Friday, January 20, 2006

Capital Gains' Venture Capitalists -- Adam Denny v. Paul Finch: A study in Contrast

Case in point. Paul Finch, writer of Slayground's bio:

Paul Finch is a British-based full-time writer, who works primarily in TV and film, but who is no stranger to short story markets. His first collection, AFTER SHOCKS, published by Ash-Tree Press in 2001, won the British Fantasy Award, while his short novel, CAPE WRATH, made the final ballot for the Stoker awards in 2002. Other recent anthologies that he's been published in include: CHILDREN OF CTHULHU and SHADOWS OVER BAKER STREET from Del Rey, THE DARKER SIDE and A WALK ON THE DARKSIDE, from ROC, QUIETLY NOW (A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES L. GRANT) from Borderlands, and DAIKAIJU (GIANT MONSTER TALES) from Agog. Paul has contributed regularly to THE BILL, the popular British television crime series, while SPIRIT TRAP, a teen horror movie, which he co-scripted, was released to cinemas in the late summer of 2005. Paul lives in Lancashire, northern England, with his wife, Cathy, and his children, Eleanor and Harry.

And Adam Denny's, writer of Wild at Heart:

Adam Denny is a student at the University of Newcastle in Australia. Up until now he has been a freelance journalist and film reviewer. This is his first fiction publication. Currently he is writing a novel bringing the mythology of vampirism into the 21st Century.

The fact these two outsanding CGs came from VC with this much difference in experience and (I'm assuming, pardon me, Mr Finch) age just goes to show how TQR's vetting system is all about quality and very little about the 'Old Boy'ishness that so infects the electronic Literati these days. Although I reserve the right to act like an Old Boy, which, ironically enough, is how Slayground was shunted up from the Terminal into the Executive Suite. Here is me interjecting myself into the process like Zeus's thunderbolt:


Date: 2005/12/13 18:55 By: tqr
Status: Admin
Karma: -1999999

Perhaps we have a budding Hollywood insider on our hands! At the risk of being labeled sycophantic, I suggest we send this venture up to Rockefeller without further ado. The capital sounds deserving enough, future considerations for networking and quid pro quo are indubitably that much more gravy.


So, you see, we can be as arbitrary as the next guy, it's just that in our case, it has worked out to our advantage ... so far. Stay tuned! And I suggest you travel here and invest in the above mentioned capital gains, as well as the outstanding two others available for your reading pleasure.

It was not until I requested and received the VC's bios that I realized what a potpourri of experience TQR's Winter issue roster encompassed. Not to mention the fact TQR -- judging from the locale of its contributors (2 Brits, an Aussie and a plying Dutchman) -- is a truly international enterprise. One other thing, I had no idea of the experience or lack of experience of the 4 writers whose stories were chosen until after all the decisions had been made. Just turns out we got a first timer in with a consummate professional. Ain't it cool?

1 Comments:

Blogger Theodore Q. Rorschalk said...

I love Slayground!

To me, having a pulse pounding narrative like that side-by-side with a literary gem like The Knowledge is an indication of TQRs range, which is no weakness, but a great strength.

8:33 AM  

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