A CHAT WITH AUTHOR BOBBY NASH

Bobby Nash and his wares

TFCE: Today, The Free Choice E-zine welcomes author Bobby Nash. Bobby, please tell us a little bit about your latest work.

NASH: I have had three recent releases.

My own imprint, BEN Books, just released Operation: Silver Moon, a graphic novel I wrote with art by a talented gentleman named Rick Johnson. Although this is a stand-alone story, Rick and I would love to tell more stories with these characters.

In Operation: Silver Moon, Nazi agents have discovered a long lost army of the undead that they plan to unleash on an unsuspecting world. Agent Tom Lupis of The American War Department is sent in to use his gift/curse as a werewolf to deal with the threat, which brings him into contact with the vampire lord known as Vlas. Can Lupis and Vlas put aside their ages old differences and work together to stop the Nazi's Army of the Undead?

Operation: Silver Moon started with a short comic story for a comic anthology that would lead into a mini series. Both the comic and the publisher disappeared, vanished into thin air. Rick and I were left with a story and some art, so we decided to finish the book and are so happy it is finally in the hands of readers. Please visit the Operation: Silver Moon website at http://OperationSilverMoon.blogspot.com to find out more.

Meanwhile, Dark Oak Press has released The Big Bad II, the follow up to The Big Bad: An Anthology of Evil. This volume features a story by me called “Sticks and Stones!” My friend, author John G. Hartness puts these volumes together and it was an honor to be invited for both volumes. John asked me to write a story about a bad guy so I did. Sometimes it’s that easy. Will there be more? I wouldn’t be surprised.

You can learn more about The Big Bad II at http://www.darkoakpress.com/bigbad2.html

And last but not least, Pro Se Press released Freelancer: The Traveler Sanction, my first in a series of ebooks in their Signature Series under banner From the Pen of Bobby Nash. This is pure pulpy action and adventure as The Freelancer leaps into danger to save the daughter of the United States' Secretary of Defense and uncovers a plot that leads straight to the most powerful man in the world. We will see Freelancer again. Learn more at http://www.prose-press.com.

TFCE: Wow. You're own imprint AND your own line at another company. You must be flattered.

NASH: I am. It was a nice surprise. In the press release, Pro Se's publisher Tommy Hancock said I was invited because I “fit every criterion as one of the best and most consistent writers in New Pulp and Genre Fiction, tackling multiple genres with the ability to maintain his own particular voice and still make each tale different and exciting.” I’ll take that. (laughs)

TFCE: When it came time to choose a career, why writing?

NASH: This one has a simple answer: because I love it. I write the type of stories I would like to read. Thankfully, there are others out there who like to read the same type of stories I do.

Volume 2 IS coming!

TFCE: What inspires you to write?

NASH: I’m not sure there’s any one thing I can point to on this one. The stories continue to pop into my head, usually faster than I will ever be able to write them all down. I write, partly to get the stories out of my head, but also because I love to entertain. Hopefully, my stories do that.

I also love doing promotions, so having a book to promote is helpful. Ha! Ha!

TFCE: What has influenced your style and technique?

NASH: I’m influenced by so many things, especially other writers, any type of creative person, actually. As I type this, I’m sitting in a hotel room getting ready to head out to a convention that has a great literary track. I’m excited because I know that spending a weekend with these talented people will energize me and get those creative wheels turning. I learn so much from reading other writer’s work as well.

TFCE: What would be your dream project?

NASH: I would love to write The Fantastic Four for Marvel Comics.

TFCE: Where do you foresee yourself within the next few years?

NASH: I would love to say I’m “caught up” on deadlines, but I think we all know better than that. Ha! I would love to see myself making a decent living from my writing. Sadly, I’m not there yet, but it is a goal I strive for and work toward.

TFCE: Considering how many you've probably done before this one, has there ever been an interview question(s) you have not been asked but would love to answer, and if so, what would your response(s) be?

NASH: WOW. That’s tough. I’ve done quite a few of these so nothing about the work or being a writer springs to mind. Thankfully, I’ve never gotten the silly boxers or briefs question or what’s my favorite food, things like that. I do get “who is your favorite author?” often, which is a really loaded question because the answer changes from day to day.

TFCE: Any other projects you would like to promote?

NASH: Always. Here are some upcoming projects to keep an eye out for in 2015.

