[Interview: Part 5 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah'

Speculative fiction author John Miller has talked about how he started writing and the people and experiences that have influenced him. He also discussed some of his concerns as a writer and shed some light on the circumstances surrounding the publication of his novella, 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah (Sonar4 Publications, 2009).

In the final part of this interview, John Miller talks about his achievements as a writer:

Which were the most difficult aspects of the work that you put into 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah?

The most difficult aspect of this book was tying in the main bad guy (the evil Mayan priest) with the worldwide calamities. Why did he need Cal’s psychic employees? For what ends did he need them? And what type of spirit did he employ in his evil and priestly powers?

For me the answers came after a couple days of writer’s block. It wasn’t a creativity problem; it was a problem with the plot—making it as realistic and viable as possible for the readers as well as myself. If I didn’t believe in it, then I knew the reader wouldn’t, either. And I had to create motivation with the evil Mayan priest, and give him the power to destroy the world in a believable manner. To do this, I had to create a new type of spirit called Dark Alux. An Alux is similar to a nature spirit known to Mayans; a Dark Alux is something I created. This made the transitions between scenes easier, brought motivation to the evil priest and a sense of realism. The destruction of the world was already going to happen; the evil priest figured out a way to make time slip, like seismic plates in the earth’s crust, and bring what awaited the world in 2012 to manifest in 2010.

So the most difficult aspect was the evil Mayan priest’s abilities to do this in a manner allowing readers to suspend their belief, and nail the priest’s motivation down: why would he wish to do this? I couldn’t figure it out on my own, and it took some false starts and rewriting until inspiration’s wow! moment came. And it was such a relief when it came, because I knew that I knew that it was right. After I wrote it into the story, I felt a sense of satisfaction and I knew the reader would feel it, too.

Which aspects did you enjoy most?

Two parts:

1. the relationship between the two main characters, Calvin Thomas and Linda Orteganaldo, as they work side-by-side and grow, not only as characters, but into each other; and
2. the ending in which both Calvin and Linda, at the conclusion of the story, climb hand-in-hand up an ancient pyramid in Mexico, and the secret carved in stone waiting for them at the top. The ending is triumphant, echoing the resiliency of humankind as well as supporting the mysticism behind the Mayan calendar.

What sets 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah apart from other things you've written?

This is the largest thing I’ve written that has been published. I have written other novellas, and there is a lot of potential in those works, but this is the longest published work I’ve written.

Apart from that, 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah touched on so many more emotions and affects the reader more powerfully than the other stories I’ve published in various anthologies and publications. The main character loses his friend and employee of longstanding, Psychic Gladys St.Clare, and the angst of that, coupled with the terror of worldwide calamities and being chased by blue zombies, creates a creepy sense of dread and grief. But the way it ends, on such a triumphant high-note, gives readers something I’ve never done in any other story: a dark fantasy of terror and epic proportions ends (hopefully) delivering a smile to the dear reader.

In what way is the novella similar to other things you've written?

It’s similar in that it takes dark fantasy threads and runs with them, pulling the reader along a (hopefully) fantastic ride and leaving them breathless.

It starts fast like all my stories, and it ends decisively with all questions answered. There is no ambiguity in 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah. The reader isn’t left to figure things out on their own. While I enjoy reading books like that, because of the complicated mythos of the Mayan People, I grab the reader by the hand and shout, “Go!” Then we jump in together for a crazy ride.

What will your next book be about?

I have two novellas I’m working on.

One is about the factions of the Frankenstein Family and the monstrosities they create. The other is about an environmental group in Alaska that becomes a pack of werewolves. Both center on human relationships and depth of character, detailing the evolutionary process of change as the characters muddle through fast-hitting plots.

I haven’t decided upon titles.

What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer?

