A Lovely Fiend

Nothing is more seductive than a fiend possessing a graceful way with words. He lures you in. You practically sense the garden of delights manifesting as he whispers delicious lies in your ear, and you realize far too late the horror that is in store for you.

The blood flows. The pain burns. Yet somehow the fiend is making you enjoy every moment of it.

That is the wonder of Paul E. Cooley’s work. He’s a brilliant and gruesome horror writer who also transforms his works into audiobook podcasts available on his site and on iTunes.

The most frightening aspect of Paul’s work is that it feels so real. He takes you deep within the mind of killers and humanizes their story to the point that you begin to see through their eyes, understand their perspective. Their horrific doings make a terrifying amount of sense and you thank the Gods that you happened to be blessed with a slightly different experience in life — because you could have found yourself on their path all too easily.

Behind the bloody delights lurks a thoughtful, lovely man. I hope you enjoy getting to know him and that you will visit his site, read/listen to his work, and subscribe to Shadow Publications on iTunes. You can also converse with him on Twitter or Facebook.

So my beloved readers grab a glass of wine, snuggle in, and enjoy the fiendish wonder of Paul E. Cooley.

Writing

Please share a little bit about the premise of your current release “Tattoo.”
A journalist named Jackson discovers links between several murders that have taken place in different cities over the past several years. Since the majority of the crimes have taken place in his city of Houston, he decides to start digging. This investigation drags him into the world of body art as he discovers the murderer.

What inspired “Tattoo?”
When I wrote the story “Canvas,” of my readers contacted me over Twitter and related a tale of body art being removed from a corpse. This struck a nerve in my head. The story rattled around for a while before turning into its current form. It percolated for several months before finally pouring out in a massive stream.

What is your take on the publishing industry? What things would you like to see changed?
The publishing industry, much like the recording and motion picture industries, is a dinosaur facing extinction. Their incomprehensible fear of changing their market models is driving them further and further down the trail of the apocalypse. Don’t get me wrong. I love digital media, but there’s nothing quite like holding the book in your hands. I love books and have way too damned many of the things on my shelves.

However, have you ever tried to find a new author? Someone’s work that’s not being marketed by the publishing machine? Someone who’s not been thrust into the interview circuit by their publicists or through their own contacts? It’s nearly impossible. At the same time, it’s extremely difficult for new authors to break-in via the old ways (ie, query letters, slush piles, and etc). Since publishers are turning out fewer and fewer books per year, the difficulty in breaking in has become worse.

For those of us who write fiction that doesn’t quite fit in a readily available genre, we are left with magazines and the online world, no matter how good our fiction is.

Sorry, bit of a rant, but I see the publishing industry looking more and more to the actual authors to find a way to make themselves known. The successes of JC Hutchins, Scott Sigler, and Seth Harwood underscore this in great detail. I know several authors who think that putting our works out there for free via epub, pdf, and podcast are completely insane. But while they are still getting dozens of rejection letters per month, our work is out there, getting an audience, and making us feel like we’re contributing something.

The ultimate goal, for me anyway, is to get published in a real book. But I think that’s going to happen with a very small press with a very small run. And I’ll be amazed when that happens. But for now, I’m very happy with getting a couple of hundred listeners and watching my pdfs and epubs fly from my site and into the hands of people with kindles, iPhones, and readers.

Bah. Not sure I answered this question properly. Too much of a rant. I do think the publishing industry can be saved, but not until they realize the world as they knew it has changed radically, and they must change with it.

One question I face a lot of is “Why Horror?” You showcase a lot of dark issues in your writing. What does focusing on those offer you as a storyteller?
Man, that’s a loaded question. I was “trained” as a writer of literature. But much to my dismay, I was never much good at it. But I’ve always written fantasy and horror of one sort or another.

People like to ask where we get our ideas and our characters, and all I can say is that some are bred from the most mundane observations and some from deepest darkest nightmare. For me, horror is a way for me to deal with my own fears. In addition, I can experiment with social commentary without preaching to the reader. You can include a gay character, or a strong female character, or someone with unconventional philosophies in speculative fiction and get away with it, so long as it doesn’t become the story. Horror, especially, allows one to spin this in such a way that it’s something the reader gets subconsciously.

