Interview with Chris H. Stevenson, author of Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous (Book 4 in the Screamcatcher Series)

Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Chris H. Stevenson, author of Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous.

Hi Chris, welcome back to the Speculative Fiction Showcase. We’re here to talk about your latest release, Screamcatcher: Sa’be Most Monstrous, which was published in August this year. This is the fourth instalment in your Screamcatcher series. What can you tell us about the series and the title? 

The main title is derived from the words Scream Catcher, which is the plot gimmick used throughout the books. In one mention or another.  The kids actually enter the world of an overloaded scream catcher and have to find and battle their way out of its weblike geography, all the while fighting off monstrous nightmares that have been stored within. As the series progressed, I turned the kids into a well-qualified paranormal investigation team, putting themselves up for hire, and taking on different assignments.

In this latest instalment, a man in a remote region of California is abducted by mysterious intruders and the Sheriff’s department seem unable to help - or unwilling.  How do Jory Pike and the Badlands Paranormal Society get involved? 

They get involved through a frantic phone call from a despondent woman (since they openly list their services to the public now). Since my lead MC is a half-blood Ojibwe Native, it seemed appropriate for her and her grandfather to involve themselves with such a creature of lore and solve the mystery.

Tell us about Jory Pike and her friends. Who are they and how did they come to set up the Badlands Paranormal Society? 

Each one of Jory’s team members have been Jory’s friends for years, and it is by sheer luck and happenstance that they became involved in the first incident/investigation. Jory is the MC who is 17 years-old, has Ojibwe ancestry and is the leader of the group. Her boyfriend, Choice, is the keen-sighted, innovative type with boundless energy. Darcy is the slightly unfit member, but the youngest who ranks as a genius. They refer to her as a walking database. Darcy’s boyfriend, Lander, is a bit slow witted, an expert mechanic, and the most recklessly courageous of the bunch. All of their skills and motivations compliment each other’s attributes.   

Jory and friends quickly find they’re out of their depth despite their skills. What goes wrong? 

The team is really unequipped by underestimating the natural skills and stealth that the Bigfoot presents. It seems it outthinks them or anticipates every move they make, confusing their mission plan and turning the tables on them. This opposition makes the hunt much more unpredictable and dangerous, to the point where Jory’s 91 year-old grandfather must intercede and take over most of the important decisions. He is astutely more aware of the “Sa’be” legend than the others. 

The story is set in the Mt. Shasta region in Northern California. What is the significance of the setting? 

Mt Shasta in Northern California is the perfect place for the setting since the majority of Bigfoot reports have come out of this region. Bluff Creek is the famous location of the Patterson Giblin film. Mt. Rainier, Shasta, Helens and other peaks are famous sighting spots.

 

What part is played by Jory’s grandfather, a 91-year-old full blood Ojibwe, who has a suspicion he knows what’s at stake? 

Albert White Feather Pike is steeped in his tribe’s cultural legends. He has hinted that he has had his face-to-face encounters with the legendary beast. He has certainly grown up with all the authentic tales told by his ancestors and even the tales from other tribes. His wisdom is needed and has a profound effect on the outcome of the journey.  

Your tagline for the book is: The Legend of Boggy Creek meets Supernatural. Tell us more...

The Legend of Boggy Creek was one of the first oldest accounts of an interaction between a rogue Bigfoot and a family, who live out in the forested landscape. It represents only a general interaction in this story, being that my creatures do not consistently invade or kill humans. The Supernatural TV series represents the plot where a team of investigators are used to solve paranormal and myth-related mysteries. 

You dedicate the book to Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology at Idaho State University. Who is Jeff and what is his area of interest? 

Jeff is a well-known professor who studies early bi-pedal walking advancement and structure in early man. He is perhaps the owner of the largest foot cast collection of Bigfoot in the United States. He is unafraid in expressing his view that Bigfoot/Sasquatch is a living, breathing creator, one that has its ancient roots in Giganthropithicus, the great ape of the Pleistocene period.  

Talk us through your interest in cryptids and Bigfoot in particular. How did you become interested?

I became interested in reading one of the first articles about the report of the creature being filmed by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, in Northern California. I was in a barber shop at the time. Since then, I’ve been on several field trips and consumed all the literature and books that I could read. I’ve had two experiences, one audio and one visual. My involvement in the love of cryptozoology blossomed soon after, delving into subjects like UFOs, ghosts, crypto creatures: lake monsters, sea monsters, Dogman, Mothman, Yeti, living dinosaurs, mega sharks and other such mystery animals. “Cryptozoology” means the hunt for hidden animals. 

