『Writing and Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns』のカバーアート

Writing and Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns

Writing and Selling Stories with Angelique Fawns

著者： Angelique Fawns
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Season 2 of "Read Me A Nightmare" shifts its focus to conversations with writers, editors, and creators working in and around dark fiction — about craft, career, and the realities of making stories in the world.Visit www.fawns.ca to learn more. Please --if you enjoy the episode, leave a review!

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  • Fat Vampire & The Artisan Author with Johnny B. Truant

    Fat Vampire & The Artisan Author with Johnny B. Truant
    2026/09/20
    The video of our chat is HERE.What’s my number one goal? To sell IP to film and television.You know who’s done it?Johnny B. Truant Imagine my delight when I was contacted by my favorite horror writer in Canada, Mark Leslie Lefebvre and asked if I was interested in interviewing Johnny B. Truant about his upcoming Kickstarter.Ummm.HELL YES.Ps. Here is his Kickstarter if you want the fanciest edition of Fat Vampire (on it’s thirteenth birthday) EVER. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnnybtruant/fat-vampire-10th-anniversary-special-edition-2-volume-setHere is his bio in his own voice:I’m the author of Fat Vampire (which became SyFy’s Reginald the Vampire), plus 100+ books across most genres. My books are layered, intelligent, and often funny. I love what I do, never cut corners, and would rather earn 10 true fans than sell 10,000 copies.AF: Let’s talk about Fat Vampire. You’ve had the book adapted into the TV series Reginald the Vampire. How did that actually happen?J.B.T: People say, “How do you make that happen?” I say:“I didn’t make that happen. I did nothing to make that happen.”The book existed in the world, and a producer who worked for the BBC, of all places, was getting on a plane and needed something to read. He found it on Apple Books.Then he told two of his friends, Jeremiah Chechik and Harley Peyton, “Hey, I think this is up your alley.” And then they read it and contacted me, and then they made the TV show.(Authorial note: I didn’t know those two guys, so… here you go: Jeremiah S. Chechik is a Canadian film and television director and photographer. His feature work includes National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Benny & Joon, Diabolique and The Avengers. Harley Peyton is an American screenwriter and television producer.[1] He worked in both capacities on Twin Peaks and was nominated for the 1990 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for his work on the series' third episode.)But that circumstance could never have been engineered. Even if I had pitched Harley and Jeremiah—which I didn’t—they had to be between shows, not working on something right now, actively looking. There’s just—everything ends up being luck at some point.But you can’t get lucky unless you have something to spawn that luck. Like having books in the world.AF: Did Reginald the Vampire translate into a big increase in your book sales?J.B.T: No. I would say that it’s good as cred. I got a good payday for the show and I got to go and be on it and everything.But has it made a huge difference in book sales? Not directly. It gives me a reference. It gives me social proof to be able to say that it’s a TV show, and that sort of thing is useful.It’s become kind of a keystone thing in that people do know it. It’s not like there was a big bump when it showed up. But maybe if the show had been bigger, then it would have been.AF: What was your experience like working with the production?J.B.T: The production was very gracious with me, and it’s no surprise. It’s Canadian production. Like, you’re just nicer up there.(Authorial note: Thank you! Sorry, I think we are very nice.)I was told that from end to end, the whole production was kind of a unicorn in that everybody was kind of nice. There wasn’t that kind of cutthroat culture that you hear about sometimes.AF: You were also quite involved in the TV show, weren’t you?J.B.T: I don’t think my experience was typical. I got to sit in the writers’ room a couple of times. I don’t think most authors get to do that, but I wasn’t precious.They’d ask about things, and I basically said, “I don’t care what you do. It’s your IP now.”It’s collaborative. It’s a different medium. It’s budget constrained.There were a bunch of decisions that they made because they had to make them because of budget. And I don’t have to worry about budget when I’m writing.I wish that more writers would understand that TV or movies and their books are a fundamentally different thing.AF: What changed?J.B.T: My Fat Vampire novels are third-person limited. So if Reginald, the main character, isn’t there and doesn’t hear it and see it, then you don’t know it.That doesn’t really work on TV.So they had to create all these other characters and all these POVs, and they needed to be able to shift from an A story to a B story. And that’s not the way books are written.You can’t adapt them one-to-one. Just because the audiovisual version is not the same as the book does not mean that it is screwed up inherently.They used the same premise to create something that worked for that medium.AF: You were part of a companion podcast for the TV show, weren’t you?https://johnnybtruant.substack.com/podcastJ.B.T: Yeah. When I pitched this originally, it was maybe a month, maybe even less, before the first season of the TV show came out.I said, “I can do a companion podcast.”And so if it’s coming out every week ...
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    53 分
  • William Bernhardt & The Superman Wars