Liquid Imagination is my baby. I love it. Editor Kevin Wallis and Poetry Editor Chrissy Davis have really helped me shape it into something special, in my opinion. And it led my buddy and friend, Karl Rademacher, to start up Silver Blade. This led to my work as General Manager of 2M Magazine. These are significant accomplishments, I will admit. And watching young writers bud and grow, and knowing I have something to do with directing them, is tremendously satisfying. I love helping new writers.

Apart from that, I must say I am most proud of 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah. I tried to convey the growth and depth of Calvin Thomas as he frantically tries to save the world, to show his growing relationship with Linda Orteganaldo at his side, but it is the ending I am most proud. I feel when I ask the reader to walk with me into the darkest night, I should at least have the courtesy to lead them into the light at the journey’s end. I believe I have done this with 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah.

Related resources:

Author’s page, Edit Red Writing Community
Author’s page, Sonar4 Publication

Interviews

• [Interview: Part 1 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, August 31, 2009
• [Interview: Part 2 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 2, 2009
• [Interview: Part 3 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 4, 2009
• [Interview: Part 4 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2009

Possibly related books:

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[Interview: Part 4 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah'

Author John Miller has talked about how he started writing. He has also identified some of the people and experiences that have influenced his writing and commented on his concerns as a writer.

In this part of the interview, John Miller talks about his novella, 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah (Sonar4 Publications, 2009).

How many books have you written so far?

I have one E-Book that was released by Sonar4 Publications in April 2009. That is it.

While I have written and finished novels, I have not allowed them to go public. The reason for this is because I have read novels by small press and the big boy publishers, and I find typos and/or problems that bother me as a reader. I have a responsibility to put forth the best possible work I can, and I will only put forth my very best work. 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah is the best story I have written.

And while I have other novellas and novels saved on my computer, I also have used the “ladder rung” theory to test my writing ability and what I’m ready for. Each publishing credit (to me) is a rung on the ladder. Each short story accepted and published at ezines and various print anthologies has been my way to gauge my growth as a writer.

I have chosen to climb the ladder slowly, learning about each phase of writing and attempting to master it, before moving onto the next rung or level. I did not wish to write and publish a novel two years ago, only to slip off the ladder. Everything must be successful in this slow journey upwards. This is where I’m at now and I’m happy to be climbing faster and stronger than two years ago.

I am also at the stage to finish one of my other works and begin another. This will bring the most satisfaction to myself as well as my readers; to bring both of us my very best work.

What would you say 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah is about?

A psychic crumbles in the middle of a séance as “something” attacks her. Belonging to a traveling group of mediums called the Psychic Circus, the psychic dies and her skin turns blue. This happens in the middle of a customer-packed auditorium. The Psychic Circus has appeared on Good Morning, America! as well as other television programs, and its fame has drawn a huge crowd as well as Linda Orteganaldo, a reporter from Time Magazine who comes from Mayan descent. While interviewing Calvin Thomas, owner and business manager of the Psychic Circus, they stumble into the psychic’s tent. “Sacrifices were painted blue,” Linda tells Cal. When Psychic Gladys St.Clare, now a corpse, stands with blue skin shouting, “Kin bin tin nah,” Linda knows exactly what it means: it’s the end of the world.

Calamity strikes. Earthquakes rock San Francisco. Volcanic eruptions. Giant locusts. But the year is 2010 and not 2012. Something is wrong. What?

The Psychic Circus, led by Cal and Linda, not only has to survive the calamities befalling the entire world, they have to dodge the attacks thrown at them by an evil Mayan priest and Cal’s former psychic employees, now blue-skinned zombies.

2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah is an epic fantasy with threads of horror based on Mayan beliefs and the Mayan calendar. While disaster strikes the world itself, the ending will surprise everyone, not with a sudden twist, but with a satisfying conclusion. Of all the things I’ve written, I am most satisfied with the ending of this story.

How long did it take you to write the book?

2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah took me three months to write. It flowed quickly from my wow! moments to the page. Sonar4 Publications published it in April 2009.

