EpiGUide Chat - June 22, 2008 - Interview with Elena Carrillo, aka "Boots" on the EpiGuide, producer of Reconstruction
NOTE: The only edits to this transcript were to remove offtopic/side chatter (such as greetings). The comments themselves remain original and intact. The interview was conducted primarily by Kira Lerner.
Unfortunately, due to a brief server problem, the very beginning of the interview -- and a few minutes in the middle -- were lost to the ravages of the ether. Rather than reconstruct (pardon the pun) the missing info, I'll just summarize that we began with Elena explaining that she's a transplanted Texas native now living in Minnesota, where she received her MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) degree and is now working as a librarian working with digital archives (I believe). We begin with the continuation of that thought..
[Boots]: i nevertheless have aspirations ~ so we'll see
[Boots]: I also have an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in writing
[Boots]: which doesn't pay the bills (don't try this at home!)
[kira]: What schools did you attend?
[Boots]: University of Texas, College of Saint Catherine
[Boots]: one really really BIG school and the other really really tiny
[kira]: CSC was for the MLIS?
[Boots]: nice contrast
[Boots]: yes, CSC was the MLIS
[kira]: So after graduation you decided to stay on in Minnesota.
[Boots]: for the time being. I can't afford to live in my own house in Texas. i'm job searching currently
[Boots]: like i said, we'll see what turns up. Maybe i'll move to Indonesia
[kira]: That's where the big money is.
[Boots]: (sorry my caps are all goofy ~ my keyboard is dumb)
[Boots]: (or the fingers operating it are, anyway)
[kira]: Hey I'm just impressed you're using caps at all!
[Boots]: hahahahaha ~ just for you, I'm trying!
[kira]: Well let's get right to the meaty stuff: Reconstruction. First, tell us what it's 'about', basically.
[Boots]: well that's the million dollar questions, isn't it? hahahahaha ~ it's basically a American odyssey following the lives of a select group of people through the turmoil of the 19th century
[Boots]: but that sounds academic and lame
[Boots]: but i have a hard time pinning it down on any given day of the week
[kira]: Well, Recon's been through a few different iterations over the years, starting out as a prose and moving to comic ... but the story itself seems to have changed focus a bit too.
[Boots]: yes, that's because I've always treated it as sort of a proving ground for experimentation: i could add that thematically it's about social upheaval and the way people endure in hostile climates ~
[kira]: So right now, wouldn't you call it the story of a young angry but forthright guy strugglign during the Civil War and its aftermath?
[Boots]: ha! yes, on the simplest terms, it's about an angry kid using the war as an excuse to take stuff out on other people. i always hate pigeonholing it to the current "plot", but that's certainly part of it
[kira]: (I know there are larger themes, I was just trying to get a one senetence descrip out of you! Just a hook to get people up to date, is all.) So going backwards a bit, what was its genesis?
[Boots]: well, like I said before, it was sort of an experiment for me. I just wanted to create a world in which to explore some subjects of fascination for me: mostly war and it's fallout.
[Boots]: its ~ not it's
[Boots]: (sheesh)
[kira]: I wasn't gonna comment.
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: the fingers: they have a mind of their own
[kira]: When all did this start for you? How did the glimmer in the mind's eye begin, and how did Recon evolve in its original form?
[Boots]: well, i had no interest in the Civil War when i was growing up, that's for sure.
[Boots]: but as a teenager i read a book about the assassination of the man in the funny hat
[Boots]: and it was quite fascinating.
[Boots]: sort of opened that world up to me from a different angle
[kira]: (She means President Lincoln.)
[Boots]: hahahahahahahahaha ~ sorry
[kira]: And then you started reading/watching stuff about the war?
[Boots]: no, not really. I read The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane when i started college (just happened to see it in the bookstore and bought it on a whim)
[Boots]: and i was so blown away by the beauty of the language in direct contrast to the horrors Crane was writing about
[Boots]: that got me studying Civil War medicine
[Boots]: i couldn't really explain the connection. i just wanted to figure out how something so horrible could yield beauty
[Boots]: and you always read about war being the gensis of a lot of modern medical advancement
[Boots]: and of course Americans romanticize this war tremendously
[Boots]: and that has always irritated me
[Boots]: so i really wanted to read about the blood and guts of it
[Boots]: and once i started delving into all that, the stories just leaped out
[Boots]: how do people in the 19th century deal with post-traumatic stress, for example?
[Boots]: how did they deal with their lives post-amputation? or with chronic battle ailments?
[Boots]: what did all those women do without sons and husbands, etc.
[Boots]: and on and on
[kira]: Lots of morphine and laudanum I'd expect!
[Boots]: lots of drugs ~ lots of drinking
[Boots]: lots of violence
[Boots]: it was a very bleak country after that war
[Boots]: lots of murders, suicides
[kira]: So all this reading was in college and post college? Since you were getting your MFA had you started writing about this period yet?
[Boots]: reconstructing America was a mess and a half
[Boots]: i started writing just before i began college.
