Sweet. I have a devilish sweet tooth, and have since I was a child. I was the kind of kid who reached into the cookie jar when no one was looking. I still do so today, but as an adult, no one can really stop me! There are a great many things that would pose a threat to one as curious as I in H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos. The most likely bane for my existence would be Yog-Sothoth. I feel like my current quest for knowledge would eventually, and undoubtedly, lead me to this Outer God. A being locked outside the universe that knows all that occurs in space-time would likely overload my brain, causing me to bleed from all facial orifices while incoherently sputtering the deepest secrets of all life. That is, until I would shrivel up into a mumbling husk doomed to be cast out into an unfeeling, unthinking void, with nothing but my long sought secrets to keep me company. "The most likely bane for my existence would be Yog-Sothoth. Your original artistic pursuit was in film and TV but you opted to focus your creativity on writing. In what ways has your training in film influenced you as a writer? Do you write screenplays as well or are you committed to the text-only format of books? There are many ways to tell a story. Visually, auditorily, or in written form. Film and TV focus on the visual and audio aspects, but everything always starts from the written format (script). My education in broadcast television allowed me to learn about how to create content for an audience. My writing could be the best work to ever grace this planet, but if no one wants to read it... well, it doesn’t really matter then, does it? I learned how to create a story from people who have been doing so professionally for a long time. Working with professionals like this allowed me to develop an understanding of how to create the kind of story that people want to experience. "There are many ways to tell a story. Visually, auditorily, or in written form. Film and TV focus on the visual and audio aspects, but everything always starts from the written format (script)." I no longer write scripts/screenplays. I used to in college, and shortly following college, but I discovered more freedom in more traditional styles of writing. I found the formatting for scripts and screenplays (interior vs exterior, types of shots, location and character names, etc.) to be a drag. Having to expend effort for such things for stories that I don’t plan to shoot seems like a waste of effort. Effort that would be better spent fleshing out lore and building a literary world. You and I are both Canadian authors which, if you walk through the average Chapters bookstore (pre-quarantine, of course) is fairly rare. What unique challenges has being a Canadian author brought to you? Are there any advantages you’ve found to living north of the US/Canada border?
"Canadians tend to be less inclined to push their way to success, For a similar reason, I feel that Canadians have an advantage on our home turf. Mark, an author I worked with recently, told me of a time he was doing a book signing for his work at a bookstore in Waterloo (his home town). That day, there was a promotion going on for a recently released Stephen King book, but Mr. King was not there to do any reader-interaction stuff. That day, Mark’s new book outsold Stephen King’s. All because he was a local author who came out to see his readers, and King didn’t. No offense to Stephen King, I’ve heard he’s a cool dude, I’m just saying that taking advantage of your home town and local bookstores can be a great boon! Especially when we can all return to our beloved bookstores in the, hopefully, near future. One of the things that many newer writers really struggle to do is to finish things. Perhaps they write three quarters of a story then abandon it or even complete a first draft but never edit it. What advice do you have for writers who find themselves stuck within sight of the finish line? I think I’m kind of a freak in this regard. These days, I always finish every writing project that I start, but that was not always the case. I wrote the first half of Inner Expanses during 2014/2015, but stopped when... life... and death got in the way. There was one week in March of 2015 where I completely lost sight of my life and temporarily devolved into a wretch of a man. After a little while, I regained my humanity, but found that I was not able to pick up where I left off. I felt that if a life can end suddenly and without reason, then so can a book. I purposely left Inner Expanses unfinished as a testament to this notion. It wasn’t until 2018 that I picked up the pen once more, so to speak. "I think I’m kind of a freak in this regard. These days, I always finish every writing project that I start, The reason I reached for that pen once more, and why all writers should do so themselves regarding unfinished work, is quite simple, though hard to see until you have a paradigm shift. Because you can. And because you want to. When I think of potential… when I think of what could be, I cannot rest. Write because you want to, but remember that if your writing is never completed and no one reads it….it’s pointless and useless. This is harsh, but I feel these are words all writers need to hear. No, not hear, FEEL! No one cares about a half-written story. No one is going to write it for you. If you truly care about your story, finish it and share it, otherwise it won’t matter. You can write for yourself, if you want, but why deprive the world of your beautiful words? Your book Inner Expanses is a dimension twisting story about two planes of reality that swirl and collide, one that is full of battles with monsters and another that is familiar to our own world. I am always intrigued when Fantasy and Sci-Fi genre elements are mixed. How did you manage to balance these two threads? Were they blended into one in your mind or woven together?