It's a TEAM UP, coming soon!

The Snow Storm ebook from Stark Raving Press, The Strong Will graphic novel from New Legend Productions; I have a story in the upcoming V-Wars prose anthology from IDW. I wrote the script for the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ At The Earth’s Core graphic novel from Sequential Pulp Comics/Dark Horse Comics. Then there's the upcoming Domino Lady: Threesome comic series from Moonstone Books, along with The Ruby Files Vol. 2 prose anthology from Airship 27, Evil Intent from BEN Books, and Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: A Haunting We Will Go from Raven’s Head Press.

Of course, you can keep up to date on all of these projects and more at www.bobbynash.com  and everything is available at Amazon.com

TFCE: Then on that note, let's talk about Star Trek for a moment. You have actually written an episode, so to speak?

NASH: So to speak. I wrote an episode of the Starship Farragut fan series called “Conspiracy of Innocence” that is currently available for free viewing on Youtube and DVD. I met the Farragut crew at a con and liked what they had done, so I offered to write an episode for them. It was a fun experience and I thought the episode came out really well. I also lent a hand to the first episode of Star Trek Continues, which is also filmed using the same sets. It was a special honor to tour those sets, which are absolutely gorgeous. It was a magical moment, when I stepped through the doors onto the corridor for the first time. It’s the closest to time travel I’ve ever come in my life. You can learn more about them at http://www.StarshipFarragut.com and http://www.StarTrekContinues.com.

TFCE: How do you think the recent passing of Leonard Nimoy will affect the various components of the Star Trek franchise going forward? We ask because most of the fan eulogies and other memorial posts across the Internet seem more focused upon the loss of Mister Spock than on the loss of the actor, the man, or any of Mister Nimoy's other accomplishments in life.

Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

NASH: Spock will live forever. As long as there continue to be tie-in novels, comic books, fan films, and new movies, the character of Spock will endure. Mr. Nimoy is a big part of what made Mr. Spock so special to fans. He was truly a great ambassador for the series and a wonderful actor. While Spock is the role he is best known for, I recall fond memories of his work on the original Mission: Impossible (as Paris in seasons 4 and 5) and as host of In Search Of… which was a big part of my childhood as I was born after Star Trek’s original run was canceled. I never got to meet Mr. Nimoy, although we were at some of the same conventions at the same time, but I am a fan and I will remember and forever enjoy his work.

TFCE: And on that note, thank you for your time Bobby and Live Long and Prosper Everyone!

SEAN TAYLOR: ON ZOMBIES, ROBOTS, RICK RUBY, AND MORE

"Farm Fresh" within these pages

Portrait of the writer as a young seller of his wares

He has posted much and interviewed many upon his own website at
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com , but now the time has come to grant Sean Taylor his moment in the spotlight and ask him a few questions.
The Free Choice E-zine: Welcome Sean. Please tell us a little about your latest work.
Sean Taylor: Zombies versus Robots, This Means War is a prose expansion of the Zombies versus Robots comic book stories created by writer Chris Ryall and artist Ashley Wood, that redefines both zombie and robot fiction. I contributed the story "Farm Fresh" but am amongst some talented people, including Jesse Bullington, Nancy Collins, Lincoln Crisler, Brea Grant, Robert Hood, Nicholas Kaufmann, James A. Moore, Norman Prentiss, Rachel Swirsky, Steve Rasnic, Rio Youers, and Jeff Conner.



TFCE: And who do you root for in a battle like that?
SEAN: Any poor humans caught in the middle! Although sometimes the robots do tend to be a little more pro-human than the zombies. But each force has so many different types on their side, that it's hard to tell at times.


TFCE: You've contributed to many anthologies of late, including co-creating The Ruby Files. Can you tell us a little bit of how that came about?
SEAN: Bobby Nash is a friend of mine, and Richard/Rick Ruby grew out of our mutual admiration for the classic, hard boiled type of private detective that started in the 1930s. But what sets him apart from others is that we approached the series from the more enlightened era of today so Rick can interact with others, especially African-Americans, a lot more than he would have been able to during the series' time period.
In my story, "Die Giftig Lillie" I focus on Edy Rose Adams, who is

A co-creation with Bobby Nash

Rick's secretary and kind of looks out for him when she can, and Evelyn Johnson, a slinky jazz singer who knows any romantic relationship with Rick can never last, but intends to make sure he always remembers her.


