SNM Horror Magazine

We will conduct 3 SNM author interviews per month

                      Interviews with a Vampire!

Lilith is our hot Author Interviewer at SNM Horror Mag. She is an aspiring writer and poet and has been published in Poetry.com and was also the editor for her high school newspaper. Her passion for journalism and art of literary writing has earned her the position as Author Interviewer. Having a dark passion for vampires and the horror genre, she has added a real distinctiveness to SNM's staff. Lilith, a Native American, lives in the very hot state of Arizona. Lilith is also a dark poet working on a vamp novel series. *You can visit her on her Myspace site for further details.

NOTE: Lilith is NOT accepting author's interviews directly, only those scheduled by the editors' monthly selections, and those by invite only. Thanks for your understanding! Sadly February will be the last month of Lilith's Interviews

Thank you, Lilith, SNM Horror Mag darkly embraces you.

         LILITH       

 www.myspace.com/shinigami_vamp_Lilith

Greetings and Farewell,

Note from the Editor: Lilith will be missed here and we wish her all the best in her journalism endeavors. She has completed her one year internship here at the SNM bootcamp for college credits and has had a great run in getting up close and in depth personally getting to know the secret dark lives of our authors. For now, we are going to retire this section after February that we may concentrate on bringing you more creativity from the regular fiction and dark poetry section. At least for now anyway. Please send fond farewell comments to Lilith as she has put a lot of energy in promoting you guys. She arrived on Valentine's month and leaves us a year later with fond farewells and many broken hearts...Thank you for all of your contributions to SNM.

SNM Author Jack Burton writes:

I am sad to see Lilith and the interviews section go. I must say it was usually very interesting and a great way for new authors to further promote their work. I understand Lilith having to leave and will miss her. While I like the new poetry section, I do hope that interviews return in the future.

Vampiric Markings Forever,

Mistress Kasandora Lilith

SNM Mag Author Interviews

Daniel Fabiani

A.J. Brown

 Jen Conley

Author Pen Name: Daniel Fabiani

Author Pen Name: A.J. Brown

LILITH: Howdy, Mr. A.J. how have you and the family been doing since the last time we spoke?

A.J: Did you notice the full body cast? Okay, maybe not full bodied, but...we have been doing well. My son broke my nose when he head-butted me a couple of months ago, but other than that and my muse beating me on a regular basis—she’s a slave driver—everything has gone as good as it was going to go. 

Lilith: I hear you’ve been a little under the weather so I hope that you are better now. I also hear that you are now part of Liquid Imagination’s staff. Care to tell how this all happened for you?

A.J: I’ve been part of LI pretty much right from the beginning. Kevin Wallis and Sue Babcock are really the workers with the E-zine. I’m not on staff with the E-zine, but that is due to too many other things I was working on at the time. What Sue and Kevin have done there along with Chrissy Davis as well, is really something to behold. Their focus on putting out good stories accompanied by artwork is paying off.

However, Liquid Imagination Publishing is a different story. It came about after the E-zine formed. It’s John Miller’s vision for not only publishing books, but also working with authors to help them in their quest to get their work out there for people to read. He has big plans and they may take a while to get off the ground, but I believe LIP is heading in the right direction. 

He asked me if I would be willing to help out with it. My initial response was, does he really want to have to work with a bull headed, opinionated southerner who has a nasty penchant for throwing wrenches into the best-laid plans? He was willing to have me along for the ride, so I’ve been helping out ever since. It has been a slow progress, kind of like the tortoise and the hare; slow and steady wins the race.

I believe, as long as we take a slow, methodical pace, then LIP will succeed and be around for a long time. The key is taking our time to develop.

LILITH: Care to tell us what Liquid Imagination has in the works? 

A.J: Right now, LIP has an anthology out, released recently. It’s the Second Static Movement Special Print Edition, which is a collection of the best stories that have appeared at the Static Movement E-zine over the last decade. It’s a really good book and I’m not just saying that because I worked on it.  It has some great writers in it, like P.S. Gifford, Ken Goldman, Mo Irvine, Eric Brown, Ken Head, Michael Hanson among others. Each story is accompanied with artwork and poetry. 

It was LIP’s first effort and it took a little over six months and a little bit of banging our heads against the wall. I think John ended up revising the format eight or nine times and it took a while to proof and make minor edits to the stories.

We’re currently in the process of working on another collection, a collaborative effort between several publications like a best of, titled Dreams and Screams. But it’s going to be a while before it comes out.

But if you want to check out the SMP2, you can get it here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/static-movement-print-special-no-2/8108039

LILITH: Do you still blog? How did you first get started in blogging?

A.J: That sounds kinda kinky...maybe we can use that term a little differently. ‘Ah, blog off, yah quack.’  Eh, maybe not.

Yes, I do, but not as much as I used to.  Age and is catching up with me and they haven't come out with Blo-agra yet, the little white pill that helps you blog.  But, if you blog for four hours or more a day, consult a doctor...

Fran Friel is the culprit behind my blogs. When The Horror Library.net was still around we had what was called The Horror Library Blog-O-Rama. She needed someone to fill in one of the days and I volunteered. 