"When you define the rationale behind concepts, they go from being 'unknown magic' For example; long ago, people thought natural disasters were the work of Gods or monsters, but today we know that they are the result of nature’s natural rhythm. Fictional concepts always come to my mind on their own, but always get swirled into the vortex that is my brain. There, they live with their neighbours of different origin and reason. Much like the beings of the realm of nightly battles, from Inner Expanses. As well as being an author, you are also an artist. In fact, you created the art for your book Inner Expanses which many writers, I’m sure, would love to have the skill to do. Do you often visualize your stories through art as part of your writing process or is your artwork reserved only for covers? Art has always been a huge influence in my life. Particularly visual arts, such as painting, sculpting, and even modern artforms like photography and videography. I use them as lenses to see certain things through. Things that I cannot experience personally, but things that I can appreciate the aesthetic value and meaning of. Horrific concepts not of this realm, long dead romances of tragic heroes, tales of fairies and wizards and dragons. "Art has always been a huge influence in my life. Particularly visual arts, such as painting, I don’t always incorporate art with my stories, but it is relatively common. The acts of creating, both in writing and visual art, are just two mediums in which to tell stories. There are much more, but these are just the two I use the most often...and probably the best, if I’m being honest. Creating the covers/accompanying art for my stories, including the silly little “figures” in my ongoing newsletter story, has given me a valid reason, or rather an excuse, to use a visual medium of storytelling in conjunction with the written. I live on Vancouver Island and absolutely love living by the sea. One of your upcoming works follows the adventures of Captain Charles Salt as he becomes a dreaded pirate. Can you give us any sneak previews or hints as to where his adventures might take him and his feisty crew? Firstly, let me state my envy. I’ve been to Vancouver Island and really enjoyed my time there! I wish I could live in a place like that someday. My dream home would be a lighthouse, I think. Ah, yes. Captain Charles Salt, along with his brothers and sisters, will be the protagonists in my next full length novel ‘Salt On the Waves’. So far, this tale exists solely as concepts and daydreams, albeit somewhat organized ones. I don’t even know if this story will be a single book, two, or even three. There’s certainly a lot of fuel for adventures that the Salt crew could have. I have been playing with ideas for Salt On the Waves for years now, many of which tie into the book that I’m going to be releasing this summer, ‘Unusual Tales for Curious Minds’. This is actually the first time I’m typing out the title, on my website it is still ‘Untitled’! I may change that soon, though.
Picture a world, similar to ours in cosmic geography and geology, but there are no great land masses. Just many islands. Some big, some small, but all very interesting and unique. Due to ancient and secret reasons, there is a great degree of variation between islands. The amount of different kinds of life in this world, known as Okeanós, is staggering. This includes, but is not restricted to, colossal sea monsters the size of islands, vicious pirates hungry for gold and blood, and many curiosities of prehistoric and sinister nature. "This includes, but is not restricted to, colossal sea monsters the size of islands, vicious pirates hungry for gold and blood, and many curiosities of prehistoric and sinister nature." Where can readers keep track of your latest writing and stay up to date on your next publication? My newsletter and my website are the best places to do that. I have added a ‘Latest Updates’ board on the homepage of my website to let everyone, myself included, know of recent changes and developments. I also mention the same things on the board in my newsletter, in addition to giving my subscribers short stories, art, and poems. All of which are EXCLUSIVE to the newsletter. Twitter is also a great place to keep track of my work and get in touch with me. I’ve made plenty of friends in the writing community there. I tweet daily and am always looking to connect with new readers and writers! Make sure to follow Reyadh on Twitter and join his newsletter. Book lovers can also find him on Goodreads!
