Rambling On

WHO AM I ANYWAY? AM I MY RESUME?

Yes, I know there’s a biography and bibliography page on this site that you could toggle over to if you want to know more about me. But I thought, as I haven’t posted any new material to the site for several weeks and don’t have any completed interviews in house, that it might be time to do a more in-depth profile of myself. The last time I did this, I had my nieces and nephews send me questions. This time, I’m just going to ramble. That is the name of the website, after all: Rambling On…

 

WHAT DO I STAND FOR? MOST NIGHTS I DON’T KNOW ANY MORE.

Not really true. I do know what I stand for.

I’m a subscriber to Wheaton’s Law: Don’t Be A Dick. I try to be the best person I can be. I also try to convince everyone I’m not a nice person. Apparently, I fail in this endeavor, but I’m still trying.

I believe in not arguing politics or religion in any forum in which I cannot see the other person’s face and/or hear their voice, because the written word is fraught with potential for misunderstanding. When asked, I’ll admit to being a somewhat central-leaning liberal as well as a Recovering Catholic, but neither of those topics is really open for debate on this site.

I’m a big supporter of the work done by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (in honor of my cousins Frank and Frank John); Ronald McDonald House (my friend Sam’s favorite cause), MDA, Soles4Souls  (Billy Gilman’s charity), AIDS Research, Blessings in a Backpack (my friend Austin’s favorite cause), and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, to name a few – but if a cause is important enough to someone I care about, I’ll lend what support I can. And the American Cancer Society Relay For Life in Mahopac NY is always my top fundraising priority.

 

I’M NOT CRAZY, I’M JUST A LITTLE UNWELL

I’m a colon cancer survivor, diagnosed in September of 2005. Surgery took 1/3^rd of my colon (and gave me one of my two favorite catch-phrases: “After surgery, I became a semi-colon.”) and a whole load of lymph nodes, and then there was chemo.  It has not returned since, and I know how lucky I am and what the odds are that it will come back in some form eventually.

I’ve lost both parents, both maternal grand-parents, cousins and friends to various forms of cancer. I know more people battling cancer right now than seems logistically possible, even given my large circle of family, friends and acquaintances.

 

THAT’S MY PHILOSOPHY, DEFYING GRAVITY

My other favorite catch-phrase (which I keep working into the stories I write and keep cutting because it never quite fits): “Gravity doesn’t care who you fall for, and neither do I.”

I’m friends with a wide variety of people. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, bi, trans; Caucasian, Asian, Anglo, Indian, African; rich, middle class or poor; Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, Wiccan, Atheist. If we bond over some common interest, that’s what matters to me. I don’t write anyone off on the basis of a belief; I write you off based on your behavior towards me and others. I try to do unto others as I would have done unto me, and that includes recognizing that others have the right to believe differently than I do.

For those to whom it matters: yes, I’m openly gay. You can’t read my Twitter, website, Livejournal or Facebook page without quickly becoming aware of this fact. I’m also brown-haired, hazel-eyed, right-handed (except when throwing a Frisbee, for some odd reason), an avowed omnivore (except for my “no fish, no fungus” rule), and not incredibly athletic but only slightly overweight. If any of these things is a deal-breaker for you … thanks for visiting, go your way in peace.

I’m also a huge fan of the arts, and will support any creative person whose work I find interesting and enjoyable, regardless of the type of art they are creating: fiction, theatre, movies and television, music, dance, painting, sculpture of all kinds are fair game.

 

WHERE’S MY HOLLYWOOD ENDING?

I didn’t get one of my own, so I support others.

That’s not as tragic as it sounds.  In high school, I wanted to be an actor. I spent one semester at SUNY New Paltz in the fall of 1984, bombed out miserably, and spent the next five years working a day job, directing high school plays and participating in community theater. For part of that time, I worked with NYC acting coach Peter Sklar (who also worked with Rick Schroder, Lori Laughlin, Alison Smith, Ricki Lake, Brian Bloom and others) and went on auditions, but quickly discovered that I didn’t have the right mind-set to be an out-of-work actor in NYC. So I went back to college and got my teaching degree.

I spend a lot of time interviewing and promoting young actors like Sam Lant, Brandon Tyler Russell, Austin MacDonald, Garrett Palmer, Alivia Jae Latimer, Sarah DesJardins, and Taylor Hay because they remind me of me when I was that age and dreaming of a life on stage and screen … with one important difference: these kids are also passionate advocates for charities ranging from Ronald McDonald House to pet shelters, from Blessings in a Backpack to anti-bullying programs. They’re doing a lot more to change the world before they’ve graduated high school than I’ve managed through most of my life, and they’ve inspired me to do more.

In the past few years especially, I’ve become a more vocal support of the arts. Different day-job than two decades ago, but still a huge fan of artists of all types. I’ll support any creative person whose work I find interesting and enjoyable, whether that support is through crowd-funding or simply signal-boosting through social media.

 

I KINDA LIKE IT

Lately, I find I am particularly passionate about unsigned musical acts. Indie artists. It doesn’t matter whether they are old friends like my pals in The Dalliance and singer-songwriters Casey Stratton and Christina Lenway; the children of old friends, like singers Anthony Gargiula and Gabe Price;  or new friends like Hollywood Ending and Reverse Order.  It doesn’t matter if they’re Canadian (The Brothers Dube),  Australian (Frank Dixon) or American (Kicking Daisies); country (Matt Johnson), rock (The New Royalty),  pop (Anson Li) or alternative (Paradise Fears). Music of all kinds motivates me and inspires me, from classical to rap, perhaps because I never really learned to play an instrument and any musical theory I learned in high school has been long forgotten.

Of course, I don’t just listen to unsigned acts. To list everyone I love would take forever, but these days you’re likely to hear a mix of Matchbox Twenty, Sister Hazel, Brendan James, Alanis Morrisette, Rosanne Cash, Dvorak, Alan Parsons, Eminem and Broadway cast albums streaming from the nearest speakers. And STYX. Always STYX.