[Boots]: noodling with the idea, anyway
[Boots]: then i developed it further while getting my MFA
[Boots]: but i didn't finish what was a first draft of a "novel" until about 1999 or thereabouts.
[Boots]: so i really seriously started committing to the idea around then
[Boots]: it's mostly just been a playground for me online, but i keep it very tidy offline
[kira]: What led to your putting the story online in the first place?
[Boots]: curiosity, mostly. i thought it would be fun
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[kira]: oh you naive thing!
[Boots]: i admit i sometimes think (wish) i should take it more seriously
[Boots]: i think the web serial is a great art form. sometimes i feel like i dwiddle with it too much and that i should either commit to it or get off the pot (as it were)
[Boots]: but if i do, it would be in narrative form
[Boots]: the webcomic thing was an exploratory venture (sending out satellites in preparation of releasing more serious projects through Here There Be Monsters ~ the small press belonging to my brother and I)
[kira]: I was gonna ask. In the original version, there was a lot of illustration but it was, primarily, a narrative/serial novel. What changed your mind about that format?
[Boots]: i hope i answered that? we're hoping to launch something in the fall. i don't know what will become of Reconstruction after that. I have rebuilt the website for it (which i had accidentally destroyed), so i may yet relaunch it (again!)
[Boots]: i never meant to change the format.
[Boots]: i just accidentally wiped out my website and was too lazy to rebuild it
[Boots]: (yes, i am admitting this, which is why i was saying earlier that i think it's about time i made decisions about what to do with this, really)
[kira]: All right, since we simulposted a bit, let me clarify: you began as a novel, then you lost the website, and then -- once you and your brother, whom we'll get to in a minute, started your own publishing firm, you decided to start anew with a graphic format? is that right?
[kira]: ... I mean since your co. focuses on graphic novels, and you obviously have an interest in that area anyway.
[Boots]: no, sorry for the confusion. i wrote the story (or have been endlessly writing it in a bazillion pieces), then i tentatively launched it as a web serial, but accidentally destroyed it. meanwhile, i thought it would be a good idea to use an online webcomic to promote out graphic novels (print format), and have been using Reconstruction to sort of forage ahead and clear the way.
[Boots]: does that make sense?
[Boots]: the two actually had very little to do with each other except that i was usuing the same characters/concept for both
[Boots]: Recon won't stay a comic format, in other words.
[Boots]: like i said before, i like experimenting (probably too much to be steady online)
[Boots]: if i hadn't been experimenting with the website, i wouldn't have destroyed it in the first place ~ hahahahahahah
[kira]: Oy! Scary. Well, that does lead to something I was gonna ask anyway. FOr those who remember the original, explain the changes in this version? I mean other than the obvious (text vs. drawn): storylinewise, characterwise, etc. For example, I notice that for a show called "Reconstruction," it's apparently still in "deconstruction" mode -- i.e., the Civil War period. Did you want to start earlier and show more of the actual devastation rather than begin with the aftermath itself?
[kira]: (The original started with the war being over, in other words.)
[Boots]: Well that's tricky, but a great question. I've tried telling this story from a number of angles and the war is really such a small slice of the whole. You figure the war lasted less than five years, but the characters live for 50. nevertheless, it's has to be a centerpiece in some way
[Boots]: everything that happens, happens because of the war
[Boots]: So it really relies, perhaps, on having bookends (like the prologue) to show that's where we're headed
[Here our server went down. When we were able to pick up again, the interview continued…]
[kira]: Okay, well. When last we saw our intrepid interviewee, she was telling us about the changes in storyline/characters between the original and current webcomic versions. And I had mentioned that one of the obvious differences was that it starts earlier, with a prologue set *during* the civil war, instead of starting with the aftermath (as the original did). And I was gonna add, that this one also seems to focus much more on the character of Lewis, since it's all from his POV for the past couple of months. Now: go.
[Boots]: oh yeah ~ and I was saying that the war was so integral to the plot that i thought it might serve to put it up front and center
[Boots]: and yes, i shifted to Lewis' focus because it's really his experience that i wanted to follow
[Boots]: they all have something at stake, but ultimately it's his story: his struggle
[Boots]: he's the inheriter of this broken world i was talking about before
[Boots]: the generation who gets to pick up the pieces
[kira]: Lewis is a young man -- like, 15, right?
[Boots]: he's 16 when he enlists, so yeah, he's very young
[Boots]: and pretty naive despite a pretty streetwise upbringing
[kira]: Assuming the comic continues, will you continue from his POV, or will you eventually diverge into others' perspectives? For that matter, will we see more of the 'original' crew?
[Boots]: well no matter what form it takes, i have to diverge into other povs. it's too limited to try to keep it on one per(s)on, and i think a lot of the intricacy of the plot requires that we know what the other players are doing behind his back
[Boots]: and we'll definitely see the rest of the crew gathering
[Boots]: part of what i personally love about the war stuff is that we get to see everyone's origins
[Boots]: where they came from, what their politics are, etc.
