Why write?

At heart, I’m an entertainer. I like to make people laugh, think, and feel. And for me, writing gives me a lot of creative control in a very satisfying way; it comes as an extension of myself, and that’s rewarding to me.

If you didn’t write, what would you do?

If I didn’t write, I’d most likely act. I mean, I do that anyway, but I’d rather write and direct.

If you could hunt any speculative fiction creature ever imagined (except one of your own), would you?

No contest.

Which one?

The Jabberwock.

Why?

Are you kidding me? It’s all about the vorpal blade! Oh, all right. I love the profession of “Monster Hunter” in fiction. My own modern day pulp character, Sam Bowen, certainly qualifies in that role. One of the first things I thought of when I was working on the character was having someone say, “You’re the man who killed the Jersey Devil!” So, I like the idea of something cryptozoological in nature, like the Jersey Devil or the chupacabra, being out there. That’s what I’d go after.

If you could have any speculative fiction creature ever imagined (except one of your own) as a pet, would you?

Eh, I’m not a pet-guy.

Which one?

I want a dog, but really, what I want is Chewbacca–a dog smart enough to fly a space ship. But speculatively, I’ll take a flying monkey, thank you very much.

Why?

Because who wouldn’t want one of those?

You are on a holodeck: You’re sitting in an intergalactic bar, sipping your favorite beverage, waiting expectantly for someone to take a seat at your table. Which author from any era does?

No contest. Robert E. Howard.

Why? What do you talk about or do? More importantly, which chair does he sit in?

He would sit down in a straight-backed wooden chair, and he’d lean back in it as we talked about golden age fighters and Texas Rangers. If this Robert E. Howard is thirty years old, I’d ask him a lot of questions about the last six months of his life. Otherwise, I’d want to swap tall tales with him and listen to his take on Breck Elkins, Sailor Steve Costigan, and Solomon Kane.

Why write the Foreword you wrote, make that particular presentation and set up for the anthology? What appealed to you about being included in Rage of the Behemoth?

As someone who grew up reading sword and sorcery and being constantly disappointed when S & S movies came on HBO or landed in the video store (Ator: the Fighting Eagle? Come on…), I realized there was a huge disconnect between source material and what we end up watching on film. For me, sword and sorcery really benefits from a singular viewpoint, whether it’s Moorcock, Lieber, or Howard, or even Wagner or Gemmell… they all infuse their work with a viewpoint and a concern that is largely absent from quest-driven narratives and what I call “generic” fantasy, the AD&D-style game book knock offs. RotB is one of a handful of new efforts to re-invigorate the field, and I am all for anyone who wants to do it. I want to read fantasy and find that I largely cannot, thanks to the glut of urban fantasy romances and nine-book sagas wherein some object has to be destroyed in order for everyone to live happily ever after (sound familiar?). I could not possibly be more bored with all of that.

Do you write/read aloud to/with anyone (family member or friend)?

Oh yes. You gotta read out loud. It’s the best way to catch syntax mistakes, check dialogue, etc.

Quick: For each of the below, what’s your first thought in regards to the future of genre fiction:

Publishing: Dying, dead, on life support – or just going through a change? If it’s any of the first three, will it be euthanized or revitalized?

Going through a change. If Kindle takes hold and becomes a standard technology, that’ll be what short stories migrate to. I’m hoping.

Reading Formats: Print, electronic, audio, or interactive?

I prefer print, and I only read ebooks when I have no other recourse. I’m looking at a Kindle. I’ve played with it; it’s nice. But for me, I want the strain of holding a book in my hands. I’m old fashioned.

Books: Hardcover, trade paperback, mass market, other?

I’m a book collector, so all formats appeal to me as a reader. I want it complete, and everything else is secondary.

Preference for reading/writing: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy Fiction, Horror Fiction?

I prefer to write, of course, and I’m an enthusiastic but terrible artist. I read a little of everything, including real history and even some science.

Thank you for penning the forward to Rage of the Behemoth Mark, and for sharing your answers to the RBE mini-interview.

Mark Finn’s foreword “A Scattering of Jewels” opens Rage of the Behemoth, setting the tone of the anthology right away. Mark is the author of Blood & Thunder: the Life and Art of Robert E. Howard, as well as numerous essays, articles, short stories, and radio scripts. You can find more about his material at www.clockworkstorybook.net.

An opening excerpt

Mock Sword and Sorcery at your own peril.

Oh, we all know the clichés, for they haunt us on late-night movie channels: overly-muscled bodybuilders in furry diapers, wielding thick swords with even thicker accents, trading ham-fisted dialogue with Italian women in metal bikinis…it seems like a parody, really. In fact, it’s exactly that.

I’m not sure who thought it was a brilliant idea to compartmentalize popular fiction into all of the various ‘styles’ that we have now, but I’ve always thought it was a huge mistake. After all, if you have a historical character in a historical setting fighting fantastic creatures, is it fantasy or is it historical fiction? Consider that people in the Middle Ages actually believed in monsters before you make your choice. I’d argue that a dragonslayer book has just as much right to be considered historical fiction, if indeed the author did the research necessary to ground the tale in a believable setting. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Watch for review praise for Rage of the Behemoth!

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