I'm an author - looking for some input
- Thread starter Fiona
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Re: I'm an author - looking for some input.
thats awesome fiona. let me ask, have you ever read any s.p. somptow or any poppy z brite. somptow is genius on a level ive never seen in a supernatural novel or story. brite worte lost souls and drawing blood both of which were very very important to me at one time in my life
thats awesome fiona. let me ask, have you ever read any s.p. somptow or any poppy z brite. somptow is genius on a level ive never seen in a supernatural novel or story. brite worte lost souls and drawing blood both of which were very very important to me at one time in my life
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Anonymous
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somptow is something else. the horror is all psychological metaphor made real and tries to go very deep and is disturbing. the vampire jusction novels were the best mistake ive ever made in my life. bought a cheesy vampire book i couldnt understand in middle school with a horrible cover and was amazed. i would never have even picked it up if it was later in my life. this is a short story collection called tagging the moon: fairy tales from l.a and its not nice. the first story is about a children abducted by a woman who runs a sex ring but the kids think theyre in hansel and gretel and that the drugs she feed them are candy. she does burn in the end though so thats satisfying to say the very least. hes part of thai royatly i think, a minor part, and is also a symphonic conductor. wagner features very heavily in the junction stories which take place in the eighties and all three novels are one whole story ending with vanitas. as for brite you need a capacity to handle very graphic gay sex scenes but im fine with that. we were the sickest kids etc etc but those novel also hold some real soft spots for. laine, nothing and ghost are characters thatll stick with me my whole ife i think. ive never felt like a person
Fiona
Love Morrissey ♥
I'm really curious now, I'm a huge fan of dark, unnerving fiction. I've loved horror all of my life. I've had some unusual and odd experiences in my own life, which inspired me to write.
I'm currently reading "S" which is an unusual novel. I might look at your recommendations in the new year
Are you a regular reader? I'm constantly reading. It's great escapism.
I'm currently reading "S" which is an unusual novel. I might look at your recommendations in the new year
Are you a regular reader? I'm constantly reading. It's great escapism.
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Anonymous
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lol yeah you could say im a reader. heres what tagging the moon looks like. also he a composer not a conductor, my bad.
"en tales, nine from 1993–98 and one original, from the author of Darker Angels (1998), etc. Three are based overtly on familiar fairy tales: Gingerbread features Hansel and Gretel as abused children who fall into the clutches of a witch who's also a Hollywood madam. Rumpelstiltskin returns as Dr. Rumpole, a Nazi war criminal and screenwriter of genius, who ends up an unwitting slave in a canny operator's basement; and in Mr. Death's Blue-Eyed Boy, the Pied Piper of Hamelin shows up, demanding payment for his services--plus accumulated interest. Elsewhere, vampires are on the side of the angels; when Jesus returns to Earth, the devil succeeds at the third attempt in corrupting Him--but, here, the devil's the good guy; King Arthur mixes it up with mythology, movies, and a serial killer; in the title piece, a tagger (a graffiti artist) yearns to leave his tag on the Moon, and, helped by like-minded aliens, succeeds; an ancient Mexican vampire wakes to find that the entire world is run by vampires; a violent father turns his stubborn son into a zombie; and a necrophiliac discovers his heart's desire in a vault full of cryogenically preserved heads.Creepy, nasty, and often disquieting: Somtow revels in aspects of the human psyche that most of us would rather not encounter."
about the man, which is goin g to be better than my recall was
"Once referred to by the International Herald Tribune as 'the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,' Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate, since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.
Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s, his first return to Asia, he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.
His earliest novels were in the science fiction field and he soon won the John W. Campbell for Best New Writer as well as being nominated for and winning numerous other awards in the field. But science fiction was not able to contain him and he began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, 'skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.' Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers' Association, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also published children's books, a historical novel, and about a hundred works of short fiction.
In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights and a series of stories noted for a peculiarly Asian brand of magic realism, such as Dragon's Fin Soup, which is currently being made into a film directed by Takashi Miike. He recently won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher. His forty-seven books have sold about two million copies world-wide.
After becoming a Buddhist monk for a period in 2001, Somtow decided to refocus his attention on the country of his birth, founding Bangkok's first international opera company and returning to music, where he again reinvented himself, this time as a neo-Asian neo-Romantic composer. The Norwegian government commissioned his song cycle Songs Before Dawn for the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and he composed at the request of the government of Thailand his Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 which was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.
According to London's Opera magazine, 'in just five years, Somtow has made Bangkok into the operatic hub of Southeast Asia.' His operas on Thai themes, Madana and Mae Naak, have been well received by international critics. He is directing Wagner's Ring Cycle for the Bangkok Opera, a four-year project which recently received full page coverage in the New York Times.
