[Before jumping into the review, I thought I'd let you know about a short blurb on writing I did at the awesome and talented writer Ryan Brooks's blog today. Now back to our creature feature. Enjoy!]When I heard that Tommy Wirkola was putting out a new movie, and in English no less, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'd be there. After all, no film (besides perhaps Zombieland) has done more justice to the zombie trope, with better gore, better storytelling, and a higher degree of overall surprise, than 2009's Dead Snow, also written and directed by Wirkola. A review of Dead Snow muchly deserves a post all to itself, but suffice it to say, it had me at the Braindead T-shirt worn by one of the characters. And the Nazis, of course, the zombie Nazis.Much like Guillermo del Toro—cutting his directorial teeth on little-seen and sadly under-budgeted films, and graduating to highly stylized, studio-backed big screen films with lots of special effects—I hoped that Wirkola would be able to wow a more mainstream audience with his newfound production support.And it worked.Hansel & Gretel is the other Grimm fairytale about what becomes of the sister and brother after they torch the big, bad witch living in the heart of the deep, dark woods. The combo don't fade into obscurity like they do in the original fairy tale; instead, they become an ass-kicking duo and arch-enemies of witches far and wide. The opening credits expose the audience to parchment after eighteenth-century parchment of their witch-massacring exploits, bringing us to their current mission: saving a small (luckily, entirely English-speaking) German hamlet from an unusually high number of child abductions that are clearly part of some bigger and more imperative mystery involving the coming Blood Moon (not to be confused with that time of the...oh nevermind). Time is running out, the witches are becoming increasingly hostile, and Hansel's lingering blood sugar problem, thanks to all that candy the witch tried to fatten him up on as a child, is always complicating things at the wrong time. A fine mix for a great adventure.The movie has a little something for everyone who enjoys a solid alternative reality to sink their teeth into: gore, violence, trolls, fairy tales, and a bonus of steampunk flare showing up in the weapons and other accoutrements with which the pair kills witches. One of the most impressive elements, to my mind, was the cast. Gemma Arterton, Jeremy Renner, Peter Stormare, and Famke Janssen have each appeared in some of my favorite all-time films (Rock'n'Rolla, 28 Weeks Later and S.W.A.T., The Big Lebwoski and Constantine, and Deep Rising, respectively), and having them all on one screen was about as sweet as a fairy tale witch's candy house. Sure, there were a few flaws and some silliness in Hansel & Gretel, but one doesn't buy a ticket to a Wirkola (or del Toro) film expecting to come away with new insight into the human condition.[youtube=http://youtu.be/aAkhVMgEzJM]Bechdel Test: unequivocal pass.
Author Spotlight: Scott Whitmore, Paranormal and Steampunk Writer
It is my great pleasure to introduce today's guest, paranormal/steampunk author and erstwhile naval office Scott Whitmore (visit his blog here). His novel Carpathia released in March of this year, and a what wild ride it sounds to be!
After spending years trying to locate and destroy Prince Radu Zeklos, the vampire that killed his fiancé, Daniel Jameson finds a solution to his problem when in the summer of 1882 the King of Romania decides to host an international race of “self-propelled ground machines” through the Carpathian Mountains. Four nations — Germany, England, France and the United States — are set to take part in the race, and Jameson finds allies in Major William “Stump” O’Brien, the American team’s military liaison, and Olivia Lowenby, the daughter of the man responsible for building the English vehicle and a woman who also desires revenge against the vampire for the death of her brother. Initially opposed to the race because if successful it will destroy the “traditional way of life” for Romania’s vampires and werewolves, Prince Zeklos has changed his mind. He too seizes the contest as an opportunity to achieve something he has spent years dreaming of: the creation of a new nation of the undead, Carpathia. With airships battling in the skies and humans fighting undead creatures on the ground, Carpathia is filled with action and plot twists as Jameson and Zeklos maneuver to achieve their very different goals.
