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INTERVIEWS
"LES VACANCES"
PHIL SLOMAN
PHIL SLOMAN
Author Links
Twitter: @phil_sloman
Website: http://insearchofperdition.blogspot.co.uk/
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much can you tell us a little about Les Vacances?
Les Vacances is the story of Frank and Elizabeth, a middle-aged English couple, set in the 1980s. Changing the habit of a lifetime, they head down to the south of France in search of a rural getaway at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. However, their imaginings of a tranquil idyll are soon shattered as folklore and family bring calamity with them. The story itself - whilst very much a traditional folk horror with hints of witchcraft and devilry - is as much about the fragile relationship of Frank and Elizabeth as it is about anything else. How the familiarity of life can be as toxic as any supernatural force.
What was your inspiration behind writing it?
Dean approached me a while back to write him a French Folk Horror story as we’ve worked together before with Dean publishing a number of my short stories. So that got my brain ticking over with my first thought being ‘how the hell do I write folk horror’ having never really written any before! Eventually I realised I needed to write a Hammer Horror style story and set it in France with all the wonderful trappings which accompany those films. I then threw in a few childhood holidays and other memories and voila!
Are any of the characters, particularly Frank and Elizabeth, based upon real people?
All the English characters are an amalgamation of people from my childhood, a little dash of personality here and there. Frank and Elizabeth are, to some degree, based on my parents and grandparents though only in snippets rather than any full blown way. Ours was a reasonably routine existence, meals being meat and two veg, conversations usually about the same things, so I guess it is the monotony of habit which comes through most, going to the familiar and getting caught in that trap of existing rather than living.
In your story you have expertly weaved the hum-drum English life with the colourful French life (as well as the total confusion the two lead characters face once they get across the Channel) – have you spent a lot of time in France / do you visit regularly / has France ever inspired your writing? Where any of these scenes drawn from real life?
I grew up in East Sussex and inevitably school trips took us over to France (Dieppe, Paris, Le Havre, Bayeux, etc) as well as family holidays one of which was staying in a gîte which Les Vacances borrows from. So I’ve spent a good deal of time over in France and have also been able to take my own family to Corsica in recent years with its beautiful beaches! When Madeleine says ‘You know what they call a meal without wine…”, that was taken from a sign hanging in this glorious restaurant right on the harbour in southern Corsica. There are other smatterings of real life in the scenes in the book. My father did indeed have the beaded seat cover for his back and our car was hearse-like being a large dark blue Peugeot 501. And the whole scene in the Dixon’s living room eating soup, watching television could have been taken from any given Sunday back in our household in the 80s. The scenes in France are predominantly imagined but taking the architecture from visits to different places over time as well as that beautiful countryside with memories of driving past fields of vibrant yellow sunflowers soaking up the sunshine. There’s probably also a bit of the tightness of the streets of Mont St Michel hidden within there too.
Did you have to do much research when writing the story as a whole or did it come purely from your imagination? If you did do research could you tell us a little about that – how long it took, what subjects you needed to research etc etc.
The majority came from a mixture of my own memories and my imagination. At one point I was going to do something more with the village being named Pont du Diable (which is a more common name than you would think in real life) and researched the old tale about the devil and the monks. If I recall it properly, the monks want to build a bridge over a river but the devil gets involved (either building it or just being a hindrance). He says that he will only let the bridge stand if he gets the first soul which crosses the bridge. The monks agree but send a dog to cross the bridge so the devil is thwarted and has to take the dog’s soul. Or something like that. I realised when trying to weave the monks in more that it was all going to be far too convoluted so I dropped it and you have what now rests within the pages of Into The Night Eternal.
What do you think would have happened if they had gone to Camber instead of France? Where would these characters be in five or ten years’ time?
I think Frank and Elizabeth would be trapped in a loveless marriage with both too scared to say anything. They would still be sitting there on those slumping sofas sipping their turgid bowls of orange soup as life passed them by and the wallpaper changed only to become the same again over time.
(In terms of work) What’s next for Phil Sloman?
I have some stories with publishers which are just waiting for release. One’s for a charity anthology called Under the Weather raising money for children with autism. Another is one featuring in the Alchemy Press Book of Horrors which has some legends of the horror genre within it and launches October. And then there’s an industrial horror piece which Dean’s kindly picked up and should be out early next year. Beyond those pieces, I have a novella I have part finished which I need to get done and sent off. It’s an angry story about a young man in a halfway house alongside the other residents. I was going through a bad patch personally when I started writing it so there’s a lot of me and my own world frustrations poured into the pages. And I’ve also started a novel about the disintegration of a marriage twinned with aspects of the supernatural which I’m hoping will be the next big step for me as a writer. So basically busy, busy, busy!
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
One of my favourite sandwiches as a kid was peanut butter, marmite, honey and golden syrup. Sounds dreadful, tastes amazing!
Why did you become a writer?
I’ve always loved writing ever since I was a kid. I realise that is probably a clichéd thing to say but it’s true. I devoured books from a young age and wanted to create my own worlds and scenarios. There’s always the ‘what if’ question going on in my head and writing helps to explore that and how different people react in different situations.
Do you write alone or in public?
A mixture of both. If at home then I tend to write at night when the kids have gone to bed. Otherwise it’s writing on trains with all the world doing their own thing around me – you’ll always find me with a laptop to hand when travelling to conventions which might explain why it is so battered and the screen cracked!
Do you write to music or silence?
I can’t write to music. It distracts me. I find myself focusing on the music rather than on the words I am meant to be putting down on the page.