So I believe horror offers a lot of opportunities to explore these issues. But I think the usual definition of horror is rather broad and I like to think that I deal with all sorts of different genres at once. But I’m much more of an urban fantasy/visceral horror kind of writer than Sci-fi. But I respect all of those genres.

Please share a little about your writing process. Do you do a lot of research? Are there any writing exercises you use to flesh out characters and their back story? Do you outline?
Oh, man, another great and loaded question. I’d love to lie to you and tell you that I know everything about my characters. I have tried so many different ways of composing stories. Outlines. Writing throw away vignettes. As well as the good old “discovery” writing.

It sounds like a cop-out, I guess, but really, my best tales are those that write themselves. I’ll get a character speaking in my head, and suddenly I have to write the story down, let their voice be heard. “Canvas” (a fiend story) and “The Things I Do For Love” (not published yet on shadowpublications.com), both had characters that literally started talking in my head. And I wanted to let them babble.

I don’t consider myself a Scott Sigler or JC Hutchins when it comes to plots. Those guys have got it down. Their process really works for them. “The Things I Do For Love” for instance, just started with a character saying “Would you like to know about your father, little one?” And that was enough to write a story about a monster. That’s all it took.

In “Tattoo,” I had to work it three different times. I originally told the story from the “fiend” perspective, but all my efforts to do that failed miserably. So when I changed the point of view, the story started kicking along. And as I went forward, more details just started to emerge. My mind saw something, and I went for it.

I usually do the research when I need it. While writing Tattoo, I realized I didn’t know a whole lot about them. My character didn’t either. So the two of us researched tattoos. Their history. Their different design philosophies. And the pain that goes along with them. The psychology of tattoos was a total blast because I love to see and read about normal people and PhDs going at it on the net. Was too much fun.

Sometimes back stories are difficult to figure out for me. And I only include as much as is necessary for the story. There are writers out there who will perform a complete infodump on a character, telling you everything you need to know about them. But I only know as much as I need know. Jackson, the main character in Tattoo, has a good backstory. But I don’t know more than general ideas. At some point, I’ll probably revisit those. But, I can’t talk about that right now. Don’t want to give anything away.

Discovery writers have the great flexibility to change things as needed. Outliners must go back and modify their outlines everytime they find something else they want to do. But even outliners are discovery writers– they just feel they have to have a framework first. The writing process for me is more about the characters and much less about plot. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

What characters of yours are your favorites?
Of my work? Well, Nigel from “Tattoo” is probably my favorite thus far, although we never get into his head. Oops. Was that a spoiler? :”>

Tony Downs, who hasn’t been published in the reboot, is another favorite. Tony is one of those characters that has so many flaws, he literally oozes inner conflict. But he’s heroic in his own way.

For me, I love characters who are flawed in every way possible. Heroes should be the most flawed creatures on the planet. As strange as it may seem, most of my villains are incredibly educated, and very rarely curse. Some of them don’t ever use contractions!

When you have heroes who are flawed, they become more real. Even though I don’t believe in happily ever after endings, heroes can be heroic without the Clark Kent nonsense.

In literature, my favorite characters are Jean Tarrou from Camus’ The Plague and Owen Meany from John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany. In speculative fiction, I’d have to say Stephen King’s Roland from The Dark Tower series and Harry Dresden from The Dresden Chronicles. Sad, but true.

What have been the top five moments in your writing/podcasting career so far?
One greatest podcasting moment was before the ShadowPublications reboot. I podcasted about Scott Sigler coming to see us in Houston as well as pimping Infected and Contagious. I blogged about it and podcasted. That night, the FDO showed up on my site and started commenting on some of my posts. It was thrilling to see that.

Another was to hear my promo for “Fiends” on the Phil Rossi’s Harvey feed. It was amazing. I respect Phil’s writing so much, it was just incredible to hear my own promo on his feed. It was one of those “OMG, am I real now?”.

But perhaps the greatest moment didn’t have so much to do with podcasting, but the fact that because of my podcasting and pimping, I sat at a bar with Seth Harwood for 4.5 hours, talking about writing and podcasting. It was amazing. I felt like I was back in college, arguing writing philosophies while slamming down beers. I really really miss that.

