28 Tuesday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
The Kickstarter campaign for The Wand that Rocks the Cradle is about to end, and we have blown past our goal with room to spare. I can’t wait to get to work publishing these great stories!
If you were thinking of backing this anthology, now is your last chance. See you there…
20 Monday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books
Thanks again for supporting The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today’s interview is with Michelle F Goddard, who contributed the short story “The Lake Cottage.” Enjoy!
If you had to tell someone, “If you like this person’s stories, you would like mine too,” who would you pick?
This is a heck of an opening statement to make. I’ll preface it by saying that I love exploring the extraordinary in the ordinary, doorways that open between worlds and open us to the strange or let the strange come for a visit. Authors like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King accomplish this in spades and I’d include Joss Whedon and his many television shows as well. George RR Martin has managed to bring dragons and magic into a story that is fundamentally about people and their relationship with power. I greatly admire that skill to tap into real issues while dealing with the fantastic. I try my best to explore that as well.
What attracted you to writing?
I think most, if not all writers were and are avid readers. I was one of those read at the dinner table kids, eyes riveted to the page, blind to all else. Even my mom remembers my reaction when I first readThe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, excitedly telling her all about the children and the magic wardrobe and how whenever I would find a wardrobe, I would check it thoroughly, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for an adventure. So I suppose, as years went by I figured, if I wasn’t going to find Narnia, I’d create one myself. But truth be told, I still look at the back of wardrobes… just in case.
15 Wednesday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books
Tags
Today, we’re giving you a look at one of the five stories in our Kickstarter-exclusive bonus bundle. The only way to receive this bundle is by pledging to this campaign at the $10 or $25+ levels; it will never be available for sale. This excerpt is from “The Hopeful Bodies of the Young,” by Misha Burnett, and takes place on a lovely night in Dracoheim. Enjoy!
[…]
The waiter handed them each a larger leather folder containing the day’s menu and withdrew as if on a greased track.
Ivor realized that he was hiding behind the menu and made an effort to put it down. Say something, he told himself.
“Your pictures don’t do you justice,” he tried.
She raised an eyebrow at that. But she was still smiling.
“Thank you, Magus,” she said impishly.
Ivor colored. “It’s not really that big a deal—” Then he stopped himself. He might as well be honest, even if it came across as conceited. “Well, actually, it is kind of a big deal. Eight years of schooling, then six years as an apprentice. I only graduated six months ago, I’m still getting used to it.”
“And you work for Blackstone-Tate,” she said. That had been in the profile he’d sent the agency.
He nodded. “Junior partner, but my name’s on the rolls. Along with about sixty others.”
12 Sunday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Writing
Thanks for following The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today’s excerpt is from a story by Misha Burnett, in which a family clinging to its old ways and old magic confronts a prodigal son who wants to live his own life. Enjoy!
****
At the old fuel station off the highway Jenni went in to get some snacks for the road.
Marc stayed with the truck and had the attendant fill the two jerry cans he kept in the back as well as the truck’s tank.
“Headed up country?” the attendant asked, using an expression Marc hadn’t heard in years.
Marc nodded. “I’ve got folk in Carne Shant.”
“Not as bad as it used to be,” the attendant observed. “There’s stations up in the delves now.”
“I’d rather be prepared,” Marc said. “Better to spend wisdom than earn it.”
The attendant grinned at that. “Old church?” he asked.
Marc shook his head. “Not anymore.”
Jenni came back with warm fudge wrapped in waxed paper and bottles of ginger soda.
Marc paid the attendant as Jenni climbed in, then waved as he drove off.
“Friendly people,” Jenni said.
“They can be,” Marc observed.
“Funny thing…” Jenni began, giving Marc a sidelong glance, “There was a sign at the register about not taking coins unless they’re rolled. The last place we stopped had the same sign. What’s that all about?”
“Old church,” Marc said absently. “They don’t use paper money.”
10 Friday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Writing
Thanks for supporting The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today’s interview is with Frank Saverio, who contributed the short story, “To Find a Peach”. Enjoy!
If you had to tell someone, “If you like this person’s stories, you would like mine too,” who would you pick?
The obvious answer is good old G.R.R. Martin. But if you like my crime fiction as Frank Zafiro, I think you’ll see some similarity in this story.
What attracted you to writing?
Tough question… it’s always been there. I equate it to a musician being attracted to music. It’s an almost instinctual draw.
How did you get to this point in your writing? Did you take classes, or intensively study particular authors, or simply do a lot of writing and learn as you go? All of the above?
I think I took one class in college. I would say I am mostly self-taught, but that is a term that belies what really goes on. I’ve learned from all the authors I’ve read, and those I’ve worked with directly, as well as my own trial and error and subsequent growth.
Are there particular themes that run through your writing?
I try to be real, so my stories are sometimes a little bit of a downer. But one of my favorite songwriters is Bruce Springsteen, and a lot of his songs are downer songs (some are super upbeat, too, but those aren’t my favorites). Despite the darkness in many of these songs, there’s always an underlying sense of hope, or at least resiliency. Since much of what I’ve written has been crime fiction, I’ve found it useful to follow this same philosophy. I think readers will see it in my short story for this collection, too.
09 Thursday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
Thanks for supporting The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! For our next exclusive story excerpt, we have the beginning of “Bellwethers Know Best,” which discusses the trials and tribulations of raising a young, powerful daughter when all the rest of the family want to get their two cents in. Enjoy!
