I had the pleasure of interviewing T.L. Whiteman about her web-serial, The Antithesis.

Tell our readers about the plot of your story.

For electives in University, I occasionally take theology and philosophy classes. Many of the issues that rise in such classes deal with the ‘duality’ of religion and human belief systems. This story was an attempt to create an intelligent piece of fiction dealing with the idea that there isn’t truly a designated ‘good and evil’ that exists in the Universe, or even between Angels and Demons. Instead, it’s merely a concept designed by religion itself to serve the purposes of the contest.

With that said, in The Antithesis, there is no ‘evil demon’ or ‘good angel’. Both sides certainly have their own agendas.
    
What other stories (books, movies, etc.) did you find inspirational?

The most inspirational pieces came from the works of philosophers such as John Locke and Descartes. I also directly challenge creationism with evolution (where celestials are truly just beings on the higher intelligence scale with better technology, but were in fact able to create us because of this), so the works of Charles Darwin and other biologists are often discussed. I’m also a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan, and the dark, twisted atmospheres he created influenced my own. I don’t actually read books as much as I read graphic novels. A more modern influence is Ennis’ work for Hellblazer. Another is Preacher. 

What are your future plans for Antithesis?

At this moment in time, the only thing I’m concerned with is progression of the story since it is still in its early days. While I have all these ethical concepts and subtle philosophical implications, most of my readers are driven by the main conflict, where Alezair and the audience still don’t know who (or what) he was before becoming a judge (the story begins where he has no memory of his past other than his name), as well as the slowly growing relationship he has with the Justice Commander, Leid, who Alezair has fallen tragically in love with.

But there is definitely more to this than meets the eye, and as the pieces all come together it becomes evident that Leid knows more about him and his past than she’s leading on.

So, for the meantime, I’ve been working solely on writing (and re-writing) chapters, while increasing my reader-base.  

How many chapters are posted online, and how many are written so far? 

As of right now there are ten episodes posted online, with a new episode added every Friday. The Antithesis is actually a finished work, though I’ve been editing some areas and adding to the story in others. Writing the episodes isn’t necessarily as hard as keeping it clean, concise, and interesting.  

 What is the biggest personal challenge in writing?

Everything, really. This is my first novel, and before then I only wrote short stories that  never  amounted to anything truly meaningful. The biggest challenge, especially when dealing with a story like –this-, is being able to relay it to the readers exactly how I imagine it in my head. I’m finding myself constantly having to juggle between enough description and detail for the readers to envision The Antithesis in its complexity, while also keeping it comprehensible. This story deals with more worlds than the one we know. In an effort to not confuse the audience, Alezair constantly relates our world to the ones we aren’t familiar with, as most of them are relatively similar.

I also struggled with first person POV quite a bit in the beginning, since I’d never used it before. A creating writing instructor in my junior year said that first person is a “lazy” way of writing a story. I wanted to prove them wrong.  

Has the reader feedback influenced the story as it appears on the site?

Since the story is actually finished, I don’t really plan on changing it. My readers have made things interesting by speculating with each other on certain mysterious elements that have yet to be revealed, and on several occasions there have been some who requested knowing more about certain topics or characters which I hadn’t thought to elaborate upon (for this story, anyway). If I ever decide to make a sequel, or a side-story, I definitely know what they want to see, so planning might be a little easier.   

Do your friends or family follow your serial?

While my grandmother might find me demented if she ever read this, and my mother isn’t particularly keen on horror of any sort, my husband and a handful of friends have been following the serial regularly. I try not to advertise it at school (considering I attend a private Catholic University, oh the irony), but several of my classmates have actually found it on their own and seem to like it as well.

What has been the most rewarding part of writing The Antithesis?

Being read, I think. I was pretty scared to publish this online, especially since it deals with controversial subjects that have led to serious consequences over the course of history. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when readers began flooding in, commenting on how they absolutely love the story. When writing The Antithesis before all of this, it was meaningful to me; to know it’s meaningful to others makes it very rewarding.

Before you published your own serial online, were you a reader of web serials? Are you now?

To be honest, I didn’t even know web serials existed until my husband showed me The Web Fiction Guide. This was entirely his idea, really, so everyone should thank him. One day he was bored and decided to read the story collecting cyberdust on my hard drive. He liked it so much that he convinced me to put it on a blog. A week later we found the Web Fiction Guide.

My current schedule leaves me barely any time to even publish new episodes atop of my other responsibilities (like school), so I haven’t had the chance to read much of anyone else’s stuff since The Antithesis’ debut in late February. I plan on checking some out toward the end of May when my shackles come off.

Do you have any other projects in the works right now? 

No. The Antithesis takes all the creative juice I have. Lol 

Which sites can our readers visit to keep up with your work?

