I recently had the idea of interviewing each of the writers you will find within the pages of the upcoming horror anthology, PURGATORIUM. The first thing that came to mind was the PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE and how much fun it always was to read the way people would respond to some of the questions on it. So, I cribbed from the list of questions on the questionnaire, keeping some of them intact, removing some and adding some of my own that would relate to the experiences the respondents would have had in writing in general and in writing for the anthology in particular. (I’m so good at writing run-on sentences, aren’t I!?)

There are ten of us in the anthology. I will eventually share all the Proustian Questionnaires here. I thought I would begin with the principles of the newly formed ID PRESS, which is the press bringing PURGATORIUM to the marketplace. Today, I thought I would share the responses I received from Connie Di Pietro and Dale Long. Without further ado, I bring you the slightly altered Proust Questionnaires of Connie & Dale…but we’ll just go ahead and call them the PURGATORIO DIALOGUES. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did! For me, reading their responses made me realize just why I chose these lovely people as friends.

Purgatorio Dialogues – I – Connie Di Pietro

Connie Di Pietro (Photo courtesy of the author)

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

My idea of perfect happiness is the comfort from the warm sun on my back, toes in the sand, rolling waves and my children’s laughter. My music, mornings spent writing, evenings spent reading, and a table surrounded by friends and family enjoying a wonderful meal together.

2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?

Not sure I have any one preferred genre. I do have those which I’d find difficult to attempt to write in, because I don’t read them. I do love the dark and twisted.

3. What is your greatest fear?

Waking up and finding that all my fingers had been lopped off and my tongue pulled from my mouth.

4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?

This, like the above, is difficult…as my reading is varied. But dark and twisted always does win out.

5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?

Stephen King, because he isn’t afraid to bend his genre and go beyond the traditional horror of blood and gore. Andrew Pyper is also a very generous man with his time and talent in helping those of us who are just learning how to climb the ladder.

6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?

I had a fairly good grasp of the genre. I have been given the title Queen of the Macabre.

7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

hmmmm….virginity.

8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?

Same as it’s always been, there are so many varying degrees of horror. And sometimes the most horrific are the most realistic.

9. What else have you written?

Besides my cupboard filled with shelved stories, I’m currently working on the 2nd book of a trilogy about witches who travel through time trying to find their way back home in a time when witches were persecuted. I have another novel that is currently being shopped by my agent at The Right’s Factory. I have a short story in another anthology

10. When and where were you most afraid?

I was born in 1971. In 1973 my parents brought us to the drive-in theater, second billing was The Exorcist. That’s right…I stayed up in the back watching it. Still have quite a vivid memory of that. It took me deep into adulthood to watch it again without an afghan over my head as I peered through the knitting. And yes, you did the math right. I was 2 and a half, to be exact.

11. Which talent would you most like to have?

Pole-dancing. Imagine the shape I’d be in!!

12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

I’d like to come back rich and beautiful, because this whole nice thing doesn’t pay the bills so well.

13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Seriously, the lowest depth of misery is treating others unfairly, unjustly and with inequality. It must be a very sad existence to think that you are better than everyone else around you.

14. What are your three deserted island books?

The Red Tent, The Secret (because I need the universe to get me off of the island), and Little Women.

15. Who are your favorite writers?

Anita Diamont, author of The Red Tent and Day after Night, Stephen King, and the Brontes….I know they are 2.

16. Who is your hero of fiction?

(Not answered)

17. What sound grates on you more than any other?

Whining and fighting….I do have 4 kids.

18. How would you like to die?

Never thought of dying much and my preference in the matter of which I would die, but I’d have to say in my old age while I slept after a wonderful meal surrounded by all my friends and family. I’d also like to know I would/could be in control of my own mortality.

19. What sound brings you deep joy?

laughter

20. What is your motto?

Teach Peace

On the Web, CONNIE can be found:

Connie di Pietro

TWITTER

Purgatorio Dialogues – II – Dale Long

Dale Long (Photo courtesy of the author)

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

The waves at my feet, Wings on the BBQ, margarita in hand, surrounded by friends and family.

2. What is your most preferred genre as a writer?

Genre? GENRE?? We don’t need no stinking genre!

3. What is your greatest fear?

Death.

4. What is your most preferred genre as a reader?

Anything that is exceptionally written.

5. Which horror writer do you most admire and why?

Mary Shelley. For starting it all off, for writing horror in a time when women weren’t seen as credible writers, for living through what she did.

6. What was your idea of horror prior to setting off on this adventure into Purgatorium?

Running out of charcoal.

7. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Success/fame. Are those virtues? In today’s age they seem to be.

8. What is your idea of horror now that you’ve been to Purgatorium?

Running out of charcoal and margarita.

9. What else have you written?

Middle grade ghost stories, old fashioned Christmas “scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago”, Humour short stories, life stories (eulogies), post apocalyptic science fiction and some fantasy.

10. When and where were you most afraid?

The day my wife got diagnosed with cancer. Sitting in the doctor’s office. It felt like the world cracked open and threatened to swallow us.

11. Which talent would you most like to have?

To cure stupidity and ignorance.

12. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

*censored*

13. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Misery always has a lower depth.

14. What are your three deserted island books?

How To Build A Boat Out Of Sand by Neil Degrasse Tyson, Cooking with Coconuts by Deb Rankin, How To Make a Radio from Palm Trees by MacGuyver.

15. Who are your favorite writers?

All the writers in and around Purgatorium. I admire the ones that didn’t make it into the anthology for their grace and for putting themselves out there.