I’d originally sent it to a literary agent working for the big publishers. He’d been promoted in Writer’s Digest, and I contacted him immediately. By then—because of the article—he said, “It sounds very interesting, but unfortunately I have accepted too many clients because of the article.”

I continued working on 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah while looking for markets for it, because at that time Sonar4 didn’t publish novels/novellas. When they announced they would be publishing novels and novellas, I jumped at the chance to submit 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah to them.

Owned by Shells Walter, Sonar4 Publications has an ezine, quarterly print publication, and has begun publishing E-Books. Sonar4 has emerged so fast and so strong it reminded me of my own Liquid Imagination. I had already sent a short story to Sonar4 and within an hour and fifteen minutes it was accepted, so I was familiar with the publishing company when I sent them 2010: Kin Bin Tin Nah.

I develop a “connection” with certain publications, such as Fantasy and Science Fiction. I had developed a connection with Sonar4, and when Shells Walter accepted my manuscript I danced in joy. Sonar 4 was the perfect publisher to accept my story, and this was proven while editing it with Shells Walter, a professional in the extreme.

What advantages or disadvantages has this presented?

The advantages of having Sonar4 Publications accept my story has been the manner in which it was edited: via AIM. Both Shells and I had my manuscript ready, and she would give a page number or blocked portion of text. I found the text and marked the changes right then and there, or I saved the entire Instant Message in a document file. Editing in this manner superseded the methods I’d used in the past with editors, greatly enhancing and speeding up the work. What I assumed would take months of correspondence happened in a very quick and concise manner, no small thanks to Shells.

Disadvantages? None that I can see, other than the fact that Sonar4 Publications isn’t throwing millions of dollars into promoting my story because its not a major publisher. But the virtual tours, the cross-blogging, the trailers for my book, and the promotional work that Sonar4 Publications puts behind each accepted and published novel is mind-boggling.

Shells Waters puts such an incredible amount of work and effort into everything she does. I know for a fact other editors who publish books put in only a fraction of the amount of work Shells puts into her projects; she gets behind the products, and you can tell she believes in it. She’s out to make money and entertain readers, and she’s doing it in the most gracious and professional manner imaginable.

Related resources:

Author’s page, Edit Red Writing Community
Author’s page, Sonar4 Publication

Interviews

• [Interview: Part 1 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, August 31, 2009
• [Interview: Part 2 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 2, 2009
• [Interview: Part 3 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 4, 2009
• [Interview: Part 4 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2009
• [Interview: Part 5 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 10, 2009

Possibly related books:

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[Interview: Part 3 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah'

Speculative fiction author, John Miller spoke about how he started writing and identified some of the people and experiences that have influenced his writing.

In this part of the interview, he talks about his concerns as a writer:

What are your main concerns as a writer?

My major concern is realism. In order for the speculative fiction that I write to be successful, I must do it in such a manner that the reader will suspend disbelief.

While writing about epics that change the world, it becomes more difficult to be realistic because we’re talking about changing not just the character’s world… we’re talking about changing the reader’s world. But if I can write it in such a way that the reader suspends his belief and accepts my explanations of natural disasters, calamity or scenarios, then my story may influence the reader more than another writer’s story. Because my story is about the world the reader actually lives in; it affects the reader’s life.

My short stories influence only characters or locations, but my longer works affect large areas, cultures and/or the world at large. To me, suspending disbelief about what goes on inside a haunted house is easier than suspending belief about what happens to the entire world the reader lives in. The challenge is exhilarating!

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

Balancing the time spent writing and publishing the short stories of other writers. But I love being busy, and stress is something I seek out, vying to put more on my plate to test myself and promote the fiction of others through publication.

Balancing my own publishing endeavors with my writing is tricky. Many times my writing falls to the wayside as my time must be spent working on 2M Magazine put out by Dark Myth Productions. My own online publication Liquid Imagination pulls at me, as does promoting Liquid Imagination’s sister publication Silver Blade. Time management is the biggest challenge I have, but I think I do a good job.

