Corvidae Author Interviews: Jane Yolen, Kat Otis, Angela Slatter

“CORVIDAE” & “SCARECROW”

EDITED BY RHONDA PARRISH

Alpena, MI (April 30, 2015) – World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced the anthologies Corvidae and Scarecrow, volumes two and three of Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, will be available in trade paperback and ebook Tuesday, July 7 and Tuesday, August 4, 2015 respectively.

Praise for Fae, Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, Volume 1: “Seventeen tales... range in feel from horror to upbeat tales about homes where things go right, and are set everywhere from the modern day to mythical fantasy pasts. The best of these stories evoke things from real life – loves and values – and show characters making hard choices that reveal who they are and what they’re made of." — Tangent “Delightfully refreshing! I should have known that editor Parrish (who also edits the cutting edge horror zine, Niteblade) would want to offer something quite unique. I found it difficult to stop reading as one story ended and another began – all fantastic work by gifted writers. Not for the faint of heart, by any means.” — Marge Simon, multiple Bram Stoker® winner “There’s no Disney-esque flutter and glitter to be found here — but there are chills and thrills aplenty.” — Mike Allen, author of Unseaming and editor of     Clockwork Phoenix “Stories of magical beings and the humans they encounter will enthrall and enlighten the reader about both the mundane and the otherworldly. I devoured it.” — Kate Wolford, editor of Beyond the Glass Slipper, editor and publisher of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine

Corvidae

Associated with life and death, disease and luck, corvids have long captured mankind’s attention, showing up in mythology as the companions or manifestations of deities, and starring in stories from Aesop to Poe and beyond. In Corvidae birds are born of blood and pain, trickster ravens live up to their names, magpies take human form, blue jays battle evil forces, and choughs become prisoners of war. These stories will take you to the Great War, research facilities, frozen mountaintops, steam-powered worlds, remote forest homes, and deep into fairy tales. One thing is for certain, after reading this anthology, you’ll never look the same way at the corvid outside your window.

Featuring works by Jane Yolen, Mike Allen, C.S.E. Cooney, M.L.D. Curelas, Tim Deal, Megan Engelhardt, Megan Fennell, Adria Laycraft, Kat Otis, Michael S. Pack, Sara Puls, Michael M. Rader, Mark Rapacz, Angela Slatter, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Leslie Van Zwol.

Scarecrow

Hay-men, mommets, tattie bogles, kakashi, tao-tao—whether formed of straw or other materials, the tradition of scarecrows is pervasive in farming cultures around the world. The scarecrow serves as decoy, proxy, and effigy—human but not human. We create them in our image and ask them to protect our crops and by extension our very survival, but we refrain from giving them the things a creation might crave—souls, brains, free-will, love. In Scarecrow, fifteen authors of speculative fiction explore what such creatures might do to gain the things they need or, more dangerously, think they want. Within these pages, ancient enemies join together to destroy a mad mommet, a scarecrow who is a crow protects solar fields and stores long-lost family secrets, a woman falls in love with a scarecrow, and another becomes one. Encounter scarecrows made of straw, imagination, memory, and robotics while being spirited to Oz, mythological Japan, other planets, and a neighbor’s back garden. After experiencing this book, you’ll never look at a hay-man the same.

Featuring all new work by Jane Yolen, Andrew Bud Adams, Laura Blackwood, Amanda Block, Scott Burtness, Amanda C. Davis, Megan Fennell, Kim Goldberg, Katherine Marzinsky, Craig Pay, Sara Puls, Holly Schofield, Virginia Carraway Stark, Laura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.

Corvidae and Scarecrow will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, WorldWeaverPress.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram. You can also find Corvidae and Scarecrow on Goodreads.