[Boots]: who they've killed
[Boots]: and why
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[Boots]: and perhaps equally important, what they have witnessed
[kira]: Yes, all the major life moments. 1 thing I do miss- and it might just be due to where you're hosted -- is some kind of character profile system, or at least descriptions of who people are. For example, when Lewis went to the big mansion of the family who (he thought) wanted a substitute (that is, someone who'd take the place of a family member who'd been called up in the draft), I don't think the family's name was ever mentioned. Just "the captain" and "his son." ......
[kira]: And yet I know through reading your blog that these are the Morses, who will actually end up being pretty important characters. Since there's no "third person" exposition -- even the caption boxes are from Lewis's POV, rather than a narrator -- this means we're in the dark a lot of the time. I wonder if this was just a glitch, or if it's intentional suspense-building, or if it's something that a cast list could help with?
[Boots]: yeah ~ i agree it's limited and i don't like it.
[Boots]: i'm not a very good comic storyteller (it's not my forte), which is why i think this belongs back in its narrative form
[Boots]: i don't know if i would name the Morses either way at that point because they will get identified shortly, but i would like people to know when they see a character that that character is vital
[Boots]: the Morse character runs the whole show in some ways, so it's a very inauspicious introduction
[kira]: See, you just blew it. You could easily have convinced me it was intentional.
[Boots]: hahahahahha
[Boots]: well i think it can work, but i still don't like it
[Boots]: hahahahahahah
[Boots]: this is all a learning experience to me
[Boots]: (and golly, thank you for reading my blog!)
[kira]: I likes me to stay informed.
[Boots]: hahahaha ~ well then you are probably way ahead of the game. i natter over there entirely too much
[kira]: This leads me to ask about some of the pros/cons of your different formats. Story beats -- Lewis visiting his uncle, trying to sign up 'for a soldier', meeting Morse, ending up at Willie Wonka's -- I mean, Collier's house (heh sorry) -- seems to take longer in panel form. On other hand, you don't have to physically describe folks or settings, you can just show 'em ... and you do so, quite beautifully with artwork that can be more visceral at times. So what do you think are the pros/cons?
[kira]: On balance, I mean.
[Boots]: willie wonka ~ hahahahahahaha
[kira]: Needless to say, the Gene Wilder version.
[Boots]: well the pros are, like you said, some visual transitions or stills can be powerful all on their own and don't need words
[Boots]: but it's a huge con when your abilities are embryonic at best. most of the panels i draw aren't rendered at all the way i would have "directed" them ~ i'm simple not a very good artist (and i don't mean that modestly)
[Boots]: to be serious for a moment, the Collie character is a perfect example
[Boots]: i had to make him seem wacky, but i couldn't really draw the mannerisms i described in the book, so i drew him to look like someone that everyone would right away recognize as wacky
[Boots]: but he's a huge caricature compared to the other characters
[Boots]: and that's really a disservice to Collie
[Boots]: so yeah, i think i should stick with the prose
[kira]: It's an interesting approach, though -- characterization through different character styles. Some of the others are much more ... representational, I guess the word is. Don Bluthy. Collie and ...er, those two recruitment dudes whose names I don't know ... are far more broadly drawn.
[Boots]: yes, but again, i think it's because i'm just not very good at nuancing the features. which is fine in some ways ~ i mean, it's a style. but it's really too disneyesque for the kind of story i actually want to tell
[Boots]: i really want something a heck of a lot grittier
[Boots]: i think part of the problem when i started serializing Reconstruction online is that i sanitized it for some reason (chicken-hearted maybe)
[Boots]: i'd like to get it back to its roots in the blood and guts
[kira]: Do you think it's the time constraint to blame? 'Cause honestly, the work I've seen -- early on, and peppered through your blog, etc. -- certainly includes some gorgeous, evocative and (for lack of a better word) somber imagery. The later stuff is effective also, it's just in a different style that I guess you find too ....comic-like?
[kira]: What I mean is that I disagree that you're "not very good at nuancing"!
[Boots]: well yes, time is a huge factor. and i am an impatient person. it's hard cranking out pages with any kind of real composition. i've mostly just slapped stuff down in a hurry, and again, i'm finding it's not serving
[Boots]: oh, i take the compliment, thank you!
[Boots]: it's just, for me, what's easy ~ rather than what's best for the story, i think
[Boots]: if that makes sense
[kira]: I think that's a balancing act that occurs for many of us. It just shows up in different ways. Yours is more, well, visible.
[Boots]: hahahahaha yes
[kira]: Which makes sense 'cause it's a visual art!
[kira]: What *is* your process, anyway? How do these panels come to life? First the script then the drawing (and how? pen? Tablet?), or do you envision the scenes visually first?
[Boots]: well the story is written (as a narrative). i've mostly just been extracting the dialogue and then i render everything on plain heavy weight paper. pencil, then ink, then a watercolor wash. then i scan the sucker in and do a little touch up.
