“Ask the Librarian” – The Reference Interview

That's what we're here for

Patron: “I am looking for a globe of the earth.”
Librarian: “We have a table-top model over here.”
Patron: “No, that’s not good enough. Don’t you have a life-size?”
Librarian: (pause) “Yes, but it’s in use right now.”

The purpose of the reference interview is for the librarian to determine what the patron needs.  When a patron walks up to the desk and asks for help, sometimes they are not clear on what they are looking for.  They ask for X when what they really need is Y.  It could be that they are being vague because of the nature of the subject or they themselves don’t understand the assignment their teacher assigned them.  A good librarian should ask several questions so that they know what exactly the patron is looking for.  The librarian is not trying to be nosy but rather be clear on what the patron really needs.

Some patrons are uncomfortable walking up the desk and asking for help.  They may feel that the librarian is asking too many questions and feel uncomfortable at the intrusion.  By asking questions, the librarian is simply trying ferret out what the patron needs and not be intrusive.

For example I had a patron ask where the medical books were located.  We have lots of books on the subject so I asked if there was something specific they were looking for.  The patron looked a little uncomfortable so I said that I just wanted to make sure that we had what they were looking for so that I could send them to the correct location.  Then the patron says that they need more information on STDs.  At this point I don’t need to ask further questions because I can give him a general area where he can look for books on the subject.  But by this point the patron feels more are ease and tells me exactly why they need a book on gonorrhea.  Well I didn’t really need to hear the whole life story but it did help me narrow down the search and get an exact call number for them.  Sometimes it’s hard telling them to stop, that they are sharing way too much information.

I remember another instance where a student came in and said he needed a book.  Ok so far so good, we have lots of those.  After more prodding he said it was a book for his English class and the author was dead.  Well now, that does help but still I needed more information.  So after about twenty minutes of Q&A turns out he needed The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne.  And since he waited to the last minute we didn’t have any copies available for check out.

The reference desk can be very intimidating for patrons, either because they are embarrassed about the subject or confused on what they need.  So what they first ask for is not what they really need.  It is the job of the librarian to clarify what is needed so that the patron can have a successful experience.  Some interviews may take longer than others or the librarian may not need to ask anything because some patrons don’t have a shy bone in their body and tell you their whole life story without any prompting.  Either way, the reference interview helps

On the next installment I am going to rant…I mean talk about holiday decorations and the library.  Is it needed?  Do patrons care whether we decorate the library?

 

Laura Guevara – Resident Librarian, LL-Publications

HORROR WEEK PRIZE WINNER

The winner of the signed copy of THE HOLLOWS by Ben Larken, from a random draw of all those who posted, was …..

 

KELLEY!

 

Kelley, I contacted you through your website, so you should get that message but if not, please get it touch!

 

Best

 

Jim  Brown

LL-Publications

HORROR WEEK culminates with THE HOLLOWS by Ben Larken

Out today!

We end a fun HORROR WEEK at the LL-Publications Blog today with an interview with Ben Larken, EPPIE winning author, and his new releases, THE HOLLOWS, out today.

This is your last chance to win a signed copy of THE HOLLOWS by commenting on the blog. One lucky winner, from all those making appropriate posts (not spam, you guys need castrating…), will be announced tomorrow!

And so to Ben. Ben lives in Fort Worth, the city he was raised in, with his wife and

Ben and his EPPIE award

children. His day job as a police dispatcher keeps him well occupied, and of course he loves to read horror. Ben was fortunate to win an award with his first published book, PIT-STOP.

 

1) Today sees the release of your new book, THE HOLLOWS. For the benefit of the readers, tell us what THE HOLLOWS is all about.

My main character, David Alders, is a conflicted former cop whose life never rebounded after his wife disappeared 10 years ago. Hitting the end of his budget, he and his teenage daughter Melanie are forced to move into their first apartment complex – The Whispering Hollows. Once settled, weird things start happening inside the complex. Melanie hears a ticking clock that no one else seems to hear, and David wakes up one morning to find himself back in yesterday again. Apparently his presence in the complex is unlocking a special power, and with it he just might find a way to get back to his wife – if the power doesn’t prove too much for him.

2) THE HOLLOWS involves elements of time travel. How as a writer did you approach this and overcome some of the “rules” regarding travelling through time, like paradoxes, time-lines etc (without giving anything away of course!).