The site that The Antithesis is being published on is at http://sanguinexdesolace.blogspot.com 

What do you do to fire up your imagination if you hit a dry spell?

Music. I’m one of those strange people that can’t really write anything at all unless there’s music setting a theme and a mood for me. This usually requires having to find a differing piece of music to set the stage for each episode.

What would a soundtrack to The Antithesis sound like?

Funny you should ask that. There’s an actual Sountrack section listed on the site, where I’ve linked music that inspired The Antithesis’ creation, along with additions that other readers have recommended. The main story itself is musically driven, so I found it necessary to share with readers the inspirations for my writing. Most of the artists on there range from ‘neo-classicism’ to industrial/electronic. Others are a little harder to categorize. 

Is there anything you’d like to add?

I’d like to thank Flashes in the Dark and Lori Titus for having me. It’s an honor to be considered for a feature!

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©2010 Lori Titus

I had the pleasure of interviewing Tonia Brown, author of the erotica/horror tale, The Blooming. She shared her love of all things hot, creepy, scary, and downright vicious.

TB: The Blooming is an erotic zombie story set on a deserted island. A documentary film crew is hired to follow a botanist as he seeks a mythical flower. They find not only the bloom, but unbridled lust for flesh and fury.

TB: I was approached by one of the owners of Sonar4 Publications about writing an erotic zombie story set on an island. After I confirmed that the zombies weren’t the ones getting their groove on, I wondered how I was going to incorporate sex into the story, without dipping into the forbidden area of necrophilia. The idea of the flower as the cause of all the worry came out of nowhere, and after much discussion with the spouse the plot was set.

LT: Why do you think horror and erotica blend well as a genre?

TB: Because horror and erotica are both meant to excite and tease. Sex and violence have always been married because the pair evokes such similar emotions. Heart racing terror is eerily similar to heart thumping lust.　

LT: What was challenging about writing this book?

TB: Making the sex seem natural. I didn’t want to give the appearance that the folks were just stopping to have sex so there could be naughty bits in the book. I wanted the sex to flow along with the story.

LT: Of all the characters in the story, do you have a favorite?

TB: I put a lot of myself into Jill. That said, I don’t have a rocky marriage, or own a production company. But I do share a similar first name with my spouse, and have a tendency to play the bitch when things need to get done.

LT: There are plenty of gross/funny/creepy moments in The Blooming.　 Does humor come easily as part of the package?

TB: I can’t seem to write without some level of levity. I have tried, I really have! But it seems like humor creeps into everything I do. But I think that’s a good thing. After all, comic relief can be a blessing after moments of high strung terror.

LT: You always have more than one thing that you’re working on - tell us about your current projects.　

TB: It’s true, I like to keep busy!

I have an erotic steampunk series with Lyrical Press called “Clockworks and Corsets.” They just picked up the second in the series, and I am plotting the third.

Library of the Living Dead just took on my book “Lucky Stiff: Memoirs of an Undead Lover.” Its in edits right now, no release date yet.

I am also collaborating on a kid’s zombie story with another author. It’s been fun on a bun!

I have been working on a steampunk horror novel tentatively titled “The Cold Beneath” and will focus on the Victorian race for the North Pole.

LT: Is there any genre you’d love to tackle that you haven’t yet?

TB: I wished I could write more true science fiction. I love hardcore scifi, but I’m not very good at it. Perhaps I will manage it one day. I would also like to try my hand at an old fashioned mystery.

LT: What would you like to see more of (or less of) in popular literature?　

TB: Frou-frou monsters. When did vampires stop being blood sucking monsters? Why do we assume just because a man turns into a wolf he will ‘mate for life?’ When did he stop being a man? Trust me, I know lots of men, and very few of them want to mate for life.

LT: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?　

TB: When I realized I had a story to tell. Seriously, I was at work one night, reading the seventh in a useless series, when I realized it was just like the other six books. Boring, bland and blah. I kept thinking, ‘I could have written better than that.’ So, I set out to do it.

LT: What books would you like to read soon?　

Jonathan Moon’s “Mr. Moon’s Nightmares”

David Dunwoody’s “Empire”

Stephen King’s “Under the Dome”

Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter”

LT: If you had a chance to write the next summer blockbuster, what would it be about?

TB: Sex, death and botany. *insert wry gin here*

LT: So, here’s your favorite question—- do you prefer your guy in boxers or briefs?　

Commando all the way baby! Free swinging and footloose! WoooooT!

LT: Is there anything you’d like to add?

TB: Read! Read! READ!

Life is better when you have tragedy to compare it with and beauty to aspire to.

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©2010 Lori Titus

Tonia Brown’s book, The Blooming, is available through Sonar4 Publications : http://www.sonar4publications.com/bloom.html or at Amazon.com.