[Boots]: it's very very hasty
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[Boots]: which brings us full circle to that committment thing. i think if i took it more seriously, i would spend more time working on it. but my goal in the last month has been so see how quick i could finish a page start to finish
[kira]: Well but that's the thing about doing a series (or webcomic) -- you'd need a lot more of a buffer to be able to spend that much time on each.
[Boots]: oh definitely. and i started out with a 20 page buffer. like i said before, i have learned a lot from the experience.
[Boots]: i hope it's been mildly fun and people won't be too peeved when i drop it
[kira]: You heard it here first, folks!
[kira]: How has the reception been?
[Boots]: pretty good ~ i do reasonably well on the hits (more than the average bear)
[Boots]: feedback has been dribbly and drabbly.
[Boots]: but that's how it is
[kira]: Ain't that the truth. I know you've lately had some problems with WebComicsNation, the hosting service for comic artists. What's going on there?
[Boots]: i won't miss it.
[Boots]: hahahaha ~ oy ~ they are having some wretched server merger thingie with another webcomic site and it's just creating havoc
[Boots]: i'm looking forward to going back to hosting my stuff on my own server
[kira]: Wait, you won't miss the comic, you mean? Really?
[Boots]: i don't think i will. it's hard to say. i mean, i feel very ambovolent about it (can you tell?) hahahahahaha
[Boots]: replace that o with an i
[kira]: I could tell if I knew what ambovolent means.
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: i'm losing light and i can't see the keyboard anymore
[kira]: So you'll be putting (what's left of...) the comic on your site. Okay you're probably in a hurry to go so let me zip through some other important qs.
[Boots]: not in a hurry, but let's zip!
[kira]: Do you have an estimated end-point for Recon-the-webcomic?
[Boots]: plot wise? or the fact of me dabling with it?
[kira]: Either way. Or both.
[Boots]: i'm officially on hiatus as of tomorrow because of the server problems over there. i am still debating whether to at least close out this story or if i could cut bait. i am open to advice! hahahahahah
[Boots]: i think the story is stronger as a narrative
[Boots]: i feel like i have lost half of it in the translation
[kira]: I think that's always gonna happen in a transition from written to visual medium, alas.
[Boots]: adaptation is its own art form
[kira]: But there are other gains, hopefully.
[Boots]: always!
[Boots]: but whatever i do with the comic, i think i can safely say the new website will be up and running in august
[Boots]: it's built, i just need to populate it
[kira]: Are you using the same CMS as before?
[kira]: (CMS = Content Management System)
[Boots]: now i being acronym-fuddled
[Boots]: thank you ~ hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: yes, i am, actually. i really like it, but its backup feature is for the birds (which is how i lost the site originally)
[Boots]: so i won't be upgrading once it's running
[kira]: Which one is it again?
[Boots]: Nucleus
[Boots]: it's got a nice back end
[Boots]: and i like how easy it is to fully customize
[Boots]: you can see the rebuild here: http://www.lookingland.com/reconstruction.php
[Boots]: like i said, there's not much to look at, but it's started
[kira]: Ooh thanks for the linky! Now speaking of transitions from different media ... Eleison's another story that underwent a transformation of format. Started out as prose, now you're partnered with your brother Jaime (through your company, Here There Be Monsters -- awesome name, BTW) to produce it in graphic novel form, with four issues out so far I believe?
[Boots]: yes, we've got issue number 5 coming out this summer.
[Boots]: and a second issue of a second title called Jack that we've been working on
[Boots]: the web comic will be our third project. right now it's tentatively called The Orchard
[kira]: Yeah, I was gonna mention ... you're really cornering the market on 19th century-themed stories.
[Boots]: it's all i know ~ hahahahahahahaha
[kira]: ("Jack" is about a modern guy who claims he's .... what, a reincarnation? Possessed by? ... Jack the Ripper.)
[kira]: Tell us more about these projects.
[Boots]: for those of you who don't know, Eleison was a web serial here at the Epi, by the way ~ and how i got introduced to this community
[Boots]: Jack is Jack the Ripper ~ hahahaha ~ at least that's what he believes.
[Boots]: he's not into explaining why he thinks that ~ yet
[kira]: wait, what? Eleison came first?? Are you sure? I mean I guess you'd know, heh, but ... wow, I don't remember that order *at all*.
[Boots]: yeah, Eleison was first many many years ago
[Boots]: it ran for 4 or 5 episodes before i pulled it because my brother wanted it
[Boots]: that was when i started futzing with Reconstruction ~ just to have something to replace it since this was such a nice place to hang out ~ hahahahahahahaha
[Boots]: see, it's all your fault
[kira]: LOL. Wow, my mind she is boggled. Now tell us about Jaime. Who, if anyone hasn't seen his work yet, is mandatory viewing for people who are into gorgeous bloodthirsty horror.
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[kira]: Is he older? Younger?
