Editor Miles Boothe interview

Miles Boothe is the kid that always got sent home with a note from his teacher because he was daydreaming and he didn’t turn in his homework. He’s the goof that walked into the display at the bookstore because his nose was buried in one. He was all ears whenever there was a campfire and a spooky tale to be told, and later, when most kids were praying for something to not crawl out from under their bed, he was wishing really, really hard that something would.

As it turns out, the only way to make that happen is to write about it, so he does. Miles lives in Atlanta, GA. He grew up in the woods, and misses them whenever he’s in an office for too long. He lives with his wife, son, and an ever-growing roster of dogs. Most recently he has edited a monster-hunter anthology, Leather, Denim & Silver, for Pill Hill Press.

- SYNOPSIS

A twig snaps in the mist behind you, and you turn to see lantern eyes hanging over slavering jaws…

Most would panic, run, and within moments, die. But not the Monster Hunter.

Reflexes like coiled springs unleash with fury into the beast, and the never-ending struggle between hunter and nightmare begins with blood…

Behold Leather, Denim & Silver, a collection of monster hunting tales ranging from the frozen halls of a Russian orphanage to the steamy jungles of the Congo. Hunt the foggy streets of London, moonlit New Orleans, and prowl the Old West as hunters square off against bloodthirsty werewolves, vampires, demonic spirits, and devils escaped from legend.

Creatures will die. Hunters will die. But no one will go without a fight…


- TOC

The Werewolf Hunters

1. "Reasons to Kill" by Shelley Ontis
2. "The Artist as Wolf" by Joshua Reynolds
3. "Wolfers" by Matthew Baugh
4. "The Message of the Wolf" by Gary Buettner
5. "Wolf’s Pawn" by Chris Lewis Carter
6. "The Hunter’s Moon" by James Ossuary
7. "The Artist as Wolf" by Joshua Reynolds
8. "Antler & Eye" by Kate Shaw
9. "Black Horse Trading Company" by Miles Boothe

The Vampire Hunters

10. "The Vampire Hunter’s Requiem" by John X. Grey
11. "Alderwood and Old Lace" by Aleta Clegg
12. "The Rookie" by Jennifer L. Barnes
13. "Two-For-One Chinese Special" by Derek M. Koch
14. "The Fullness of Your Truth" by Eric Pollarine

The Spirit Hunters

15. "Spirit in Black" by Thom Brannan
16. "Nadya’s Nights: Frost" by Indy McDaniel
17. "The Oni" by Heather Whittington
18. "Murder in Thy Name" by Elisa F. B. Ramirez
19. "Weeping Woman" by H.J. Hill

The Monster Hunters

20. "Tentacles & Petticoats" by T. W. Garland
21. "Kudzu Jesus" by Edward McKeon
22. "Windigo Dreams" by E.M. Macallum
23. "Godspore" by Marc Sorondo
24. "Fish Out of Water" by Liam Cadey
25. "The Carpetbagger" by A. J. French
26. "The Gargoyle’s Curse" by Mhairi Shaw
27. "Finally, the Source" by Chris Nadeau
28. "Capital Vices" by Lina Branter
29. "Asanbosam" by Angela Meadon
30. "The Last Payday of the Killibrew Mine" by John M. Whalen

D.L. Snell: Thanks for joining us, Miles! I see you on the Permuted Press forum all the time but have never taken the chance to really chat with you. It’s great to have you on!

Miles Boothe: Thanks! I’m a huge fan of Permuted, and it’s one of the forums I haunt on a regular basis. heh

DLS: To start, I’d like to solicit something self-serving. 

Earlier in the year, you filled out a Market Scoop for Leather, Denim & Silver (LD&S). How do you think your scoop influenced the submissions you received afterward, both in quality and quantity, and accuracy to the theme? And… I heard the scoop helped garner something especially cool for the antho, is that right?

MB: The Market Scoop was absolutely vital to this book in a couple of ways. First, you listed it on Dark Markets, and up to that point I had only posted it on Ralan’s and Duotrope. A good number of folks who wound up in the book learned about it from Dark Markets, including—and this was beyond cool—Brian P. Easton.

In the Scoop, I had mentioned how much I had enjoyed both of Brian’s novels (Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter and Heart of Scars). I also mentioned how much those books inspired me to create a monster-hunting themed anthology.