I will admit, planning a time travel novel is a lot more exacting than a regular novel. You can’t just start writing and see where it takes you. You have to make sure all the rough edges line up, and constantly check for any continuity problems. As for avoiding paradoxes, that’s an issue that’s raised in this book and will be the over-riding question throughout the series. What happens when you try to change something in the past? The recent Star Trek movie used alternate reality as an answer, but mine will take a more horror-story route.

3) Your debut book, PIT-STOP (see yesterday’s blog for details and excerpts) won the EPPIE 2009 Award for Best Horror. Winning an award with your first book is a major achievement. How did you embrace that, and how has that affected you as a writer?

It’s a real booster to win something. Up until that moment I only had friends and family to tell me what they liked about my writing, and their opinions are always somewhat biased in my favor. But when complete strangers checked out my book and decided they liked it enough to give me an award, it suddenly changed my whole outlook. I was revved up and ready to write again. It makes me want to just keep putting myself out there, because if one or two people liked my first book, maybe three or four more will like the next one.

4) Tell us about some of your influences – literary or otherwise.

Saying I’ve been influenced by Stephen King is like a musician being influenced by the Beatles. There’s just no way NOT to be influenced by the Master of Horror. But I also find elements in other genres that I find myself tugging back to my stories. Barbara Kingsolver is such a wonderful writer of the human condition. I can only hope to be that good someday. And Larry McMurtry writes the warmest, funniest dialogue.

5) Give us an idea of your favourite books and authors.

I’ll bring up one that definitely had an effect on The Hollows, even though I started writing it years before I read this book. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger had not only a great take on time travel but on surviving marriage. The time travel gimmick was basically a way to point out how two spouses’ maturity levels can change over the years and why. The movie was pretty good, but the book was powerful and romantic.

6) Give me three reasons I should read The Hollows:

Okay;

One - there’s a demonically possessed grandfather clock, and we just don’t have enough of those in literature.

Two - the clock is kind of like the ring from The Lord of the Rings. The more you use it, the more it uses you.

And three - the love story between David Alders and his long lost Elise is going to sweep you away – or at least sweep you toward the next book in the series.

7) What’s next up for Ben Larken? There’s more to come from THE HOLLOWS of course (a four-part series), but what else do you have in the pipeline?

I have another series I hope to kick off in the next year, this one about a detective caught in a war between angels and demons. And I’d like to get enough short stories finished to put out a collection. I have a couple other stand-alone horror stories that I can’t wait to get to. Bascially, I have enough to keep me busy writing for a long time to come, and that’s just the way I like it.

 

Thank you Ben, not just for the interview but for the amazing books you’ve given us the opportiunity to publish. Here’s to THE HOLLOWS following in the footsteps of PIT-STOP!

 

Jim Brown

LL-Publications

HORROR WEEK: Win a signed copy of Pit-Stop by Ben Larken

EPPIE 2009 Best Horror

It’s every author’s dream – to get that book published, to see your name printed on the cover. Ben Larken finally got that sensation with PIT-STOP, his debut novel – described by reviewer Geoff Nelder as “an extraordinary horror/thriller”. But for Ben something else happened, something not every author achieves. His debut book became an award winner. PIT-STOP was crowned EPPIE 2009 Best Horror at EPICon in March 2009 in Las Vegas.

With Ben’s next book THE HOLLOWS released tomorrow (Friday 20th), let’s take a look at PIT-STOP and see why it’s so good.

 

PIT-STOP takes place at a quiet roadside diner on Arizona’s scenic route 66. Officer Scott Alders finds himself over a cup of joe, staring at the reflections in his spoon. Trouble is, he soon realises he’s not quite sure why he’s there, or how he got there. Looking around, he sees everyone else with the same half-dazed lost look. One by one, they begin to come to themselves and through Holly, the unconcerned waitress, they learn that the Pit-Stop Grill is not your everyday roadside diner. It’s a layover while they wait for a bus, and a gruesome demonic driver. The door is sealed, and the Pit-Stop Grill is the one place you don’t want to be, it’s the last stop on the road to Hell.

Amidst fears, doubts, and denial, the ten occupants try to band together to fight against the seeming inevitable, and against RAMSEY, the bus-driver gifted with the powers of Satan to bring all to his side in Hades.

—————————————————-

Get on the bus...

