DOGCON4: Philadelphia, PA

It seems like it was just yesterday when I was standing in Jen and John’s kitchen, covered in marshmallow as I tried to bake treats for the first DogCon with Heidi Ruby Miller. Three wonderful and productive years have since passed, and as I write this, I’m slowly recovering from DogCon 4, which took place in Philadelphia, PA. I say recover because during this trip I went to prison, looked at dead things in jars, won a championship belt, became a bridesmaid, and caught up with old friends while making new friends in the process.

William and I left fairly early in the morning for what would be our first road trip together as a couple. I baked muffins, he picked me up in in a spider costume, and that, my friends, pretty much describes our relationship in a nutshell, but I digress. We got into the city later than we expected because the Pennsylvania Turnpike is actually the 10^th circle of Hell, but what awaited us in the city was well worth the wait.

We ate at one of Bobby Flay’s Burger joints because I think William would have had an aneurysm if we didn’t—but jokes aside, my guy has good taste (I mean, obviously). My burger was heavenly and I’m now 100% #TeamFlay. We’ll definitely be visiting his restaurant in Vegas in May when we’re in town for StokerCon.

^^ Can you keep a secret? Good. Now don’t tell William, but I think I’m going to make our anniversary dinner reservations there. Shhhh.

Afterwards we met up with Joseph Bouthiette Jr., Kaylee Stebbins and Josh Myers, all of who I met for the first time, despite being friends with them online for years. That, though, is one of my favorite parts about conventions: meeting new people. Josh and I immediately became BFF’s based on our mutual love of Archer, and Joe and Kaylee were two of the most lovely and hysterical people I’ve met over the years. Instant friendships are my favorites, and I’m already counting down the days until we cross paths again.

I also got to spend the evening catching up with two of my dearest friends, Kristina (Kat) and Austin. Kat was my roommate in college, and we hadn’t seen each other in two years, and after lots of laughing and crying and merrymaking over the weekend, she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids next year at her wedding. I love you, Kat. I’m so happy that you’re happy and I can’t wait to stand by your side and make you laugh at inappropriate moments while you’re trying to seriously start your life as an adult.

Austin, who I haven’t seen for six years, introduced me to his lovely girlfriend, Rain, told William a lot of embarrassing stories about me in college (all of which were true) and the whole trip with them was just a riot. Kat and Austin celebrated with me, watched me almost die of food poisoning, hugged and kissed me goodbye, and in those moments, it’s pretty cool to know that I have people like the two of them in my life. If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that distance doesn’t mean anything when you love you someone. Here’s to forever friendships!

 The next morning, William and I woke up and met the RDSP crew at Eastern State Penitentiary, something that has been on my bucket list for probably about five years now. Anyone who knows me will tell you that one of my absolute favorite things to do is explore haunted/abandoned prisons and asylums, so this was basically heaven for me, and the fact that I got to cross something off my bucket list with William by my side was a moment in and of itself.  The tour was amazing, and I took lots of notes and pictures for my current WIP, The Color White. A big highlight for me here was seeing Al Capone’s cell, as well as listening to Arnzen tell me that clowns were going to jump out of the walls at any given moment.

After breaking out of prison, William and I got some grub—and a pretty bangin’ hot/hard cider-- and headed off to the Mutter Museum. As you can see, my game plan for seduction is pretty strong. I like to romance my man by first taking him to prison, and then follow it up with a nice visit to see some deformed medical oddities that have been soaked in formaldehyde and stuffed into jars. William and I had a blast here and if that, in and of itself, doesn’t say love, I don’t know what will. We say some fascinating medical equipment, I got shot and had my arm amputated, and then we played with plush body parts and diseases for a while as we laughed over which harmful malady we could give to each other for Christmas.

After the museum, we went and grabbed some coffee and walked around the city a bit. It was wonderfully relaxing and one of my favorite parts of the trip with William. We made our way over to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where we saw Thor, a skateboarding dog, and the Rocky statue. I lost a bet I made with William, he laughed at me a lot, and then he posed on the steps like the champion he is. This also is pretty standard for our relationship. Laughing makes me happy, and William makes me happy, so the two of them together is pretty much all I need.

