CHRIS GOLDEN IS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK
To wet your appetite for FantasyCon 2008, Christopher Golden has actually volunteered to spend time in the dungeon, and we promise to let him out in time for his Guest of Honour appearance,cross my heart and hope to...
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN IS INTERVIEWED BY MARTIN ROBERTS
MR: Is there a defining moment in your life that helped you in your decision to put 'pen to paper'?
CHRIS: I wish I could say there was, or that I had a superhero-origin type story, like lightning hitting a rack of books and chemicals and fusing ideas into my brain.
The truth is more mundane, but pretty much equivalent.
I simply always loved to read, from Dr. Seuss to Marvel Comics, from Doc Savage to Jack London to Stephen King. I wrote awful scribblings in middle school and my first real short stories in high school. Slightly better ones in college, and then my senior year in college I started my first novel, OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS.
MR: Apparently there is mention of nine muses or Greek goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. Do you have any particular muses of your own?
CHRIS: My wife Connie, of course. Angelina Jolie. Sarah MacLachlan. Diane Lane. All the women in the cast of Firefly. Evangeline Lilly of Lost. Sarah Alexander from Coupling. Liz White from Life on Mars. And Mark Morris, of course. Those eyes!
Warning! The following question developed its own basic awareness and decided it was to be broken into conflicting entities, each with secret names that have long been forgotten.
To date, you have published in several different mediums including novellas, comics, novels, electronic media etc.
Can you tell us anything that stands out for you regarding the publication of these works and more importantly will they improve the readers' sexual appeal?
CHRIS: Hmm. Not quite sure I understand the first part of the question. What stands out for me about their publication is that they're all by me. :) As for the various mediums, text on paper is still my favorite medium to work in. I love comics, but I've found I enjoy reading them far more than creating them. Short stories, novellas, and novels are my preferred media. But I've recently done the script for a planned film version of BALTIMORE, OR, THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE, and that was a fascinating experience. Regarding the more important part of your question...
...I've had dozens, perhaps hundreds of e-mails from guys who were reading my work in public, only to be leapt upon and ravished by beautiful women who claimed to have been driven mad with sexual desire by said guys' obvious good taste in fiction. Granted, the "guys" were all various e-mail addresses traced back to Pete Crowther, and the "beautiful women" he referred to undoubtedly Tim Lebbon in various outfits from his dress-up closet, but still, excellent taste, the both of them.
MR: I'm standing in the vast and cosmic space of a retail outlet; in one hand I have The Ferryman, in the other a packet of 12 economy light bulbs. Why should I choose to purchase your novel?
CHRIS: You can always read by daylight, but what good is a light bulb without a story for it to illuminate?
MR: What are your feelings on the specialist press and/or self publication in general, and how do you imagine a mainstream publisher should present your fiction to the public?
CHRIS: As a lover of books in general, I am grateful we have such an amazing, thriving small press community. I only wish I could afford to buy all of the limited editions I want (or even some!). As for self publication...it's too broad a description. On the one hand, you have amazing work being done by some writers and editors, and I do believe that it's possible for that work to get noticed both by fans and, eventually, by mainstream publishers. On the other hand, self-publishing gives rise to thoughts of incoherent ramblings by people who truly believe they can be the next (insert major bestseller here). There are thousands of those people out there. But self-publishing is the Wild West. There's no controlling how it all unfolds, or how many people settle that territory. The truly talented writers are going to survive. And as for how mainstream publishers should present my work to the public... well, obviously they should spend many thousands of dollars publishing the books in hardcover with huge marketing campaigns and global book tours. I'm just waiting for them to realize that.
MR: Are there three works of art the world can't live without? These can be books, paintings, film, music etc.
CHRIS: You're a strange man, Martin. :) What a weird way to frame that question. Not my favorite things, or what I'd bring to a desert island, huh? I'm not sure there's anything the world can't live without, except the sun. But since you asked... I appreciate art, and love classical music, but don't know much about either to speak intelligently about them. Pop culture wise, here are three things that make the world a better place. It's a Wonderful Life. Calvin and Hobbes. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
MR: Last but not least, what's next for Christopher Golden?
CHRIS: In October, my YA horror novel SOULLESS hits, along with PRINCE OF STORIES: THE MANY WORLDS OF NEIL GAIMAN, which I co-authored with Hank Wagner and Stephen R. Bissette. Early next year brings THE MAP OF MOMENTS, my second Hidden Cities novel with Tim Lebbon. Right now I'm working on my new Bantam novel, THE OCEAN DARK, and Lebbon and I are beginning our first YA adventure novel together, THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON.
MR: Ladies, Gentlemen, and all things in-between, please put your hands together and pull them apart, repeat the process until your arms ache and your hands tingle, for our guest Christopher Golden.
Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) Mind the Gap. Golden co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola, which they are currently scripting as a feature film for New Regency. To find out more about Christopher's work feel free to visit www.christophergolden.com
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN IS INTERVIEWED BY MARTIN ROBERTS
MR: Is there a defining moment in your life that helped you in your decision to put 'pen to paper'?CHRIS: I wish I could say there was, or that I had a superhero-origin type story, like lightning hitting a rack of books and chemicals and fusing ideas into my brain.
