P. D. Cacek
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P.D. Cacek was born in Hollywood, CA -- which appears as the setting
for her comic vampire novel, NIGHT PRAYERS -- and lives in Arvada, CO -- a
suburb of Denver which is the setting for her werewolf novel, CANYONS, which
was recently accepted at TOR.
Winner of both the 1996 Bram Stoker Award ("Metalica") and 1998 World
Fantasy Award ("Dust Motes"), P.D. is momentarily residing in New Hope, PA
where she's busily at work on another novel -- a ghost story set in, you
guessed it, New Hope.
The August 1999
Q&A
JanCyberC How did you first learn about the Avon 999 anthology?
pdcacek By accident. I was at Necon in Providence and Al Sarrantonio asked that I send him a story. Seems someone asked him to ask me.
JanCyberC So he was unfamiliar with your work before then?
pdcacek Yes. In fact, (blush) I didn't even know what anthology I was sending a story to. The only thing I remember was going into shock when he said how much he was paying per word.
JanCyberC It's such an exceptionally good story, P.D., "The Grave." I just got an advance copy of it today, and it was chilling.
pdcacek Thank you. It did get under my skin while I was writing it.
JanCyberC P.D., I noticed in your short bio on your webpage here at CYBLING that you tend to write stories about the specific location at which you're currently residing. What was the locale for "The Grave"?
pdcacek A wood outside Boxborough, MA. A friend has a condo that overlooks the woods and we went for a walk.
JanCyberC Was there a grave there hidden in the woods...or just spooky woods?
pdcacek The woods were beautiful (dark and deep ... and rainy) but there was no grave. There was a small wall of stone that my friend never noticed even though he walked the woods every day. When I pointed the wall out to him he was stunned he never noticed it. Hence the idea of "The Grave" was born.
blindside I'm afraid I have come completely unprepared. And I'm somewhat bashful to concede that I've never read any of P.D.'s work. Where, for example, can I find The Grave?
JanCyberC Blindside..."The Grave" is a short story in the new Anthology from Avon -- 999
pdcacek (smile)
JanCyberC It should be hitting the shelves on September 9, 1999.
blindside Ah, thank ye very much.
pdcacek In fact, I'm doing a signing with F.Paul Wilson in Princeton (B&N) on the 9th.
blindside Congratulations, P.D. Exciting, no?
pdcacek Big time. I'm a fan of Paul's and have been since THE KEEP
JanCyberC PD, there are some pretty heavy hitters in the Anthology along with you... was learning that your story was suitable for inclusion a surprise as well?
pdcacek To be honest, it wasn't that big of a shock _until_ I learned what the anthology actually was. Then I think I fainted.
JanCyberC PD, you have a couple of novels under your belt and one on the way, as well as two award winning short stories....about how long have you been writing horror?
pdcacek Well, I knew I was going to write scary stories when I was five years old (that's oh, been a few years now) but I didn't really start trying to get published until I was 18. Didn't actually publish anything until I was 39 3/4. I'm now 47 ... so I haven't been "at it" all that long.
JanCyberC So you collected rejection slips between 18 and 39...that's a lot of work. Was your first sale a short or a novel?
pdcacek My first sale was a short story. In fact, I still think of myself as a short story writer.
JanCyberC Excellent. Why the move to novels then?
pdcacek To see if I could make the transition. And it seems to be working. The novel I'm currently working on is closing onto page 300. And it's not _really_ all that close to the end.
JanCyberC Ooooh...so it will be a good solid read then. I'm a series junkie myself...give me 4 big books back to back and I'm a happy girl.
pdcacek The next novel ... I promise.
blindside I hope I'm not intruding by bringing one of my own questions to the table, but ....
pdcacek please
blindside I publish a couple of magazines and I'm a writer, as well, so I interact with a lot of other writers in this business. I know you've won the Bram Stoker award for a short fiction piece of yours. Perhaps things have changed most recently, but, at your time of being in the running, do you feel like it was a popularity contest?
pdcacek Unfortunately (and I'll probably make a _whole_ lot of enemies here), yes. The one thing I don't like is to campaign for the award. Stories should stand on their own merit. Not how many friends you can get to vote for it. Just my opinion.
blindside I agree, but I was just curious of your outlook on it. I'm running my own Quarterly Reader's poll now for fiction in webzines and print magazines, and I've found that it is, entirely, a popularity contest.
