The Next Big Thing: FATHER GAETANO\u2019S PUPPET CATECHISM<\/p>\n
\n
So\u2026most of you probably know this already\u2026maybe\u2026possibly.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u2019s a wonderful blog-contagion going on, something called THE NEXT BIG THING.\u00c2\u00a0 A blog-hop, they call it, and in it authors are mean to answer a handful of questions about their latest work and then tag five or so other authors to do the same the following week.\u00c2\u00a0 As you might imagine, it\u2019s growing exponentially.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean, do the math, right?\u00c2\u00a0 A month or so ago, my good friend Stephen Volk ( http:\/\/www.stephenvolk.net\/<\/a> ) asked me if I wanted to do it, but I was on a craaazy deadline for my upcoming thriller for St. Martin\u2019s, SNOWBLIND, which is now complete.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, a week or so ago, the great and funny and charming and brilliant Dana Cameron tagged me.\u00c2\u00a0 I was on a different deadline, no less desperate, but I realized that if I didn\u2019t jump in, I was going to miss the Next Big Thing entirely.\u00c2\u00a0 The circus would have passed me by.\u00c2\u00a0 Also, I didn\u2019t want Dana mad at me.\u00c2\u00a0 Bitch\u2019ll cut a guy.<\/p>\n \n Of course, I was supposed to have this blog up yesterday, so I may yet face her wrath.<\/p>\n \n My answers to the questions\u2013and the poor suckers I\u2019ve tagged for next week\u2013are below, but you should also go and check out Dana\u2019s Next Big Thing blog from last week, and pick up her first urban fantasy, SEVEN KINDS OF HELL.\u00c2\u00a0 ( http:\/\/www.danacameron.com\/danas_notebook\/2012\/11\/#000056<\/a> )<\/p>\n \n Where did the idea come from for the book?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 FATHER GAETANO\u2019S PUPPET CATECHISM is the third book I\u2019ve done with Mike Mignola.\u00c2\u00a0 The prior novels (BALTIMORE and JOE GOLEM AND THE DROWNING CITY) were conceived by Mike.\u00c2\u00a0 This one\u2013though it has so many elements that are near and dear to Mike\u2019s heart\u2013was my idea.\u00c2\u00a0 We were on the phone one day, talking about our love of puppets and how unnerving they can be, and the idea hit me pretty much fully-formed, which is rare but nice.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s short and a St. Martin\u2019s has made a beautiful little book that would make the perfect Christmas gift for anyone who loves fantasy, horror, or just plain weird.<\/p>\n What genre does your book fall under?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s a supernatural story, so you could call it horror, but I think anyone who enjoys dark fantasy would enjoy it as well.<\/p>\n Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 Funnily enough, it isn\u2019t the actors I think of when I think of a film version of this story\u2013it\u2019s the style.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u2019d love to see it directed by someone like Henry Selick, done like Coraline<\/em> or Corpse Bride<\/em>.<\/p>\n What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 In the aftermath of a critical World War II battle, Father Gaetano believes that God has called him to teach catechism to a group of young orphans and to restore their faith in God, but he soon finds that it can be dangerous to rely too much on what one perceives as the wishes of one\u2019s creator.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, and there are puppets that come to life.\u00c2\u00a0 [Two sentences.\u00c2\u00a0 Sue me.]<\/span><\/p>\n Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 The book was published about six weeks ago, but was sold at the very tail end of a period of many years in which I represented myself, so the answer to that question is neither.\u00c2\u00a0 Shortly after selling the book to St. Martin\u2019s, I signed on with the great, and dashingly handsome, Howard Morhaim, and I feel fortunate to have him in my corner.<\/p>\n How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 About a month, I think.\u00c2\u00a0 Remember, it\u2019s a novella, not a full-length novel.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how long it took Mike to do the illustrations.<\/p>\n What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of any, really.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u2019m sure there are plenty and that readers can draw comparisons, but the first thing that comes to mind for me is The Twilight Zone<\/em>, and not because of the various living doll stories that Serling did.