DEAD ROSES SPECIAL: NIGHT SEVEN: GROUP INTERVIEW

In this, the last of the interviews, "boo - hiss" I hear you scream, we have a group interview.

Simple idea behind this one. All five authors were sent the exact same questions but didn't know each other’s answers. The idea was to try and put them on the spot a bit and get a bit of banter going between them when I gave them a surprise and sent them a document with all of the others' answers attached.

Guess what? These guys are just too damn nice to each other and that idea fell flat on its face.

When they saw each other’s answers and I asked them for comments they were the quietest I have ever heard any of them this past month.

The only thing I can deduce from this is that this is like one big family. It’s perfectly clear the amount of mutual respect there is among these guys and it’s fantastic for us, the readers, to see this because it can only mean more from them in the future.

It’s either that or they were just totally sick with the number of questions I threw at them over this past few weeks!

Either way, here it is, the final Dead Roses interview.

As always, grab your poison and as it’s Easter Sunday, have a huge big roast dinner followed by some chocolate and sweets……and most of all, enjoy!!

COAF - Who’s the boss in this collaboration? Who decides the order of stories and what goes and what doesn’t?

EDWARD - Evans is the boss. He put it all together, and he gets the blame.

JASON - We vote on order, and it’s majority rule. I would say Evans is the ringleader. He corralled us together and made Bad Apples, our preceding anthology, a reality. I respect each author in this book, but Evans had a vision and the will to see it through… and the thoughtfulness to include me. I am thankful for that, and have immensely enjoyed being a part of both anthologies.

GREGOR - Evans Light is the boss. We get to vote on almost every aspect of the project (like cover art, story order, etc.) but he has veto power.

ADAM - It doesn’t feel like there is a boss. I don’t recall anyone ending up disappointed in the order of the stories, or anything like that. It’s been a team-oriented project all along, and we work together well.

EVANS - This project has been a true collaboration from day one. Jason Parent gets credit for coming up with the theme, but everything after that has been a group effort – the title, the art, the range of story concepts - everything. After reading the final stories, we voted to decide the story order. Since this title is being published via The Light Brothers' Corpus Press platform (which may open to limited submissions this year), I tend to be at the center of the project to a certain extent, but my role is definitely more “facilitator” than “boss”.

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COAF - Who’s the diva?

EDWARD - I’ll go ahead and raise my hand here. The other guys will agree. If they say it’s themselves or someone else, they’re lying. I’m a pain in the ass to work with.

JASON - Wow… talk about a tough question. If one of us were a diva, then wouldn’t it be problematic to call said diva a diva because said diva would get all diva-like about it?

Unless said diva is too much diva to read the others thoughts.

Anyway, I’ll say Adam. Yep, Adam. Adam who is so obviously the least diva like of all of us…

GREGOR - Edward Lorn, without question. He's the most tempestuous (soul) bitch I've ever had the pleasure of working with.

ADAM - What week is it?

EVANS - I’m not going to lie and say that there haven't been any disagreements between the five of us. You’re dealing with some strong personalities here, and we’ve had our share of conflict. Fortunately, we got most of that worked out during the creation of BAD APPLES: FIVE TALES OF HALLOWEEN HORROR, and the process has been much smoother this time around. We have a solid working relationship and have developed a nice kinship throughout these projects. Our Skype video sessions are like hanging out with friends.

Added by Evans - Since he’s already owning it, I’ll point at Edward, too. He’s occasionally gone full diva, but we love him anyway and it keeps life exciting.

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COAF - Which do you think is the best story in the book?

EDWARD - Hands down, “Loving the Goat,” by Gregor Xane. Good horror takes you out of your comfort zone. Gregor’s story drops an atom bomb on these comfort zones. It’s a total annihilation of comfort. One of those stories that make you question yourself for enjoying it. I dig affecting fiction, and “Loving the Goat” affected the fuck out of me.

A close second is Jason Parent’s “Eleanor”. That story will haunt me for some time, too. I know you only asked for my favorite, but this is one honorable mention I couldn’t skip.

JASON - Hmmm… I am kinda torn between two, but since I dodged the last one, I will say Evans’ story hit the mood and tone of this anthology best, plus it kind of had that Tales from the Crypt/ Tales from the Darkside kind of feel I grew up loving.

ADAM - They’re all equally amazing!

GREGOR - It's a tie between "Cinder Block" and "Eleanor." I like the imagery in "Eleanor," the challenging subject matter, the atmosphere. And I like "Cinder Block" because, of all the stories, it's the one delivered with what I consider to be expert execution.

EVANS - Ewww, that’s a touchy question. I enjoyed them all immensely, but ELEANOR probably struck closest to the bull’s-eye for me. It gave me just the right chill at the end to squeak into that “favourite” slot.

Added by Evans - I’ll second Edward’s analysis of Loving the Goat. “Total annihilation of comfort” is right. After I finished reading it, I didn’t have any words to describe it – but I did take a shower.

If you would like to grab yourself a signed Paperback of Dead Roses, click the link below.

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COAF - Do you help each other out with your individual stories or are they top secret until a reveal?

EDWARD - I don’t think any of us connected until after the stories were already written, and only then did we offer suggestions to one another. So I believe the answer to your question is: yes and no.

JASON - We all edit each other’s stories in one form of another. I can say both Adam and Edward had huge influences on the start and finish to my story respectively, and Gregor and Evans caught things I wouldn’t see in 100 pass throughs. I am thankful for all of their contributions to my tale.

GREGOR - We help one another out with content and line edits, and proofreading. All that. Every story goes through a fairly systematic editing process that involves all of the contributors.

ADAM - Everyone has been very open and helpful. I’ve gotten some valuable insights, suggestions, and editing help from all of the guys. I hope I’ve been equally helpful.

EVANS - We do first or second drafts in secret, sharing only the basic plot outline and theme up front, to ensure we don’t have stories that are too similar in the same collection. Once we get our stories reasonably complete, we share them with each other in a round-robin editing process to make each story the best that it can be.

If you would like to grab yourself a fantastic poster with the equally fantastic artwork from Mike Tenebrae, click the link below.

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COAF - Can we expect some more collaborations from you all?

EDWARD - I have so much fun working with these guys that they’ll need a restraining order to keep me away… which, truthfully, I wouldn’t put past them. In other words, I will be a part of the Bad Apples Crew for as long as they can put up with me.

JASON - I hope so. I think we got at least one more in us. I know if these guys ever want my help, input or collaboration, all they have to do is ask.

GREGOR - Yes. At least two more anthologies are in the pipeline.

ADAM - Absolutely.

EVANS - There’s at least one more anthology currently in the works from this crew, and you won’t have to wait too terribly long for it; after that, who knows? But I wouldn’t be surprised to see us working together again in the future. So many possibilities to explore!

THE END

Sadly that’s it for the interviews. They are all over. It’s been a mammoth task to try and put it all together but hopefully you have enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed working on it.

The only thing left in this Dead Roses Special week is my review of the book and that will come tomorrow night. Again, thank you for coming by all week and please come back for my own thoughts on the book tomorrow night.

I was going to thank all the guys again for their participation in this, but I'm getting all teary so I will leave it until tomorrow night......sniff.