 

WELCOME TO THE GRAND ILLUSION

At various points in my life, I’ve been able to carry a tune outside of a paper bag. My voice isn’t as strong or as trained as it was in college, but I think I do pretty decently. (Witness my recent Justin Bieber cover video.)  But it all started with STYX, on the stage of Mahopac High School in 1984 as one of the eight vocalists for the high school rock ensemble ILLUSION. We opened the show with “Grand Illusion” and ended with me singing lead on “Come Sail Away.” A defining moment of my life (and one I swear I will post the video of as soon as I can figure out how).  Thirty years later, that school-sponsored rock group is still going strong. I’ve met recent cast-members and they have the same love for the group that we did when it started. Arts education matters.

 

SAVE A SEAT FOR ME ON THE LAST PLANE OUT

The reason most of the posts on this site in the past two years have been interviews is a combination of paying back the support I’ve been given and paying it forward to help others. But a common misconception is that interviewing is my full-time job.

It’s not. Everything I do on this site, I do for fun. I conduct most of my interviews via e-mail at night and on weekends, at the same time I’m working on my next short story. Because writing, as much as I love it, isn’t my full-time job, either.

My friend Leigh Geraghty joked that I’m an “international man of mystery” because I rarely give details of my day-job online. I prefer to keep work and home life separate. I’m still putting that teaching degree to use, even though I’m not in a standard classroom and I don’t teach kids. I’m an instructor for a small training company and my work sends me around the country throughout the year, so I do actually get to meet a lot of my fellow writers as well as many of the folks I’ve been privileged to interview.

 

THE PRINCE OF HUMBUG

I tell stories. It’s part of my day-job (in fact, a part of just about every full-time job I’ve ever held but one), it’s part of my interviewing, and it’s the one creative act I feel confident I can pull off on a regular basis.

Some of the stories I tell are true (for instance, for my day-job), some are cut from whole cloth. Some are an odd mix. The story “Canopus” on this site is a good example of that. I’ll let you decide how much is truth and not.

My published material is all listed elsewhere on the site, so I’m not going to rehash it all here.

But I’ve been writing fiction, telling stories, for as long as I can remember. Super-hero fan-fiction in grade and middle school. Plays in high school and college. I wrote a space opera novel in 10^th grade that was equal parts Ray Bradbury and John Jakes. I joined the Super-Team Amateur Press Alliance (S-TAPA) in 1983 and have been a member in good standing for 30 years (even if my fiction input has not been consistent).  I’m as like to tell a story at a campfire as I am to sing a silly off-key group participatory song.

The fact that I’m now somewhat consistently selling the stories I’m writing, well … it’s a dream come true, even if that whole acting thing didn’t work out.

 

CAN YOU BE COMPLETELY INCOMPLETE?

There’s a lot more I could say about myself, about my life history. It’s all great fodder for the stories I write, and some of it is even part of the stories I tell if you corner me at an event and I’m in a talking kind of mood: where all my various nicknames (Stormy, Thanny, Anton, “the other guy”) come from; the eight hour drive from Roanoke to New Jersey that once took 36 hours; community theater in an old train station where we’d have to freeze in place while the Amtrak zoomed past outside; the camping trip on the Delaware River with the Russian kid who said “I got my ass kicked by the river … I got my ass kicked by the rainstorm. How embarrassing is that?”

And then there are stories I keep to myself. We all have those, too.

I want to talk about the great connections I’ve made with fellow authors (a number of whom I’ve interviewed here), but that’s a full-on post of its own.

But I have to end this post somewhere, and this seems like the appropriate spot.

 

THAT IS, IF YOU WANT TO WIN

If you’ve stuck with me this long, I’d like to reward you with a little contest.  Each bolded segment heading of this post is a song title or lyric.  So here’s the contest:

1. In a comment below, identify as many/all of the original artists as you can. (Give me the title/lyric and then the author so I can be sure you’re putting the right names together.)
2. Yes, it’s okay to use iTunes, Facebook, Twitter or any other online search you want. My goal is to get you to check out some of these artists. You might like what you hear.
3. Every so often, I’ll check the comments and choose a winner from those who have made the most correct identifications. The choice of winner will be completely random.
4. Prize is a free copy of my book THE FIRFLAKE: A Christmas Story. You can find more information about the book elsewhere on this site.
5. Leave some sort of contact info (even if it’s just a Twitter handle) so I can get in touch for mailing information if you win.
6. All comments are set to be moderated (to cut down on spam stuff), so if you don’t see your comment right away, give me a few hours. Day-jobbery often delays my opportunity to approve comments.

 

And just for giggles, here’s that cover video of Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat” again. And I lost another Kickstarter bet, so there will be a Britney Spears cover coming in a few weeks (we’re recording it over the holiday weekend). This vid’s just about to break 300 views! Go me!

Here’s a quick guest post from my young friend Anthony Gargiula. I’ve interviewed Anthony several times, and am always proud to support his annual fundraiser Bowling Against Bullying.

I am in the process of organizing my 3rd Bowling Against Bullying Fundraiser and I would really appreciate your help.

Due to the amazing fundraising events I have already organized, I have been able to help fund many area schools’ anti bullying programs. In November I had the opportunity to give a $1,000 check to the largest anti-bullying convention in the United States. For this upcoming event, I am focusing on continuing to give money to local area schools for their mandated anti bullying programs, while also spreading my “anti-bullying” message around the country.

This year’s event will be held on Sunday, May 5th 2013, 2:00 – 5:00 at Spare Time Bowl in Clifton Park. We will be hosting up to 300 bowlers at this event. We are looking for any amount of monetary donation, a donated item for our raffle and/or you and your family/friends/colleagues to join me for this fun day. We are encouraging “work” and “family” bowling teams to do this as a group effort!

For any monetary donation or raffle item donated, your business will be advertised on a sponsorship board displayed on the day of the event, as well as being announced throughout the afternoon by the DJ. Also, Albany Broadcasting is our official media sponsor so this means that this event will be promoted on FLY 92 – 104.9 The Cat – B95.5, Magic 590AM and Jamz 96.3.