Later that evening, the RDSP authors were scheduled to read at PhilaMOCA. Prior to going there, William and I went back to the house where I practiced my reading for him. I’m usually not one to share anything that I write until the moment that I’m either on stage or turning something in for publication, but with William, it’s easy because I trust him and I know he’ll be honest with me. That’s a good feeling to have, I won’t lie, and that moment where I was reading, and he was listening to me on the porch is one that I’ll keep in the memory box for quite some time.

When we got to the venue, I listened to all of my fabulously talented colleagues read from their work, and as always, it was great and equally inspiring. I read a poem out of Hysteria, “The Color White,” and then followed up with the first chapter of my novel in progress: The Color White. Sounds crazy? Well it was. They certainly don’t call me the light poet. Bring on the darkness and fill it full of madness, my friends. And if the night couldn’t get any better, I ended up winning the Reader’s Choice Award for Mourning Jewelry and I about had a heart attack. Former champion and current selfie partner, Matt Betts, gifted me with the belt which I will hold on to—and wear (everywhere)—for the next year. A big thank you to Jen and John for everything that they do—both for me, and for the press—and an even bigger thank you to all of my readers. None of this would be possible without you.

The night ended with me dying of food poisoning. So we’ll skip over that.

Sunday rolled around faster than usual, but was still a full day nevertheless. William and I LOVE It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia so stopping at Mac’s Tavern was an absolute must on our to-do list. We brunched hard there with some Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s and then we hit the road for New Hope, PA, for the final event at Farley’s Bookshop: D.Harlan Wilson’s book launch for BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY, VOL 1. RDSP also put into action a story swap that had us all laughing until we cried. The highlight here for me was Arnzen reading my poem “Head Banging” and me reading his piece “The Bleu Man Group.” From now on, Arnzen and I are only reading each other’s work because it was too damn funny, so prepare yourselves accordingly.

Saying goodbye is always hard, but it’s a necessary evil. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again, hopefully sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, thank you all for making this past weekend such a wonderful experience for me.

 

For more about Raw Dog Screaming Press, click here.

For a list of all of our books, click here.

Confessions of a Writer Tag

I was tagged by fellow author, J. L. Gribble, to complete a 20-question survey designed to get to know authors in the blog-o-sphere. For the original post on the tag and the participation guidelines, go here.

Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I was in third grade and my game plan has never wavered. As long as it’s fun, I’ll keep doing it. I have no intention of stopping.

What genre do you write?

Horror. Dark Fantasy. Erotica.

Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?

My current WIP is The Color White, which is the novelization of my poetry collection Hysteria: A Collection of Madness. It goes throughout the poems and tells the story of Samantha Irving and how she became my muse of madness.

What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?

I wrote a story about a little girl whose mother was tortured and raped by a traveling vampire clan. I wrote this when I was in middle school and my teacher turned me into the guidance counselor to make sure “I was okay.”

I hope they read Hysteria to see that I grew up to be a very sane, and calm-natured adult.

What’s the best part about writing?

Writing.

What’s the worst part about writing?

Writing.

What’s the name of your favorite character and why?

Hysteria. She was the first character to speak to me, and even if it was in absolute madness, she’ll always be my number one girl…and not just because she locked me up in an abandoned asylum for a night.

How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?

I write at night—always have, probably always will. I also don’t hold myself to a strict schedule, because when it feels too strict, I get anxiety over it and then my words don’t work. I try to write something, even if it’s only a 100 words, every day though.

Did you go to college for writing? Or if you haven’t been to college yet, do you plan to?

Yes, I got my BA from Seton Hill University (SHU) in English Literature and Art History. I then went straight to graduate school at SHU and obtained my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, where I studied with a concentration in Horror and Dark Fantasy.

What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?

They all pretty much make me want to rip my skin off, but if someone uses exclamation points like they are periods, it makes me want to punch a hole through my wall.

What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?

“People are assholes. Do what you want.”

What advice would you give to another writer?

Don’t stop. Even when it seems like it’s all bullshit, don’t stop.

