{"id":1849,"date":"2016-09-14T15:31:48","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T15:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/?p=1849"},"modified":"2016-09-14T16:13:06","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T16:13:06","slug":"sinister-centipede-interview-with-john-claude-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/sinister-centipede-interview-with-john-claude-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Sinister Centipede: Interview with John Claude Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another author interview! This week, I’m pleased to feature John Claude Smith. John Claude is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated novel, Riding the Centipede<\/em>, as well as the scribe of numerous short stories and the collection, The Wrath of Concrete and Steel <\/em>from Dynatox Ministries.<\/p>\n

Recently, John Claude and I discussed his debut novel as well as his writing plans for the future.<\/p>\n

A couple icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>It\u2019s not a choice as I\u2019ve always written—don\u2019t all writers say that?—but the point when I realized I should do something serious with writing was in my late twenties. \u00a0It was how I spent my free time, and even moments while at work, scribbling notes, poems, tales, etc. \u00a0I started submitting short stories—really bad ones, for the most part, but one must start somewhere—to magazines soon thereafter.<\/p>\n

As for favorite authors, there are always too many to name, and so many current writers inspire me with every new tale they publish. \u00a0We\u2019re really in a prime era for Weird fiction, which is what I enjoy most, but dark, speculative fiction, in general. \u00a0So, a few from now: Damien Angelica Walters, Scott Nicolay, Laird Barron, S.P. Miskowski, Christopher Slatsky\u2026and a few from before, though some still write wonderful tales: J.G. Ballard, Clive Barker, Kathe Koja, Lucy Taylor, Charlee Jacob, Joe R. Lansdale, Thomas Ligotti\u2026<\/p>\n

Congratulations on all your success with your debut novel, Riding the Centipede<\/em>! What initially inspired you to write a dark Hollywood noir, and what was the most surprising part of becoming a first-time novelist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you! \u00a0Well, to be honest, as with many writers, the first published novel is not the first novel written. I had written two novels and one other in need of only the finale prior to writing RtC<\/em>. \u00a0The seed for RtC<\/em> was a short idea I\u2019d written about two guys on a trek to where William S. Burroughs was buried, because they\u2019d heard about the \u2018ultimate trip\u2019 one could take by injecting Burroughs\u2019 dead body with some of their blood, then taking the mixture after it incubates, and injecting it into themselves. Hence, the ultimate trip. \u00a0I took this idea and fleshed it out. \u00a0That\u2019s when Private Investigator, Terrance Blake, came into the picture. \u00a0At this point, I let it roll however it wanted to take shape. \u00a0That\u2019s when the runaway drug addict, Marlon Teagarden, joined the fray. \u00a0The Hollywood background just kind of happened\u2014I don\u2019t ask questions when the Muse is showing me the path. \u00a0And then, in the devious ways the Muse works, she introduced me to the nuclear menace, Rudolf Chernobyl\u2026<\/p>\n

The most surprising aspect of getting RtC<\/em> out comes down to two things: from a writing point of view, the fact that I undertook a novel with three perspectives was rather daunting but too much fun. I\u2019d never attempted anything like this. \u00a0I feel like I pulled it off, kept everything balanced, fairly well. \u00a0From a professional point of view, the great responses to the novel were not exactly a surprise, so much as the overall positive nature of them, including its having been a finalist in the Bram Stoker Superior Achievement in a First Novel category, something I will always cherish. I figured, perhaps I had done something right.<\/p>\n

Over the last few years, you’ve written a number of short stories, which have gone on to be published in venues such as Nightscript<\/em> and The Beauty of Death<\/em>. How is your process the same or different when you are writing long versus short fiction?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Riding<\/a>The difference used to be, short tales were driven by an image or a singular intent, while longer pieces allowed more room to add layers, depth to character, etc. \u00a0At this point in my so-called writing career, I sense a desire to write longer pieces most of the time, so every short piece, unless it\u2019s meant to fit into a specific word count, might have more meat added to the bones and become something more than I initially intended. \u00a0(When I say meat, I do not mean flab. Never flab. Muscular and lean is what I think of when I read most of my tales, especially the longer ones, which may sound contradictory, but is not\u2026if you read them.) \u00a0But, because I enjoy what can be said with more words, the need to keep shorter tales within a certain word count has forced me to sharpen what I say, how I say things, so even the shorter tales might become something more, something stronger. \u00a0I sense having written a good number of longer pieces\u2014I love novelettes\u2014this has improved how I go about writing short stories. \u00a0The process used to feel much different, but now, perhaps not as much. \u00a0I write. \u00a0Whatever is necessary for the tale is how I go about writing it, no matter the length.<\/p>\n

Your collection, The Wrath of Concrete and Steel<\/em>, is available now from Dynatox Ministries. What can we expect from this title (gorgeous cover, by the way!)? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Jordan Krall, the head of Dynatox Ministries\/Dunhams Manor Press, showed me the cover, my response was immediate: I loved it! \u00a0As for the \u201ccollection,\u201d it\u2019s less a collection and more a three-pack of weird tales written with an urban backdrop. \u00a0The tales are in a way perhaps subtler than some of my work, but I say this then realize there\u2019s a scene here and there that might make the reader step back, so who knows? I do know the first tale, \u201cThe Land Lord,\u201d a 15.6k novelette, and the last tale, \u201cThe Wounded Table,\u201d a 4.9k short story, are amongst what I consider to be my very best writing\u2026so far.<\/p>\n

An aside: I recently, with the impending release of Wrath<\/em>, have thought of my books in music terms, ahem. \u00a0I\u2019ve got two full-length albums (my collections, The Dark is Light Enough for Me<\/em>, and Autumn in the Abyss<\/em>), a full-length concept album (Riding the Centipede<\/em>), three limited edition singles (my single-tale chapbooks, Dandelions<\/em>, Vox Terrae<\/em>, and The Anti-Everything<\/em>) and now, my first E.P.!<\/p>\n

As a horror writer, what do you hope to see in the future for the genre?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is actually a hard question, because what I want from any writing is simply better writing—writing that sings—and tales that capture the imagination. \u00a0Period. \u00a0Stories that connect on a human level, then take that connection and really shake things up, inspiring awe or dread or any number of responses.<\/p>\n

As for specifically horror, perhaps growth away from the tropes, not that there\u2019s not a place for them, but expanding the vision of what we do seems a more relevant move. \u00a0Diversity of voices and a broader scope of ideas really inspire my own writing as well.<\/p>\n

What upcoming projects are you working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much in the mix. \u00a0I\u2019m presently writing two novellas\/short novels, one of which should be completed by, say, the end of August. \u00a0It actually deals with one of those aforementioned tropes, and spins it on its head. \u00a0I also have three more tales to write to complete my longest collection of short stories. \u00a0Two if not all three of the tales promise to have some meat on them, being novelettes if not a novella for one of them. \u00a0A couple short stories for anthology requests fills out the rest of this year, though at all times there\u2019s the possibility of a new tale here and there\u2026<\/p>\n

Big thanks to John Claude Smith for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find him online at Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> as well as his blog, The Wilderness Within<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy reading!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another author interview! This week, I’m pleased to feature John Claude Smith. John Claude is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated novel, Riding the Centipede, as well as the scribe of numerous short stories and the collection, The Wrath of Concrete and Steel from Dynatox Ministries. Recently, John Claude and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1849"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1916,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1849\/revisions\/1916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gwendolynkiste.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}