Do you set yourself writing goals (ie a certain number of words per day / per week) or just when inspiration hits you?
As and when I can with no goals. Equally, I don’t beat myself up when I am not writing. Sometimes I can go ages without writing something due to promoting current release, life in general getting in the way or simply being exhausted due to a young family! But just because I am not writing doesn’t mean I am not working out plots in my head, watching the world, taking things in, filing scenarios away to insert in my latest work in progress.
What do you love about the writing process?
Possibly perversely, I like the editing process. Getting the words down is like chipping away at a block of wood until you start to reveal the form you are creating. The editing is where you polish everything and bring your creation to life, smoothing out the rough patches and improving on the flow. Even then there’s still a part of me re-reading my work once it is out there which will want to alter a line or two in the story so there’s a huge bit about knowing when to stop tinkering!
What have you put most of your effort into regarding your writing?
Finding my own voice and rhythm. I think all writers go through a phase, especially when starting out, where they are trying to work out what and how they want to write. There’s often a piece where you start to mimic the style of other writers because that’s the kind of stuff you like to read, or at least that was definitely the case for me. But there comes a point where you find your voice and also the rhythm which accompanies that voice when you tell your stories. There’s definitely a beat to everything I write to the point if it’s distorted then the story feels vulgar to me.
What has been your toughest criticism given to you as a writer?
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve not had a huge amount of criticism of my writing though I suspect that may be due to lack of exposure rather than my writing being near perfection! Where I have had comments, usually through beta readers giving advice, then the main thing has been to take that advice on and run with it rather than getting upset.
And the best compliment?
I guess being nominated as Best Newcomer in the British Fantasy Society Awards for my novella Becoming David was a huge honour. One of those things where your peers have said they think your work is worthy of being nominated for an award. And looking back at it, although I ultimately didn’t win, I am one of only about 200 people who have ever been shortlisted going back 40 years so that’s a great achievement!
What book(s) have you read which has influenced your life / your writing career?
I think my writing has evolved over time so it’s hard to pinpoint one writer specifically as I think the answer would easily be 100+ writers out there and that number continues to grow the more new (to me) writers I discover. However, like a lot of horror writers my age, Clive Barker’s Books of Blood were a massive influence on me. It almost gave me permission to see the world in this new and wonderful way which I hadn’t really considered before. And the writing is amazing throughout.
What is the biggest surprise you’ve experienced since becoming a writer?
People asking for my signature. It’s the strangest thing when at a convention and someone asks for it. I wonder if they have the wrong person then see that it’s a book with my name on the cover in their hand. But it’s always a pleasure to do it all the same!
Twitter: @phil_sloman
Website: http://insearchofperdition.blogspot.co.uk/
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much can you tell us a little about Les Vacances?
Les Vacances is the story of Frank and Elizabeth, a middle-aged English couple, set in the 1980s. Changing the habit of a lifetime, they head down to the south of France in search of a rural getaway at a farm on the outskirts of a small village. However, their imaginings of a tranquil idyll are soon shattered as folklore and family bring calamity with them. The story itself - whilst very much a traditional folk horror with hints of witchcraft and devilry - is as much about the fragile relationship of Frank and Elizabeth as it is about anything else. How the familiarity of life can be as toxic as any supernatural force.
What was your inspiration behind writing it?
Dean approached me a while back to write him a French Folk Horror story as we’ve worked together before with Dean publishing a number of my short stories. So that got my brain ticking over with my first thought being ‘how the hell do I write folk horror’ having never really written any before! Eventually I realised I needed to write a Hammer Horror style story and set it in France with all the wonderful trappings which accompany those films. I then threw in a few childhood holidays and other memories and voila!
Are any of the characters, particularly Frank and Elizabeth, based upon real people?
All the English characters are an amalgamation of people from my childhood, a little dash of personality here and there. Frank and Elizabeth are, to some degree, based on my parents and grandparents though only in snippets rather than any full blown way. Ours was a reasonably routine existence, meals being meat and two veg, conversations usually about the same things, so I guess it is the monotony of habit which comes through most, going to the familiar and getting caught in that trap of existing rather than living.
In your story you have expertly weaved the hum-drum English life with the colourful French life (as well as the total confusion the two lead characters face once they get across the Channel) – have you spent a lot of time in France / do you visit regularly / has France ever inspired your writing? Where any of these scenes drawn from real life?
I grew up in East Sussex and inevitably school trips took us over to France (Dieppe, Paris, Le Havre, Bayeux, etc) as well as family holidays one of which was staying in a gîte which Les Vacances borrows from. So I’ve spent a good deal of time over in France and have also been able to take my own family to Corsica in recent years with its beautiful beaches! When Madeleine says ‘You know what they call a meal without wine…”, that was taken from a sign hanging in this glorious restaurant right on the harbour in southern Corsica. There are other smatterings of real life in the scenes in the book. My father did indeed have the beaded seat cover for his back and our car was hearse-like being a large dark blue Peugeot 501. And the whole scene in the Dixon’s living room eating soup, watching television could have been taken from any given Sunday back in our household in the 80s. The scenes in France are predominantly imagined but taking the architecture from visits to different places over time as well as that beautiful countryside with memories of driving past fields of vibrant yellow sunflowers soaking up the sunshine. There’s probably also a bit of the tightness of the streets of Mont St Michel hidden within there too.
Did you have to do much research when writing the story as a whole or did it come purely from your imagination? If you did do research could you tell us a little about that – how long it took, what subjects you needed to research etc etc.
