Monday, June 14th, 2010 Jason Kahn is an author published by Damnation Books, a sister company to Eternal Press. He and I met through the author boards and found we have a lot in common. His story, The Killer Within–available from Damnation Books–has racked up some impressive reviews.
 KAH: Who is Jason Kahn?
JK: I’m a husband, father of two boys, journalist, and writer of fiction when I’m not busy being any of those other things. My brood and I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, but I grew up in Rockville, Md., just outside of Washington, DC. I attended the University of Michigan as an undergrad and NYU for graduate school for a degree in journalism and science reporting. In my day job, I run a daily news service for cardiologists that is owned and operated by a research foundation. I began writing fiction seriously after college, and started getting published a few years ago. I have a handful of short stories and an e-book to my name as well as a continuing online series and an agreement to write a hardboiled crime novel for Fireside Mysteries, a small press house.
KAH: You work full time as an editor/writer for a large cardiology foundation. Do you feel that this helps or hinders your creative writing?
JK: If anything it helps. In my job as a news editor, I come across a ton of scientific material every day that I have to sift through in order to decide what’s worth writing about. A lot of these items, and I mean a LOT, lend themselves quite naturally to the realm of science fiction and/or fantasy. As a matter of fact, I contribute a monthly blog for Abandoned Towers Magazine in which I present news items I’ve collected from my job and describe how they can serve as springboards for really cool stories. Here’s a link to my latest one.
KAH: What do you do when you feel burned out on writing?
JK: I wage a continuing struggle to find time to write. I wish I had so much time that I had the opportunity to feel burned out. Alas, that has yet to occur.
KAH: Tell us your latest news.
JK: I have a few things going on at the moment. I have an e-book titled The Killer Within that was released by Damnation Books in late 2009. It’s a hardboiled crime thriller with just a dash of the paranormal. I also write an online detective series published by Abandoned Towers Magazine called The Dark InSpectre. This is also hardboiled crime fiction, but very noir and much darker, with a much more supernatural edge to it. New episodes are posted every two weeks. In addition, I have a fantasy short story titled Cold Comfort scheduled to come out in the July issue of Abandoned Towers. It’s about the true nature of love, and the terrible consequences that can occur when love is thwarted.
Incidentally, I believe you know the managing editor of Abandoned Towers, Crystalwizard? Didn’t she do the artwork for the cover of one of your books? She is also a supremely talented editor.
[KAH: Interrupting to affirm that Crystalwizard created the cover art for my story, The Dragon’s Tale.]
And lastly is the agreed-upon crime novel I mentioned earlier for Fireside Mysteries. I need to have a plot overview and the first three chapters by August. So between writing The Dark InSpectre and the novel at the same time, my little brain is quite occupied most of the time!
KAH: When and why did you begin writing?
JK: Academically, I was always drawn to it—high school newspaper, stuff like that. I was headed toward a journalism degree my second or third year in college, so I knew then that I wanted to be a writer. But it wasn’t until the summer after my senior year that I discovered I wanted to be a WRITER. I’d been reading scifi-fantasy books since I was a kid, and during my senior year, my then-girlfriend, now-wife, said to me, “hey, why don’t you write one of those?” Incredible as it may seem, the thought had never occurred to me before. That summer I started writing, and haven’t stopped since.
KAH: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
JK: It changes. Sometimes I think it was after my first short story sale. Sometimes I think it was after my first (and thus far only) professional short story sale. Sometimes I don’t really consider myself a writer at all because I don’t write fiction for a living. Sometimes I think that’s ridiculous because I do make a living writing and editing, just not fiction. Then there are other times when I think that if and when I have an actual novel published, like I hopefully will with the one I’m writing now, that I can honestly look in the mirror and say, Chum, you’re a writer, you are.
 KAH: Have your personal experiences shown up in your writing?