If you are interested in participating in any way or have any questions, please call my Dad, Rich, at

518-469-6695.

My goal this year is $14,000 since I am turning 14 on April 30th.

Thank you for your support,

Anthony Gargiula, Student Organizer

If you can’t make Anthony’s event but would like to make a monetary donation, you can mail a check made out to BOWLING AGAINST BULLYING to Rich Gargiula, PO Box 433, Glenmont, NY 12077

 

 

Tonight it’s my pleasure to welcome author Faith Hunter to Ramble On with me about her writing.

Faith Hunter is the fantasy author of the Jane Yellowrock vampire hunter series and a long time professional fiction writer. Including her other pen name, Gwen Hunter, she has over 25+ published books in 28 countries around the world. Her latest addition to the Jane Yellowrock series, Blood Trade, was released by Penguin/ROC on April 2nd, 2013. She is an original creator of and regular contributor to MagicalWords.net, an industry blog for sci-fi and fantasy writers. You can find out more about Faith at her home on the web, FaithHunter.net, or visit her official Facebook page to connect with her and other fantasy fiction fans.

How and where did you “meet” Jane Yellowrock?

FAITH: I was sitting with [fellow urban fantasy author] Kim Harrison and we were exploring the idea of new books and series and I bounced this new voice off of her. Then I read the first Temple Grandin book and I was hooked on the animal brain as opposed to the human brain versions. And I began to remember the old Tarzan movies. You know, “Me Tarzan. You Jane.” And between the two events, Jane was born, with her Beast inside her.

Jane is a skinwalker, and of Cherokee heritage. How much research into Indian culture and mythos did you do?

FAITH: I am still researching! There are many different Cherokee tales of the dark beings in life, from the liver eater to the stone finger, from Skinwalkers to witches. Most of the worst dark creatures are depicted as evil beings who kill and eat humans. But the oldest, pre-Christian, pre-white man Cherokee stories tell of skinwalkers being the protectors and warriors, and that is who and what I wanted Jane to be. I started with the good stories and built my world and character around them, with evil stories as warnings of her possible future.

Jane’s a Christian and unashamed of that, yet not preachy or confrontational about her faith. Has that been a problem for readers?

FAITH: My answer to this question has changed in the last weeks. Angry people, wounded people, un-self-confident people are always going to find something in a character (or in her writer) to hate. Some of them will become verbal bullies, who use the internet to hurt others. So yes, I’ve been blasted about religion by people who hate Christianity, even though Jane is non-confrontational, nonjudgmental, non-preachy. She is searching for her past & her Cherokee spirituality, and trying to find ways to become whole, much like many in the Eastern Cherokee band has done. I think her religion (both Christian and her Cherokee spirituality) is one reason the publisher didn’t think the series would sell well. I was told that, “No one thought these books would sell.” (rolls eyes) But actually sales are still climbing, and I get fan mail thanking me for making Jane searching, fallible, spiritually open to new experiences.

Describe a typical day of writing, for us. And, are you a planner or pantser?

FAITH: Last question first. I am an outliner, for sure. I call it OOPS – Organic Outline ProcesS. (LOL) But what I outline are only plot points. What happens inside the character in the book, that is always such a surprise! And that surprise factor is why I keep writing.

My day is pretty mundane. Up at 8-ish. Take the dogs out. Email and PR work get the juices going. Then I rewrite previous day’s pages. Around 1 or 2, I’ll eat Brunch. Yes, I know it isn’t really brunch by that time, but when you don’t have an appetite until 1 or 2 p.m., it’s a “whatever-meal”. So I call it brunch. Then I start writing (if I haven’t yet). I usually write about 8 hours total. Supper at 8-ish. TV and dogs and hubby get attention after that. These days I’m in bed by 11 at the latest, so I can get more sleep. Except when I’m on the water, kayaking, on the road with the Hubby and rescued Pomeranians, Tommy and Tuffy, RV-ing. Then the schedule goes all to heck and back!

What is next on your schedule? Anything else we should keep our eyes open for?

FAITH: I have KICKING IT, an anthology I’m editing (and writing a story in) with Kalayna Price. Then the JANE YELLOWROCK COMPANION that I’m writing with Carol Malcom, both which come out this year! BLACK ARTS in Jan 2014. The ROGUE MAGE, the rpg, is out now, and the MONSTERS part will be out soon! I also plan 3 shorts into the world of Thorn St. Croix, probably as an e-book.

 

I became aware of Ian Crosstown and the group SRC when a mutual friend posted the band’s music video for “Ambition” on his Facebook page. Thanks to Rick Kozan for connecting us so I could do this interview. SRC is a Los Angeles-area band with more original music coming along soon.

 

ANTHONY: Hi Ian, thanks for taking a few minutes to chat with me. Let’s talk about “Ambition.”  What inspired the song?

IAN: “Ambition” was inspired by the concept of being down and out and then seeing a light! Ambition can represent different things to different people. It could be a person having a realization and finding their way out of a depression. It could be a person hating their job and realizing that there are other better jobs that exist. It could be a person in a very destructive relationship and having the courage and strength to get out of it. For some people it could be finding a religion. This song was written to inspire people to find their ambition whatever it may be.

ANTHONY: Did you write it on your own, or in collaboration with someone?

IAN: I came up with the concept of “finding your ambition,” then I collaborated musically with Vidal and Ace who are the other two members of this band- SRC. Ace is a phenomenal vocal talent and songwriter and Vidal possesses amazing guitar and bass skills. It is very exciting creating music with musicians of this caliber.

ANTHONY: How has response been since you released the video?

IAN: The responses we have been receiving from listeners have been overwhelmingly good. The general consensus has been that the message is inspiring, the music and vocals are strong, and the song sticks in listeners heads after the first time it is heard. We are a band from Los Angeles and people all over the world have contacted us since this video has recently been released.

