Cold Flesh: Ask Rebecca Brock, Dec 12-17

[hugonian]

Session: Rebecca Brock, Dec 12-17

Instructions: Post a question for the author and wait for a reply. From Monday to Saturday, the author will peek in periodically to answer questions. If the author cannot answer your question before time expires, feel free to PM the author with your question.

This week’s author: Rebecca Brock “Ground Floor” has had stories published in the horror anthologies Moon Over Madness, The Book of More Flesh, Hell Hath No Fury, Cold Flesh, and an upcoming small press anthology dealing with the undead. She is also the co-scripter of the Stephen King short film, The Road Virus Heads North and the (hopefully) upcoming adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Library Policeman. Her stories also appear online at All Things Zombie and Homepage of the Dead. She is currently the director of a small rural library and an adjunct English instructor when not writing, reading, watching zombie movies, or performing various researching duties for Joe Bob Briggs, patron saint of drive-in cinema. Right now, she is working on a variety of horror stories, a couple of novels, and a collection of zombie stories entitled Black Days to be published in 2006 (if the zombie apocalypse doesn’t hit first).

Q&A Schedule: See when other authors will be available--schedule of authors

Cold Flesh info: For more info regarding Cold Flesh, such as reviews and updates, please visit the official thread or the official website.

[ZombieQueen]

Hi everyone who might be reading this!

You might remember my name from my numerous best-selling novels that have topped the NY Times lists for the last several years. I've also won numerous awards and have been touted by Stephen King as "The next me. Really. I quit. I'm unnecessary now." I currently live in a splendiferous mansion where I laze around all day on a bed of money dictating my next sure-to-be best selling novel to my boytoy assistant.

Riiiiight.

Okay...I'm really happy to be a part of this, and I'm looking forward to any questions anyone might have. If you've read my story in "Cold Flesh," then I hope it entertained you for a little bit. Or at least made you a bit claustrophobic in elevators.

So...not to sound all teacher-like, but does anyone have any questions? Anyone? Bueller...?

[HOO-HAA]

Miss, miss! Me, Miss!!

I've been putting this question to most of the authors on here...

... How would you deine *true* horror? What do you think are the essential ingrediants as a writer to achieve *true* horror?

What would you consider as *too* far for you to go as a horror writer? Would you have taboos?

[ZombieQueen]

Originally Posted by Spiral

Miss, miss! Me, Miss!!

I've been putting this question to most of the authors on here...

... How would you deine *true* horror? What do you think are the essential ingrediants as a writer to achieve *true* horror?

What would you consider as *too* far for you to go as a horror writer? Would you have taboos?

Okay, yes...you in the back row. Yes, you, Mister Spiral...the one throwing spitballs.

True horror is something that has unfortunately been defined for me in recent months. I don't get scared by stories about vampires or werewolves or even zombies (although zombies inspire some pretty freaky dreams). What scares me is the sense of powerlessness felt when bad things are happening to people and there's nothing that can be done to stop it. I guess it goes along the lines of David Cronenberg's "body horror": the cell that suddenly begins to mutate one day while you're sitting in traffic and starts slowly killing you while you're going about your daily life; the sheer helpless pain of watching someone you love moaning and out of his mind with agony; the wrenching shock of learning that death has abruptly taken someone out of this life and the slow realization that you will never see them again. That's horror to me.

In a less serious response to that question: I think that *true* horror is in the eye of the beholder. I will sometimes flash back to scenes from "The Grudge" (that woman's face RIGHT UP IN MINE!) when I'm in a dark room and will almost panic before I get to a light. I believe that horror begins when a person realizes that they have passed the point of no return in a bad situation, when things are completely out of their hands and they can't do anything but ride out the storm. That's why nuclear war (or any apocalyptic scenerio) has always frightened me--the thought of the world ending around me, of watching my family suffer and knowing that there is nothing I can do to stop it or prevent it...I'm creeping myself out just thinking about it. Thus, the massive appeal of zombies to me.

Would I have taboos in my writing? Well, I'd never write a scene of molestation or rape involving children or, well, anyone. I'd never write a scene describing the torture or murder of animals. And there are probably other things that I'm forgetting at this time, but those are the major taboos.