The majority came from a mixture of my own memories and my imagination. At one point I was going to do something more with the village being named Pont du Diable (which is a more common name than you would think in real life) and researched the old tale about the devil and the monks. If I recall it properly, the monks want to build a bridge over a river but the devil gets involved (either building it or just being a hindrance). He says that he will only let the bridge stand if he gets the first soul which crosses the bridge. The monks agree but send a dog to cross the bridge so the devil is thwarted and has to take the dog’s soul. Or something like that. I realised when trying to weave the monks in more that it was all going to be far too convoluted so I dropped it and you have what now rests within the pages of Into The Night Eternal.
What do you think would have happened if they had gone to Camber instead of France? Where would these characters be in five or ten years’ time?
I think Frank and Elizabeth would be trapped in a loveless marriage with both too scared to say anything. They would still be sitting there on those slumping sofas sipping their turgid bowls of orange soup as life passed them by and the wallpaper changed only to become the same again over time.
(In terms of work) What’s next for Phil Sloman?
I have some stories with publishers which are just waiting for release. One’s for a charity anthology called Under the Weather raising money for children with autism. Another is one featuring in the Alchemy Press Book of Horrors which has some legends of the horror genre within it and launches October. And then there’s an industrial horror piece which Dean’s kindly picked up and should be out early next year. Beyond those pieces, I have a novella I have part finished which I need to get done and sent off. It’s an angry story about a young man in a halfway house alongside the other residents. I was going through a bad patch personally when I started writing it so there’s a lot of me and my own world frustrations poured into the pages. And I’ve also started a novel about the disintegration of a marriage twinned with aspects of the supernatural which I’m hoping will be the next big step for me as a writer. So basically busy, busy, busy!
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
One of my favourite sandwiches as a kid was peanut butter, marmite, honey and golden syrup. Sounds dreadful, tastes amazing!
Why did you become a writer?
I’ve always loved writing ever since I was a kid. I realise that is probably a clichéd thing to say but it’s true. I devoured books from a young age and wanted to create my own worlds and scenarios. There’s always the ‘what if’ question going on in my head and writing helps to explore that and how different people react in different situations.
Do you write alone or in public?
A mixture of both. If at home then I tend to write at night when the kids have gone to bed. Otherwise it’s writing on trains with all the world doing their own thing around me – you’ll always find me with a laptop to hand when travelling to conventions which might explain why it is so battered and the screen cracked!
Do you write to music or silence?
I can’t write to music. It distracts me. I find myself focusing on the music rather than on the words I am meant to be putting down on the page.
Do you set yourself writing goals (ie a certain number of words per day / per week) or just when inspiration hits you?
As and when I can with no goals. Equally, I don’t beat myself up when I am not writing. Sometimes I can go ages without writing something due to promoting current release, life in general getting in the way or simply being exhausted due to a young family! But just because I am not writing doesn’t mean I am not working out plots in my head, watching the world, taking things in, filing scenarios away to insert in my latest work in progress.
What do you love about the writing process?
Possibly perversely, I like the editing process. Getting the words down is like chipping away at a block of wood until you start to reveal the form you are creating. The editing is where you polish everything and bring your creation to life, smoothing out the rough patches and improving on the flow. Even then there’s still a part of me re-reading my work once it is out there which will want to alter a line or two in the story so there’s a huge bit about knowing when to stop tinkering!
What have you put most of your effort into regarding your writing?
Finding my own voice and rhythm. I think all writers go through a phase, especially when starting out, where they are trying to work out what and how they want to write. There’s often a piece where you start to mimic the style of other writers because that’s the kind of stuff you like to read, or at least that was definitely the case for me. But there comes a point where you find your voice and also the rhythm which accompanies that voice when you tell your stories. There’s definitely a beat to everything I write to the point if it’s distorted then the story feels vulgar to me.
What has been your toughest criticism given to you as a writer?
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve not had a huge amount of criticism of my writing though I suspect that may be due to lack of exposure rather than my writing being near perfection! Where I have had comments, usually through beta readers giving advice, then the main thing has been to take that advice on and run with it rather than getting upset.
And the best compliment?
I guess being nominated as Best Newcomer in the British Fantasy Society Awards for my novella Becoming David was a huge honour. One of those things where your peers have said they think your work is worthy of being nominated for an award. And looking back at it, although I ultimately didn’t win, I am one of only about 200 people who have ever been shortlisted going back 40 years so that’s a great achievement!
What book(s) have you read which has influenced your life / your writing career?
I think my writing has evolved over time so it’s hard to pinpoint one writer specifically as I think the answer would easily be 100+ writers out there and that number continues to grow the more new (to me) writers I discover. However, like a lot of horror writers my age, Clive Barker’s Books of Blood were a massive influence on me. It almost gave me permission to see the world in this new and wonderful way which I hadn’t really considered before. And the writing is amazing throughout.
What is the biggest surprise you’ve experienced since becoming a writer?
People asking for my signature. It’s the strangest thing when at a convention and someone asks for it. I wonder if they have the wrong person then see that it’s a book with my name on the cover in their hand. But it’s always a pleasure to do it all the same!
"A SMALL THING FOR YOLANDA"
Jan Edwards
Jan Edwards
Author Links
Twitter: @jancoledwards
Website: https://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much can you tell us a little about A Small Thing For Yolanda?
A Small Thing for Yolanda is crime noir with a splash of folk horror. It is rather hard to say much about it without giving it all away, but I began by seeking out a folk legend that is essentially French and asking how it would interact with the modern world; in this case a famous unsolved murder mystery of Paris in the late 1930s.