ANTHONY: Tell us a little bit about filming the video: where was it done, how long did it take? What were you aiming for visually in connection with the lyrics?

IAN: The video was filmed in a number of different locations. The darker shots were filmed at the Salton Sea in California. If you are not familiar with the Salton Sea, it is a very depressed city with a very interesting history. It is worth searching it on the Internet. The ocean and beach shots were filmed in Seal Beach, CA. The rural shots were filmed in Chino Hills, CA. The city shots were filmed in downtown Los Angeles.

Recording the music and filming the video took approximately six months. At times it can be a very laborious process but the satisfaction and gratification when it is finished makes it a labor of love.

In connection with the lyrics, we wanted the video to accentuate the feelings of a person who is “torn up and raw.” We wanted to convey a turning point from being down and out then finding ambition. Additionally, we wanted to send the message of not giving up. The lyrics in the song are, “I was spinning around, I was falling down, but I picked myself up off the ground.”

ANTHONY: What’s your song-writing process like?

IAN: For “Ambition,” I came up with the concept for the lyrics and a skeleton idea of the music. Ace and Vidal have an uncanny ability to interpret the ideas and bring them to fruition musically. They are extremely talented musicians and we are all in sync when we are working together.

ANTHONY: Has your changed at all since you started writing music?

IAN: This project is relatively new, but all of the music we have been working on so far has generally followed the same process.

ANTHONY: What other projects are you working on now?

IAN: We are currently recording more songs and the production of a new video is just getting started. Additionally, we are booking dates to play live shows. We have all had extensive touring experience so SRC is looking forward to playing in all of our listeners’ cities.

ANTHONY: And my usual closing question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to someone who hasn’t read it to convince them that they should?

IAN: Very difficult question! However, if I have to narrow it down, I am a huge Tom Wolfe fan! Tom Wolfe clearly does his research before writing his books. He makes astute cultural observations, he has a brilliant sense of humor, and the reader is drawn into his storylines.

I love all of his works but I am particularly fond of A Man in Full. If you enjoy satire, intriguing plots, the ability to clearly visualize characters and settings, you need to read A Man in Full. Tom Wolfe has helped us find our Ambition!

 

I meant to post this a few days ago. In case you might have missed it, I did a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and A Beat.” Why? Because I promised that if Bryan Thomas Schmidt’s Kickstarter for the RAYGUN CHRONICLES sf anthology he wanted to edit hit full funding in the final 24 hours of the project (which it was looking like wouldn’t happen), that I would record myself singing a Justin Bieber song. And “Beauty and A Beat” is the only one I can claim more than a passing familiarity with, since my pals Hollywood Ending covered it a while back (and put their own spin on it).

I was originally going to just download the karaoke track and play it on my laptop while I sang into the camera on the laptop, but then my friend Darrell Long got involved, which pulled our friend Barry Mangione in, and the result was four hours in DisGraceLand Studio in Brewster, recording my vocals and Darrell’s rap (we call him Dicki Minaj now) and Barry’s backing vocals, then mimicking the effects on the original, then shooting the video, and then spending another hour getting it uploaded to Youtube. The result is here:

 

And just for comparsion, here’s Hollywood Ending’s acoustic cover. How many dance moves did I steal? Count ‘em all!

 

Over the weekend, I made another promise: that if the Kickstarter for the LONG HIDDEN anthology hit $30,000 (enough to include brand new artwork for each story in the anthology), I would record myself singing a Britney Spears song. (The LONG HIDDEN folks chose the artist this time.) So be watching for that sometime in the next month or so. (I’ll be on the road for two weeks for work starting Sunday, so recording will have to wait til I get back.)

Now I’ve also committed to two other videos.

1) If Barry Mangione’s APPLY THE GRAFT project manages to raise almost $10,000 in the next few days, Darrell and I will create a Bieber/Britney/Buble mash-up.  Here’s the link to donate to that project if you’d like. And here’s a link to my interview with Barry about the project.

2) My young actor friend Sam Lant is doing his annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in Pasadena. He’s about $1,500 short of the goal he set for himself. So I promised that if he hits his goal, I’ll do a cover video of whatever song he chooses (So far, it’s a toss-up between Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance.”) If you’d like to donate to that worthy cause, here’s the link to Sam’s Donation Page.

Interestingly, no one has asked me to cover One Direction. I wonder why.

I’m happy today to be part of the blog tour for author Rosanne Rivers, whose YA dystopian novel AFTER THE FEAR is now available.

Rosanne lives in Birmingham, UK and considers it one of her favourite cities, second only to Rome. She delights in writing for children and young adults and hopes to bring readers to an unfamiliar yet alluring setting. Rosanne was inspired to write when she read the Harry Potter books, and at age fourteen, she wrote romance fanfiction on just about every pairing you could dream up from the HP series. She currently lives with her partner and two bunny rabbits and is working on a fantasy YA with a twist.

ANTHONY: What was the inspiration for AFTER THE FEAR?

ROSANNE: In After the Fear, everyone is born with a personal debt to the government. This was inspired by the huge deficit the UK, and quite a few other countries, have at the moment. I wondered how we would pay this off, and whether our grandchildren will still be paying for our mistakes in years to come. The new world came quite naturally after this; I have always wondered how there was so much money in live, public spectacles such as music gigs and football matches, and so I created a world in which the new government pays our country’s debt by providing huge ‘shows’. These shows revert back to the oldest forms of entertainment – public executions.

ANTHONY: How did you develop the world that Sola lives in? Is it an extrapolation from where we are now as a society?

ROSANNE: Definitely. Every aspect of the world is either a more extreme version of where we are now, or taken from patterns which have occurred in the past. For example, from seeing where Facebook was heading (tagging you into locations, recognising your face in pictures, tagging other people in your statuses etc), I knew I wanted to explore a society in which social networking was mandatory, and everyone, everywhere knew where you were ALL the time. This social networking site became ‘Debtbook’ in After the Fear. The ‘trigger cameras’ are a version of CCTV cameras here in the UK which activate upon hearing certain words. Even the Demonstrations could be seen as an extreme form of the way certain criminals are sensationalised in the media. Yet aside from all the politics, it’s a fun read too!