What are your favorite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips or encouragement?

I don’t follow any sites religiously, but I enjoy the hell out of Chuck Wendig’s blog.

Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?

I like to travel, cook, and read.

And drink wine.

I really like to drink wine.

What is the best book you’ve read this year?

This is a tough one. I’ve recently read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and that book rocked my gothic little soul, so I’d have to go with that.

The Martian by Andy Weir and You by Caroline Kepnes are definite runner-ups, though.

What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?

I really enjoyed SPRING, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.

What is your favorite book or series of all time?

Misery by Stephen King…you dirty birdie.

Who is your favorite author?

Classic: Edgar Allan Poe

Contemporary: Jack Ketchum. He’s unapologetic with his writing and he grabs me by the heart in a way that no one else does, although Clive Barker is a very, very close second.

What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?

I’m working on a novelization of my poetry collection Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, titled The Color White. I’m also working on finishing up two poetry collections, Default Black and In This Prison of Cumulus.

Where else can we find you online?

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.wytovich
• Twitter: @JustAfterSunset
• Instagram: SWytovich
• Blog: http://stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com/
• My publishers, Raw Dog Screaming Press and Dark Regions Press

THE MADHOUSE STEALS KRISTIN DEARBORN

This week in the MADHOUSE, I'm hanging out with one of my favorite horror gal pals, Kristin Dearborn.When she told me that she had another book on the horizon, I knew I had to interview her to get the scoop. Check out the blurb for STOLEN AWAY below, along with a short Q&A about the book and her writing process. Plus, I think there's something in there about prostitutes and Skunk Apes...

Trisha doesn’t have much going for her, but she is a good mother. That’s what she’s always told herself, anyway. She wakes in the middle of the night to hear her infant son has been taken. Her daughter, who saw the kidnapping, tearfully tells her a monster took him. Her ex-boyfriend Joel owes the Russian Mafia a million dollars, but that’s nothing compared to the trouble Trisha’s got herself into. Searching for her son, Trisha and Joel won’t let gangsters, demons, or Joel’s overbearing mother stop them.

Trisha and Joel are forced to confront demons along the way, and not all of them are the literal kind. Not everyone can be trusted, and that has nothing to do with who’s a demon and who’s human.

Trisha knows her son is out there, and is alive. Will she be able to reunite her family?

Q. What was the inspiration for your novel?
A. While on vacation with my family in Florida in 2005 I wrote 100,000 words of an uncompleted novel based vaguely on this theme. It was bloated, uninspired, and I shoved it unceremoniously into the proverbial trunk. I didn’t think of it again until I was watching Breaking Bad recently. Something about the storyline where Jesse starts dating the woman with the little boy made me think of these characters. I like writing about people who aren’t squeaky clean, who have a nasty past that haunts them. Stolen Away has shades of True Romance and Supernatural.

Q. How long have you been writing fiction?
A. I’ve pretty much been writing fiction forever. Before I could write, I used to dictate stories to my mom. I focused on creative writing at the University of Maine, walking the same halls as Stephen King. I started selling work after I started graduate classes at Seton Hill University, where I got my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. I have several short stories published in various magazines and anthologies.

Q. Where have you previously published your fiction?
A. My first novel Trinity and novella “Sacrifice Island” are available now from DarkFuse. Later this year they will publish a second novella, “Woman in White”. I’ve published in a variety of shorter markets, including Midnight Echo, the official magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association; Wicked Tales, the Journal of the New England Horror Writers (vol. 3); and the Horror Library Volume 5.

Q. Who are your influences?
A. As a writer, I read a lot. Like, a lot. My first literary love was Michael Crichton. I fell madly in love with Jurassic Park, and after that devoured everything by him at the time. Andromeda Strain, Sphere, Congo…I read everything I could get my hands on. I moved on to pretty much everything Dean Koontz had written up to the mid 90’s, then I fell in love again. The writer who has been my single biggest influence is Stephen King. I feel his gift for bringing realistic characters to life and depicting Americana is unsurpassed in any genre, but especially horror. Books don’t often deeply scare me, but his novella Big Driver gave me nightmares. My favorite novel is the much underrated The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon—I love the blending of hallucination and reality, and the wasp face of the God of the Lost. I don’t think anyone will ever write a coming of age tale like The Body, and every coming of age story (of which there are many in the horror genre) pales in its shadow.