As the story has been inspired by a real life incident / real life person – how much research did you do? Did you feel that (whilst writing a speculative fiction piece) you needed to be historically accurate?
Ah ... she says (rubbing hands together before pounding the keyboard – stand by for a rant). I did a huge amount of research for this story. I don’t say I get all of my facts straight but I did my damnedest. Being something of a nerd I love chasing those facts to ground because I honestly feel it is important. That’s not to say you can’t bend the truth now and then of course. Most TV crime does just that the moment: a DCI or even DI leaves the office to investigate an incident; in reality, that doesn’t happen because it is the worker-bee minions who do all the legwork, flying back to the hive with all of the small facts to be pieced together. We are all asked to accept that small deception for the sake of the plot. When someone is writing off-world fantasy or anything that involves a ‘genuine’ alternate reality, then fine – so long as you stick within your own self-imposed parameters you can write what you like. But ... so many people seem to think that ‘it’s fiction – ergo the facts don’t matter’, and I honestly feel they are wrong. Even those TV coppers have to be researched. In their time line, for example, the police will use specific computers and programmes, drive specific models of squad car. Getting those small and easily verifiable things wrong merely attracts ridicule.
With A Small Thing for Yolanda, I believe in getting those background facts as correct as possible, from street names, through fashions being worn, to the drinks being served. In a horror story I read quite recently, set in1930s, the lead character ordered a cocktail that was not invented until the 1960s. That was sloppy research (or just plain lazy). That factoid itself was not important to the plot but it started me wondering what else they had wrong, and once I’d begun to doubt a story’s integrity it lost the power to draw me in. I’ve seen famous songs mentioned that were yet to be composed, plants growing where they would not be growing, products (brand names) available long before they were devised – all silly details that are so easily checked with the internet resources we all have to hand. I know I am not alone in believing this.
The ‘Metro Murder’ is widely known. It has been covered by so many true crime books and articles and I felt a need to match at least the basic facts such as street names and those of leading characters. To my mind, gaining that sense of verisimilitude provides a solid framework on which to hang the supernatural elements. It hopefully lulls the reader into a sense of security so that when I introduce elements of an alternate reality it heightens the effect.
What was it about the original incident that inspired you to write your story?
Put simply, the story of the Metro Murder is a real-life ‘locked room’ mystery. Laetitia Toureaux was seen entering an empty underground carriage. Somehow, between one station and the next, she was stabbed and killed by a person or persons unknown. This was a woman known to be employed by a private detective agency and occasionally also (allegedly) by the French and Italian governments. How could any writer resist? It’s the premise for a thousand crime novels with as many potential solutions. Once you add a supernatural element the possibilities are endless.
You’ve captured the period / the city expertly – would you think about setting another story in 1930s Paris (or even a sequel)?
I enjoyed writing A Small Thing for Yolanda. Building the tension between the various leading elements is a large part of the plot and hopefully will leave readers wanting to know more about these who remain by the end. Without giving too much away the ending of A Small Thing for Yolanda does have the potential for more to come, but for the moment I am happy to leave it as standalone novella. Writing more stories set in Paris would be fun if I’m able to take some time off from my WW2 crime series.
Do you feel that ‘folk horror’ is something that runs consistently through your work to date, and is it a genre you like working in?
I have always had a fascination for folklore, and local folklore in particular. By that I mean folktales that have been handed down through generations in that are often specific to an area. One example would be the Ceffyl-dwr, which I wrote about in my short story Calan Gaeaff (‘Winter Night’). The Ceffyl-dwr is the Welsh water horse which appears at Halloween that takes and eats the unwary. It is a mythical beast of a kind that crops up in many pantheons. In Scotland it is called the Kelpie, in Germany the Neck, in Sweden a Backahast, and so on... :-)
To return to the term Folk Horror: the labelling of the various sub-genres is quite an interesting one but has the potential to become dated. Folk Horror, for example, is a relatively new term. When I first started out as a bookseller there was Science Fiction, Fantasy and/or Horror; end of subject. Some books might creep into both sections, but essentially the many sub-sections we now see did not exist. A few years ago my short fiction might have been seen as Weird Fiction. The melding of folklore and myths with the modern world was labelled Urban Fantasy for a long while (even when it took place in the countryside; Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood being a prime example). Then came the crossover with Paranormal Romance and the term, for right or wrong, was dropped by many. I heard Clive Barker give an interesting lecture on why the term ‘genre’ was not helpful and that we should all think of ourselves as writing fiction. Fascinating talk.
I have always been a horror writer with a small ‘h’ – with a preference for the kind of tales intended to raise the hair on the neck and have you checking under the bed over those that graphically shock. Does Folk Horror run through my work to date? Yes, because, through my fascination for folklore, it’s what I have always written. The sub-genre just seems to have caught up with me.
And France – is it a country / culture that inspires you? If so – how / why?
French culture is subtly different in regard to social nuances, and that enabled me as a writer to slant my character’s thought processes in a slightly different way to that which I might have done if Yolanda had been English. Would I write more stories set in France? Of course. I already am, in fact, as one of the lead protagonists of In Her Defence, the follow up to my crime novel Winter Downs, is French. I had a French character in my story that appeared in the Steve Jones’s anthology, Mammoth Book of Dracula (now ‘In The Footsteps of Dracula’). I’ve also set stories in the USA, Greece and Norway - amongst others. From a folklorist’s point of view, looking to other countries will always open up a whole new pantheon of legends.
What’s next in the pipeline for Jan Edwards?