Rhonda Parrish is a master procrastinator and nap connoisseur but despite that she somehow manages a full professional life. She has been the publisher and editor-in-chief of Niteblade Magazine for over five years now (which is like 25 years in internet time) and is the editor of the benefit anthology Metastasis, as well as the World Weaver Press anthologies Fae, Scarecrow, and Corvidae. In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been included or is forthcoming in dozens of publications including Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing. Her website, updated weekly, is at rhondaparrish.com.

World Weaver Press is an independently owned publisher of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction. We believe in great storytelling.

Author Name: Jane Yolen

Website Address: www.janeyolen.com

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @janeyolen

Facebook: Jane Yolen

What is it about corvids that inspired you to write about them?

We are a family of birders, and corvids are among the smartest (and sassiest) of birds.

Was there one corvid characteristic you wanted to highlight more than others?

Their knowingness.

Do you think you were successful?

I can only hope. . . .

If you were a corvid, what would you build your nest out of?

Coins and bottlecaps and peacock feathers.

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?

My earring collection.

If you have work in both anthologies, which came first? The corvid or the scarecrow?

Corvid first.

Author Name: Kat Otis

Website Address: www.katotis.com

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @kat_otis

Was there one corvid characteristic you wanted to highlight more than others? Do you think you were successful?

The characteristic I wanted to highlight the most was corvid intelligence.  When I was trying to decide what kind of corvid to write about, I started by browsing bird websites and quickly fell into a research pit of corvid videos where they showed amazing levels of intelligence and tool use.  Obviously the only proper response was to elevate the corvidae as a group to be as sentient as humans and... um... leviathans and frost giants.  I sure hope I was successful, as the story makes very little sense without it!

If you were a covid, what would you build your nest out of?

If I had to live in a nest, it would be a giant bean bag.  Actually, sophmore year of college my roommate and I put a bean bag in a corner of our tiny dorm room, for an oft-visiting friend of ours, and called it her nest.  So... I guess I sort of already have built a nest out of a bean bag ;)

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?

Shiny new ideas, of course!  For example, I was just working on my latest shiny new idea, a steampunk piece with exploding airships, and- OH NEW SHINY NEW IDEA GOTTA GO LATERS!

Author Name: Angela Slatter

Website Address: http://www.angelaslatter.com/

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @AngelaSlatter

Facebook: Angela Slatter (Author)

What is it about corvids that inspired you to write about them?

I think it’s the sheer wealth of lore behind them: they’re thieves; they’re clever and sly; they cross many mythologies; they’re quite lovely-looking (what’s not to love about black feathers?); they can be sinister and clownish at the same time.

If you were a covid, what would you build your nest out of?

The pages of books, so I’d be comfy and have something to read.

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?

The various rings I’ve inherited from aunts over the years because (a) shiny-shiny, and (b) they have a family and emotional connection for me. I’ve got an emerald and diamond one of which I’m especially fond.

Demons Imps and Incubi- Romance with a Supernatural Twist

“DEMONS, IMPS, AND INCUBI” ANTHOLOGY NOW AVAILABLE FROM RED MOON ROMANCE Alpena, MI (June 23, 2015)

 – Red Moon Romance (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced Demons, Imps, and Incubi, a romance anthology edited by Laura Harvey, is available in trade paperback and ebook today, Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

 Demons, Imps, Incubi: dark, powerful, and forbidden. Only the foolish would seek one out for seduction, and yet . . . deals are struck. Souls are ensnared. But must a demon's agenda always be demonic? Can he be redeemed? Or does being bad feel too good to bother with redemption? Long ago, imps were more mischievous and playful--naughty, perhaps?—and perceptions of them have only grown more sinister over the centuries. The incubus craves sex, but what makes us crave him? Explore dark and sensual worlds with eight brand new stories of magic and seduction that will set you aflame by Cori Vidae, Alexa Piper, Erzabet Bishop, Mark Greenmill, Nicole Blackwood, J. C. G. Goelz, Jeffery Armadillo, and M. Arbroath. 

Demons, Imps, and Incubi is available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram. You can also find Demons, Imps, and Incubi on Goodreads. 