TFCE: You've done a lot of work in the budding genre of New Pulp. What is that field to you?
SEAN: Personally, I'm more than happy to define New Pulp by the authors and the stories.
The stories are engaging and targeted to the common man and woman. That's as simple a line in the sand as I can reduce it too, yet it's open enough to allow interpretation that hopefully doesn't foster argument but circumvents it. Whether they scare, enthrall, titillate, or take the reader on a grand adventure, they're a simple contract between the author, the publisher, and the average reader. Pulp, both old and new, is escapist fiction. Like classic pulp, some is deftly written by literary masters, some is averagely written by good writers who know their trade well, and some is, well, some is quite bad.
In defining Pulp by the authors, I know that if I read a story by Andrew Salmon, even if it's a futuristic sci-fi tale, it's going to feel like a pulp, so it's pulp. If I read something by Tommy Hancock, it's going to be literally drenched in pulp sensibilities. And as I go deeper into the New Pulp movement, I expect to find more names that become synonymous with the words "New Pulp."
Those are my thoughts anyway. You're mileage may differ. 

TFCE: Why do you write what you do?
SEAN: Because they are the kind of stories I enjoy telling. They're the tales I love to read. They're, although it sounds rather high-falootin' to say it, the blood I bleed. I write what I do because I have to. I don't seem to have the options that other people have, to play video games or go watch a ball game, because something inside me compels me to get these stories out. It's a difficult obsession to explain, but it is what it is.

TFCE: Let's attempt that. What inspires you to write?

SEAN: Compulsion and obsession drive me to write, as does my selfish need to be remembered. Seriously. I desperately crave to be remembered one day long after I'm dead as someone whose stories live on and continue to be read. It's a personality fault, I know, but it is what it is, and I crave to be remembered for my work

TFCE: What has influenced your style and technique?

SEAN: There are two key influences that have had the most sway over me in terms of style and technique. 
The first is Ernest Hemingway. His straight-to-the-point way of writing narrative, and his knack for having people talk about everything but the most important thing on their minds really influenced my own style. He took the purple out of prose and streamlined it, and in effect created modern bookwriting. 
The second is comic book writer Chuck Dixon. He's in many ways the Hemingway of comic books. I learned from him how to cut to the important details and to always write in such a way to make a reader turn the page. He also taught me to give my bad guys something good to make the reader feel for them, and to give my good guys a bad trait to make my readers realize they're not the perfect white hat cowboys of the black and white serials. 

TFCE: What would be your dream project?

SEAN: I've done so many of my dream projects thus far--Rick Ruby, Blackstorm, Zombies vs. Robots--but one property I'd really, really love to have the opportunity to write is DC's The Metal Men. I've been a fan of them for years, and the dynamic that team has opens itself to so many stories in my head. I'd sacrifice a right arm (good thing I'm left-handed) for that gig. DC's recent universe reboot (The New 52) gives any writer a chance to start over from practically Square One, but so far The Metal Men have yet to appear in the New DC Universe. So if anyone connected with the company is reading this...

TFCE: Where do you foresee yourself within the next few years?
SEAN: I hope to be doing the same thing I'm doing now--writing stories I love to tell. But I sure hope to be doing it from the veranda of my new beach house that I'll buy from the sell-out money Hollywood gives me to option one or two of my tales. 

TFCE: You have been asked and answered many questions upon your own blog. But has there ever been an interview question you have not been asked but would love to answer, and if so, what is it and your response?

SEAN: Yes. Why the obsession with Drew Barrymore? My answer: Because I saw the movie Doppleganger and fell in love. That's why. 

TFCE: Any other projects you'd like to promote?

SEAN: Oh man, where do I start? Besides my blog and my official website at at www.taylorverse.com

I've also contributed a story to the upcoming Pulp Obscura volume: The New Adventures of Armless O'Neil, which is a joint venture between Pro Se Press and Altus Press and there is a lot of other stuff in the works, so it's just a question of when and what's next.

TFCE: Sounds like you're quite a busy guy Sean, so we better let you get back to work. Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

SEAN: You're welcome.

The various works of Sean Taylor can be found and acquired through his websites, those of his publishers, and Amazon.com.