Currently my work is focussed on my WW2 crime series. Winter Downs, which recently won the Arnold Bennett Book Prize, is already available and In Her Defence will be out on late 2018. Book 3, Bruised Lilacs, is expected sometime next year. My Book of Wards (urban fantasy/folk horror series) is written and ready to roll but that will probably not happen until later 2019 or early 2020. I also have two main stream novels waiting in the wings, so plenty more to come.
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I was a qualified Master Locksmith for over twenty years.
Why did you become a writer?
Because there are critters in my brain with stories to be told.
Do you write alone or in public?
Alone! (I usually lounge about in my PJs to write – nobody needs to see that!)
What do you love about the writing process?
You mean apart from the research? (Tuneless whistling).
What have you put most of your effort into regarding your writing?
Research – it feeds that insatiable writers’ curiosity (we writers are all nosy buggers at heart.)
What has been your toughest criticism given to you as a writer?
Going to a 1 to 1 session with a well-known editor about 20 years ago and being handed back my manuscript with a single sentence: ‘I know you can do better than that.’ She was right.
What do your family / friends think about your writing?
My other half, Peter Coleborn, is also my editor, critic and cheerleader-in-chief. The rest of the tribe have never commented, so I’m not sure they even read it.
As a writer, where do you see yourself in five years?
Richer than I am now?
Have you thought about writing something with another author?
I was part of a script team for the Dr Who DVD ‘The Daemons Devil’s End’.
Anything you would like to tell your readers / fans?
Buy my books!
Twitter: @jancoledwards
Website: https://janedwardsblog.wordpress.com/
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much can you tell us a little about A Small Thing For Yolanda?
A Small Thing for Yolanda is crime noir with a splash of folk horror. It is rather hard to say much about it without giving it all away, but I began by seeking out a folk legend that is essentially French and asking how it would interact with the modern world; in this case a famous unsolved murder mystery of Paris in the late 1930s.
As the story has been inspired by a real life incident / real life person – how much research did you do? Did you feel that (whilst writing a speculative fiction piece) you needed to be historically accurate?
Ah ... she says (rubbing hands together before pounding the keyboard – stand by for a rant). I did a huge amount of research for this story. I don’t say I get all of my facts straight but I did my damnedest. Being something of a nerd I love chasing those facts to ground because I honestly feel it is important. That’s not to say you can’t bend the truth now and then of course. Most TV crime does just that the moment: a DCI or even DI leaves the office to investigate an incident; in reality, that doesn’t happen because it is the worker-bee minions who do all the legwork, flying back to the hive with all of the small facts to be pieced together. We are all asked to accept that small deception for the sake of the plot. When someone is writing off-world fantasy or anything that involves a ‘genuine’ alternate reality, then fine – so long as you stick within your own self-imposed parameters you can write what you like. But ... so many people seem to think that ‘it’s fiction – ergo the facts don’t matter’, and I honestly feel they are wrong. Even those TV coppers have to be researched. In their time line, for example, the police will use specific computers and programmes, drive specific models of squad car. Getting those small and easily verifiable things wrong merely attracts ridicule.
With A Small Thing for Yolanda, I believe in getting those background facts as correct as possible, from street names, through fashions being worn, to the drinks being served. In a horror story I read quite recently, set in1930s, the lead character ordered a cocktail that was not invented until the 1960s. That was sloppy research (or just plain lazy). That factoid itself was not important to the plot but it started me wondering what else they had wrong, and once I’d begun to doubt a story’s integrity it lost the power to draw me in. I’ve seen famous songs mentioned that were yet to be composed, plants growing where they would not be growing, products (brand names) available long before they were devised – all silly details that are so easily checked with the internet resources we all have to hand. I know I am not alone in believing this.
The ‘Metro Murder’ is widely known. It has been covered by so many true crime books and articles and I felt a need to match at least the basic facts such as street names and those of leading characters. To my mind, gaining that sense of verisimilitude provides a solid framework on which to hang the supernatural elements. It hopefully lulls the reader into a sense of security so that when I introduce elements of an alternate reality it heightens the effect.
What was it about the original incident that inspired you to write your story?
Put simply, the story of the Metro Murder is a real-life ‘locked room’ mystery. Laetitia Toureaux was seen entering an empty underground carriage. Somehow, between one station and the next, she was stabbed and killed by a person or persons unknown. This was a woman known to be employed by a private detective agency and occasionally also (allegedly) by the French and Italian governments. How could any writer resist? It’s the premise for a thousand crime novels with as many potential solutions. Once you add a supernatural element the possibilities are endless.
You’ve captured the period / the city expertly – would you think about setting another story in 1930s Paris (or even a sequel)?
I enjoyed writing A Small Thing for Yolanda. Building the tension between the various leading elements is a large part of the plot and hopefully will leave readers wanting to know more about these who remain by the end. Without giving too much away the ending of A Small Thing for Yolanda does have the potential for more to come, but for the moment I am happy to leave it as standalone novella. Writing more stories set in Paris would be fun if I’m able to take some time off from my WW2 crime series.
Do you feel that ‘folk horror’ is something that runs consistently through your work to date, and is it a genre you like working in?