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And amplify a sense by a factor of ten...hmmmm. I would say sight because my vision suuucks, so amplifying it by a factor of ten would probably just about give me normal vision, yay! In all seriousness, yes, I’d say sight. I feel like all the other senses being amplified would be really rough in different ways. I love both Sci-Fi and Fantasy in all their forms. However, I sometimes wonder why they are grouped together as, for me, they seem distinct in many ways. As a writer of sci-fi and fantasy yourself, how do you distinguish the two genres? Can there be any crossover? Should they be considered separately or are they just two ends of the same spectrum? That’s a really great point, and it’s a pretty big part of my concentration. For my major, I chose to study The Concept of Otherness in Speculative Fiction, and one of the things I talked about a lot with my adviser was the use of the term “speculative fiction” instead of “science fiction” or “fantasy.” For me, speculative fiction means anything that lets the writer make observations about the human condition, society, technology, or really anything, without setting the story in our own world. I would say that sci-fi and fantasy have always been grouped together because they take issues that exist in the here and now and comment on them through creating these other worlds, whether those worlds involve magic and whimsy or tech and innovation. For that reason, I see them as two ends of the same spectrum working towards a similar goal. And as for whether there can be any crossover, my WIP merges magic and technology because I love both genres so much. Whether that crossover is effective is up for debate, but I enjoy it and always look out for it to read! "I chose to study The Concept of Otherness in Speculative Fiction, and one of the things I talked about a lot with my adviser was the use of the term 'speculative fiction' instead of 'science fiction' or 'fantasy.' " You host the online journal Satyr Central which posts “anything soulful and non-conformist”; I personally find this focus so refreshing as almost every publication I have encountered is looking for something so specific that it seems that all but a dozen people on earth are disqualified from submitting. What have been some of the highlights of hosting Satyr Central? Thank you so much! That means a lot to me. And shoutout to one of our editors, “Jon the Semite” for coming up with that little blurb on our About page. I think the biggest highlight of hosting Satyr Central is knowing that I can post some really weird stuff and not worry about “Oh, does this meet guidelines? Oh, is this too weird to publish?” I’ve accepted some great submissions where the authors told me when they submitted that they weren’t sure what category the piece fit into, so they thought it would work well with us, and it did! From theological rants to odes to headless women to articles rating books by how nice they feel and sound, we’ve got some bizarre stuff on Satyr, and I say that with a lot of pride. "From theological rants to odes to headless women to articles rating books by how nice they feel and sound, we’ve got some bizarre stuff on Satyr, and I say that with a lot of pride." Most writers spend a fair amount of time sending queries and submissions. You have experience on both sides of that conversation. As someone who receives and reviews submissions, what are some tips you have for writers who are trying to get their work published?
Other than that, the biggest tip I can give writers looking to submit anything--whether it’s queries for a book, article, short story, poem, whatever--is that it’s a good idea to (politely) follow up if we take too long to look at your submission and get back to you. I love getting submissions, but with everything going on, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed and I always appreciate someone giving me a gentle nudge and saying, “Hey, I sent you this a few weeks ago and just wanted to confirm that you got it.” Now note that some publications/publishers/lit agents don’t like it when you do that and will say that they’ll get to you when they get to you or to take no response as a rejection, and that’s where reading guidelines carefully comes back into play. But for me personally, I appreciate those quick nudges and it’s helped me get back to awesome writers whose submissions I somehow managed to entirely miss. So there’s that! "...the biggest tip I can give writers looking to submit anything... is that it’s a good idea to (politely) follow up if we take too long to look at your submission and get back to you." Sci-Fi and Fantasy as genres offer writers almost unlimited freedom in creating worlds and characters. As always, in the words of Uncle Ben, ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. What are your thoughts on the power of that freedom and what do you think should guide writers in their use of that power? Are there any limits? And where have you seen this power wielded masterfully for the greater good?
"I do think the best stories—Sci-Fi and Fantasy in particular—have the power to You and I share an interest in myths and mythology. One of the joys of engaging with the writing community online is the opportunity to learn about myths from all over the world. Which is your personal favorite flavor of mythology and are there any mythological personalities that you think deserve more air time? Wow, this is a great question (and a tough one!). I grew up on Greek mythology and have always loved it, but in terms of mythological personalities that don’t get enough air time, I’d have to say the legends from The Ramayana. I got to be a student mentor teaching a high school class this Hindu epic, and it was such a joy to explore all of the themes, characters, and political and religious context for the story of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana. Yet I had never, ever heard of the epic before being invited to take part in that program. I think that’s a real shame and I highly recommend that any lovers of mythology check it out. "I grew up on Greek mythology and have always loved it, but in terms of mythological personalities that don’t get enough air time, I’d have to say the legends from The Ramayana." Can you give us a hint about your current project? Any tantalizing clues or sneak-peek quotes? I’m planning on finishing my first short story from my work-in-progress, which will hopefully be the start of some sort of web series I can post on my website. I want to hold myself accountable because I’m a chronic procrastinator, so I’d love to include the first paragraph from the short story! “It had been two years since the first time Kamiel had been to the Hex Market on the border between his home district and the worst, most loathsome district in The Core City. Since then, he’d gotten accustomed to the hushed conversations, the shifty-eyed patrons, the bubbling of Imaginate elixirs used for something far different and more sinister than their intended purpose, and even the occasional Rending when tensions were high and fights would break out...” Fingers crossed I can actually finish it, ha! “It had been two years since the first time Kamiel had been to the Hex Market on the border between his home district and the worst, most loathsome district in The Core City..." Where can readers keep track of your latest writings and stay up to date on your next publication? I am all over social media, but the best way to keep up with my writing is to subscribe to my blog’s newsletter! I promise we don’t send hundreds of emails a day, but you will get an update when we have a newsletter out or a brand new post weekly.