His current project is Ayodhya, a modern opera that retells the entire Ramayana in a single evening. He has written both the libretto and the music for this spectacular work which will premiere in November 2006 and which he has dedicated to His Majesty the King"
so what was it like to write your first novel? what made you put pen to paper or hand on keys in this day and age
"en tales, nine from 1993–98 and one original, from the author of Darker Angels (1998), etc. Three are based overtly on familiar fairy tales: Gingerbread features Hansel and Gretel as abused children who fall into the clutches of a witch who's also a Hollywood madam. Rumpelstiltskin returns as Dr. Rumpole, a Nazi war criminal and screenwriter of genius, who ends up an unwitting slave in a canny operator's basement; and in Mr. Death's Blue-Eyed Boy, the Pied Piper of Hamelin shows up, demanding payment for his services--plus accumulated interest. Elsewhere, vampires are on the side of the angels; when Jesus returns to Earth, the devil succeeds at the third attempt in corrupting Him--but, here, the devil's the good guy; King Arthur mixes it up with mythology, movies, and a serial killer; in the title piece, a tagger (a graffiti artist) yearns to leave his tag on the Moon, and, helped by like-minded aliens, succeeds; an ancient Mexican vampire wakes to find that the entire world is run by vampires; a violent father turns his stubborn son into a zombie; and a necrophiliac discovers his heart's desire in a vault full of cryogenically preserved heads.Creepy, nasty, and often disquieting: Somtow revels in aspects of the human psyche that most of us would rather not encounter."
about the man, which is goin g to be better than my recall was
"Once referred to by the International Herald Tribune as 'the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,' Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate, since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.
Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s, his first return to Asia, he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.
His earliest novels were in the science fiction field and he soon won the John W. Campbell for Best New Writer as well as being nominated for and winning numerous other awards in the field. But science fiction was not able to contain him and he began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, 'skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.' Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers' Association, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also published children's books, a historical novel, and about a hundred works of short fiction.
In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights and a series of stories noted for a peculiarly Asian brand of magic realism, such as Dragon's Fin Soup, which is currently being made into a film directed by Takashi Miike. He recently won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher. His forty-seven books have sold about two million copies world-wide.
After becoming a Buddhist monk for a period in 2001, Somtow decided to refocus his attention on the country of his birth, founding Bangkok's first international opera company and returning to music, where he again reinvented himself, this time as a neo-Asian neo-Romantic composer. The Norwegian government commissioned his song cycle Songs Before Dawn for the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and he composed at the request of the government of Thailand his Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 which was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.
According to London's Opera magazine, 'in just five years, Somtow has made Bangkok into the operatic hub of Southeast Asia.' His operas on Thai themes, Madana and Mae Naak, have been well received by international critics. He is directing Wagner's Ring Cycle for the Bangkok Opera, a four-year project which recently received full page coverage in the New York Times.
His current project is Ayodhya, a modern opera that retells the entire Ramayana in a single evening. He has written both the libretto and the music for this spectacular work which will premiere in November 2006 and which he has dedicated to His Majesty the King"
so what was it like to write your first novel? what made you put pen to paper or hand on keys in this day and age
A
Anonymous
Guest
" Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers' Association, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also published children's books, a historical novel, and about a hundred works of short fiction."
this is the book/s you shouldvread from him. they are like nothing else and iver read a lot of horror in my time though ive gone out of the genre now a days.
this is the book/s you shouldvread from him. they are like nothing else and iver read a lot of horror in my time though ive gone out of the genre now a days.
Fiona
Love Morrissey ♥
Somtow does look really interesting, he appears to be the kind of author that appeals to me, because I love exploring anything dark and sinister. I do have a "books-to-be-read" list and I can see me definitely giving his work a chance. Tagging the Moon is officially on that list
As for my work, I started writing short stories when I was a teenager and it progressed from there. As I mentioned before, I've been absolutely fascinated by the paranormal for as long as I can remember, and I just love exploring these worlds in my own fiction. I have a publishing contract with a couple of book publishers in the USA (at the time, the market over there seemed more optimistic about horror than the UK market, where I am based) and that's how I managed to push my three horror novels into the world.
I think what appeals to me about paranormal or horror, is the unknown, the mystery. Today's world often seems so self-assured, so satisfied that we have the answers, the truth, that we know all there is to know - and I just do not agree. I think there is more to this world than meets the eye, and I feel absolutely compelled to keep learning as many theories and ideas as possible.
Note to other members - I have had a couple of responses to my original request. If there is anyone else who feels they can submit a personal experience or story that fits under the category of "the unexplained" I'd still love to hear from you. Thanks!
As for my work, I started writing short stories when I was a teenager and it progressed from there. As I mentioned before, I've been absolutely fascinated by the paranormal for as long as I can remember, and I just love exploring these worlds in my own fiction. I have a publishing contract with a couple of book publishers in the USA (at the time, the market over there seemed more optimistic about horror than the UK market, where I am based) and that's how I managed to push my three horror novels into the world.