JanCyberC Did you have a website up at that time, or is your web presence a recent development?
pdcacek Popularity counts, I guess. As for the website ... someone else has put it up for me. I've yet to "do" one of my own. Guess I should.
JanCyberC PD...you say your first novel NIGHT PRAYERS is a comic vampire novel. Why comic, and why vampires?
pdcacek I didn't think I could write a "straight" vampire novel ... since I feel that most everything has already been said about the genre. So ... I did a take off. Besides, I had a bet going with a friend who only writes vampire fiction that I could complete a novel in a month. I did. First in long hand (on legal pads) and then put into my ancient computer. If you haven't figured it out ... I'm a bit of a joker.
JanCyberC LOL, your next novel CANYONS is a werewolf story...when is that due out from TOR?
pdcacek Well .... It's supposed to come out next June, but I've yet to get the contract, so have been unable to start to put in the additions (very graphic ... no comedy in this one). With luck, and the fact that I can write pretty quickly when I need to, it still should come out next summer. (ah hope ah hope ah hope)
JanCyberC Thanks PD...we'll have to get you out here then to talk to us about it.
pdcacek Cool. Er, where's "here"?
JanCyberC CYBLING Chat...you'll be an old pro at chats at that time, and we should have a larger group of people to talk to you about your work.
blindside You don't want to know, P.D.
JanCyberC LOL, Blindside.
pdcacek Hah! I _always_ want to know.
pdcacek Now this really IS strange. I have a character in my new novel named Codger. Hi ...
Codger Yes. I enjoy Ms. Cacek's work very much.
JanCyberC PD...back to the 999 Anthology... did you get any specific direction from the editor before you submitted your story or did you have "The Grave" in mind already?
pdcacek The only instructions I got from Al was "I need it next week." Like I said, I write quick when I have to. And, the idea for "The Grave" had been kicking around in my mind for a few years. Just needed the push.
blindside You said you first started trying to get published when you were 18 and weren't published until you were nearly 40. Where did those first few sales happen? And in addition to that, if it wasn't your first sale to begin with, where was your first paying sell?
pdcacek I've always written horror ... so my first sales were to horror zines. Actually, I closed down a few magazines. Funny though, my first "pro" (aka for money) sale was to the sf anthology NEWER YORK, edited by Lawrence Watt-Evans.
Codger What do you have coming out after 999? A novel perhaps?
pdcacek With luck, a werewolf novel out next year, from TOR.
JanCyberC Thanks PD. So...you're writing werewolves now...the novel currently at TOR and this new novel you're working on. Is there a reason you have a special love for lycanthropes?
pdcacek Sorry, only one werewolf novel. The new novel is about ghosts. New Hope (both the name of the town where I'm living at the moment and the novel) is loaded with ghosts. I'm "hoping" to make this a modern gothic.
PlasmaRIK Would that place you in NEw England, then?
JanCyberC Fascinating. Vampires, Werewolves and now Ghosts. Are there other supernaturals you intend to tackle in the future?
pdcacek Two answers: New Hope is in PA, just across the Delaware from Lambertville (up from Trenton). As for the next novel ... I think it might be a horror novel set in a children's concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Light stuff.
baryon PD, are all of your walks as interesting as the one you wrote about in THE GRAVE
pdcacek Yes, of course. (G)
JanCyberC LOL!
blindside lol, what'd you expect her to say? She's not going to dig her own grave (oooh, no pun intended)
JanCyberC PD, the images in "The Grave" were very vivid. Are you a fan of splatterpunk or have you been influenced by it?
pdcacek Although I've read splatterpunk, I can't honestly say I've been influenced by it. I like to use all the senses when I write ... so my reader can taste the wind, and feel the clouds.
JanCyberC Well it's very very effective.
pdcacek Thank you.
di you seem to catch all the essence of human nature, down to the minute detail. Do you study human nature, and how?
baryon The story reminds me of Mike Bishop's WHO MADE STEVIE CRY?
Codger Who are your favorite writers? Current ones.
pdcacek I'm a writer and always have been. Therefore I observe people ... it's easy to do. As for my favorite writers ... Peter Straub, F. Paul Wilson ... but usually, it's the story that gets me, not the name of the author.