    William Bernhardt & The Superman Wars
    2026/08/09
    I came into William Bernhardt’s orbit when he invited me to his Writer Con, upcoming this September in Oklahoma City.(Anyone here going? Let me know! We can meet up.)We had an out-of-this-world talk about his new book, The Superman Wars.Almost everyone knows about the man from Krypton who, disguised as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent working with the fearless Lois Lane, fights for the vulnerable and the oppressed. But few know the truth about this indelible character’s creation. From mobster tactics to decades-long courtroom drama, a beloved American myth was born, betrayed, and eventually reclaimed—almost eighty years after the character first appeared.New witnesses, unpublished manuscripts, personal letters, and more reveal the complex and dramatic history of Superman and his creator, Jerry Siegel. This is a David and Goliath clash with twists, turns, and devastating upheavals. An underdog tale of a creator who fought for his rights and finally found redemption in his battle for truth, justice, and the American Way. A story that has never been fully told…How did I not know about this? It’s fascinating to hear why William chose to tell this story. And we talk about way more than just this book. * We get into the true kryptonite that plagues writers, aka: take care of your IP.* The benefits of conferences* Indie versus Trad* Why I left my agent* Finding time to write* TV & Film optioning* And so much moreHere is his bio: William Bernhardt is the author of over sixty books, including the Daniel Pike legal thriller series (#1 best-selling novel The Last Chance Lawyer). His previous works include the bestselling Ben Kincaid series, the historical novels Challengers of the Dust and The Florentine Poet, three books of poetry, and the Red Sneaker books on fiction writing. In addition, Bernhardt founded WriterCon Programs to mentor aspiring writers. WriterCon hosts an annual writers conference, an annual cruise, small-group writing retreats, a magazine, plus free bi-weekly e-newsletters and podcasts. Hey, if you prefer talking heads and visuals, there is a YouTube version of our talk!CLICK HEREIf you want to learn more about William Bernhardt, more places to click:https://williambernhardt.comhttps://writercon.com/https://www.facebook.com/WriterConHQAngelique: Your newest book is The Superman Wars. What inspired you to write it?William: I thought this was an important story. Everyone knows Superman, but more importantly, this is the most pivotal creator-rights battle of modern times. Jerry Siegel’s struggle benefited countless creative people, not just those in comics. I wanted this story to reach a wide audience, so I decided it deserved a traditional publisher and a chance to be in bookstores.Angelique: I had no idea this drama existed in the background! William: You’re not alone. A lot of people remember the publicity campaign for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1975 and think they know the story. They don’t. There were another fifty years of legal battles after that. Even many people in the comic book industry don’t know what really happened, and some of the versions that have been told simply aren’t accurate. I wanted to tell the real story.Angelique: I can’t believe this happened to the creator of the most iconic superhero of all time.William: It’s a cautionary tale. Don’t let what happened to Jerry Siegel happen to you. The threats may look different today, but there are still people and companies that would love to take your intellectual property. Every year at WriterCon, I meet writers who have lost thousands of dollars to vanity presses or other scams. Today we also have AI scraping and copyright issues. The lesson is simple: protect yourself. Don’t assume someone else will do it for you.Angelique: What’s the most shocking part of the story?William: Jerry Siegel knew from childhood that he wanted to be a writer. Like me, he started submitting work when he was very young. During the Depression, he desperately wanted to break into newspaper comic strips because that was where the money was.He and Joe Shuster spent years trying to sell Superman to newspaper syndicates, but no one understood the concept. Eventually they agreed to publish Superman through a comic book company. Unfortunately, just before Superman debuted, the company was taken over by Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz.(Authorial note for us Canadians: Joe Shuster was born in Toronto.)People often say Superman was sold for $130. That’s not exactly true. Jerry and Joe were paid $130 for the first thirteen-page story. Hidden in that agreement, though, was a clause transferring all rights to Superman to the company.Jerry signed it.I don’t think he fully understood what he was giving away. He was a young man without an agent, a lawyer, or anyone to advise him. Once Superman became an enormous success, he watched other people become millionaires while he received only a fraction of the profits.Meanwhile, ...
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    38 分
  • The Death of Sora & Surviving AI with Sylvie Soul

