Interview with Mark S. Deniz

Mark S. Deniz is an English writer, editor and publisher born in Burnley and currently living in Norrköping, Sweden. In 2001 he made his debut as writer when his short story, “Welcome to the Machine”, was published in the anthology “A Life Worth Living” edited by Bernice Summerfield. In 2007 he edited his first anthology together with Sharyn Lilley, “In Bad Dreams”, published by Eneit Press. Also in 2007 Mark Deniz founded his own publishing house, Morrigan Books , and its imprint, Gilgamesh Press. At Morrigan Books Mark published his next two anthologies, “Voices” together with Amanda Pillar and “Dead Souls”, with a third one scheduled for release later this year (both reviewed on my blog, here and here), “The Phantom Queen Awakes” edited again together with Amanda Pillar.

Mihai (Dark Wolf): Mark, thank you for your amiability and the opportunity of this interview.

You have experience as a reviewer, author, editor and screenwriter. But how did your passion for reading and writing start? How about that for cinema?

Mark S. Deniz: Thank you, Mihai, always nice to talk to other people passionate about the industry!

When I was six or seven I got a collection ‘Tales of Mystery and Imagination’ by Edgar Allan Poe. I’m still not sure who this says more about, me or my mother (as she bought the collection), and I was hooked. I mean everything just jumped off the page and I first thought ‘I have to read more of this’ before later thinking ‘I have to write like this’. Thankfully I’ve been able to succeed with the first…

Cinema…well funnily enough that was around the same time, in the summer of ’77, when I was six, my mother (again to blame) took me to see ‘Star Wars’ and everything came together at once: the love of an exciting story, good and evil, film, literature, the lot!

Mihai (Dark Wolf): Why an attraction towards the speculative fiction? What attracts you the most at the dark fiction?

Mark S. Deniz: I don’t actually like speculative fiction as a term, I think all fiction is speculative and this aim to group the areas of science fiction, fantasy and horror lessens them in some way. I am primarily a horror writer (and reader) and many years ago realised that some of the best horror is not horror per se but comes under so many other genres, as an element of the story. When I sit down and think of some of the films that have scared me the most, I notice that they are classed as something else.

Dark fiction, good dark fiction looks right into the soul, it examines the darkest sides of humanity and what we are capable of. It shows us that we are not alone in some of the thoughts we have about others, or indeed ourselves and that hate, contempt, disgust and fear are as prevalent as love, compassion, hope and happiness.

Mihai (Dark Wolf): As I mentioned in the first question you have an experience as a reviewer, author, editor and screenwriter, but which one is the most pleasant for you? Does one of this have priority for you?

Mark S. Deniz: Oh good question, and one that is hard to answer. Of those four you mention I would say that writing is the one I hark back to most often and the one I am seriously missing at present, due to not having much time to write. The one that is the main priority just now, is actually publishing, as that is craving more and more of my time and I need to do so much with that to make sure that Morrigan Books is a success. It’s a very rewarding job just now but it takes so much time it is unreal!

M(DW): You’ve published a few short stories and worked with Eneit Press before starting your own publishing house, Morrigan Books. How did Morrigan Books come to life? What made you decide to start an own publishing house?

MD: Well, it was actually Eneit Press that was my first publishing house as I co-owned that one. How that came about is that I worked with another writer on a project to edit a trilogy of horror anthologies, ‘In Bad Dreams’ (taken from a God Machine song title). After being knocked back by a few publishing houses, we agreed that the book was too good to be left on the shelf and set up Eneit Press to publish it. Five honourable mentions in Ellen Datlow’s Best of last year proved we were right in our assumption.

Morrigan Books was started last February when it was clear that the two of us at Eneit Press had very different ideas about how a publishing house should be run. I was very keen to get a foothold in the market and planned three books for the first year. Due to in-house editor, Amanda Pillar, and her support we got off the ground with work for ‘Voices’. Later came Reece Notley, Tammy Moore and Jenn Moffat and Morrigan Books then meant business.

M(DW): You also founded another publishing house, Gilgamesh Press. Is it difficult to run two separate publishing houses?

MD: Well Gilgamesh Press is an imprint of Morrigan Books and is there to fulfil my desire to see Assyrian works in print. The idea with Gilgamesh Press differs a little from Morrigan Books and so the workload is nowhere near as intense.

M(DW): How do you feel that your publishing houses developed so far? What are your goals with Morrigan Books and Gilgamesh Press?