Scott joined me to share his writing process and what else we can expect in this exciting series.Why do you tell stories? Where do most of your ideas come from? What was the seed of inspiration for Carpathia?I've always had an active imagination and read a lot as a kid. Wanting to write my own stories, I suppose, was a natural progression. I wrote a few short stories and started a novel when I was in middle school, but as I recall didn't get too far into it.Flash forward many, many, many years and I was working at our local newspaper as a copy editor and sportswriter covering high school sports and auto racing. That was very technical writing and I began to think about trying something more free-form.I read a book about the early days of auto racing when cars would race great distances between cities instead of on a track or circuit, and thought that would make an interesting setting.Steampunk and paranormal! What an amazing cross-pollination. Did the idea originally start as strictly one genre and morph into something greater or did the two just fuse organically? What do you like about writing in these genres?For many years the vast majority of what I read was non-fiction, history and political science mostly. For some reason I picked up a copy of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest—maybe because the story was set in nearby Seattle, where she was living at the time—and that re-ignited my interest in fiction.Boneshaker is a steampunk/paranormal story, and I was really interested in the possibilities those two genres represented in combination. So, when I decided to write my novel and I was looking for ways to make that motorcar race interesting, what's better than vampires and werewolves?What I really enjoy about steampunk is being able to play around with the timeline of real events by introducing a technology earlier than it really happened, or by developing it in a different way. Like airships, for example. They existed, obviously, but not at the time I write about them, or in the way I describe them with decks full of cannons.What, if any, limitations or drawbacks do you think they hold?I see overexposure as a real drawback for both paranormal and steampunk. Just like there seems to be a greater number of kinky sex books as a result of 50 Shades, not that long ago Twilight created a huge number of look-alike/copycat books. Steampunk has also become more mainstream, so much so that the TV sitcom Two Broke Girls had a small bit making fun of it.The challenge then becomes trying to frame stories within these genres in a way that is fresh and unique (hint for paranormal: no sparkles!). I consider my books "steampunk lite" because I don't spend time on the clothes (corsets and goggles and top hats, oh my!) and my machines aren't too fantastical. In a similar vein, my vampires, werewolves and zombies are very much influenced by the old black and white "creature feature" movies I watched as a kid on Saturday nights: lots of mystery, no teenage angst, no sparkles.Soon you'll release a follow-up to Carpathia. Did you start out intending to write a series? If not, what was the moment you realized you were going to keep going?I had absolutely no intent on writing a series. In fact, my daughter—also a writer—shared a running joke while I was writing Carpathia where she constantly asked me what the other two books of the trilogy would be about.My mother actually got me thinking about writing a follow-up to Carpathia. As the dutiful (and proud) son, I sent her a copy but fully expected she would either stop after the prologue or not bother to read it all. Much to my surprise she read it and engaged me in a lengthy discussion about the plot, why certain things happened, etc. At the end of that talk she wanted to know when the sequel would be done.As I mentioned earlier, I'm a big fan of Cherie Priest's steampunk stories—Boneshaker, Dreadnought, and Ganymede— which are set in what she calls the Clockwork Century, her version of history. I like the way her stories exist within the same universe and feature some of the same characters, but are not direct sequels.I decided to follow Ms. Priest's formula and create what I'm calling the Carpathia Timeline, with the follow-up being the next entry. Set thirty years later, some of the same characters come along and there are definitely some cool references for those who've read Carpathia, but the story can stand on its own, too.Now that you're already two books into the Carpathia series, what's next? How far will it take us?When I write it, the next book in the Carpathia Timeline will probably skip ahead another thirty years. The plot floating around in my head right now revolves around an organized crime gang war in Chicago in the late 1940s or early 50s, with werewolves on the run from Communism muscling in on the existing crime families.I've also had several ideas for shorter stories set before and after the events of Carpathia and the follow-up. There could well be an anthology, or perhaps just some novellas. One of my all-time