My first blog was about Grover from Sesame Street. I kid you not. It was titled ‘Where Have All the Good Monsters Gone?’  I even put an image of the furry fellow up with it. The rest is blogging history.

LILITH: What was the name of the latest book you bought? Was it worth the price tag?

A.J: I just bought Stephen King’s ‘Just After Sunset’ and yeah, it was worth the ten bucks. I really love King’s short stories. It’s because of him that I even write. His short stories are full of energy and life. His forward mentions how some of the stories that popped into his head while writing novels just kind of died because he didn’t write them, which goes hand in hand with my preaching that writers need to let stories live—not to hold them back, but to let the stories tell themselves. But I am rambling...

LILITH: Of all the people on SNM Staff, who would you want to be your tag team partner in battling the undead? Why?

A.J: Well, let’s see. I’m going to have to rule Crystal Adkins out.  She’s a looker but I think she is already a zombie, at least according to the second image on the staff page. Steven has that finger gun working for him, but I don’t think it would be very effective against zombies. David looks like my kind of dude, slightly crazed look in the eyes and could probably wield a weapon in close combat.  You, well, my wife would kill me and I would be one of the undead if I took you along with me—even if you are talented with cattle prods, it would do me no good if I were one of them.  Yah know?  However, if my wife was one of the undead...oh no, stop it. 

Decisions, decisions...can I take one of the writers with me? No, okay.  Hmm ...eenie, meenie...

Okay, I think I’ll go with David. I bet deep down in that sane looking individual there’s a zombie killer and I bet he would kill them with passion.

LILITH: What gets you tongue-tied? 

A.J: My wife.  I’ve seen her naked...it’s really quite entrancing. Other than that, very little. I’m usually pretty quick-witted and opinionated and I don’t get flustered all that easily. Maybe you. Shhh! You’re not supposed to tell anyone about that!  

LILITH: Have you been working on any goods that you'd like to tell us about? 

AJ: I’ve been doing more studying here lately trying to become a better writer takes a lot of work. I’ve written five or six short stories in the last two or three weeks and have started working on something I am calling ‘My Brothers and I,’ a zombie novel, but not in the sense of your standard Zombie stories. I have a novel I really want to crank out titled, ‘Cory’s Way.’ I’ve gotten into it, put it away, gotten back into it...sometimes I just don’t feel I can write a full novel and make it good. I hate fluff and I find the only way I can write a 120K word novel is to fill it with crap—and that’s just not something I am comfortable with.

LILITH: Care to give readers a mini version of Clarissa

A.J: Clarissa is a succubus, but a little modified. She gives men what they want in return for what they offered her, even if they really didn’t offer her anything at all. Kind of like Mark, the male character in the story.  He never offered her anything, but she heard what he said about her and, for her, that’s as good as an offer can be.

LILITH: What was going on in your life that you were inspired to create "Clarissa"?

A.J: I actually wrote Clarissa fifteen years after the fact. The idea came from a conversation that took place outside of the office I worked in at the time. This really attractive woman that worked in that building walked by a few of us.We were standing outside the doors when she walked up. One of my buddies held the door for her and we all watched her go inside.  Her skirt left little to the imagination.

When my friend closed the door, he turned and said to us, “I’d give my right arm, left leg and both nuts to see where those legs lead.” We were all in agreement on the statement. So I started wondering, what would she want in return for seeing where her legs lead? 

I really wasn’t taking writing all that seriously at the time so I kind of let the thought slip by.  The thing is, every time I would see that woman—which is almost every day since we now work for the same employer—I would think about that statement. Finally, about three years ago I sat down and wrote ‘Clarissa’ with her as the model for the title character.

LILITH: Seeing as how it's your 5th time being published at SNM have you seen any works that caught your attention from our other SNM authors?

A.J: I love Paula Ray and Suzie Bradshaw. Deth Hetherington is great, so when I see something anywhere with them in it, I read it, but they have all appeared here in SNM, both Paula and Suzie were featured recently. Get more of Paula in there—her words...they melt in your mouth when you read them.  She has quickly become my favorite female writer.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Ask and you shall receive. Hers is the 2nd featured story on February Issue 1. Now back to our show... 

LILITH: What was your New Year's resolution?

A.J: To get slapped more often...That was going to be a segue to a dirty joke, but, didn’t want to come across as a putz, so I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore. No one ever keeps them, least of all me.

Instead of resolutions, I set goals for myself. One of which just happened: I am being interviewed by Miss Lilith again! I think I bugged Steven about it so much he probably wanted to smack me in the back of the head.

I want to make some pro sales this year. I also have this goal, which may not happen but I’m going to give it the old college try:  There is this particular publication that puts out 12 issues a year. Can you guess my goal from that small bit of info?

LILITH: Where can all our hot female readers stalk you?