MD: Gilgamesh Press is awaiting its first two books next year and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them in print. It’s very much a grey area with the company as we have no books on sale just now, so it really is new and exciting there. Morrigan Books on the other hand is moving along at breakneck speed, we have five titles out already, with another due in a couple of months. We are scheduled up the end of 2010 with a further five books, meaning the catalogue will be up to eleven next Christmas. We are being noticed in the industry and stories and books are being nominated in all manner of awards. I think we could do so much more too if it wasn’t for time and money hindering us (which I am sure is the same for a lot of indie press outfits).

M(DW): You have a three years plan, with five titles already published and with the sixth on its way in the first two years. What should readers expect for the third year? What follows the initial three years plan?

MD: As mentioned the readers should expect another five books, which include: the sequel to T. A. Moore’s debut novel ‘The Even’, ‘Shadows Bloom’, Amanda Pillar’s debut science fiction dystopia, ‘The Fallen’, an Irish crime anthology, filled with well known writers and edited by Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone, and my two pet projects, two anthologies inspired by God Machine albums (you see a God Machine thread here), one containing only Australian writers and the other writers from other parts of the globe.

As to after the three years, that remains to be seen. My aim was to throw everything I had at the company, in terms of time and money and see where we were at the end of the three years. If we were doing well then I would continue and if we hadn’t achieved what I expected/hoped then I would review the company and where it stood. That will more than likely be looked at in more depth next summer.

M(DW): One of the Morrigan Books titles, Gary McMahon’s “How to Make Monsters”, was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. How do you think that the Morrigan Books titles have been received so far? Are the award nominations a goal for Morrigan Books?

MD: Well I’d be happy to win a few too ;) I think it helps a publishing company as it gets them noticed. It’s also good for getting the writers noticed and seeing as one of our goals is getting new, exciting talent noticed (like Gary) then it works out well for all involved.

I think we’re being noticed, I mean we receive ten or fifteen queries a week from people wanting to be published by us to the point where I’ve had to close all the query e-mails from further people submitting.

I talked to several people at Fantasy Con in Nottingham in September, who had never met me before but knew all about Morrigan Books and what we were up to and I think getting names like Katharine Kerr, Elaine Cunningham, Ramsey Campbell, Anya Bast, C. E. Murphy, Robert Hood, Gary McMahon and Kaaron Warren writing for us can’t hurt either.

M(DW): At Morrigan Books you published two anthologies edited by you, “Voices” and “Dead Souls”, and a third due to be published, “The Phantom Queen Awakes”. How does an anthology start? What steps takes such a project from the initial idea until the final collection of short stories?

MD: Well ‘Voices’ and ‘The Phantom Queen Awakes’ have both been co-edited by myself and Amanda Pillar and so they have been different animals than ‘Dead Souls’, which is my first solo edit. How they start is dependent on how you wish to get the stories for them. There seems to be mainly three ways to get the stories for the books: one is an open call submission, in which you advertise the anthology everywhere you can and then read all the stories that come in and decide which are going to be accepted for the anthology. The second is closed call submission, where you invite a selection of authors to submit and then pick those you prefer to feature in the anthology. The final and more exclusive is commission based, where you choose the amount of authors you wish to have in the book and then hire them to write a story for it, before they have even written the first word.

‘Voices’ was completely open call, ‘The Phantom Queen’ was mainly open call, but with commissions for: Anya Bast, Elaine Cunningham, Katharine Kerr and C. E. Murphy, due to different members of the Morrigan Books team wanting to see their work with us. ‘Dead Souls’ was actually a mix of open call and closed call, giving us the chance to get some exciting new talent as well as seeing the Morrigan Books’ faithful in action too.

There are several steps involved, as first we have to read the stories and select which we want. We then have to edit those we have selected and make sure that while the writer keeps their own voice, that they fit in with the other stories and feel like they belong in the anthology. We then have to come up with a track listing (as I call it) and as someone who has done music compilations for friends all my life, I love this bit, deciding which story should start, what should be in the middle, how do we conclude, should we have section breaks, etc.

It is then down to proofreaders to spot our deliberate mistakes before we get ready for typesetting and eventual printing.

M(DW): How difficult is it to edit an anthology? How many submissions does an editor read for anthologies such as yours?

