Ricepaper 19.3 (Fall 2014): The Speculative Fiction Issue

Ricepaper, the Asian Canadian literary magazine, published its special Speculative Fiction issue (fantasy, science fiction, and horror) this month. JF Garrard and I were the guest editors. Contributors include Aurora Award-winning editor/author Eric Choi and Writers of the Future award winner Tony Pi.

The fiction line-up is:
"Tushuguan" by Eric Choi: trouble in post-apocalyptic Vancouver
"Woman in the Shadows" by John Matsui: a ghost seeks revenge after a night of sex
"A Spirited Education" by Tony Pi: a Soong Dynasty exorcism
"Designing Fate" by JF Garrard: when designer children go bad...
"Golden Fish, Golden Slippers" by Melissa Yuan-Innes: a Chinese fairy tale
"Sharp Teeth" by Melissa Yuan-Innes: someone has sharp teeth...

Also in this issue:
an interview with comic book publisher James Bade
"Finding My Way Back Home" by Lou Villahermosa: an article about the haunted trees and other evil spirits of the Philippines.

It's in bookstores across Canada, but if you can't find it, you can order it online for only $5:

http://ricepapermagazine.ca/19-3-issue/http://ricepapermagazine.ca/19-3-issue/

TIFF Review: Teen Lust

Satanic priest Peter (Cary Elwes) prepares to sacrifice Neil (Jesse Carere) while wife Mary (Kristin Bauer van Straten) watches.

 

2014 was a great year for made-in-Manitoba horror comedies. Any horror comedy from Manitoba is rare, but two such movies appeared at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year. The Editor, a spoof of Italian giallo movies, premiered in the Midnight Madness program. Teen Lust premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema program.

Teen Lust is directed by Blaine Thurier, who also plays the synthesizer in the indie rock band the new pornographers. His first feature movie, Low Self-Esteem Girl, premiered at the 2000 TIFF.

High school student Neil (Jesse Carere) is supposed to participate in a religious ceremony at his parents’ church. He and his obnoxious friend Matt (Daryl Sabara) talk about the church as if it’s just any ordinary church. His devout parents (played by Emannuelle Vaugier and Jon Dore) insist that he stay chaste and preserve his virginity. As in any high school with hot girls and buff jocks, this devotion to chastity and after-school church events makes Neil a social outcast, unable to date girls. He does have a gal pal, Denise (Annie Clark), but as is usual in these movies, she has no romantic or sexual feelings for him. So far, this seems like a typical high school comedy about getting laid before graduation.

But we quickly discover that the church is a Satanic cult, led by priest John (Cary Elwes) and his wife Mary (Kristin Bauer van Straten from True Blood). Neil soon realizes that his parents have offered him as a human sacrifice to Satan. He escapes from the ceremony and desperately searches for a woman who will have sex with him and thereby disqualify him as a sacrifice. Having Matt help him, of course, doesn’t make his quest any easier.

What makes the Satanic cult funny is how mundane it is. Like any other church, it seeks donations for its bowling club. Its members, far from being mastermind villains, are as incompetent as ordinary churchgoers in anything they do, such as remembering to turn their cell phones and pagers off before a ritual.

Cary Elwes gives the movie’s best performance, as Satanic priest John. He is unrecognizable in his disheveled wig and black robes. He gives the impression of an ordinary man who wants to be evil but is too dimwitted to do so. Kristin Bauer van Straten is also funny as the priest’s wife, annoyed at the incompetence of her husband.

Jesse Carere and Daryl Sabara have both high and low moments as the two teenagers running from the Satanists. One desperately seeks a woman to save his life, and the other obnoxiously gives advice about a subject for which he has no experience. Sometimes their banter is just dull. However, at other times, especially a scene involving a goat, they can be quite funny.

Overall, I liked Teen Lust, as it puts humorous horror spin on the usual teen comedy about losing one’s virginity.

L to R: Director Blaine Thurier, producer Kyle Bornais, and actors Annie Clark and Jesse Carere at a screening of their horror comedy film Teen Lust. Scotiabank Theatre, TIFF, Toronto, Sept. 12, 2014.

 

I got my photo taken with Jesse Carere...

 

...and with Annie Clark.

