TIH 261: Steve Rasnic Tem on Figures Unseen, the Art and Practice of Writing, and The Man on the Ceiling

In this podcast Steve Rasnic Tem talks about Figures Unseen, the art and practice of writing, The Man on the Ceiling, and much more.

About Steve Rasnic Tem

Steve Rasnic Tem’s collaborative novella with his late wife Melanie Tem, The Man On The Ceiling, won the World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, and International Horror Guild awards in 2001. He has also won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, and British Fantasy Awards for his solo work. His recent novel UBO (Solaris, January 2017) is a dark science fictional tale about violence and its origins, featuring such historical viewpoint characters as Jack the Ripper, Stalin, and Heinrich Himmler. Steve’s novel Blood Kin(Solaris, March 2014), won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award. His previous novels are Deadfall Hotel (Solaris, 2012), The Man On The Ceiling (Wizards of the Coast Discoveries, 2008, written with Melanie Tem as an expansion of their novella), The Book of Days(Subterranean, 2002), Daughters (Grand Central, 2001, also written with Melanie Tem), and Excavation(Avon, 1987). Celestial Inventories was released via ChiZine Publications in 2013. A handbook on writing, Yours to Tell: Dialogues on the Art & Practice of Fiction, also written with Melanie, appeared in 2017 from Apex Books.

Show notes

• [02:50] Scott Kemper, via Patreon, asks which story written sticks with Steve the most
• [05:20] Origin of Man on the Ceiling
• [10:20] Traci Kenworth, via Patreon, asks about stories that beg to be written but can’t do them justice
• [18:35] Writing routine
• [26:25] Figures Unseen Collection
• [27:30] Yours To Tell: Dialogues on the Art & Practice of Writing
• [30:50] Odyssey workshop
• [32:40] Brian Noonan, via Patreon, asks about ‘At The Bureau’
• [37:00] Benjamin O’Connell asks about City Fishing drafts
• [40:50] Climate change
• [50:00] Something Steve believes that many others don’t
• [52:10] Advice to eighteen-year-old self
• [54:10] What frightens Steve
• [55:45] Navigating the death of loved ones and continuing on
• [01:02:10] Connect with Steve

Thanks for Listening!

Let us know how you enjoyed this episode:

• Leave us a message on SpeakPipe.
• Write a comment below.
• Tweet us @thisishorror.

Help out the show:

• Support This Is Horror on Patreon.
• Rate and review This Is Horror on iTunes. We read every review and they really do help.
• Share the episode on Facebook and Twitter.
• Subscribe to This Is Horror podcast RSS Feed

Resources

• Steve Rasnic Tem fiction
• Odyssey Writing Podcasts
• 2020 Or Bust
• ‘Things We Say’ by Michael David Wilson [The NoSleep Podcast]
• ‘Free Will’ by Michael David Wilson [Hawk & Cleaver’s The Other Stories Podcast]

Podcast Sponsors

Caribbean Cabal Charitable Writers Retreat

Registration for the 2019 Nightscape Press Caribbean Cabal Charitable Writers Retreat (with special guests Laird Barron and John Langan) is now open.

Gehenna & Hinnom Books

Check out Gehenna & Hinnom’s 2019 Kickstarter and visit their website today.