Blog Archives
Edition 14: Author Interview: Wolf Creek prequel authors: Aaron Sterns and Brett McBean
Aaron Sterns (left) and Brett McBean, at prequels’ book launch (Notions Unlimited)
Q. Aaron and Brett, how did writing the Wolf’s Creek prequels come about for you? Aaron, I know you go a ways back with Greg McLean (writer/director of Wolf’s Creek). Is this how you came to writing the novel?
AS: Greg and I shared a writing office before Wolf Creek, actually. We gave feedback on each other’s work (including the script that eventually morphed into Creek), and had even collaborated on a script together before he’d got his first film up. When the film released we idly bandied around storylines for Mick Taylor graphic novels, before coming upon something we thought was actually big enough for the sequel. Great, Greg said—now go away and write it. So I wrote the first draft of Wolf Creek 2 maybe seven years ago now. Greg went on to direct his croc film Rogue (for which I was script-editor) and produced a number of films, but it was only a few years ago that he decided to return to a sequel to Creek. As this was progressing Penguin approached him to publish novelisations of the films, but the idea soon came up that wholly original prequel stories would be more interesting. People often asked about Mick Taylor’s background (he gives hints at being a roo shooter on a station and various other things in the first film), so delving into his past seemed very interesting. Having written the film sequel, and being a fiction writer as well, Greg approached me straightaway and asked me to write the first off the cab—the origin story of Mick Taylor. Read the rest of this entry
Edition 4: Interview with Daniel I. Russell
After donating his great story “Creeper” to us for SQ Mag 2, we got to pick Daniel’s brains on his career, horror, association membership and what editors are looking for in a story. SY
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
copyright Daniel I Russell, reproduced by permission
SQ: How long have you been writing horror and what was your first successful breakthrough?
DIR: I started writing in 2004, beginning with short stories that developed into novels. While I’ve not been as prolific as perhaps I could have been, I feel I’ve been pretty constant throughout that time, with something always on the go be it my own stories or editing the work of others.
Edition 4: Interview with Jay Lake
We had the opportunity to get to know Jay Lake a bit better, and we really appreciate him taking the time to chat to us. We talk about steampunk, writing and his brave battle with cancer. SY
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
SQ: Jay, you have written many steampunk stories and several of your novels are based on a clockwork world you created. What would you say are the strengths of this genre and why do you enjoy writing it?
JL: The great strength of steampunk as a genre is that it is hugely entertaining, and likewise it is nearly purely entertainment. Steampunk isn’t on a mission, doesn’t have a manifesto, and in my opinion doesn’t really even qualify as a literary movement in any deep sense. It’s a style, or a skin. So where cyberpunk, for example, was infused with cultural critique, and the New Wave was infused with political critique, steampunk is just messing around for the sheer joy of the thing. That’s precisely why I love writing it.
Edition 5: Interview with Gary McMahon
In edition 4 we were pleased to have published Gary McMahon’s short story,Toy, a compelling story about what is fashionable. In this review we are pleased to have Gary under the spotlight with some probing questions by Editor-in-Chief of SQ Mag, Sophie Yorkston. GH
SQ: What sparked your love of the horror and supernatural?
GMc: I’m really not sure. According to my mother, even as a small child I was drawn to the macabre. She tells a story about pushing me through a local market in my pram and letting me choose a poster for my room from a stall selling books, comics, posters, etc…apparently, I chose something with a man riding a giant spider and stabbing it in the eye with a spear. I actually remember that image. She didn’t let me have the poster.
SQ: Your writing has been compared to your countryman, Clive Barker. What do you think of this comparison? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Interview with Tonia Brown
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
My mom was a military wife, bore four daughters, raised them in a military environment with a husband that wasn’t always around (because of work) and constantly on the move. Once we all grew up, she followed her own dreams, returning to nursing school and eventually becoming an RN. I’ m proud/envious of her. I only hope to achieve half of what she has managed in her life.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Interview with Emma Newman
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
You know, I was thinking the other day that the role models who have had the most influence on me are male (My Dad, Doc Emmett Brown from Back to the Future and Indiana Jones—though that was mostly crush I think). Then I felt a bit sad. Where were the female role models in my life?
Then I remembered Princess Leia being a big hero of mine as a child. She kicks ass, she’s one of the rare women in film who are actual leaders—and shown leading others very capably—and she is so very brave. There’s Ripley (from Alien/s) too.
As I’ve got older I’ve discovered people like Aphra Behn, thankfully.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Interview with Cat Sparks
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
I’m presuming you mean writers. Growing up: Joan Aiken, Tove Jansson, Susan Cooper, Andre Norton, Vonda McIntyre, Doris Lessing, Maya Angelou. Now: Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Kim Wilkins, Octavia Butler, Margo Lanagan, Connie Willis.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 8: Interview with Cat Rambo
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Who were your greatest female role models?
There’s a lot of them. Some of the more influential have been my grandmother, who wrote YA novels under the name H.D. Francis, a number of 19th century suffragettes such as Matilda Joslyn Gage and Victoria Woodhull, and the writer Colette.
What do you feel is your greatest achievement as a writer to date? Read the rest of this entry
Edition 13: Interview with Jeremy C Shipp
Interview by Sophie Yorkston
Tell us a little about yourself? What are you like to meet?
I am a cat-loving, spork-wielding, tea-drinking primate living in a haunted house. The first time you meet me, I’m like Bashful, one of the seven dwarves from Snow White. The next time you meet me, I’ll be less shy. I’ll be a combination of Doc, Happy and Dopey.
You write dystopian, horror and bizarro fiction. Do you find that it overlaps and which is your favourite to write? Which is your favourite to read? Read the rest of this entry
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