Otherwise, I have no problems with writing gross stuff (the "go for the gross out" directive of Mr. Stephen King) if the story warrants it. [side note: As a teenager, I wrote a short story called "Pop! Goes the Pimple" about an alien invasion that included massive amounts of grossness involving pimples and wormy aliens. So I ain't afraid to go there.] Same with extreme violence IF the story calls for it. And necrophilia. I've got a story on my website that deals with that tender topic. It's a love story.

So...did I answer your questions okay enough, or have I simply babbled incoherently? I never can tell.

Thanks, Spiral! You get a gold star and extra points!!

[HOO-HAA]

Originally Posted by ZombieQueen

So...did I answer your questions okay enough, or have I simply babbled incoherently? I never can tell.

Thanks, Spiral! You get a gold star and extra points!!

It's.... simply a wonderful answer! The personal sharing was really appreciated as well.. Thanks!

[HOO-HAA]

You mention Stephen King a lot... is he a big influence on your writing?

Also, I'm interested in your thoughts on being a female writer in a genre which is traditionally seen as male-orientated... (trying soooo hard not to come across sexist here!) Have you ever experienced any sexist attitudes to your work?

[ZombieQueen]

Originally Posted by Spiral

You mention Stephen King a lot... is he a big influence on your writing?

Also, I'm interested in your thoughts on being a female writer in a genre which is traditionally seen as male-orientated... (trying soooo hard not to come across sexist here!) Have you ever experienced any sexist attitudes to your work?

I'd say that Stephen King is an influence, just like every other horror writer out there says. The first adult novel I remember reading was "Carrie" when I was about six or so. His early work, like "Night Shift" and "Salem's Lot" was a huge influence on me. I don't know how many times I've read "The Stand." I remember the feeling of pure anticipation and happiness when I opened a new Stephen King book, because I knew it would be good, and I knew I would love it. I think it was his easy, conversational style of writing that I most wanted to emulate. It just seemed so effortless and comfortable.

No worries about seeming sexist. I used to consider going by R.L. Brock to prevent the gender stereotyping, but then I realized that I'd rather my work just stand on its own. I'm guilty of being a bit sexist myself, regarding female horror writers, but that may be a bit of professional jealousy creeping out more than anything else.

To be honest, I haven't yet experienced any kind of stereotyping (that I know of). I always just assume that if a story is rejected, it's because it didn't appeal to the editor and not because I have a womb. I'd like to think I can be as brutal and bloody and unpleasant as anybody else in this business, as long as I have the writing skills to back it up (which has yet to be proven, quite frankly).

And if I may be even more honest here, the one thing I don't like are women in the horror industry (writing, 'horror journalism,' acting, directing, etc.) who try so desperately to come across as the next big Scream Queen or "horror hottie"--the ones who have websites dripping with nude or semi-nude photos of themselves, but who want to be taken seriously as an 'artist.' Give me a frickin' break. They come across (to me, at least) as trying to exploit a field that is primarily male-oriented by presenting themselves as the sexy, frisky gal who just happens to enjoy boy-stuff. Again, this could be just a touch of jealousy on my part, but it burns my biscuits whenever I see a woman using her looks rather than her ability to get ahead. Maybe it's the nature of show business, maybe it's the fact that I've never gotten a story published because someone thought I was 'hot,' but it irks me to no end.

And I'll end that rant now. Sorry 'bout that. Must be the hormones.

[Zombiekilla55]

What exactly made you want to write cold flesh???

[ZombieQueen]

Originally Posted by Zombiekilla55

What exactly made you want to write cold flesh???

The idea for "Ground Floor" actually came from my brother, who wondered out loud one day about what it might be like to be stuck in an elevator when zombies attack (sounds like a Fox show, doesn't it? "When Zombies Attack!"--I'd watch it). I learned about the anthology, "Cold Flesh," through a horror newsletter, so I thought, "What the hell, might as well," and submitted my story. The internet makes it so much easier and cheaper to be rejected.

I've always been a little claustrophobic about elevators anyway, and that just seemed like a nice, tight, *bad* place to be during a zombie rising. Part of it came from being a bit scarred by the scene in "Dawn of the Dead" (I think I mentioned that upthread) and also by the scene in "Earthquake" when the elevator cable breaks and the car filled with people crashes. I seem to remember them opening the door and revealing that the people had been turned into thick, bony, bloody pudding, but I'm pretty sure that was just my imagination--my own "director's cut," as it were.