 

 

TIFF Review: The Editor

 

Manitoba isn’t a place that most people associate with horror movies, but there were two made-in-Manitoba horror movie spoofs at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Teen Lust, about a teenaged boy trying to lose his virginity to avoid being a Satanic human sacrifice, premiered in the Cotemporary World Cinema program. The Editor, a spoof of Italian giallo or psychological horror movies of the 1970’s and 1980’s, premiered in the Midnight Madness program.

The Editor, directed by Matthew Kennedy and Adam Brooks (who also act in the movie), is about an Italian film editor, Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks), who lost four fingers in a film editing accident and is now reduced to editing schlocky, low-budget horror movies. When actors on a movie set get murdered, he becomes the prime suspect. Peter Porfiry (Matthew Kennedy), sporting a bushy moustache and wearing 1970’s polyester clothes, is the police detective trying to prove Rey is the killer. His wife, Margiry Porfiry (Sheila Campbell) suddenly goes blind when she discovers two dead actors. Meanwhile, actor Cal Konitz (Conor Sweeney) is angling to replace the lead actor.

In addition to the above-mentioned Winnipeg talent, The Editor somehow got some cult actors from outside Manitoba. Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire) plays Josephine Jardin, a former movie star who has married Rey and insults him constantly. Udo Keir plays the standard useless psychiatrist, Dr. Casini.

The Editor is the latest film by the Astron-6, a group of Winnipeg filmmakers who made Manborg, about a cyborg fighting Nazi vampires. Now they’re spoofing the work of Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and especially their less accomplished contemporaries. People die in gory murders involving axes, knives, and any sharp object. An aerobics dancer casually takes off her leotard in the background, and nobody notices. If The Editor’s plot twists seem illogical and improbable, and if you can drive a Fiat through the plot holes, that’s part of the fun because that’s how giallo movies were often written.

The film was shot without synchronous sound and dubbed over later, which is why some of the dialogue is slightly off-synch, just like the dubbing on giallo movies often is.

I quite enjoyed The Editor, as it was such a sarcastic but loving spoof of movies such as Opera and Suspiria.

 

The cast of The Editor, L to R: Adam Brooks, Sheila Campbell, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney. I forgot why Adam Brooks is holding a banana. Scotiabank Theatre, TIFF, Toronto, Sept. 12, 2014.

 

Conor Sweeney, who plays Cal Konitz, the actor with a knife, in The Editor. Scotiabank Theatre, TIFF, Toronto, Sept. 12, 2014.

 

Sheila Campbell, who plays Margiry Porfiry, the character who spontaneously goes blind after discovering two dead bodies, in The Editor. Scotiabank Theatre, TIFF, Toronto, Sept. 12, 2014.

Of course, I asked Sheila Campbell if she would pose for a photo with me.

 

My Loncon 3 Schedule: Come See Me

Below is my schedule of official events at Loncon 3 (Worldcon in London, U.K.). Come see me.

The schedule may change.

Thursday 15:00 - 16:30, Capital Suite 16 (ExCeL):

The Anthology as Advocacy

The published is political. SF has a healthy tradition of anthologies that seek to open up space for new voices and new conversations, from groundbreaking books such as So Long Been Dreaming and the Bending the Landscape series, to recent anthologies such as Long Hidden, We See a Different Frontier, the Speculative Japan collections and the Apex Books of World SF. How are such books received and reviewed by the field? How do editors and contributors of such books participate in the conversations they generate? And to what extent do an anthology's political goals interact with editorial considerations and/or marketing considerations?

John Kessel (M), Grania Davis, Fabio Fernandes, Derwin Mak

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Friday 12:00 - 13:30, Autographing Space (ExCeL):

Autographing 6 - Derwin Mak

Come keep me company as I sit at the autograph table and watch the long lines grow for other writers.

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Saturday 11:00 - 12:00, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL):

Beyond the Force: Religion in the Future

Writers working with futuristic settings often use present-day and historical religious forms to frame something new; Dan Simmons uses Catholicism in Hyperion, for example, and Kameron Hurley takes a similar approach to Islam in God's War. How can this be done in a manner that respects religious traditions and believers, while still allowing the author creative license? To what extent do such works succeed at imagining how religions change over time? What are the advantages and disadvantages of extrapolation compared to inventing a new faith -- and do common templates for such invention, such as science or the state, make sense given what we know about how humans respond to the spiritual?