MD: It varies, ‘Voices’ was a dream, due to a few factors: Amanda’s desire and commitment to get the best product out there, the fact that it was a very manageable book and the fact that we were very much on a wavelength with the whole scheme, sections, editing, etc.

‘Dead Souls’ was much, much tougher. I was doing the whole thing on my own and it made me realise how hard that is. It’s by far the biggest book we have done, with 24 stories, some needing hardly any work at all and some needing extensive edits.

‘Voices’ had about 140 submissions I think, whereas ‘The Phantom Queen Awakes’ was nearer 240. I think if we were to advertise one now we’d be looking at around 400, depending on the theme/subject.

M(DW): What qualities do you look for when it comes to the submitted short stories? Are these qualities the same with those for the longer fiction?

MD: There are different things we look for but ultimately my two musts are an engaging story that is written well. There are so many stories out there that are one or the other yet not both and I feel both are essential. I am slightly different to the rest of the team here at Morrigan Books in that I would take well written over decent story, before the opposite. I mean badly written or passably written just doesn’t cut the mustard does it?

For me the first is a standard in writing whereas the second is extremely subjective. The comments and reviews we have received for our books confirms that.

Longer fiction is a whole other world when it comes to selection. The stories are built up in a very different manner. However the principal mentioned above is the same.

M(DW): In your latest anthology, “Dead Souls”, you have some reprinted stories and some original ones. With which one is it easier to work, with the reprinted ones or with the original ones?

MD: Reprints are, on the whole, much easier. I mean the story has already been published somewhere and so the editing of those is not too arduous. Also you’re usually taking a story you know and may already have an idea of how that could be tweaked to just take it up a notch. This is the first time I’ve worked with reprints and all of the stories were relatively painless.

On the other hand, if the original story is pretty much done, then you have as little to do with that as with a reprint. Gary McMahon’s ‘A Shade of Yellow’ was a prime example of this, as there was practically no editing required (save for a few typos) and the proofreaders found nothing amiss either.

M(DW): Did your experience as an editor improved with each collection of stories edited? Do you feel that you have more to learn about anthologies?

MD: It would be easy to say yes but it’s been a very different kettle of fish for each book and I have definitely learned a lot with each. Working with a co-editor and solo are two completely different worlds and they help to shape how I am as an editor. There are a lot of editors I would love to work with: Gary McMahon, Pete Kempshall, Ellen Datlow, Stephen Jones, Pete Allen, Robert Hood, Cat Sparks, Ian Whates, etc. and I would work with Amanda Pillar again in a shot, as I feel we are a perfect partnership when it comes to many aspects in the editing process. Yet, I loved the challenge of working on my own and am very excited about doing that again soon with the Ishtar book (no title as yet).

I have a lot more to learn about anthologies and about editing. I mean, I’m aiming to be as successful and well known as Datlow and Jones in the next twenty years or so and for that I need to learn a lot more, a hell of a lot more. Every book is a step in the right direction, even if it isn’t as acclaimed as a previous one, it has still taught me something valuable, something I need to learn to progress and improve.

M(DW): Does the editing experience help you improve as a writer? Do you think that an editor should avoid including his own stories in his anthologies?

MD: At the moment I have been feeling the opposite, which has scared me. I mean I can’t just sit down and write now, as I’m constantly analyzing what I do, making the whole creative flow that much more difficult. I’m thinking this will change with time though, as I remember when first read for pleasure after becoming an editor that that was a real grind too. However, now, only a year or so later I find reading for pleasure just as it was before.

I’ve just started working on a collaborative novel with somewhat heroine of mine, Carole Johnstone, and I’m hoping that can give me the kick I need to get writing again.

As to an editor having their own stories in an anthology, I think that is totally OK, as long as there is someone else to edit. Take ‘Grants Pass’, both Jennifer Brozek and Amanda Pillar have stories in the book. However, Jennifer and I edited Amanda’s and Amanda and I edited Jennifer’s. I have a story in ‘In Bad Dreams’, as originally I was a co-editor and so this was similar to the ones I have just mentioned. When we decided to publish that I feel I should have pulled the story then, as it was then into the realms of self publishing, which I am not as fond of. I mean if you are the publisher, editor and writer then where is the stop sign? I am a writer trying to make my way in the jungle of literature but Morrigan Books is not a vehicle to assist in that goal. This is why I removed my short ‘Russian Roulette’ from ‘Grants Pass’, as Jennifer had taken the story before Morrigan Books took the anthology.