How important is Native American lore as well as contemporary research to this legend? 

It’s extremely important. Over 130 Native North American tribes have these creatures recorded in their history as wild tribal men of the forest. Their reverence and tales go back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Their witness testimony is absolutely consistent and non-waving as to the testimony brought forth by all the witnessing members. Sasquatch, they insist, is a living breathing magical being of the forest and ranks very high in their zoological system. They believe that Sasquatch has several spiritual capabilities that can confuse and trick humans.   

The Screamcatcher series has received numerous awards and nominations. Tell us about those and what they mean to you. 

I knew very well that I had a unique plot on my hands when I introduced the inside nightmare world of a dreamcatcher. I knew that it hadn’t been done before, and being surprized at this, I jumped right on it. The trick was, how would I do it? I know I had one chance, so I gave it my best shot. It must have worked out very well (I rather knew it would), because I received about six awards fairly quickly, from grand prize winner, super five star, a bronze medal, finalist, best YA book of the year, and so on. I had great characters, sure, but I think it was the plot and dream catcher gimmick that impressed the readers, editors and publishers.  

You have had an interesting and varied life: your occupations have included newspaper editor/reporter, astronomer, federal police officer, housecleaner and part time surfer. How did you become a full-time writer and how much do you draw on your own experience? 

I became a writer in earnest in 1986, got published in 1987 in pro slick magazines with some short stories, gained membership in the Science Fiction Writers of America, and procured a brand name agent, all in a timeframe of one year. This all came about because I read a short story in Twilight Magazine that really bowled me over. I've been writing every since then. 

Screamcatcher is a YA series, but you write in other genres. Do you have a favourite? 

YA is my favorite category because I find it so easy to write it. I’ve gotten in trouble with adult books with love scenes and romance, so I shy away from that or leave it out completely. However, I won’t stop writing adult-themed books entirely. My success has come from the YA books, I think because I click with their mind-thought. 

You were born in California but now live in Alabama. How well do you know the Shasta forest? 

I’ve been there once, just to know my way around, but not for any long, extended stay. I’m pretty much used to that type of foliage, only not so rocky, with very tall pine trees. Alabama is filled with more, smaller tree varieties with very thick scrub undergrowth, which makes traveling progressively difficult. 

What will you do next? 

Seriously, I’m really trying to get motivated and come up with a very unique plot for book number 5 in the Screamcatcher series. It’s very hard to decide on what type of work or incident or monster/s to decide on, without repeating a lot of similar narrative and ideas. It has to be a standalone as well, which makes it easy for the newcomer to understand the characters and their mission motives. 

Amazon

About Chris H. Stevenson:

Chris H. Stevenson, (pen name, Christy J. Breedlove) originally born in California, moved to Sylvania, Alabama in 2009. His occupations have included newspaper editor/reporter, astronomer, federal police officer, housecleaner and part time surfer. He has been writing off and on for 36 years, having officially published books beginning in 1988. Today he writes in his favorite genre, Young Adult, but has published in multiple genres and categories. He was a finalist in the L. Ron. Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest and took the first place grand prize in the Entranced writing contest for The Girl They Sold to the Moon. Other awards include YA Book of the Year in the N.N. Light Novel Writing Contest, and bronze medal for YA horror in the Reader’s Favorite International Book Awards Contest, with the Finalist award for Screamcatcher: Dream Chasers, in the Horror category with International Book Awards Contest.

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Interview with Patricia Ricketts, author of Speed of Dark

Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Patricia Ricketts, whose novel Speed of Dark is released on May 3.

Tell us something about Speed of Dark. This is your debut novel; what led you to write it?

Wow…well, I’ve been writing all my life—poetry, short stories and my first novel—Even, After All the Years—many years ago. [Unfortunately, that novel was lost in a move, pre-computer, before I could pitch it to publishers.] Nonetheless, I love, love, love the act of writing. Bringing a character alive with real-life conflicts fascinates me, lets me understand what I think about the way of the world and the soul of another. Working on a good storyline sparks my creativity and sends me into the flow of something larger than I am.

Your main character, Mary Em Phillips, is in a dark place at the start of the novel. What brings her there and how does she begin to escape? 