16. Who is your hero of fiction?

Each time I open a well written book, that character becomes my hero of fiction.

17. What sound grates on you more than any other?

The noise made when a Know-it-all opens their head hole.

18. How would you like to die?

I don’t like to die. Ever.

19. What sound brings you deep joy?

Hearing my daughters sing when they don’t know I am listening.

On the Web, DALE can be found:

Dale Long

Twitter

LIKE ID PRESS ON FACEBOOK

ADD PURGATORIUM TO YOUR SHELF ON GOODREADS!

More Purgatorio Dialogues to come! Stay tuned!

purgatorium2 — The Jester’s Court Restaurant in Port Perry, Ontario, is housed in what is presumably one of Canada’s most haunted establishments. It was a fitting place to unveil the beautiful cover for the upcoming HORROR ANTHOLOGY —> PURGATORIUM!

Last night I had the extreme pleasure of being a part of a new and exciting creation. When you’re a member of one of the world’s most vibrant writing communities, these opportunities rise up often. They begin as a kernel of an idea, and then people jump on board and they blossom into real tangible things. When a group filled with creative vitality comes together, magic can happen. I witness that all the time as a member of the Writers’ Community of Durham Region WCDR.

ID Press is comprised of 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse…er, um…I mean 4 members of ‘THE BAD TABLE’. (Photo courtesy of the publisher)

Last year, the idea of creating an anthology of stories rose up out of the din of what a group of WCDR members affectionately refer to themselves as THE BAD TABLE. It was Connie De Pietro who came up with the original kernel. With much excitement, the idea was tossed and bandied about until it was formed into an actual possibility. And then creativity happened.

From the first idea came the writing of and the submission of a collection of short horror stories. For some of us, it was an introduction to a genre we had not yet explored as writers. This was, in fact, a part of the original concept—STEP OUTSIDE YOUR ZONE OF COMFORT. As writers, we are constantly striving to better ourselves. One way to do this is to try something new. With a collection of dark storytellers at the helm, the horror concept was formed and it was eventually the premier genre that the group chose to run with.

Fast forward several months and ID PRESS (GO LIKE THEM ON FACEBOOK) rose up from the gossamer darkness that encapsulated THE BAD TABLE of WCDR members who sit at the back of their monthly ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS causing chaos and upheaval in the otherwise well-behaved room. From the chaos comes a well-oiled fine-tuned machine. And you know, I wouldn’t want to sit anywhere else. We’re rambunctious and giddy and loud…but these things are often needed in the formation of creative endeavors. I’m proud to sit among my friends in writing.

A Glimpse of the Cover for PURGATORIUM, an Anthology of dark stories…coming soon from ID PRESS.

What I loved most about the original idea was the forced capitulation from the comfort zone. All writers should try this occasionally. In fact, all creative people in any media should try it. It injects fresh blood into one’s creative process. One never knows until I tries. Growth can only happen with change.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” ~ Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. The more things change, the more they stay the same. UNLESS you turn them on their heads. So cometh the horror!

To step into a genre you have never before written in is a terrifying thing. But we’re writers, right? It’s not like we are chemists working with a new element just recently discovered in the deep quagmire of a distant planet’s molten sea. Even if we do struggle and squirm in our attempts to explore the new genre, whatever the outcome, it most likely won’t result in our death. We will come out on the other end of the experience with new knowledge and new appreciation for the genre. Whatever that genre may be. As writers, it is important that we never disqualify or belittle a genre simply because we ourselves do not write in it. They are all important, they are all appreciated by the readers who love them.

I just had to include a friend selfie here! Mel and I at last night’s PURGATORIUM cover reveal get-together at Jester’s Court in Port Perry. Writer friends are the awesome!

If you’re a writer reading this blog right now, do yourself a favour. Think about a genre you would never in a million years imagine yourself entering into. Go to your local library and pick up a book in that genre. Read it. Listen to the way the story is formed, take note of the genre’s quirks and nuances. And when you’re finished reading the book, or several books in that genre, sit down and write. Give the genre a go. You’d be surprised not only by how difficult it is, but also by how easy it is. The elements of writing are the same across genres…it’s the elements of the genre that make the experience one of growth and enlightenment. You’re a writer…you already know what goes into making a good story. You just have to manipulate the way of thinking you have in your genre of choice in order to make yourself fit into the genre of the experiment.

If you attempt this genre-swapping experiment, you may discover a whole new appreciation for a genre you previously largely ignored both as a writer and as a reader. You may even discover a new genre to devour as a reader. What could be better than that?! I have always found that if I try something new I’m usually not disappointed. This is true of slipping into the reading of a genre I usually don’t explore. Change is good. Life is change.

The folks at THE BAD TABLE had an idea. And we ran with it. I am extremely thankful for the engine behind this idea—the smaller group among us who stepped forward as captains of this vessel of creativity. Because of them a simple idea took off and became a wondrous thing that we will soon unleash upon the world. I will share more details of this upcoming anthology as they are released. For now, I would just like to personally thank the powerhouse behind making an idea a tangible thing that I will soon be able to hold in my hands. A thing with a breathtakingly gorgeous cover (soon to be revealed) that I am extremely proud to be a part of. Thank you Connie, Tobin, Dale, and Pat. You are deeply appreciated. Your efforts and talents and vision are deeply appreciated. You are all the fire that burns in the depths of our Purgatorium, as well as the phoenix that rises from the ashes of that creativity fire.

PURGATORIUM! It’s coming!