JK: A personal experience that did actually turn up in my writing derived from my inspiration for the Dark InSpectre series. It sprang from a dream I had, which turned into the first scene of the story. It involved the psychic ghost of a dead girl leading the main character, a telepathic cop (me in my dream), into a room with four prisoners (brothers) encased in blocks of semi-translucent material. Yes, I know, very strange dream. But more important than the actual scene was the mood. It was futuristic and very dark and brooding. I mulled over my dream for about a month as I wound a story around it. I saw it as a cross between L.A. Confidential and the psi-core of Babylon 5. And at heart it was a hardboiled crime thriller.
KAH: What authors have most influenced your writing?
JK: Many, many authors have influenced me: Raymond Feist, JRR Tolkien, Ursula K. Leguin, Anne Bishop, Patricia McKillip, Steven Brust, Katherine Kurtz, Sheri Tepper, Fritz Leiber, David Eddings, Stephen Donaldson, Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman, and James Ellroy to name a few.
Early on, I would say Feist and Eddings influenced me the most as I tried to write fantasy-adventures, but over the past few years, much more Ellroy as I’ve been writing more noir crime fiction. I read several detective fiction authors as I worked on The Dark InSpectre. Raymond Chandler, Peter Lovesey, and then I read James Ellroy. The Black Dahlia, L.A. Confidential, and many more. I wasn’t prepared, my mind exploded. I could not put them down.
The first-person narrative style he uses in some of his novels and the way he illuminates the darkness that dwells in the souls of his protagonists is very compelling. And his prose hits you like a hammer.
KAH: What book are you reading now? What do you like, or not, about it?
JK: I just finished reading At End of Day, by George V. Higgins. His most famous novel, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, was a crime drama that was the forerunner of much of James Ellroy’s and Elmore Leonard’s work. So after I finished that book, I read At End of Day, which also involved Boston-area crime figures. This book, though, was not nearly as good. It was almost entirely dialogue driven, to the point where I found myself wishing the characters would just stop talking for a single second. Still, I did learn a few things regarding the genre. Higgins’ knowledge of the mundane details that make up the criminal world is like a treasure trove, and his dialogue, while over used, is still right on the money in terms of how real people speak.
KAH: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
JK: I’d say the biggest challenge is finding the time. Both to write and to just think about a story, to work it out in my head. I’m a news editor by day, and my job is extremely busy. I’m also a husband and father of two boys in elementary school. I’ll write whenever I can, but long stretches can go by during which I’m not writing. It can be very frustrating. I go on business trips about 4 times a year, and I find that I can get a lot of writing done on the plane if I’m traveling by air. It’s great getting a few hours of uninterrupted writing time during a flight.
Sometimes the writing itself can be hard. Not the “big scenes,” those are usually pretty well thought out. It’s the little scenes, the transitions, the mundane stuff. That can be extremely hard for me to write.
KAH: Do you have any advice for other writers?
JK: My advice for other writers is simple and direct. If you want to be a writer, sit your butt down and write—something, anything. But write. It doesn’t even have to be good. In fact, when you start, it will probably be crap, and that’s okay. You have to write a lot of crap before you can start writing goodly (see?). It’s how you learn. Write and submit your writing to people other than your family members and loved ones. That’s another way you learn. You’ll get criticism. Accept it graciously, even the stuff you don’t agree with. And above all, keep writing.
KAH: How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. – please share your links.
Website: www.jrkahn.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jrkahn
Blog: http://jasonkahn.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkahn1
Friday, June 11th, 2010  Last week on the way home from work I saw the most interesting thing. It was an old-fashioned leg brace–perhaps the kind people are fitted with when suffering from polio–standing upright near a guardrail.
It struck me as a very strange object to see on the roadside.
I’ve seen plenty of missing shoes, singles and pairs, usually looking as if they’d been tossed or accidentally pushed out the car door while stopping for something else. I’m sure you’ve seen tennis shoes, laces tied, hanging over telephone wires. Never have I seen something appearing to stand at attention, drawing my eye, as this forlorn shoe did.
