Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Jason M. Waltz, editor of Neither Beg Nor Yield: Stories With S&S Attitude, which was released on January 26, 2024.
What was the kernel of inspiration behind your anthology Neither Beg Nor Yield, and what is the significance of the title?
Frankly, in a single word, frustration. I’ve previously expounded upon my inspiration in a few places, but the long and short is that I grew quite weary of all the endless lists of answers to the seemingly regularly asked, “What is Sword & Sorcery?” I mean, on the one hand it is difficult to adequately resolve that query because it is best answered with the cliché, You know it when you read it, because – for me – S&S is felt. On the other hand, it does not help that glancing at Amazon’s Top 100 S&S list includes 80+ titles that are definitely NOT S&S. Anyway, I have regularly held my State of RBE Address on January 26th each year (happens to be my birthday and the month of the American Presidential State of the Union Address, so I ran with it), and early in 2023 I decided to announce my retirement as a publisher in my 2024 Address. Then 2023 seemed to become a year filled with endless discussions, debates, and for me discouragements about the definition of S&S. I was invited by Lyndon Perry to pen the foreword to his S&S anthology Swords & Heroes…and that burst the dam that had been trapping all my angst. I used the working and reworking of that foreword to crystalize my vision of S&S and what I believe I’ve meant by claiming it being an attitude all these years – and decided that I would retire with a declaration of just that. The title actually took a bit to determine. Obviously titles matter, especially for an anthology I think, as that title should give readers a solid idea of what to expect inside its pages. From the onset, I wanted something that proclaimed power, strength, badassedness, defiance, and attitude. S&S and powerful music have a lot in common, from the orchestral movements of Wagner and Two Steps From Hell to the screaming guitars of Beast in Black and Judas Priest to the dark metal of Brothers of Metal and Dark Moor. Well Judas Priest just so happens to have been a band I’ve listened to all my life when in need of some pumping up (organized sports, military courses, long-distance races, you name it), and it just so happens my favorite tune of theirs is “Hard as Iron.” I immediately connected the theme of this anthology with the theme of that song, but it took several months and the input of most of the authors in this book to whittle it into its final shape of Neither Beg Nor Yield. I think, for this singular book, we nailed a title as defining as its stance. I believe it becomes very challenging to explain and engage when our answer to ‘What is Sword & Sorcery?’ requires multi-point lists and/or takes longer to share than some of the stories. Neither Beg Nor Yield aims to solve that riddle.
Sword and Sorcery is enjoying a rebirth, both in appreciation of older tales and publication of new work. Why do you think that is?
Because much of modern entertainment can be traced straight back to this awesome American genre. I believe Robert E. Howard is assuredly the Father of American Fantasy as we know it today. His distillation of what came before and direct influence on all that followed has resulted in our unique American take on the heroic fantastical figure. The frontier of challenge that Sword & Sorcery allows readers to face is as appealing now as it was to our ancestors gathered around the firepits and in the mead halls to raptly listen to their troubadors and lore masters. Mankind has always been fascinated by heroic tales, in love with our legends, awed by deeds of defiance of the odds, believers in the hope heroes provide. I think the pure adrenaline rush found in these tales of typically singular heroes allow readers to live vicariously, facing down Death in its dozens of forms while rising triumphantly to claim victory in all its varieties. Enthusiasm for grand storytelling is not restricted to past nor present when it offers even the slightest of hope.
How would you define Sword and Sorcery?
I define S&S as an attitude dictated by its protagonist(s), at times even by its author. Of course, the epitome of S&S tales will be set in a pre-industrial, not-quite-factually-historically-accurate world/environment, and feature bladed-weapon bearing heroes facing off against diabolical yet mortal foes of both human and horrific bent. Many people think that is the sum of S&S stories. But I don’t believe it has to be restricted or constrained to just that, or any of a few other ingredients on the lists bandied about. There are numerous such tales that can claim those features yet are not Sword & Sorcery. I also don’t believe that the semantics – the accoutrements or environment or era – make a story a S&S tale. S&S stories don’t cease to exist because of gunpowder or because they’re not written in a pre-modern setting; S&S protagonists don’t stop being S&S heroes because they hold a gun or ride a motorcycle. It’s quite simple, actually: for me, it is the attitude and the motivation of the hero. If the protagonist possesses an indomitable will to endure any challenge mano a mano while consistently living life to the fullest measure all in pursuit of the purest of personal (mercenary) motivations – that of seeking, accepting, and defying every single one of those challenges and all the new ones to follow – that character is the hero of an S&S adventure. A protagonist who is not personally motivated or does not directly, personally address his/her conflicts with the relish of an indomitable will, is not a S&S hero. As soon as those aspects disappear, or Crom-forbid never appear, the hero and the story is no longer S&S. Fantasy, even Heroic Fantasy, certainly, but not Sword & Sorcery Fantasy.