“Holly,” he said with a voice infuriatingly calm. “Please show your customers what happens when they refuse to get on the bus.”
Even through the nerves stretching Holly’s face, her expression dropped. She didn’t move at first. Then, with noticeable strain, her hand lifted to her blouse. She unbuttoned the top button, then the next one. She stopped.
“Ramsey, please,” she whispered. “Please don’t make me.”
He replied like a parent softly disciplining a child. “Holly, show the people what happens when you don’t get on the bus.”
She closed her eyes as a line of mascara ran down her cheek. She unclasped the next button and pulled open her blouse.
“Oh, crap,” Bill said. He was the only one who spoke. Cassie let out a small whimper.
Everyone else could barely breathe as they stared at the cavity where Holly’s chest should have been. The skin was gone. Instead there were mold-covered ribs and even darker things lurking beneath. Decrepit organs like fist-sized raisins writhed and pumped under the bones. Holly closed her blouse as quickly as she opened it.
“Thank you, Holly,” Ramsey said. “You may go now.”
The waitress lowered her head and stepped into the backroom with her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the sobs. Ramsey the bus driver revolved slowly on the bar stool, turning toward them.
“Now,” he said with a sigh. “Get on the bus or suffer the same wrath.”
“No,” Scott answered, his voice cracking. “Don’t listen to him. He can’t get us all. We have to stick together.”
Ramsey puckered his lips. “Such a valiant path. And yet, it’s never succeeded.”
Scott didn’t move, though Dustin could see a slight tremble in his legs. Then he realized he was trembling, too. They all were, as if an electric current passed through the group.
“You’re going down!” Bill cried, throwing his baseball cap aside. He ran at the driver, yelling a wordless battle cry, his fists raised and ready as he stampeded toward the albino perched on the bar stool. Ramsey never got up. He lifted one ghostly finger and touched Bill’s fist as it dived toward him.
Bill fell over howling in pain.
He landed on his side then rolled onto his back, shrieking like a banshee. A large circle of red appeared on the drunk driver’s chest. The stain deepened, making trenches of crimson in his shirt as a “Y” shape bled into the center of the circle, resembling a peace sign or a—
“A steering wheel?” Dustin said.
“Very good, Mr. Calloway,” Ramsey said, nodding respectfully. “Bill’s car didn’t have an airbag, and I’m afraid he was too drunk to remember his seatbelt. He died instantly, impaled on his own steering wheel. Such a shame, as you can see.”
Bill screamed. Janine buried her face in Dustin’s shirt. He couldn’t blame her. Bill Myers’ chest was collapsing in front of them. Bones crinkled and snapped like popcorn popping. And yet Bill kept screaming. His lungs should have been punctured. His esophagus had to be tattered ribbons.
Scott was thinking the same thing. “How is he still yelling? Why isn’t he dead yet?”
“He can’t die,” Dustin said. “He’s already dead.”
Ramsey leaned over Bill without getting off his barstool. “Would you like to get on the bus now?”
“Yes!” Bill cried and the moment he said it the blood disappeared from his shirt and his chest re-inflated. His screaming snapped off like a switch. He looked down at his body through tear-filled eyes.
“I would hurry if I were you,” Ramsey said.
Bill didn’t need further convincing. He leapt to his feet and ran outside, racing for the bus. It welcomed him into its black stomach with cryptic silence.
The bus driver rose from the barstool and stretched. His spine cracked and sounded like twigs snapping. He yawned, revealing shimmering, blood-caked teeth, and turned to the others.
“Who’s next?”

—————————————————-

Perhaps we all wonder what happens when we die. Is there a place such as Purgatory? Are we all answerable for our sins? It’s a place we never want to find ourselves in, but our heroes are there seem to face an impossible task in escaping RAMSEY. Faced with their own fears and reflecting on their own lives, they turn to each other for help.