M(DW): At what are you working now and what future plans do you have, as writer and as editor?

MD: Now, I’m co-editing the international version of ‘Scenes from the Second Storey’, an anthology inspired by the album of the same name by the band the God Machine. This is one of my all time favourite albums and has inspired so much of my work. The international version is to be a 40th birthday present to myself and will be launched on my 40th birthday next year. This will be co-edited by first time editor, Greg Ballam.

I’m also co-editing the first of the Gilgamesh Press anthologies, ‘In the Footsteps of Gilgamesh’, an anthology based on the old stories from Mesopotamia but given a science fiction, horror or fantasy edge. I’m working on this one with my sister-in-law, Berolin Deniz, who is making waves of her own in the area of gender literature in Sweden.

Then comes my next solo project, three novellas about the goddess Ishtar (also from Gilgamesh Press) and these will be written by Australian heavyweights: Deborah Biancotti, Cat Sparks and Kaaron Warren, three authors I adore and three I am very much looking to working with (again)!

As a writer I am working on a post-apocalyptic novel with Carole Johnstone, (mentioned above) which is an examination of free will, choices, sacrifice and love (all written in journal form).

And then it’s just the usual run of the mill publishing duties, which take up around 80 hours of my working week. ;)

Thank you very much for your time and answers.

Thank you for the very interesting and thought-provoking questions!

Another title goes in the shopping list

One of the titles that went straight to my shopping list the instant I saw it is the upcoming anthology edited by Stephen Jones and which will be released in December by Ulysses Press, “The Dead That Walk”. But the fact that Stephen Jones is one of my favorite editors is not the only reason for the inclusion of this anthology on my shopping list. Looking over the line-up of “The Dead That Walk”, that I found on Stephen Jones' website, offered me other great reasons.

The Dead Walk Among Us! Of all the ghoulish monsters, zombies are the most horrific. Reanimated corpses of real people—perhaps even a former friend or relative—these undead brethren rise from the grave to devour your delicious, living flesh. Far more sophisticated than the brain-eating mobs popularized in movies, zombies are as diverse as living humans, and this collection presents the complete blood-rich history of zombie literature set in the early 19th century, the Great Depression and the futuristic zombie apocalypse of tomorrow. Bringing together the greatest zombie authors—Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Clive Barker, Harlan Ellison, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Kim Newman, Michael Marshall Smith, Joe Hill, and many others—The Dead That Walks offers terrifying tales of dread that will drag you screaming into a nightmare world where dissolution does not mean the end and those who survive are next on the menu.

- "Introduction: Shoot'em in the Brain" by Stephen Jones
- "Where There's a Will" by Richard Matheson & Richard Christian Matheson
- "For the Good of All" by Yvonne Navarro
- "The Things He Said" by Michael Marshall Smith
- "The Last Resort" by Mark Samuels
- "Bobby Conroy Comes Back From the Dead" by Joe Hill
- "The Crossing of Aldo Ray" by Weston Ochse
- "Obsequy" by David J. Schow
- "Zombonia" by Nancy Holder
- "Cool Air" by H.P. Lovecraft
- "Call First" by Ramsey Campbell
- "Joe and Abel in the Field of Rest" by Lisa Morton
- "Midnight at the Body Farm" by Brian Keene
- "Dead to the World" by Gary McMahon
- "The Long Dead Day" by Joe. R. Lansdale
- "A Call to Temple" by Kelly Dunn
- "Haeckel's Tale" by Clive Barker
- "The Rulebook" by Christopher Fowler
- "Black Canaan" by Robert E. Howard
- "The Silent Majority" by Stephen Woodworth
- "Sensible City" by Harlan Ellison®
- "Granny's Grinning" by Robert Shearman
- "Amerikanski Dead at the Moscow Morgue or: Children of Marx and Coca Cola" by Kim Newman
- "Tell Me Like You Done Before" by Scott Edelman
- "Home Delivery" by Stephen King

The cover artwork is made by the same amazing artist who is Les Edwards.

Stephen King's "Under the Dome" contest & snippet

On the 10th of November Stephen King has a new novel coming up, “Under the Dome”. And until we can enjoy the King’s latest work Hodder & Stoughton puts together a very interesting marketing campaign. Over the Internet, but not only, there are more than 5000 snippets scattered across websites and locations throughout the UK for us to find out and with the help of them we can reconstruct the novel and have a chance for some wonderful prizes. There is one hidden here on my blog, you just have to look under my blog for the “Under the Dome” snippet.

