Micro-Interviews for Shiver Horror Authors
Michael Tichy Interview
1. What was the inspiration for your story?
I have family roots in Hungary and am drawn to its history and mythology. A lot of the latter seems to have been erased by the church and political forces. I look for little pieces where I can find them and maybe on some level I wanted to reclaim some of the pre-Christian paganism in this story.
2. Have you ever had a chilling experience in the cold?
Two winters ago I stayed in an off the grid cabin for an even colder than average Imbolc (February 1-2). It was spooky but I wouldn’t say chilling exactly. I did some ritual magic that marked my serious commitment to this creative path. The only spirits in attendance were definitely on the guest list.
Michael Tichy
3. What's your favorite hot beverage to sip while reading a cold-themed book?
I don’t drink a lot of hot beverages. But I’ll make you a White Russian that I guarantee will warm your blood.
4. Where can people find you online?
mettamike.wordpress.com is my blog where I post my book reviews and such. Twitter
Mark Wheaton Interview
1. A few years back, I was at a sled dog training facility in Alaska where I listened to several wild tales of real-life trail dangers from mushers who’d competed in the Iditarod and Yukon Gold races, from drift ice to bull moose to the unexplained. I’ve always enjoyed writing stories from the points of view of non-anthropomorphized animals, so it seemed like a natural fit to write a tale that took place in this real-life setting centered around the very capable lead dog of a sled team.
2. I once flew up to a small logging town around Prince George, British Columbia in the dead of winter. Flying miles and miles over endless, snow-covered spruce forests in a tiny, easily tossed plane with the knowledge that if you even survive a crash, you’re hundreds of miles from any kind of rescue was chilling, sure, but also exhilarating (death by wolf...or hypothermia?!). With temperatures well below freezing even in the middle of the day, I’ve never been anywhere so cold before or since.
Mark Wheaton
3. My favorite winter activity is hitting a blizzard-struck Prospect Park in Brooklyn with my kids. They don’t believe in, say, Santa Claus or his reindeer, but they do believe in gigantic fire-breathing ice dragons. Naturally and for years, whenever there’s a big snow in New York, we’ve gone off looking for evidence to bolster this belief. Fallen trees? Must be the landing spot of a flying dragon. A long gash in the slush that to an uninformed observer look like tire tracks? Made by a dragon dragging its scaly tail. A chunk of ice in an unusual shape? Perhaps an ice dragon’s cast-off claw or scale. Suspiciously bald spots in the snow? Evidence of a tremendous fire battle between these monstrosities or, perhaps, a pair of wyverns happily warming each other up on a cold winter’s day when no humans are around.
4. Online I’m at https://www.twitter.com/Mark_Wheaton or https://www.Mark-Wheaton.com
Ian Bain Interview
Ian Bain
1. The catalyst for my story in Shiver ("In the Empty, Snowy Field") is a snowmobile crash way out in the bush. This was a pretty easy idea for me, as growing up I'd gotten ATVs and friends' snow mobiles (we just call them "sleds") stuck way out in the forest. As a kid, my anxiety would always kick in and I'd start asking myself am I ever going to get back home? Am I going to freeze to death out here? What will happen to me if I return home without the sled? Snowmobile accidents are also, sadly, extremely common in our neck of the woods; we can't go a winter without multiple fatal crashes. I can't say much else without spoiling the story, but I really wanted to play with the mental effect the cold can have on our minds.
2. Would you rather spend Christmas in Antarctica with RJ MacReady (The Thing) or spend the winter with Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel (The Shinning) and why?
As much as The Thing is my all-time favourite movie, I'll take winter at the Overlook. I've never found Jack Torrance to be all that frightening; I think I could take him in a fight.
3: You can find me on Twitter at @bainwrites and my sporadically-updated website ianabain.wordpress.com