Mary Em Phillips has lost everything: her grandmother Mamie who raised her, her husband Jack, and her only child Petey. Dark enough? So, I wanted to see what a woman would do with all that loss, surrounded by nothing but apparent darkness. Speed of Dark explores what Mary Em does with her sorrows and flashes back to where she’s been as she journeys through grief. Not all is dark as the novel progresses, however; the light comes in at the most amazing junctures. Some of which will surprise you. 

And, oh yeah…there’s even humor in Speed of Dark. 

Amazon lists the novel under the heading of Magical Realism. What does that mean to you? 

Magical Realism is the propensity for the mythical and spiritual to exist in real form in the everyday life of a novel. In many other cultures,  however, magic is as real as a coffee pot. Not always so for those of us who live in the west. Consequently, we give it a term—magical realism. Having said that, Lake Michigan, Mishigami in Speed of Dark, is an actual character with a voice, a personality, a past, present and future—and oh, so many worries. He will touch your heart. He certainly touches mine.

As well as Mary Em, your story has two other voices or narrators: Mosley Albright and Mishigami. Can you tell us something about these characters and the part they play in the story? 

I fell in love with Mosely Albright from the moment he walked onto my computer screen. He has heart, soul and troubles in his own life, just like Mary Em. He brings her something she needs, and unintentionally, she brings him something too. Mishigami’s issues are different. He needs a champion and he’s set his eyes, and his heart, on an unsuspecting Mary Em.

Mishigami is the spirit of Lake Michigan, named by The Ojibwe tribe. Are there elements of Native American myth in the story, as well as ecological concerns? 

I’ve included a beautiful Ojibwe “creation” story in Speed of Dark, and mention of the Ojibwe settlements on Mishigami’s northern shores centuries earlier. A subtle comparison is made between the Ojibwe’s cohabiting with nature, and contemporary people’s abuses of it. Many ecological concerns come through Mishigami, also, as he explains his concerns about our cavalier habits and practices as they relate to the earth. My dedication at the beginning of Speed of Dark reads: “Considering both the vastness of this planet’s beneficence and the finiteness of its precious resources, I dedicate this novel to Lake Michigan, our Mishigami, without whom we could not survive.”

To what extent is grief and recovery from grief an important theme in the story? 

Recovery from grief is a seminal theme in Speed of Dark. And isn’t grief and grief recovery a universal struggle for most of us? Dark and light wrestle in my characters’ experiences—past and present—as they wend their way through their individual griefs.

How far has writing and reading played an important part in your life? 

Writing for me is essential to my well-being. The cool thing about writing is it allows me to explore my own personal issues: you know, like psychotherapy without the fee. That goes for journaling, or writing poetry, or blogs, or novels, too. Writing allows me to explore my own beliefs and fears. For me, that’s centering. 

Reading, too, is essential. I fell in love with reading with a book my mother suggested back in fifth grade: Marshall Saunders’ Beautiful Joe. From there it was off to the races for me with the likes of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, John Irving’s The World According to Garp, John Fowles’ The Magus, Toni Morrison’s Beloved…oh I could go on and on. I believe a book breaks open the heart so that love—and shock and grief and growth—start to pour inside. Like hands clasped tight-to-the-chest in prayer, are novels. Fuel for something to ignite us, grander and brighter than anything we ever thought we could be. 

You were awarded a scholarship for creative writing from the University of Edinburgh. How did it come about and what impact did the experience have on you as a writer? 

While teaching high school AP English, I was encouraged to apply for this scholarship, which I did. What an incredible experience it was at the University of Edinburgh: I got to hear Scottish writers lecture on stylistics, Welsh poets read their poetry and Scottish authors conduct fabulous workshops on creative writing. And, as luck would have it, during that time, Fringe and the International Book Fair were taking place in Edinburgh, so I got to see live theatre, watch stand-up comics and street musicians perform, and attend live interviews with the likes of authors Neil Gaiman and Audrey Niffenegger. Each experience stoked the fires of my writing passion.

You have had short stories published in New Directions, Slate, Meta, Blue Hour, Realize Magazines, and on NPR’s “This I Believe” website. What can you tell us about your short fiction? Does it have a specific focus or theme? 

