On May 31, 2019, a shooter murdered twelve human beings and wounded four others in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Not only that, it put yet another scar America's already tortured psyche. This atrocity hit close to home for me. I don't live in VA Beach, but I live in Norfolk, a neighboring city. My wife works for the City of Virginia Beach, This tragedy hit close to home for us in too many ways.
There have been numerous worthy campaigns to help those affected by the shooting, and one is closest to my heart. Dark Tides is a charity anthology with proceeds going to those affected by the shooting.
Dark Tides was edited by John J. Questore, who scored a lot of impressive talent for the book. There are stories by longtime genre favorites like John Skipp, Elizabeth Massie, John Little, Ray Garton, Richard and Billy Chizmar, and F. Paul Wilson. New stars like Somer Canon, Chad Lutzke, Mark Allen Gunnells, John Boden, and Kelli Owen are included. Questore also surpassed expectations by getting publishing superstars Neil Gaiman and Stephen King on board.
John took a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for Horror Drive-In readers.
HD-I: The first thing I have to ask, John, is..how did you manage to get Stephen King for the anthology?
JQ: Hahaha! If I had a nickel for every time I was asked that question, I’d be able to double the donations. Seriously though, the short answer is: I asked. I’m a firm believer in the adage, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Through a friend, I was able to get an email for Stephen King’s secretary. I sent a request, explaining what I was doing, and what story I wanted to reprint. I wasn’t actually expecting a response (I’m sure they get many requests). Two hours later, I received a response saying he’s happy to allow the reprint, no charge. But since he doesn’t own the rights to it, I had to go through the publisher; which was a long, and arduous process (the paperwork alone took almost an hour to complete), but a letter from his agent helped get it done.
HD-I: Were there any authors you hoped to include, but couldn't make it into the book?
JQ: Actually, yes. There were a few that didn’t have a story that fit the theme, nor the time to write one. However the one author I really wanted to include was Josh Malerman. We were talking back and forth, but at the 2019 Scares the Care he explained that due to contract obligations, he regrettably couldn’t participate.
HD-I: Getting a book published is no easy feat. Did you have major problems along the way?
JQ: Believe it or not, not really. The only issue I had was “creative differences” over the cover. I had a wonderful cover designed by the talented Greg Chapman (an Australian author/artist) that my publisher didn’t like. He went ahead and had two other covers designed. Then Greg gave us another one that we absolutely loved. So now we have four different covers available. Then we had some issues with Amazon cancelling orders for certain covers. Now, only one cover is available through Amazon, with the rest available direct through the publisher.
HD-I: John, you are obviously a fan of horror fiction. Have you always read in the genre?
JQ: I started reading at a very early age – just about anything I could get my hands on. My mom was a reader, although much more now than I remember growing up, and dad never enjoyed it. But the weird part is that nobody in my house liked horror. I remember watching the old Universal monster movies with dad, but that’s about it. However, I was around seven when I read my first Poe story, and eight when I read my first King story. I was hooked on the genre ever since. But to this day, I still read just about anything I can get my hands on.
HD-I: I think Dark Tides is your debut publication. Do you have plans to continue working in the field?
JQ: You are correct. Dark Tides is my debut as an editor; and I had a great time putting it together. My friend, and publisher, has put it out there that he’d like to do a charity anthology yearly – for a different cause. I’m up for that, however, I’d really like to do something that may put money in my pocket (to buy more books, obviously). I have a few ideas for 2020 that may just pan out. Maybe nothing on the scale of Dark Tides, but interesting all the same.
HD-I: Hampton Roads is your home. Are you native to the area?
JQ: Hampton Roads, particularly Virginia Beach, has been my home for 30 years this April. however, for my first 23 years, I called New York home; a little town on Long Island called Lake Ronkonkoma.
HD-I: Thanks, John. For everything.
JQ: It’s been my pleasure. For as long as I could remember, I’ve wanted to see my name on the cover of a book, sitting on a shelf at a bookstore. Little did I know that it would be as an editor, rather than an author (although, I’m still writing and submitting when I can). It was a lot of work, sometimes more than I thought it would be, but I’m very happy with the results. I only wish it was under better circumstances. Thanks for helping get the word out about the book!