I think what appeals to me about paranormal or horror, is the unknown, the mystery. Today's world often seems so self-assured, so satisfied that we have the answers, the truth, that we know all there is to know - and I just do not agree. I think there is more to this world than meets the eye, and I feel absolutely compelled to keep learning as many theories and ideas as possible.
Note to other members - I have had a couple of responses to my original request. If there is anyone else who feels they can submit a personal experience or story that fits under the category of "the unexplained" I'd still love to hear from you. Thanks!
A
Anonymous
Guest
well the youre gonna love poppy z brite then though the prose isnt as ethereal and surreal as somptow or as intellectual but its still very out there and disturbing (plus like the very graphic gay sex scenes which are something of her trademark. id start with drawing blood which is about an illustrate and birdlands the comic. here an amazon summary
"From Publishers Weekly:
Brite ( Lost Souls ) comes into her own in this second novel that should establish her as not only an adept in the horror genre, but also as a singularly talented chronicler of her generation. Five-year-old Trevor McGee wakes one morning to find that his father, cartoonist Bobby McGee, has murdered his mother and younger brother, then hanged himself. Twenty years later, Trevor, now a cartoonist himself, returns to Missing Mile, N.C. (a fictional town also featured in Lost Souls ), and the now-haunted house of his youth for answers: Why did his father choose to spare his life? What prompted the loss of creativity which Trevor himself now dreads? Meanwhile, 19-year-old Zachary Bosch, himself the tormented result of disturbed parents, arrives in Missing Mile on the lam for computer hacking. The two fall in love, and, with Zach's help, Trevor finds that he can reach the horrible but liberating truth the house holds for him. Though subplots and secondary characters sometimes hamper the pace of the main plot line, they do serve to evoke a certain 20-something, cyberpunk-era zeitgeist that resonates with the concerns of contemporary youth. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal:
Zach and Trevor are young men who fall in love in a haunted house where Trevor's father murdered his family and killed himself, sparing only Trevor. An underground cartoonist like his dead father, Trevor has returned to the crumbling house in rural Missing Mile, North Carolina, to learn why his father spared him. Zach is a hacker on the run. He is a popular and exotic extrovert while Trevor is a painfully introverted virgin. With the help of Zach and psilocybin, Trevor confronts his father in Birdland, the comic town that his father created, even as the FBI traces Zach to Missing Mile. Drawing Blood is a flawed but compelling story. It's labeled "psychological horror," but the horror gives way to a suspenseful, offbeat gay romance. The first half, where Brite's powerful characterizations and settings are drawn, is hard to put down. But the haunted house is tame, and Trevor's struggle to learn to love Zach lingers overlong in homoerotic material, straining the momentum. The FBI arrives in time, however, to lend some suspense to the ending. Recommended for public libraries."
"From Publishers Weekly:
Brite ( Lost Souls ) comes into her own in this second novel that should establish her as not only an adept in the horror genre, but also as a singularly talented chronicler of her generation. Five-year-old Trevor McGee wakes one morning to find that his father, cartoonist Bobby McGee, has murdered his mother and younger brother, then hanged himself. Twenty years later, Trevor, now a cartoonist himself, returns to Missing Mile, N.C. (a fictional town also featured in Lost Souls ), and the now-haunted house of his youth for answers: Why did his father choose to spare his life? What prompted the loss of creativity which Trevor himself now dreads? Meanwhile, 19-year-old Zachary Bosch, himself the tormented result of disturbed parents, arrives in Missing Mile on the lam for computer hacking. The two fall in love, and, with Zach's help, Trevor finds that he can reach the horrible but liberating truth the house holds for him. Though subplots and secondary characters sometimes hamper the pace of the main plot line, they do serve to evoke a certain 20-something, cyberpunk-era zeitgeist that resonates with the concerns of contemporary youth. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal:
Zach and Trevor are young men who fall in love in a haunted house where Trevor's father murdered his family and killed himself, sparing only Trevor. An underground cartoonist like his dead father, Trevor has returned to the crumbling house in rural Missing Mile, North Carolina, to learn why his father spared him. Zach is a hacker on the run. He is a popular and exotic extrovert while Trevor is a painfully introverted virgin. With the help of Zach and psilocybin, Trevor confronts his father in Birdland, the comic town that his father created, even as the FBI traces Zach to Missing Mile. Drawing Blood is a flawed but compelling story. It's labeled "psychological horror," but the horror gives way to a suspenseful, offbeat gay romance. The first half, where Brite's powerful characterizations and settings are drawn, is hard to put down. But the haunted house is tame, and Trevor's struggle to learn to love Zach lingers overlong in homoerotic material, straining the momentum. The FBI arrives in time, however, to lend some suspense to the ending. Recommended for public libraries."
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Anonymous
Guest
oh and i also wanted to say good for you fiona and well done. forgot the important part
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