The truth is more mundane, but pretty much equivalent.
I simply always loved to read, from Dr. Seuss to Marvel Comics, from Doc Savage to Jack London to Stephen King. I wrote awful scribblings in middle school and my first real short stories in high school. Slightly better ones in college, and then my senior year in college I started my first novel, OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS.
MR: Apparently there is mention of nine muses or Greek goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. Do you have any particular muses of your own?
CHRIS: My wife Connie, of course. Angelina Jolie. Sarah MacLachlan. Diane Lane. All the women in the cast of Firefly. Evangeline Lilly of Lost. Sarah Alexander from Coupling. Liz White from Life on Mars. And Mark Morris, of course. Those eyes!
Warning! The following question developed its own basic awareness and decided it was to be broken into conflicting entities, each with secret names that have long been forgotten.
To date, you have published in several different mediums including novellas, comics, novels, electronic media etc.
Can you tell us anything that stands out for you regarding the publication of these works and more importantly will they improve the readers' sexual appeal?
CHRIS: Hmm. Not quite sure I understand the first part of the question. What stands out for me about their publication is that they're all by me. :) As for the various mediums, text on paper is still my favorite medium to work in. I love comics, but I've found I enjoy reading them far more than creating them. Short stories, novellas, and novels are my preferred media. But I've recently done the script for a planned film version of BALTIMORE, OR, THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE, and that was a fascinating experience. Regarding the more important part of your question...
...I've had dozens, perhaps hundreds of e-mails from guys who were reading my work in public, only to be leapt upon and ravished by beautiful women who claimed to have been driven mad with sexual desire by said guys' obvious good taste in fiction. Granted, the "guys" were all various e-mail addresses traced back to Pete Crowther, and the "beautiful women" he referred to undoubtedly Tim Lebbon in various outfits from his dress-up closet, but still, excellent taste, the both of them.
MR: I'm standing in the vast and cosmic space of a retail outlet; in one hand I have The Ferryman, in the other a packet of 12 economy light bulbs. Why should I choose to purchase your novel?
CHRIS: You can always read by daylight, but what good is a light bulb without a story for it to illuminate?
MR: What are your feelings on the specialist press and/or self publication in general, and how do you imagine a mainstream publisher should present your fiction to the public?
CHRIS: As a lover of books in general, I am grateful we have such an amazing, thriving small press community. I only wish I could afford to buy all of the limited editions I want (or even some!). As for self publication...it's too broad a description. On the one hand, you have amazing work being done by some writers and editors, and I do believe that it's possible for that work to get noticed both by fans and, eventually, by mainstream publishers. On the other hand, self-publishing gives rise to thoughts of incoherent ramblings by people who truly believe they can be the next (insert major bestseller here). There are thousands of those people out there. But self-publishing is the Wild West. There's no controlling how it all unfolds, or how many people settle that territory. The truly talented writers are going to survive. And as for how mainstream publishers should present my work to the public... well, obviously they should spend many thousands of dollars publishing the books in hardcover with huge marketing campaigns and global book tours. I'm just waiting for them to realize that.
MR: Are there three works of art the world can't live without? These can be books, paintings, film, music etc.
CHRIS: You're a strange man, Martin. :) What a weird way to frame that question. Not my favorite things, or what I'd bring to a desert island, huh? I'm not sure there's anything the world can't live without, except the sun. But since you asked... I appreciate art, and love classical music, but don't know much about either to speak intelligently about them. Pop culture wise, here are three things that make the world a better place. It's a Wonderful Life. Calvin and Hobbes. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
MR: Last but not least, what's next for Christopher Golden?
CHRIS: In October, my YA horror novel SOULLESS hits, along with PRINCE OF STORIES: THE MANY WORLDS OF NEIL GAIMAN, which I co-authored with Hank Wagner and Stephen R. Bissette. Early next year brings THE MAP OF MOMENTS, my second Hidden Cities novel with Tim Lebbon. Right now I'm working on my new Bantam novel, THE OCEAN DARK, and Lebbon and I are beginning our first YA adventure novel together, THE SECRET JOURNEYS OF JACK LONDON.
MR: Ladies, Gentlemen, and all things in-between, please put your hands together and pull them apart, repeat the process until your arms ache and your hands tingle, for our guest Christopher Golden.
Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of such novels as The Myth Hunters, Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and (with Tim Lebbon) Mind the Gap. Golden co-wrote the lavishly illustrated novel Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire with Mike Mignola, which they are currently scripting as a feature film for New Regency. To find out more about Christopher's work feel free to visit www.christophergolden.com
Chris GoldenTags:christopher golden, fanatsycon, bfs, british fantasy society, dr suess, marvel comics, doc savage, jack london, stephen king, angelina jolie, sarah alexander, liz white, life on mars, mark morris, pete crowther, tim lebbon, it's a wonderful life, calvin and hobbes, sgt. pepper's lonley hearts club band, soulless, prince of stories: the many worlds of neil gaiman, co-authored, hank wagner, stephen r. bissette, the map of moments, hidden cities, the ocean dark, bantam, ya novels, the secret journeys of jack london
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