Please consider ordering a copy of Dark Tides. It is available at Amazon.com and also at https://www.gestalt-media.com/shop?fbclid=IwAR3al8wPHbtXM3J2ex0vrSIuUdzjGk1-xYnIIwjvO6Wj3IN321vG2-mVT1c
Interview by Mark Sieber
There have been numerous worthy campaigns to help those affected by the shooting, and one is closest to my heart. Dark Tides is a charity anthology with proceeds going to those affected by the shooting.
Dark Tides was edited by John J. Questore, who scored a lot of impressive talent for the book. There are stories by longtime genre favorites like John Skipp, Elizabeth Massie, John Little, Ray Garton, Richard and Billy Chizmar, and F. Paul Wilson. New stars like Somer Canon, Chad Lutzke, Mark Allen Gunnells, John Boden, and Kelli Owen are included. Questore also surpassed expectations by getting publishing superstars Neil Gaiman and Stephen King on board.
John took a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for Horror Drive-In readers.
HD-I: The first thing I have to ask, John, is..how did you manage to get Stephen King for the anthology? JQ: Hahaha! If I had a nickel for every time I was asked that question, I’d be able to double the donations. Seriously though, the short answer is: I asked. I’m a firm believer in the adage, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Through a friend, I was able to get an email for Stephen King’s secretary. I sent a request, explaining what I was doing, and what story I wanted to reprint. I wasn’t actually expecting a response (I’m sure they get many requests). Two hours later, I received a response saying he’s happy to allow the reprint, no charge. But since he doesn’t own the rights to it, I had to go through the publisher; which was a long, and arduous process (the paperwork alone took almost an hour to complete), but a letter from his agent helped get it done.
HD-I: Were there any authors you hoped to include, but couldn't make it into the book?
JQ: Actually, yes. There were a few that didn’t have a story that fit the theme, nor the time to write one. However the one author I really wanted to include was Josh Malerman. We were talking back and forth, but at the 2019 Scares the Care he explained that due to contract obligations, he regrettably couldn’t participate.
HD-I: Getting a book published is no easy feat. Did you have major problems along the way?
JQ: Believe it or not, not really. The only issue I had was “creative differences” over the cover. I had a wonderful cover designed by the talented Greg Chapman (an Australian author/artist) that my publisher didn’t like. He went ahead and had two other covers designed. Then Greg gave us another one that we absolutely loved. So now we have four different covers available. Then we had some issues with Amazon cancelling orders for certain covers. Now, only one cover is available through Amazon, with the rest available direct through the publisher.
HD-I: John, you are obviously a fan of horror fiction. Have you always read in the genre?
JQ: I started reading at a very early age – just about anything I could get my hands on. My mom was a reader, although much more now than I remember growing up, and dad never enjoyed it. But the weird part is that nobody in my house liked horror. I remember watching the old Universal monster movies with dad, but that’s about it. However, I was around seven when I read my first Poe story, and eight when I read my first King story. I was hooked on the genre ever since. But to this day, I still read just about anything I can get my hands on.
HD-I: I think Dark Tides is your debut publication. Do you have plans to continue working in the field?
JQ: You are correct. Dark Tides is my debut as an editor; and I had a great time putting it together. My friend, and publisher, has put it out there that he’d like to do a charity anthology yearly – for a different cause. I’m up for that, however, I’d really like to do something that may put money in my pocket (to buy more books, obviously). I have a few ideas for 2020 that may just pan out. Maybe nothing on the scale of Dark Tides, but interesting all the same.
HD-I: Hampton Roads is your home. Are you native to the area?
JQ: Hampton Roads, particularly Virginia Beach, has been my home for 30 years this April. however, for my first 23 years, I called New York home; a little town on Long Island called Lake Ronkonkoma.
HD-I: Thanks, John. For everything.
JQ: It’s been my pleasure. For as long as I could remember, I’ve wanted to see my name on the cover of a book, sitting on a shelf at a bookstore. Little did I know that it would be as an editor, rather than an author (although, I’m still writing and submitting when I can). It was a lot of work, sometimes more than I thought it would be, but I’m very happy with the results. I only wish it was under better circumstances. Thanks for helping get the word out about the book!
Please consider ordering a copy of Dark Tides. It is available at Amazon.com and also at https://www.gestalt-media.com/shop?fbclid=IwAR3al8wPHbtXM3J2ex0vrSIuUdzjGk1-xYnIIwjvO6Wj3IN321vG2-mVT1c
Interview by Mark Sieber
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