HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOLUME 2 – Edited by Russ Anderson – Written by Lots of Folks, including Me and the Writers Featured Here: Matthew P. Mayo and Ron Fortier.
This past July, PulpWork Press released HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOLUME 2. (The book can be ordered RIGHT HERE.) I’ve given my fellow writers an opportunity to answer some questions in order to pump up the book a bit, and I’ll run these Wednesday features as long as I’ve got writers responding.
Presented below is my interview with MATTHEW P. MAYO, and after that comes my chat with RON FORTIER.
Atomic Anxiety: What’s your story about?
MATTHEW: My story, “The Witch Hole,” is a Vault of Horror-type tale that takes place in Lakota Sioux territory of the Black Hills, in the mid-19th century. It plays with Sioux mythology and shamanism, blaming all manner of aberrant behavior on a freaky little creature living deep beneath the surface of the earth, a creature that’s been there far longer than have native tribes, let alone white European settlers….
AA: How did you approach writing a weird western story?
MATTHEW: As with anything I write, I usually jot down a bit about it, flesh it out over time, let it stew in my noggin, then when the calendar dictates I need to get serious about it, I jump into the pit bludgeon it into shape.
AA: What other stories in HTWWW2 have caught your eye?
MATTHEW: This will sound like a cop-out, but all of them. The book, as with the first volume, is that good, and is filled with amazingly strange moments that make for fun reading. There are some stories that are less to my liking than others, a taste preference more than a quality issue. But that’s the beauty of an anthology–there’s usually something for everyone. And the best part with HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOL. 2, is I’ve found writers I’d not read before. It’s an honor to be included in this top-shelf collection with such a talented group of folks.
AA: What other writing would you like to highlight for our readers?
MATTHEW: My most recent non-fiction, BOOTLEGGERS, LOBSTERMEN & LUMBERJACKS (Globe Pequot Press), which came out late 2010/early 2011, is a pulpy collection of gritty moments in the history of New England. Another volume in that series, SOURDOUGHS, CLAIM JUMPERS & DRY GULCHERS, containing gritty moments in the history of frontier prospecting, is coming out later this year/early next. And soon, I’ll be reissuing expanded, revised versions of my first three Western novels under my own imprint, Gritty Press. They are: WINTERS’ WAR, WRONG TOWN, and HOT LEAD, COLD HEART. All three are pulpy page turners and have only been previously released outside the US, so I’m excited about them…. Keep an eye out at www.matthewmayo.com for more info.
Atomic Anxiety: Next up is the multi-talented Ron Fortier, writer of novels, comics, and a play about World War II. What’s your story about, Ron?
RON: “The Yellow Dog” is about a mangy old dog who is totally devoted to his frontier family and will do anything to protect them from marauding indians.
AA: How did you approach writing a weird western story?
RON: Focused on writing a good western, with an economy of words and allowed the supernatural elements to blend in organically.
AA: What other stories in HTWWW2 have caught your eye?
RON: Tiles escape me, but I really liked the works of Barry Reese, Thomas Deja, Derrick Ferguson and Tommy Hancock. Editor’s Note: Those stories would be “Desolation,” “Thunder Pursued,” “Storms of Blood and Snow,” and “West of Fort Smith.”
AA: What other work would you like to recommend to our readers?
RON: I write the new adventures of pulp hero Captain Hazzard for Airship 27 Productions. So far they have released four novels with a fifth on the way.
Atomic Anxiety: That’s all for this week, folks. Thanks for your continued support of HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOLUME 2!
HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD, VOL. 2 – from PulpWork Press – edited by Russ Anderson – 368 pages – featuring a short story by Me, and 19 other awesome writers.
