Prime Time Replay:
Poppy Z. Brite
on Exquisite Corpse
MsgId: *omni_visions(4)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:06:50 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Omni Visions. Our guest tonight is acclaimed writer of extreme fiction and dark fantasy, Poppy Z. Brite. Poppy should be on line at any time now, so I'll go ahead and add some biographical back-fill. The first hour or so will be one-on-one conversation; then my producer will flip the magic electronic switch to open up the chat to everyone.Poppy Z. Brite, still twenty-something, is far more than a fresh new voice in contemporary fiction. She's a fresh voice attaining a terrific maturity. I first read her years ago when her stories were appearing in the small press magazine, *Horror Show.* Her career kicked into overdrive with her first novel, *Lost Souls.* The novel *Drawing Blood* followed, as well as a short story collection titled variously *Swamp Foetus* or *Wormwood.* She has edited the two vampirism anthologies, *Love in Vein* I and II. Her most important work to date is this year's *Exquisite Corpse*, an extreme treatment of relationships between serial killers, as well as the modern male gay scene and the impact of AIDS. If you're on line now, Poppy, a very good evening to you.
MsgId: *omni_visions(8)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:16:28 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
OK geez am I finally in the right place?
MsgId: *omni_visions(9)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:17:53 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Yep, you're in the right place. But try to ignore the grain freighter heading right in to our broadcast booth in the riverfront mall. Welcome, Poppy.
MsgId: *omni_visions(11)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:19:36 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I cried when I found out I had missed such a splendid disaster.
MsgId: *omni_visions(10)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:19:31 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
A question. How's *Exquisite Corpse* been faring out there? Have you noticed any difference between reception in the horror field, in general literature, and in the gay press?
MsgId: *omni_visions(11)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:19:36 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I said nothing else about EC would surprise me except good reviews, and it got more of those than I expected. It was actually my first novel that Lambda Book Review *didn't* like, though.(That was unclear, wasn't it? I meant that Lambda didn't like EC but did like my previous 2.)
MsgId: *omni_visions(14)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:23:07 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Was it the graphic violence they didn't like? Or were they paranoid that in some bizarre way the novel would foster unwholesome stereotypes?
MsgId: *omni_visions(15)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:27:12 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
They didn't seem to like the writing, the characters, or the concept. And I've been getting a lot of reader complaints that it's "too short." Guess that's what happens when you write 2 horsechokers, then follow them up with a slim volume.I knew that Dennis Cooper had been picketed while signing at gay bookstores, so I was prepared for a similar backlash, but no one has seemed to find EC homophobic.
MsgId: *omni_visions(17)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:30:37 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Yeah, well, all too many people seem to have an odd reaction to whether quality is preferable to quantity. I think *EC* is arguably some of your finest writing. And as I said in a different venue, I was particularly struck by your use of textures in talking about cannibalism. There were certain consistencies I stayed away from for quite a while after finishing the novel. Curiosity bids me ask, what were your own roots for this book?
MsgId: *omni_visions(18)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:31:47 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
[to give a sense of atmosphere: it's colder'n' a gravedigger's ass here in tropical N.O. ... Xmas lights blinking outside my window, and my dogs barking like fools downstairs ... got my diet coke and my Hello kitty water bottle ...]After finishing DRAWING BLOOD in the winter of 1992-93, I immediately fell in love with Jeffrey Dahmer, thus rediscovering my own lust for human flesh that had (more or less) lain dormant since childhood. My first career ambition was to be a coroner.
While researching Dahmer, I became aware of British serial killer Dennis Nilsen, whose case was eerily, romantically similar. And I got to thinking ...
MsgId: *omni_visions(20)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:36:46 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Well, I was struck by the fact that your husband Chris is a chef...
MsgId: *omni_visions(22)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:37:38 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Chris puts up with a lot, but he hasn't cooked me any boyflesh ... yet.
MsgId: *omni_visions(23)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:40:57 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
It seems that part of being a successful writer now is marketing and merchandising. I'll stop short of wondering whether S&S, your publisher, would do a nifty Dori Sanders or Laura Esquivel-type cookbook. But the imagination runs riot. Someone's in the Kitchen With Poppy... Yes, there's a title with which to conjure. Ah. Yes. Well. Are you going to follow up EC with a kinder, gentler novel? A kids' book, maybe? Or--?