Q. What is your writing process like?
A. My favorite quote is “don’t get it right, get it written.” I am a chronic pants-er, and like to vomit out an exploratory first draft. Then I make an outline, and in red I note all the things I want to change, and in blue I make my additions. I’m very quantity driven, so tools like Write or Die or word wars with friends inspire me. I’ve done NaNoWriMo for several years, but I tend to look at it as a palate cleanser, and have never revised or published any of the products. I try to engage my writing daily (though that doesn’t always happen), either with new material, edits, or something to stay connected with the work.

Q. What are you most excited about with this novel in particular, i.e. what was shocking or surprisingly to you while you were writing it?
A. This novel is the only book where I’ve ever truly felt like nothing more than a conduit for the story. I had several 10,000 word days, a feat I haven’t managed before or since. Maybe it’s because I’d already done so much of the writing back in 2005, maybe the characters just spoke to me. An awesome writing experience, and a very easy editing experience.

Q. How do you define horror?
A. Goodness, what a question. Horror is an emotion more than a genre…it finds itself across all the different types of stories. It’s ancient, and omnipresent, the old myths and legends put today’s splatterpunk and torture porn to shame. Horror is the feeling you get when your animal brain perks up, and something deep down inside identifies I’m not safe. Sometimes even when I’m reading a mediocre novel there will be moments where I get that tiny thrill. In a solid horror novel, or a good movie, the sensation can feel exhausting and wonderful at the same time.

Q. What scares you both in real life and in fiction?
A. Though I grew up in fairly rural New England and love hiking and camping, the woods scare me. It’s part of what I love about The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, that sensation of being lost in the wilderness, which really freaks me out. Anything could be out there, man. I’m not afraid of reasonable things like bears. I’m afraid of demons like the God of the Lost or the Outsider, nasty inhuman things slinking around in the trees. I love reading about them, and when camping, when I have to pee in the middle of the night and the bathrooms are a quarter mile away, I think of them a lot.

Q. What's next on the to-write list?
A. I’m currently much of the way through a novel about Skunk Apes and a teenage prostitute. Will I ever finish it? Will it ever see the light of day? The world may never know…

Author bio: If it screams, squelches, or bleeds, Kristin Dearborn has probably written about it. She revels in comments like “But you look so normal…how do you come up with that stuff?” A life-long New Englander, she aspires to the footsteps of the local masters, Messrs. King and Lovecraft. When not writing or rotting her brain with cheesy horror flicks (preferably creature features!) she can be found scaling rock cliffs or zipping around Vermont on a motorcycle, or gallivanting around the globe.

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/narfnitsirk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristinDearbornAuthor
Website:
 www.kristindearborn.com

REDRUM FLOWS THROUGH MADHOUSE

I'm happy to announce that I will be a Guest of Honor (along with Chuck Palahniuk, Michael Knost, Lisa Morton, Rena Mason, Shane McKenzie, John FD Taft, and many more) at next year's Stanley Hotel Writer's Retreat in Estes Park, Colorado. 


Registration is officially open, so bring your creativity, your favorite ghost stories, and your imaginary friend who lives in your finger....but leave the axe at home, okay? We don't need a repeat of that whole Torrance thing that happened in the 70s... 


*smirks 


Hope to see you there!

THE MADHOUSE COLLECTS NIGHTMARES

DON'T LOOK UNDER YOUR BED...

The Madhouse is under the covers this week, as we at Raw Dog Screaming Press are happy to announce that we've signed poet, Christina Sng, for her poetry manuscript, A Collection of Nightmares. This collection is set to debut in late-2016, and it's a dark little beast that explores the horrors of the physical, fantastical and psychological worlds both around us... and inside us.

Want more? Here's a interview that I did with Christina to give you a sneak peak into her process, her influences, and how her manuscript came to be.

