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Demain has wanted to work with C.C. Adams for a while – the Short Sharp Shocks! series has facilitated that with his story Forfeit Tissue. A little while before publication, Dean interviewed Mr Adams... DEMAIN PUBLISHING: Hey C.C. great to talk to you about Forfeit Tissue, loved the story! Can you tell us a little about it? C.C. ADAMS: Absolutely – thanks, man. This one’s a reprint from a story a couple of years or so ago, originally in Crossroads In The Dark, Vol. 2: Urban Legends, from Burning Willow Press. They’d already had a story from me in Vol. 1 around morality, but for the second volume, they wanted longer submissions – novelettes in this case. It had been a while since I’d written longer pieces, so by this point, I wanted to flex again; show how my craft had evolved. What was fortuitous is, around this time, the Jazz Café was closed for refurbishment/refit or some such. Now, I'd been up there every so often to catch a live act, like Maceo Parker or the Average White Band etc. It's always been a tightly-packed venue: shoulder-to-shoulder. Dim, funky and lively…and a far cry from the opening scene in the story. One vision I had for a story was that scene, and what our protagonist sees soon after. So from that one tableau, and the Jazz Café’s real-life closure, I just crafted the narrative around it. DP: Yes, I’ve always wanted to go there but haven’t had the time...I could tell that a lot of research had gone into the story (and that’s a compliment don’t worry) – were there any challenges you faced when writing Forfeit Tissue? CCA: Challenges? You know, now I think about it, there were a few! Sure, I settled on one particular urban legend – one that fit with the tableau I first had in mind for the story. Aside from online research, which is often a good place to start, I did some leg work and visited a couple of places for info. Chelsea & Westminster Hospital for one, which, sadly, wasn’t helpful. London Fire Brigade, on the other hand? They were great. I mean, I live within walking distance of a station and they opened their door to me – but they didn't have to. Good guys. Invited me in for a sit-down and chat. Hashed out all the details, all the procedure. Went back about a year later and presented them with a signed copy of the anthology. For me, those are the kinds of wins that make what I do cool. You put in work, and people read the finished product. Or even if they just see it, and it piques their interest. That’s cool too. DP: Oh definitely and hats off to the Fire Brigade for spending some time with you. They do a great job and are often ‘forgotten’ about – once Forfeit Tissue hits paperback in a few months we’ll have to drop another copy off to them...so when you were writing the story were any of the characters based on you or real events in your own life? CCA: I’m more likely to be Rashid – the voice of reason, as it were. The narrative or scene which sets the tale off is from countless visits to the Jazz Café. Note that how it’s described in the story isn’t how it looks now – certainly not how it looked the last time I went in, which was maybe in the last couple of years. The general set-up is still the same: a small, close-packed venue. Low stage, where you can get close to the acts. And I’ve spent time in there, seen a number of acts. Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Roy Ayers, Amerie, Souls Of Mischief. The ones I’ve seen there the most would be Maceo Parker, and the Average White Band. But, lots of memories from there. Many a cold Becks downed in that place. DP: I bet and I can’t wait to check it out. For those that aren’t familiar with your work, would you say you had a specific style at all? Anything you find particularly challenging when you write? CCA: I don’t know I have a writing style as such. I do know that I will write a story how I’d tell it to you. So the language of the story is gonna be vivid, relaxed, articulate. Paced. Nuanced. There’ll be elements of horror, but there are also those quiet moments, where actions and ramifications start to weigh on a character. I love that stuff: because this is where horror can really weigh on someone. Those moments where they have time to think: maybe too much time that they’re spending in their own head. As for what I find particularly challenging in the writing? Finishing the draft. There are those authors who can’t write without background noise, but I’m not one of them. Not only do I need quiet, but solitude as well. I don’t want people around me at the best of times. Once I get that quiet and solitude? The challenge is to knock out a complete draft before the muse gets bored. DP: Yeap, I can write with some background noise (of my choice I must add) but do love a bit of piece and quiet...so who are your influences? Did you / do you have a mentor? CCA: Authors and books. The first nod goes to Aidan Chambers from way back when, because his collection of Ghosts & Hauntings was probably the book that pushed me over the edge. (Does anyone remember Aidan Chambers?) I read that when I was about 11, and I’ve had a love of dark narrative ever since. These stories were available for all ages, including children, but they didn’t pull any punches. Hauntings were disturbing and malevolent. Other creatures of horror weren't just terrifying, they were violent. Back then, horror stories were eerie, rather than bloody or gory – none of this ‘creepy’ business. That’s generally the feel in my work, what I try to bring to the table. Sure, there may be some gore or viscera, but I prefer a feel of eerie. Insidious menace. Nuance and pacing – all that good stuff. I guess the biggest influence from an author point of view would be Michael Crichton. Yes, I love the man’s work: Jurassic