June 2006: This month’s author is Steve Parker. Steve is based in Japan and for those who want to know about his life and work you can check out his websit . His first novel Rebel Winter is out this month. It’s an Imperial Guard tale set on a world suffering from an unending winter. Grim, atmospheric and all-action, the story racers along at great pace.
Steve landed the gig after his story, Fall of Marakross, won a slot in the Tales from the Dark Millennium compendium. Those of you who can master your envy, read on.
Rebel Winter. It’s one helluva a journey your characters take – isolated soldiers deep in enemy territory have to fight hostiles and the elements on the march home - very much a 40K take on the Greek epic Anabasis. Did you plot out all their misfortunes and battles beforehand or did they emerge from the winterscape as you were writing?
Wow! A Greek epic? I seriously doubt I'm worthy of such a comparison. But you're right, the Vostroyans in the book really do go through a lot, don't they? To be honest, I did a tremendous amount of planning and back-story work. The Kholdas Cluster, of which Danik's World is but a single planet, has a fairly complex history that I created from scratch. That history affects many things in the book and is the source of much of the wider conflict in Rebel Winter.
There are some events in the book that occurred to me on-the-fly, so to speak, but they were in the minority.
How did the idea for the book come about? Did you approach BL with the idea or was it the result of brainstorming with the editors?
I'm guessing my approach to writing for Black Library is very different to most of their other writers. The first step in the process doesn't involve me pitching ideas to the editors at all. Basically, Lindsey and Nick chat away about what they think would be a cool general concept for a new novel, ask me if I think I'd like to write something along those lines, and we take it from there. I build the story and characters around an editorial suggestion of only a couple of dozen words in length. So far, I've never said 'no' and I don't expect to. The challenge for me is to find that element at the centre of the story that makes me care enough about the characters to journey with them through a long and sometimes tortuous process of writing and rewriting.
It's not quite 'working to order' like one would in the video-games business, but it's not far off it.
You embed lots of intriguing hooks at the end of Rebel Winter so there must be plans to write a follow-up.
There's definitely a dangerous road ahead for the characters left alive at the end of Rebel Winter. I hope readers will get to walk that road with them at a later date, but there are other things cooking right now that necessitate the postponing of such a journey. For my part, I care about my Vostroyan characters and look forward to revisiting them when the opportunity arises. When and how will depend on BL's acquisitions team.
What are you working on now and what plans do you have for the future?
Having had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, I'm not sure just how much I'm allowed to say about that. If we're talking about BL stuff, then the most I can probably say is that I'm already working on a new novel, with a little something to be finished up before said novel gets properly underway. Sorry to be so cryptic. It was deemed a little too early to follow up on Rebel Winter immediately after it was sent to the printers. In any case, I think it's safe to say that anyone who likes Rebel Winter is going to love what's coming next.
Where else has your work been published and what were those stories about?
Compared to guys like Dan Abnett and Steve Savile, I have a pitifully small body of work out there at the moment. I'm not what you'd call a prolific writer. The process of putting words on the screen is extremely hard for me. I prefer the looser 'imagining' part of the process.
I was fortunate enough to sell two of my stories very soon after I had committed myself to trying for publication. These stories - the only two stories I ever submitted to non-BL markets - both sold without much difficulty. Then came Tales from the Dark Millennium (TftDM), and the opportunity to write in the 40k milieu changed the whole focus of my writing.
My first published story appeared in Talebones – the magazine of horror and dark fantasy – and is called Stray Dog Swordsman on Redemption Road (hereafter referred to as SDSoRR). Set in Japan in the mid-1400s, it's the tale of a luckless ronin who crosses paths with a child ghost and the sickening creature that killed her. I'd love for you guys to read it sometime, but the magazine sold out pretty quickly. I'm hoping to sell the second publication rights in the future so that more people can check it out.
My second story was called Starfish and appeared in the 'science-horror' magazine Apex Digest (through which I came to know Steve Savile). That story was written as a knee-jerk reaction to the things that horrified me about Tokyo and the attitudes of many of its people towards the food they eat. It's a deeply unpleasant tale. Like the issue of b]Talebones that featured SDSoRR, this particular issue of Apex Digest soon sold out but, fortunately, Starfish was selected for inclusion in the imminent Best of Apex 2006 collection. It's being republished in July.
Through both of these stories, I managed to express both my fascination with Japan, and my heart-breaking disappointment with it. To this day, I still stand somewhere in the middle of the two.
How long did it take to get your first story published?
Not long at all – and that really surprised me. SDSoRR was rejected only twice. Starfish was rejected only once. Like many beginning writers, after the first story was initially rejected, I was worried that there must be something wrong with it, something that I was missing. But after reading it over and over, I just couldn't see why it hadn't been an instant sale. Without wishing to sound arrogant, I really believed in SDSoRR. I still do. It was a story written by me for me, so it matched my own tastes exactly.
