Author Archives: fictorians

A guest post by R.R. Virdi

November 15^th 2016 marked the fifteen year anniversary of science fiction masterpiece that impacted an entire generation. I’m talking about Halo: Combat Evolved. Debuting in 2001 on Microsoft’s gaming console Xbox, Halo brought first person shooters to the mainstream.

Lifelong gamers will note that Halo didn’t revolutionize the shooter genre. In fact, much of what it gave us had already been done by the James Bond gaming adaptation Goldeneye. Multiplayer matches over multitier levels in the first person shooter style. Halo dialed it to eleven. It introduced vehicular warfare, objective based game types such as: Capture the Flag, and Assault.

It’s greatest impact however? Major League Gaming. The professional esports organization sprung to life in 2002 and exploded with Halo’s successor, Halo 2. But it was the first game that laid the groundwork.

Halo’s well-made and addictive multiplayer matches reached the point where a national competition was held in the United States for the best player. Something that would lead to video games foraying onto a stage reserved for professional athletics and the like. This was the start of the Halo Empire.

After its resounding success, developer, Bungie, and parent corporation, Microsoft Studios hit the ground running on producing a still-continuing series of novel adaptations to expand on the game’s world.

The same year of Halo’s release on console would be when Halo: The Fall of Reach landed on bookshelves. It wasn’t the first novel based off of a video game, but it would be the first of what’s still considered arguably the best literary adaptations of a video game, as well as the longest running. The Fall of Reach gave gamers what they wanted and in the best fashion.

A backstory.

Halo: Combat Evolved gave us the Master Chief, a super-soldier raised from birth and enhanced to become humanity’s vanguard against an alien threat. Or so we thought. The prequel novel answered all of the questions we had about his origins without requiring developers to make a new game or dump resources into adding a backstory that could bog down a title. It was well done and it showed. Fans wanted more.

Within the next two years, the Halo franchise released two more novels. An adaptation of the first game itself. One I know tore through and loved for the added details and interactions never seen during the gameplay. It was an Easter egg that built upon an already loved game and foundations. Then came the surprise.

Halo: First Strike. While fans were waiting on pins-and-needles for the sequel. A novel debuted that took place between the much-loved first game and, the one we couldn’t wait for. First Strike gave us a riveting story to excite Halo fans for more than just the visual games. It enraptured us in what had happened post Halo and leading up to Halo 2, setting the groundwork. You didn’t need to read it, but you’d be glad you did.

The developers and property holders had found a formula that worked. Adapt the game world into literature and build on what couldn’t be shown on console. And it worked—brilliantly. The Halo books have continued to release successfully since the series launch in 2001. Bungie may have parted ways with parent Microsoft, but, Halo has never stopped its rampant growth.

At some point, someone involved must have asked, “Why stop at books?” It was a good question.

October 5^th 2012 Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn the television mini-series aired. Halo fans had gotten what they had dreamed of. A silver-screen adaptation of the gaming icon they had grown up with. It was a test, and it had passed. The mini-series paved the way for another television adaptation by Ridley Scott, and, a still-in-the-works production by legendary director, Steven Spielberg.

Historically, it has been books that have been adapted into other mediums. Times change. Now, it’s apparent that whatever form your work debuts in, be ready with a plan to adapt it, because cross-platform is the way to go, and it works.

We’re at a point where authors are having their works turned into television series, movies, graphic novels, and it’s going the other way ‘round. Games are being turned into novels and they’ll need authors to do that. The artistic field is crossing boundaries and making it so experts in various forms can collaborate to build upon and bring a franchise into a new platforms.

This is a lesson that all creative types should pay attention to. We’re no longer bound to one medium. Our work, given the right push and effort, can take many shapes and create a powerful brand.

About the Author:

R.R. Virdi is the Dragon Award—nominated author of The Grave Report, a paranormal investigator series set in the great state of New York. He has worked in the automotive industry as a mechanic, retail, and in the custom gaming computer world. He’s an avid car nut with a special love for American classics.

The hardest challenge for him up to this point has been fooling most of society into believing he’s a completely sane member of the general public. There are rumors that he wanders the streets of his neighborhood in the dead of night dressed in a Jedi robe and teal fuzzy slippers, no one knows why. Other such rumors mention how he is a professional hair whisperer in his spare time. We don’t know what that is either.