The brace was standing upright, turned toward the woods as if the owner simply stepped out of it and into the trees, never more to be seen. Perhaps this was the residue of a miracle?
I began to think about this brace: who could have worn it? How old was it? How did it get left behind? Why was it standing? (And lucky for me, if it hadn’t been, I may never have seen it.)
The day I remembered to drag my camera with me, the brace was gone, probably knocked over by mowers. So, sadly, you’re stuck with these imaginative photos rather than the real thing. But I think you get the idea.
Here’s your prompt:
Imagine the brace and the situation. As above, who owned it? How did it get there? Why was it standing? Don’t answer these questions literally. Tell the story. Show what happened. Bonus points if you leave the story in the comments.
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010 It was only a matter of time, right?
Students at Clearwater High School in Tampa, Florida are getting Kindles instead of text books in the fall.
From the story:
Though the school hasn’t settled on a vendor, school officials are negotiating with Amazon Kindle to try to equip all 2,100 students with the 10-ounce devices this fall.
Already, the school issued e-readers to all 100 of its teachers.
Principal Keith Mastorides said he was inspired to make the switch earlier this school year after campus surveys revealed a desire to integrate more technology with classroom instruction.
“When you think about students today, three-quarters of their day is spent on some kind of electronic device,” Mastorides said. “We’re just looking at textbooks a little differently.”
It makes sense to me. Teens are so connected these days that I can see them embracing electronic texts with more passion than they do hard-copy ones. And no more leaving text books in the locker overnight because they’re too heavy to carry home.
There’s also the cost factor: electronic texts are less expensive than their hard-copy counterparts. And losing a Kindle doesn’t mean losing all the texts stored on it. Those files can be transferred to a new device.
Read the full story here from the St. Petersburg Times.
Monday, May 31st, 2010  On this Memorial Day, I’m remembering those in my family who’ve served.
That handsome fellow on the right is my great-Uncle Frank.
Frank Michalski served for many years in Germany, where he met the love of his life, my great-Aunt Lidia. Marriage between American soldiers and German women was forbidden at the time. Although my Aunt Lidia was from the Ukraine, she fell into the same group since she was a working woman in Germany.
Love conquers all, however, as does bribery. For a few cartons of cigarettes, the chaplain married them.
Frank was one of the lucky ones. He came home after the war, bringing Lidia with him.
Left of Frank is my great-Uncle Walter Rakowski. He was a bachelor through-and-through.
Walt gave his life in Germany. I never knew him.
This day, I raise a glass and salute them…and the others in my family who have served. I light a candle for the souls of those who’ve passed.
Just as I remember those closest to me, I remember the troops I’ve never met. Those who’ve served our country faithfully in the past, and those who are serving now. You’re in my thoughts today and most days.
Thank you, to all the men and women who serve our country.
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 Once again, I spent more time discussing writing “stuff” with friends and fellow writers, rather than attending any of the panels. (Does anyone actually attend panels when they go to a con?)
This morning, I zoomed through the dealer’s room and bought a very cool (read: geeky) pair of earrings. Check out their awesomeness:
They only way these could be better is if I could rip them off my ears and roll them when I needed to.
(Tomorrow, I plan to zoom through again, and hope nothing else shiny catches my eye. I’m a sucker for shiny…especially if it’s shiny and geeky.)
Late this afternoon was my class on “Submitting Short Fiction for Publication.” I spent quite a few hours making sure all the html links in the PowerPoint were still active and opening them all on the screen so I’d be prepared to demonstrate.
I need a projector and screen so that I can show several market possibilities as well as demonstrate some online database searches for the attendees. I told the Balticon coordinators months ago when they accepted my proposal for the con that I required a projector. And this morning, I double-checked with Balticon staff to make certain everything was in order.
(You can see where this is going, can’t you?)
“Oh, yes…” the staffer said to me. “That’s why you were booked in the Belmont room. There’s a 32-inch TV in there.”
