sometimes to decide to go ahead and say I don’t like a book. I’ve seen some other reviewers have to deal with the author adding comments to the discussion trying to defend their writing and that always makes me cringe. In most cases my strategy is to try to be as gentle, but honest, as possible.
HM: Now, how do you think you and your blog have grown from your first post up until now? Did the formula ever change and can you describe the path of your evolution?
SQT: My blog has definitely evolved. I never intended to have contributors or thought that anyone would even find it interesting. I didn’t know about all the review blogs out there when I started so getting to know that side of the blogging universe changed what I do quite a bit. Like I mentioned before, I’d like to go back to more sci-fi/fantasy oriented articles and news and not just focus on reviews. But that stuff can be really time consuming to do, so I need to figure out how to balance my time and get back to the vision I had for the blog in the first place.
HM: I think you and Robert are the two major blogs to use the helping hand of a big group of contributors. When did you feel the need to have people help you with the blog? Naturally what were the criteria to take them aboard?
SQT: Oddly, I never really looked for contributors. I have asked once or twice, on the blog, for help reviewing specific books, but never gained a full-time contributor from that. Most contributors I have simply mentioned, at some point, an interest in writing something for the blog and I added them to my list of contributors. I’ve never viewed my blog as being too formal so I never had any criteria for any kind of professional training in writing or reviewing. But I think that would change going forward because I get so much material from different media outlets and I think now I have to maintain a certain level of professionalism-- at least when representing the material they send me. It should be mentioned, however, that I have been incredibly fortunate that the contributors I already have are pretty terrific.
HM: So as we know some bloggers that review books and know enough about literature, have writing aspirations. Do you want to stand on the other side of the business?
SQT: I definitely have writing aspirations. I haven’t consistently sat down and written anything for awhile-- which is bad. My son starts kindergarten next year and that will give me time each day in which I can write uninterrupted and I intend to use that. I’ve had a particular idea bouncing around in my head for years that I’d like the chance to fully develop.
HM: Whose your favorite author and why? And who is the author you will never ever read a book from and why?
SQT: Oh goodness, it’s so hard to say that I have one favorite author. It kind of changes with my mood. John Scalzi really impressed me when I read “Old Man’s War” because he made sci-fi so accessible and enjoyable. I’ve also recently gotten into Brandon Sanderson and I think it’ll be interesting to see how well received he’ll be when he releases the first book in the conclusion of the Robert Jordan “Wheel of Time” series he has been tapped to finish. My favorite authors also tend to be genre specific. If you ask me who my favorite Paranormal author is, I’ll probably say Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs or Rob Thurman. When I read more traditional fantasy I look for someone like J.V. Jones, who isn’t as prolific as I’d like but still great. I also like a lot of the new authors who have popped up in recent years; Scott Lynch is terrific and so is Patrick Rothfuss. If I had to pick someone I’ll probably never read again it would be Laurell K. Hamilton. I just think the sex has become too much a part of her storylines, at least in the Merry Gentry series, to be interesting. Her books feel more like erotica than fantasy fiction.
HM: What are the clichés in what you read on a regular basis?
SQT: Because I read fantasy fiction there’s always certain tropes you’re going to run into fairly regularly. A lot of kid’s books are centered around orphaned protagonists. I’ve run into a lot of quest-fantasy lately too, which is fine if it’s done well. One of my biggest pet peeves is the deus ex machina, or the God-in-the-machine device in which an unexpected solution miraculously appears in what appears on the surface to be an impossible situation. That always seems like a lazy bit of writing to me. A lot of paranormal books are becoming cliché because they are so crammed full of action-- like busy work for the characters-- to try to keep the suspense up. That can bother me if the author just has the characters running around for no apparent reason.
HM: Is there a tendency for these clichés to resolve?
SQT: Well, I suppose they wouldn’t be clichés if they didn’t work. The quest fantasy is fine as long as the story is interesting and has an overall reason for the quest that makes sense. The orphaned kid can certainly work because it allows a child character to do things they wouldn’t be able to do if a parent was there telling them they were too young to do something; but it can fall flat if the author makes the character too precocious.
HM: Do you think there are still areas fantasy has slipped that you would like to cover in other mediums? And how far do you think the fantasy/sci-fi culture will enter mainstream culture?