[Boots]: my brother is a painter ~ self-taught ~ paints in classical sense
[Boots]: he's older than me by one year and has a master's in history
[Boots]: he took a painting class once. he got a C
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[kira]: W.T.F.
[Boots]: yes, we have all laughed long and hard about it
[Boots]: you can see his work here: http://www.lookingland.com/jcarrstudios.html
[Boots]: he's done covers for Heavy Metal and does a lot of band stuff ~ HIM and others. i can't remember which
[kira]: Yeah I was just gonna link to that and say "hello, this is the guy who got a c in painting."
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: literally that is the guy, the character in that image was modeled on himself.
[Boots]: though he has a lot of hair and a goatee ~ he's not really a zombie
[kira]: For serious? Okay that's even scarier, hee! Now you do the writing for Eleison still, right?
[Boots]: yes, i still write Eleison and i compose the pictures that he paints (for good or for ill).
[kira]: Ooh what does that mean, 'compose the pictures'? Like a mockup?
[Boots]: the story was written expressly to his talents as a painter ~ so it's all monsters, Indians, weird ancient roman imagery, etc. and yeah, i basically send him mockups and he works from there
[Boots]: i do these dreadful sketches and he calls me up a lot and says: what the hell is that sh**???
[kira]: That does explain the rabbit kid.
[Boots]: hahahahahaha ~ he dreads the rabbit kid.
[kira]: How is rception to Eleison?
[Boots]: very good! it's been our best seller and we've gotten a lot of positive feedback on it.
[Boots]: at ComicCon there's always a handful of eager people from the previous year who come right away to get the next issue and that's encouraging
[kira]: Do those titles (Jack & Eleison) have limited runs planned, or are they gonna be ongoing stories?
[Boots]: Jack might be limited (my brother HATES drawing cars and modern things). i don't know the fate of either, really, but Eleison is planned to be long-run
[Boots]: i have it storied out for a long long while
[Boots]: so it's really whether my brother gets sick of producing it
[kira]: Hey he grabbed the story from you, he can bloody well keep producing it as long as you need him to. Can people order it through your website?
[Boots]: i try to keep his energy up by promising the kinds of storylines he likes
[Boots]: yes they can!
[Boots]: Here There Be Monsters has a page at Lookingland (which will be getting a facelift soon), but you can order online through paypal
[kira]: Or they can see you at Comic Con 2008 in late July, yes? What is it like being a publisher/artist at a convention like that?
[kira]: Hey think about giving Eppy members a discount code.
[Boots]: I probably won't be there this year, sadly. too much craziness (my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and it's going to be a big shindig that's taking me away from work for too long and breaking my bank account)
[Boots]: ooh discount code! i hadn't thought of that ~ see, i'm a dreaful promoter
[Boots]: but i love the Cons
[Boots]: the energy there is really great
[kira]: (WOW Congratulations to your parents, that is wonderful for them.)
[Boots]: yes, it's very cool!
[kira]: Re: the con, do you set up a booth and sit there all day, or do you sit on a panel too, or do you get to mingle....?
[Boots]: we have a booth, we decorate it all pretty with big splashy artwork (we get a lot of attention that way). then we generally take turns manning it, though try to be there together often enough to sign copies for people.
[Boots]: it's very exciting, and like i said, the energy is just great. people have a fun time, you get to see what all the other small presses are doing, etc.
[Boots]: i will sorely miss it this year!
[kira]: Sounds amazing. Are there other cons you can go to?
[Boots]: we've been wanting to go to APE, which is a small press con in San Francisco, but unfrotunately we can only really afford one a year right now and San Diego knows us, so we've stuck with it
[Boots]: i'm hoping we'll do more eventually
[kira]: Cool. As if all this isn't enough, you've got a new solo project in development. And it too relates to the Civil War: Lincoln's assassination, or rather, the trial of the alleged conspirators. Now how in tarnation are you gonna make a trial -- not typicall very visual events -- into a graphic novel? Or am I wrong and it's not gonna be an illustrated thing?
[south beach]: (Let me know if you come to SF!)
[Boots]: ha, thanks!
[Boots]: oy vey ~ the Assassination thing.
[Boots]: that's a project in the works for 2009
[Boots]: i have no idea what it will be.
[Boots]: i would LOVE to do it as a graphic novel, though
[Boots]: exactly because that's what's not expected
[Boots]: i'm looking forward to sinking my teeth in to that once summer is over
[kira]: "GASP! As the court reporter reads back testimony. THRILL! as the judge throws out a motion to
supress!"
[kira]: The promos write themselves.
[Boots]: hahahahahaha ~ actually, the trial is a lot weirder than one would expect ~ it's a military trial and i think it would shock people by today's standards
[Boots]: also, the characters involved are just so bizarre and colorful in certain ways
[kira]: Actually, I have no doubt!
[Boots]: so it's definitely a challenge, but i'd love to see it in some visual form. writingn it would be the dull way ~ people can just read the transcripts if they wanted to
[kira]: I just realized I blipped over the webcomic news, and that's dumb because this is a site about web entertainment, duh. So what's "orchard" about?