—————————————————-

The outside lights snapped on. “Pit-Stop Grill” blinked in sizzling red neon as the fluorescent lamps cast a dull sheen over the gas pumps. Sprinting between the two pumps was Laura, blood-drenched and screaming, running toward the infinite highway. Scott watched through the window, feeling her terror. He could barely repress the scream inside himself.
“Laura!” Janine yelled, standing next to him. “Don’t leave me!”
Suddenly, the bus swooped around the side of the building like a shimmering bullet, targeting its prey and going in for the kill. The engine ripped and revved, sending tremors through the whole diner. Laura half-ran, half-staggered onto the blacktop, looking exhausted and vulnerable.
“Hide!” Janine screamed. “Laura, hide!”
“Where?” Dustin said. “There’s nowhere to go.”
Scott’s hand was on his pistol before he even formed the thought. He brushed past Janine, Dustin and Cassie, heading for the door.
“What are you doing?” Dustin shouted after him. “You can’t kill him!”
“No, but if I can slow Holly down, maybe I can give Laura enough time to get back.” He ran through the doorway, noticing how Janine had no complaints about his righting the wrongs this time.
A wave of disorientation hit him as Scott crossed over the threshold. He staggered, realizing it was because he was leaving the diner. Whatever spell the place had on their collective souls snapped off in an instant, and Scott was suddenly struck by how alone he felt. The terror inside swelled, bordering on hysteria. The soothing, hypnotic pull of the Pit-Stop was gone. Being outside the walls of the Pit-Stop felt like being strapped to the nose of the diving plane, watching the ground fly up to meet him.
Laura screamed and Scott tried to focus. The bus was almost to her. The white beams of its headlights soon found her and Scott watched in horror as Laura’s exposed legs and arms began to sizzle and smoke. The mammoth vehicle followed her path exactly, and for a second Scott thought they were all dead. The bus careened toward the two gas pumps, as if to weave between them like Laura had and Scott braced himself for the explosion that was sure to follow. But the jet black bus hit the pumps and passed through them like a ghost unfazed by the laws of reality. Scott wondered if the same would be true when the bus reached Laura. Would it pass through her and continue down the highway?
The answer soon came. The bus didn’t veer into her. It spun into her. The back end lifted off the blacktop, whipped around and the effect was like a homerun smack. Scott cringed at the sound as the bus found her. With a hollow thock, Laura flew back the way she came, landing with a metallic clang against the gas pump to his left. Scott watched her twitch and spasm, her white clothing now completely blood stained. Somewhere behind him, Janine screamed.
Scott ran. The pumps were only yards away but the distance felt overwhelming. He sprinted harder. In his periphery he could see the bus wasn’t moving. It had stopped in the middle of the highway, satisfied its prey wasn’t going anywhere. But if Scott could get to her first he could drag her back into the diner.
Then he felt the pull.
The power was all-consuming, a telepathic storm with hurricane-force winds. Every other thought evaporated. Scott stared past the gas pumps to the bus, its shimmering black windows beckoning him forward. He could hear the vibration coming off the glass, demanding his submission. He was helpless against it. His eyes widened helplessly and he stumbled toward the bus.
The bus was too big, too commanding, and he walked toward his new home feeling the pull strengthen with every step. With that sword-drawing sound, the drawbridge door on the side of the bus lowered. He stared at the blackness inside, broken only by a pair of red eyes gazing out of the darkness. The eyes welcomed him. He was almost there.
Fingers wrapped around his hand.
The moment he felt their touch, the psychic pull slackened making Scott look down and break contact with the floating red eyes. Laura’s bloody fingers had a death grip on him, but there was power coming through those fingers—enough power for the terror of the moment to flood back into him.
Her face was crumpled on one side, the bones of her skull splintered and her flesh a bloody pulp. Her body looked more like a pile of smoldering kindling, legs and arms thrown over each other like branches in a fire pit. With her one good eye, she gazed up at him.
“Get Janine out,” she sputtered, blood flowing down her chin. “Get her away from here…Please.”
Scott heard a footstep. And then another. Ramsey was coming. Scott didn’t look back. He didn’t have to. He didn’t want to look at the bus at all. Whatever power Laura Decker passed on to him would be wasted if he did. Instead he nodded at Laura. Her good eye seemed to soften then rolled back in its socket as her fingers slid away from his.
Scott ran harder than he ever remembered running in his lifetime. Ahead, the Pit-Stop Grill waited, getting closer but not fast enough. His terror only increased as he stared at the windows, realizing he couldn’t see Dustin, Cassie or Janine in them. What he did see made his stomach bottom out.
The bell tinkled and the front door—the only door into the Pit-Stop—pulled itself shut.

—————————————————-

In times of total despair, in times when you feel everything is lost, hope can be the one thing that drives you forward. Hope sometimes brings opportunity, and for our survivors battling against the dark forces, opportunity is what they need.