Is there a typical Sword and Sorcery protagonist, or is it more about attitude?
It’s about attitude, and that attitude originates with the son of the Father of Sword & Sorcery, Conan the Cimmerian. Conan is the bedrock and the apex of the S&S Attitude. I am not saying every story must have a Conan in it to be S&S. I am saying that the hero of every S&S story must have Conan’s attitude of indomitable will coupled with mercenary motivation. That is why for me, Michael Moorcock’s Elric is not a S&S protagonist, not least because from the moment he was first described as the anti-Conan he was incapable of being one. A S&S hero simply cannot be the opposite of Conan in attitude. Howard’s Solomon Kane is also not a solid S&S protagonist in my opinion, because his motivation lies in his battle on behalf of his God. He’s either stark raving mad (in which case he would be a S&S hero) or he is what he believes himself to be, an embodiment of his God’s wrath upon this earth. I don’t believe he’s mad. Again, define an S&S character by his/her attitude of indomitable will and personal motivation. This is also why distinction between hero-Byronic hero-antihero-villain matter. I am saddened by the misappropriation of the term antihero that has become prevalent today. I think we, readers and storytellers alike, lose out in this blurring of the roles. The hero is easily recognized, our King Arthurs and the Joan of Arcs, as their motivations are clearly beyond the selfish. They stand in the gap because they can and it’s there and so are they and it is the right thing to do. Equally simple to identify is the villain, who has never seen a gap s/he would stand in, as they either ignore it or have someone else they can put there, voluntarily or not. The Byronic heroes are almost purely selfish and only end up being cheered as heroes through accident. These are our true S&S protagonists, characters with the starring role who, while in pursuit of their motivations, inadvertently rescue others or save the day. They don’t willingly choose to stand in the gap but also do not shirk to stand in it even if their true reason is only to save their own bacon. They are not unable to be heroic, they simply don’t wish to be. The true definition of the antihero is that of someone who has the desire to be heroic but is unable to really be so. What they do not lack in motivation they do lack in ability and competency, and any heroics they may perform are through bumbling good luck and timing. These are the Charlie Brown characters: good-hearted, well-meaning, willing to be heroic yet without a clue or the capability to be so.
Who is the archetypal hero of the genre?
Conan stands center stage and sets all the standards.
When you set out to create a new anthology, what were you looking for?
Authors who wrote the throat-punch type of stories I wanted. Storytellers (not just writers) whose consistency had stuck with me over the years. My only question I had to answer: If I was going to publish this anthology defining my kind of Sword & Sorcery, who could deliver the type of stories required? It was not a challenge at all. Names rolled off my memory faster than I could list them. What I thought would be a table of contents of 12 or 13 reached 18 without a pause. We ultimately achieved 20 authors in the final version because of the decision to crowdfund the title and I wanted to add some exciting stretch goal authors. We would have had 21 stories if I’d been able to keep Nathan Meyer, who unfortunately had to bow out to deal with issues of life. For me, sans Nathan, this is the fantasy draft of my life.
How much can you tell us about the twenty stories in the anthology?
That there are 20 individually-nuanced stories of indomitably-willed and personally-motivated characters who reek of Sword & Sorcery without being clones or mimicries. I think the authors complimented the theme of defining my style of S&S quite well, even covering angles I had not pre-considered. We have 12 returning heroes and 8 new characters, all of whom deliver the S&S Attitude. I do not think any fan of Sword & Sorcery will be disappointed in this anthology, even if they doubt my assertion of it all being the attitude.
What about the contributors?