However, my wife will always choose something new. Always. I have to admit that I owe some culinary revelations to this habit of hers, including my addiction to sushi and a discovery of the treasure trove that is Lebanese cuisine. But to be honest, the majority of new dishes we order are disappointments that we have no desire to encounter again. Is it worth it for the rush of discovering a delicious new food? Sure. Is it enough to stop me from ordering a pulled-pork sandwich or a pad thai for the one-hundredth time? Definitely not. So what does all this have to do with writing genre fiction? Well, some might say that reading genre fiction is a bit like ordering pulled-pork sandwiches over and over, that it makes you predictable (i.e. boring). Others might add that writing genre fiction is little more than an act of trying to resuscitate long-dead tropes while trying to pass off cheap imitations as original work. Given these two stereotypical notions, especially within the writing community, there can be a lot of shame or defensiveness around reading or writing these kinds of stories. Therefore, I feel the need to present an argument in defense of genre fiction, its readers, and its writers. "Therefore, I feel the need to present an argument in defense of genre fiction, its readers, and its writers." I would love to include a comprehensive list of all that is included under the umbrella of ‘genre fiction’, but there are endless branches and sub-branches which spiral down toward infinity in fractal patterns. Some of the most popular are Romance, Westerns, Mystery, Horror, Thrillers, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. If you are a writer or reader of any genre, or aspire to be one, this rant is for you. (And if not, feel free to go read a dictionary…)
So I’ll just go ahead and say it straight: I write Fantasy. I write cursed swords and magical monsters and medieval feasts with calorie counts high enough to kill an olympic weightlifter. I don’t have a BA in History, in Poetry, or in Literary Criticism (though I’m sure those are all great degrees to have) and I don’t aspire to be published in a literary journal. My aim in writing is not to win an argument or to show off my intellectual prowess, and it is certainly not to win prestigious literary awards to line my shelf with. "I write Fantasy. I write cursed swords and magical monsters and medieval feasts
"My highest aspiration as a writer is this: to write the book that people keep on that extra-special place on their shelf, the book whose pages are wrinkled and stained from use..." I write Fantasy because I strive to create the kind of stories I want to read. I want adventure. I want magic. And most of all, I want worlds unbounded by the shackles of our present reality or belaboured past. That is the kind of story I crave when I feel numbed by the drivel of the day-to-day, when I feel crushed between the cogs of ‘the system’, or when the itch for adventure is so insistent I can no longer ignore it. Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t reference history or challenge real political or philosophical ideas; what it means is that I have a safe place to explore and create, a cushion between raw reality and a mental other-space where it is easier to think, explore, and feel. "That is the kind of story I crave when I feel numbed by the drivel of the day-to-day, when I feel crushed between the cogs of ‘the system’, or when the itch for adventure is so insistent I can no longer ignore it." Despite my love of Fantasy, many writers of genre fiction get it wrong. Really wrong. Their plot lines get tangled in tropes, their characters end up skewered on tired stereotypes, and the overcooked hyperbole of their world causes it to collapse in on itself. In fact, these fumbled attempts at imitation, rather than creation, are what give genre fiction a bad name in the writing world. So where does good genre fiction start? Well, it starts with a promise.
"Promise is the foundation of genre fiction... You must fulfill the promise of your genre But don’t stop there. Give your genre fiction something extra. Zest it with a character or an idea that will catch your reader off-guard, that will make them think, that will stay forever impressed on their minds. Give them the rush and the escape that they have felt before while reading that genre and then dazzle them with something they never expected.
So don’t be ashamed of writing or reading genre fiction. If you are a writer then start with the promise and build off of that foundation. If you are a reader, don’t settle for dry characters or soggy plot lines. Now, you’ll have to excuse me because I am really craving a pulled-pork sandwich... For more advice about writing genre fiction, Joshua recommends listening to the Writing Excuses podcast.
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AuthorJoshua Gillingham is an author, editor, and game designer from Vancouver Island, Canada. Archives
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