—————————————————-

No one else said anything. Janine’s eyes closed and made a steeple with her fingers. She looked deep in thought. Cassie’s eyes were closed too, but they cracked open every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t the only one. Dustin closed his eyes but could have been doing it from exhaustion. Scott stared at them all, thinking of wasted time.
God, he thought. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.
He couldn’t think of more. He stared at the ground, the blank sky, and then to his sides, his gaze jumping from boulder to boulder. He zeroed in on one of the larger stones, especially the chicken scratches on one of its flatter surfaces. His eyes widened.
“Wait…those aren’t scratches,” he whispered. “Those are words.”
The others looked up as Scott limped away from them, moving to the boulder. “Amen,” announced Cassie and got up quickly to follow him. Janine stayed where she was, her expression pinched in concentration.
Scott reached the boulder and leaned against it. The whitened scratches were words all right—small, poorly-formed words, possibly carved into the stone with a sharp pebble. He read silently while Cassie read aloud.

“My husband is D.B. Binder, notoreus thief and bank robber. He is respnsible for 20 heists along Route 66 and they say he is famus. For some reeson I am not, althoe I skeemed evry single one. I was the getaway driver too. But they wer waitin for us in Flagstaff. D.B. went in to the bank and never came out. Then they shot out the tires. So I ran until I got stuk climbin a sharp pole fince. The fince ript me open on the way down. And then I woke up here. In hell.
No one is awake. Their eyes are open but ther asleep. Even D.B. I waited til the bus came. While the othrs got on I ran. But now I’m tired and I can’t run anymor. I see anothr light a long way off. If I keep going maybe I can get outta here.
But if I can’t I wanted someone to reed this. I wanted someone to know I was the skeemer, not D.B. He was nothin speshal without me.
Holly Binder”

“Do you think it’s really Holly?” Cassie asked when she finished. “I mean, our Holly? Waitress Holly?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say yes,” Scott replied, running his fingers over the words. How long had it taken her to write this? She had been by herself, so how could she have written this much?
The answer that floated to the surface gave Scott chills. Ramsey had known she was gone. He had allowed her to finish. In his mind’s eye, Scott could see the bus driver at the top of the hill, watching with an amused smirk on his lips as she carved away. Or maybe it had been night and the entire bus had hovered silently over her, hidden in the darkness.
Cassie had different thoughts. “Did you read that?” She pointed to the words. “She saw a light a long way off, and it wasn’t the Pit-Stop Grill. There’s something else out there.”
“Something she never made it to,” Scott reminded her. “And we don’t know which direction she saw it in. It could be anywhere.”
“So what?” she cried. “It’s not like we don’t have all the time in the world. We just keep looking.”
“But we don’t have time,” he countered, feeling another bitter throb in his ankle. “Dustin’s getting worse.” And so am I, he wanted to say but didn’t.
“Then we follow your original plan,” came Dustin’s wheezy voice, and they turned to see the young man picking himself up off the ground. Janine rose quickly to give him support. Dustin leaned on her, keeping his bloodshot eyes on Scott. “We follow the highway. If there’s anything out there, it’ll be next to the highway.”
Cassie hooted. “Then let’s get this road trip started.”
“You guys can thank me later,” Janine smiled.
Scott arched an eyebrow. “Thank you for what?”
“My idea,” she said as she and Dustin hobbled past the boulder with Holly Binder’s Last Will and Testament etched into it. “You didn’t see that rock until after I started praying.”
Scott stayed where he was for a moment, watching them move farther into the ravine. He couldn’t decide if Janine was joking or dead serious. Staring at the hastily-scratched words he realized it was possible they had been led to this spot by a benevolent being.
But in the same breath, he new something darker could have just as easily left this message, something that was slowly setting them all up for a trap.

—————————————————-

Does the damned group finally escape the relentless pursuit of RAMSEY? Are they really all dead, as they think? You can see why PIT-STOP is such a popular book. If you pre-order THE HOLLOWS (gotta do it today, as it’s out tomorrow!) you’ll get the ebook of PIT-STOP free with it, or you can buy PIT-STOP itself, from LL-Publications, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other good retailers.

BUT … answer this question and you could win your own signed copy of the 2009 EPPIE Best Horror, PIT-STOP! The best answer, in our view, will win the book.

“What, in your view, is the best book (apart from PIT-STOP, OF COURSE!) about Hell, Satan, Evil, etc., and why?”

Perhaps it’s a classic like The Exorcist, or The Omen, or another gem you’ve read or seen.

Jim Brown

LL-Publications

 

 

 

Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires…, or Aliens?

 

She's just seen her blind date...

HORROR WEEK at the LL-Publications Blog

Counting down to the release of THE HOLLOWS on Friday 20th November

What scares you the most? Which horror icon is the one that keeps you coming back for more? Who’s the King of Horror? Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires, even Aliens?