Follow him on his website. http://rrvirdi.com/

Or twitter: @rrvirdi or https://twitter.com/rrvirdi

Totally Rad: 80’s Remakes I’d Like to See

November 17, 2016

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The Writing Life 1 Comment

A guest post by Ken Hoover.

Stranger Things ignited my 80s nostalgia. The Duffer Brothers transplanted my childhood into a King/Spielberg/Carpenter mashup. Once again, I was playing D&D, riding bikes with my friends, and using my psychic powers to flip secret-government vehicles. I wanted to tie a bandana around my forehead, breakdance, and wear parachute pants. OK, maybe not that last part. OK, maybe a little. What impressed me most was how fresh the story felt, while paying homage to everything 80s. The film references alone were astonishing, and it was thrilling to see a Trapper Keeper in a school locker, an Atari console, and a running reference to The Uncanny X-Men.

Since binge-watching the series, I’ve had many conversations with family, friends, and colleagues about 80s music, cartoons, TV shows, films, books, toys, and comics. With that in mind, I’ve created my own Top 5 list of 80s properties I’d like to see remade.

Disclaimer: I’ve chosen a film, a TV show, a cartoon, a book, and a comic book character to be adapted in various ways. In creating this list, I excluded titles that have been done or are currently in production, such as Miami Vice, Ghostbusters, Magnum P.I., and Highlander. And I stayed away from the titles that should never be remade, namely The Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Say Anything, The Dark Crystal, The Breakfast Club, and Big Trouble in Little China.

Ladyhawke

I know, I know. Ladyhawke should be on the “don’t touch” list. I assume everyone’s seen this one, but I’ll omit spoilers, just in case. First, it’s a gorgeous film. Second, it introduces the main characters spectacularly. Phillipe “the Mouse” is crawling through a filthy medieval sewer to escape his own execution. Then there’s Navarre, the imposing anti-hero in black, with his black horse, Goliath, a gleaming silver sword, a crossbow, and his hawk. Gnarly image. And Lady Isabeau’s entrance is full of mystery and wonder. Finally, Ladyhawke has one of the best fantasy curses ever. It’s clearly an iconic fantasy film.

If it’s so good, why remake it?

Let’s start with the music (cringe). I loved 80s synth music, but it didn’t fit the film setting then, and it’s even cheesier now. Hans Zimmer could do wonders on his worst day. Music aside, the script is pretty good, even though the film gets criticized for its stilted dialogue. But the problem, I think, is more about the delivery, not the writing. Of the three main characters, Matthew Broderick gives us a semblance of an accent, and his running conversation with God steals the show. “I told the truth, Lord! How can I learn any moral lessons when you keep confusing me like this?” But it’s hard to suspend your disbelief when you’re yanked out of the illusion by incongruous music and American accents (see also: Costner, Kevin). The trio of Broderick, Hauer, and Pfieffer were big box office names in the 80s. But we could do better today, folks. I’d be interested in your casting choices. We can continue the conversation on Twitter.

Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century

Good ol’ Buck has been around since the 1920s in every possible media type—novels, radio, serials, comics, video games, RPG, films, and the XZ-38 Disintegrator Pistol even appears on a Foo Fighters album cover. But it was the short-lived TV show, featuring Gil Gerard and Erin Grey, which got me amped as a kid!

The premise: an astronaut is blown off course and frozen by a devastating cosmic event, only to return to Earth five hundred years later. Turns out, the dude missed a nuclear holocaust. Now Earth is united under the Earth Defense Directorate, headquartered in New Chicago. There, Buck befriends Colonel Wilma Deering, a birdman named Hawk, and two robots, Dr. Theopolis and Twiki (voiced by Mel Blanc: Beedebeedebeep). Life is good in New Chicago. There’s funky costuming, weird synthesizer music, and glow-in-the-dark dancing. If only it weren’t for those Draconians with their smokin’ military leader, Princess Ardala. Oh, and pirates, assassins, and creepy space vampires.