Park, Disclosure, Timeline, Prey – those are my favourites. What I like about Crichton’s work is not only the sense of suspense and action, but the way he weaves a scientific rationale into his work. And it’s done seamlessly. That, I love: that you can do that level of research and blend it into a story, and make something that good. Mentor? I’d have to cite Ian O’Neill for that one. Even from my earliest days starting out as an author with a professional mindset, Ian had been there. Didn’t matter if he had bags of time to spare or not: he’d always spare some. Always some piece of advice, or suggestion. And the one thing that sticks with me is when he’d say, “now go write something.” His way of signing off, as much as anything else, but it sticks with me. And I love him for that. DP: I’ll be honest I’ve not heard of Aiden Chambers but will put that right...and definitely get what you mean regarding Michael Crichton – he can certainly tell a story...what are you working on at the moment, anything you can share? CCA: More novellas are due out, most likely released by the end of the year. My current leaning as an author and reader is toward long fiction, rather than short stories or collections of them. The next story to work on is a novella: one that will reference modern dating in the narrative – Tinder and such. The one after that will be a novel. Both of those works – like most of what I write – are set very much in the real world, but lean toward the supernatural. DP: Would you say you’ve ever suffered from writer’s block? CCA: Not really, no. I’m aware that it’s something other authors may have to contend with, but it’s never been an issue for me. I’m grateful that the muse is always outrunning me. I come up with ideas faster than I can write them, so it's enough of a challenge to write fast enough to keep up with the imagination. As soon as I get the idea, I write it down. DP: So you outline? CCA: Always some degree of outline, even if it’s as basic as an elevator pitch. The main thing for me when I start is to have the elevator pitch and the ending in mind. From there, especially for longer fiction, I’ll flesh out maybe a 2 – 3 page synopsis of what'll happen in the story. Not enough detail to paint myself into a corner, but enough to serve as a guideline to get the first draft down. And with enough wiggle room to allow for some improv and fluidity as well. DP: Favourite gente? CCA: Ahhhh, definitely horror. Or, at least dark fiction. For me, that’s where you get a really suspenseful narrative. Why? Because there’s no guarantee that all the players get out alive. And even if they do, there’s a chance the monster gets away as well. I remember watching Halloween back when I was small and Afro’d. I didn't necessarily see Halloween as the best horror film, but when Loomis looks over the balcony after shooting Michael, but sees no body? That has always stuck with me. And those are the kinds of tropes I love to play with. Anything can happen to anybody. DP: Yeap that’s brilliant isn’t it – I love those original Halloweens, though will add (don’t shoot me anybody) that I do love Rob Zombie’s take on the mythos...did you learn anything from writing Forfeit Tissue? CCA: The benefit of research, for one – the challenges of doing research, for another! Especially the research done outside of rummaging around on the Internet. Plus, the evolution of process. From when I first wrote stories – admittedly short stories – they were relatively simple, and I wrote what I knew. Now there are other themes I want to explore and weave into my work. So that takes research, and that takes time. The devil is in the detail, so you wanna make sure that you get the authenticity, because those who know will spot any inconsistency like a sore thumb. But that’s part of the joy, I guess: the idea that you can take a factual rationale from medicine, law, or whatever, and weave it into a dark narrative. DP: Indeed...so, go on, I know you want to: pitch me Forfeit Tissue. CCA: A young man survives a fire…much to the disgust of something else. DP: Nice. And let’s try: if you were writing a synopsis for a newspaper... CCA: Omar counts himself lucky to be alive. A young man who enjoys music and life, his love of the former having jeopardised the latter. Still, he considers himself lucky. Until he meets his judge: a vengeful entity that decides Omar has much to answer for. And suddenly, Omar doesn’t feel so lucky anymore. DP: I love that – okay, final question (promise!) tell us something which they might not know about you... CCA: Apparently I’m a good cook and a good baker. Not only that, but I’m what you'd call a feeder. I find it a chore to cook for me (so I might go with canned fish or deli chicken), but I won’t bat an eyelid when it comes to cooking for other people. Avocado chicken, fajitas, those are the mains. Lime cheesecake is the speciality dessert. With a nice line in white chocolate and lemon shortbread as well. The last HWA get-together, Peter Mark May tells me he liked the last novella. And then he tells me off the back of it that he could tell I wrote it. Why? Because there was a lot of food in there, and people eating…smart-ass. Ha ha! Brilliant – I wouldn’t mind checking out your lime cheesecake in the future – perhaps we’ll invite Mr Peter Mark May to join us too – I’ll bring the wine. Thanks a million for your time – a pleasure talking with you – all the best with Forfeit Tissue! If you would like to connect with C.C. direct: Website: www.ccadams.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/MrAdamsWrites Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/C-C-Adams-861845807189807/ Photo By Clem Onojeghuo, www.clemono.com
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November 2023
AuthorDean M. Drinkel |