Seven Stones, Seven Interviews: Scott Colby

Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Seven Stones is an anthology of short stories and graphic novel set in the Wrecked Earth, the setting of C.E.L. Welsh‘s debut novel Clutch. The Wrecked Earth is an Earth much like our own, except it’s been bombarded by meteors in an event called “Rockfall”. The meteors and the devastation they brought destroyed society, leaving humans in dire straits. The radiation from the fallen meteors have leaked into the earth, mutating animals and harming the land, making this Wrecked Earth even more of a dangerous place to live in.

The titular seven stones are seven meteors that made it to Earth and stories surrounding them. Seven writers and seven artists were tasked with bringing these seven stories of the Wrecked Earth to life in what will eventually be a combination short story anthology/graphic novel omnibus. With the project running on Kickstarter for the rest of the month, various writers and artists were kind enough to talk about Seven Stones, their contribution to the book, and how it feels to play in another creator’s (devastated) world.

Today’s interview is with Scott Colby. Scott is the author of the urban-fantasy novel Shotgun and writes about video games at D Pad and D Bags. His contribution to Seven Stones is as writer of Hope and Desire, a story of an old world politician who attempts to annex a neighboring village.

Leo Johnson: Tell us a bit about yourself, if you would.

Scott Colby: Hi. I’m Scott Colby. I enjoy reading at the bar, yelling at the Red Sox, and blasting aliens from the safety of my couch. When I’m not fixing computers or trying to talk one of my friends into doing something stupid, I write speculative fiction. I like working with worlds I can really mess around with. Jeremy Mohler, one of the artists involved in Seven Stones, got me involved in the project; he and I have worked together on various projects for almost ten years now. I currently reside just outside of Boston, Massachusetts.

LJ: The Seven Stones is both a comic anthology project and a collection of short stories set in a shared world. There’s a great group of talent
working on the book. What is your contribution to the project going to
be?

SC: I contributed a short story titled “Hope and Desire,” which tells the tale of a small village as it attempts to thwart a local gang’s attempt at annexation. Said gang is lead by an old world politician of the sort you’d likely find on CNN for texting naughty pictures. He’s a real scumbag and I couldn’t be happier with the way he turned out. The plucky heroes are sort of ok, too, especially once they discover the price they have to pay in able to fight back.

LJ: Your novel Shotgun deals with a sort of urban fantasy world. Did you
find it difficult writing in the post-apocalyptic wasteland that Seven
Stones is set in?

SC: Shifting gears was hard because I’ve been so focused on Shotgun for so long. I know everything that’s happened and everything that’s going to happen in my own world and I’ve got a ton of stuff in the pipeline. Setting that aside and completely changing my usual writing tone was fun and challenging. It’s also been awhile since I last wrote short fiction; adhering to a word count was difficult because I’m badly out of practice when it comes to leaving ideas out.

LJ: Seven Stones is a post-apocalyptic sort of story that ties into an
already established universe from a related novel. How does it feel to
be adding to an already established universe, rather than helping to
make one from scratch?

SC: Collaborating with other writers is always fun, and working in someone else’s world is something I think every writer should do every so often. I feel like we all tend to end up in little comfort zones that keep us writing certain things in certain ways over and over. Writing in an already established setting is a great way to sort of reboot and get you thinking about storytelling and style and narrative structure in ways that don’t fit your own warm little box–and I think that’s a huge help when you eventually return to writing in your own universe.

LJ: As far as I can tell, you’ve never worked on a comic. How does it feel
to see something you’ve written become the basis for a comic?

SC: It’s pretty cool. I’m really excited to see the artist’s take on my characters and setting.
LJ: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

SC: I’d like to thank Jeremy for putting me in touch with Chris and Chris for giving me a chance to contribute. I had a good laugh when I first saw the roster of writers; it’s a bunch of people who’ve worked for recognizable companies and properties and then…some Scott Colby dude with his silly urban fantasy novel. I’m glad I got the chance to work on this project and I’ve had a lot of fun with it.

Oh, and the first third of my next novel will be available for digital download via Amazon.com on September 3. All Your Fault, part one of A Date with Death, kicks off the story of a small town twenty-something who inadvertently steals death’s fiancee and attempts to smooth things over by hooking the reaper up with someone new. It’s easily the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever written.

LJ: Where else can you be found around the internet?

SC: Please direct all fan mail, love letters, and death threats to @yachtcaptcolby via Twitter. I also maintain a crummy blog at www.scottcolbywrites.com.

 

 

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