Fresh Voice: John Jasper Owens!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of John Jasper Owens.

What is your ultimate writing goal?

I'd like to be able to support myself as a novelist, that failing, as a content provider, that failing, as a creative writing teacher with barely concealed bitterness, that failing, as a riverboat gambler who tells interesting stories between hands of faro.

Why do you write?

Because I have to. Pat, but true.

Your writing style is at turns immersive and satirical. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?

I rock a lot of different styles and genres. It's a conscious decision. My natural "voice" (I hate putting things in quotations, but that calls for it) is probably first person POV with some language issues and occasional wry asides. I tend to poke at the fourth wall and speak directly to the reader - not always a good thing.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?

I could do a laundry list here and I'd still leave a dozen people out. The first name that popped into my head was TC Boyle, so lets go with him. Been reading a lot of Robert Parker lately.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?

I like to entertain people. It's all very "look at me," the same plague that afflicts actors and comedians. As far as writing as a business, I enjoy the usual perks - flexible hours, etc. Satire groupies.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?

Actor or comedian, apparently.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?

Rewrite.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

Now that's a tough one. I've had a lot of creative writing classes and been in a lot of workshops; I've had a great deal of good advice fall on my head. I'll tell you the best advice I ever found out on my own - some editors get you and some don't. The same piece that gets bounced with a form rejection can easily be bought with an enthusiastic acceptance next submission. It's nothing personal (it really isn't).

Extra Credit Question: What advice would you give to struggling authors?
Know the market you're submitting to. The most beautiful slice of life family drama ever written will never, ever, ever be accepted at a fantasy magazine. But fantasy mags get that kind of stuff all the time. And if you actually read a market before you sub to it, your chance of acceptance goes up exactly 4,000%.

John Jasper Owens was born in the south and wasn't able to achieve escape velocity. A decent example of his work can be found here.

Fresh Voice: Lydia Ondrusek!

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." - E.E. Cummings

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Voices. We are delighted to share with you the voice of Lydia Ondrusek.

What is your ultimate writing goal?

Today I saw people freaking out that a particular classic book appeared to be out of print. My ultimate writing goal is that someday after a similar discovery people rush to confirm, with sighs of relief, that MY books are still available. And order new copies, of course.

Why do you write?

I write because it helps me understand what I think and how I feel – it’s me talking to me. Do I want people to listen while I talk to myself? You bet. Writing is a paradox, a private performance art.

Your writing style is reflective and whimsical. Have you worked to achieve that voice or is it just a natural style for you?

A combination of natural and worked. To read me is to hear me – but a version of me edited for clarity, rhythm, and color. Writing is my makeup.

Who are your favorite authors and why do you like them?

My favorite author, overall, is the late Dick Francis. If someday I can write as well as he did on his very worst days, I will count myself fortunate. He’s got it all, characterization, plot, and takeaway. I like Evanovich, Koontz, and King also, for their humor and their ability to draw characters.

As far as influence goes, I think James Thurber’s my biggest one. There are a lot of others, but Thurber’s writing *and* his drawings have the feeling I go for in my writing – that something unseen, unimagined, completely unplanned-for, is happening all the time, just around the corner – and that if you go around that corner fast enough, you’ll be part of it, for better or for worse.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?

The astounding camaraderie possible in this so-called solitary life. That, and wearing pajamas to work.

If you couldn't be a writer but knew you were guaranteed success at a different career, what would you choose?

A musician or an artist. Something that would let me communicate.

If you had to describe your writing in one word, what would that word be?

Barefoot.

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

Actually, it wasn’t advice, per se – it was King’s definition of writing from “On Writing.” If writing is telepathy, as he says, then my job is to make my “send” as clear as it needs to be, without compromising the story I mean to tell.

Lydia Ondrusek is a long-married SAHM of two who describes herself as writing her way out of a paper bag. She writes fiction (mostly flash) and poetry, and like everyone else in the known universe, is working on a novel. Okay, two. She is not writing what she meant to write, but feels that she is writing what she’s meant to write. If you’d like to read one of her stories online, “Shift” represents the light side of the coin, and “Gruff” -- the other. You don’t have to tell which one you pick. Oh, and if you like poetry (and New Orleans) you might enjoy “Nola, When She Sings.” More can be found on her fan page at www.sniplits.com and www.lydiaondrusek.com.

Thank you for reading this edition of Fresh Voices. Feel free to follow the Fresh Voices list on Twitter or nominate yourself or another author as a Fresh Voice. 