ANTHONY: What is the significance of the book’s title?

ROSANNE: ‘The Fear’ could be interpreted as the fear Sola feels in the Stadium, which compels her to kill others for her own safety. After that fear has gone, she can no longer justify her actions, so in a way she revels in it. It’s also about the fear which forces the cities to stay away from each other and the hidden fear of the Shepherds. So the title gives some hope for the future, because when all that fear is gone, Sola may live in a better world!

ANTHONY: The YA speculative fiction market has exploded over the past few years, and it’s hard now to say that teen fiction is “not about anything meaningful.” Some of the things you touch on in ATF were once the province of preachy memoirs like GO ASK ALICE, but now are almost an expected part of YA spec fic. Any thoughts on why this shift has occurred?

ROSANNE: I think teen fiction was always about something meaningful, whether it was tackling more personal issues such as bullying or not fitting in, to more widespread issues like where the world is heading, poverty and corruption. Spec fic might have exploded recently because of the way technology is becoming so readily integrated into our lives. Some see it as a time of change, and whenever the world shifts, people begin to speculate about the future. What better way to do that than with fiction?

ANTHONY: With a plethora of dystopian YA fiction out there, what should prospective readers know about AFTER THE FEAR that sets it apart or makes it something they should move to the top of their reading queues?

ROSANNE: I guess what sets it apart is that it isn’t about a society which is on the cusp of a revolution or some huge change; it’s exploring how life continues for those everyday people who are ruled by tyrannical governments or leaders. It’s about how you would really react in that situation, and how when you’re trying desperately to survive you ignore the bigger questions you should be asking. I think After the Fear can be read and interpreted in so many different ways, and hopefully that’s what readers will enjoy!

ANTHONY: What’s your writing process like?

ROSANNE: It’s very mixed! I usually spend about a year with an idea in my head, mulling it over and adding notes to a word document every now and then. Then I jot down a semi-coherent plot totally full of holes and with only about 4 characters. I usually write the first chapter at this point, although this is likely to be scrapped later on! I’ll sketch out some of the faces of my characters and stick them on my wall too so they’re looking down at me, telling me I MUST write about them. After all this, once I’ve written the first 5000 words that I’m happy with, I’ll probably write around 1000 words a day until the first draft is finished. Then I rejoice before the editing process begins…

ANTHONY: What’s next for you?

ROSANNE: I’m currently writing a YA fantasy novel centred around an all-female organised crime gang. Think Game of Thrones meets Sons of Anarchy. During this time I’ll also be adding notes to the ‘After the Fear -possible sequel’ document on my comp…

ANTHONY: And my usual closing question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to someone who hasn’t read it to convince them that they should?

ROSANNE: My favourite book is probably Poison Study by Maria V Snyder. It’s fast paced, has a fantastic heroine and a seriously cool love interest (who I kind of have a massive crush on).

You can find out more about Rosanne’s projects on her website, Facebook, Pinterest, Goodreads, and by following her on Twitter @cityjuliet.

ALSO, you can enter to win a free copy of AFTER THE FEAR through the Rafflecopter Giveaway. Don’t miss out on a chance to win stuff!

 

As I said last post, I’ve promoted a lot of Kickstarters on here recently. It’s usually about books, and last post it was about sending theater students to Scotland. This one is a bit more personal than most.  While I’ve only known Barry Mangione for a couple of years, he has become a close friend and an inspiration. Even when I’m at my most self-deprecating (usually when attempting to write song lyrics), Barry believes in me, and I in turn believe in him.  His latest project is a bit of a departure for him, as well as being a summary of where he’s been the past few years and how he’s got to where he’s at now: mentally, physically, spiritually. Apply The GRAFT is going to be something new and unique, but it needs your help. I’ll post the Kickstarter and website links at the end, but first: read what Barry has to say about the project and how important it is to him.

ANTHONY: Let’s start off with a simple description: What is APPLY THE GRAFT?

BARRY: The GRAFT is interactive self-healing through music, visual art, and social media. It’s a story that starts with hitting rock bottom, continues through a healing process, and ends with finding happiness and love.

ANTHONY: Is APPLY THE GRAFT musical theater, or something different?

BARRY: It’s a live acoustic performance by musicians, so there are no actors in The GRAFT. The story is told through the music, the lyrics, and the videos that accompany the songs.

ANTHONY: How will the interactive component work?

BARRY: Throughout the show, the video screen displays questions for the audience to answer based on their own experiences. For example, “If you were given everything you needed to face one fear and conquer it, which fear would you face?” A Twitter account also appears on the screen (@applythegraft), and the audience is asked to Tweet their responses at that moment to that account. Someone monitoring the Twitter feed selects some of the audience’s responses, and then displays them on the screen for the entire audience to see and share.

ANTHONY: Does this mean that Twitter followers not in the theater can also take part in the experience?

BARRY: Anyone who happens to follow @applythegraft will see the Tweets that people are sending during the show, but since they’re not in the theater, they won’t see the questions prompting those Tweets. If someone is familiar with the show, the music, and the progression of the questions, it would be very interesting to follow along even if you’re not in the theater. I think it would be very interesting for someone who’s already seen the show to follow the performances on Twitter when they know the show is live.

ANTHONY: Something the Kickstarter video doesn’t really address: What happens on stage in between the nine musical numbers?

BARRY: Questions appear both during the songs and in between the songs. Some songs have an instrumental bridge that provides space for the questions to be displayed. Other songs don’t have that, so questions will be shown after or before those songs. For breaks in-between songs, the video being shown will be the focus of the show until the music starts up again.

ANTHONY: Tell us about the song-writing process for GRAFT.

