Cross-Ponding: A Conversation with authors Barry J. House and Fran Friel

Editors Note: This is part 2 of a 2-part interview. Part 1 can be found "across the pond" at Whispers of Wickedness

Fran Friel is a Bram Stoker nominated author from the US, residing in rural New England with her husband, and their band of animal masters. Her fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies in the US and the UK, including the upcoming release of Tiny Terrors 2 (Hadesgate Publications - UK). A collection of Fran's short stories, including her Stoker nominated novella, Mama's Boy, will be released in Spring 2008. She also writes a Sunday column for The Horror Library Blog-O-Rama, and is a member of the editorial team at Dark Recesses Press. You can check-up on Fran's latest antics at www.myspace.com/franfriel and at her website, www.franfriel.com

Barry J. House lives in Hampshire, England, with his wife, two children and three cats. His horror/dark SF tales have appeared in magazines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic. Barry ’ s first short story collection, Obsidian Dreams, is scheduled for publication in 2008 (Screaming Dreams - UK). His Young Adult comedy SF novella, I Was Probed by Aliens and Lived to tell the Tale, is currently available from a number of sources. He likes to hang out at www.myspace.com/barryjhouse and at www.barryjhouse.co.uk

FF: Barry, you know I've been a big fan since listening to your story, Glow in the Dark, at MySpace. Can you tell me a little about the process of producing that audio/vid story? And please do tell, what are you working on now, audio and otherwise?

BH: Well, I ’ ve heard some spectacular stories via podcasts and the radio, and most of them are very simple, you know: just the narrator ’ s voice, sometimes accompanied by a basic sound effect or two. Simple, yet effective. Before I knew it, I had the overwhelming urge to record one of my own tales, with the intention of putting it on my website and MySpace. Now, to me, my own recorded voice sounds like something straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean, *laughs like Captain Jack Sparrow* so, last September, I asked Terry Cooper for his input. He is the artist who provided the cover illustration for my comedy SF novella and he also does voice work. I specifically chose Glow in the Dark because of its 1000 word length; the audio file would be approximately 5 minutes long, which was about right for my needs. A week later, Terry came back with the finished recording and I loved it.

I needed to turn the piece into a video so that I could add it to MySpace. I used a piece of my own artwork and made a little movie of it gently spinning, to accompany the story. The illustration is based on a traditional Celtic design and I think it works well, complementing the tale rather than detracting from it. I have a similar audio treatment in mind for another one of my shorter stories, when I get around to it.

What am I working on at the moment? Well, just this week, I ’ ve completed, The Cupboard in Room Nine, a Victorian era horror story set in an English public school. Now, I ’ m in a quandary because I have two novels in mind; one will be set in a distant-future orphanage and based around a recent short story of mine, The Shaft of Ultimate Truth, and the other will be a post-apocalyptic zombie romp. I simply can ’ t decide which one to tackle first. I shall sleep on it for a few days and, hopefully, the matter will resolve itself.

Fran, you must tell me what you are currently working on. Also, I ’ ve been itching to question you about your excellent Stoker Award nominated novella, Mama ’ s Boy, and I simply can ’ t wait any longer. I found it to be compulsive reading. There was some very tricky subject matter in there, too, but you seemed to pull it off with ease. How did the story come about? What was the hardest part of writing it? Tell me everything.

FF: Mama's Boy grew organically...like a spore. I'm still a little embarrassed (while also strangely proud) that its origin was a Valentine's Day flash fiction prompt from a writers group. Not a horror writing group, just a tame bunch of literary fiction writers. The prompt was simply the phrase, "And that's why I love you." My immediate response was a mental image of a man running a long, sharp blade from the throat to the navel of a beautiful naked woman, while whispering the words of the prompt. You can imagine the raised eyebrows in the group at the resulting Valentine's flash story.

MB went through a variety of permutations from there, being expanded for a writing class project into a short story from the victim's point of view, then as a novella for an anthology submission. You asked about the hardest part, and I think that started with the viewpoint issue. When I wrote the story from the victim's viewpoint, I knew all along that it should have been done from the antagonist's perspective, but he scared me. The energy of the story was incredibly dark and I just didn't want to go there, but when the novella opportunity came along, I knew I had to take the leap and live with that psycho in my brain for a while, so I could tell his story. I know it sounds crazy, but it felt like he was sitting behind my right shoulder dictating his account for me, trying to teach me about his life and the deeper story behind the madness.