To deal with this I have to create a daily agenda and a weekly agenda. Like goals, these “agendas” allow me to concentrate solely on the task at hand. When completed, I follow up on those “agendas” if that is what is needed and move on to the next project.

Writing is a world of its own in which writers and publishers are sucked into it, and sometimes there isn’t much time left for anything else. Writers tend to group together as do editors and publishers. Personally, I find myself associating with all three groups. This increases the challenge of time-management, but it is a necessary evil.

Do you write everyday?

I cannot help writing something each and every single day of my life. Short stories, novellas, novels and flashes. Sometimes I think my blood flows from my heart and transforms into the font of the written page; my heart bleeds into each story. If no one ever read anything of mine again, of course I would write. But I’m at the point in my life in which I have things I want the world to read. I’ve heard others tell me (insist, really) that I need to publish certain stories and tales.

I start each session before my computer and begin writing. It doesn’t matter what it is. Then, after two or three paragraphs (perhaps two or three pages), I pause and take a break. I stand on the front porch or take a walk, letting the story roil in the back of my mind without consciously going over the plot or idea or characters. Inspiration comes unexpectedly, but it flows rather quickly, and soon I am back at the computer, fingers typing furiously. Inspiration is wonderful! I don’t wish to type endless descriptions of a room or ten pages concerning the description of a house or street; I wish to convey what I felt when inspiration struck. I know what it feels like when the muse speaks to my heart, and that is the only idea I wish to convey with clarity upon returning to write at my desk. I will not fill the reader with what I believe to be powerful prose, nor will I use intellectual ideas or philosophies to entice the reader; I write only that which inspiration whispered to me. This is the what is most exciting to the readers, and this is what will satisfy them completely throughout the work.

Readers are not stupid. They recognize the wow moments a writer experiences while writing the story. If a writer is struggling for a hundred pages, the reader struggles, too. When the writer captures what I call the wow moment with clarity, the reader experiences the wow moment in detail. Personally, I believe inspiration should guide the beginning and ending of each chapter. Whatever the writer feels is what the reader will experience. It is a transference of emotions from one person to another, and if the writer isn’t experiencing high emotion in his wow moment… then I feel sorry for the reader.

I end my writing each day with satisfaction. I must conclude something of note and substance; I have to feel I have conveyed with clarity that day’s “wow” moment, and if I haven’t then I will not sleep well. When I have that feeling of satisfaction that I have conveyed with the utmost of my writing ability the “wow” moments, the ideas and subterfuges of the story, then it’s time for bed. This may be at two or three o’clock in the morning, but I’ve learned to not even attempt sleep until this sense of satisfaction and accomplishment is felt. Otherwise the story will keep looping in my mind, and I’ll dream it all night long in fitful sleep.

Related resources:

Author’s page, Edit Red Writing Community
Author’s page, Sonar4 Publication

Interviews

• [Interview: Part 1 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, August 31, 2009
• [Interview: Part 2 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 2, 2009
• [Interview: Part 3 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 4, 2009
• [Interview: Part 4 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2009
• [Interview: Part 5 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 10, 2009

Possibly related books:

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[Interview: Part 2 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah'

In the first part of this interview, John Miller, author of 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah (Sonar4 Publications, 2009), talked about some of the factors that made him start writing.

In this, the second segment of the interview, he identifies the audience he writes for as well as some of the influences that have had an impact on his writing:

Who is your target audience?

I write for myself first and foremost, so I guess one could ask who I am. I’m a divorced father with three small children (as I’ve mentioned). And I’ve mentioned my different job experiences, but I think I’m a cross-section cut right out of America; the average individual living in America is a little bit of everything these days. We belong to multiple organizations, have various hobbies and pursuits, but we are knowledgeable about many different things. In today’s world, Americans may read a little horror and some literary as well as Time and Newsweek and People. As a member of a society well versed in various genres and styles, I have to consider what interests me first.

