November 2017 - Interview with Steven R. Brandt

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Hey, I'm Jinn Tiole from @adultfiction and your host for today's interview

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Hey, I'm Jinn Tiole from @adultfiction and your host for today's interview. 

I'm about to meet my partner in a very special place, on an island. Steven Brandt already awaits me on the veranda of an old but fancy two storey beach house. He sits in a wicker chair, a small table holds two frosted glasses with a dark liquid. A plate overflows with chocolate candy. I gaze out over the overgrown garden and a stretch of white sand to the turquoise sea. This is a truly magical place. I wonder where the road leads that disappears into the waves not far from the house—the waves that roll onto the white sands with a whisper of secrets and untold mysteries. But I'm here to talk to an author, not dream up my own stories.


JT: Hello Steve, I'm so glad you were ready to meet me. How are you?


SB: Hi! It's good to come back to the old beach house.


JT: I like this setting. Would you mind telling us something more about it?


SB: Well, for those of your readers who don't know, this is the set on which the anthology "Undeath by Chocolate" was enacted. As you may recall, the premise of that story was that it was the year 2040, and you, me, and the other authors involved were now world-famous. We were supposed to be on a bus to ComicCon, and suddenly we found ourselves here with no memory of how we got here and no idea where we were.

*SB scratches his head and looks confusedly around.* We drove in on that road, right? *SB points to the only road."


JT: Now you mention it... and wasn't there a butterfly? *smiles*

Well, I really liked the way you brought ten different stories together to make a whole. I'm sure this was a lot of work. Thank you for this and also for sharing your skills as an editor. Are there any tips you might give future self publishers among our crowd?


SB: I think the biggest thing I've learned is that writers are stronger together than we are apart and that anthologies are a great way to learn, connect, and help each other to achieve success. I've been toying with other ideas for anthologies: "Freebooters in Freefall, a Space Pirate Collection," or maybe "A Field Guide to Night Creatures," which would have a Potter-like textbook feel.

As long as I'm on the subject, let me give a shout-out to some great authors:

@JesseSprague

@GeekAtlas

@RainerSalt

@jinnis

@krazydiamond

@Holly_Gonzalez

@FoolsErrand

@NancyBrandt

@KGillenwater

@ChaytonAvalerias

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