Or is there one character you’d definitely hate to meet in a dark alley, your dreams,  or a mist-shrouded graveyard? Perhaps it’s Freddie, Jason, Frankenstein’s monster, Michael Myers, Chucky, the IT clown?

Personally I recall watching the original Alien when it was released. Scared the utter crap out of me. I actually nightmared the whole movie that night and woke up bathed in sweat!

So who hits the fear factor for you?

Jim Brown

LL-Publications

HORROR WEEK: What’s your best horror book/movie?

HORROR WEEK continues at the LL-Publications Blog. Remember, anyone who leaves a comment is in with a chance of a signed copy of award-winning author Ben Larken’s new book THE HOLLOWS released this Friday!

HORROR WEEK: What’s your best horror book/movie?

When I was a young lad I recall watching “The House on Haunted Hill” (yes, black and white I know – showing my age now!). In those days before blood and gore and special effects (save the one apparition scene), film makers had to rely on timing, suspense, and anticipation. I still have that movie on tape and still get chills down my spine at scenes in the movie.

As far as books were concerned, I was (suprisinngly) not a big reader in my younger days, but I do recall one vampire book – the name of which escapes me – an old well-thumbed paperback which told of the last human left on an earth overrun by vampires (a common theme now, but probably not 30 years ago). While not scary in a shock-horror way, it told of the man’s despair and eventual descent into madness, driven there by the fear of being taken when he let his guard down. Every night his well-protected fortress home was besieged by vampires waiting for their chance.

Tell us about your own favourite horror books and movies, and why they appeal to you.

 

Jim Brown

LL-Publications

Horror week begins with Joseph D’Lacey, author of “MEAT”

Out 20th Nov

It’s HORROR WEEK at LL-Publications, culminating on Fri 20th with the release of award-winning author Ben Larken’s new book THE HOLLOWS. The first ten chapters of The Hollows are being serialised online on the run up to release, but while you enjoy those tasty sneak-peeks into Ben’s book, let me introduce you to someone new – that is if you haven’t had the chilling pleasure of reading his work yet!

Joseph D’Lacey is the British Fantasy Society’s Best Newcomer Award winner for 2009. MEAT was

Need to eat?

his debut novel and this gruesome, thought-provoking masterpiece even had Stephen King saying “Joseph D’Lacey rocks!”

I was turned in Joseph’s direction by reviewer Geoff Nelder, and I’m not sorry for that. I’m about 2/3rds of the way through MEAT and I just HAD to interview Joseph for the blog! Enjoy this fascinating insight into one of the brightest new stars in horror fiction.

Name an author (or authors) whose work you’ve read for the first time that you enjoyed.

Adam L G Nevill’s ‘Banquet for the Damned’ is a about as good a supernatural horror tale as it’s possible to find. Beautifully written – reminiscent of MR James – and truly frightening. I sat stunned on my couch after finishing it, what a climax!

Describe your experience getting published for the first time. Would you have done anything differently?

Oh, Lord, what a question!

I placed the very first short story I ever wrote (Getaway Car) with a small press magazine called Cadenza. That was eight or nine years ago and I took it as a good sign. I continued to sell short fiction and either place well in or win competitions but finding a taker for my novels was much more difficult. MEAT was my sixth novel but the first one to be published!

I had an agent for a while but I let him go when I realised I could do more for my career on my own. This isn’t always the case but it’s a fact that a bad agent is worse than no agent. I still don’t have an agent but I suppose I might need one some day.

Quite honestly, if I’d managed to get published earlier, I wouldn’t have been ready for it. When it finally happened, it was the right time. I wouldn’t change a thing, especially not the years of disappointment and yearning. Publication was so much sweeter for all that unhappiness.

What is one of the nicest things a critic or fan has said about your work?

The manager of a London branch of Waterstones called MEAT a ‘life-changing’ read. I know other people have become vegan after reading the book even though that wasn’t necessarily the point of it. Knowing your work has affected people’s lives – there’s no greater compliment than that.

What is your philosophy on writing?

Write what you love.

Who or what has been your best teacher when it comes to writing?

My greatest teacher has been ‘quantity not quality’. There’s no substitute for writing reams and reams of work of every kind from slurry to platinum. I think I improved over time because I allowed myself to write so much utter crap – journals, exercises and automatic writing included. As much as I could, as often as I could and in between would come the occasional gem.

Where did the idea for MEAT come from?