Not exactly what I wanted, but it would have done the job.
Needless to say, when I got there…there was no 32-inch TV. In fact, there was no TV at all. Just a lovely banquet table and chairs. One attendee suggested I race to the con operations staff and see if they could fix the situation. So, I high-tailed it over to the help desk, and was basically told, “Too bad.”
(What’s funny about this [not really] is that I presented this seminar in February at the Frederick County Library system, and they booked me in a room without a projector, too. It’s starting to feel like this talk is doomed.)
The silver lining is that people came, and they stayed…even though there were no visuals. In fact, every chair at the table was full…and at least one person camped on the floor to stay for the duration. They had questions, and I had answers…and several people stayed through to the bitter end…for two hours. So the answer to my question above is…yes, people do attend the panels.
And these folks tonight were terrific. I had a lovely time meeting people and chatting with those I’ve met before. (To everyone who attended my session: thank you for staying! If you think of any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. I promise to post the pdf soon!)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
But enough about the con. Let’s talk about the hotel… Remember I’m in the handicapped room, right? I really don’t know how they justify this journey…
This is what you see when you get off the elevator. (I take no responsibility for the relentlessly horrible color scheme. This place really needs some updating.)
See the hallway on the left?” You have to walk though that wing to get to my room.
This is an up close and personal view of that hallway. It’s loooooong.
And before you get to my room, you have to take this little dog-leg turn. First turning right, and then as this picture shows, turning left…past the ice machine.
And then you have to travel down this hallway. (They’re all starting to look the same, eh? but note the air conditioning unit on the left in this photo. It is a different picture.) My room is the second from the last on the right.
Friday, May 28th, 2010 It’s nearly midnight and I’m finally able to sit down and write a few words about what’s been going on.
Things got hopping in the late afternoon, but really kicked off around 8 p.m. with the Opening Ceremonies. I ignored them in order to chat up some writer friends and spent much time in the company of fellow MWA writer, Carl Rauscher.
(Take a gander at his (as yet unpublished) novel Reboot. It took second place in the 2010 Writing Contest, which is a crime, because it really is fabulous. He should have gotten first. You can read some of Reboot here.)
At 10 p.m., the Broad Universe panel was fairly well attended and included reads from Roxanne Bland, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Elaine Corvidae, Heather Kantz, Gail Martin, Roberta Rogow, Jean Marie Ward and myself.
I read from Blood Soup.
Afterward, I’d planned to do some editing on my WIP, but I’ve been too busy making friends and chatting about writing, blogging and knitting. (Yes, knitting…don’t you? I’m working on a lovely little table doily with the pattern name of “skulls and crossbones.” I’m omitting the crossbones…because I want to.)
I’ve nothing planned for the early morning, but I’m contemplating getting up at 4:20 a.m. to catch the 4:30 showing of “Blood and Chocolate” in the video salon. The plot sounds a little weak, but I love the title. What would you do?
I have to rise at a fairly decent hour anyway in order to catch breakfast in the hotel. Thanks to a room mix-up, I’ve been comped four breakfast passes… I could use one each morning, but why do that when I could have a party? Are you free tomorrow?
(Also due to the room mix-up, I’m in a handicapped room: lots of things are low to the ground and the door has two peepholes…one for if you’re standing, and one for sitting…which seems pointless to me, since gazing through it only reveals the size your visitor’s belt buckle. They really need to angle that one up.)
My schedule is light tomorrow: In the late afternoon I’m teaching a seminar on how to submit short fiction for publication. So, maybe I’ll get some of that editing done.
More tomorrow, and perhaps…photos.
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010  I’m trying to tie up some loose ends and get organized before leaving for Balticon on Friday. I’m participating in two readings, and I’ll be teaching a seminar on Saturday on How to Sell Short Fiction. I’m very excited.