    The Death of Sora & Surviving AI with Sylvie Soul
    2026/08/02
    Addicted to Sora…and then forced to go cold turkey.Prefer the full video interview? Click here.What a conversation this was! I just love chatting with Sylvie, a new friend I met at the Toronto Indie Author Conference this spring.Do yourself a favour, and watch this VIDEO first, before you listen (or watch) the podcast. It’s a deep dive into Sophie’s Sora addiction.Not only is it hugely entertaining. (The motherfu@#*r day video is worth it alone) but it sets up some very serious concerns with social media addiction, the role of AI in our lives, and the usage of copyrighted property.Here is the link to all awesome things Sylvie Soul related.https://sylviesoul.comLove this stuff? It’s yours for free, but it takes a whack-a-doodle amount of time. Please help me keep sharing if you can!AF: You’ve been busy since our last chat in April. Spill?!SS: My first print sale! The Not Quite Write podcast ran a contest. I entered last fall, didn’t win -- but they reached out afterward and published my story anyway. A month later their first anthology was out, with me in it. It’s the first time I’ve had something you can actually hold. My husband took photos, and I posted them on LinkedIn and Instagram. I usually keep my writing separate from my day job, but coworkers saw it and wanted the link. And of everything I’ve written, this is the straight-up smut one. My pen name’s separate from my legal name, but there I am, downplaying it while everyone goes “share, share, share.” It’s hilarious.AF: It’s interesting that we can be embarrassed by our spicier or darker works. I’ve been battling with that myself.SS: I have even more respect for writers who are that candid. There’s a line from The Life of Chuck, the Tom Hiddleston film: “I contain multitudes.” You’re not just one thing. You can write flash fiction and speculative fiction and smut and historical and nonfiction. You don’t have to pigeonhole yourself for marketing. If you really want to follow your bliss, sometimes you have to explore and put yourself out there.(Authorial note: As a subscriber pointed out after reading this interview, “I contain multitudes” was originally written by Walt Whitman. But it is also used in the movie, Life of Chuck. And it’s the name of a song by Bob Dylan.)AF: I hid my horror writing for years, worried it would clash with my journalism -- turns out people are more intrigued than judgmental. Speaking of exploring: I watched your video on the Death of Sora. And loved it. How long did that take to make?SS: It’s my longest video, and it took forever to edit. Most of my old videos were just talking-head pieces on craft, but I was so moved by the canceling of Sora that I had to create something on my foray into AI video. If I strung every clip together I created with the app, it’d be half an hour -- and nobody wants to watch a half hour of AI slop.I had the foresight to save the clips as soon as I knew Sora was going down. Now the site’s just gone.AF: I didn’t get a chance to explore it. Just as I discovered it, it was gone.SS: It’s fascinating to watch the rise and fall. Sora came out in full form less than a year ago. I played with it, then went all in -- I thought, this is the future, you can conceptualize anything. But at some point you step back and go: why am I feeding all my beautiful ideas into a large language model for them to keep? You have to be protective of your creativity. I value AI as a tool, but it’s easy to lose yourself taking creative cues from it. Disclaimer: I never, ever ask AI for help with my actual writing. My writing is my writing -- 100% human. Pangram, come at me.AF: The best thing in your video just might be the Motherf$@!* Day rap. SS: That’s the kind of weird thing that lives in my head. There was a feature where you could remix other people’s videos, so I’d find something trending and go, “okay, but do it with “Motherf$#@! Day,” and sneak it online. I was trying to force a meme. I think I was the only one who found it funny.AF: No -- it was funny. So, you did the deep dive and still came out preferring human-driven creativity?SS: I don’t like the way AI writes -- the metaphors are off, the cadence is wrong. It just doesn’t connect. For me it’s the word “you.” There’s an overabundance of it, because the AI is trying to inhabit your emotions -- “you’ll feel this, you feel sadness, not joy, only chaos.” And -- tinfoil hat on -- it’s not just the AI videos flooding YouTube. Now people are doing talking-head videos from AI scripts. It’s really them on camera, no avatar, but everything they say is hollow: generic lines engineered for emotional resonance with none of their own experience behind them. It’s an AI using a human avatar to spout slop. Watch for it -- people talking at you instead of relating to you.AF: “AI using human avatars” -- whoa. That’s very Matrix.SS: We’ve reached the singularity. It’s come ...
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    32 分
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