BARRY: It was a therapeutic process for me. It started with the second song in the show, “I Wish I Had My Skin.” I had two other songs already written for other projects, but saw a link between them. When I decided to go with the GRAFT as a theme, I wrote songs around each of the themes and healing steps that make up The GRAFT: Gratitude, Ruthless honesty, Acceptance, Forgiveness, and Thoughtfulness. It was a different process for me, because I normally write individual songs. Writing several songs that would each tell their own story while also conveying a greater message was challenging!

ANTHONY: The stage production will include art by Scott Witt. How has that collaboration worked?

BARRY: Scott has been phenomenal! He offered his services when I mentioned The GRAFT during a live streaming show. I had seen his work and really liked it. I gave him some rough demos of the songs, and some lyric sheets and asked him to draw whatever came to him. I had no idea he would connect with the material so well. I’m really happy to have Scott on board, and looking forward to more artwork for the full-length video for the show.

ANTHONY: APPLY THE GRAFT is a deeply personal work for you. What else would you like people to know about the project that you haven’t told us yet?

BARRY: I think there may be a perception that The GRAFT is only for people who’ve hit rock bottom or are going through deep suffering. I’d like people to know that the tools in The GRAFT are applicable for anyone at any stage of their life’s journey, and the show itself is not just about healing, it’s also about entertaining the audience. I don’t promise to give anyone the answers to their life’s problems with The GRAFT. My hope is that when people leave the theater, they’ll have questions to take with them that will lead them to their own answers, because we all have to find the truth for ourselves.

ANTHONY: The Kickstarter for APPLY THE GRAFT is moving slowly. What perks can backers choose from?

BARRY: What can we do to spread the word? The backer rewards start as low as $5.00 for a lyric book. Besides tickets to the show, you can get two one-on-one life coaching sessions and private performances of the show. One of the more interesting perks gives you the chance to be a part of every show, not just the one you attend, by submitting photos or video to be included in the show’s featured video. If you have photos or a short video that embodies one or more of the themes in The GRAFT, you can submit it to us and we can include it as part of the show. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who’s already contributed, and thank anyone in advance who will be pledging their support in the future. As far as spreading the word, the term “viral” is just a new word for an old phrase: “word of mouth.” The best thing people can do other than pledging support through Kickstarter is to tell friends about it through social media and create a “buzz” around the show. It’s a show and an experience that has the potential to change people’s lives, so the more people who know about it, the greater the chance someone will see it and it’ll make a difference in their life.

 

So there you have it. You heard the man: even if you can’t contribute monetarily to the Kickstarter, you may know people who can. Spread the word, about this interview if nothing else. Let’s get Barry to a theater with Apply The GRAFT so he can build even more word-of-mouth.

You can follow Barry on Twitter @BarryMangione.  You can follow the project itself on Twitter @applythegraft. You can find Barry on Facebook, and The GRAFT on Facebook as well. And there’s the website, of course.

But most importantly: the Kickstarter. <—– There’s the link. Click on it. Watch Barry’s video explaining the project in more detail. Read what he has to say. Listen to the demos. And help that dollar amount go up. He’s got 18 days left and a long way to go, but we can make this happen.

I’ve featured a lot of book and webcomic Kickstarters on this page, so here’s something a little bit different: a theatrical Kickstarter. The students of Oakland School of the Arts are taking a very personal theatrical creation, “Signs of Our Occupy,” to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, and they need help with production expenses. In the following interview, conducted through OSA theater teacher Michael Berry-Berlinski, the students of OSA talk about why this project matters and why you should help them raise as much money as they can:

ANTHONY: Hello OSA! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me about “Signs of our Occupy.” Let’s start with the easy question: what is “Signs of our Occupy” about?

“Signs of our Occupy” is an original theatre production consisting of 14 monologues, each expressing a unique perspective on the Occupy Movement. The show looks at issues and hot buttons that involved thousands of people in the Oakland area. The show is political in nature, but we do not take any particular political position. Instead, we offer commentary on the events themselves, as told through characters that are fictional in nature. Each of the 14 monologues are based on actual signs created by protesters in the movement. ~ Sarah

ANTHONY: Most of us were distanced from the Occupy movements (in Oakland, in New York, and elsewhere). They were just images on the screens of our televisions and computers. In the Kickstarter video, several of you talk about the events of Occupy Oakland happening just outside the school. How did it feel to be at the epicenter of something so large, so international?

Our school was at the epicenter of this movement in Oakland. This was exciting, yet at times, scary. Daily we heard the police, the riots, the protesters, the loud sounds of breaking glass. At times we felt like we were in a war zone, yet we knew that there were people marching in the street for a better Oakland. It was cool to see our school on tv, or to see friends and family in the crowd. There were a lot of times I was proud to be from Oakland, then other times when it was embarrassing to see people in my city doing so much damage. Being so close to the scene, feeling like we were a part of the movement, that was an experience unlike any other and it will stay with me for a very long time.  ~ John

ANTHONY: We rely on the Arts to put society under a lens and bring attention to important issues, but that scrutiny can be double-edged. Sometimes, we end up filtering the message so much that it becomes diluted and loses impact. In your stage production, how are you dealing with making the universal personal?

I think everyone has felt suppressed in some way or another in their life. What makes this topic appealing to an international audience yet very personable at the same time is that the themes are so relatable. People of all races, nationalities, social statuses all struggle at some point. We know this show will be recognizable to so many people because the themes of standing up for justice, community and solidarity are universal, yet at the same time they are very personable issues for people.  ~ Amy

ANTHONY: The format of “Signs of our Occupy” reminds me of shows like “The Laramie Project,” which has endured controversy and censorship/banning. Has there been any reaction of that kind so far to “Signs?”

We have not staged the show yet, however, we do see a mixed reaction when people learn we are doing the project. Most are very excited…..they think it is a cool concept and really important message. They also love we are doing it at Fringe and sharing Oakland with the world. Still others feel it was such a personal thing, that they are not 100% loving the idea of the show. ~ Lukas

What has the writing process for “Signs” been like? How are the monologues being crafted and refined?

