pornokitsch

PK Interview: Jonathan Oliver (Part 2)

The second of our five part series with Abaddon & Solaris editor, Jonathan Oliver. Previously, we discussed the origins of the Twilight of Kerberos series.

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Let’s throw in the traditional question about influences. People normally cite things like Tolkien and, more recently, David Eddings… but you’ve been talking about pulp authors so far. 

H.P. Lovecraft, certainly. “Call of Cthulhu” has to be one of the most influential stories within the horror genre. Lovecraft touched on a horror that no one had really touched on before. His stories seem really grandiose and cosmic, but at their heart they’re about an utter despair. “There is no God, the universe really is this cruel!” 

A friend of mine describes Lovecraft as High Church Atheism, which isn’t far off the truth. I say this as a Christian, but Lovecraft’s atheism is part of what makes him great. It doesn’t upset me – it gives him this unique take on horror. 

You say "Lovecraft" and people immediately just think tentacles and big sea monsters, and that’s really not at the core of what he does. 

PK Interview: Jonathan Oliver (Part 1)

One of the highlights of the SFX Weekender was meeting Jonathan Oliver, editor of Abaddon & Solaris and author of the recently-published The Call of Kerberos. Mr Oliver kindly agreed to an interview, and, even more generously, allowed me to test my new audio gadgetry and record the whole thing. We had a forty-minute, free-ranging chat that covered all aspects of the fantastic universe... and took a long time for me to transcribe.

As a result of this epic venture, we've got five, wonderfully free-ranging interview segments, all of which we'll be sharing over the next two weeks. 

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Why don't we begin with your new book - what are the origins of the Twilight of Kerberos series? How did you came up with the idea for the Twilight world? 

I really love sword and sorcery. I love George R.R. Martin as well, and I love serious fantasy, but Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd & Gray Mouser stories are my favorite things in fantasy ever. 

I wanted to do something that captured the zest and the fun of those stories, while also providing a series structure. We'd already had a fantasy series with Dreams of Inan which didn’t quite work as I wanted it to, though there were some very fine books there. This was way back when I first started and what we actually ended up with was something that was really more space fantasy. It was a bit Buck Rogers-y than I'd intended it be. Entirely my fault. 

6 More Rules for Better Readings

Did some more thinking about the rules for book readings posted by Gail Carriger. Which, incidentally, is an absolute must-read for fans and authors alike.

From the audience perspective, here are six more tips for authors (we've got advice for organizers as well, but those can wait...):

1) No poetry. The tiny minority of fans that want to hear your verse is thoroughly outnumbered by the rest of the audience, who are dying inside. The one, possible, exception, would be something short and humorous. And even then, err on the side of caution.

2) Don't read the ending. It seems obvious, but there are authors that spoil their own books. (My favorite example of this was John Irving, reading the climactic reveal of Until I Find You. That's 800 pages I'll never read.)

PK Interview: Paul Kane (Part 3)

In part 1 & part 2, Paul Kane answered our questions about his books Arrowhead and Broken Arrow, as well as giving us a cheeky peek at the upcoming Arrowland. In the concluding portion of our interview with Mr Kane, we talked about his work outside of the Afterblight, including RED and the upcoming Voices in the Dark.

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Last year, you co-edited Hellbound Hearts with your wife Marie O’Regan, a collection of Clive Barker-inspired short fiction. What prompted you to put together a collection in the Hellraiser universe?  

As you’ve probably guessed from one of my other answers, I’m also a massive Barker fan.

Clive’s one of the reasons I got into writing in the first place, having read the Books of Blood when I was young and just being blown away by the stories. He made me realise what could really be done in genre fiction, the different directions you could take it and how flexible it is. 

Then, when I saw Hellraiser, he did the same for me with film as well. It opened doors in more ways than one! I read the novella on which it was based after seeing the movie, and that was that. It was the start of a lifelong interest in the mythology that saw me collecting any magazines that mentioned the film series and also the Hellraiser comics that came out in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

Gail Carriger, who we seem to name-check daily, just shared a brilliant column: Advice for Hosting an Author Event, with an emphasis on genre writers. Brilliantly timed for us, as the Pornokitsch team are stepping off the sidelines and throwing our first launch party in May. (No, not our book, but it is a proper book from a properly-published proper author. Consider this foreshadowing.)