Laura Harvey is an editor, writer, bibliophile, horsewoman, historian, teacher, debate coach, nerd, DIY junkie, and occasional rescuer of kittens. She holds a BA, MA, and is ABD, making her an exceptional asset in Trivial Pursuit. She loves reading so much that all of her handbags share one crucial ability: fitting a standard paperback or Kindle. She lives in northern California with a menagerie of beasts (dogs, cats, horses, and family members). 

Red Moon believes in romance. We believe reading should be fun. We believe that at their core, romances are courtship stories, focused tightly on the emotions of the relationship. We don’t raise an eyebrow at any woman’s reading choices because we believe a woman deserves whatever fiction incites her passions. Whether a sweet fairy-tale ending or a scorching hot love affair, we believe in giving a woman what she wants. Hot romance, it's what we do. 

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0108OUDCC?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/demons-imps-and-incubi

All Romance: https://www.omnilit.com/product-demonsimpsandincubi-1840028-166.html

Author name: Mark Greenmill

1.      What place do you think demons play in human story-telling? Why do we continue to tell stories about monsters/creatures with questionable morality?

MG: On one hand, we’re drawn to what we cannot have. There can be something alluring about the darkness, and often we willingly step into dangerous situations—or associate with the wrong kind of people—because we feel the need to experiment, or explore, or taste forbidden fruit.  Demons offer storytellers a method of establishing clear morality at the beginning of the story: our society understands that a demon is bad, and from there, we can either challenge that idea, or use it as a baseline for showing what represents good.

2.      If you met your demon in a dark alley, what are your chances of survival? What’s your best tactic for getting home safely?

MG: Santorava is one tough dude that I wouldn’t want to mess with. Especially if he thought I had something to do with stealing his wife.  My best option would be to run like hell, and hope the moon came out before he caught me.

Author name: Nicole Blackwood

1.      What place do you think demons play in human story-telling? Why do we continue to tell stories about monsters/creatures with questionable morality?

I think that depends on the demon, and the story. Many demons are connected to religions and cultures, and they have their own sets of rules and meanings. Some are meant as warnings, to try and guide people away from paths that will lead to the destruction of self or others. Some are more abstractly symbolic, and that’s where the plot of the story is really more important in terms of learning. There are many other instances where demons are just creatures, like any other animal or sentient being, that fall outside the realm of earthly reality. They can be good, evil, or a more familiar mix of the two, but with weird powers and awesome bodies. Writing something so alien and connecting it to the human experience is a sort of adventure.

2.      If you met your demon in a dark alley, what are your chances of survival? What’s your best tactic for getting home safely?

Oh, I’d be fine. Benji’s not a hard-ass unless he needs to be. As long as I hadn’t pissed off him or Kiki, he’d probably ignore me – after making sure I wasn’t a thrall, or possessed by an Ancient One. And I do try to avoid that sort of thing.

Author name: J. C. G. Goelz

1.      What place do you think demons play in human story-telling? Why do we continue to tell stories about monsters/creatures with questionable morality?

They arose out of our primordial fears. Currently, I think they are useful vehicles that provide a distance from reality that allow the writer to address issues that might otherwise be uncomfortable, or see them from a different light.

2.      If you met your demon in a dark alley, what are your chances of survival? What’s your best tactic for getting home safely?

Iris knew she had to fit into society, so she didn’t go around doing things that would expose her nature. Her mother, on the other hand, would be deadly.

Glamour

GLAMOUR

Stealing the life she’s always wanted

is as easy as casting a spell.

GLAMOUR:

Townie. That’s what eighteen-year-old Christina Sundy is. All year round she lives in a one-stoplight town on Cape Cod and when summer comes she spends her days scooping ice cream for rich tourists, who she hates. So when one of them takes a job in the ice cream shop alongside her, she’s pissed. Why does a blonde and perky Harvard-bound rich girl like Reese Manning want to scoop ice cream anyway?

