Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Corvidae Author Interviews: Jane Yolen, Kat Otis, Angela Slatter


“CORVIDAE” & “SCARECROW”
EDITED BY RHONDA PARRISH

Alpena, MI (April 30, 2015) – World Weaver Press (Eileen Wiedbrauk, Editor-in-Chief) has announced the anthologies Corvidae and Scarecrow, volumes two and three of Rhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, will be available in trade paperback and ebook Tuesday, July 7 and Tuesday, August 4, 2015 respectively.

Praise for FaeRhonda Parrish’s Magical Menageries, Volume 1:

“Seventeen tales... range in feel from horror to upbeat tales about homes where things go right, and are set everywhere from the modern day to mythical fantasy pasts. The best of these stories evoke things from real life – loves and values – and show characters making hard choices that reveal who they are and what they’re made of."
— Tangent

Delightfully refreshing! I should have known that editor Parrish (who also edits the cutting edge horror zine, Niteblade) would want to offer something quite unique. I found it difficult to stop reading as one story ended and another began – all fantastic work by gifted writers. Not for the faint of heart, by any means.”
— Marge Simon, multiple Bram Stoker® winner

“There’s no Disney-esque flutter and glitter to be found here — but there are chills and thrills aplenty.”
— Mike Allen, author of Unseaming and editor of     Clockwork Phoenix

“Stories of magical beings and the humans they encounter will enthrall and enlighten the reader about both the mundane and the otherworldly. I devoured it.”
— Kate Wolford, editor of Beyond the Glass Slipper, editor and publisher of Enchanted Conversation: A Fairy Tale Magazine

Corvidae
Associated with life and death, disease and luck, corvids have long captured mankind’s attention, showing up in mythology as the companions or manifestations of deities, and starring in stories from Aesop to Poe and beyond. In Corvidae birds are born of blood and pain, trickster ravens live up to their names, magpies take human form, blue jays battle evil forces, and choughs become prisoners of war. These stories will take you to the Great War, research facilities, frozen mountaintops, steam-powered worlds, remote forest homes, and deep into fairy tales. One thing is for certain, after reading this anthology, you’ll never look the same way at the corvid outside your window.
Featuring works by Jane YolenMike AllenC.S.E. CooneyM.L.D. CurelasTim DealMegan EngelhardtMegan FennellAdria LaycraftKat OtisMichael S. PackSara PulsMichael M. RaderMark RapaczAngela SlatterLaura VanArendonk Baugh, and Leslie Van Zwol.
Scarecrow
Hay-men, mommets, tattie bogles, kakashi, tao-tao—whether formed of straw or other materials, the tradition of scarecrows is pervasive in farming cultures around the world. The scarecrow serves as decoy, proxy, and effigy—human but not human. We create them in our image and ask them to protect our crops and by extension our very survival, but we refrain from giving them the things a creation might crave—souls, brains, free-will, love. In Scarecrow, fifteen authors of speculative fiction explore what such creatures might do to gain the things they need or, more dangerously, think they want. Within these pages, ancient enemies join together to destroy a mad mommet, a scarecrow who is a crow protects solar fields and stores long-lost family secrets, a woman falls in love with a scarecrow, and another becomes one. Encounter scarecrows made of straw, imagination, memory, and robotics while being spirited to Oz, mythological Japan, other planets, and a neighbor’s back garden. After experiencing this book, you’ll never look at a hay-man the same.
Featuring all new work by Jane YolenAndrew Bud AdamsLaura BlackwoodAmanda BlockScott BurtnessAmanda C. DavisMegan FennellKim GoldbergKatherine MarzinskyCraig PaySara PulsHolly SchofieldVirginia Carraway StarkLaura VanArendonk Baugh, and Kristina Wojtaszek.
Corvidae and Scarecrow will be available in trade paperback and ebook via Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Kobo.com, WorldWeaverPress.com, and other online retailers, and for wholesale through Ingram. You can also find Corvidae and Scarecrow on Goodreads.

Rhonda Parrish is a master procrastinator and nap connoisseur but despite that she somehow manages a full professional life. She has been the publisher and editor-in-chief of Niteblade Magazine for over five years now (which is like 25 years in internet time) and is the editor of the benefit anthology Metastasis, as well as the World Weaver Press anthologies FaeScarecrow, and Corvidae. In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been included or is forthcoming in dozens of publications including Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing. Her website, updated weekly, is at rhondaparrish.com.

World Weaver Press is an independently owned publisher of fantasy, paranormal, and science fiction. We believe in great storytelling.


Author Name: Jane Yolen
Website Address: www.janeyolen.com
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @janeyolen
Facebook: Jane Yolen

What is it about corvids that inspired you to write about them?
We are a family of birders, and corvids are among the smartest (and sassiest) of birds.

Was there one corvid characteristic you wanted to highlight more than others?
Their knowingness.
Do you think you were successful?
I can only hope. . . .

If you were a corvid, what would you build your nest out of?
Coins and bottlecaps and peacock feathers.

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?
My earring collection.

If you have work in both anthologies, which came first? The corvid or the scarecrow?
Corvid first.


Author Name: Kat Otis
Website Address: www.katotis.com
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @kat_otis

Was there one corvid characteristic you wanted to highlight more than others? Do you think you were successful?
The characteristic I wanted to highlight the most was corvid intelligence.  When I was trying to decide what kind of corvid to write about, I started by browsing bird websites and quickly fell into a research pit of corvid videos where they showed amazing levels of intelligence and tool use.  Obviously the only proper response was to elevate the corvidae as a group to be as sentient as humans and... um... leviathans and frost giants.  I sure hope I was successful, as the story makes very little sense without it!

If you were a covid, what would you build your nest out of?
If I had to live in a nest, it would be a giant bean bag.  Actually, sophmore year of college my roommate and I put a bean bag in a corner of our tiny dorm room, for an oft-visiting friend of ours, and called it her nest.  So... I guess I sort of already have built a nest out of a bean bag ;)

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?
Shiny new ideas, of course!  For example, I was just working on my latest shiny new idea, a steampunk piece with exploding airships, and- OH NEW SHINY NEW IDEA GOTTA GO LATERS!


Author Name: Angela Slatter
Website Address: http://www.angelaslatter.com/
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @AngelaSlatter
Facebook: Angela Slatter (Author)

What is it about corvids that inspired you to write about them?
I think it’s the sheer wealth of lore behind them: they’re thieves; they’re clever and sly; they cross many mythologies; they’re quite lovely-looking (what’s not to love about black feathers?); they can be sinister and clownish at the same time.

If you were a covid, what would you build your nest out of?
The pages of books, so I’d be comfy and have something to read.

What’s your favourite ‘shiny’ thing?
The various rings I’ve inherited from aunts over the years because (a) shiny-shiny, and (b) they have a family and emotional connection for me. I’ve got an emerald and diamond one of which I’m especially fond.



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