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u2019s just something about the subtle alteration of reality, the eeriness, and the way in which that series always used the supernatural to explore larger themes that I loved, and the influence of that show on a lot of my work is clear.\u00c2\u00a0 I do think that if you like creepy, then you\u2019ll like this story.<\/p>\n What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?<\/p>\n \n CG:\u00c2\u00a0 It\u2019s got a gorgeous cover and creepy illustrations by my co-author, Mike Mignola, who is not only the creator of Hellboy, but the greatest and truest artist working in comics today.<\/p>\n \n And those are the questions, folks.\u00c2\u00a0 The lovely and ruthless Dana Cameron tagged me this week, but she also tagged three other great writers.\u00c2\u00a0 Here\u2019s what Dad had to say about them\u2026.<\/p>\n Toni L. P. Kelner ( www.tonilpkelner.com<\/a> ): I’ve been a fan of Toni’s Kat Richardson’s (http:\/\/katrichardson.com\/<\/a>) latest novel Seawitch, was Elaine Viets (http:\/\/www.elaineviets.com\/<\/a>) has TWO series: the Helen *******************<\/p>\n \n And now we get to the folks I\u2019m tagging, the amazingly talented writers to whom I have spread the Next Big Thing contagion.\u00c2\u00a0 Look for their posts next Tuesday, December 12th<\/sup>!<\/p>\n \n S.G. Browne\u2019s latest novels are Lucky Bastard<\/em> (which has a neat little blurb from yours truly, every word of which I meant) and I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus<\/em>\u2026and you know you need that freakin\u2019 book right now.\u00c2\u00a0 http:\/\/sgbrowne.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n \n Cherie Priest is the author of the hugely successful Clockwork Century novels, including Boneshaker<\/em> and the latest, The Inexplicables<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 She\u2019s also written creepy-as-all-get-out Southern Gothic supernatural tales and urban fantasy, has dynamite fashion sense, and different hair every time I see her.\u00c2\u00a0 http:\/\/www.cheriepriest.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n \n Caitlin Kittredge is the author of the ass-kicking urban fantasy Black London<\/em> novels and the YA series The Iron Codex<\/em>, which has the best titles.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean, book two is The Nightmare Garden<\/em>, that\u2019s pretty damn cool.\u00c2\u00a0 She once told me that she\u2019s not ready for the zombie apocalypse but she is prepared for the kitten apocalypse.\u00c2\u00a0 Make of that what you will.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>http:\/\/www.caitlinkittredge.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, Amber Benson is the author of the Death\u2019s Daughter<\/em> series of urban fantasy novels, among other things, and yes, she\u2019s an actress-writer-director who has been elevated to the status of cult icon in recent years.\u00c2\u00a0 She\u2019s also my little sister, gave me the best nickname ever, and commandeers my daughter\u2019s \u201cprincess bed\u201d at every opportunity.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span>http:\/\/amberbensonwrotethis.blogspot.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As far as I know, the only thing that all four of these writers have in common is that they have all written short stories for anthologies I have edited, which means they bear the same psychological scars.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Happy Holidays!!!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Next Big Thing: FATHER GAETANO\u2019S PUPPET CATECHISM So\u2026most of you probably know this already\u2026maybe\u2026possibly.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u2019s a wonderful blog-contagion going on, something called THE NEXT […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.darkfluidity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\naward-winning writing since her Laura Fleming books, and wait until you
\nsee her new series, starting with The Skeleton in the Armoire (as Leigh
\nPerry)! I’ll let her tell you about that next week!<\/p>\n
\n#3 on the Locus Hardcover Bestseller list for November! Kat and I got
\nacquainted via anthologies Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (which Toni edited
\nwith Charlaine Harris) and most recently, Murder and Mayhem in Muskego.<\/p>\n
\nHawthorne “Dead End Job” mysteries, and the Josie Marcus “Mystery
\nShopper mysteries.” Elaine and I are both members of the Femmes Fatales
\n(as is Toni), and she’ll be posting her Next Big thing blog there.<\/p>\n