I have always had a fascination for folklore, and local folklore in particular. By that I mean folktales that have been handed down through generations in that are often specific to an area. One example would be the Ceffyl-dwr, which I wrote about in my short story Calan Gaeaff (‘Winter Night’). The Ceffyl-dwr is the Welsh water horse which appears at Halloween that takes and eats the unwary. It is a mythical beast of a kind that crops up in many pantheons. In Scotland it is called the Kelpie, in Germany the Neck, in Sweden a Backahast, and so on... :-)
To return to the term Folk Horror: the labelling of the various sub-genres is quite an interesting one but has the potential to become dated. Folk Horror, for example, is a relatively new term. When I first started out as a bookseller there was Science Fiction, Fantasy and/or Horror; end of subject. Some books might creep into both sections, but essentially the many sub-sections we now see did not exist. A few years ago my short fiction might have been seen as Weird Fiction. The melding of folklore and myths with the modern world was labelled Urban Fantasy for a long while (even when it took place in the countryside; Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood being a prime example). Then came the crossover with Paranormal Romance and the term, for right or wrong, was dropped by many. I heard Clive Barker give an interesting lecture on why the term ‘genre’ was not helpful and that we should all think of ourselves as writing fiction. Fascinating talk.
I have always been a horror writer with a small ‘h’ – with a preference for the kind of tales intended to raise the hair on the neck and have you checking under the bed over those that graphically shock. Does Folk Horror run through my work to date? Yes, because, through my fascination for folklore, it’s what I have always written. The sub-genre just seems to have caught up with me.
And France – is it a country / culture that inspires you? If so – how / why?
French culture is subtly different in regard to social nuances, and that enabled me as a writer to slant my character’s thought processes in a slightly different way to that which I might have done if Yolanda had been English. Would I write more stories set in France? Of course. I already am, in fact, as one of the lead protagonists of In Her Defence, the follow up to my crime novel Winter Downs, is French. I had a French character in my story that appeared in the Steve Jones’s anthology, Mammoth Book of Dracula (now ‘In The Footsteps of Dracula’). I’ve also set stories in the USA, Greece and Norway - amongst others. From a folklorist’s point of view, looking to other countries will always open up a whole new pantheon of legends.
What’s next in the pipeline for Jan Edwards?
Currently my work is focussed on my WW2 crime series. Winter Downs, which recently won the Arnold Bennett Book Prize, is already available and In Her Defence will be out on late 2018. Book 3, Bruised Lilacs, is expected sometime next year. My Book of Wards (urban fantasy/folk horror series) is written and ready to roll but that will probably not happen until later 2019 or early 2020. I also have two main stream novels waiting in the wings, so plenty more to come.
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I was a qualified Master Locksmith for over twenty years.
Why did you become a writer?
Because there are critters in my brain with stories to be told.
Do you write alone or in public?
Alone! (I usually lounge about in my PJs to write – nobody needs to see that!)
What do you love about the writing process?
You mean apart from the research? (Tuneless whistling).
What have you put most of your effort into regarding your writing?
Research – it feeds that insatiable writers’ curiosity (we writers are all nosy buggers at heart.)
What has been your toughest criticism given to you as a writer?
Going to a 1 to 1 session with a well-known editor about 20 years ago and being handed back my manuscript with a single sentence: ‘I know you can do better than that.’ She was right.
What do your family / friends think about your writing?
My other half, Peter Coleborn, is also my editor, critic and cheerleader-in-chief. The rest of the tribe have never commented, so I’m not sure they even read it.
As a writer, where do you see yourself in five years?
Richer than I am now?
Have you thought about writing something with another author?
I was part of a script team for the Dr Who DVD ‘The Daemons Devil’s End’.
Anything you would like to tell your readers / fans?
Buy my books!
"LE CHEMIN DE LA CROIX"
Dean M. Drinkel
Dean M. Drinkel
Author Links
Twitter: @deanmdrinkel
Instagram: deandrinkel
Website: www.deanmdrinkel.com
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much, can you please tell us a little about Le Chemin De La Croix?
The basic premise is that Thomas (ex-soldier and now banker) has recently moved to Paris for work – he falls in love with a much younger guy called Jean. Jean has just split up with his boyfriend and priest / missionary called Jude. Jean really likes Thomas but because of the age difference he doesn’t want to be anything more than friends which puts some strain on their relationship. One night all hell (literally!) breaks loose and the lives of the characters are thrown into chaos, never to be the same again. There is also a second (but equally important!) parallel plot regarding a number of murders which occur outside of France. How is everything related? You’ll have to read the story to find out – I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. The story works on three layers – the folk horror / supernatural mystery, the religious aspect, the romance between Thomas and Jean. I really enjoyed writing it but felt mentally exhausted after it I can tell you.
What was your inspiration behind it?
I was interested in writing a folk horror story but setting it in modern times and in a city. Whilst I have certain beliefs, I’m not exactly a follower of organised religion but I’ve come to realise that from time to time, ‘religion’ - in particularly Christianity - invades my work. Sometimes I reject it but not this time as I thought that it suited the (folk) theme very well. I have been curious about the “stations of the cross” for a long time and again this seemed ripe for further exploration. When I was plotting out the chapters I set myself various constraints (some which might be evident, some less so) and had great fun working to those parameters. Several of my own experiences in Paris, which I’ve always wanted to write about (and no, I’m going to say exactly which ones) have also been thrown into the mix. Reading the other stories in the book I feel that we have all complemented one another nicely. Four great stories for sure.
Are any of the characters based on real people?
Without ruining it for those that are yet to read the story, I will say that there are references to biblical figures throughout– specifically the two main characters. Some of the characters are familiar to me but I will stress they are not especially based on people I know – whatever they make think ha ha. I think it is dangerous to base characters on actual people but I may have borrowed some speech, traits or actions…don’t say they writers are thieves…or is that poets?
Did you have to do any research to write your story?
