Work continues on project UNDERGROUND.
Promo: Technorama
Interview with Matt Wallace from Variant Frequencies, author of The Failed Cities Monologues**, and The Next Fix. Matt’s Livejournal, Apex Digest, PDF link to The End of Flesh, Murky Depths, Stranger Things. We talk nipples, Cougars and pimpmobiles, so this one might not be safe around the kids.
Promo: Black Shadow by Steve Saylor

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 ISBW #84: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (899)

People are having problems with the forums - we recently changed hosts where the forums lived, and are aware that there are still issues with the changeover. There are some weird things going on with the links that we’re looking into. Very sorry for the inconvenience.

Also, I’m aware that currently (2:10 EST, Jan 20) the server that hosts the podcasts seems to be down. I’ve reported it. If you’re worried the announcement is something like podcast-ending bad, I assure you, it’s not.

No frills, no edits, no promos, just how my life is changing.

 

 ISBW #83: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (871)

I have railed against cute. I hate cute. I hate being called cute. But to be honest, when met with scenes from Cute Overload, I’m just as likely as the next person to say, “Oooooooo, lookit the cute widdle HANDS on that hamster! Lookit it eat broccoli! So CUTE!”

So I admit the power of cute. It is indeed powerful. And I found myself forced to tap into this power in a recent scene.

I am working on a new novel - project name UNDERGROUND. In the novel, I’m shooting for black humor. The kind of humor that makes you laugh and wince at the same time. It’s a tough humor to hit, as you need to tread that line - don’t have enough wince, and it’s not funny enough. Have too much wince and you’ve gone beyond funny.

I wanted a scene in a restaurant frequented by demons and other horrific creatures. And I wanted one of the demons to have a birthday. Where a waiter would, in our world, bring out a flaming cake, I wanted waiters here to attend to their customers. I wanted something sick and funny. I needed something terrible to happen to something cute.

Cute is a dangerous track. In the early days of Cute Overload, they discussed what made the pictures cute. Little paws looking like hands. Sleepy animals. Young animals. A large animal coupled with a smaller animal looking just like it. And so on. And I realized that there are levels of cute. There are the cute you cannot touch: kittens and puppies.

And I’m sure many of you geeks will point out  that in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, demons played poker for the chance to win delicious kittens. However, we never saw harm befall the kittens. I needed a scene where the terrible thing was happening.

Hedgehogs.

Hedgehogs are grumpy creatures whose cuteness is magnified by the fact that they’re grumpy and prickly and prefer to hide in a dirty tshirt rather than come out and play. The do not bat at string. They do not fetch balls. They do not follow their mother in an adorable straight line. They crouch, nocturnally, and grumble.

Hedgehogs became, what I thought, the perfect target to test my black humor on. In the demon restaurant, the customers pop live, rolled up hedgehogs in their mouths as if they were fat marshmallows. They do so with great relish as if it were a special occasions.

Hedgehogs are like pumpkin pie, you see. Everyone likes them, but they only eat them on special days. You don’t just step out of your door one day and think, “Hey, a hedgehog sounds real good right now.” No, it’s for special occasions. Which makes it funnier.

I could be talking out of my ass here. But suffice to say, my new book places hedgehogs in great peril, the grumpy prickly bastards turn out to be just the right sort of delightful that demons are looking for, especially in an upscale restaurant. And thus cute has served its purpose.

Hey guys - I am reviving the ISBW Facebook Group, head on over there if you want to discuss writing with other wanna-bes!

I’m back! Sorry I’ve been away, but a job layoff, travels, sickness, and holidays have kept me away from the mic for a while. All of the podcasts have suffered, and I apologize.

• Did you hear Citytalkers on Escape Pod?
• Wondering what to write next.
• Promo: Dark Age: A Fantasy Pod-Novel
• Our main topic: why write if you don’t really want to?
• Check out The Artist’s Way
• Promo: Playing For Keeps is out in print now!
• Feedback, much email and voicemail.
• Check out the feed for a NanoMonkeys episode.
• Do you like ISBW? Tell a friend, or join our facebook group!

 

 ISBW #82: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (670)