We welcome special guest, Lisa von Biela, to the Story Works Round Table this week to launch a series on genre fiction. Lisa has numerous dark, horror, speculative stories published, primarily with Dark Fuse. We talk about inspiration, plotting, and the twists of turns of dark, suspenseful storytelling.
VIDEO
AUDIO
SHOW NOTES
We welcome Lisa von Biela to take us into the dark corners of fiction. What makes it dark? And how important is the science in her biotech stories? What is her research process like and what makes her fiction dark? We ask where the lines are, and where the genre expectations are? And finally we ask, why is torturing characters in dark fiction just so fun?
You can find Lisa on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or at her website – lisavonbiela.com
What we talked about:
What is dark fiction? (1:42)
What draws Lisa into these dark themes? Where does she get her ideas? (4:45)
How important is actual science? (7:59)
How do you take real science and turn it into something horrible? (10:42)
What is the research process like? (11:35)
How important is it for there to be a seed of reality? (12:48)
What makes a story dark versus just a thriller or suspense novel? (15:14)
What are the traits of a dark fiction story? (16:08)
Are all Lisa’s endings worse for the protagonist? (17:34)
Are there any lines that shouldn’t be crossed for readers? (19:01)
What is different between the paranormal dark fiction versus the biotech? (21:46)
What is the spectrum of blood and gore among horror? (22:41)
How does Lisa’s background effect her voice and pacing? (24:47)
What elements of plot need to be in dark fiction? (28:19)
What about genre expectations? (32:06)
What is the most fun thing about writing dark fiction? (33:52)
LINKS
Things we mentioned:
Robin Cook
Dark Fuse
Steven King