One thing I’m doing is going through all the unfinished manuscripts on my desk. I want to take some with me to the hotel. Even though I’ll be busy, I’m certain to have some downtime to work on a few things. The question is, what should I take? Without wading through all the garbage here (the physical and the electronic), and tidying up a little, I don’t have a clue.
It’s a little like cleaning up before going on vacation. Are you familiar with the concept?
When I was growing up, my Mom made us clean the house top to bottom before we went on vacation. I hated doing that. (Hi, Mom! You knew that already, right?) It wasn’t the cleaning that I objected to, it was the time lost that I could be doing something else, like writing, or reading, or well, just about anything other than cleaning, that I really hated giving up.
But I have to admit, my Mom had it right. There was nothing better than coming home to a clean house when you arrive exhausted from vacation.
So that’s what I’m doing now, cleaning off the desk, filing away some papers, shoving various versions of WIPs into folders and putting them away (or into my rolly bag to go with me to the con). I’m also tackling that thumbdrive with three hundred files, all on the root.
I’m looking forward to the convention, but I’m also looking forward to coming home to a clean desk, my mind all juiced by nearly four days of sci-fi and fantasy fun. With a little luck, I’ll know just what to do — and have all that “convention high” enegy — to finish the WIPs and start something new.
Friday, May 21st, 2010 I first met Ginger Simpson on the Eternal Press authors-only forum. With her quick wit and wealth of knowledge, she very quickly became my “hero” — answering a lot of newbie questions — some I wished I’d thought to ask — offering suggestions, and adding wise counter-point to rants. And then I realized she’s also a fabulous writer.
When you’re done reading, please check out Ginger’s books. At the very least, show some love in the comments. We’d both enjoy hearing from you.
 Who is Ginger Simpson?
Well… she used to be an attractive (at least I thought so) younger women who worked an 8-5 job and used her lunch hours and breaks to work on her books. Now she’s retired, facing the official senior citizen birthday and doesn’t seem to be able to accomplish nearly as much as she did back in the day.
When and why did you begin writing?
For years, I’d read every western historical I could get my hands on. My interest stemmed from the Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House series and blossomed into romance novels…basically anything with the word “savage” in it. I’ve always been an avid reader, but one day I decided I should try my hand at writing my own historical. Prairie Peace, my debut novel, was proof I can write.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
The moment I held Prairie Peace in my hands and saw my name on the cover. There’s no greater feeling except maybe having a child or winning the lottery. I can’t really comment on the last as I’m still trying to achieve that goal.
What inspired you to write your first book?
Having access to a computer at home. I’d brought my laptop home from work to finish a project, and afterwards some strange woman named Cecile popped into my head and started telling me a story. The longer I typed, the more enthralled I became with the tale, and I had to see it through to the end. In case you can’t tell, my stories are character driven. I’m basically just the fingers that do the typing and go back and add in the components that make it a novel. The emotions, the smells, the identifying tags. 🙂
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? (Has anyone ever realized it?)
Only one of my books was actually spawned by a real-life experience. I wrote Embezzled Love based on my sister’s horrible outcome at finding love on the Internet, and I hoped that the final product would cause women to pause and remember how vulnerable they are in situations like dating sites. Men, too, actually. I think the book turned out well because it was a finalist in the 2009 Epic Award nominations.
Most of my books contain a little of me or a trait I admire and wish I possessed. For instance, Forever Faith is about a woman with a weight problem, Hope Springs Eternal is about a woman who faces growing older without anyone in her life, Sarah in Sarah’s Journey is the heroine I hope I am: fair, not afraid to take a stand, and a great friend. I think every author’s personality is hidden somewhere in their stories.
What books have most influenced your life most?
Like I said, I read every Laura Ingalls Wilder book a multitude of times. If someone could go back and find the “check out cards” from my grammar school library, they’d find my name on every other line. I think Ms. Wilder definitely set my writing wheels in motion.
What are your current projects?