MsgId: *omni_visions(24)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:41:09 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I'd probably use the foolproof Dahmer recipe ... just a little Crisco and salt.I'm going to follow up EC with a biography of rock diva Courtney Love, which is currently completed and is going through legal channels. As for my next novel, it will probably be "nicer" ... I feel no urge to follow up EC with something more "extreme," since it was not in itself intended to shock.
MsgId: *omni_visions(26)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:43:29 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
This season Dahmer'd be obliged to revamp. Crisco's too hard on the arteries. This sort of behavior needs to be healthy.
MsgId: *omni_visions(27)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:44:28 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Yes, even Paul Prudhomme has lightened up. And the funny thing is, I *have* been doing some food writing with Chris (though he does most of the work). Our secret ambition is to be restaurant critics.
MsgId: *omni_visions(28)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:45:17 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Speaking of new books, what's *Razor Kiss*, a title mentioned in the jacket copy for *EC*.
MsgId: *omni_visions(30)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:46:33 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
RAZOR KISS is the anthology that was retitled, with great originality, LOVE IN VEIN 2 by HarperCollins. I believe it is in stores now. It includes stories by Neil Gaiman, Pat Califia, Caitlin Kiernan, and a host of other shining talents.OH, AND THERE IS APPARENTLY SOME BIG controversy over why I didn't write an introduction for it. For the record, I *did* write an introduction, but it was even worse than the one I wrote for LOVE IN VEIN, and HC cut it. I suck at writing introductions.
MsgId: *omni_visions(33)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:52:01 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Ah, the publisher hasn't sent it along yet,but I'm looking forward to reading it. The first *Love in Vein* included some pretty terrific pieces of storytelling. Historical question: have you ever been able to pin down some of the childhood forces that helped determine your adult writing directions?
MsgId: *omni_visions(36)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:55:07 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Living in New Orleans and having early memories of the French Quarter was a pretty decisive influence. Attempting to read THE BELL JAR at age 5 probably did me a lot of good. I really was a morbid child.
MsgId: *omni_visions(34)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:53:13 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Now I have a huge black cat on my lap.
MsgId: *omni_visions(35)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:54:20 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Synchronistic note: I have a medium-sized black cat on my lap. Hard to say what of a feline nature is happening at producer Ellen Datlow's West Village apartment at this very moment.
MsgId: *omni_visions(37)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:55:29 EST 1996
From: EllenDatlow At: 206.80.173.173
Um, my cats are blessedly leaving me alone for now...and neither of them are black--they're both calico.
MsgId: *omni_visions(39)
Date: Thu Dec 19 22:58:11 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
I want to go back just a step. Did you like editing an anthology? Does it fulfill any writer's fantasies to work with others' fiction? Is it a royal pain? Satisfying? Ever again?
MsgId: *omni_visions(40)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:03:56 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I enjoyed soliciting and selecting the stories, which was all I had to do. The contracts and checks were handled by my "ghost editor," Marty Greenberg, which was a blessing. I liked being able to provide a market for relatively unknown writers I admired, as well as getting work from old favorites.I admit: I stilll don't care for vampires, and don't want to write about them again. But I keep being pleasantly surprised at how well other writers can do it.
MsgId: *omni_visions(42)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:06:01 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Maybe a couple more, and then we'll open this up to the masses. At one time there was something of an attempt to make you the poster-kid for splatterpunk. You seem to follow a pretty independent path. These days, do you identify with any particular artistic faction or movement?
MsgId: *omni_visions(43)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:07:18 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Splatterpunk doesn't exist. Writers only form "movements" when they're drunk, and I gave up drinking. However, I do love the fact that a lot of women are now writing visceral, erotic horror. Y'know, I've seen critics try & pit me & Lucy Taylor against each other. I love Lucy and she's said publicly that she likes my work. I have a story by her in LOVE IN VEIN 2. There's this mentality that there is only room for one of any perceived commodity.
MsgId: *omni_visions(44)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:10:12 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
Okay, then. A couple easy ones. You may not want to write any more vampire fiction, but will you continue setting some fiction in your created town of Missing Mile? And do you know where I can buy New Orleans' Zapp potato chips by the 50 gallon drum?
MsgId: *omni_visions(46)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:12:23 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Yes, I am planning to revisit Missing Mile. I don't know about the Zapp's, but Chris would. Call us -- you have my number.
MsgId: *omni_visions(47)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:14:42 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.51
I'll ask my faithful producer Ellen to open this conversation up. In the meantime, what do you do for research when you write something powerfully visceral such as "Calcutta--Lord of Nerves"? I don't think you'd gone to India when you created the story. Have you since?
