Who is Joseph Sale?
Joseph Sale is a novelist, writing coach, editor, graphic designer, artist, critic and gamer. His first novel, The Darkest Touch, was published by Dark Hall Press in 2014. Since, he has authored Seven Dark Stars, Across the Bitter Sea, Orifice, The Meaning of the Dark, Nekyia and more.
He is an Associate Editor at Storgy Magazine where he writes features, reviews film, TV and books, and contributes fiction. He also writes for GameSpew.
His short fiction has appeared in Silver Blade, Fiction Vortex, Nonbinary Review, Edgar Allan Poet and Storgy Magazine. In 2014 he was nominated for the Sundress Award for Literary Excellence.
What’s †3Dark?
The aim is to release 13 unique never-before-seen short stories in digital and paperback form, accompanied by custom artwork from Shawn Langley, and with cover artwork by grandfailure. These editions will be beautifully produced, melding the visual and written elements, offering unique insight into our world. Each story will be edited and have a foreword written by Joseph Sale. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something colossal.
Issue #2 - Cursed Crossings
What spawned the idea of Project 13Dark?
Well, we all know the old adage that one cannot really be a great writer unless you read. You have to read to know your field, to know what’s out there, and to put fuel into your creative engine. But I would take that one step further. How can you expect people to take a chance on you as a new author if you won’t take a chance on other new authors?
As a result, I’m always canvasing the web for people in the margins. I often take a punt on writers I’ve never heard of, give them a chance. I buy their 99p eBook that’s self-published or read their webseries. It costs time and a little money (not that much in reality), and of course, sometimes what I discover is very much in need of a few edits. Other times, it is gold. In fact, a surprising number of times it is gold, and the author is a genius labouring in obscurity.
I’ve found so many of these writers, who are writing what I would consider to be real literature, stuff that is exciting and cinematic but also poetic and stylistic. Stuff that is really risky, that is prepared to make those radical narrative decisions. The more of these people I found, the more I realised I had to do something to bring them all together and make people aware of them.
‘How can you expect people to take a chance on you as a new author if you won’t take a chance on other new authors?’ – @JosephWordsmith @Project13Dark #indieauthors #writers #amwriting Click To Tweet
I must say that a huge inspiration to me was Richard Thomas’ Gamut magazine, which showed it ‘could be done’ – you could create something that was beautiful and high-quality, a benchmark, if you will.
I found a common thread through most of their work was the way their writing took on spiritual dimensions – not necessarily religious in the strict sense – but a kind of worldview that embraced the deeper realities our modern world shuns.
The final piece of the puzzle came when I was searching the website of one of my favourite artists, known by the handle: grandfailure. I saw an image of thirteen shadowy figures, standing atop a hill, eyes blazing like ancient suns. The image pierced me, and I realised I had to make this happen. And the way to do that, to get these magical words into the hands of enough people, was to draw them as I had been drawn – with an image. We have become a more visual species, and so I sought to entice people with something graphic.
I’ve been a fan of comics all my life, growing up on 2000AD and the Dark Judges, so for me it was quite natural to blend these two concepts. I thought that we could set the work of these thirteen amazing authors alongside some incredible visual artwork. I purchased more grandfailure work, giving me more ideas about the ‘vibe’ I would be looking to create, and went hunting for an artist who would be interested in this kind of ambitious project (and be willing to do a lot of reading!). I then assembled the writers, pitched them the plan. The rest is history, as they say.
What do you hope to accomplish with this project?
I hope to produce something that is so high-quality people are talking about it in years to come. I was a huge fan of Richard Thomas’ Gamut magazine, and think it set the bar really high for all time. It was so tragic that it did not get renewed for its second year (due to lack of new subscriptions). It was ambitious and will go down in history as a benchmark of high-quality fiction. Richard’s eye is pretty much unparalleled, I think. So, that is the aim – only with 13Dark, we’re working with mostly longer stories, novellas, more expansive narratives. Also, we’re focusing on a very different kind of thematic link between the stories – it’s far broader. In our second issue, we have a fantasy story sitting alongside a very modern American tale, sitting alongside a neo-noir Drive-esque nightmare, sitting alongside a kind of epistolary Faustian myth, but the three work so, so well together. Richard Thomas is actually one of the authors in our second issue. We’re so proud to have him. And if he’s willing to publish with us, we must be doing something right!
How did you choose which authors you wanted to showcase?
Quality, of course, is always key. Many writers have moments of brilliance, but the authors for 13Dark were writers where almost everything I read by them seemed to be on point. Their exploration of the wider questions of human existence: who are we, what makes us human, what is the soul? These questions set them aside as bold thinkers.