MEAT was a collision of ideas which had gathered pace and weight over a long period. I’ve always wondered how many meat-loving consumers would have the gumption to kill, gut, skin and quarter their next steak. I also wondered what really happens to factory-farmed animals – including their transport and slaughter. Coupled with an idea for the protagonist, Richard Shanti, the whole novel suddenly had real potential.

The research and subsequent writing shocked me so much I had to stop writing for a while. It was only when Bloody Books said they were genuinely interested in the idea that I sat down and finished the manuscript. I’m kind of glad I’ll never have to write it again!

Generally speaking, what do you develop first? Plot or characters?

Neither, really. All my stories develop as I write them. I write in order to discover what happens next. Stephen King talks about the process as being like an archaeological dig – unearthing artefacts a little at a time. I have a similar feeling about the process.

It’s random as hell for me, I’m afraid, and that doesn’t make it easy sometimes. I get characters, I get situations, I get phrases, I get flashes of location. But only in sitting and writing all these things down do I find the flesh and bones of a tale.

Name something you’ve tried but failed miserably at.

Pyramid selling. Market Trading. Squash (the game, not the vegetable). DIY. Car maintenance. Multitasking. Chess. Making decisions. Housework. Not being a perfectionist.

Favourite movie?

Midnight Run. I could watch that film over and over again.

Why do you think so many people are convinced they ‘don’t like horror’?

I think it’s just a misconception. Lots of folks think horror is about mindless violence and silly monsters – sometimes it is. But horror is also about taking a look at our dark side, a side we all have whether we admit it or not. This is a good for the soul. Horror is healthy. Horror is cathartic. Horror is safe because it’s pretend.

What’s more you find it in so many unexpected places – A Christmas Carol, an episode of House or even Chitty Chitty, Bang  Bang.

It’s a wonderful genre and one that will never die!

Thanks, Joseph! Now, while I get back to reading MEAT and scaring the sh** out of myself, let me tell folks some more…

About MEAT:

God is supreme. The flesh is sacred. From this all nourishment flows…

Abyrne is a decaying town, trapped by an advancing wilderness. Its people depend on meat for survival. Meat is sanctified and precious, eaten with devout solemnity by everyone.

A feud smoulders between the religious and secular powers holding the town in their thrall – whoever controls the food supply controls everything. Conflict is imminent.

But a handful of people suspect Abyrne is evil, rotten to its religious heart. They’re prepared to sacrifice everything for the truth.

What goes on in the meat processing plant? Where does meat really come from?

The townsfolk are hungry. The townsfolk must be fed…

You’ll never look at meat in the same way again.

About Joseph D’Lacey:

Joseph D’Lacey was born in London and has spent most of his life in the midlands.

“My mother warned me never to tell stories that aren’t true. It’s been great fun ignoring her advice.”

By day he runs an acupuncture practice (sticking needles into people and making little dolls scream). Between patients (victims) he writes all manner of disturbingly entertaining fiction.

He lives in Northamptonshire with his wife and daughter.

Tomorrow on HORROR WEEK at the LL-Publications Blog: Tell us which are your favourite horror books, and why!

Leave a comment any day this week for your chance to win a signed copy of THE HOLLOWS!

“Ask the Librarian” – Electronic and Print Resources

First of I want to thank everyone for their support in this new venture.  I am excited for the opportunity and hope that everyone supports their local library.

Ever need an article from a newspaper or magazine?  Your son/daughter need information for a research product?  Or you would like to print out an obituary?  Your local librarian can help you out.  There are many resources that your library may have access to, both in print and electronic format.

Every library has a different budget but most all should have access to online databases.  For example here in Texas, libraries who are a part of Texas Library System, have access to something called TexShare.  One of the many services that they offer is access to online databases.  From general information and periodicals, to health and medical, or homework and education, there are online databases specializing in different the various fields making it easier and faster to find the information you need.  For example, Academic Search Complete provided by EBSCOhost, one of my favorite databases, is a one of the most comprehensive and scholarly full-text database.  This is an excellent resource for high school and college students who need peer-reviewed or scholarly journals.  Once you find what you’re looking for you can either print it or save a copy.  On a side note, for students who are going to use the article, a simple click of the mouse will you give the full citation in several major style and writing guides.  When working on a major research paper, this tool is very handy.  Just make sure to look over it and make sure everything is correct.  So if you need an electronic resource, ask your librarian what they have access to.