After you find it you can head for the website dedicated to Stephen King and his latest novel and find out more clues, snippet locations and more about this competition. Good luck to all!

"Tender Morsels" by Margo Lanagan

"Tender Morsels"

by Margo Lanagan

Format: Hardcover, 496 pages
Publisher: David Fickling Books

Review copy provided through the courtesy of the publisher David Fickling Books

Liga endures unspeakable cruelties at the hands of her father, before being magically granted her own personal heaven, a safe haven from the real world. She raises her two daughters in this alternate reality, and they grow up protected from the violence that once harmed their mother. But the real world cannot be denied forever . . .

Magicked men and wild bears break down the borders of Liga’s refuge. Now, having known Heaven, how will these three women survive in a world where beauty and brutality lie side by side?

Margo Lanagan is an Australian author whose works have been recognized with two World Fantasy Awards for the Best Short Fiction (“Singing My Sister Down”) and the Best Collection (“Black Juice”) and a nomination for the Michael L. Printz Award for the same “Black Juice”. Her latest novel, “Tender Morsels” gathered also recognition with a nomination for the Michael L. Printz Award, but also some controversies around it.

“Tender Morsels” is categorized as young adult fiction, but is exactly from there the controversies are coming. Margo Lanagan’s novel, in its first part, presents to the reader a few violent acts that certainly do not look aimed for a young audience, since those are acts of sexual abuse. However, these acts are only scratched at their surface, none of them being explicitly depicted, I only guessed their development. Still, I don’t find these acts to be misplaced. After all, it is not necessary for the young audience whom is the main target of the novel to learn about these acts of violence from this book. It is just necessary to open the TV, the radio or the newspaper and see a world that seems to lose its innocence and acts of violence more explicit and more brutal than those from “Tender Morsels”.

Margo Lanagan’s novel has at its base a German fairy tale, “Snow-White and Rose-Red” with the best known version written by the Grimm Brothers. But “Tender Morsels” is not just an interpretation of that tale, but also a fairy tale on its own, one beautifully created by Margo Lanagan. The author manages to capture beautiful images in her story and creates two worlds that magically captured me. Margo Lanagan entangles in her story realities of our world and dreams that many of us had or have, but she also challenges these realities and dreams. In particular I liked the fact that although in “Tender Morsels” we have two distinct worlds, one a desired and peaceful heaven and the other a harsh and difficult one, it seems that both of them miss elements that will make them perfect, but both of them have wonderful aspects.

I have to admit that sometimes looking over the difficulties of the world from “Tender Morsels” I wished for the main characters to remain in their corner of paradise. But here is the exclusive merit of the author, who not only captures many emotions in her story, but also made me feel most of them. I also liked that the characters have their unique and strong voice and I could feel them manifest it in each dialogue they have within the story. Still, I have to say that I couldn’t attach myself too much of any character, but I believe that this is because I do not have a common ground with any of them.

Despite all this I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed “Tender Morsels” in the fullest. I usually go with readings that have a bit more action, at least some, and Margo Lanagan’s novel seems to miss these. But although the novel doesn’t match my criteria of favorite readings I have to say that Margo Lanagan writes beautifully and “Tender Morsels” is a thought provoking fairy tale.

"The Cabin in the Woods" movie novelization

More often than not I am dissapointed by the movie adaptations of the novels I read. But it seems that it is not the same way when it comes to the other way around, a movie turned into a novel. I haven’t read many movie novelizations, but those I read I usually ended up liking them a bit more than the movie. And one of those titles is Tim Lebbon’s movie novelization of “30 Days of Night”. It seems that Tim Lebbon has a new such movie novelization coming up, for “The Cabin in the Woods”.

The Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon movie, “The Cabin in the Woods”, plays with a classic theme of horror movies, a group of teenagers spend a weekend in a mysterious cabin and was due to be released in February 2010, but it is postponed for 2011. The Tim Lebbon’s movie novelization was also scheduled for February 2010, but in the light of release date of the movie being delayed I am not certain about the novel date release. What I am certain is that I will certainly look forward to see the movie and how Tim Lebbon turns it into a novel.

Cover art - "The God Engines" by John Scalzi

Once again Vincent Chong pulls out from his magical pen a wonderful artwork for a novel cover. This time is John Scalzi’s novella, “The God Engines”, and which will be released by Subterranean Press. It looks really good and I wish I see more cover artwork such as this one in the future.

Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this -- and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given.
Tephe knows from that the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put -- and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely...
Author John Scalzi has ascended to the top ranks of modern science fiction with the best-selling, Hugo-nominated novels Old Man’s War and Zoe’s Tale. Now he tries his hand at fantasy, with a dark and different novella that takes your expectations of what fantasy is and does, and sends them tumbling.
Say your prayers... and behold The God Engines.

Interview with Steven Erikson

Steven Erikson hardly needs an introduction. The Canadian writer is the author of the well known fantasy series, “Malazan Book of the Fallen”. The 9th novel of the series was released this year, “Dust of Dreams”, and “Malazan Book of the Fallen” will see its conclusion in the forthcoming novel, “The Crippled God”. Steve Erikson also published three novellas in his series, “Blood Follows”, “The Healthy Dead” and “The Lees of Laughter’s End”, with a 4th one forthcoming, “Crack’d Pot Trail”. He also published two novellas unrelated to the Malazan series, “The Devil Delivered” and “Revolvo” and three novels and short stories and novellas as Steven Lundin. I had the pleasure to make an interview with Steven Erikson.

Mihai (Dark Wolf): Steven, thank you very much for the opportunity of this interview.

Your “Malazan Book of the Fallen” series is already a well-known one, but how did the Malazan world come to life? What is the initial idea that lies at the foundation of your world?

Steven Erikson: The Malazan world originated as a roleplaying game, employing the GURPS game system. We were looking for something original in tone and atmosphere, and a setting that felt genuine and consistent. One thing we deliberately moved away from was the collection of tropes prevalent in fantasy fiction (and gaming). It all began with the dispensing of good and evil, and then the switch away from the traditional Medieval Europe technological and cultural foundations (and mythical as well).

Mihai (Dark Wolf): The world was created together with Ian Cameron Esslemont, but how did you start working together on this project? Did you also have disagreements while building your fantasy world?

SE: We were both working as archaeologists, which is how we met, and later on we both attending the University of Victoria (Canada), enrolled in a Creative Writing program. As flat-mates we had plenty of time to game. I can't recall much in the way of disagreements: Cam ran a number of campaigns. I ran others. The two played off one another and were the better for that dynamic. That relationship continues to this day with the novels.

Mihai (Dark Wolf): You wrote “Gardens of the Moon” in 1991, but if I am not mistaken it took three re-writings and 8 years before it was published. Did you feel at one point along these 8 years the need to quit trying to get it published? Are there huge differences between the initial draft and the final release form of the novel?

Steven Erikson: I did quit. At least six of those eight years the novel simply sat on a shelf. I finally returned to revising it once we'd moved to the UK and I had signed with Hodder & Stoughton (as Steve Lundin, Sceptre imprint) and my first contemporary fiction novel was about to be published. My agent was amenable to trying to pitch it to fantasy publishers and so I rewrote the thing (but not extensively; further rewrites followed once I had a publisher and editor on board). The initial draft of the novel started at the siege of Pale. Everything that preceded it came at this stage of revision. The very first version, of course, was a film script, and that one started in Darujhistan, with Crokus on the night he's hunted by the assassins.

M(DW): You signed a publishing deal worth ₤675,000 for your next nine novels. How did you feel when you received this offer? Did you expect or dream at one point while writing your first novel at such a deal?

SE: Well, we dream many things, don't we? My dream had always been reaching the point where I could write full time. The offer, when it came, was tailor-made. It gave me something I'd never before known: security and stability. I'd grown up poor; our family had always struggled; even at the point of signing I was in debt on Canadian student loans (the first thing I addressed upon moving back to Canada). The specific amount of the offer floored me. I never expected anything like it, but oddly enough I wasn't intimidated. I knew I could write this series: the only question was whether anyone would want to read it; and I was concerned that my publisher not come to regret their decision.

M(DW): The deal being made for other nine novels, may I ask if you already have had in mind the structure of the next novels in the “Malazan Book of the Fallen” series or you worked on them after signing the contract?