The challenge of a remake would be in creating the right tone, I think. The 80s show was lighthearted with bouts of deadly seriousness. Other SF franchises have been successful in portraying character-driven humor, intense action, and horror, namely the cult-behemoth Firefly, and the revamp of Star Trek. (Speaking of Firefly, who better to play Buck than Nathan Fillion?) With the quality of today’s special effects, writing, costuming, and amazing stunt work, a revamped Buck could be awesome!

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers

Because Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, and Voltron have already been redone, that leaves me with my dark horse cartoon choice. In a nutshell, the Galaxy Rangers are space cowboys with unique cybernetic powers. The captain, Zach, was gravely wounded by a pirate, and is now half-bionic, with super strength and a powerful energy blast. On his team, there’s Niko with her limited psychic abilities and superbad martial arts. Doc controls nanobot-like creatures. And Goose, a gunslinger, can adapt his body to suit his environment.

The anime action and X-Men-like powers were rad, but the unique factor was the diverse pseudo-Wild West galaxy they explored. In their brief airtime, the Rangers combated outlaws, pirates, mobsters, rogue super soldiers, mad scientists, as well as conquering queens seeking to enslave humans. My enthusiasm for the Galaxy Rangers grew into a love of Weird Western. In fact, my serial Weird Western, The Midnight Agency, coming out this winter, owes much to this 80s cartoon.

There is a definite place for Weird Western (Westworld, The Dark Tower). Considering the quality of today’s animation, I see unlimited potential for a Galaxy Rangers reboot.

Dragonlance

It took me a while to settle on this one. Although it’s been (ahem) thirty years since I read the series, the characters won me over. Who can forget Raistlin Majere, with his hourglass eyes and fits of coughing blood, whose quest for magical power nearly killed him? Or Sturm Brightblade’s sacrifice? Or Kitiara, Tanis, Flint, or Camaron? They are all wonderfully tortured souls. And then there are the dragons, who are full characters, rich with history and knowledge and power.

The franchise spans over 200 books plus RPGs, which seems too expansive to be contained in a single film. The bad animated movie is in desperate need of a reboot. A live-action trilogy could work. With an audience who loves complex characters, magic, the undead, and dragons, Dragonlance seems poised to be a successful series. After all, it sits somewhere between Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Martin’s Game of Thrones.

Wolverine

Last one. Would somebody at Marvel HQ please put Logan back in a brown costume? Yellow and blue look great on college football helmets, but not this stealthy, predatory character. I cannot imagine Logan rifling through his closet and saying, “I feel like wearing yellow today.”

‘Nuff said.

About the Author:

Ken Hoover is a mild-mannered bookstore manager, pop culture fan, and a coffee-addicted word-slinger. His stories have appeared in Bourbon Penn, Crowded Magazine, and in The Book of the Emissaries, a flash fiction anthology. His serial novel, The Midnight Agency, will be available soon via Fiction Vortex, as part of the White Event serial box. Ken lives in New Mexico with his rad family. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Where’s the Humor in Horror?

October 25, 2016

fictorians

I’ve always been fascinated by the juxtaposition of humor and horror in our psyches. The two seem oddly linked, both contrasting with and yet complementing one another in the experiences we have and the stories we tell. A saying (I’m unsure of the origins and will probably bungle my attempt at summarizing) that has stuck in my head for years is: “When we’re frightened or horrified, we have two choices—to scream or to laugh.”

Why are they so linked, though? Why do we try to find humor in horrific situations?

I write an urban fantasy series called The Cleaners, which focuses on the somewhat absurd adventures of magically empowered janitors, maids, and plumbers who work for a supernatural sanitation company. The series begins with Enter the Janitor and The Maids of Wrath, with the third, The Dustpan Cometh, arriving sometime in the next year. Throughout the stories, the Cleaners deal with all sorts of strange situations, such as tromping through mystic sewers, facing down garbage golems in city dumps, or encountering fiendish dust devils in public restrooms. I tend to play up the humorous side of the stories as much as I can, enjoying the ridiculousness of what some might think of as modern-day wizards, mages, and witches taking down the forces of Corruption with mops, spray bottles, squeegees, and toilet paper.