favorite series is C.S. Forrester's Horatio Hornblower books, which did not follow a set chronology. In the first book, Hornblower is a senior officer while his middle and early naval career are detailed in later novels.I would also like to write something outside of the Carpathia Timeline and have had some ideas for a dystopian/sci-fi story and a military/spy thriller.After your retirement from the Navy, you worked as a sportswriter and copy editor for a small newspaper in Everett, WA, and were prolific writing about motorsports. How does one go from that to this?As I put on my Twitter bio (Shameless plug! Follow me @scottwhitmore), I consider myself to be an observer of life, and both jobs, the Navy and the newspaper, provided me with some great memories of colorful characters and unusual situations. Throw that stuff into the hopper with an active imagination that hasn't been allowed to run free for thirty years, and you may just get a novel or two.Do you have a muse? What do you do to call it/s/he when you need it/her/him?Not that I know of. There may be someone working behind the scenes, quietly, though.What is the best piece of writing advice you have for new authors?When I was learning to be a copy editor from an experienced man at the newspaper, he told me the best editors do not change the writer’s voice. If you ask ten people to read your story you are likely to get 10 different opinions on “what works,” “what doesn’t work,” “what should stay the same,” or “what should be changed a little/a lot.”By all means, listen to them, but remember you wrote those words in that way for a reason. That’s your voice, the way you hear/see/think the story should be. Never forget: it’s *your* story. Listen to them, thank them, think about what they have to say, and then be alright with the notion of not following their advice if you don’t feel it is true to your voice.In your opinion, what makes a great story?A good friend who is an actor sent me a copy of Save The Cat: The Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need by the late Blake Snyder. In the book, Snyder states there are only ten types of movies—such as "Dude With A Problem," "Monster in the House," and "Golden Fleece"—and then he details how every movie ever made falls into one of them. It's pretty funny but very enlightening, and I think equally applicable to books.I think what sets a great story apart from a good or so-so one is how it fits into and also breaks free from whatever category it falls into. It may be a character, a setting, a really cool plot twist or just thrill-ride action, but the stories that transcend the norm have something about them that stands apart.About a year ago I read Berserker by William Meikle, which can use "Vikings versus Yeti" as its tagline. Sounds a little cheesy, right? Like something you'd see on the SyFy channel on Saturday nights? The truth is I *loved* that book. The characters were interesting and unique, the premise was unusual but executed very well, the writing was descriptive and smart; bottom line it was just a ton of fun to read. Will Berserker win any literary awards? Maybe not, but I recommend it to anyone looking for some fun hours of escapism with a great story.What are some of the challenges you experience in writing?After retiring from the Navy I learned I suffer from depression. I wrote about the experience in my blog, but long story short I probably have always had it and the regimented nature of military service actually helped me to function very well with it. I'm on medication right now which helps to even the road out, keep the lows from becoming too low and the highs from too high, but it can also knock my creativity for a loop. There are days when I know I should be writing, but the spark just isn't there.Also, for someone who claimed/claims to be an editor, I can be terrible with grammar and spelling.Who are your favorite authors or books in your genre? In other genres?Cherie Priest and O.M. Grey are great steampunk/paranormal writers: anything by them; Steven Montano's Blood Skies books are really cool paranormal/sci-fi; Jo Nesbo's Inspector Harry Hole books and Jill Edmondson's Sasha Jackson Mysteries for crime fiction; and Alistair MacLean's early works for action/adventure.At the risk of sounding like an apple-polisher I really enjoyed your Contract of Defiance (blogger's note: o/) as well as Mike Berry's Xenoform and John-Paul Cleary's Convergent Space for sci-fi. Paul Anthony has written novels in a number of genres, crime as well as historical fiction, and they're all good. Patricia Fulton's The Drought was a really cool horror story which reminded me a lot of early Stephen King.I'm sure to be missing some folks who will, when they read this, likely string me up for not mentioning them!What is your writing process? Are you a dedicated everyday writer, or catch-as-catch can? Do you have any special rituals or activities you do that help you prepare to write?For the novels I found writing every day to be best, in the morning usually, with the goal being around