[Boots]: ooo Orchard!
[Boots]: i'm exciting about The Orchard
[Boots]: it's a story about war, death and breakfast.
[Boots]: at least that's the tag we've been using
[Boots]: it involves a soldier mortally wounded in battle, who stalls death (literally ~ Death is a character), in order to see to some unfinished business
[Boots]: the other important main characters right now are two intestine-eating pigs
[kira]: Just how much peyote have you guys ingested?
[Boots]: it'll be loads of fun!
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: okay, possibly a bit gross too
[kira]: You guys must have hella fun dreams. And this is coming out in the autumn?
[Boots]: hopefully no later than september. my brother is working on the promo stuff for it right now
[Boots]: literally, this very minute
[kira]: Where will it be published? Its own site or a place like WCN/Keenspace/etc.?
[Boots]: i might see if things have settled at WCN ~ it has a robust metadata scheme and seems good for getting a "presence" on the web ~ this was what i was testing by putting Reconstruction on there.
[Boots]: but i do want to make sure it's in a reliable place
[Boots]: so i'll be investigating other options and probably run a mirror off my own server
[kira]: Smart idea. Speaking of comics, what other webcomics do you follow/recommend?
[Boots]: i'll definitely let people know when it's launching!
[kira]: Please do!
[Boots]: ooo ~ i recommend Family Man by dylan meconis (i hope i spelled her name right)
[Boots]: and also SQOR Blues
[Boots]: wrong title SPQR Blues
[Boots]: i never get that right
[Boots]: but there's so much stuff out there, so it kinda depends on your tastes too
[kira]: http://www.webcomicsnation.com/dmeconis/familyman/ and http://spqrblues.com/ respectively.
[Boots]: it's a whole different world out there ~ thank you for getting the links! i was going to dig and then feared leaving the chat ~ hahahahahahaha
[kira]: Of course but you're the lady of the hour so it's your taste that counts. And what about webseries, if any?
[Boots]: well i can tell you there's a lot of series i miss, but i'm glad Ira's back! and i'm really enjoying Paper this summer ~ what a great idea!
[Boots]: for those who don't know it, Big City is still online and still just great fun in the reruns.
[Boots]: i admit i have fallen off the planet with The Farm, but it was great too and i should myself go back and find it and catch up if it's still running
[kira]: Yeah, BC does seem right up your alley.
[Boots]: i just love that there's so much variety in the webseries world
[Boots]: i love stopping in on everybody's shows at least now and again even if i get lost in the archives
[Boots]: sometimes that's the best part ~ just getting lost
[Boots]: and finding new things
[Boots]: and it's always inspiration to see other people putting work out there ~ because it takes courage and i admire it
[kira]: That's what the web's for. Final question before I open it up -- You used to have a forum of your own at Lookingland. Is it still around or have you migrated to LiveJournal?
[Boots]: i closed the public forum down some time ago and was using it as a private writing group forum for a while. but now it's down for good, i think. blogging is enough for me with everything else there is to do online these days!
[kira]: Frankly I have no idea how you have time for eating, much less blogging and everything else y'all do!
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[kira]: Well I'll finally shut up and see if anyone else has any questions for ya.
[Boots]: thank you kira! great workout!
[kira]: No thank YOU for being such a good sport and wonderful interview.
[kira]: So, anyone? Bueller?
[Boots]: you must have covered it all, Kira!
[south beach]: well I asked a few questions, as well as Ty, when I got back and Kira got kidnapped...
[south beach]: Perhaps Jay?
[kira]: Well until someone thinks of a question, I'll ask one I forgot: tell us about your background writing anime scripts.
[Boots]: ack!
[Boots]: i wrote anime scripts. for a number of years
[Boots]: it was fun, but i'm not a fan of the genre.
[kira]: How and why did you get into that?
[Boots]: i fell into it because i was looking for writing gigs. i desperately needed a job and who doesn't think watching cartoons for a living doesn't sounds like a primo gig when they are starving?
[Boots]: but actually i loved the job as a producer and a writer. i worked with fabulous people
[Boots]: wonderful actors, a wonderful director, etc.
[Boots]: i was sorry to see it all go
[kira]: Anything we can catch via Netflix or some such thing? How did you find the gigs in the first place?
[kira]: Was it a movie? A regular series?
[Boots]: i got the job through an organization called Austin ScriptWorks, which is a support org for writers in the area. i owe them that.
[Boots]: i worked on a whole pile of series: Samurai X, King of Bandit Jing, Zone of the Enders
[Boots]: if you want to see me act in an anime, watch Final Fantasy
[Boots]: i play an evil overlord
[kira]: Typecasting. No, seriously??? The first one?
[Boots]: it was fabulously fun ~ there's an interview on the final disc of that with me on it
[tyjunior]: In Reconstruction, the civil war period, is their significance in its role pertainining to your life? Do you have any of your own real-life historical accounts?