Yet even as there’s plenty of opportunity to laugh or chuckle in the Cleaners novels, there are also plenty of times along the way where the situations they encounter can be truly horrific. People die—oftentimes in rather nasty ways. Creatures lurch and shamble about with all manner of slavering maws and grasping claws or tentacles that would leave a person searching for a clean pair of pants if just glimpsed in real life. There’s supernatural rot that can eat you from the inside-out, beings that embody decay and depravity, and no small amount of insanity-shattered minds that perceive reality through twisted perspectives.

And I have found that by bringing elements of both humor and horror into the series, it has grown stronger. Funny moments stand out more…as do their darker counterparts. Why is that?

I think a big part of it comes down to how we choose to build and release tension within ourselves. One of a writer’s jobs is to create conflict and tension within a story—to generate a growing pressure, whether between one character and another, a character and a monster, or just through the ambience of a particular scene. Yet that tension has to be released at some point. There needs to be a chance for characters (and the reader) to take a breath and gather themselves for what comes next. And humor—be it a side joke, a bit of witty banter, a wry observation of the irony of a situation, or a bout of good old slapstick—provides a readily available “pressure release valve” within a story’s narrative. On the flipside, if all is levity without any sense of consequence or the potential for awful things to occur, then that makes it difficult to get a reader to feel invested in a character or plot.

At the same time, we find solace and safety by employing humor in the face of the horrific. It shields us. It gives us the mental and emotional space we need to process or handle a terrifying or otherwise horrible situation without being overwhelmed and breaking down. And when we can point and laugh at a monstrous threat—even for the slightest reason—it gives us a measure of power over that threat and helps us feel like we still have a measure of control (whether that’s true or not is up for debate). Without even a small smile or soft laugh to break up a string of terrible events, characters and readers alike can become bogged down by relentless dread or dismay.

In another sense, humor and horror “season” one another. It’s like adding contrasting spices to a dish you’re cooking…sweetness can heighten the enjoyment of saltiness, and vice versa. Spiciness can increase our awareness and appreciation of smoother flavors. Humor or horror in-and-of-themselves can certainly be compelling, but when they are experienced together to varying degrees, we can come to see the effects of both all the more.

Now, you may be a writer who prefers to craft primarily horror-oriented stories, or you may be one who leans heavily toward humor. Either is fine, and there are plenty of readers who prefer genres favoring one more than the other. But don’t let yourself be limited by thinking horror and humor can’t coexist, or even enrich one another. If you’ve worked primarily within one of these emotional spectrums, try intersecting them at different points and see if the results don’t turn out better than you expected.

Bring in some laughs to occasionally drown out the screams. Of course, I’ll let you decide whether those laughs come from characters finding the strength to stand in the midst of terror…or from the evil clown chasing them down in the dead of night.

About the Author:

Author and editor Josh Vogt’s work covers fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, pulp, and more. His debut fantasy novel, Pathfinder Tales: Forge of Ashes, was published alongside his urban fantasy series, The Cleaners, with Enter the Janitor and The Maids of Wrath. He’s an editor at Paizo, a Scribe Award and Compton Crook Award finalist, and a member of both SFWA and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. Find him at JRVogt.com or on Twitter @JRVogt.

Just a Taste

October 21, 2016

fictorians

Aubrie L. Nixon Flash Fiction Horror The Writing Life 1 Comment

Guest Post by Aubrie L. Nixon

The feeling the Iter gives me is unique. I have tried other drugs, of course, but the Iter is specific with its high. I see things that are unexplainable, things that any sane person would call disgusting. But since I am not sane, I continue to crave the dark and disturbing visions that the Iter gives me.

Some of us don’t survive the Iter. You die flying on a cloud of pure bliss as you fade into oblivion. Those of us who survive our first encounter are treated like kings and queens. We are rich beyond measure and could have anything we could dream of. Riches, cars, clothes, mansions, fame–anything we want, it is ours. It is the least they can offer us. But, after having the Iter, we want nothing but to feel the release and music it brings. We are the Iter’s muses, and we need it as much as it needs us. We are one.

I lie there with black leather pants and a dark lacy bra on. My hair is done in an elegant bun, and I have been painted with enough makeup that I might rival them for their beauty. I cannot feel anything from the neck down. All of the feeling in my body is gone. But for the time being, I can see things as they do. The world is brighter. The colors I can see are vast–more than any human brain can even begin to fathom. The first time I tried the Iter I wanted to cry at the beauty that surrounded me. But of course I couldn’t. I have no control of my body. I can do nothing but stare at the lovely room, and them.

