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June 13, 2004 I started writing short fiction because I had a revelation about how I could make my traveling experience relevant and integral to my writing. What if (that little, persistent, voice went) you were to set a story in every location you have traveled to? From that point on, allow the place itself to inspire the story. Venice is about ships, plague, religion. Surely by just describing the place, those themes will stealthily take over the story and create an imaginative piece? I must admit that for my first book, “The Mask of Priam,” that point of view worked pretty well. Also to be thrown into the general mix is the fact that I was feeling low, but sensitive to the paranormal when I wrote the stories. Each of the twenty-seven tales included in that collection speak about death and the moment in which we cease to be ourselves. There is traffic between the material realm and the nether regions in the stories, and what happens on the Earth is just one facet of a cosmic tale that is taking place in several regions at the same time. My second collection, “The Black Scarab of Amun-Ra”, was in some ways more difficult to write. I was not inspired to write the stories by some elemental passion within myself (as had been the case with my first book). On the other hand, I had proved that I could write - both to myself and to the world at large - and now was the time to build on that knowledge in a steady, but creative way. The stories for the second collection came slowly, but surely. Sometimes the old passion would take over for a short time (as in “Caroline” for example); sometimes an idea from a magazine, newspaper, or TV program would set my pen racing (“Death of a President” and “Is Anybody in There?” fall into this category). On occasions, I would simply sit down and force myself to write a story (“Fatmoogas” and “The Fate of Cydonia” are of this type). Just once, I reworked part of an old novel into a new short story guise. On the whole, I’m equally satisfied with both “The Black Scarab Of Amun-Ra” and “The Mask Of Priam”, although the stories in The Black Scarab are more diverse and thought over, and the editing has been incomparably better. After these two books, I feel I’ve earned my spurs as a writer. Inspiration and enthusiasm carried me through the writing of “The Mask of Priam”. However, with that experience behind me, I was able to take a cooler and more structured approach to the stories in the new collection. Now, I feel that I’m ready for anything! “The Black Scarab of Amun-Ra” is due to be published by American-Books, in the early part of 2004. ------------ Visit www.jon-aristides.com or email Jon Aristides: aristidesjon2001@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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