A.J: There’s Facebook and MySpace and my blog and that’s pretty much it, for now. I’ve thought about doing a website, but I’m not certain I have the time to maintain one and I don’t have the money to have someone maintain it for me. 

www.myspace.com/ajbrown360

http://theoddramblingsofajbrown.blogspot.com/

LILITH: Thanks for honoring me with this second interview A.J., good luck with all your work, sweetie, and keep submitting to SNM.

A.J: Lilith, it is always a pleasure to chat with you. Thank you for inviting me back to the Crypt. Until we meet again...ummm, can you point the way out of here?  I got lost last time and ended up in the room with these hot Goth girls and they have this thing about knives, men, and lower extremities...

LILITH: Just keep going down until you reach the climax...err, end, whatever you call it. I bid you a  fond farewell, Mr. A.J.

Author Pen Name: Jen Conley

Jen Conley lives in Brick, New Jersey with her husband and son. She has graduated from Elon College, North Carolina with a degree in English Literature and has been teaching middle school for twelve years. She was born and raised in New Jersey and lived in London, England in the early 1990’s. Her stories have been published in RE:AL, R-KV-R-Y, Dispatch, Faraway Journal, Nexus, and 2x in SNM Horror Mag, where her story “Old Hag’s Syndrome” was selected as “Story of the Month” in December 2008. Her return to SNM has been over a year in the making. Readers will find her first paid print story in BBB II.

LILITH: Hi Jen, it's good seeing you back again. We had our first interview this time last year. Old Hag's Syndrome was your story. What feedback did you get about it and what did you think of what you heard? 

Jen: Everyone who read it seemed to say good things—like it scared them, sent chills up their spines—all great compliments for a horror story. I like to scare people.

LILITH: Have you gotten published anywhere else since last we spoke?

Jen: Just one story in the magazine called Nexus.

LILITH: Your new story, "The Photograph," tell us about it.

Jen: It tells the story of a John who goes on a service call to an elderly man’s house and finds a lot of money. The elderly man dies and John leaves him there, taking the money and a photo of the elderly man’s wife. The photograph quietly pushes him further into murderous deeds...

LILITH: Have you done any traveling lately?

Jen: Yes I have! I love to travel. I’ve been down to Baltimore a few times to see some of my friends and my sister down in the mountains of North Carolina. However, my big trip this year was to Europe. We went to England, France, Switzerland and Germany. I’m a huge fan of Europe, especially England. (I lived there on and off for a couple of years, way back in the 1990s.)

LILITH: Have you taken up any new hobbies lately? Are you interested in trying something new?

Jen: No new hobbies. I've been pretty busy with my teaching, my son and husband, and my writing. I have a new position at work—I’m the Enrichment teacher. I pull kids out of class and we read or do some projects on the theme of crime. We’ve been reading Alexander Pushkin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. We’ve also been doing forensic experiments and trying to figure out famous murder cases. Lots of fun!

LILITH: What are you looking forward to this year?

Jen: Hopefully some more publications and an agent. I gave up looking for an agent in the beginning of last year. It’s just too exhausting. But I’m going to press forward again.

LILITH: You’re working on a novel, can you spare a few details that we can eat up and look forward to reading soon?

Jen: It’s a gritty Chick Lit novel. It tracks the life of a woman who has trouble with men and a career, only she is more of a blue-collar type of girl trying to move up. It hops from New Jersey to London, England and my main character gets herself or falls into one difficult situation after another. The main love interest is a former metal head/recovering pot head/alcoholic. I tried to go for anti-type of hero. Something different.

I also started another one, but I’m only a few chapters in. It’s about a 20-year-old unsolved murder. Sounds like a cliché, but I’m trying to change it up a bit. After many years, a woman runs into her murdered sister’s ex-boyfriend down in Atlantic City. He explains the dead girl has been speaking to him at night in his dreams, that she’s trying to tell him something. This sends the woman into a whirlwind trip into her past to uncover the murderer. I like murder mysteries, but I like them with a creepy edge like the movie Zodiac. That’s my inspiration for this novel.

LILITH: The whole world goes into a complete blackout for a full year, what do you do?

Jen: Watch out for cannibals and adjust to the dark! I just finished The Road a few months back. Now that’s a scary book!

LILITH: Have you watched any interesting films lately. Have any recommendations?

Jen: I really liked Transsiberian starring Woody Harrelson. I think it was a sleeper, but it’s quite good. Very menacing.   

LILITH: Have you attended any conventions recently? If not, are there any that you are interested in attending?

Jen: I’m heading to the Algonkian Writer’s Conference in NYC in March. It’ll be my first time at this one. It’s more of a pitch conference—for my novel.

LILITH: Have you met any of the authors from SNM Horror Magazine, if so tell us a little about it. If not, who would you like to meet and strike up a convo with?

Jen: I haven’t met anyone, and I would love to hang out with any of the writers. But I have to say, I think Steve Marshall is doing a great job on this mag. His professionalism is awesome.

LILITH: Where can our hot readers find you online?

jenconley39@yahoo.com 

You can be my Facebook friend. I’m under Jen Taylor Conley.

Jen: Thank you so much and all the best to you in the future!

     Kasandora Lilith       Crystal Adkins