SE: I admit to some coyness at first. When the deal was being made for the first novel, it was a one-off contract, with first rights of refusal for the next one. It was only after 'Gardens' came out that I made mention of my grander scheme: ten books. And since by that point I was finishing up the second novel, Deadhouse Gates, I suspect it was seen as encouraging, in that I was able to deliver manuscripts at a decent pace, and I didn't balk at the notion of doing one a year. It's hard to consider the notions of everyone else involved -- I was, I suspect, both confident and naive, as only unseasoned writers can be. The series never felt too big, never felt impossible, or frightening. All I knew was an immense, burning impatience. I had the arc laid out in my mind: I knew where it was going and where and how it would end and I just wanted to get there.

M(DW): Together with Ian Cameron Esslemont you stated that one of your goals in writing the Malazan series is to challenge the classic fantasy elements. Do you think that the fantasy genre was passing a stereotypical moment when you started to create the Malazan universe? Do you feel that fantasy needs an invigoration through such challenges?

SE: All forms of artistic expression need challenges; they wither and die without them. I don't think there was any stereotypical moment coinciding with the publishing of Gardens of the Moon. While it was bucking the trend, it would have done that at any point in time, if you see what I mean. The canon may seem a fixed, solid thing, but in truth it's always in transformation -- even when the works in question do not change, our relationship with them does. To look at a Warhol print today is a different thing than looking at it the day it was first shown. The product is set in a specific time and place, but we move ever forward, and that relationship, that interplay, continually evolves. Thinking on that, maybe the fantasy canon at the time of Gardens (and more accurately, the time of our gaming) had reached the point in my mind and in Cam's (though you'd have to ask him for confirmation) where the tropes verged on pastiche: the farmboy with royal blood, the evil dark lord, the brash princess, the bold knight, blah blah blah. We were fed up with it, so we fucked with it and had a good laugh doing so.

M(DW): With such an amount of details and such a complex world how do you keep track of the necessary data for keeping the Malazan world in a proper order?

SE: Badly. I fill dozens of notebooks. I make lists and end up repeating them in notebook after notebook, since trying to hunt down a single reference in some obscure page in a notebook is such a pain in the ass. But those details are small stuff. The big shemes are tattooed on the inside of my skull. Written into my DNA, whatever. None of that ever wavered.

M(DW): What process of the world building do you enjoy the most? Did it happen sometime to create an element of world building and then to be unsatisfied with the final result and start it all over again?

SE: An interesting question. I think the initial mystery is what draws me in. A blank page and a pen in my hand and a map about to be drawn. I can't imagine world building without a map (which isn't to say it needs to be printed in the book or offered to readers). you start with geography and geography guides you into culture, because the two are so tightly interconnected it's impossible to invent a civilization or society without acknowledging and understanding the effects of geography. So, that initial creative process: coast lines, mountain ranges, major rivers, drainage basins, deltas, island archipelagos, vegetation, altitude, latitude, resources: these comprise the bones of culture and history. Without them there is no authenticity. Without them, you cannot truly know the place and the people you're writing about.

It sounds rather menthodical, but I think it has to be, and I think this process is the reason I can't recall ever being dissatisfied with any element of the built world. It's internally consistent. It makes sense. It's where people live and how they live, and that can be a bad place and the life can be brutally hard, or it can all seem idyllic, but in the end it's the starting point for a story and you work with what's there.

M(DW): You wrote also short fiction set in the Malazan universe in the form of three novellas. With an experience in lengthy works how different was to work on the shorter fiction? Do you feel more comfortable writing longer or shorter fiction?
SE: All of my early schooling in creative writing was in the short forms of fiction, so I'm comfortable enough with those forms. There are some differences to be sure: in novels you can wander from the path; in the shorter stuff you can't. But in terms of discipline, I probably do an unwise thing, in that I seek to apply the rigour of short fiction writing to my novels. By that I mean I pack in as much as I can, line by line (the way you do writing a short story), and I do it across a thousand pages or more. Makes for challenging reading, and I do hear often how the second or third re-reads reveal so much more to the reader, and accordingly, the novels survive well repeated readings.

My comfort level is pretty consistent, no matter what the form.

M(DW): The novels in the Malazan series were published in an almost constant rhythm of one novel per year. Is this a self-imposed rhythm or was a condition of the publishing contract? How difficult is to manage such a rhythm?

SE: It has been my normal pace. The contract did not explicitly state 'one novel per year.' It stated it the publisher anticipated one per year. I didn't quite match that once or twice, but generally it's been all right, and indeed I've found time to squeeze in a novella or two as well. This is what was driving me from the very first: the notion of becoming a full time writer was bound to the sense in my head that I was chafing at the bit, and that once unleashed things would blaze at a fierce pace -- for as long as I can manage it. So far so good. Anyway, it's not difficult. It's nice.