I am a sucker for a writing prompt. They don’t even have to be good ones to get me started. Someone could suggest a word, like “umbrella,” or a situation like “getting stoned” and I will write a poem, or a song [yes, I’m a singer-songwriter, too], or a novel to the power of its suggestion. So I’m not stuck on any one theme. I’ve written short stories about a father’s feelings on the morning of his son’s wedding, a crippled man playing his violin for the swallows under a viaduct, a little girl stealing her big sister’s imaginary horse, a woman apologizing during a pedicure to a Vietnamese man for all the harm Americans did to his country. I’m all over the place and love every minute of it. 

What made you decide to write a novel as opposed to a short story? 

I’ve written many short stories. And completed two novels. Short stories are harder because they are spare; novels are harder because they are expansive. In the end, writing is a creative venture into characters and plotlines and themes using the cadence and imagery language provides. I like both forms.

You are working on a second novel, tentatively titled The End of June. What can you tell us about this book? 

Set during 2020, in the thick of the pandemic, this novel tells the story of June Toole Byrne, who decides she needs to breathe—away from the stifling nature of the virus, from the concrete confines of Chicago, from the patriarchies which still rule the day. So she heads off on a cross-country trek to camp in a ‘82 VW Vanagon with her dog, Henri, as companion. It’s an odyssey of experiences which climax in a dramatic confrontation with a brown bear in the wilds of Wyoming. [Coincidentally, June is recently divorced from an ex whose name is Dwayne Behr.]

Your website includes autobiographical extracts as well as poetry and short fiction. The stories of your childhood are particularly vivid and show detailed recall. How far do you think childhood experience shapes the style and personality of a writer, and of you in particular? 

In a word, immensely. While writing fiction is not autobiographical per se, our childhoods are instrumental in shaping attitudes, providing agar for the petri dish of our characters and storylines, and—in my case coming from an artistic and literary home—nurturing creative tendencies. Further, I’m mostly Irish and was raised Catholic in a family with five loud, talented, and fun/funny siblings. That has influenced me, too.

What authors do you love to read, now and in past years? Are there any particular influences? 

Throughout the years, many books have swept me into the wonder of something eternal. Books like Abraham Verghese’s Cutting For Stone, Barbara Kingsolvers’ Poisonwood Bible, John Fowles’ The Magus, Joyce Carol Oates’ We Were the Mulvaneys, Brian Doyles’ Mink River, Richard Powers’ The Overstory, John Irvings’ Prayer for Owen Meany, Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Oh, I could go on and on. But I would be remiss if I didn’t specifically talk about Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides as something which swept me away, whose Prologue itself is so moving, that I used to read it to my AP English classes once a year. “Come in. Sit down and get comfortable. I’m going to read you something that will shuffle you off this mortal coil…and give you pause,” I’d say. Conroy’s artful yet truthful use of language, his tales of savior tigers, of fraternity fails, of grandparent idiosyncrasies make me howl with both laughter and pain. Every time I read it, Prince of Tides carries me, body and soul, into both the salt flats of South Carolina’s Low Country and to the city of Manhattan where the hubris of the north clashes with the tattered soul of the south—in love, in perspective, and in abuses through Tom Wingo’s troubled soul. Which, I came to find out, was a part of Conroy’s own. Further testimony that one’s childhood fuels a writer’s fiction. 

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I’m a busy person. I love to paint—using both watercolors and oils—and draw. I love to play my guitar and sing, usually my own songs. Occasionally, Peter and I host open mic concerts. I love to golf and, even though I am not terribly good, I love the sound of my club connecting with a really solid drive or watching a twelve-foot putt slide into the cup. I love Lake Michigan—summer, autumn, winter spring—and am drawn to its sides no matter the weather. I swim, loving the expansiveness that occurs when I dive inside it, and I collect beach glass on its shores when swimming isn’t possible.

Amazon

About Patricia Ricketts:

PATRICIA RICKETTS received a lifelong love of music, the written word, the visual arts, and healthy arguing around the family dining room table, leading to an undergrad degree in English Literature and a Master in Written Composition. She penned various essays, short stories, poems, and novels during her 30-year career as a high school English teacher. However, her passion really took off when she received a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh for Creative Writing. Since then, she has had short stories published in New Directions literary magazine, Realize Magazine, The Slate, Meta Magazine, The Blue Hour, on the Storied Stuff website, and in NPR’s* “This I Believe” segment. She is currently working on her next novel, The End of June. Ricketts currently resides in Chicago with her

Partner.

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