I think there is a place for every writer in the world, from those with grand ideas to those who pen funny, gentle satires; but the work I have always been drawn to is Shakespearean in that it explores what it means to be human (and with that, our relationship with the cosmos/divine). In a way, I simply picked writing that appealed to me due to its theme. But execution was so important too.
All the writers of 13Dark have a really unique style. So many books I read now have been bled of style by excessive polishing and editing, to the point where it all reads the same. Everything is “stark”, “hardboiled”, “clean”. Where are the distinctive voices? Ben Jonson once said: “Language most shows a (wo)man, speak that I may see thee” – I think this is profound. The way we speak and write reveals our personality. What I love about the 13Dark authors, is when I read their work, I can’t help but smile and think: That is so x. And I love it!
‘What I love about the 13Dark authors, is when I read their work, I can’t help but smile and think: That is so X. And I love it!’ – @JosephWordsmith @Project13Dark #supportindieauthors #darkfiction #writers Click To Tweet
For those who are new to the genre of dark fiction, how would you describe it to them?
This is a great question, because I would love for some people who are not necessarily dark fiction / horror fans to try 13Dark. I think a lot of people think dark fiction = gore, blood, violence. Not necessarily. Yes, dark fiction is not afraid to show us these things. You are more likely to encounter it reading a dark fiction story. But, there’s a reason for it, to quote Ruste Cohle from HBO’s True Detective: “I won’t avert my eyes again. Not again.” – it makes us look at the things we don’t want to look at or are more comfortable denying exist, because we need to. To engage with and “face” darkness is to be healed of it.
Dark fiction is simply fiction that tackles the darker facets of our life. That does not mean it’s bleak (Anthony Self’s story in our second issue has a very hopeful ending, as does Ross Jeffery’s in Issue #1 Dead Voices). However, be prepared to meet some terrifying characters, and see some pretty weird things.
#DarkFiction: ‘…it makes us look at the things we don’t want to look at or are more comfortable denying exist, because we need to. To engage with and face darkness is to be healed of it.’ @JosephWordmsith @Project13Dark Click To Tweet
Although, having said that, sometimes dark fiction is at its best when the camera is averted. Richard Thomas wrote a really interesting article about this at LitReactor. Sometimes, not showing something graphic is more powerful, and makes the message hit home. He is very much of that philosophy. His fiction is very sophisticated, and he feels no need to “shock” people. For him, it’s more about atmosphere. I’d say that’s another core element of dark fiction.
For a fuller answer, I actually wrote a Cathedral of the Deep article up at my website about gothic, horror and dark fiction and the core elements of it. You can check it out here if you want to find out more about my theories: http://themindflayer.com/cathedral-deep-part-1-gothic/
Backers will get their name immortalized in their finished ebook and/or paperback editions of Cursed Crossings. You’re also offering horror and fantasy book bundles, Shawn Langley’s artwork from Issue One, and your Cathedral of the Deep Sermon. Tell us a bit about your sermon and what topics one might have you cover?
Ah, the Cathedral of the Deep! I was invited to do a seminar at Netley Literary Festival celebrating Jane Austen and Horace Walpole. The theme was Gothic literature, particularly focusing on Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Walpole’s The Castle of Ortranto.
I prepared a two-part seminar called “The Cathedral of the Deep”. Afterwards, I realised that it would be great to share this information with more people, as it seemed genuinely very new to my audience in Netley. So, it became a blog series. Currently, there are three parts, each about 3,000 words long!
In this series I discuss horror, Gothic, tragedy, noir and dark fiction, all with a view of “how to write it”. Whilst there are many good writing guides out there (Stephen King, Karen Wiesner and Tristine Rainer to name a few) I do find many of them very intellectual and not very helpful in a practical sense. I try to write stuff that is intellectually stimulating and theory-based but also implementable in your own writing. I’ve covered the themes and styles of Gothic, structure, how to write horror/Gothic openings and how to end Gothic stories among other things. Many people have said how helpful the “sermons” are, and how they’ve helped them to finish their projects. Originally, it was only a two-parter, but it keeps expanding.
By backing 13Dark, you can effectively pay me to write on a topic of your choosing related to dark fiction / horror / Gothic – but I’d be up for writing about science fiction, fantasy or more obscure topics too! I’m pretty flexible. I’ve accrued a lot of knowledge from some very good teachers in my life (I’ve been very fortunate to have met so many inspiring voices), and it’s a joy to pass it on and help other writers develop.
Connect with Joseph
Twitter – @josephwordsmith
Facebook – Joseph.Sale
Website – themindflayer.com