1. What is the title of your collection and how did you come up with the name?

The title is "A Collection of Nightmares". The name came about unexpectedly. I've always put pieces of myself into my dark poems – things that haunt me, hurt me, scar me beyond repair – my nightmares. One night at 4am, as I picked up my poems lining the floor in A5 sheets of paper, it struck me that I was collating a collection of nightmares.

2. What was the inspiration for your collection overall?

Life is the inspiration for my collection. I have this passive-aggressive relationship with it where it loves to land gut punches on me one minute, then soothes me with a song and English mint chocolates. Very dysfunctional. It's an insane roller coaster ride.

3. How long have you been writing poetry? What is your background with it in terms of education, experience, etc.

I wrote my first poem when I was about 5. It consisted of a group of friends with rhyming names making a trip to the market, which says a lot about what I was preoccupied with as a child.

In school, we hardly read any poetry. We read Shakespeare, which frightened everyone off literature except for the posturing and acting that came with studying the Great Bard. That, we all enjoyed. Particularly, the soliloquies and the costumes.

In college, my English teacher taught us poetry. She liked my dark poems and encouraged me to write more. Probably thought it was safer for the world.

After graduation, I studied poetry on my own, reading literary poets like Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Emily Dickinson. I fell in love with how utterly concise and perfectly encapsulated a poem is. In 2000, I began submitting my poetry after gathering a body of work.

4. Where have you previously published your poetry?

My poems have appeared in print and online venues such as Apex Magazine, Dreams and Nightmares, Grievous Angel, Mythic Delirium, New Myths, Outposts of Beyond, Space & Time, Spectral Realms, Star*Line, and Tales of the Talisman, amongst others.

5. Who are your influences?

Sylvia Plath is still my strongest influence. Everything about poetry I've learnt from her. I love the way she used metaphors and imagery, her exacting structure which I admire and emulate, and how she poured every bit of herself into her work. Each poem is a construction of technical genius and an artistic masterpiece.

6. What is your writing process like?

Before the kids came along, I would give myself an hour, get comfortable, open my notebook, and stay put till I wrote 5 poems. I began with an image or a word or an idea or a memory and the poem just flowed from there.

Now, after kids and perpetually tired from a decade of sleep deprivation, I confess to being more zombie than human -- the Warm Bodies type, not the Z Nation ones in all their marvelous varieties. It is hard to focus and concentrate, so I've turned to writing short poems on the go or stealing quiet moments when the children are preoccupied. About once a week, I try to clear some physical and mental space to write like I used to. It's rarely 5 poems at a single sitting these days. 3 on a lucky day. 1 with enough coffee.

7. What are you most excited about with this collection in particular, i.e. what was shocking or surprisingly to you while you were writing it?

Few things shock or surprise me anymore, except for some of the stuff on ViralNova.

I'm really excited because this will be my first full length poetry collection, gathering every dark poem I love and am proud of into a single book. It's been a long journey and I am very happy my poems are now coming together to nest.

Bio:

Christina Sng is a poet, writer, and an occasional toymaker. She is a two-time Rhysling nominee and her poetry has received several Honorable Mentions in the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. In her free time, she plays the ukulele, dreams of exploring the Andromeda Galaxy, and carves out new worlds in longhand, imbibing an aromatic cup of tea.

Website: http://www.christinasng.com
Twitter: @christinasng
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinasng

THE MADHOUSE GOES TO THE ALTAR

HERE COMES THE BRIDE...

The Madhouse is at the altar this week, as we at Raw Dog Screaming Press are happy to announce that we've signed poets, Jim and Janice Leach, for their collaborative poetry collection, Till Death: The Horrors and Happy Afters of a Long Relationship. This collection is set to debut in mid-2016 and it details the ups and downs of a 32-year marriage as these poets talk fear, romance, and sex with no boundaries, limits, or filter.

Want more? Here's a interview that I did with Jim and Janice to give you a sneak peak into their process, their influences, and how their manuscript came to be.