As far as my own writing… “Canvas” was the best thing I’ve ever written. I worked on it. It went through five drafts. Andrew Richardson, who narrated the tale, helped me work out some of the details as well as vet the language. In addition, he unwittingly gave me some ideas for scenes in the story I hadn’t thought about.

“Tattoo” is the first long work I’ve finished in about ten years. Therefore, it’s my favorite. Plus, I think it kind of roars along and then takes off. It’s also the first “detective” tale I’ve written. But the horror of the story starts revealing itself in the first five paragraphs. That said, I dare you to figure out where it’s ultimately going. Not because I meant it to happen that way, but because it’s the way it happened.

Any advice for aspiring writers/ podcasters trying to get known?
If you’re trying to get into the podcast world, get familiar. Listen to a ton of them. Sigler, Hutchins, Variant Frequencies, Harwood, Pseudopod, Escape Pod, Mur Lafferty, Tee, all of these writers and shows are absolutely incredible and every one of them shows you how to do it.

Once you’ve listened to how to do it, write something, record something. Get comfortable with your voice. Find your own shtick, and don’t be afraid to ham it up. Practice reading your own work. There is definitely an art to it and it takes time to find what works for you.

As for writers? Man, so many. If you’re a speculative fiction writer, then you REALLY need to listen to “Writing Excuses.” It’s a great podcast that deals solely with the art of writing fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. They deal with topics that are important for every writer, but their backgrounds in these areas are especially helpful if you’re trying to break in.

Another fantastic podcast is Mur Lafferty’s “I Should Be Writing.” It deals with the issues we all have as writers. We’re lazy. Or rather, we want to be lazy. We want to procrastinate. Mur really tries to pin it on us that even if we just write 500 words a day, that’s 500 more than zero. For me, it’s a good reminder that if I’m not writing, I’m not going to ever be a better writer.

Writers must write. Don’t wait for the perfect idea. Don’t wait for the perfect character. Get off your ass and create. While writing Tattoo, there were so many scenes I just dumped. And as I said, I rewrote the story three times before I found what worked. Don’t be afraid to throw things away. I have over 1,400 pages of old manuscripts that have never been read by anyone. They never will be either (thank God). But I still go back to them every now and then for some inspiration or when I try and remember an idea tickling at my brain.

Don’t be afraid to fail. I stopped writing for nearly 12 years because of a tiff I had with an agent. And I have to tell you, that was a very bad mistake on my part. The podcasting of the writing has really reminded me how much I’ve missed it, and that I only fail when I don’t write. It’s always terrifying to put something out there, but the instant gratification of at least SOMEONE listening and perhaps enjoying it provides all the motivation I need to keep doing it.

So write, dammit. Write, write, and edit like crazy. Drafts, redrafts, rewrites. Practice. Tear up a plot and start over. Especially when something stops working. Work on as many stories at once as you can fit in your head, so that when one thread dies, you have another to go back to. And dream. Don’t forget to dream. Wander through the dark recesses of your brain and listen for those voices.

Characters are the wellspring of ideas. Not the other way ’round. At least for me.

Media

You spend a lot of time on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. What kind of difference has this made for you in getting your work/name out there?
I got into the social media thing kind of late. As geeky as I am (I am a software developer when I have a day job), it just didn’t seem to be important. So it’s only been since February or March that I stared Facebooking and Tweeting. But it’s been a boon for me. I’ve discovered a lot of writers out there and seen how the household names market themselves, because I certainly didn’t know how to build an audience that way.

Social media is a must if you want your writing to be read by other authors as well as the general public. For podcasters, it’s do or die and, in a sense, always has been. People you meet online through Facebook and Twitter can help you spread the word. You’ll always find fans out there. But it also builds a very important support system for you. Some crazy woman named Larkn has been very supportive of me during some pretty dark times and that’s always inspiring.

What are some of your favorite experiences you’ve had from the interacting with your fans?
I have a couple of fans whom I’ve met through Scott Sigler’s junkie events as well as from his forums. These are great people. Pons Matal has been very instrumental in helping me spread the word about what I’m doing and actually inspired “Tattoo.”