SQT: I don’t know if I’d say fantasy has slipped. It seems to me that it’s entering the mainstream culture more and more all the time. I don’t play video games much, but I’ve certainly noticed that World of Warcraft is hugely popular. There was always TV shows around when I was a kid like the original “Battlestar Galactica” and “Buck Rodgers” and it’s nice to see so many fantasy/sci-fi shows on TV still. The new BSG was one of the best shows on TV in my opinion. I also know a lot of people who don’t think of themselves as fantasy/sci-fi fans who will still watch “Heroes” or “The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” There also seems to be a lot of excitement over the new “Star Trek” movie and with movies like “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” doing so well, the comic-book hero genre looks like it’s only going to continue to grow. I’m not sure it will ever seem normal to dress up like a Klingon (and profess to speak the language) or have a “Star Wars” themed wedding, but that takes a pretty extreme commitment to the genre.
Reviewer Time: The Official Blog Post!!
You can review a whole lot of things with intellectual value, starting from books and then moving to all other forms of fiction, comic books, movies, albums and TV shows. But I have yet to encounter an extensive review of a review blog, so as people say I am moving through uncharted waters. The main point here is that these reviews are not to decide the quality of the blog, but more or less to serve an informative purpose to potential readers [if I do get a sizeable traffic for that matter] and other reviewers as well [which hopefully will pay any kind of attention, while “Reviewer Time” is going].
Reviews will touch several aspects such as design, content, its diversity, update schedule and interaction with the readers and being in tune with the news. I will try to give an objective opinion on all these criteria from my own experience and extensive as my time allows reading and research in the blog’s archives. I don’t believe that much into criticizing a blog, which is the equivalent of a person’s inner world and unlike fiction doesn’t have a set standard rules, which a person abide. With that being said let’s move to the more interesting and glittery aspects of the “Reviewer Time” event. After a fun afternoon with my wiz of an artist friend I present you the official “Reviewer Time” picture/poster and banner below. I would appreciate it, if those involved in the project use them in promoting the event. Subtlety is not my strong point.
Now let’s move to the blog-spots to visit. Links can be found on the side of my blog [too lazy to do it again]:
1. Theresa aka SQT and “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin’ News and Reviews”
2. Mihai aka Dark Wolf “Dark Wolf’s Fantasy Reviews”
3. Robert „Fantasy Book Critic“ [this is uncertain since I have yet to contact the big man]
4. Aidan Moher “A Dribble of Ink” [I am pretty much after here listing people via their comments]
5. Fabio Fernandes “Post-Weird Thoughts”
6. Rob “Rob’s Blog o’Stuff”
7. Doug Knipe “Sci-Fi Guy.ca”
8. Matt Staggs “Enter the Octopus”
9. Colin Leslie “Highlander Book Reviews”
10. Mark Chitty “Walker of Worlds”
11. Thea and Ana “The Booksmugglers”
12. Neth “Neth’s Space”
13. Hagelrat “Unbound”
14. S.M.D “The World in the Satin Bag”
15. Plinydogg “Speculative Fiction Junkie”
16. Terry
17. Paul Stotts “Blood of the Muse”
18. Tia Nevitt “Fantasy Debut”
19. Joe Sherry “Adventures in Reading”
20. Smirking Revenge “Confessions of a Bookwhore”
21. Uros Ilovar “Realms of Speculative Fiction”
22. Liz and Mark “My Favorite Books”
23. Kristen “Fantasy Cafe”
24. Simon “Bookgeeks”
25. Carl V. “Stainless Steel Droppings”
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Zombie Five: “The Age of Sorrow”,“Bitter Grounds”,“She’s Taking her Tits to the Grave”, “Dead Like Me”,“Zora and the Zombie”
“The Age of Sorrow” by Nancy Kilpatrick: This short story is a sort of a feminist take on the usual zombie survival mythos that a tough man would be able to trick death and its minions by the sheer force of his muscles, frame, endurance and instinct, all of which are part of the male mythos in culture. In case of danger, who do you look at: beefy brave guy, trying to save everybody or the considerably shorter and lighter girl, who is a screaming machine? Nancy asks “what if” and takes the idea for a spin, which results into a post nuclear war world inhabited by zombies, who fear the daylight, presumably because with the ozone layer almost vanished the UV rays can be harmful towards rotting flesh. The origins of this undead plague are microbes released from the completely molten ice caps. Presumably of course. And amidst all of this we have a sole woman in New Zealand or so she thinks, who managed to secure a compound and turn it into a fortress. Every page is etched with depression, loneliness and hysteria all bubbling inside as isolation for several years dissolves the heroine’s sanity. Nancy features extensive flashbacks that show the past, when the heroine was considerably ordinary and yet after those passages come the memories from dealing with every problem around her survival and succeeding. Every day she faces hell and being alone doesn’t help, until it builds and the insanity of living the same day in routine demands for a dramatic change. Reading this felt like watching a hanging bridge in the middle of a storm, wondering whether it would give or not.