[kira]: Oh interesting question, Ty.
[Boots]: Ty, do you mean is there Civil War history in my family?
[tyjunior]: yes.
[Boots]: no, i am a second-generation american. sadly, i have no roots in america ~
[Boots]: but thank you for asking, it is a great question!
[kira]: Ain't a bad thing.
[south beach]: I am actually related to both Grant and Lee....I had a family tree done, it was quite interesting...Makes me that more interested to check out the series now as I have direct family who fought in the war at that time.
[Boots]: my father was born in the 30s ~ we weren't american before then, so the whole idea of 19th century america is a real exotic mystery to me
[tyjunior]: no problem. thanks for answering.
[Boots]: very cool, Jay! i always tell people i envy their trees ~ hahahahahahahaa
[JAYJAY1979]: and the Civil War era is so romantic in a way
[JAYJAY1979]: of course, that could be from reading Gone with the Wind as a kid LOL
[kira]: Wow Grant *and* Lee? That must've made for some interesting family reunions.
[Boots]: i think it's romantic in memory. it's pretty dang awful in actuality ~
[south beach]: Ha, well I do have a big one!
[south beach]: Back to 1550 haha
[south beach]: Elena, has your brother ever posted in the forums? If not, will he introduce himself in the future?
[Boots]: genealogy is so cool
[JAYJAY1979]: yeah, that is pretty wicked having union/confederate blood in ya!
[Boots]: my brother is luddite of the first degree.
[Boots]: he has a deviant art sight that i think he updated once
[kira]: (DeviantArt -- a community for artists. Not that his art isn't pretty deviant, in a good way.)
[Boots]: he really prefers the material world
[south beach]: well, tell him we'd love to "meet" him, so he should check things out if he gets a chance
[south beach]: (And NO, I'm not trying to hit on your brother)
[Boots]: ha ~ ! i do tell him about all the great support online.
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[JAYJAY1979]: I think that is the key to all artists... support
[JAYJAY1979]: rather online or in real life
[Boots]: well everyone needs validation, i think
[Boots]: we can't work in a vacuum
[JAYJAY1979]: and to motivate you when down
[Boots]: yes!
[kira]: Are you still on LJ, Elena?
[kira]: Speaking of support, that is.
[Boots]: i am ~ i've been busy with the upcoming con stuff ~ and occasionally i post thing to my friends only list if
they are things i feel proprietary about, so you have to have an account to read some entries
[Boots]: but otherwise, i try to keep it open
[Boots]: i talk a lot about my projects there (as kira can testify(
[JAYJAY1979]: LJ= livejournal ?
[JAYJAY1979]: just wondering... i have livejournal right now... not sure if i'll keep it
[kira]: Yeppers. Sorry, I'm too acronymy tonight.
[Boots]: yes ~ http://lookingland.livejournal.com
[Boots]: i welcome you all to friend me if you like.
[Boots]: i'm pretty liberal about that stuff
[kira]: I had thoght you were leaving LJ along with the Big Migration of Outrage a couple o' months ago.
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[Boots]: i left the paid side. it's hard to leave the community though.
[Boots]: i feel kinda entrenched there
[kira]: So do you see ads and stuff now?
[Boots]: it's been a year of web woes, it seems
[Boots]: no, because i had a base account from way way back
[Boots]: it's pretty lame, but ad free for the most part.
[Boots]: i want to eventually just move everything to my website and run from there. stop depending on other sources
[Boots]: ideally
[kira]: Oh they're grandfathering people in? I didn't remember that -- I thought that was the big angst thing, that they *weren't* doing that. Which I'd probably know if I paid more attention to my own LJ account.
[Boots]: hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: yeah, way too much wangst.
[kira]: Are you still with HostMatters?
[Boots]: yes! i almost left them too over some nastiness, but things have been good for the last couple of years
[Boots]: they've proved to be the best service out there ~
[Boots]: i know you use them too, right? still?
[kira]: I thought I remembered that too. They really are awse. And they keep *upgrading* our accounts for free! Really strange business practice but it sure ain't something I'm complaining about!
[Boots]: yes! that was what brought me back. the value for the money can't be beat
[kira]: Yes. Well, of course tonight we had a little hiccup (turns out they were doing a server reboot, that's why we froze for a couple of minutes) but that happens with every host.
[kira]: "And this interview has been brought to you by HostMatters. Because Hosting ... Matters."
[Boots]: yeah, it's minor compared to some places. i've had very very little downtime at LookingLand.com
[Boots]: hahahahahaha well i do continue to recommend them
[Boots]: "cheap" hosts ~ you get what you pay for, it's true
[Boots]: i am a believer!!!
[kira]: I'd be rakin' it in if they only had a referral/affiliate program. Agreed on the free hosts, they're gonna cause you trouble eventually.
[Boots]: yeah, if i had one piece of advice for serial producers: if you're serious about building your series, pay for a good host.