Brian saw the scoop on Dark markets, and when all was said and done, very generously wrote the Foreword for the book!

So, in a nutshell, your Market Scoop was how the Godfather of Monster Hunting wound up writing the Foreword for this book, which makes both of you some of the coolest cats in the business!

DLS: Thanks, Miles! So is Leather, Denim & Silver the first thing you’ve edited, or have you done other projects before that?

MB: This is my first official editing job. I’ve had a few stories published, edited a few friends works, and participated in a couple of shoot-outs with Pill Hill Press. But, last year, after reading Brian’s books and searching for more monster hunting stories, I realized that it was time for a monster hunting antho. I knew Jessy from Pill Hill from the shootouts, and we talked about it a bit, then launched it.

DLS: LD&S is subtitled Legends of the Monster Hunter. What inspired the theme of the anthology?

MB: Simply put, the absence of monster hunting stories! With the advent of e-books, you really can scratch an itch for almost anything whenever you want, which is cool. But, if you get hungry for a monster-hunting tale, there’s just not a lot out there, and I figured it was time for more.

DLS: Looking at the table of contents for LD&S, I can see you have a promising stable of authors, and some interesting titles. What kind of monsters get corralled here?

MB: We’ve got all sorts of creatures in this one—I started with Werewolves as a nod to Brian, and because the theme of the cover is Werewolf-Western. Next is the Vampire section, and those two make up the first half of the book. Demon hunting was very popular, so the next section is dedicated to spirits, and this includes Ghosts, Bog Mummies, and some other spooky stuff. Then, we finish up with a rogues-gallery of creatures, ranging from a Thing-like plant monster, an African folklore nightmare, and a Lovecraftian-Steampunk story.

All in all, the monster-hunting bases are well covered!

DLS: If you could be any one of these monsters, which one would it be? Why?

MB: I have to go with the Werewolf from Joshua Reynolds’ “The Artist as Wolf.” The story is amazing, and the Werewolf is smooth, twisted, and comes across like he has a very, very good time with his life.

DLS: Introduce us to some of the notable hunters in the anthology. Any recognizable public domain characters?

MB: You know, we asked for, and got, some really original stuff. But, there are a few folks you may recognize. Ded Moroz of Russian Mythology and a thinly veiled Odin and sons from Norse mythology are a few.

DLS: If you were a hunter, which monster in this anthology would you pursue and why?

MB: That’s easy – the Asanbosam, from the story titled “Asanbosam” by Jennifer Barnes. It takes me back to my safari days, and even though the ending to this one is tragic, I loved the hunt and the memories.

DLS: A few questions about the editing process: What’s your method? How many drafts do you and the writers go through? Do you use Track Changes?

MB: I went through multiple drafts myself, this being my first antho. I tried to use Track Changes in the beginning, but had a few problems with it, so I wound up just bolding all of the edits so that the authors could compare it to what they had written.

DLS: You’re a writer as well. How did you get into it, and where can we find your work?

MB: I think I’m like most other writers in that I started reading when I was very young, then started messing around with writing after that. I kept reading, but put writing on hold for a while, then, a few years ago, I just started back into it and kind of haven’t stopped, heh.

DLS: Last question—what’s in your near future? Any writing projects? A Leather, Denim & Silver 2? And—a more pressing issue—when and where can we get a copy of the first LD&S?

MB: A second volume has just been given the green light! It will be titled The Trigger Reflex – Legends of the Monster Hunters II, and the call for submissions has just been posted at PillHillPress.com!

For personal projects, I’ve got a couple of novels I want to finish this year, a few shorts I want to submit, and a website in desperate need of an update.

But for now, Leather, Denim & Silver is available at www.PillHillPress.com, Amazon, and BN.com

DLS: Thanks, Miles—it’s been fun! We’ll definitely be doing a Market Scoop for The Trigger Reflex – Legends of the Monster Hunters II.

MB: It’s been a blast! Thank you again for everything!

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For more scoops, go to www.dlsnell.com.

D.L. Snell writes with Permuted Press. He edited Dr. Kim Paffenroth thrice, John Dies at the End once, and provided a constructive critique to Joe McKinney on his next major novel after Dead City, Apocalypse of the Dead. You can shoot D.L. Snell in the head at www.dlsnell.com.

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