Something else weird is happening to Christina: tiny blue sparks seem to be shooting off her fingers. It isn’t long before she realizes the truth about herself—she’s actually a powerful hereditary witch. But her newfound powers are too intense for her to handle and, in a moment of rage, she accidentally zaps Reese into another dimension.

So that no one will notice that the rich girl has disappeared, Christina casts a disguising spell, or “glamour,” and lives Reese’s life while she tries to find a retrieval spell. But as the retrieval spell proves harder than anticipated, and as she goes about living Reese’s life without anyone on the outside noticing the switch, Christina realizes that there’s nothing to stop her from making the glamour permanent... except, of course, her fellow witches, a 16th century demon, and, just maybe, her own conscience.

Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, OmniLit

Excerpt:

An absolutely stunning woman answered our knock. She was tall with dark, wild hair, and razor-thin. When she spoke, her voice was a whiskey-and-cigarettes rasp with a vague, untraceable accent.
“Well, if it isn’t the radiant Bridget Bishop,” the woman said. “Shouldn’t you be making ice cream or something?”
Bridget laughed. “Nadia, I miss you.”
They hugged like old friends. Not that I was jealous, but I was confused. How come I’d never heard of this person? I knew most of Bridget’s friends. It seemed she’d been keeping all the witchy aspects of her life secret from me lo these many years.
“So this is the kid.” Nadia looked at me. I caught a glimpse of her house behind her as she opened the door a little wider. Chelsea Lately played on her television.
“Nadia, this is Christina,” Bridget interjected. “She’s the most powerful natural witch I’ve ever seen.”
“Mazel tov. Another teenager who thinks she’s special and different.”
Bridget mock-whispered, “But this one really is.”
“Oh yeah?”
“She performed a quantum banishment. Accidentally.”
“Holy shit. Really?”
I was getting used to being talked about like I wasn’t even there.
“Christina’s powers have been firing off all summer,” Bridget continued. “She’s been casting these very classical spells, real old-school stuff, without even knowing it.”
Nadia took a second to absorb this. “I guess you should come inside then, huh?”

Interview:

1. How did you get started writing? 

I started reading at four and wanted to be a writer since I was six, so basically I can’t remember why or remember a time when there was ever any other idea in my mind.

2. What are your favorite kinds of characters to write about?

I love writing flawed characters, who make mistakes and screw up constantly and are so far from perfect it would be sad if they weren't so god damn delightful in their own entertaining, sometimes regrettable ways. 

3. Heels or flats?

Oh dear god, flats. I'm a walking tour guide by trade, so without arch support I am literally ruined. 

4. Burgers or sushi?

Burgers.

5. Plotter or pantster?

Pantser these days. I find writing a fast rough draft takes less time than laboriously plotting and outlining, is less boring, and essentially amounts to the same thing. 

6. What helps you develop your characters-do you start with them or develop them as the story goes on?

Definitely develop them as the story goes on. I'll start with a certain quality, or event, or even just a name, and work from there: an ambidextrous scooper, a woman living with a ghost, a failed artist, a name I saw on a gravestone that sounded like a lady detective. Then I build out. 

7. Name three things on your desk.

A can of dust destroyer, business cards, and a pen. 

8. Do you write to music?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I have no set routines. 

9. What was your favorite scene in Glamour?

I love the scene where they visit Nadia!

10. What are you working on now?

A ghost story about a woman living in a haunted condo in Rockaway Beach (that's in Queens).

About the author:

Andrea Janes writes horror, dark comedy, thrillers, and historical slapstick. She is the author of Boroughs of the Dead: New York City Ghost Stories. She is also a licensed NYC tour guide, and offers a variety of ghostly tours around the city.

Her many obsessions include New York City history, old photographs, Mabel Normand, all things nautical, and beer. She maintains a personal blog over at Spinster Aunt, where she discusses these obsessions in more detail than is probably healthy.