This will be my last interview, but this weekend I'll be reviewing the anthology.
The Kindle All-Stars are a select group of authors from around the world who donate their work in the name of charity. All profits from Kindle All-Stars anthology are donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
1) Please give a brief blurb about your story.
A ringmaster in a travelling circus is quickly making his fortune from a captive yeti, but when he discovers something shocking about the creature his plans - and his perspective - are thrown into disarray.
2) The Yeti is among the most famous of cryptids. Even people who otherwise have no clue what a cryptid is probably have heard of it. Do you feel this added any pressure to your story depiction that may not have been felt by some of your fellow authors who wrote about cryptids that are a bit more obscure?
I don't think so - at least, I didn't feel it - as for me the story isn't really about the yeti being a cryptid, it's more about the idea of keeping an intelligent creature in captivity. Rocky isn't really about boxing - it's the same kind of thing. Except that the yeti is a better actor than Sylvester Stallone.
3) One of the interests of this anthology is the varied tones and angles the various authors utilize in their stories. You went for a more philosophical approach. Tell us a bit about why you decided on that course and a story featuring a cryptid either facilitated that or made the task more difficult?
As I alluded to above, what interests me most about the yeti is that it could feasibly be a "missing link" or a near relative of homo sapiens (I have a deep affection for Tintin In Tibet, which also makes that point), and as a result I think the approach wouldn't have worked with most other cryptids. I couldn't see it working with the Mongolian Death Worm, for example.
4) Do you feel your particular setting was critical for the themes you were exploring, or was that more an aesthetic choice on your part?
It was mostly an aesthetic choice, as I just think that something that sets up for one day and then disappears the next is somehow magical and unreal. That said, the circus has traditionally been a place for freaks and sideshow acts, so the yeti seemed to fit nicely into that as well.
5) Please give us a brief overview of your other works.
All of my other works are linked to on my website, www.simonjohncox.com, but the one I'd most like to draw attention to is my novella The Slender Man, which is a horror story based on an internet meme - and what could be more exciting than that?
The Kindle All-Stars are a select group of authors from around the world who donate their work in the name of charity. All profits from Kindle All-Stars anthology are donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Today I'm talking with Simon John Cox, author of the "The Cage" in the anthology. He was born in Tunbridge Wells, England, has a degree in chemistry, a job in marketing, and a black belt in Taekwon-Do, and has been writing fiction for as long as he can remember. He has had various short stories published and is currently focusing on writing novels.
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A ringmaster in a travelling circus is quickly making his fortune from a captive yeti, but when he discovers something shocking about the creature his plans - and his perspective - are thrown into disarray.
2) The Yeti is among the most famous of cryptids. Even people who otherwise have no clue what a cryptid is probably have heard of it. Do you feel this added any pressure to your story depiction that may not have been felt by some of your fellow authors who wrote about cryptids that are a bit more obscure?
I don't think so - at least, I didn't feel it - as for me the story isn't really about the yeti being a cryptid, it's more about the idea of keeping an intelligent creature in captivity. Rocky isn't really about boxing - it's the same kind of thing. Except that the yeti is a better actor than Sylvester Stallone.
3) One of the interests of this anthology is the varied tones and angles the various authors utilize in their stories. You went for a more philosophical approach. Tell us a bit about why you decided on that course and a story featuring a cryptid either facilitated that or made the task more difficult?
As I alluded to above, what interests me most about the yeti is that it could feasibly be a "missing link" or a near relative of homo sapiens (I have a deep affection for Tintin In Tibet, which also makes that point), and as a result I think the approach wouldn't have worked with most other cryptids. I couldn't see it working with the Mongolian Death Worm, for example.
4) Do you feel your particular setting was critical for the themes you were exploring, or was that more an aesthetic choice on your part?
It was mostly an aesthetic choice, as I just think that something that sets up for one day and then disappears the next is somehow magical and unreal. That said, the circus has traditionally been a place for freaks and sideshow acts, so the yeti seemed to fit nicely into that as well.
5) Please give us a brief overview of your other works.
All of my other works are linked to on my website, www.simonjohncox.com, but the one I'd most like to draw attention to is my novella The Slender Man, which is a horror story based on an internet meme - and what could be more exciting than that?
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Thanks, Simon.
Check out www.simonjohncox.com for more from Simon.
The Carnival of Cryptids is available from Amazon.
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