Convinced that there must be other people with similar tastes, I decided not to rewrite it before submitting it to another market (note: never rewrite a story after it's rejected by just one or two magazines unless you already know there's something fundamentally wrong with it). The second magazine to which I submitted the story also rejected it. In both cases, the story was read and judged by a single person known as the 'slush-reader'. These goodly folk often read only the first few paragraphs before passing judgement on your work. It's somewhat understandable since they have literally hundreds of submissions to choose from, but the fate of your work depends on the tastes and mood of this single individual, often an unpaid volunteer.
Now I was really worried that I was missing some major flaw with the story, but I still believed in it enough to leave it unchanged for a few more submission attempts. The third market to which I submitted SDSoRR was Talebones. Sure, they didn't pay quite as much as the big boys, but they were (and are) highly regarded. A fair few of the stories they had published had been nominated for awards. Within days I got an excited e-mail from Patrick Swenson, who co-edits the magazine with his wife. He told me that he and his wife adored the story and wanted to buy it immediately. I can't tell you how that made me feel. Some of you will certainly find out for yourselves when you make your own first sale. That sale told me I was on the right track with this writing thing.
I've met many people who spent year after year submitting stories and never got a single bite. I consider myself incredibly lucky that things happened so fast for me. For the majority, it seems that's not how things usually roll.
How does writing a full-length novel compare to what you’ve done before? Harder than you expected? Easier? What surprised you?
In many ways, it's harder. We're talking about Imperial Guard here – their biggest asset is sheer numbers. Even limiting that to a single company, the cast of Rebel Winter is far larger than anything else I've written so far. Just selecting names for the characters took a lot of work and time. The narrative follows three central figures, rather than just one, and I wanted each of these men to be unique and individual, and for their story arcs to reflect their individual goals. I hope I've achieved that. It required much more planning than any of my shorts. On the other hand, the lessons I learned from writing short stories allowed me to cram a hell of a lot into the page count I was given. I could have used an extra hundred pages, though.
Something else I found difficult – and this may seem to come out of left field – was writing about heroes who wear fur. As a man practically obsessed with animals and nature, wearing fur is something I'm strongly opposed to, but I had to find common ground with the Vostroyans. I had to care about them regardless of their distinctive fashion choices.
In the end, after some self-analysing and a few words from Steve S., I found the solution to my moral dilemma rested within the nature of the 40k milieu itself. A big part of 40k's attraction for me is that it straddles not just science-fiction, but horror, too. We're told that the 41st millennium is the darkest, grimmest time in human history. For me, few things express that darkness more than the absolutely self-serving, whatever-it-takes nature of the Imperium and its foes. Even entire planetary populations are viewed by the greater organisations of the Imperium as little more than a resource to be used in self-perpetuating their bloated bureaucracies. This is a thread that 40k shares with a lot of dystopian fiction. An ecologist would be laughed at (and probably shot) in such times.
Perhaps the very thing that makes the heroes of 40k special is that, in occasionally revealing traits we readers can respect and admire, they stand out like distant stars against all that darkness (*looks wistfully at the sky). Sorry, that's far too romantic for a 40k-centred interview.
In the end, I can honestly say that I came to really like Captain Sebastev, Commissar Karif and Colonel Kabanov despite their many flaws.
How much research did you put into developing the Russian feel to the Vostroyan culture?
As much as I could in the time I had. I watched documentaries on Russia's struggles during WWII. I bought books about the battle for Stalingrad. I repeatedly watched films and TV shows that dealt with the subject. I replayed the Russian campaign in Call of Duty 2 again and again. There's more, but you get the idea.
In the end, however, while the Vostroyans have undeniably been inspired by historical Russians and Cossacks, they're not actually Russians. I was always very thankful for the freedom that little fact gave me while writing.
Are you writing full-time? If not, do you plan to become so and what do you do for a day job?
Ah, sadly not. I still have quite a long path ahead of me before I can live out that dream. At the moment, I continue to work part-time as an English teacher here in Tokyo. I teach business people for the most part, which can be very dry at times. I certainly don't hate the job, though. In fact, if I hadn't spent the last 5 years teaching English, I don't think the technical quality of my writing would be up-to-scratch (which isn't to say I don't still make mistakes). It's amazing how often native-speakers of English make and accept errors in basic grammar. I'm still very guilty of that. When I arrived in Tokyo, I suddenly found that I had to study English grammar all over again before I could actually teach it. I had to tone down the bad language a bit, too.
Why are you based in Japan? Have you met the other short story writers published by BL who live there?