I’m currently finishing a YA that I’ve already contracted then I plan to move on to my Women’s Fiction/Mystery, First Degree Innocence, then The Locket. I always have too many WIPS in progress because of the revolving door on my mind that allows characters to enter at will. They all have a story to tell and my WIP folder is overflowing with ones I’ve started to appease the anguished cries. *lol*
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
My latest released book is all about changing. It was previously published in 2004 by another house, and the new version of White Heart, Lakota Spirit is my attempt to remove the amateur writing style and replace it with all the things I’ve learned in the process. Even editors learn as you go, as at the time, I felt this was thoroughly edited and perfectly so. It’s funny how you read your novels years later and wonder how so much slipped through the cracks.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
The changing requirements from house to house and all the new writing “rules” that crop up on a frequently basis. For example: one house I queried took such issue with “ly” words, they wanted them all eliminated. I try to avoid them, but there are cases where I think they lend tension or emphasis to a scene. Now the emphasis seems to be on avoiding “was” as much as possible. Just when you think you’ve got a grip on what’s right and what’s wrong, you don’t. 🙂
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I have several favorites, but I’ll name two of them, and you’ll notice that I’m limiting my choices to my fellow e-pubbed authors. I think if we don’t support our own, then who will. I often wonder why more people don’t feel the same and mention their peers as favorites…but Anita Davison, who writes historical novels set in England (her home) converted me with her descriptive writing and flowing prose. I mumbled to myself when I started critiquing her first chapter in our group, knowing it would be dry and boring, but boy was I wrong. She hooked me from the start, and I anxiously await anything she writes. Margaret Tanner, an Aussie author, who writes from the heart with such feeling and emotion that I immediately connect with her characters, just as I do with Anita’s. A true author moves the reader into the story and makes them feel the emotions, smell the smells and cry real tears. These two ladies do exactly that.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Research the publishing houses you’re targeting before you consider signing with them. There are so many new houses springing up, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t destined to doom and you don’t want to go down with them. Signing a contract is like entering into a marriage. If it’s a bad one, you’re stuck with them until the contract expires and divorces you from them. There are many awesome companies out there—one’s who know how to treat their authors. Ask your author friends…they’re your best source of information.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Just a giant “thank you” for following me all these years, frequenting my blog, and believing in me. You keep me doing what I love.
How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. – please share your public links.
Web site: http://www.gingersimpson.com
Blog: http://mizging.blogspsot.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/mizging
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mizging
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mizging
Thanks Kelly for hosting me today. You’ve asked some very interesting questions and I appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into showcasing me and my work.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 Only Snoopy could have had it this bad!
Monday, May 17th, 2010  Ronnie James Dio passed away yesterday morning.
The news of it hit me like a slap in the face. I’d just seen him in concert, touring with Heaven and Hell a few short months ago. He’d made an appearance at the Golden God Awards on April 8, looking frail–but one expects that from chemotherapy. I didn’t think he’d be dead a month later–only five months after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.
There was a summer tour planned, and if they made it back to the states after Europe, I’d planned to go again.
I’ve been playing his music all day…listening to a lot of the really old stuff, some written and recorded before I was born. What a voice this man had! The range, the power… And despite Ronnie James Dio playing a blues-based heavy metal (my favorite), it wasn’t the music that drew me toward him.
Ronnie James Dio was a quintessential story teller…and he enjoyed telling fantasy stories. Dragons and knights, good and evil, all featured prominently in his music. (And the stage sets…I remember a tour with a giant dragon who reared up from the back of the platform, hulking over the drum kit, spreading his wings as wide as the stage.) The most impressive part: the guys in the white hats don’t always triumph in his music.
He told the NJ Star Ledger in 2000, “I took on the evil perspective, because I’ve always written from the ‘anti’ perspective. Most people don’t think in those terms, so you are freer to create.”
He added, “Evil always exists, good doesn’t always triumph, and that’s the universal balance.”
As a storyteller, I like to remind myself of that every once in a while.
Rest in peace, Mr. Dio. You’ll be missed.
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