Blooming Author: Aaron Polson!

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” ~ George Sheehan

Aaron Polson is a horror writer who has three books coming out. The House Eaters will be available from Virtual Tales in 2010; Loathsome, Dark, and Deep will be available from Belfire Press in November, 2010; and The Saints Are Dead will be available early 2011.

You have a lot of books coming out soon! Tell us about them. What are they about and where will they be available?

The House Eaters is a YA dark fantasy set in a fictional small town in Kansas.  The narrator’s family is forced to move when his mother loses her job in Kansas City.  Unfortunately, they move into a neighborhood plagued by an ancient, Native American “eating monster.”  Nick (the narrator) has a few romantic entanglements to sort through on the way to putting the monster to rest.

Loathsome, Dark, and Deep chronicles the journey of a Civil War veteran and employee of a lumber company as he travels up the Lewis River (in Oregon) to uncover a mysterious stoppage of wood from the mountain camps.  The narrative is a little heavier than The House Eaters, and features what I once called “Steampunk Zombies” on my blog.  They aren’t really zombies, of course, but I won’t spoil anything for potential readers.  I found some inspiration for the initial part of the book in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but it quickly took on a life of its own.

Finally, The Saints are Dead is a collection of previously published and original short fiction, all written in a style I like to call “dark magical realism.”  Among the eighteen stories are nominees for storySouth’s Million Writers Award (one story making the short list) and a “Recommended Read” from Tangent Online.  Enchanted goldfish, secret backyard cities, library-dwelling monsters, and magic playgrounds all have a place in the book.

Each will be available in paperback through several online retailers (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc.), and through Ingram to traditional, brick and mortar booksellers.  The novels will also be available as ebooks.

What were your inspirations for these books? What sorts of thing inspire you as a writer in general?

I’m inspired by the magic question: “What if?”
What if the goldfish my best friend dumped in the river as a kid grew to ridiculous size?
What if gold-hungry loggers in the 1800s discovered a way to control human behavior?
What if there really was something which lived in my basement, and it was hungry?
I’m also inspired, in general, by trying to think of the world in a different way each day.

What is your writing process? How do you approach a story, do you start with outlines or something else?

I write every day, even if I eventually scrap what I’ve set on digital paper.  I do most of my work in my basement, but we have a trusty old laptop that serves well in a pinch. As for outlining, the most important thing (for me) is to have an ending in mind.  At least I know where I’m heading—the general direction of a narrative.  If all those “what ifs” along the way add to something different, so be it.  A basic skeleton isn’t a bad idea, but I have to be flexible or I’ll write myself in a corner.

Where did you work when writing? Do you think it was the optimal writing environment for you?

As I stated in #3, I usually write in the basement—a room I call (somewhat ironically) the “Man Cave”.  It isn’t a very “manly” space at all.  The walls are lilac.  A picture of St. John the Evangelist from the Book of the Kells hangs on one wall.  My children (Owen, 6 and Max, 4) have plenty of paintings on the other walls.  But I need relative calm to actually lose myself in the process.  Music helps, too.  I usually choose one album for each book and listen to it on repeat.  Often, this album is ambient—for Loathsome, Dark, and Deep it was Stalker by Robert Rich and B. Lustmord.

Tell us about your "story of getting published." How long did you submit before you were accepted? How did it feel to get accepted?

Funny, my first acceptance for a short story came on a Saturday morning after I’d submitted on Friday.  Granted, I’d been subbing for six or seven months at that point…

I received a number of agent rejections with The House Eaters, including one rewrite request, before going with a small press.  I went straight to the small press with Loathsome and The Saints are Dead.  Small presses are leaner beasts, and in my experience, are more willing to take chances on material that might not be as widely marketable.  Major publishers have “big mouths” to feed.

What are the publicity plans you have coming up?

I’ll be giving things away, of course.  Signed books, homemade chapbooks with original fiction, other fun stuff.  I’m working on trailers for each book this summer; I enjoy tinkering with video, so it’s been fun.  Fire features prominently in both novels, so I’ve even considered doing a book burning contest. Crazy publicity grab or act of genius?  I don’t know.  But I do teach Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s classic about censorship and burning books, in my day job.

Keep in touch with Aaron on his blog or on twitter.

Check out Aaron's writing in the short story collection "Fifty-Two Stitches: Horror Stories (Volume 1)."