MsgId: *omni_visions(48)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:15:57 EST 1996
From: EllenDatlow At: 206.80.173.173
The chat is now open for questions (after Poppy answers this last question from Ed).
MsgId: *omni_visions(49)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:16:58 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
For "Calcutta," I was inspired by Dan Simmons' masterpiece SONG OF KALI -- Geoffrey Moorhouse's travelogue CALCUTTA and various National Geo. articles were also very helpful. I'm still readying myself for India in this lifetime.
MsgId: *omni_visions(51)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:18:43 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.34.196.229
Now that you are a name commodity, do you plan on writing any screenplays?
MsgId: *omni_visions(55)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:20:24 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Screenplays scare me ... I don't think my talents run in that direction. However, the money is tempting.
MsgId: *omni_visions(53)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:19:29 EST 1996
From: guest At: 208.146.242.103
Wondering about comparisons between EC and Joyce Carol Oates' ZOMBIE. What did you think of ZOMBIE?
MsgId: *omni_visions(59)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:21:41 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I still haven't read ZOMBIE ... not a huge Oates fan, but Cait Kiernan thought it was pretty good.
MsgId: *omni_visions(54)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:19:54 EST 1996
From: guest At: 168.75.139.12
What advice and/or tips would you give an aspiring writer?
MsgId: *omni_visions(59)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:21:41 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
An aspiring writer, above all, must READ, READ, READ.
MsgId: *omni_visions(58)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:21:06 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Firstly, hello and thank you for writing such amazing stories. You said earlier that you didn't intend shock value when you wrote Exquisite Corpse. Did it occur to you at some point that a nonjudgemental portrayal of cannibals and necrophiles and the matter-of-fact way you dealt with AIDS might raise a few eyebrows, at least?
MsgId: *omni_visions(64)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:23:23 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Um, I certainly foresaw that EC would shock a lot of people, but that was not my motive for writing it. I cannot imaging the mindset of the people who think I spent 2 years of my life writing something entirely for shock value.
MsgId: *omni_visions(60)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:21:41 EST 1996
From: guest At: 204.191.205.29
Any possibility of another anthology of your own short stories?
MsgId: *omni_visions(68)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:24:49 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I will publish another short story collection when I have enough of them. I'm only about halfway there.
MsgId: *omni_visions(61)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:22:46 EST 1996
From: guest At: 205.238.146.61
Lawrence Person: Hi Poppy! How was Amsterdam?
MsgId: *omni_visions(68)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:24:49 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Amsterdam ruled, as always.
MsgId: *omni_visions(62)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:22:49 EST 1996
From: guest At: 168.75.139.12
What kind of books would you recommend?
MsgId: *omni_visions(68)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:24:49 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
What kind of books? All of them ... even bad ones.
MsgId: *omni_visions(65)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:23:33 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.34.196.229
How do you keep in shape?
MsgId: *omni_visions(70)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:26:06 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I don't keep in shape.
MsgId: *omni_visions(66)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:23:37 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.103.0.53
Poppy- Real or fake christmas tree this year? Randy
MsgId: *omni_visions(70)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:26:06 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
We have a real tree, but it's at my mom's house.
MsgId: *omni_visions(67)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:23:48 EST 1996
From: guest At: 168.75.139.12
Has anything changed for you now that you are a known and successful writer?
MsgId: *omni_visions(70)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:26:06 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Yes, I don't have to make candy or take care of mice any more.
MsgId: *omni_visions(69)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:25:44 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Have you gotten any offers to make any of your stories into movies? Any worth considering?
MsgId: *omni_visions(74)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:27:30 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I've had some movie nibbles -- "The Sixth Sentinel" almost got turned into an installment of Ridley Scott's TV show -- but nothing definite.
MsgId: *omni_visions(72)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:27:03 EST 1996
From: Lane At: 199.17.228.147
Is Birdy from EC really Trevor from DB? -- Elizabeth
MsgId: *omni_visions(76)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:28:34 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Wow. NO ONE ever figured that out before, e ...
MsgId: *omni_visions(73)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:27:08 EST 1996
From: guest At: 205.238.146.61
Lawrence Person: What do you think is the reason behind the seeming demise (with the recent announcement by Zebra) of Horror as a marketing catagory?
MsgId: *omni_visions(81)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:30:32 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I don't think Zebra is any great loss (to put it mildly), and I don't think most so-called horror writers want to be marginalized into a special section or category. Much as I love Clive Barker, I'd rather be next to the Brontes.