I needed to do fact-checking for sure, especially for some of the characters deaths as they had to be quite specific. I also researched the various metro stations which appear throughout the tale and some of the religious aspects of the plot but the majority of the story was inspired by recent trips to both Paris and Cannes. It’s all been locked away in my imagination waiting to be set free. I hope I got all of it out.
The story is set in Paris – a city you seem to return to time and time again? What is it about Paris that inspires you so much?
It’s certainly weird me saying this (let alone admitting it) but I feel so at home in France nowadays, Paris in particular. It took me a long time to get to that point for sure but I remember the first time I properly visited Paris – I deliberately went on my own, stayed in the middle of the city and for the time I was there opened myself to whatever it was going to throw at me. I think I was there for four or so days - I went back to the UK completely intoxicated so returned a couple of days later – totally hooked. For me it’s like a drug and I’m addicted. I’m lucky now that I have a lot of friends (actors, writers, directors) who live there so I’m never bored (I’ve also got to the point that I have four local pubs spread throughout the city!). I feel in Paris that I’m able to walk the streets at a leisurely pace, with my head held high – when I lived in London it was as if I was always rushing from one place to the other with no time to draw breath. In Paris I take my time and drink in everything the city has to offer. I’m sure that one day I will settle there for good.
Yours is quite a visual story – as you write screenplays also, have you considered turning it into a film?
I hadn’t but now you mention it – perhaps. Because of the way I have structured the story, I would have to be equally clever in the screenplay and as I’m answering this I’m thinking of additional scenes and characters…damn…damn you! I haven’t got time…I haven’t got time…but saying that a film producer I met recently wanted something brand new from me…so perhaps this could be my first big project for 2019. I’ll come back to you on that one, I’ll let the seed germinate for a while…
In terms of work – what’s next for Dean M. Drinkel?
2018 is possibly the busiest of my writing career. Currently I am working on a number of screenplays (2 x historical, 3 x horror), a novel and a war short story for a small anthology coming out later in the year. Also – I am gearing up for a feature film I am directing next year (CHOCOLATE POTATO for Midas Light Films) AND I have just launched my own (small) horror publishing company DEMAIN PUBLISHING – our first releases will be the “Short Sharp Series” collection of books. Also, The Lycopolis Press have recently agreed to publish a particular author’s complete back catalogue – so there will be editing, proofing, writing intros…it never ends…busy busy times!
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know?
I was a great hockey player and American footballer. In another life I might have been quarterback or head coach for the Dallas Cowboys or leading the British hockey team at the Olympics…I can also play the ukulele and harmonica – probably not really a secret is that I love karaoke (“Baby” by Justin Bieber is my current party-piece) though I’m beginning to add several French songs to my ‘song-book’.
Why did you become a writer?
I had no choice really. Probably not realising it was the case, I was keeping words repressed within me for too long and when I got to university they burst out of me with a vengeance and I haven’t been able to stop them since. Both a blessing and a curse I guess but I’m happy at what I’m doing and ‘writing’ has allowed me to experience some amazing things in my life and allowed me to live in France – so long may it continue.
Do you write alone or in public?
Normally alone but no issues writing in public.
Do you write to music or silence?
Music definitely. When I start a project I go and buy a load of new cds to kick off the inspiration. I’m currently partial to French hip-hop, Mozart, Throwing Muses, Belly, Killers, Smashing Pumpkins, The Vamps…the list goes on. Luckily in 2018 there has been a lot of new albums released so I have been very inspired.
Do you set yourself writing goals (ie a certain number of words per day / per week) or just when inspiration hits you?
Due to the number of commissions / projects I currently have on – I have to set myself targets every day. I’m not always successful but I always give it my best shot. There is a lot of admin involved, particularly with the setting up of my own business. I also do some freelance work from time to time…I do love emails…
Who is your favourite author?
Clive Barker / John Fowles / Umberto Eco / Arthur Rimbaud.
Of all the characters you have created, who is your favourite and why (and would / will you write about them again)?
Doctor Papper – he has appeared in several of my short stories (as well as his damaged children Emile and Solange) though not for a little while and yes, I am planning on writing a novel about him / them and the mysterious Sixteenth Chapel hopefully to appear later in 2018 or early 2019.
What do your family / friends think about your writing?
They tolerate me / it!
As a writer, where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully with a few more books and screenplays under my belt. It’s a very busy time for me right now and hopefully that will continue for many years yet.
Have you thought about writing something with another author?
I have already written a screenplay with Romain Collier. We have talked about writing something else which might happen in the future, let’s wait and see.
Twitter: @deanmdrinkel
Instagram: deandrinkel
Website: www.deanmdrinkel.com
Specific Questions
Without revealing too much, can you please tell us a little about Le Chemin De La Croix?
The basic premise is that Thomas (ex-soldier and now banker) has recently moved to Paris for work – he falls in love with a much younger guy called Jean. Jean has just split up with his boyfriend and priest / missionary called Jude. Jean really likes Thomas but because of the age difference he doesn’t want to be anything more than friends which puts some strain on their relationship. One night all hell (literally!) breaks loose and the lives of the characters are thrown into chaos, never to be the same again. There is also a second (but equally important!) parallel plot regarding a number of murders which occur outside of France. How is everything related? You’ll have to read the story to find out – I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. The story works on three layers – the folk horror / supernatural mystery, the religious aspect, the romance between Thomas and Jean. I really enjoyed writing it but felt mentally exhausted after it I can tell you.
What was your inspiration behind it?