Print resources are almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.  Some of the more specialized print resources are law, medical, and repair guides are some of the more popular books requested.  How to Do Your Own Divorce is a book that was heavily requested at one of the libraries I worked at so we always had it handy on the reference desk!

A word of advice: please make sure that you do not wait until something is due and expect the library to have it available.  I can’t tell you how many people wait until the day before an assignment is due, and then ask for assistance.  Some searches take longer than others so we may not be able to give you what you need that same day.

Ever wonder why some librarians ask you lots of questions when you ask for help? Stay tuned for the next installment and I’ll explain why a good reference librarian always performs a reference interview.

Don’t forget to submit any questions you may have.  I will be answering the question what makes a good dictionary for my next post.

“Librarians don’t look like librarians all the time.”
Pamela Rush
(“Checking Out At the Library“)

Article on how to get published, by Zetta Brown

Zetta has a new article up at Night Owl Romance blog, entitled “If you can get a job, you can get published”

http://nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/if-you-can-get-job-you-can-get.html

Introducing – “Ask the Librarian”

LL-Publications would like to introduce “Ask the Librarian.” This is a new feature to our blog where we would like both readers and writers to ask our resident librarian questions on how to get the most out of that wonderful resource–your local library!

Please leave comments below, in the normal way. If you have specific questions or would like to suggest a topic for our librarian to cover, please send them to:

editor(at)ll-publications.com with “Ask the Librarian” in the subject line.

“Ask the Librarian” will come at you twice a month. Here’s the schedule for the rest of 2009:

November 9 & 23
Dececember 7 & 21

So be sure to mark it on your calendar and come back!

Now, everyone be quiet! The librarian is about to speak ;D
—————

Hi! My name is Laura Guevara, and I want to thank Zetta and Jim for giving me the opportunity to be part of the “Ask the Librarian” segment of the LL-Publications Blog.

When Zetta approached me about doing this column, I was ecstatic because I want to let people know all about the different types of librarians, libraries, and how the library can help everyone. I will be giving tips and answering questions. I really do love my job and believe that libraries benefit everyone.

I am also an erotica romance writer and avid reader. My first story was published last year and since then I have had several stories published through Beautiful Trouble Publishing and Shara Azod, LLC. I write solo and with my partner in crime Drėa Riley.
We also share a blog.

OK, so who is Laura and what does she know about libraries?

I wish I could say that I have been going to libraries all my life. That as a little girl I wanted to become a librarian. But that’s not what happened. I was working at my hometown library when a librarian, who was training the staff on a new database, suggested that I should give library school a try. At the time I was working on my master’s degree in History and Politics, two classes and a research paper away from finishing my degree having just returned from a study abroad program, when she suggested this. The more I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me. Sure it would mean starting a completely new program, but I was already doing a librarians job but was so not getting a librarians salary. So I applied, got accepted into the program, and in 2008, I received my degree in library science.

I worked as a children’s librarian for almost two years. I learned so much from that experience. For the most part I loved working with kids, seeing their cute little faces smile at a story I read to them or enjoying a silly dance that we did, or receiving small gifts, or finding the perfect book for them. I had one little boy who loved everything bugs. Anytime I received new books on bugs, I always saved it for him. It got to the point that he would ask me what new book I had for him every time he came to the library. I started a new Lap Sit program that catered exclusively to babies and their caretakers. It didn’t matter if they were fussy, as soon as they heard the opening song, they would stop crying and dance along with me. That always put a huge smile on my face. It might sound corny, but putting a smile on their face was the best part of my job. I miss those days.

Part of my job also included working the Reference Desk at the central library one Sunday a month. Let me just say that was a learning experience. We see all types of people at the library. For many of them, this was the first time they visited the library, and they had no idea what the library had to offer. They were usually at their wit’s end because they couldn’t find what they wanted on the Internet. But when they left my library, they left knowing that there were resources other than Google to get the information they needed.

Even though I loved my job as a children’s librarian, I wanted to try something different. Right now I am in charge of buying materials for our library and the processing and cataloging of them. I stay on top of what’s new, hot, and in demand. I am more behind the scenes, but I still have some contact with patrons. And I am just fine with that!

Next time on “Ask the Librarian,” I will show you how you can learn more about what kind of resources are available at your library both electronically and in print.

Laura Guevara

“Libraries are brothels for the mind. Which means that librarians are the madams, greeting punters, understanding their strange tastes and needs, and pimping their books.”
Guy Browning
(The Guardian column, 18 October 2003. Submitted by Lynette in Queensland)