MsgId: *omni_visions(75)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:27:50 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.34.196.229
Do you fear the ravages of time?
MsgId: *omni_visions(81)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:30:32 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
No, I love getting older. I'm quite looking forward to 30.
MsgId: *omni_visions(77)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:29:14 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Have you seen any of Gregg Araki's films? -Cliff.
MsgId: *omni_visions(86)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:32:13 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
THE LIVING END is one of my favorite movies. I wasn't crazy about TOTALLY FUCKED UP & haven't seen the other one yet.
MsgId: *omni_visions(78)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:29:46 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.231.195
Poppy this is tj here. do you see them make EC into a movie and would you let it be done?
MsgId: *omni_visions(88)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:33:58 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I think EC could make a good movie -- Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was a big influence on Andrew.
MsgId: *omni_visions(79)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:30:08 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.103.0.53
What kind of car do you drive? - Randy
MsgId: *omni_visions(88)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:33:58 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I drive a '78 Pontiac Bonneville Brougham.
MsgId: *omni_visions(80)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:30:14 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.237.87
It's kinda unrelated but I've been wondering this for a long time, did Zach f--k the essence-vampire twins?
MsgId: *omni_visions(86)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:32:13 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I don't think Zach fucked the vampire twins, but I'd just as soon not know who all he did.
MsgId: *omni_visions(83)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:31:12 EST 1996
From: guest At: 168.75.139.12
Samantha Liu: If you had one of your books turned into a movie, do you fear that they may change it so much it no longer says what you wanted it to?
MsgId: *omni_visions(94)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:37:27 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Samantha -- I'm sure they would. But the book would retain its own integrity (such as that might be).
MsgId: *omni_visions(84)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:31:17 EST 1996
From: guest At: 204.191.205.29
Teri Stevens: Greetings, Poppy. Ever considered collaborating with another writer on a story/novel? If so, anyone in particular?
MsgId: *omni_visions(91)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:36:22 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I've collaborated three times -- twice with Christa Faust, on "Saved" (YOUNG BLOOD, NOIROTICA) and "Triads" (MILLENNIUM, upcoming), and once with David Ferguson on a fairy tale.
MsgId: *omni_visions(87)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:33:12 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.34.196.229
Kevin Kirby: Have you met Harlan Ellison, who likes your work?
MsgId: *omni_visions(91)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:36:22 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
Yes, Harlan is a friend.
MsgId: *omni_visions(89)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:35:40 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Cliff Evans: THE DOOM GENERATION has its moments. How about Peter Jackson? I ask mostly because I think they're some of the few who could do your stuff justice. And "Bob" knows there could be better horror films made...
MsgId: *omni_visions(97)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:39:05 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I adored HEAVENLY CREATURES.
MsgId: *omni_visions(93)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:37:08 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.237.87
i read in one of your interviews that you were done with novels for a while, do you still feel this way? if so then for how long?
MsgId: *omni_visions(97)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:39:05 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.188.162
I can't be done with novels, because I've contracted to write another one for Simon&Schuster ... but with Dell I felt as if I were on a novel track, trying to crank 'em out one a year.
MsgId: *omni_visions(104)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:42:28 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.237.87
you've said a couple of times that you were happy at dell and they appreciated your work etc. then they dropped you over ec, what happenede?
MsgId: *omni_visions(109)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:46:08 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
The founder of Abyss, Jeanne Cavelos, left before I completed EC. I was happy working with her, but her superiors were apparently quite conservative and didn't want to publish a novel as extreme (their word) as EC.
MsgId: *omni_visions(105)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:42:42 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Cliff Evans: Have you ever considered writing travelogues? You invest many of your storied with such a sense of place, it seems they almost are travelogues already.
MsgId: *omni_visions(119)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:50:32 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
I love reading travel books a la Paul Theroux, but I have not yet mastered the art of seamlessly blending my own perceptions and personality into the narrative as he does so well.
MsgId: *omni_visions(108)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:45:49 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.237.87
Are you interested in an Official web page?.....Could i do it?
MsgId: *omni_visions(113)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:47:35 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
Thanks, but I have an official web page, Pandora Station. BTW, something got hung up about 5 minutes back and I had to re-start my whole computer, so forgive me if I miss a lot of questions.