Are there other BL writers in Japan? Are we talking about Darren-Jon Ashmore? I think he lives in Kobe. That's quite far away from me, unfortunately. I really enjoyed his story in TftDM. I'm sure it would be fun to meet him and yap about writing and Warhammer 40K for a while.
As to the reason I'm based in Japan… For a very long time – since the age of 10, actually - I wanted to try living here. It started with a fascination for ninja. As that early interest developed, I discovered Japanese comics, animation, games and other aspects of the culture (like their unique superstitions and traditions in horror/fantasy). I tried to secure various jobs before moving out here, but it didn't happen. In the end, I packed a bag full of clothes and just jumped on a plane (after saving a good percentage of my game-designer salary for a year).
At the time, I didn't realise that my long-held love of Japan would be so strongly countered by my horror at some of the things they permit. Like any country, there's plenty bad to go with the good. For now, though, this is the place and lifestyle that is most conducive to cultivating my writing. My Japanese partner is practically a living angel, and that helps a lot, but I really must improve my Japanese language skills.
How do you structure the time you spend writing? Do you set yourself a daily word or page count?
There's no doubt that discipline is a huge boon if one is serious about writing, but I find it far easier to tear myself apart in a gym most days than to sit down at a keyboard and write. I felt a certain kinship with CS Goto when I read his confession that he only tends to get going about three weeks out from the deadline with the panic really setting in. That's the way I've always done things, though I don't like it much as a method. I've yet to develop the incredible professional discipline that some of the other guys have forged for themselves, but I'm working on it.
Who are or were the biggest influences on your writing?
If we're talking about other writers, that's an easy one: Frank Herbert (Dune), J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), and Clive Barker (Cabal).
I remember reading Dune as a teenager and thinking 'I want to write!' for the very first time. Nothing touches Dune, in my opinion. To remember why I started writing in the first place, all I have to do is pick up Dune and start reading. Both Tolkien and Barker further cemented the notion in my head.
If we're talking about wider influences, my brother and I have always believed in supporting each other's dreams and we've pushed each other to try to achieve them. He's the drummer for London-based heavy-metal outfit Mouthful of Flies. They're not signed just yet, but they really melt brains. His faith and support have always meant a lot to me. When we were younger, we used to look around and see so many people who'd given up on their lifelong dreams for some perceived job-security and Friday nights at the pub. I never liked the idea of that much, but I understand that these things are seductive to many.
More recently, Lindsey Priestley and Nick Kyme both play a pretty big role in my writing, mainly because of the reactive way I tend to work (see earlier answer). They've so much experience in dealing with this particular readership that, if they say something, I tend to listen. That's not to say we agree on everything, but we can always come to a compromise. Flexibility is a major asset for anyone working in someone else's intellectual property (IP).
I expect that the very people reading this will soon become another influence on my writing. I try to listen to what readers say (so long as it's said in the right way). If something rings true with me, I act on it. Fans or critics can always make themselves heard through the contact page on my website – www.red-stevie.com. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can and post the results on my Q&A page. I occasionally haunt these very forums, too.
Why red-stevie?
Good question. There seem to be an awful lot of people out there called Steve or Stephen Parker. And they all have websites, Throne damn it! From the age of 21 to about 27, I worked part-time in nightclub security. Since there were three Steves in total on the same security team, two of us required identifying adjectives. I'm not sure if I was named Red Stevie for the colour of my whiskers or for the fact that I turn red when angry or uncomfortable – sort of like a miniature red Hulk.
I can assure you there's no Russian/Communist connection, comrade.
Warhammer 40K? Were or are you a fan or player?
I suppose I'd call myself more of a fan than a player. I played Space Hulk and painted figures when I was 14 years old, but it was (and still is) the art that I loved best. It was my worship of John Blanche's Sorcery! work that seeded my interest in Warhammer and WH40k. Though I strayed from the hobby side of things over the years, the recent re-release of the Sorcery! books reminded me of what I was missing. I started buying old copies of Inferno! on e-bay with the intention of submitting. I had no idea Inferno! had actually ceased publication by then. I discovered the Tales from the Dark Millennium competition just six or seven days before the closing date. That was a pretty busy week; I had 15 years of fluff to catch up on in a matter of days. Throne bless the efficient postal delivery services here in Japan. The codices I ordered for reference arrived the very next day.
As to why I like to work in the 40k universe… There's a very British feel to 40k that makes me think of home a lot. On rainy days, my hometown of Edinburgh is a dark, dank place with a rich gothic atmosphere. With the possible exception of London, Edinburgh must be the most gothic city in the UK. The Games Workshop store in Edinburgh is (was?) very near St. Giles Cathedral and, after visiting the store on a Saturday afternoon, I would march through the pouring rain to the bus stop, admiring the cathedral's intricate black stonework while the water ran off it in torrents. The short answer is that, in its own way, 40k just feels like home somehow.