Thanks for the question, Zombiekilla55. Mucho appreciado.

[Zombiekilla55]

excuse my foolishness, i meant ur story in cold flesh... thanks for a good answer

[shamblingstepzombie]

In one word your story in Cold Flesh was suspenseful! You really left us hanging there at the end. Elevators don't bother me, but escalators are another story... I think I'll go check out your website.

[HOO-HAA]

Do you put any of yourself into your characters... even the nasty ones?

From what I've read of your work (on the website) I would invisage your writing transferring nicely into comicbook... Is this something that you would think about in the future? Do you read comics yourself?

Did you get my e-mail?

Loved your story, Rebecca. Very suspenseful, had me on the edge of my seat (well, couch) all the way through. As a fellow Hollywood veteran, can you share some of your scriptwriting experiences?

[ZombieQueen]

Originally Posted by shamblingstepzombie

In one word your story in Cold Flesh was suspenseful! You really left us hanging there at the end. Elevators don't bother me, but escalators are another story... I think I'll go check out your website.

Hey Shamby,

Thank you! I didn't really intend for the story to be so open-ended--space considerations dictated I wrap it up fairly quickly--but I've always planned on continuing the character's story. I'm glad you liked the story. And I hope you like the couple of stories I have on the website.

Escalators always bug me, too. What if one stops and you're only half-way up? You're trapped!

Actually, every time I'm on an escalator (after I make the dumb joke about being trapped) I always think of the old Don Martin cartoon in Mad magazine where a person gets sucked into the escalator and comes out at the top all folded up like an accordian. And there IS the very real possibility of stumbling and catching your hair in the top step and breaking your neck...

Okay...it's going to be the stairs for me next time I go to a mall.

[ZombieQueen]

Originally Posted by Spiral

Do you put any of yourself into your characters... even the nasty ones?

From what I've read of your work (on the website) I would invisage your writing transferring nicely into comicbook... Is this something that you would think about in the future? Do you read comics yourself?

Did you get my e-mail?

Hi Spiral,

Do I put myself into my characters...kinda sorta maybe a little wee bit. The nasty ones, well...that's all my frustrations coming out in a story, so I can continue to be the sweet, unassuming librarian that everyone believes me to be.

Probably the nastiest character I've ever written is in my online story, "Family Value" and even I'm shocked by how terrible a person she is. When I wrote that story, I was having a terrifically awful time with a co-worker--she and my boss got together to play a trick on me by pretending that someone was stalking me through ICQ, but that's another story--and I based that character on her, albeit in a much more exaggerated way. I can attest to her sharing quite a few of the more unpleasant attributes, though.

Usually when I write, I like to have an actor or actress in mind so I can watch the movie in my head as I write it out. And I probably do put a lot of my personality into my characters--I try to give them a sense of humor, and if they're "good guys" I try to make them likable. If they're bad guys, then I use all my less-than-pleasant, cynical feelings about people and give them those traits. It's not *all* me, but partly.

Comic books! I LOVE comics. Superhero-wise, I've been reading the Ultimates (including Ultimate Spiderman, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Ultimate X-Men). And I've been keeping up with DC's Infinite Crisis and all those titles--although I can't for the life of me understand why Superman and Batman are all up on their high horse about Wonder Woman killing Maxwell Lord. I mean, my God...the man was using Superman as a weapon!

Ahem...did I get geeky for a minute? Sorry 'bout that.

Thank you for thinking my stories would make good comics. I would LOOOOVE to get into writing comics. I'm trying to teach myself the format--I have a story called "Trailer Park of the Damned" (available here at All Things Zombie!) that I would love to adapt. I try to read everything Steve Niles writes, and I'm obsessed with "The Walking Dead" books (of course). The new "Escape from the Living Dead" is fairly good, from what I've read so far, and "Zombie King" is frickin' awesome...zombies who want to rape, kill and eat you, and not necessarily in that order? Creeps me right the hell out.

And to wrap up this overly long answer...yes, I've gotten your email, and I'll be getting back to you ASAP. I'm sorry it's taking me a while, but this is finals week and it's been pretty nuts. I want to be able to have enough time to give your email the proper attention, because I'm nice like that.

Thanks for the great questions!