MsgId: *omni_visions(110)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:46:33 EST 1996
From: guest At: 205.238.146.61
Lawrence Person: Given the points of similarity (female horror writers living in New Orleans who have written about vampires), your work is often mentioned in the same breath as Anne Rice's, yet you seem to chafe at the comparison. Why is that and what do you think of Anne Rice's work?
MsgId: *omni_visions(114)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:48:27 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
Who is Anne Rice?
MsgId: *omni_visions(117)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:49:35 EST 1996
From: guest At: 205.238.146.61
Lawrence Person: You know. The woman who buys up those churches out from under people. ;-)
MsgId: *omni_visions(122)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:52:22 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
Truth be told, I've started one (1) book and one (1) short piece by Anne Rice -- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and some gay erotic thing -- didn't care for either one. But I think it's kinda cool that she has her brain printed on T-shirts.
MsgId: *omni_visions(111)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:47:02 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.139.53.98
Hey Poppy, I write non-fiction horror. Any advice on the legal considerations? Do you feel there is audience for the unshrouded truth?
MsgId: *omni_visions(116)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:49:13 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
What th' hell is nonfiction horror? Sounds interesting.
MsgId: *omni_visions(120)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:51:19 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.103.128.125
Chris K: I was wondering what you're feelings were about the whole monstrous thing called cyberspace, and how it relates to horror and horror writing. It seems to be one helluva interesting resource/outlet to me...
MsgId: *omni_visions(125)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:54:17 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
I just (as in 3 weeks ago) got a computer that has any kind of real internet capability -- before that all I had was e-mail and (ugh) Usenet. So I haven't had a chance to explore much yet, but the possibilities seem infinite.
MsgId: *omni_visions(123)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:52:49 EST 1996
From: guest At: 152.163.237.87
Are you ever gonna write that story 'bout Zach and Trevor in Amsterdam?
MsgId: *omni_visions(129)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:55:21 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
I'm gonna write *something* about Amsterdam, and they'll probably be there, but the story I hoped to write did not work out.
MsgId: *omni_visions(126)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:54:31 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.34.196.229
Kevin Kirby: Do you have a college degree?
MsgId: *omni_visions(130)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:56:16 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
No way -- I dropped out midway through my first semester to get drunk and write LOST SOULS.
MsgId: *omni_visions(127)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:54:51 EST 1996
From: guest At: 207.217.3.143
Are Steve and Ghost ever gonna get together romantically.. the proximity is killing me... Jena
MsgId: *omni_visions(132)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:57:00 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
Jena, they have not authorized the release of that information.
MsgId: *omni_visions(128)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:55:09 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.139.53.98
Any new works in production?
MsgId: *omni_visions(134)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:59:00 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
In production, hmm... the Courtney ms. is still undergoing some work ... and I've done a few stories and articles. For complete updates, subscribe to my free newsletter, PURPLE PROZE, P.O. Box 750151, New Orleans, LA 70175-0151 (also available on Pandora Station).
MsgId: *omni_visions(133)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:58:47 EST 1996
From: guest At: 153.35.83.176
Cliff Evans: Just curious, what do you have against Usenet?
MsgId: *omni_visions(140)
Date: Fri Dec 20 00:00:12 EST 1996
From: PoppyZBrite At: 199.174.244.185
Oh, I had some silly, emotional squabbles with jerks on alt.horror ... nothiing worth going into ... just my usual dumb stuff.
MsgId: *omni_visions(135)
Date: Thu Dec 19 23:59:39 EST 1996
From: guest At: 206.103.128.125
Chris K: Poppy, what amazes me the most is the whole commucation thing, what with e-mail and "chat", voice-and-video chat, too; in the past year I've managed to "connect" with many writers I truly admire...it's really very cool!
MsgId: *omni_visions(144)
Date: Fri Dec 20 00:19:27 EST 1996
From: Ed_Bryant_Mod At: 206.80.181.54
Hey, all. Imagine my surprise to find myself once again kicked off by the server... What a novelty. But now I'm back. However, in the interest of immoderation I should point out we're past the two-hour mark. Poppy, if you want to call it a night, please say the word. Otherwise we can try to go on a little longer. The Server, permitting...Ed, here. It's probably time to thank Poppy profusely and sincerely, curse the electronic netgods, and call it a night. One hopes Poppy is peacefully feeding her large black cat and stretching after this stint at the keyboard--and getting back to the keyboard to write some new fiction.
Okay, then. Thanks Poppy--and Mrs. Calabash--wherever you are! And thanks to all who participated in the questions. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and enjoy a fabulous Boxing Day!
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