1. What is the title of your collection and how did you come up with the name?

Jan: “Til Death” is that super creepy line from traditional marriage vows that brings up mortality right in the middle of a wedding celebration, like it’s the best possible outcome for a relationship. “The Horrors and Happy Afters” part is our attempt to be honest about what comes before that “blessed” conclusion. Relationships are not easy or fun all the time. We’ve survived some hellish times together, some that have come our way and some that we’ve caused.

Jim: Our poems explore the “Happy Afters,” not the “Happily Ever Afters” because the bad days just keep coming (chuckle). There should almost be a PG-13 sticker on this book. It’s not a pastel fairy tale. There are some really dark themes and let’s say “coarse language.” But that’s what a marriage is like.

Jan: It’s not for kids.

Jim: Oh what sweet irony there. Janice and I were married when we were 19, when we were kids. We had no idea what the FUCK we were getting ourselves into. To me the phrase “‘Til Death” also relates to something I realized only recently. Nothing, absolutely nothing in my life has consumed more attention and work than this marriage. Our relationship is quite literally, my magnum opus, my life’s great work.

Jan: Awww. Me too.

2. What was the inspiration for your collection overall?

Jim: One of the inspirations, for me at least, is the album “Shoot Out the Lights” by Richard and Linda Thompson. The songs alternate between the two songwriters, each one sharing about how hard it is to live with the other person. But the very last song on the disc is “Wall of Death,” a song they sing together in tight harmony.

Jan: You know what a “Wall of Death” is, right? It’s that caged motorcycle sideshow stunt, where the driver steers the bike and the rider stands up on the seat, balancing while they ride around and around. It’s showy and thrilling because it’s dangerous!

Jim: The point of the song -- and the record, I think -- is that it is incredibly difficult to live with another person for an extended period of time, but despite those perils, the thrills are worth the risks. It’s the most interesting thing you can imagine doing with your life, so you choose to ride on the wall of death together. The irony is that was the last record they made together before their divorce.

Jan: “Wall of Death” was actually our theme song for a while.

Jim: From the very beginning, we’ve had one song or another that sort of sums up how our relationship is going. The first one, I think, was “Stay with Me” by Genesis, back before they sucked.

Jan: You’re so judgey.

Jim: For a good chunk of time it was “In Spite of Ourselves,” a duet by John Prine and Iris DeMent. “Have You Seen the Stars Tonight?” by the Jefferson Airplane...What are other ones, dear?

Jan: Most recently it was Muse’s “Madness” because holy fuck, our lives were pure madness at that point.  And that’s a really cool song too because it brings out the seductive side of madness. Who would want to walk away from that excitement? But we also started this collection around our anniversary last year, like wouldn’t it be cool to collect 32 poems about us--

Jim:-- One for every year--

Jan: --And it grew from there. At first the number seemed too big, but then, it was too small. We had too much to say.

 

Jim: Oh, oh, oh and another influence, not just to this collection but to our marriage has got to be the Addams Family. Specifically Gomez and Morticia, that utter insane amor fati. “Tish, you spoke French…”

Jan: Our home decorations have rather an Addams family vibe. A morbid-chic, vampire-whorehouse / mortician-hoarder thang.

Jim: Indeed.

3. How long have you been writing poetry? What is your background with it in terms of education, experience, etc.

Jan: I’ve written poetry all my life. There’s juvenalia in the file cabinet that probably should be shredded, but given my filing system, no one is in danger of uncovering it. I wrote the first poems that I am still pleased with as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan.

Jim: Yeah, Janice was always the poet in our relationship. I always felt like the amateur--

Jan:-- the nubile apprentice--

Jim: So to speak, yes. I also took poetry writing classes at University of Michigan, but I always considered myself the playwright of the team.

Jan: Every marriage needs a playwright, right?

Jim: At least to script the arguments. But seriously, Janice won an award for her poetry. An Undergraduate Hopwood Award which was a moderately big deal, right?

Jan: Aww, you remember! The award was a confidence booster for sure. What’s also funny though was the number of poems we were both able to pull from the archives-- so secretly Jim’s been a poet all along too.

