THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP QUESTIONAIRE

Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:

What is the working title of your book?
RED RIGHT HAND

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I love the Lovecraftian Mythos. Not so much Lovecraft’s actual writing of it, but what other writers have done, specifically Robert E. Howard, and in urban fantasy you are always looking for the thing that noone else is doing so viola! An urban fantasy take on the Lovecraft Mythos.

What genre does your book fall under?
Dark Urban Fantasy.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Hmmmmm. No idea. I need a good actress to play Charlie, the main character. She has a lot of depth and has to go through a LOT in the course of this book.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A woman with PTSD is dragged into a war of horror by the elder god Nyarlathotep.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I will be shopping it.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I have been working on it a bit over a month with two huge breaks in the middle for the release of the second Deacon Chalk book and Dragoncon (and the resulting con crud that kicked my ass for near 10 days.).

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
It’s very dark and violent so probably the Deacon Chalk books I write. Also the John Taylor series by Simon R. Green, but only at their darkest. It’s near to a horror book so if you read Brian Keene you would not mind RED RIGHT HAND.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to see the Crawling Chaos in our world.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
This is a different take on a mythology that is new to urban fantasy. Lots of horror books have been placed in the Lovecraft Mythos, but this is the first one to take an urban fantasy slant….it’s like AMERICAN GODS meets HIGHLANDER by way of APOCALYPSE NOW.

MORE THAN ALE WILL BE SPILLED TONIGHT! (a guest blog by Steven Shrewsbury)

Alright kiddos, gather round. Today we have Steven Shrewsberry stopping by to entertain you. Put on your raincoats in the first four rows, this might get messy.

Me, Steven Shrewsbury, John Hartness, and Brady Allen. Shrews is about to go on a rant.

I met Steven at Fandom Fest where I was privileged to not only lift a glass of moonshine with him (and Brady Allen and John Hartness) but to also sit and discuss the late, great Robert E. Howard with him and Brady Allen. It was a blast. Steven is a helluva guy. He writes some kick ass sword and sorcery as well as kick ass horror. I loved  HAWG, OVERKILL,  and THRALL and highly recommend them. Steven has promised me a story for THUNDER ON THE BATTLEFIELD, the sword and sorcery anthology I’m editing for Seventh Star Press for next year and, by Crom I plan to hold him to it!

What’s on the mind of Steven Shrewsbury?

So kick back and listen as he tells you about creating a new story.

A CREATION THING

As a guest blogger, I’ll try to behave and not wreck the place or wipe anything on the curtains as I go. Much. I’m author, Steven L. Shrewsbury, by the way, writer of sword & sorcery hardcore horror and a good dad, so I hear.

I’m enjoying going through the third draft of a novel. There seem to be so many folks doubting themselves or unsure of how they should approach things. Just do it, well, it cannot be that simple all the time, of course, but getting after it, yeah, do it. I like it. I feel good about it. I’m not filled with doubt, worry if I’ll offend anyone or any of that manure. It feels right. Now, that isn’t valid in every scenario in life, but this time, I feel the burn. It’s warm.

At times, I smile at things I write, stuff I forgot in the earlier drafts. There are times I have qualms that I wrote it at all. But that doesn’t scare me. Then there are the moments of passion, or outright Christmas morning glee when everything hooks up and the answers are revealed. Those are the times I feel it, I feel something, or someone in my mind. Maybe it’s my higher self, or my low-life, baser self, conducting an orchestra of the mad. Whatever the cheesy application, it’s damned good to listen to. It burns through the darkness and light splashes on the page. Does it smell like victory or just a mental napalm barbecue with legions of victims? Dunno.

All writers have a God complex. Some fess up to it but others whack off against the idea for eternity. It’s a creation thing, some are weirder or more obsessive than others. Some, their balls never drop and they work their jaws in discussion on a topic instead of working it out in a tale. Others, spread it out too much and the money shot gets old after a spell. Today, though, I looked at what I made. And it was good.

Why do writers write? That’s a complex one for a panel, but frankly, my answer has always been because I have to. Not out of financial need, but really that the tales must come out. I’ve been telling tales since I started re-fighting the battle of Jericho in my sandbox as a kid. Granted, Joshua didn’t have part off a Navarone play set and the will o’God behind him together, but I’ve always had the urge to relate a story. Many a tale is told easily and others have a terrible habit of torturing me for years. This novel I’m brushing up about a Confederate in his 90s facing a band of maniacs the Coen brothers would love is killer, at least to me, anyways, and it came out right. It isn’t S&S, and while parts are horrific, it is more survivalist/thriller, but I hate labels. Someday, I’ll share with the class.

Someday, someone will read this book and tell me it blows chunks. They may say they didn’t care for it, it wasn’t their kind of thing or, it fell short of what I must’ve had in mind. That’s okay as well. I told the story. It exists. It belongs to no one else. Those who cannot try can bite me. There are people that bitch to God about the weather, their taxes and why a platypus lays eggs. Today, I’m God. If only for a little while.

I’m sure He understands.

Steven Shrewsbury

Author of OVERKILL, THRALL, HELL BILLY, and HAWG

http://sshrewsbury.wordpress.com/

bigbearshrews@yahoo.com

MICRO FICTION TO TIDE YOU OVER

I am almost over the con crud I got from my awesome DragonCon weekend. It did almost kick my ass.

But I wanted to toss up a small blog to tide you over for the bigass DragonCon report. So here goes.
_______________________

“Boy.”
“Yes Sire.”
“Never bow. Come quickly when I call you but never bow again.”
“Not even in the presence of your father the Sultan?”
“Especially not then. Better to die.”
“By your example Sire.”