THE TABAGO PAGE

T.E. G RAU T.E. Grau is an American writer of Cosmic Horror fiction. He has published a collection of short stories, The Nameless Dark , and a novella, They Don’t Come Home Anymore . What is your earliest reading memory? Probably a book called the Saggy Baggy Elephant  by Kathryn and Byron Jackson, one of those Little Golden Book releases from the 1940s/50s with the gold foil on the spine. I must have been 3 or 4 years old when I read it (obsessively so, as I did with all my books when I was very little), so this was the mid-70s. Another big one from a few years later was Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipparumpazoo  by Mercer Mayer (1976), which was my first monster book. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? I can't recall ever making a conscious choice to sit down and write, and - looking back - it seems to be something that I unknowingly developed early on in my childhood, as I much preferred writing to speaking w...

TED FAUSTER Ted Fauster  is an American Fantasy and Science-Fiction writer. His work include the first two tomes of his Faerel Trilogy, Deomans of Faerel and Hellion, King of Faerel  and the short story Culleen McGregor’s Last Hunt . What is your earliest reading memory? That’s an interesting question. My mother and I were just speaking on this the other day. While numerous children’s books come to mind, the furthest back I think I can remember is The Phantom Tollbooth. Funny how I would not only escape to worlds of my own crafting as an adult, but I would also hit the road in an RV. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? For me, writing has always stemmed from two very important personal traits. (1) A need to be understood, and (2) a strong desire to entertain. I tried music (played guitar in a punk band called The Rabid Babies, but I have big fat fingers and could only manage rhythm guitar. If I couldn’t be the front ma...

CHRIS KELSO Chris Kelso is a Scottish Weird/Bizarro/Experimental writer. His novels and short stories collections include Transmatic , The Black Dog Ate The City , Unger House Radicals and The Folger Variations. What is your earliest reading memory? Well, apart from Spot the Dog and moveable books, my earliest memory of reading independently was probably at about 6 or 7 years old. I devoured R.L.Stein Goosebumps books at that age, but ‘ Ghost Camp ’ was my first, my cherry-popper. I remember reading it in bed, under the cover, and being scared shitless. It was the first time I felt like a rebel, I mean I was so worried that my parents might burst in and catch me reading the equivalent to an 18 certificate horror movie – of course, in retrospect the Goosebumps books are relatively tame, but they awoke an interest in the horror genre which then gave way to an obsession with science fiction which then gave way to me trawling the literary classics. I basically did th...

JERRY WILSON Jerry Wilson is an American short story writer. His latest collection is A  Kind Of Kaddish , published by Leaky Boot Press. What is your earliest reading memory? I learned to read in first grade, the primer being a book called, I think, the Little Red Reader , which was followed by green and blue readers. The other big read at the time was a book about Dick, Jane and a dog called Spot. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? Definitely a conscious choice. Writing doesn't come natural for me. Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write? Well, first of all the house has to be tidy if I am to get anything done. While, writing I have a particular playlist I listen to. It starts out with “ Frederick ”  by Patti Smith. Nostalgia stuff.   Do you choose your stories or do the stories choose you? I guess the stories choose me. What national books/authors do you enjoy re-read...

ALEXIS RHONE FANCHER Alexis Rhone Fancher is an American photographer and poet. She has published three collections of poetry: State of Grace: The Joshua Elegies , How I lost my virginity to Michael Cohen and other heart-stab poems  and Enter here. What is your earliest reading memory? I ’ m at the butcher shop with my mother, and I ’ m reading all the signs aloud; “ Ground Beef $1/lb. ” “ Roasting Chicken 50 Cents/lb. ” I ’ m three years old. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? Both. I ’ ve always written for pleasure. But I choose  to be a professional writer. And then there ’ s the fact that I am compelled to write. Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write? I write every morning. I get up with the sun, 5:45am, and meditate while I watch the sun rise and my French Roast coffee brews. I write for a minimum of 4 hours. Usually more. Later in the day, I edit (my own work and that of my clients). I...