Jim: We were both English majors, and poetry has just been part of what we do. Rather frequently, when we have folks over for drinks, there’s a point late in the evening when everybody starts quoting their favorite poems, like a nerd rap battle.

4. Where have you previously published your poetry?

Jim: You really want that sad litany of dead literary magazines?

Jan: We could just say “We’ve published in select venues.” (grin) Seriously though, we’ve had poetry published in cool places like Grimcorps, Necrotic Tissue, Quick Shivers, Christianity and Literature, Daughters of Sarah, the Old West Side News, and the Huron River Review...  Recently, Jim had his poem “Flora and Fauna” accepted in the HWA Poetry Showcase, so that’s cool.

Jim: I’m absurdly proud of that poem. It’s about werewolves in spring… sort of.

Jan: But this isn’t technically the first poetry “work” we’ve co-written. (smirk)

Jim: Egad, you don’t really want to bring that up...

Jan: When Jim was working at a photocopy shop back when we were first married, we made a xeroxed chapbook which we passed off as cheap Christmas gifts.

Jim: Let’s just say that’s a real collector’s item.

5. Who are your influences?

 

Jan: I enjoy poets who explore the domestic realm, among other topics. Long time favorites of mine include Jane Kenyon and Molly Peacock as well as Margaret Avison and Edna St Vincent Millay.

 

Jim: I know the poets I like reading; I don’t know exactly how they’ve influenced me. Baudelaire and William Burroughs. Carolyn Forché and Sylvia Plath, Jim Daniels and David Budbill, Wendell Berry and John Donne. Paul Celan and Rilke. Oh, and Eminem and Stevie Wonder. And Ginsberg and Patti Smith.

6. What is your writing process like?

 

Jan: Well, we did something different with this collection.

 

Jim: That’s right. We approached it from the beginning knowing the pieces would have to fit together, that it would be a whole work

Jan: So we gave each other assignments and topics as well as dares and deadlines. We exchanged poems at the early draft stage, and we revised each other’s work far more than we have done previously. We’ve written together for years. We run two websites together and most of that writing is collaborative. But’s that’s nonfiction. Poetry is a different animal however.

Jim: I tend to be more formal, or at least formally-flavored. But Janice has a more free spirit (grin).

Jan: The poems that resulted are a nifty blend of our styles and preoccupations.

Jim: Writing this book has changed my writing process, probably permanently.

7. What are you most excited about with this collection in particular, i.e. what was shocking or surprising to you while you were writing it?

 

Jan: Purposefully writing “not nice poems” was incredibly liberating for me. We made a pact to go deep and be candid even about the most painful topics. The context of this collection gave me permission to delve into my dark side, into our dark side.

 

Jim: Exactly, sort of like good therapy. Writing this book was a relatively safe playground for us to work through some pretty dark shit.

 

Jan: But you’re generally more comfortable with darker themes.

Jim: That’s true, and what was surprising to me was how much tenderness and love kept popping up in the work. I mean, none of it is going on a Valentine’s Day card… but there’s a lot of romance.

Jan: And sex.

Jim: Boy howdy is there sex!

Jan: But that’s not shocking. You don’t stay married for 33 years just to fight.

 

Stalk the Authors:

Websites:

• http://dailynightmare.com which celebrates Midwest Snob Horror. Jim writes as “Doktor Leech the Leech Doktor” and Janice as “Elsa L.”

• http://20minutegarden.com which is about urban simplicty, DIY culture and the remarkable amount of stuff that can be accomplished in 20 minutes a day.

Jim Leach writes darkly speculative poetry, fiction, and drama and is a contributing editor to the website  dailynightmare.com which is celebrates Midwest Snob Horror. He also contributes to the site 20 Minute Garden. com which suggests another of his other interests. His work has most recently appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Hellnotes, and the HWA Poetry Showcase II. He collects masks, brews his own beer, and lives with his childhood sweetheart in a lightly haunted house in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Jim’s Instagram: @GrimGnome13
Jim’s Pinterest: Cosmognome
Jim’s website: http://jamesfrederickleach.com
Jim’s facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.leach

 

Janice Leach is a master gardener and professional pie baker who credits her 1st grade teacher with kindling her love of writing. She and her tinker soulmate live in Ann Arbor and raise a rollicking kitchen garden near a 100 year old lilac.  She edits Quick Shivers, an annual anthology of 100 word stories based on nightmares for Cosmonomic Multimedia and is a contributing editor to dailynightmare.com and 20minutegarden.com.