The room is a garden in a large greenhouse near campus. The grassy ground is the most lovely shade of pure emerald green. I can see dew drops on the flower petals that surround me. I lie on a bed of fresh, blood-red roses on a table in the middle of the garden. The trees are of varying heights and colors. Pinks and reds, shades that I dream about when I am not here. The night sky is a dark purple, and the stars shine brighter than even the sun. Their beauty physically hurts.

The mirror on the ceiling shows me the scars on my pale skin. They are of varying colors and age. The ones that mark my stomach are many sizes for different organs. I watch as they place plates and trays around my body, filled with bloodied meats and liquids. I am the main event tonight, the center of everyone’s attention. Therefore, my table is the most exquisite. I watch as the masked ones bring in the guests. They are the Elite, the powerful ones. They have paid more money than I could ever accumulate in a lifetime to be here. They are here to see me, to be able to be next to me. It is the highest honor to be the main event.

The music starts as the Iter takes hold, and I become its puppet. I am surrounded by a dozen of them. They are dressed in finery and expensive jewels. They whisper excitedly as they take in the spread on of the table, and their eyes rake over me hungrily. The chef welcomes them and introduces me: Elana Arravey, 22, of Norse descent. Diet: Sparkling water, strawberries, pineapples, and low protein. The crowd applauds excitedly. The chef murmurs a few words in their language, and then she cuts into me. Blood trickles down my chest as she cuts open my skin. Servants catch my blood in champagne flutes, and pass it out to the ravenous crowd. I feel the chef’s hand inside of my chest, as she reaches inside me, through my sternum, and grabs my heart. I watch as she pulls it from my chest. It pulses with life, blood squirting from the valves, painting the chef’s pale, white hand like fondue. It’s beautiful. She places my heart in a bowl.

The bidding starts at 1 million. I watch in the mirror as the heart is bid on by the room. The pulsing never stops, filling the bowl with my blood. The crowd grows frenzied as the bidding war continues. 2 million, 3, 4, 5 million. We are down to three guests left bidding. 6, 7, 8 million. Two guests. 9, 9.5, 10 million. Going once, twice, three times, sold!

My heart, sold for 10 million dollars. A hush goes over the room. It is rare that a heart goes for 10 million dollars, but it is the first time this organ has been touched. It is a trophy to take someone’s heart for the first time. The one that gets to taste my heart comes to claim his prize. I wish I could see him. I hear the crowd murmur their excitement as the chef takes the bowl from the servers and places my heart on a silver platter. I can hear him lick his lips as he reaches for my heart. I smile as he licks it, the blood dripping from his mouth. Just a taste.

It is over in mere seconds, as the chef whispers words in their language again and places my heart back into my chest. She positions her fingers over my wound, and my flesh magically closes. She motions for the servers to carry me away, into the kitchens. I want to cry out because I know my time on the Iter is coming to an end. My legs start to tingle as it wears off, and before I can ask for more, my world goes dark.

I awake in my bedroom, the alarm blaring like a foghorn. I open my eyes, everything around me blurry from the sleep in my eyes. I sigh as I sit up slowly and place my feet on the cold floor. My body is numb except for the dull ache my chest. I smile at the pain, and start the shower.

Aubrie is 24 years young. She plays mom to a cutest demon topside, and is married to the hottest man in the Air Force. When she isn’t writing she is daydreaming about hot brooding anti-heroes and sassy heroines. She loves Dragon Age, rewatching Game of Thrones and reading all things fantasy. She runs a local YA/NA bookclub with 3 chapters, and over 200 members. Her favorite thing to do is eat, and her thighs thank her graciously for it. If she could have dinner with anyone living or dead it would be Alan Rickman because his voice is the sexiest sound on earth. He could read the dictionary and she would be enthralled. Her current mission in life is to collect creepy taxidermy animals because she finds them cute and hilarious. She resides just outside of Washington DC.

Preorder Aubrie’s debut novel DARKNESS WHISPERS, here.