JanCyberC So it's going to be a double pleasure when you're at the book signing with Wilson...where and when will that take place again?
pdcacek Princeton, NJ ... Barnes & Noble ... Sept. 9th ... around 7-ish.
di I must say, that your characters are not flat or cardboard :-)
pdcacek Thank you, not hard to do, really. Just make them real in your mind and it transfers to the paper.
JanCyberC PD, I'd like to find more of your work. Besides picking up NIGHT PRAYERS, are there other anthologies I should look for?
Codger Good night, everyone. Best of luck to you in the future, P.D.
di LEAVINGS, I think, it's very good
pdcacek One of my personal favorites is currently out in ALIENS, edited by Whitley Strieber. G'Night, Codger.
JanCyberC ALIENS, the anthology, has a story of yours then?
pdcacek Yes ... "Fireflies" ... set in the same woods as "The Grave." I visit my friend a lot.
JanCyberC Thanks.
blindside I know this is a generic, day-to-day question, but I can't help but ask being a music lover: Do you listen to music when you write, and if so, what are your typical choices?
baryon Is there a collection in the works?
pdcacek I always listen to music. Soft usually, what is called New Age. I also love Beethoven and Celtic tunes. As for my collection, LEAVINGS is still out and, at the moment, no new collections are due.
JanCyberC Excellent. Yet another reason to look forward to my next trip to the book store.
pdcacek You may have to ask ... I'm not a "name" yet.
baryon but you are working on it, in the best of ways
JanCyberC Oh, and I might add for those folks who don't have a store dedicated to SF/Fantasy/Horror in their neighborhood...that there's a link to P.D.Cacek's books at Amazon.com...on her page here at CYBLING.
JanCyberC Can you tell us what prompted a 5 year old to have writing scary stories as a goal?
pdcacek Some of us see the light, some see the shadows. I always saw the shadows. Besides, even at five I was a pretty strange kid. The best thing I could think of doing was making people jump. I guess I wanted to be the Frankenstein Monster.
di BTW, I loved the idea of a "clueless" vampire. Where did that originate, and how?
pdcacek I was born in Los Angeles and went to Hollywood High School. So I knew a lot of "clueless" types and just put them in. Honestly, I always wondered how a vampire would learn the skills it needed to survive. I mean they don't give out manuals, do they?
di I never knew anyone that tackled that question before. It was very funny.
JanCyberC LOL, not that I've seen...but that might be a seller...the how-to vampire novel.
blindside Everyone has to start somewhere, and unless you were lucky, you're no exception. Are there any editors still editing that you worked with early in your career that you would suggest today's aspiring writers to submit to and pester w/ submission after submission?
pdcacek I'm not sure anymore. I do know I always tried to resubmit to editors who rejected me. Sort of a personal goal of mine. Right now, HORROR and DARK REGIONS has a pretty good editor working for them ... me. ... But I think they're filled at the moment.
JanCyberC Folks...we've had PD out here on the hot seat for about an hour. Do we have any last questions for her?
pdcacek (pant pant)
di I would just like to say that sometimes authors sacrifice story for characterization or vice versa. I admire your ability to balance the two.
baryon good luck in the future
JanCyberC Okay...well let's give P.D.Cacek a round of applause for joining us this evening...
JanCyberC ACTION applauds
di (clap, clap)
PlasmaRIK YAY - (pok pok pok) As Jan would say
blindside (applauds, but don't think she can hear from wherever she may be)
pdcacek Aw, go on. No, I mean it ... GO ON!
JanCyberC Thank you so much for your short story "The Grave", PD... very very scary stuff.
pdcacek Thank you for having me here tonight. It was fun.
JanCyberC Folks, we're going to our koffeeklatch section of chat now. PD, can you stay with us for a bit? Or have we totally frightened you off chats in the future?
pdcacek Sorry, I have a couple of phone calls to make and only one phone line. (sigh) Until next time. Again, thank you all. And please ... call me Trish.
di P.D. we were mild tonight.(g)
JanCyberC Trish, Thanks!
PlasmaRIK K Trish, Thankyou
di Nite, and thanks
pdcacek G'night all. Bye
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