three thousand words per day. As I noted above, there are days when writing wasn't in the cards, so I try not to be too strict about setting deadlines for myself (which is why I'm not doing the NaNoWriMo).I also blog about book reviews, my military service, auto racing and anything else that crosses my mind. Those posts are usually written when the thought hits me rather than by a set schedule.For the novels, I spend a lot of time thinking about the characters or through the major plot points before sitting down to start writing. I don't outline, but I will jot down notes and ideas. Strangely, a lot of my story ideas come while I'm in the shower or walking my dog, Maddie. I can't tell you how many times I've stood dripping wet over my desk scribbling an idea on a notepad or sending myself an email from my smartphone while sitting on a park bench.Can you give us some insight on why you chose to go the indie publishing route, and what you’d do the same and differently if you were going to start again at the beginning of your writing career?At the suggestion of a friend, while I was at the newspaper I self-published a book of my writing called Short Track Saturday Nights that covered one season at the local racetrack. I went through CreateSpace and had a ton of fun doing it. Because the topic was so specific and the level of interest would be very limited, I never thought about a "traditional" publisher.A few years after that my daughter Katherine finished her debut novel, Rhythm of Redemption, and she asked me to edit it and help her try to find a publisher or agent. What an eye-opening experience. We researched likely agents and publishers, wrote and re-wrote query letters, got advice from other published writers, etc., etc., but the only replies were from vanity presses we hadn't even submitted to (how they got wind of the book, I'm not sure).Although disappointed, we went ahead and self-published her book and when it came time for Carpathia I decided not to pursue the "traditional" route very hard. I sent one or two query letters, and got a response that said the premise was interesting but my writing was not. I have a company, 40 West Media LLC, for my freelance writing, so we slapped that on the book as publisher and sent it out into the world.I've done my own book covers, too. To me having the control over every aspect of my books is a lot of fun. I don't work on my own car — too complex and hard—but I'm happy to tinker with formats and fonts. Hello, geek!The development of Indie and self-publishing is just the natural outgrowth of technology. First the web and computers revolutionized the way we buy things like books, music and movies, and now that technology allows us to create and share our own music (iTunes), movies (YouTube) and books (Kindle, CreateSpace, Lulu, Nook, etc.). We're all artists now, or at least we all can be. Of course, the collateral damage is the near elimination of record shops, bookstores, and Blockbuster. That's evolution, I suppose, and I'm sure the folks working in traditional publishing are as concerned about their futures as I am excited about my prospects as an Indie.If a traditional publisher approached me, of course I would be interested in hearing what they had to say. Do I expect that to happen? Not at all. :) And that's fine, because I'm having a lot of fun as it is.Anything else you want to mention or elaborate on?Nothing other than thanks for interviewing me. And get on that next book. I want to know what happens to Aly! (blogger's note: o/)***Thanks a million for this insightful look into writing and the indie publishing track, Scott. Your comments on good writing advice—knowing when to accept advice when it comes to keeping your unique writer's voice—are absolutely invaluable. Keep us updated on when your next book comes out.Here are some of my biggest takeaways from Scott's interview. Feel free to share your own. If you've read Carpathia, please add your plug or hop over to Scott's blog and share your thoughts.
- For a werewolftastic good time, run out (or link over to Amazon or Smashwords) and get your copy of Carpathia!
- In paranormal, no sparkles, ever.
- Scott has some of the best taste in books ever ;). Scott also really needs a waterproof digital recorder.
- Talk to Scott's mom for some good novel feedback.
More about Scott:Born and raised in the Midwest, Scott Whitmore turned to writing after 20 years of service in the US Navy. He has written for The Herald, a daily newspaper located in Everett, Wash., with a circulation of 45,000. He has also contributed to RacingPress.com, Sports Northwest magazine, SBNation.com, and Racing in America. Scott currently works as a freelance writer and marketing consultant, specializing in motorsports. He wrote and published Short Track Saturday Nights, a book about the 2008 racing season at Evergreen Speedway, Washington’s only NASCAR home track. His debut novel, Carpathia, is available at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com.
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