Regardless whether the writing is horror, fantasy or literary, the story must convey certain things in order for me to get into it. I am part of the video generation, and my time is short. I want it hard and fast (pardon the expression), and I want it now! The stories I read and write must begin close to the action. I want emotional relationships, characters with depth and relationships. You see, I’m busy. I’m involved in three publications, running two of them. I’m also involved in an organization just forming that is intended to help aspiring ezines and small press markets. Besides helping my three children with their homework, I have all these things going on. But I am not unique; I am representative of America. We’re busy. We’re tired. We don’t have time to wade slowly through a hundred pages intended to set the story; we want it and we want it now.

My target audience is America Itself. We’re busy raising kids. We want to something to help us get through another hectic workday. We love fantasy with elements of horror. We’re young-minded with big responsibilities. We have families and children and we work harder than we should to put food on the table. Long work weeks and callused hands or stressed-out nerves from arduous business meetings. We think about 2012 and its implications, neither believing nor disbelieving, until we have the facts (and we may not get them because we’re late for the next doctor’s appointment). We’re open, but hit us fast because we don’t have time to talk. Communication is delegated to text messages, instant messages, emails and blogs with profile pics.

This is who we are. I’m writing to younger adults who need it downloaded as quickly as possible. E-Books and burnt CDs and text messages. Stephen King fans and John Grisham readers. We want it all.

Which authors influenced you most?

You may laugh, but these are the authors who have influenced me the most. Authors I simply love like Sidney Sheldon. His work on the television program I Dream of Jeannie is astounding, but his novels show dramatic changes in characters over long periods time as in The Other Side of Midnight. I love authors who can deliver the goods, but who show characters changing through the course of the story. One of my favorite short stories of all time is Joe Hill’s "Best New Horror" in which the main character, Eddie Carrol, undergoes an inner metamorphosis that slams home by the end of the story while he’s running for his life, laughing in the exhilaration of the horror sweeping over him—fantastic story!

But the one work that has influenced my writing above all is John Myers Myers’ Silverlock. In no story I’ve read has the main character undergone such realistic changes from beginning to end. And that is most important to me in a story: how the characters evolve in realistic but life-changing circumstances. A character like Conan the Barbarian never changes; he is invincible and unstoppable from beginning of the story to the end. But I want characters that pulse with human frailty, but somehow end up saving the world (or the day). In Silverlock the world is changed as the main character changes, reflecting my mentality that the world perceived changes as we change. The world is viewed as a dark and lonely place by a dark and lonely person, but if that character changes, then the world brightens. Add fantasy or horror elements, and I am in heaven.

I believe everybody in the world should have a copy of Silverlock in their library.

How have your personal experiences influenced your writing?

They say write what you know. Nothing could be truer for a writer. A young sixteen year old boy writing about being married for twenty years will not know the subtle intricacies a man who has been married experiences. Stephen King was seriously injured when an out-of-control van struck him while on one of his daily walks, and he became fascinated with such topics, writing about characters undergoing similar things. That is what we as writers do; we assimilate our lives and reprocess them with clarity for the readers. Some authors disagree, but a portion of our personalities go into the characters we create; we breathe into them and bring them to life. These characters may be based on our imagination or people we have known, but these images are still filtered through the writer’s mind, and thus it is the writer who imparts his own imprint upon each character, upon each word and sentence—the entire story is filtered through the keystrokes and thoughts of the writer.

Because of this, I see every character in every story reflective of some portion of the writer. Darth Vader in Star Wars reminds me of some untouchable movie mongrel, invincible, and I wonder what person or “type of person” George Lucas based Vader on. John Grisham’s criminal characters are believable, but don’t you think he understands in some measure how such characters think?

