I was recently interviewed by the lovely and talented Silvia Moreno-Garcia over at Innsmouth Free Press regarding my stint at Clarion West and Writers of the Future. I was extremely pleased to do the interview, first off because Silvia’s a friend, and a fellow Vancouverite, but also because I’m excited by the concept behind Innsmouth Free Press.
From their website:
Innsmouth Free Press is a fictional newspaper publishing faux news in a Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos universe, as well as original short fiction stories. We also feature some of Lovecraft’s classic tales.
My own fiction has, of late, been inspired by the Lovecraftian Mythos. It feels like a rejection of the popular “god as just a dude with super powers” theme that’s emerged recently. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read my share of Forgotten Realms/Dragonlance novels and loved them, but if you want to write outside of media fiction, you should steer clear of their ideas too, and the “gods as suped-up characters” is really their thing.
To Lovecraft, gods and demons were alien to our universe, and thus, by definition, beyond comprehension. The divine beings who show up in my fiction are closer to the one described in Nancy Kress’ award winning short story “Trinity” than an old guy in a beard–that is to say, creatures of such immense power that we are as beyond Their notice as an ant is to us. Or an amoeba.
Innsmouth has also been publishing some of my favourite spec fic personalities, from Campbell Award Winner Mary Robinette Kowal in their latest issue, to editor/writer Nick Mamatas in their debut. With such big names anchoring each issue, expect great things from this little magazine.