“Bitter Grounds” by Neil Gaiman: If you have a flare for the Haiti branch of zombies, the special zombie powder and mysteries, then you will probably love this. I was pretty much left hanging in how I was to understand this concoction of ideas and bizarre occurrences. On one hand we have a nameless protagonist, who drives out for apples and instead journeys with no purpose as he has no life. At the beginning I get the idea that zombies will be metaphorically evoked, but then he arrives in New Orleans, fakes being an anthropologist and reads a left behind research peace on little zombie girls, who sell coffee. Pretty much after that I was lost and though the story was written beautifully and as a strange dream that defies reality I am still clueless.
“She’s Taking her Tits to the Grave” by Catherine Cheek: Though Miss Cheek declares the story explores the idea of what trouble and mischief an undead can cause, I find the topic of vanity in society hiding in this humorous piece. The reader is introduced to the newly resurrected Melanie, a trophy wife with a rich husband and energetic lover, as she navigates through the world of the living and seeing things from a different perspective. At first she tries to fit in back to how things used to be, but the people she knew and thought mattered to her showed their true color. At the same time her rotting flesh, a process which is irreversible and unsalvageable, teaches Melanie that no liposuction, lifting, facial or hair appointments matter anymore. From page one to the very last sentence we see Melanie go under a metamorphose as she exits the world of plastic empty people and shiny slick brands and goes back to nature, back to her childhood memories, when she was pure. By the end as her flesh has been stripped so has her vanity and she has come to terms that everybody gets old, everybody gets betrayed by their body and that despite being disgusting everybody rots away.
“Dead Like Me” by Adam Troy-Castro: I really loved this story despite it being the saddest one with a nameless protagonist, who is the most pathetic human being. Since I was old enough to understand what a zombie was I always asked the questions. Zombies are stupid; can’t we fool them by acting like them? In “Shaun of the Dead” this was done in a hilarious way and I ever since then hoped it would be done somewhere else. At the same time I also wondered how did zombies hunt, if they were pretty much dead and their eyes were always slack and unfocused? Mister Castro answers these questions in instructions directed to the reader, which aim to instruct a zombie apocalypse victim how to survive among so many of the undead. The recipe is simple and the worst possible for an individual: become a dead shell and you will fool the zombie into believing you are one of them. In the zombie survival genre people try to fight the dead, try to fight their personal demons, try to preserve who they are and the horror here is the opposite. The zombies aren’t causing the terror it’s the willingness to elevate doormat personality and generic face in the crowd to an art form, while at the same time you kill yourself is more blood chilling than any bloodbath I have yet to read.
“Zora and the Zombie” by Andy Duncan: Another weak link in the oh-so-powerful list of stories so far, mainly because it is for a smaller circle of people. I am not introduced to the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston and I am not particularly interested in the Haiti zombie legends either. The zombie powder mythology is not my cup of tea and with this story dragging I couldn’t finish it at all. Hopefully there will be people, who can enjoy it, but as it turned out I am not much into it.
“Bitter Grounds” by Neil Gaiman: If you have a flare for the Haiti branch of zombies, the special zombie powder and mysteries, then you will probably love this. I was pretty much left hanging in how I was to understand this concoction of ideas and bizarre occurrences. On one hand we have a nameless protagonist, who drives out for apples and instead journeys with no purpose as he has no life. At the beginning I get the idea that zombies will be metaphorically evoked, but then he arrives in New Orleans, fakes being an anthropologist and reads a left behind research peace on little zombie girls, who sell coffee. Pretty much after that I was lost and though the story was written beautifully and as a strange dream that defies reality I am still clueless.