Eulalie skipped down the hall, an amulet wrapped around her head to hold a cataract of lacy blue silk in place. Bracelets and tripled strands of beads ringed her arms. “Mom, I’m going out to play!”
Eden stood before the front door, one hand outstretched. “The Bracer of Erishkigal, please.”
Eulalie rolled her eyes and slipped a red-and-black cuff off her wrist. As she held it out, a small book slid out from underneath the satiny stretch of lime green scarf she wore as a chiton and plopped onto the floor.
“And the grimoire,” said Eden.
Eulalie handed it to her.
“And the Orb of Chios, while we’re at it.”
Pouting, Eulalie handed them over. “Grandma says she doesn’t know how she raised such a killjoy,” she said.
“Tell your grandmother that she’s not helping.”
08 Wednesday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
Tags
author interview, china mieville, clive barker, Fantasy, horror, Kickstarter, short story anthology
Thanks for supporting The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today’s interview is with author Elana Gomel, who contributed the short story “The Dragon Detector.” Enjoy!
What attracted you to writing?
When I was five or six years old, I had an incredibly vivid dream about an infinite house. The house went up and down forever and if you fell off a balcony, you’d fly for an eternity. The dream was so compelling that for a while I was sure I was actually living in this house and my everyday life was a dream. Now the infinite house exists in my award-winning story “In the Moment”. I can share my dream with a multitude of people. This is what writing is for me: creating shared worlds out of private imagination.
If you had to tell someone, “If you like this person’s stories, you would like mine too,” who would you pick?
Before I was a writer, I was a reader; and since I am also an academic, writing about other people’s books, I have quite a long list of personal favorites and role models. I love generic hybrids: sci-fi and horror; mystery and fantasy. I appreciate vivid imagination and unsettling details. So if you like Clive Barker, China Mieville, Tim Lebbon and Tony Ballantyne, you might like my writing. My two recent novels, The Cryptids and The Hungry Ones have been compared to Barker and Mieville respectively.
07 Tuesday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
Thanks for supporting The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today you’re in for a treat: the first of our story excerpts! You’ll be happy to know that the stories are nearly finished with the first round of edits, which let’s us raise the curtain just a little bit. As the days go by, we are going to be periodically posting excerpts from the stories in the anthology to give you a little taste of the full package. Our first excerpt is the beginning of the short story “Dead in First Grade,” by P.L. Sundeson. Enjoy!
As an only child who did not play with many other children, Emma Peters had no one to tell her what school was or should be like. She was sure, though, that your teacher was not supposed to be dead.
* * *
Emma knew the days of the week, and she knew Thursday was a Work Day. So she was startled to see Daddy, in his dark gray suit and tie as always, waiting outside their gate that cool September morning. She threw herself down the steps and hugged him around his waist. “Daddy! I’m glad you came. Mommy said you had work.”
Daddy stroked her head. “I couldn’t let my little girl go to her first day of school without me.”
06 Monday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
Thanks for supporting the Kickstarter campaign for The Wand that Rocks the Cradle! Today’s interview is with author Marion Deeds, contributor of the short story “Bellwethers Know Best.” Enjoy!
If you had to tell someone, “If you like this person’s stories, you’ll like mine,” who would you pick?
What an interesting question! I couldn’t really think of anyone at first, so I asked some friends, and the responses were eye-opening.
People have suggested Seanan McGuire. I assume they mean her contemporary fantasy Incryptid series. I do see some similarities there, and with Tanya Huff, who was another suggestion. Both writers deal with an everyday world that incorporates magic, and characters who struggle, not only with the supernatural, but with universal issues; family, relationships, jobs.
Writers I would love to be compared to? I’d have to say Mary Robinette Kowal, especially in her short fiction. There are two San Francisco Bay Area short story writers whose work I greatly admire. Laura Blackwell has a story called “An Accidental Coven.” Laura Pearlman is published a variety of places, and her work seems light and humorous at first but soon you realize that there is more happening beneath the surface. I think I write in a similar vein.
03 Friday May 2019
Posted in Lagrange Books, Self-Promotion
Thanks for following our campaign as we launch The Hand that Rocks the Cradle! In our quest to help you get to know our authors better, today we will be interviewing W.O. Hemsath, author of the short story “Coffee Break.” Enjoy!
What attracted you to writing?
I don’t have the skills to draw or sketch, and that’s always made me a bit sad. But I loved to read and I loved to talk, so I developed a big vocabulary when I was little. When I learned I could paint with words to create art the way others paint with lines and colors, I realized I had a medium that allowed me to transfer the ideas in my head into someone else’s. From that point on, I was hooked. I’ve been writing stories and telling stories ever since.
How did you get to this point in your writing? Did you take classes, or intensively study particular authors, or simply do a lot of writing and learn as you go? All of the above?
When I was in grade school, I wrote for fun—short stories, poems, song lyrics, choose-your-own-adventure serial pieces for a friend’s on-line magazine, anything I could find. In college, I went to film school and got my degree in screenwriting. After that, I took off about ten years to serve a mission for my church, get married, have kids, etc. I dabbled with writing here and there during that decade, kept a journal of all the story ideas that kept popping up, but didn’t write much. I did start a Master’s program in Creative Writing during that time, but I quit towards the end of the first semester. I wasn’t learning enough from it to justify the commitment at the time.
In late 2016 I got serious about my writing again and was at a point in my life where I could dedicate some time to it. I joined a writing group, went to writing conferences, read various craft books and blogs, watched Brandon Sanderson’s online lectures, listened to podcasts on writing—anything writing related I could get my hands on, really.