I was interested in writing a folk horror story but setting it in modern times and in a city. Whilst I have certain beliefs, I’m not exactly a follower of organised religion but I’ve come to realise that from time to time, ‘religion’ - in particularly Christianity - invades my work. Sometimes I reject it but not this time as I thought that it suited the (folk) theme very well. I have been curious about the “stations of the cross” for a long time and again this seemed ripe for further exploration. When I was plotting out the chapters I set myself various constraints (some which might be evident, some less so) and had great fun working to those parameters. Several of my own experiences in Paris, which I’ve always wanted to write about (and no, I’m going to say exactly which ones) have also been thrown into the mix. Reading the other stories in the book I feel that we have all complemented one another nicely. Four great stories for sure.
Are any of the characters based on real people?
Without ruining it for those that are yet to read the story, I will say that there are references to biblical figures throughout– specifically the two main characters. Some of the characters are familiar to me but I will stress they are not especially based on people I know – whatever they make think ha ha. I think it is dangerous to base characters on actual people but I may have borrowed some speech, traits or actions…don’t say they writers are thieves…or is that poets?
Did you have to do any research to write your story?
I needed to do fact-checking for sure, especially for some of the characters deaths as they had to be quite specific. I also researched the various metro stations which appear throughout the tale and some of the religious aspects of the plot but the majority of the story was inspired by recent trips to both Paris and Cannes. It’s all been locked away in my imagination waiting to be set free. I hope I got all of it out.
The story is set in Paris – a city you seem to return to time and time again? What is it about Paris that inspires you so much?
It’s certainly weird me saying this (let alone admitting it) but I feel so at home in France nowadays, Paris in particular. It took me a long time to get to that point for sure but I remember the first time I properly visited Paris – I deliberately went on my own, stayed in the middle of the city and for the time I was there opened myself to whatever it was going to throw at me. I think I was there for four or so days - I went back to the UK completely intoxicated so returned a couple of days later – totally hooked. For me it’s like a drug and I’m addicted. I’m lucky now that I have a lot of friends (actors, writers, directors) who live there so I’m never bored (I’ve also got to the point that I have four local pubs spread throughout the city!). I feel in Paris that I’m able to walk the streets at a leisurely pace, with my head held high – when I lived in London it was as if I was always rushing from one place to the other with no time to draw breath. In Paris I take my time and drink in everything the city has to offer. I’m sure that one day I will settle there for good.
Yours is quite a visual story – as you write screenplays also, have you considered turning it into a film?
I hadn’t but now you mention it – perhaps. Because of the way I have structured the story, I would have to be equally clever in the screenplay and as I’m answering this I’m thinking of additional scenes and characters…damn…damn you! I haven’t got time…I haven’t got time…but saying that a film producer I met recently wanted something brand new from me…so perhaps this could be my first big project for 2019. I’ll come back to you on that one, I’ll let the seed germinate for a while…
In terms of work – what’s next for Dean M. Drinkel?
2018 is possibly the busiest of my writing career. Currently I am working on a number of screenplays (2 x historical, 3 x horror), a novel and a war short story for a small anthology coming out later in the year. Also – I am gearing up for a feature film I am directing next year (CHOCOLATE POTATO for Midas Light Films) AND I have just launched my own (small) horror publishing company DEMAIN PUBLISHING – our first releases will be the “Short Sharp Series” collection of books. Also, The Lycopolis Press have recently agreed to publish a particular author’s complete back catalogue – so there will be editing, proofing, writing intros…it never ends…busy busy times!
Generic Questions
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know?
I was a great hockey player and American footballer. In another life I might have been quarterback or head coach for the Dallas Cowboys or leading the British hockey team at the Olympics…I can also play the ukulele and harmonica – probably not really a secret is that I love karaoke (“Baby” by Justin Bieber is my current party-piece) though I’m beginning to add several French songs to my ‘song-book’.
Why did you become a writer?
I had no choice really. Probably not realising it was the case, I was keeping words repressed within me for too long and when I got to university they burst out of me with a vengeance and I haven’t been able to stop them since. Both a blessing and a curse I guess but I’m happy at what I’m doing and ‘writing’ has allowed me to experience some amazing things in my life and allowed me to live in France – so long may it continue.
Do you write alone or in public?
Normally alone but no issues writing in public.
Do you write to music or silence?
Music definitely. When I start a project I go and buy a load of new cds to kick off the inspiration. I’m currently partial to French hip-hop, Mozart, Throwing Muses, Belly, Killers, Smashing Pumpkins, The Vamps…the list goes on. Luckily in 2018 there has been a lot of new albums released so I have been very inspired.
Do you set yourself writing goals (ie a certain number of words per day / per week) or just when inspiration hits you?
Due to the number of commissions / projects I currently have on – I have to set myself targets every day. I’m not always successful but I always give it my best shot. There is a lot of admin involved, particularly with the setting up of my own business. I also do some freelance work from time to time…I do love emails…
Who is your favourite author?
Clive Barker / John Fowles / Umberto Eco / Arthur Rimbaud.
Of all the characters you have created, who is your favourite and why (and would / will you write about them again)?
Doctor Papper – he has appeared in several of my short stories (as well as his damaged children Emile and Solange) though not for a little while and yes, I am planning on writing a novel about him / them and the mysterious Sixteenth Chapel hopefully to appear later in 2018 or early 2019.
What do your family / friends think about your writing?
They tolerate me / it!
As a writer, where do you see yourself in five years?
Hopefully with a few more books and screenplays under my belt. It’s a very busy time for me right now and hopefully that will continue for many years yet.
Have you thought about writing something with another author?
I have already written a screenplay with Romain Collier. We have talked about writing something else which might happen in the future, let’s wait and see.