“She’s Taking her Tits to the Grave” by Catherine Cheek: Though Miss Cheek declares the story explores the idea of what trouble and mischief an undead can cause, I find the topic of vanity in society hiding in this humorous piece. The reader is introduced to the newly resurrected Melanie, a trophy wife with a rich husband and energetic lover, as she navigates through the world of the living and seeing things from a different perspective. At first she tries to fit in back to how things used to be, but the people she knew and thought mattered to her showed their true color. At the same time her rotting flesh, a process which is irreversible and unsalvageable, teaches Melanie that no liposuction, lifting, facial or hair appointments matter anymore. From page one to the very last sentence we see Melanie go under a metamorphose as she exits the world of plastic empty people and shiny slick brands and goes back to nature, back to her childhood memories, when she was pure. By the end as her flesh has been stripped so has her vanity and she has come to terms that everybody gets old, everybody gets betrayed by their body and that despite being disgusting everybody rots away.
“Dead Like Me” by Adam Troy-Castro: I really loved this story despite it being the saddest one with a nameless protagonist, who is the most pathetic human being. Since I was old enough to understand what a zombie was I always asked the questions. Zombies are stupid; can’t we fool them by acting like them? In “Shaun of the Dead” this was done in a hilarious way and I ever since then hoped it would be done somewhere else. At the same time I also wondered how did zombies hunt, if they were pretty much dead and their eyes were always slack and unfocused? Mister Castro answers these questions in instructions directed to the reader, which aim to instruct a zombie apocalypse victim how to survive among so many of the undead. The recipe is simple and the worst possible for an individual: become a dead shell and you will fool the zombie into believing you are one of them. In the zombie survival genre people try to fight the dead, try to fight their personal demons, try to preserve who they are and the horror here is the opposite. The zombies aren’t causing the terror it’s the willingness to elevate doormat personality and generic face in the crowd to an art form, while at the same time you kill yourself is more blood chilling than any bloodbath I have yet to read.
“Zora and the Zombie” by Andy Duncan: Another weak link in the oh-so-powerful list of stories so far, mainly because it is for a smaller circle of people. I am not introduced to the life and work of Zora Neale Hurston and I am not particularly interested in the Haiti zombie legends either. The zombie powder mythology is not my cup of tea and with this story dragging I couldn’t finish it at all. Hopefully there will be people, who can enjoy it, but as it turned out I am not much into it.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Anniversary!
Exactly on this day one year in the past I wrote my first post for “Temple Library Reviews” and back then everything looked so simple and easy. A reviewer read a book, did a review and waited for the readers to start noticing. Everything was due to me being new to the blog scene as well and just rushed without setting a connection first with the community and not a very strong one afterwards. All the while I wondered what to do about publishers and what to read and what to discuss and how to review. This seems to be an on-going process for me of discovering what works and what not and being all over the place.
So here I am one year later I almost got the right formula and I am contributing to two major fantasy blogs. However I never really got to stick together with the majority of the bloggers in the community, both the new ones and the more experienced ones, all of whom are undoubtedly awesome people to be around with. With that being said I am going to try and change things with yet another interesting project called “Reviewer Time”. This would be a massive pilgrimage around the reviewer community and feature a blog each Sunday starting this Sunday with "Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin' News and Reviews".
First I will start with a review of the review blog and some additional data. After that it’s on with the interview, if the bloggers are up for the talk. So everybody who is game, say so in the comments.
So here I am one year later I almost got the right formula and I am contributing to two major fantasy blogs. However I never really got to stick together with the majority of the bloggers in the community, both the new ones and the more experienced ones, all of whom are undoubtedly awesome people to be around with. With that being said I am going to try and change things with yet another interesting project called “Reviewer Time”. This would be a massive pilgrimage around the reviewer community and feature a blog each Sunday starting this Sunday with "Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin' News and Reviews".
First I will start with a review of the review blog and some additional data. After that it’s on with the interview, if the bloggers are up for the talk. So everybody who is game, say so in the comments.
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