 

Janice’s Twitter: @JanArbor

Jan’s Pinterest: janarbor
Jan’s facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janice.s.leach

Dear Diary—I’m tired and that’s okay.

I can remember being eight years old and writing “By Stephanie M. Wytovich” on the spiral notebooks that I kept hidden in the back of my closet. These were the same notebooks that I taped together before I went to college, and the same notebooks I burned shortly after beginning my freshmen year. Those books held my secrets, my heart, and my most personal confessions, and after a while, I knew I had to burn the past so I could build a future.

You see, I've never been the type of person who can "wing it." I don't like not having a game plan because there's too much that I want to do in life and life is already too short to not spend time doing what you love. That's not to say that I don't turn off auto-pilot every now and again, but for most of my life, I've been very strict with myself.

I double-majored in college and didn’t have the typical experience that most college students do. Instead of partying on the weekends or going bowling during the week, I stayed in my room writing and studying horror. I submitted to magazines, I watched horror movies, I aced my exams, and then on my breaks, I’d go home and work. For most of my life, I’ve had three jobs and I’ve worked too many hours while juggling too many projects, and by the time I finished my undergraduate degree, I’d had three internships, a list of publications—some of which I was even paid for—and was on my way to study renaissance art in Italy.

After that—literally, as in a few days after I got off the plane—I started graduate school. I was back at Seton Hill full-time while working three jobs and barely sleeping. I was drinking between 10-12 cups of coffee a day to stay awake and work, and most days, I’d fall asleep covered in books at my writing desk. In the time it took me to write my thesis—a full-length dark fantasy novel—I also wrote two poetry collections and started editing for Raw Dog Screaming Press. In addition to all of this, I was applying to university jobs, trying to find an agent, working on my CV, and genuinely, just trying to keep my head above the water.

I've said "no" to most things, and most people, most of my life.

I drank so much coffee and pounded so many energy drinks in college that I destroyed my digestive system, and had to adjust my entire diet after my gallbladder basically exploded and had to be removed.

I've turned down vacations, I've walked away from sure-thing jobs, and I've ended relationships all because they weren't part, or refused to be a part, of the one thing I wanted more than anything in my life: writing.

I didn’t get a full-time job until about eight months after I graduated. That's eight months of feeling defeated, depressed, and completely at war with myself for giving up everything. I had a 70k + bill looking at me straight in the face, my car gave its last breath, and I still had to come home to my parent's house every day and live in a room that I outgrew seven years ago. When I got the job offer at Carlow, I accepted, packed my bags and moved out, all while doing my best to take care of myself while still working three jobs in addition to editing and writing. Let’s not even take into consideration that I was licking my wounds through all of this after a particularly brutal summer on my heart...

But now after all that time:

• My novel has sold
• I’m teaching at Seton Hill and Carlow University.
• And I have a full-time job that lets me live a life that for the past 10 years, I didn’t allow myself to have.

And you know what? I’m finally happy--blissfully so--but I'm tired. And I’m allowed to be tired. I didn’t allow myself to really sleep for ten years because I worked my ass off trying to independently build a life for myself, and now that I’m finally settled and happy and working on goals and publications with a creative freedom that brings me joy instead of stress, for the first time in my life, I’m taking care of me. I don’t want to live a stressed-out life anymore. No more three-job tango. No more anxiety. No more four travel mugs of coffee for breakfast. No more fear for when the student loan bill comes in. No more chain smoking at 3 a.m. to stay awake or crying in the bathroom because I only got two hours of sleep the night before and it physically hurts to stay awake....No. For the first time, I want and can have a little bit of peace and stability in my life. And you know how I’m going to do it?

By going to bed at 10 o’clock.

And not giving a single fuck about it.