When I created the persona of “The FiendMaster” for the Fiends collection, watching Cartwright and Twowires tweets and pleas to the FiendMaster for more content has been damned funny. I’ve created a persona that interacts with them and makes me seem like a person with multiple personality disorder, an assumption I’ve refused to deny.

Instigating “fights” between Scott Sigler and Matt Wallace has also been a blast. Or the time I argued with JC Hutchins about WALL-E. Man, that got crazy fast. But when I have fans who say things like “please give me the next episode!” it makes me want to write better stories. Always write better stories, work on my production to make it tighter, and in general see this as creating entertainment.

Finally meeting Pons at DragonCon was fantastic. We chatted and drank together. And for the first time since I started ShadowPublications.com, I felt as though what I’m doing is important and that I do in fact have an audience. So finally meeting in the real world is something that’s very important to me. I hope that in the future I can do skype interviews and spend time with my fans. I love that I have them. And I’m always going to give away my content for free.

What is something about you that people might not expect if they just know you from online tweets and Facebook updates and got to know you in person?
Oh, good lord. That is dangerous territory. Um, I’m an Eagle Scout. I was in the Navy/Marine ROTC at Texas ATM for a semester before having to drop out and learn how to walk again. I’m a computer geek from hell. I play darts in my crappy garage every Friday night. I love pets. Like long bike rides (bicycles, thank you very much, no more motorcycles for me).

I can be pretty shy. I suffer from bipolar disorder. Money is not as important to me as being able to live with myself.

That’s about all I can think of.

Personal

When did you find out life is not fair?
Wow. Um. Hm. I guess when all my health problems started piling up on me as a child. I’ve had difficulties with my feet and legs for a long time. Ever since I could walk, I guess. Also, I had ITP (a sort of leukemia) as a child, and nearly died from the common flu. I guess that’s when I realized that to a certain extent, it didn’t matter how good of a person I was or how I lived my life, life is just life. It happens. We get some time on this planet, and all we can do is try and make the best of it. Nothing’s promised to us. There is no great reward at the end. So you have to make your own rewards and your own reasons for going on living.

What one word would you use to describe yourself?
Hopeful.

How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered like Jean Tarrou from The Plague. While facing certain death from helping plague victims, Jean Tarrou, a wealthy young man is asked why he’s risking his life when he has everything a person could ever want. His response is that he’s “trying to find out if a person can become a Saint without believing in God.” I like to think that I’m going to be remembered for trying to be a better person every day and someone who managed to do it some of the time.

If you could change one thing about your past what would that be?
This is a HUGE cop-out. But here it is. I don’t think I’d change anything in my past. My past is what’s made me who I am. And as dysfunctional as I am at times, I’m pretty damned happy with who I am.

What do you like most about writing and podcasting? What do you like least?
Writing allows me to explore that part of myself that remains hidden most of the time. I can explore all the philosophies of literature as well as toy with my idea of the world in a solitary, non-argumentative way. From that stand point, it’s an incredible way to get my ideas out so I can see them. I find myself to be a hypocrite more often than not, as much as I hate that in human beings. But I know myself better because of my writing. And only through self-exploration can we possibly become better people.

Podcasting. Ugh. Podcasting allows me to be the actor/director I always wanted to be. It doesn’t mean I’m any good at it, but I do miss the theatre. I miss directing most of all. Podcasting my fiction is very much like that. Although I love doing the rants and infocasts too, because they allow me to be silly and just let it all hang out. But podcasting is terrifying. Every time I upload a file to be heard, I practically shake with nervous energy. I hate the way I sound. Hate it. But it’s all worth it in the end.

If you could try any profession, other than writing, what would you like to try?
Other than software development, which I guess is also writing, I think I’d like to be a director or doctor. Big difference, I know, but those are both professions I find fascinating.

If you could live in any other time, when would that be?
I think in 1870s America. Sometimes I really feel as though I was born in the wrong century. I’ve always wanted to be a warrior of sorts. Although I’ve neither the physique nor courage, I think it would be great being a part of forging a new society. Although I’d hope I’d know to be kinder to the indigenous populace than how they were ultimately treated.

What question do you never get asked in interviews that you wish people would ask? And what is your answer?
What kind of beer do you like. Answer: Anything not brewed by Miller or Budweiser.