That each contributor is, most importantly, a storyteller extraordinaire, and that all these storytellers brought characters who are boldly Byronic and emphatically S&S Attituded! Several contributors told me they researched for their stories, others said they planned certain particulars, and a few said they didn’t quite buy what I was selling but they could deliver on my request. And boy did they all! There is a smorgasbord of talent within these pages, some even bestselling and most longtime experienced authors. Each of them offers entertaining examples of exactly what I mean when I state that Sword & Sorcery is an attitude. I owe them all a debt of gratitude for penning these tales on my behalf.
Talk
to us about your own writing in the genre (and outside).
Ahh, I appreciate you asking. I try to write Sword & Sorcery, but my characters tend to swing to the more general Heroic Fantasy. It’s not so much want of indomitable will as it is the lack of the mercenary motivation. I frequently explore the theme of loyalty in my stories, and that doesn’t often tick the Byronic motivation box. One of the reasons I am retiring is so that I may pursue my own writing more ardently. I was fortunate to place 5 works in publication during 2023, and it’s been personally fulfilling to once again find joy in my own storytelling. There is a certain thrill in holding an anthology of stories I’ve selected, edited, and published, but it’s something else to see my own work accepted and then read by others. Direk, Lord of Vengeance, is my most recurring character, though in 2023 I had my first Weird Western and first Cosmic Horror stories published, both of which have ideas of sequels percolating. The only story of mine that has seen publication and is S&S by my definition is “The Breath of Death” in the Rogues in the House Podcast release, A Book of Blades.
For a beginner, who are the greats from the past? And what about now?
Robert E. Howard, of course, and if I may point at two titles of my own from Rogue Blades Foundation as terrific places to begin understanding the impact of the Texas author, please look at Robert E. Howard Changed My Life and – if you’re familiar with the original Conan stories – Hither Came Conan. Others from the past include: Clark Ashton Smith and C.L. Moore, Fritz Leiber and Poul Anderson, Michael Shea and Charles Saunders, Leigh Brackett and Karl Edward Wagner. Some greats from the present – beyond those appearing in Neither Beg Nor Yield, several of whom could be considered straddlers of recent past and contemporary times – include: Roy Thomas, Scott Oden, and Alex Bledsoe to Charles Gramlich, Milton Davis, and Paul S. Kemp…and of course, Nathan Meyer.
How does Sword and Sorcery differ from Heroic Fantasy?
S&S is part of Heroic Fantasy. Heroic Fantasy is a large umbrella, with JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings under one half and Howard’s S&S under the other, and there’s a lot of territory between them. Yet not so much as one would suspect, for their overlays are numerous. I believe David Gemmell’s Druss straddles the middle of the umbrella quite comfortably, and that Gemmell himself could write the S&S Attitude, though his storytelling tended toward being more heroic in the Tolkien vein. In fact, the 3 authors Death kept me from inviting to the contents of Neither Beg Nor Yield include Howard, Gemmell, and Wagner.
In the new release spotlight for Neither Beg Nor Yield on January 29th, you said “Sword & Sorcery is contrary to Death.” Can you unpack that idea for us?
Quite simply that S&S protagonists enjoy the red, dripping juices of a full and meaty life to the hilt. They aren’t just alive; they LIVE life. They do everything within their power and strength to defy dying and—like Steve Goble’s Calthus says—win another day. The heroes of S&S grab life and don’t let it go until they’re definitely dead. S&S protagonists do not fear the Reaper.
What can you tell us about the cover art and illustrations for Neither Beg Nor Yield?
M.D. Jackson nails the feel – the down and gritty, the dark and bloody, the deadly and scary urgency I asked of him. His interior pieces do spectacular justice to each story, showcasing integral scenes and highlighting aspects of the authors’ storytelling. His cover is exactly what I sought: bloody and dangerous. A fine accompaniment to the title and theme.
How do you see your readers, and who will enjoy this?
I think that every reader who enjoys the grand adventure delivered by any definition of Sword & Sorcery will relish the thrills of this anthology. Whether a reader agrees or not with my argument, no true fan of S&S can deny that this book holds some of the best contemporary tellings of Sword & Sorcery stories to see print. If you find enjoyment in Heroic Fantasy, don’t need your stories to be hundreds of pages long, and can handle blood in the dark, you will find compelling entertainment within Neither Beg Nor Yield.
What are your plans for the future?
I aim to
write some stories I hope others find exciting and appealing. Thank you very
much for this opportunity, Jessica.
Thank you!
Amazon | Rogue Blades Entertainment
About Jason M. Waltz:
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