Do you see yourself solely as a pulp SF author? Would you ever be tempted to write other kinds of fiction?
I like the inclusion of 'pulp' in your question. If pulp means high action, drama and suspense, I don't think I would want to be any other kind of author. It sure as hell isn't a pejorative term despite the way some people use it.
I don't see myself ever wanting to write stories about middle-aged female divorcees struggling to reintroduce love to their busy professional lives. Or spoiled young coquettes competing for the attentions of an aristocratic bachelor at some 19th century dinner party. That stuff just isn't for me, neither as a reader nor a writer. When critics blast someone for writing pulp, what they really mean is 'bad pulp'. Good pulp is the very stuff that most of the world's movie-lovers enjoy best – Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Terminator, you name it. This kind of pulp is as legitimate in printed form as it is on a movie screen. A quick look at the best-seller lists will tell you that much. There's always some Star Trek or Star Wars book up there, not to mention a whole host of other IP work.
As for other genres, I love horror and fantasy just as much as SF. If we bundle it all together and call it speculative fiction, then that's what I write. It's what I've always wanted to write, and it's what I probably always will write.
What do you think is the most common misconception of a writer's life?
That it's somehow easier and more profitable than even the lowliest forms of menial labour. If I spent as much time teaching English as I do writing and researching for my writing, I'd be at least three times richer than I am right now. I'd have property. Don't do it for the money, folks. That's not how it goes (unless your central character has the magical initials HP).
People sometimes wonder how I survive in Tokyo on a part-timer's salary. It's simple enough – I live a very, very Spartan life. I'm practically a recluse. It seems to work for me, though I'm sure I'm widely suspected of witchcraft, heresy and organised crime.
Any practical advice for aspiring BL writers?
This is purely my own opinion, of course, but if you truly want to write for Black Library, the biggest favour you can do yourself is to walk away from that specific dream for a while. Push it right to the very back of your mind and leave it there. Now, open up your word processing software and start writing something totally original. Don't even think about Warhammer while you write. Finish it. Rewrite it a couple of times to bring it up to your very best, then send it to as many magazines as possible (one at a time – editors don't like simultaneous submissions). Keep doing it until someone tells you they'd like to buy it.
Don't give up just because some 'slush-reader' doesn't know a good story from a goblin's toilet. Keep writing and submitting new work until you succeed, because every bit of this will get you that much closer to becoming a writer that BL are willing to take a chance on.
The longer road will get you there in the end, the short one probably won't. You've got to study writing as hard as if you had an exam coming up. The Writer's Digest Elements of Fiction Writing books are wonderful study materials. And, at the same time, don't forget to keep entering the BL anthology competitions every single time they come up. Only the BL editors can tell you when you're actually ready to walk through that particular door.
Oh, and this may be trite, but make sure you've got the technical aspects of writing down pat. Learn the rules of grammar before you decide how you'll bend them (we all bend them now and then for the sake of narrative voice), and check your spelling and vocabulary usage. If your work doesn't read very professionally, you won't be seen as professional. We all make errors now and then, but try to make them as rarely as possible.
Do you have an agent?
Not yet. I'm still too infatuated with Black Library to approach other areas of writing that would warrant my hiring an agent. When I feel I need representation, I'll look into finding a good agent, but I think it's at least a year or two off.
When you become Evil Overlord for the day, what rule would you impose on the genre?
Can't I be Beneficent Overlord instead? And which genre are we talking about? The SF genre? The entire speculative genre? If we're talking publishing in general, that's easy. Publishing companies should make e-books so affordable and attractive that everyone will give up on paper books for life. This needs to happen much faster than it is now, though I appreciate that the amazing e-ink technology has only just become available. I'm really excited about it. If the populace at large embraces e-readers, it'll make sense for publishers to change their primary delivery method. They can maintain the same overall profit while cutting production and distribution costs. Lowered pricing will lead to wider readership. Ugh! Sorry, I've been teaching businesspeople too long!
In my capacity as Overlord, I would declare that no tree will ever be cut down for publishing again, and that the worthy may store a complete library of every BL book and GW codex ever made on a single device that they can use absolutely anywhere (especially 'on the bog') with the exception of cinemas, funeral parlours and the like.
In the meantime, publishers should be forced by Imperial edict to give at least a quarter of their profits to global reforestation projects and to pay for the capture and 'interrogation' of all illegal loggers by members of the Holy Inquisition's new Ordo Ecologica (of course, I nominate myself to head such a glorious body).
Oh, and someone should authorise the production of audio versions of all the most popular BL books for the visually-impaired. I told you I was beneficent.
Thanks to Steve for enduring this.
- Martin Belderson