Simon Morden (M), Derwin Mak, Rosanne Rabinowitz, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Janice Gelb

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Saturday 15:00 - 16:30, Capital Suite 14 (ExCeL):

The World at Worldcon: Chinese Diaspora SF

Chinese immigrants have gone all over the world for 400 years. However, the Chinese diaspora has written science fiction only in the last 4 decades, with Laurence Yep possibly being the first Chinese American science fiction writer. Now they are becoming more prominent, and writers such as Ken Liu and Ted Chiang have become well known. What do their stories say about the immigrant experience (often a sort of alien experience) and about ethnicity, identity, and culture in America, Canada, Europe, Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries? How have they combined Chinese society with those of other countries?

Emily Jiang (M), Eric Choi, John Chu, Derwin Mak

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Sunday 10:00 - 11:00, Capital Suite 13 (ExCeL):

Droning On

From remotely piloted attack vehicles to robot package delivery services drones suddenly seem to be everywhere. What impacts will they have, from wars to where we buy books? And is that guy in the park with a quadrocopter just a harmless hobbyist or a high tech peeping tom?

Phil Dyson (M), Myke Cole, Derwin Mak, Mike Bakula, Terrence Karney

Call for Submissions to Ricepaper's Speculative Fiction Issue: Short Stories, Articles, Manga Excerpts/Comics

Ricepaper, the Asian Canadian literary magazine, is calling for stories, articles, and poems for its special Speculative Fiction issue, to be published circa January 2015. Derwin Mak (co-editor, The Dragon and the Stars) and JF Garrard (author, The Undead Sorceress) will be guest editors of the Speculative Fiction issue. 

Each issue usually contains 3-4 fiction stories, 3-4 creative non-fiction articles, and 2-3 poems. These are not rigid rules, though.

We are looking for short stories, non-fiction articles, poems, and manga/comics excerpts by authors with East Asian or Southeast Asian descent. Eighty (80%) percent of the issue's content should be authored by Canadians. All content should be in English. If content was originally written in another language, send us the English version.

Short stories: stories can be of any of the speculative fiction genres, i.e., science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternative history. Stories should have an East or Southeast Asian aspect to them, which can include immigrant and diaspora themes. Stories should be previously unpublished and not already sold for publication to another magazine or anthology.

We do not intend to buy a story that lacks an Asian aspect, even if it's written by an author of East/Southeast Asian descent. The only exception we'll make is if none of the characters are human, but your story better be worthy of an Aurora, Hugo or Nebula nomination if you go that route. No overly political content. Of course, no racist content. Sexual content is usually fine.

Maximum word length for short stories is 6,000 words.

About novel excerpts: the editors are not adverse to novel excerpts, but be advised that we will give preference to original short stories. We know that you’re proud of your novel and wish to preview it. However, your novel will be published and available soon; the short stories, on the other hand, rely on magazines for their first publication, and we can best serve the speculative fiction community by using this magazine space to showcase new short fiction. Please do not submit a novel excerpt without inquiring with the guest editors. Please do not argue or debate our preference for short stories with us.

Non-fiction articles: also known as creative non-fiction in Ricepaper, these should be related to science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction genres. They can be of various forms, including interviews with authors, an essay on the genre or the state of the art, or an author's reminiscence on the influences and inspirations on his/her writing. Maximum word length: 6,000 words.

Poems: poems should be in the speculative fiction genres. Poems must have an East Asian/Southeast Asian aspect. Maximum length: half a page each.

Manga/comics: Ricepaper occasionally publishes excerpts from manga or comics. Excerpts are 1 to 5 pages long. For this issue, we'll also consider an original comics story if it's 1 to 2 pages long. Stories must have an East Asian/Southeast Asian aspect and be of a speculative genre.

Use standard manuscript format, but with emphasized words in italics (not underlined), and leave one space between sentences, e.g., between the period and the start of the next sentence.

Please submit your submission as a Microsoft Word file to hello@jfgarrard.com . In the subject line, please put “Submission: [Title of your Story]”.

Deadline for submissions is August 15, 2014 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time.