All 14 actors have been teamed with 14 Literary Arts students from our school and we have all selected a sign that we connect with. From that, we began writing, giving a unique perspective in each of our stories. There are some pieces that are pro-movement, some that are anti-movement. All are personable and come from our own experience or point of view, through the fictitious characters we are creating. We are just wrapping up a 4 week revision process and now starting to move into the blocking phase of rehearsal.  ~ Cameron

ANTHONY: How did the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh come about?

Our Director takes a group to Edinburgh every 2 years to perform. This year we created this original work and then set out to raise the $60,000 to make the dream possible. We have booked our own airfare, hotels, venue space to perform, etc. It is a lot of work. We hope to continue on the success from 2 years ago at the Fringe and set the standard for other students inn our department to go in years to come. ~ Ashly

ANTHONY: The money from the Kickstarter will go to defray technical production costs so that the families of the students can concentrate on airfare, hotels, and other such costs. How intricately technical will the production be? Will there be a multi-media aspect, and if so, how is that being incorporated?

We will have sets, lights, sound and costumes to pay for the trip. We will have multimedia and video as well as some other special effects. Our show will contain music both live and pre-recorded. All of this takes money to create, buy rights to and then transport overseas. By contributing to our Kickstarter campaign, you play a huge role in helping us defray our costs.  ~ Elana

ANTHONY: Will there be an opportunity for supporters of the project to see the production? Will it be filmed, or performed in the US at a later date?

Yes! Our show will be performed in Oakland at Oakland School for the Arts Blackbox Theatre in June. It will be open to the public and of course, our AWESOME supporters! Tickets are $20 each and all proceeds will go towards our trip! Please stay tuned for show dates which will come soon! ~ Max

ANTHONY: What do you all hope the long-term effects of “Signs” will be, especially on other teenagers?

To expand the views of individuals and to allow them to think about revolutions and social change. We want people to leave the theater wanting to make a difference in the world around them. We hope to speak to a great human need of reclaiming the political space in which we live. Hopefully from this, people will remember our show and our message and how we were all represented in unity.  ~ Nia

 

And there you go, straight from the students’ mouths. You can find out more about the details of the Kickstarter and what perks backers can expect by going to the SIGNS OF OUR OCCUPY Kickstarter page.  If you donate, tell them Anthony sent you. They have 19 days left in the campaign and while they’ve already hit their $7,500 goal, the more they raise the better!

I’ve been acquainted with escape artist / street performer / magician / jack of all trades and all around nice guy Jason Escape for a while now thanks to Twitter. He impressed me right away as a man concerned not just with making a living at his trades-of-choice but also with social justice and being a good person and a positive light in this world. I’m not the only one who thought so, as you’ll see in this interview with Ted Fisher.  Ted, with his wife Karen, is the director of a 15-minute documentary about Jason called “Hanging Downtown,” and is now running a Kickstarter to film a full length documentary about Jason’s life both on stage (on the streets of Boston) and off. When I found out about the project (a little belatedly) I jumped at the chance to talk to Ted about the Kickstarter and his documentary-filming experience.

 

ANTHONY: How did you become familiar with Jason Escape?

TED: I met Jason on Twitter. I was hoping to make a 5-minute documentary, and in my search I discovered what he does and thought it would be very interesting. Quickly, however, I realized that there are many interesting aspects to his life. So my wife and I traveled to Boston, and the result was … eventually … a 15-minute documentary called “Hanging Downtown.”

ANTHONY: Why make a documentary about Jason?

TED: In the 15-minute documentary, one theme that emerged was the idea of struggling to overcome a challenge. It addressed his struggle to be recognized as a performer, his struggle to engage an audience, and his struggle to complete a challenging escape. Since then, however, he’s gotten married, had a child, and faced the challenge of making a living as a performer. Ropes, chains, handcuffs? Easy. Father, Husband, Businessman? Now that’s a challenge.

So the new feature-length film provides an opportunity to learn more about him, and to explore this wild challenge of being an escape artist and family man.

ANTHONY: Documentaries come in all shapes and sizes. What’s the feel of your film going to be?

TED: I love the classic observational documentaries. At the same time, both my wife and I are really from a background in the fine arts, and we love the complex, multilayered approach you find in the best contemporary art. So, you might say we’re using strategies from art to shape a traditional observational documentary.

ANTHONY: What’s your plan for filming, and what equipment will you be using?

TED: My camera bag looks a lot more like a photojournalist’s than you’d expect. I’m a proponent of HDSLR video — using the video capabilities of still cameras or hybrid cameras — so I use small cameras like the Panasonic GH1 and GH2. Everything is chosen to be extremely mobile and lightweight. I value audio highly, so items like a quality lavalier microphone and a good shotgun microphone on a boom pole are essentials — but everything packs up in a very small case. Small LED lights are used to augment available light when needed, but again the emphasis is on working in a way that matches the street performer aesthetic.

ANTHONY: Is this your first documentary/film? What other films or directors have influenced your plan for this documentary?

TED: I’ve made several short documentaries, and with my wife the 15-minute “Hanging Downtown” documentary, but this is our first feature.

ANTHONY: What do you hope people get out of seeing Jason’s story?

TED: I think the theme of facing a challenge is probably going to be key to the new film. But I think the balance between his career, his ambition, his performance and the other elements of life is going to be something that everyone can relate to.

ANTHONY: What else would you like people to know about Jason and/or the film?

TED: Jason is amazing as a documentary subject because of what he does — it’s something that’s incredibly visual, has an element of danger, and is fascinating on screen — but to us the more important aspect is that he’s chosen to really reveal himself, and to let the audience in to experience his life.

ANTHONY: The Kickstarter still has nine days left. You’ve met the initial fundraising goal of $1,000. What will the money be used for, and what is the plan for funds raised over the intial goal?