M(DW): There was one time while writing your novels when you felt that you had enough with “The Malazan Book of the Fallen”?
SE: No, as you might infer from all of the above. I need to reach that end and I'm almost there. And with the other shorter stuff, I can always switch gears and screw around with other voices and styles.

M(DW): I think that working so much in the same universe has created a comfort zone for you as a writer. How hard would it be to put an end to your series and leave that comfort zone?

SE: A writer's comfort zone isn't quite the same as a reader's, I think. My comfort zone is fully transferable: it's the process, the ritual, if you like, of creativity. If I think of future works that are contemporary, or historical, or in some other genre, I don't feel at all uneasy at the prospect of writing them. Now, might be it could be different should I attempt one, and am left floundering, but then, I read all genres already and they feel fine -- I see what's being done and how it's being done. So, while I'm not worried, we'll just see how it is when it comes.

M(DW): If it were possible in which part of your created world would you like to live in?
SE: Not sure. I'd probably try and find a cave no one knows and just hide there till the end of my days.

M(DW): How about the characters, is there one of them which is a reflection in fiction of Steven Erikson?

SE: They all are. No way around that. At the same time, they are each and all alternate versions, some of them so alternate I barely recognize them myself. No, I'm not being facetious. One moves from the familiar to the unfamiliar in small increments, so small it's sometimes hard to notice it's happening at all. This is the power of voice in fiction: you're invited, taken in hand even, and led along. Everything seems fine. Normal. But then the shadows start to gather... On the creative side of the process, it's much the same progression, and if you're fearless enough for it, a character can take you a long way away from anything you thought you knew, or even imagined.

M(DW): After the publishing of the 10th book in the Malazan series if a commercial demand will arise or the public will ask for a continuing of the series will you keep writing novels in your series?

SE: I'm committed to two trilogies following the ten-book series, both related to the Malazan universe. Plus, there's the Bauchelain/Korbal Borach novellas and a few spin-offs from those. Finally, to add to the Malazan fix for readers, there's Cam's stuff.

M(DW): If it were the case in the future would you write another series as long as “The Malazan Book of the Fallen”?

SE: You reach a certain age when planning in terms of decades seems rather foolish. So, no, I wouldn't. It's one of the reasons I reduced the future stuff to trilogies.

M(DW): Speaking of commercial demand it seems sometimes that our modern society takes one successful product and tries to take advantage in the fullest from it. Such is the case with successful novels which are then brought in different mediums such as graphic novels, movies, TV shows and so on. Do you feel that this is just a commercial and materialist process or it can make a novel reach new audiences and make it even more successful?

SE: It can do either. Comes down to integrity (yeah, listen to this idiot, talking integrity in the same breath as film and television!). Also, there are many varied ways of measuring success. The private ones are the most precious, because all the others are essentially out of your hands. When you give up rights, there's no telling what will follow. One of the first formal acts of any media producer is to emasculate the original creator as quickly and effectively as possible. I understand their reasoning: we're snarky bastards for the most part (we use the word 'integrity' after all), and sometimes our egos are a match to theirs and that spells trouble for sure. Anyway, I'm not entirely serious here. LoTR was produced with admirable integrity: I hope it's not unique in that regard.

M(DW): I know that the Dabel Brothers are working on a graphic novel based on your series, but are there any other projects based on your novels? In which medium would you like to see your series adapted?

SE: Both Cam and I are amenable to various representations: our own stipulation is that it be done well, and this comes down to actually knowing the people involved.

M(DW): Not always the movie adaptations of novels have the desired result and they are rather disappointing, but I am still curious to see such adaptations. Would you like to see the Malazan series adapted into a movie? Who would you like to direct such a project or to act in the movie adaptation?

SE: I'd love to see an adaptation, but it would be a formidable challenge. I'm not sure television-based format would work as well as the big-screen, however, except perhaps for the novellas, which are scaled down to a suitable size. The problem with the Malazan Book of the Fallen, of course, is the sheer immensity of the series and each novel as well. Would I like to direct? Not a chance, wouldn't know where to start. Act? Sure, some bit part in the background. I can see Cam as Aragan...

Thank you very much for your time and answers. It has been an honor and a pleasure.