Payment is $50-$250 for short stories and articles (depending on length), $50-$75 for poems, upon publication. Ricepaper will acquire world first North American English serial rights.

Apocalypse4, issue 1

The promotional campaign for Apocalypse4, a new comic book series, is all about the artwork and the artist, Hugh Rockwood. Its website www.apocalypse4.com has a gallery of images from the comic but nothing about the subject, theme, or plot of the series. Is the lack of information about the story intended to create a mystery to entice readers? Or is it due to a publicity campaign run by artists who have forgotten that they also have to sell the story? Yes, comics are a visual art, but they are also a form of storytelling too.

The story is by Corrado Rizza. It begins in heaven. For reasons unexplained, God orders the Archangel Michael to lead an angelic army to destroy the human species. This decision bewilders the angels. One of them, who had been a priest named Ignacio del Vega, disobeys God by stealing long, sharp crystals called Shards of the Horsemen. Without the Shards, Michael and his army cannot destroy humanity. The story does not explain what the Shards are, but this is issue 1; the story is just starting. 

Del Vega goes to Earth, and disguised as a normal homeless bum, hides from the Archangel Michael. Del Vega realizes that humanity is far from perfect, but in his opinion, it isn't so evil as to justify God's wrath. There lies a mystery: why would God suddenly want to destroy the human race?

On the streets, Del Vega meets Archangel Gabriel, who doesn't look like a traditional angel, but rather, a winged humanoid reptile on steroids. Gabriel, like his colleague Michael, is extremely eager to kill billions of people – if only he could get the Shards of the Horsemen. Satan, in the form of a man with long red hair and black leather jacket and pants, also comes to ask Del Vega for the Shards of the Horsemen.

There are also a scientist and a particle accelerator involved, though not much is said about them in issue 1.

The artwork is gorgeous. The first four pages have a glittering depiction of the Grand Atrium of heaven, a golden, bejewelled palace in the clouds. Its design is reminiscent of depictions of the Ark of the Covenant, but with the Ark's artistic style used on a building, not a chest. The gold of the heaven scenes contrast sharply with the dark blues of the Earthly city scenes that follow.

Thankfully, the fight scenes are not too cluttered in issue 1. The fights have only three or four panels per page, unlike some other comics that can really tire out the reader by cramming too many distinct images into one scene.

Angels have become somewhat clichéd in recent years. There are now so many angels in genre romance novels that they form a sub-sub-genre within the paranormal romance sub-genre. The romance field is full of angst-ridden fallen angels and do-gooder angels who fall in love with human women. In the fantasy and horror genre, God's and Satan's minions frequently re-enact Milton's Paradise Lost, the mother of all stories of angels versus demons. How does Apocalypse4 fare in a market full of clichés?

The idea of a fallen angel (albeit self-exiled) is nothing new, though in this case, Del Vega was a priest in his human life but also sufficiently strong-willed and rebellious to steal the Shards of the Horsemen. His independent streak comes out in his meetings with Gabriel and Satan. Maybe it will help the writer avoid potential clichés in subsequent issues?

Issue 1 has no explanation of the Shards of the Horsemen; what are they? It has become a trope of science fiction and fantasy for the characters to chase after an object or treasure. Issue 1 just starts the story. We'll have to look at future issues to see whether the Shards of the Horsemen turn out to be something that the readers care about or whether they're just a MacGuffin, a plot device that motivates the characters to chase an object or each other but is ultimately unimportant on its own.

The Archangel Gabriel as a bloodthirsty reptile is an interesting way to portray the character. I didn't see that in Paradise Lost.

Issue 1 starts the story and ends on a cliffhanger, so we shall have to wait for future issues to see how the story unfolds. The story gets a good start with gorgeous art and intriguing characters -- let's see how it continues.

See me at Anime North, May 23-25, 2014

I'll be at Anime North, the largest anime convention in Canada, this weekend. I have two panel discussions:
 

Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Peel Room, International Plaza Hotel (former Doubletree Hotel):

Creating Characters: Good characters will improve any story. Our panel of authors will cover the basics of character creation.

Sunday, 12:00 p.m., Peel Room, International Plaza Hotel (former Doubletree Hotel):

How To Get Published: Agent or no agent, self-publishing or traditional--how does it all work? Bring your questions!