TED: Realistically, our initial $1,000 goal was set when we weren’t sure if people were going to love the idea of the film as much as we did. But when people backed the Kickstarter, often specifically commenting how much they loved it and wanted to see it succeed, we realized there was an audience for the film. We celebrated loudly when we saw the funding hit our goal — but quickly realized that our real costs in just getting to Boston and staying there might be double that initial $1,000. So we’re thrilled to meet all of our backers, and to see the Kickstarter be considered a success, but we know we need to raise much more and stay with it just to see the filming begin. Our production approach is just my wife and I and sometimes a very small crew. We work with a very low-budget, minimal approach. So … we’re pretty streamlined. But airplane tickets and hotel rooms are the first hurdle to the initial filming.

ANTHONY: What sorts of perks are you offering backers?

TED: Well, we’re very excited to present a download of the initial 15-minute documentary “Hanging Downtown.” It’s still screening at festivals, but very soon we’re going to put it into the hands of our backers so they can discover Jason in that film and become part of our team for the feature-length doc. As well, we’re really focused on the importance of music in the film, so we’re offering a download of the soundtrack. Then, of course, people are going to want to see the new feature when it is done — and that’s another reward. Beyond that, we’re are offering a chance to meet Jason at special coffee and lunch events in Boston and San Diego right between performances.

There’s one other very innovative reward offered as well. We are creating a small team of Associate Producers. These are people who will see the film as it develops — in online preview screenings — and provide feedback and commentary for scenes of the film straight from the editing computer. We want to take advantage of the new possibilities for sharing with our audience early, no matter where they are. So we are building a group of people who can be very involved in the film, and who can help us understand how it is working as we refine it over time. We think it’s a new and exciting direction to go.

ANTHONY: And my usual closing question: What is your favorite book, and what would you say to someone who has never read it to convince them that they should?

TED: As a documentarian, it makes sense that I love very personal nonfiction — like the diaries of Anais Nin, for example. My wife is an art historian finishing her Ph.D. in the history of photography, so right now she has a stack of huge academic photo histories in front of her. I think the reason to read any book is similar to the reason to watch a film — it allows us to “try on” someone’s experience of life, and to better understand our own as a result.

You can find out more about the project on the Kickstarter page.  You can also learn more about the original documentary by visiting Ted’s website. You can follow Jason himself on Twitter @JasonEscape and get a better sense of what Jason is all about by talking to the man himself.

MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL, the second novel in Seanan McGuire’s INCRYPTID series, launched today. I’ve read the first chapters and the book gets off to a rollickin’ start — no surprise for any adventure featuring Verity Price nor for any book coming from Seanan’s pen. As always, I’m honored to have Seanan stop by and spend a few minutes answering questions.

ANTHONY:  Let’s start out with an easy one: where does MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL pick up in relation to the previous book, DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON?  Can new readers jump right in with this volume, or do they need to read the books in order?

SEANAN: It’s always best to read things in order.  I try to provide enough information to let new readers find their way in without feeling shut out,  but the introductions all happened in the first book.  MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL picks up a few months after the events of DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON, and focuses on the same central cast.

ANTHONY: What interesting new Cryptids are we introduced to this time around?

SEANAN: Hey, now.  That would be telling.

ANTHONY: You can’t blame a guy for trying! Has your approach to writing Verity changed at all now that she has a full novel behind her?

SEANAN: Nope!  If there’s something tall, she’ll try to jump off it; if there’s something that needs to be shot, she’ll shoot it; if there’s a dance floor available, she’ll be on it.  She’s matured as a character–I feel like that’s inevitable–and she’ll continue to grow and learn, but the core of Verity Price remains the same, which means that writing her is fun and familiar.

ANTHONY: You’ve also written a number of short stories about the Healy-Price clan, three of which detail how Jonathan Healy and Frances Brown met in 1928. Will the Jonathan-Fran stories get collected in print form at some point?

SEANAN: I hope so?  Honestly, that’s not something that’s easily within my control.  If the main series keeps selling well, I’ll hopefully be able to convince DAW that we should do a collection of the Jonathan and Fran stories.  I’ll have to write enough to make a volume first, so…

ANTHONY: I’ll keep my fingers crossed, as I really enjoyed those stories. There’s also so much more family history to explore — Alex and Enid Healy leaving The Covenant and the generation between Jonathan & Fran and Verity and her siblings, for two examples — so I have to ask: will we be seeing other stories that fill in the InCryptid backstory any time soon?

SEANAN: Yes, but.  I tend to give those stories away for free, to say “thank you” to my fans for reading, and that means that they have to come after paying work.  I eventually want to work all the way through Jonathan and Fran to Alice and Thomas, because Alice and Thomas are really the relationship that defined the current generation.  It’s going to take me a while to get there, since again, I can’t always drop everything for another InCryptid short.  I feel like it’s going to add a lot of depth to the later books in the series, though, so I keep pressing forward.

ANTHONY: Of all the holidays celebrated by the Aeslin  Mice, what is your favorite?

SEANAN: It varies, but I’m very fond of the Sacred Rite of What the Hell is That Thing, I Don’t Know, We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Gun.

ANTHONY: The last time we chatted, I asked about your favorite book and you discussed IT and 2012 being the latest in Pennywise The Clown’s cycle. Now that 2012 is over — was Pennywise’s latest rampage everything you hoped it would be?

SEANAN: It was, it really, really was.  I went to Maine and spent time with Cat Valente, whom I adore, and we tramped all over Bangor, and it was glorious.  I’m so glad I’m a geek.

ANTHONY: Oh, I wish I could have been along on that trip! Finally, any other upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?

SEANAN: Right now, I’m working on the eighth Toby Daye book and the third InCryptid book.  Coming out in the next year, I have MIDNIGHT BLUE-LIGHT SPECIAL–naturally–as well as the seventh Toby book, CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT, which I’m very proud of.  There’s a new Mira Grant coming up, PARASITE, which doesn’t have a release day yet.  And then there’s VELVETEEN VS. THE MULTI-VERSE, which wraps up the first Velveteen vs. cycle.  It’s going to be a busy year!

You can keep up with Seanan’s news, learn more about the InCryptid universe, and find two of the InCryptid stories referenced above by visiting Seanan’s website, and you can also follow her on Twitter @seananmcguire.