[Boots]: don't skimp on your tools ~ in any art form
[kira]: Hey I have one question from my notes I didn't ask. Surprise us: share a few things you enjoy that have *nothing* to do with history, horror, the Civil War or that ilk. What are your favorite non-aforementioned-genre modern books, modern music, TV (and you'll be deducted points if you mention 'Deadwood'!)?
[Boots]: oh nooooooo!
[Boots]: i don't have TV, so that's hard.
[Boots]: but i was watching Heroes online until the strike killed it
[kira]: Literally no TV or you had the service turned off?
[Boots]: i love Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Billy Joel, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, and, um....Philip Glass? I have no idea what i like that's current.
[Boots]: well i don't own a TV
[Boots]: i had one. the tube blew when i moved from texas.
[JAYJAY1979]: Wow, I could never live without tv... it's my lifeline
[JAYJAY1979]: yeah, it's hard to define modern music
[Boots]: i haven't really watched TV since 2001. i just gave up on it/
[JAYJAY1979]: music is so flash in the pan sometimes.
[kira]: Man that's impressive. Though it'd be moreso if you didn't admit to the Heroes thing.
[Boots]: in books, read Eleanor Updale's Montmorency series (you must!) it's brilliant
[Boots]: well, i got sucked in on heroes ~ hahahahahahaha
[Boots]: it's comic booky
[Boots]: oh, i think i cheated on the book thing since Montmorency is victorian. crap
[Boots]: i don't read contemporary stuff, sorry.
[kira]: Heh. Fair enough. And movies?
[Boots]: there's a joke at the library: if it's got cars or telephones, i probably won't read it
[Boots]: i just recently saw the Kite Runner (freaking brilliant)
[Boots]: i'm also looking forward to the new Batman movie and the new X-Files movie (wow ~ geek)
[Boots]: and i love Indiana Jones
[JAYJAY1979]: did u see Iron Man?
[Boots]: i did!
[JAYJAY1979]: i took my mom for mother's Day
[Boots]: i enjoyed it very much, but wasn't gaga over it. maybe i expected too much
[Boots]: what did you think?
[JAYJAY1979]: Robert Downey was hot
[Boots]: hahahahahaha ~ agreed!
[JAYJAY1979]: but I'm not into those type of movies LOL
[kira]: nice to see someone my age considered 'hot'.
[Boots]: it was too CGI for me
[JAYJAY1979]: I usually like older men
[Boots]: and here i am thinking RD Jr's too young ~ ahahahahahaha
[kira]: bless your heart
[JAYJAY1979]: but I doubt I'd date one.... I try but they think i'm shallow LOL Course, I'm usually a chicklit book when meeting them LOL
[Boots]: well when i think of older men to drool on, i think of Sean Connery, c'mon!
[Boots]: i mean, honestly
[kira]: Harrison Ford?
[kira]: Or is he still too much of a spring chicken for ya?
[Boots]: well i wouldn't kick him out
[Boots]: hahahahahaha
[south beach]: ha!
[JAYJAY1979]: harrison Ford? hmmmm.... isn't he like 60 LOL
[Boots]: he and Sean are only 10 years apart.
[kira]: That's amazing. They seem totally different generations.
[south beach]: 60 is the new 50 anyway....Look at Ms. Field....and La Lucci
[Boots]: i think it's the fact that Connery played his father ~
[JAYJAY1979]: well, yeah.. La Lucci has so much plastic on her lol
[south beach]: hahahahaha Lucci is holding up!
[south beach]: 62 this year- same as Sally....and Deidre is only a year behind!
[kira]: Well, and I think of Connery as being big in the 1960s w/ the Bond movies; Ford really kicked off in the early '80s (well, late '70s).
[JAYJAY1979]: but should we really credit them when they have botox and plastic surgery at their disposal?
[Boots]: yeah, but he got a late start comparatively speaking
[JAYJAY1979]: American Graffti
[JAYJAY1979]: when he was like 29 or 30... so yeah late in holiday standards.. though I hear he is a talented carpenter
[south beach]: Hey, when I'm 60 I'll be married to a plastic surgeon myself!
[JAYJAY1979]: i mean hollywood standards lol.
[Boots]: hahahahaha
[JAYJAY1979]: at least Ms. Field's hasn't gone the botox route
[JAYJAY1979]: i mean, for someone to do botox when the purpose of their craft is expression boggles my mind
[??]: have you all seen Brazil? and the whole plastic surgery thing?
[kira]: We're talking about Susan Lucci and Deidre Hall. They never *had* expressions even before the Botox.
[??]: that's what's going to happen to these people
[JAYJAY1979]: well they can't now even if they want too
[JAYJAY1979]: actually, Susan Lucci had expression in "ebbie"
[kira]: At least now with Botox they can do deadpan.
[kira]: Well it's getting late for us eastern types. I'm gonna get going. Thanks to everyone for showing up, and especially to Elena for your patience and openness!
[Boots]: thank you Kira! thank you everyone! good night!