PK Interview: Paul Kane (Part 2)

In part 1 of our interview, we grilled author Paul Kane about Arrowhead, his post-apocalyptic retelling of the Robin Hood myth. In part 2, he answers questions about its brilliant sequel, Broken Arrow. There are some spoilers, but we've done our best to flag them up. (Beware of magenta!)

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In contrast to Arrowhead, Broken Arrow is "myth-free" - the characters are now running around on their own. Comparing the two writing experiences, which did you enjoy more?

I don’t know if I’d describe it as “myth-free”. If you mean it goes beyond the initial retelling of the Hood legend, then I guess that’s true, but then don’t most of the retellings set in Hood’s time? 

The recent BBC version starring Jonas Armstrong, for example, came up with loads of stories beyond the original retelling of the myth. In actual fact, Broken Arrow adds more layers to that mythology, because you see the introduction of my version of Alan -a-Dale, in the form of...Dale; who else! He’s a young ex-musician who comes to fight on Robert’s side and you just know at some point those songs he writes are going to end up telling the tale of Robert and his Rangers. 

PK Draft: Sexy, Sexy Steampunk

If there are two hot trends right now, they're the salacious fun of urban fantasy and the romantic escapism of Steampunk. Let's combine the two (kind of like the wonderful Gail Carriger - who prompted this whole thing with a blog post of her own). 

So, this week's draft: Who is the Steampunk character that you'd be least likely to throw out of bed?

And, no, we don't mean "because they bring the best duvet". Nor does it necessarily have to be a bed. This is Steampunk after all, so if you'd rather do your shagging in an airship or the Nautilus, now's the time to pick your partner.

Plus, we've got an awesome themed prize.

We're giving away a proof copy of Stephen Hunt's steampunk adventure, The Kingdom Beyond the Waves. 

All you need to do is enter the draft - every pick is a chance in the drawing!

Inspired by Paul Kane. Our top 5 books from Clive Barker: 1) The Thief of Always, 2) The Inhuman Condition, 3) Imajica, 4) Clive Barker, Illustrator, 5) Abarat. Not counted: The Books of Blood, because there's somewhere between 1 and 6. Narrowly missed: Cabal. Not even close: Galilee.

PK Interview: Paul Kane (Part 1)

At SFX Weekender, the Pornokitsch team had the good fortune of meeting Paul Kane, author of Arrowhead and Broken Arrow. We pounced on the opportunity and signed up him for an interview. Mr Kane received a shopping list of questions from us, and, demonstrating Herculean patience, answered all of them.

What follows is part one of our three part interview. We'll be sharing it this week, so stick around to hear about projects past, present & future from one of the horror genre's leading lights (or should that be darknesses?).

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First stop - the Afterblight. You were given the entire post-apocalyptic world to choose from, and you decided to set your books in Nottingham! How'd this come about? 

Well, the previous novels in the Afterblight series – prior to mine – The Culled by Simon Spurrier and Kill or Cure by Rebecca Levene had covered parts of the US and the New Caribbean respectively; although The Culled does start off in Britain, it shifts very quickly to America. Scott Andrews’ School’s Out is set over here, but down South. 

So, I figured I’d write about the areas that I know, and what might have happened to them. I live in the Midlands, actually only about 20 minutes away from Nottingham, so I was able to include accurate details about the towns and cities surrounding it. 

Massive Sales at Borderlands Books

For anyone on the West Coast (or within flying distance thereof), Borderlands Books is having a massive series of sales over the next month. These come on top of their normal routine of events & signings.

- DVD Close-out Sale (March 6-12): All DVD's reduced by 25% - and then another 5% each day.

- Hardcover Sale (March 13-14): 20% off all hardcovers (including the super-rare ones!)

- Trade Paperback Sale (March 20 - 21): 20% off all trade paperbacks

- Two-for-One Used Books (March 27-28): Crikey. I can't believe I'm missing this one. 

- Garage Sale (April 3-4): Everything from tools to shelves, broadswords to typewriters (not kidding). 

Also worth noting, Borderlands are selling 100 special gift certificates. Almost like short-term loans - the $100 certificates are redeemable for $120 in August. (Perfect for those travelling trips to San Francisco this summer...)

All sounds a little ominous, but owner Jude explains that they're freeing up some cash after opening the new cafe. They are not (whew) going out of business. I also suggest checking out their long list of events over the next couple months - authors like Chaz Brenchley and Gail Carriger will be swinging by.

Support your local or non-local bookshop. There aren't enough of them left.