For me, no human is a saint and no person is entirely evil; we are shades and hues of varying grays, and while vibrant with intense colors, we all have flaws and shortcomings. Writers who delve into their own shortcomings to create characters in their stories are those authors who will instill within their characters very real attributes and demeanors. These characters will be three-dimensional, lifelike and live on in the readers’ minds. Even Superman had a flaw: kryptonite. Instilling those “kryptonite-flaws” based on the writer does nothing but create a more believable story, in my humble opinion. The more powerful the character, the more the writer has breathed life into that character based on real life experiences. Those experiences may be greatly exaggerated, as with Hannibal the Cannibal (I’m quite sure author Thomas Harris hasn’t dined on human flesh), but the author has somehow siphoned the darkness and light out of himself to bring the characters to life.

Related resources:

Author's page, Edit Red Writing Community
Author's page, Sonar4 Publication

Interviews

• [Interview: Part 1 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah', Conversations with Writers, August 31, 2009
• [Interview: Part 3 of 5] John Miller, author of '2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah', Conversations with Writers, September 4, 2009
• [Interview: Part 4 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2009
• [Interview: Part 5 of 5] John Miller, author of ‘2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah’, Conversations with Writers, September 10, 2009

Possibly related books:

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[Interview_1] John Miller

Author John Miller has more than 40 publishing credits to his name.

His stories have appeared in magazines that include Necrotic Tissue; The Devil's Food Anthology; Three Crow Press; Tooth Decay Anthology, and Sonar 4 Magazine.

In addition to writing, Miller also edits the online literary magazine, Liquid Imagination as well as 2M Magazine,which is available in print. He is also on the Board of Trustees for Silver pen which is responsible for the Liquid Imagination sister publication, Silver Blade.

He is also the author of the fantasy/horror novella 2012: Kin Bin Tin Nah (Sonar4 Publications, 2009).

In this, the first of a five-part interview, John Miller talks about his writing:

When did you start writing?

I began writing twenty years ago, but I do not feel I actually became a writer until 2007. Let me explain:

Twenty years ago my best friend Rich suggested I start writing. We used our Comodore 64 computers. I just knew I was going to be a writer, and I received a Brother word processor for my Christmas/birthday present one year (my birthday is close to Christmas being January 1st). Next I joined Long Ridge Writing School, having passed their writing test to get in. In my mind, I was on my way.

Long Ridge used published writers as teachers, and students worked via snail-mail correspondence. I learned the beginning, middle and ending of a story, but I wasn’t mature enough as a man nor writer to absorb the information. I complained to Rich saying, “This writing course has ruined my ability to write.” In fact, what it did was begin to instill within me the components of a successful short story.

I sent two short stories out. The first one was rejected with a note saying the work was sought after by another editor at a different publication. I sent that story to him and he wrote back saying he would be more than delighted to publish it, but he’d been in a car accident and lay in a full-body cast in the hospital. His publication was doomed!

I gave up citing how I hated rejection. See? Not enough maturity.

I went through life, got married and divorced, and found myself with three young children living with me (full physical custody but joint legal custody). Many jobs from police dispatcher to church work to big-box grocery store management. Add to that factory and foundry work, and you have a strange assortment of job skills. How many people can say they can drive a forklift, use a hoist to lift 3 ton engines off conveyors and set them on metal skids, budget hours and sales for a business, and handle the stress of incoming 911 calls?

I matured.

In the process, I began playing a role-playing game with Rich called “Mage: the Ascension.” Like “Vampire: the Masquerade,” it was put out by the company called White Wolf. One aspect of the game emphasized “storytelling.” I wouldn’t do the same “game” over and over; I changed stories up, changed characters. I developed evil characters, good characters, and gave them different motivations. Some of my favorite characters came out of those roleplaying sessions, and I can recall Stephen Blackwell, Blake Edwards and Shung-Li (also known as Grasshopper). While I haven’t published anything with these characters, they live on in my mind.

