Interview with Louise Bohmer

Today, I got to interview dark fiction author and editor Louise Bohmer.

Her website biography says…

Louise Bohmer is the editor-in-chief of Lachesis Publishing, based in Nova Scotia, and she is a senior editor for Lachesis’ two imprints, LBF Books and Sinful Moments Press, along with freelancing for some other small press publishers. Her writing leans mainly toward the dark fantastical and horror, but she has also dabbled in poetry and erotic fiction. “The Black Act,” her debut novel, will be published in April 2009.

Without further ado, let the first Black Quill interview begin!

When did you first start writing?

When I was a little girl, around 4 or 5, my mother showed me my grandfather’s old typewriter, which he’d brought with him from England (Nottingham).

I fell in love with it. So, she allowed me to type on it, while under her supervision. I wrote my first fantasy story on it, though I’m sure I misspelled at least 85% of that first manuscript. I also illustrated it. I was very proud, of course. Thus, the love affair was first born.

Why dark fiction? What draws you to write it?

I’ve always liked horror, dark fantasy, and the love for the darker themes grew as I matured. I suppose it helped I had a cousin who also loved horror, vampires, the occult, who enjoyed influencing me. Or, should I say warping?

My parents were very liberal, and, within reason, allowed me to explore fiction and non-fiction that looked at the esoteric, the more arcane, subjects in our world. My focus has broadened as I’ve gotten older, too. I’m not as narrowed minded and obsessive as I was at 16, or 17. But, that love of occult topics, an interest in the unknown and mysterious aspects of life, has always stayed with me, to some extent. I guess this is why I write dark fiction, and why I am drawn to write it. Blame my cousin!

Where all have you been published?

I’m going to cheat on this one, and give you the URL to my bibliography.

http://www.louisebohmer.com/site/?page_id=20  

Is there a particular story that you’ve written that’s your favorite?

I’m going to go with The Black Act, since it is my first novel. I put close to 2 years writing time into it, so, I also feel I’ve grown as a writer, from the experience.

Have you had any particular setbacks with the publishing industry? (Ex: a bad publisher,  being tricked into having your work published, then having it stolen, etc.) What do you recommend authors watch out for when looking to try and get their work published?

Nothing too terrible, really. I’ve been very careful about who I send my work to, for the most part. I like to research a market thoroughly, before I send them a story.

What to watch out for: Never pay to have your work published. Watch out for publishers who try to tell you that you don’t need a contract. Watch out for publishers that ask for lifetime rights. Or, if they don’t list their payment terms, or don’t like to discuss them, when you enquire about monies.

You have a novel called The Black Act coming out early next year. Can you tell us what that is about?

It’s basically a reinterpretation of faerie–legendary beings, found in most culture’s myths, that are not gods, but aren’t humans, either.

When Victorians, and Disney, contemporized faeries, they, well, watered them down quite a bit. Most became these diaphanous, winged, dainty beings who fluttered around flowers, in the proper ladies’ gardens.

That’s not how the ancient peoples, as far as we can discern from what’s left of their myths, saw them as. They weren’t Tinkerbell. They were the wild Green Woman and the Horned God.

So, you’ll meet creatures like this–the Green Woman, the Oak King, the Queen of Samhain–in The Black Act. Along with a simplistic yet advanced peoples, and a Guardian Guild of innately mystical witch women.

There’s a concept in The Black Act that I find interesting, and that is the fact that the planet TBA takes place in is a living being. How did you come up with that idea?

For a proper, closer to truly scientific definition, I refer you to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

Or, plug ‘The Gaia Hypothesis’, or James Lovelock, into Amazon.

The concept in my novel is loosely based on ‘The Gaia Hypothesis,’ which posits the Earth could be a single organism. In short, a kind of living entity.

It has its naysayers, and it is still up to debate, but it is an interesting theory, in my opinion. In my world, I take it to the level that nature and the planet are, indeed, a living entity. A sentinent being who communicates with the creatures that live on it by projecting a life force. That life force is known as Fae.

Fae, or Wood People, as they are also known, guard the planets sentience, which is centered beneath the crust of the planet, within its core.

The Black Act is your first novel. Did you have any difficulties in writing it? How long did it take to write the story from start to finish, not including the next several drafts and edits?

The Black Act took approx. 2 years to write. The main difficulty was accurately building a realistic world, and peoples, that had never existed. It also took a fair amount of research, to learn new facts, myths, legends, and to refresh my memory on old ones.

Where did the editing come from? Have you always had a passion to edit other’s work, or did it just come up along with working in the small press?

Editing and writing have been quiet dreams since I was a teenager. My cousin, the one I mentioned earlier, encouraged me to pursue writing and editing. She bought me research book after book on writing and editing, throughout my teens. And, the rest of my family, and friends, always encouraged me in it. But, for various reasons, I avoided it, until in my mid to late 20s.

You’ve edited quite a lot of books (almost forty!) and for so many different presses. How do you work editing into your busy writing and personal schedule?

Well, I only work for Lachesis, their two imprints, and Magus Press, right now. So, it’s not too hard to keep it all regulated. As for writing, I just stay up extra late on those nights I want to get the words in.

Personal schedule — I force myself to take at least a day and a half to two days off a week. Get away from the keyboard, and spend some time with Steve.

What would you recommend to people who want to pick up editing as a possible career, or work on the side? Was there anything specific you had to do to get as many positions as you have?

If you want to do it as a career, I really urge anyone interested to pursue a degree of some kind, either in English or creative writing, or, obviously, something to do with writing.

I was working on my B.A. in English when I met contacts who helped me get side work in editing, which turned into full time work now, more or less. But, before you can get the work, you must knows the rules of writing, have strong basic grammar, and some knowledge on the history of the various literary arts (poetry, various eras, history that influence the literature then produced), also helps. The more experience and knowledge you have, and can show on your Editing CV, the more likely you are to land a position with a reputable small press, or higher. But, I do strongly stress the word reputable.

What did I have to do to get as many position as I have? Work hard, and learn a great deal quickly.

Your website is titled ‘Esoteric Writings.’ Where did you come up with that?

The title comes from that long lasting love for all things unknown I talked about earlier. I like to yoke the fantastical with the ordinary. So, I thought ‘Esoteric Writings’ was an apt title to give folks an idea of what kind of dark fantasy, and horror, I write.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about?

Speaking of the website, it has a new look. You can hop over and check it out at:

www.louisebohmer.com

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A big thanks goes out to Louise for taking the time to fill out these questions. To visit Louise online, go to LouiseBohmer.com. Her debut novel, The Black Act, comes out in late April, 2009.

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