Without giving too much away, the scene where Frank was visiting with his "girlfriend" in the park, was the hardest scene for me to write. It was pivotal. The course of his life could have changed, but it wasn't to be. The desperation and visceral brutality of the scene was excruciating for me. I cried (actually sobbed) writing it, knowing their fates were sealed. For a long time, I debated deleting that scene because of the controversial subject matter, but ultimately I knew it had to stay. And of course, with the story in general, I wondered if people would think I was a little bit off my head. I think it was karma for me, because I remember wondering the same thing about Stephen King when I read Misery and Gerald's Game. Dang, karmic paybacks are hell.

As for what I'm working on now, I'm exceedingly pleased to tell you that I've been contracted for a new release of Mama's Boy to be combined with a collection of my short stories. US publisher, Apex Publications, will be releasing the collection in Spring 2008. As kind of a warm-up to the collection (oh, no pressure there), I'll have a short story in my favorite mag, Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest, Issue 11. I also have a novel series in the works, but the details of that announcement are way down the road.

Now, back to your interrogation, Mr. House. Concerning process, I do rough scene outlines, then I fast draft the first draft, followed by a little break from the manuscript. Then I come back fresh to do careful and brutal rewriting, which I love. How about you? What's your process and what do you love or loathe about it?

BH: As far as short stories are concerned, I have a little black book in which I list every story idea as it comes to me, from a simple phrase or mental sketch to a complete story outline. I ’ ll mull over a specific idea for a while longer before I sit down to begin writing, and, when I ’ m ready, I ’ ll pick up the outline and begin to coax the story out of it. I always do this using a pencil and paper -- never straight onto the PC. I believe that this harks back to the long years I spent as a mechanical designer: get the layout down on paper, first. I ’ ll rewrite the story as many times as I feel are necessary to pin down those important elements like plot and characterisation. When I ’ m relatively happy with that, I ’ ll type it all up on the PC and print it off. This is my first draft.

Yes, at this stage I also like to have a break from the MS -- the longer the better. In reality, however, it ’ s usually no more than a few days. Then comes the dreaded revision period. As every writer knows, it ’ s the hardest part of story writing and also an entirely necessary one. It ’ s true that you must be brutal and self-critical, but not too brutal -- you have to know where to stop -- and there lies one of the true writing skills.

Near the end of the revision process, I like to read the story aloud, as I find this helps me to pick out problems like repetition and awkward rhythm: things that might not be readily noticeable to the eye.

I enjoy chipping away at a piece, honing it, trying to make it the best that it can be. As I was saying, the difficult part for some is knowing when to let go. We ’ ve all seen stories that look like they never got past the first draft and, conversely, we have to be able to recognize when the story is finished -- we can ’ t keep revising it forever. Like any other writer, I ’ m constantly striving for perfection while knowing that I ’ ll never reach it; however, I believe that I have acquired the necessary skills to recognise when a story is complete and it ’ s time to move on. I admit, though, that I still can ’ t pick up an old tale of mine and not find something about it that I want to change. There ’ s always something.

Now, Fran, over here in the UK we ’ ve seen bookstore shelf space dwindle away from horror in favour of other, shall we say “ less significant ” genres. A resurgence of interest has been predicted, possibly due to the recent peak in popularity of horror in the film world. What is your opinion on the current state of the horror genre? Are we about to witness the birth of a new literary horror renaissance? And if we are, do you believe that there is enough talent out there waiting to burst through and fill those ailing bookshelves?

FF: I think there's an extraordinary amount of talent out there in the horror genre and an untapped market of readers in that horror-movie-loving audience. The marketing geniuses of the publishing world need to ramp it up and make reading cool again, so these folks get a taste of the good stuff waiting for them on the shelves. Once they have that experience of intimacy that only a fine book can offer, especially a horror story, they'll be hooked. Well, that's my theory anyway. It could be complete hooey, but I'm sticking to it.

And everything goes in cycles. It's about time for horror to leap into prominence again. I really do believe there's an audience out there. The fan-based conventions, at least here in the US, certainly seem to be a strong indicator. Once the big publishing houses see cash waiting to be made, they'll come back into the dark fold eager to court the talent.

Well, I think I've yammered on enough for this "little" instalment of Cross-Ponding. It's been an absolute treat chatting with you, Barry. Any final words for our dear readers, the ones that actually made it this far in the interview?

BH: I agree about there being a phenomenal amount of horror writing talent out there. The potential readership is out there, too, so I look forward to seeing a marked increase in the choice of horror reading available at our local bookstores.

Fran, thank you so much for taking part in this little cross-Atlantic chat. My thanks, too, to those of you who stayed with us to the end. Whether you read horror or write horror, just keep on doing it. To finish the whole thing off with a typically American expression: thanks everyone, it ’ s been a blast!