Along the way I found myself at one of those websites promoted as online diaries. I used mine to blog about my life, but I also did poetry and fiction. I learned, grew, and utilized the characters I’d developed in role-playing. Eventually someone invited me to Edit Red. There I wove tales based on what I’d learned at Long Ridge Writer’s Group and role-playing. Something fused and melded into one cohesive theme: storytelling. Another writer had an idea to begin an anthology and it was “invitation only.” I was one of those invited, and it lit a fire beneath me.

That is when I began submitting stories to publications, back in September of 2007. In a year I had over 30 publishing credits, and my enthusiasm hasn’t waned; if anything it’s grown. So while I usually refer in my BIOs about beginning writing in 2007, my love affair with words began over twenty years ago. It wasn’t until someone expressed interest in my writing that I became serious and began submitting stories for publication.

I used the Writer’s Market put out by Long Ridge Writer’s Group to find publications to submit to. I also used Duotrope and sometimes Ralan. I made mistakes sending the same story to different online magazines who did not accept simultaneous submissions (and apologized profusely). I learned a painful story about proper formatting when Doorways Magazine wanted my story “Cat Eyes” if I would just format it right. I formatted it and sent it back in. Three months later I queried and was told they’d passed on my story. Lesson learned: read the guidelines and understand formatting manuscripts!

Now I have a private web office at Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope. Anyone can join the free website. There are writers like me as well as directors, script writers, artists and poets. We’re all critiqued and reviewed by our peers, creating stronger works. It has been the most wondrous place I’ve ever discovered! My private web office has no directors, but it has around 260 writers, editors, artists and poets. My online magazine Liquid Imagination was birthed in this office. Submitting stories is like rolling the dice; eventually someone will like what you write (or publish).

My online magazine Liquid Imagination had its debut issue September 26th, 2008 and as of February 27th, it has 100,000 internet hits. Our sister publication, Silver Blade came out December 15th, 2008 and it, too, has 100,000 internet hits. This led Dark Myth Production Studios to hire me as General Manager for the new print 2M Magazine.

So while I claim in my BIOs that I didn’t start “real” writing until 2007, I’ve been practicing my craft for twenty years. I keep learning and growing, and every six months I learn new and exciting techniques. It’s like, yippie!!! And the reader experiences whatever the writer does. It’s contagious!

How would you describe your writing?

I am writing in different styles, experimenting constantly, pushing my limits in every way feasible. Recently I read Poe’s Children edited by Peter Straub, and after that Best American Short Stories guest-edited by Salmon Rushdie. Realms of Fantasy Magazine is a wonderful read, too. I joined a literary writer’s group to experiment with literary prose. This is all to learn, grow and push myself as a writer and publisher; to know and understand literary fiction that is submitted to me, and to better understand what motives lay behind the fiction I read.

So I have a love affair going on with literary style writing, but my true love is speculative fiction. Specifically dark fantasy on epic proportions set in the modern world. This really gets my blood burning. Fantasy that breathes with epic proportions, tales like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and fantasy worlds linked up to our modern society—these are the stories that do it for me. And because I read such tales, it is only natural that I write them as well. This is what I do best. While I play with literary prose, my “home” is speculative fiction. Plot-driven stories in which only essential characters and elements to that plot drive this type of writing, and I love it! In today’s fast-paced world of fast food and instant breakfast—a world full of video-generation kids parented and grand-parented by baby boomers—we seem to want/need a quick fix in streams of consciousness via words and images. Speculative fiction has the capacity to do this, to pump the storyflow into the reader’s mind through pages which, like IVs, bring the constant drip-drip-drip of action, horror, suspense and emotions. Is it right? Is it wrong? It doesn’t matter. It’s life. And I love it!

Related resources:

Author's page, Edit Red Writing Community
Author's page, Sonar4 Publication

Interviews

• John Miller [Interview_2], Conversations with Writers, September 2, 2009
• John Miller [Interview_3], Conversations with Writers, September 4, 2009
• John Miller [Interview_4], Conversations with Writers, September 7, 2009
• John Miller [Interview_5], Conversations with Writers, September 10, 2009

Possibly related books:

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