eston Ochse is the co-author of the highly acclaimed short story collection Scary Rednecks and Other Inbred Horrors, as well as the soon to be released collection, Appalachian Galapagos: God's Special Playground. His full-color novella Natural Selection was just released from Darktales Publications. In addition, he has had over 40 other stories accepted by such paradigms of pulps and anthologies as Children of Cthulu, A Midsummer Night's Terror, The Dead Inn, Roadworks, Blood Fetish, Frightnet, The Edge, MindMares, Chiaroscuro, and many others. His stories Family Man and Holy Ghost Hit Parade received honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 13. He currently resides in La La Land.

Weston was kind enough to pull up a chair and join Really Scary on the porch.

Weston Ochse

In Scary Rednecks, your work has a distinct Southern myth-like quality, or as distinct as Southern mythic stuff can be. Does this come from your past? What has had the greatest influences on you as a writer?

WESTON: Southern Myth-like flavor. Very cool. Very nice. Thanks. I'm gonna steal that.

As far as the stylistic genesis, I think I can trace it to three elements.

The first is of course, location. I grew up in the South. Transplanted from the West via the North, I was raised in and around Chattanooga, Tennessee where I did everything all the other Southern boys did except dip and work on cars. (Although I liked cars, I liked the girls more, you see, and as far as dipping goes...well...it made me pretty dizzy.)

The second has to do with my early influences. By the age of ten, I had memorized all the Roman and Greek deities and was a fair master of Finnish and Norse mythology. I loved the fantastic, devouring all four Tolkien books in 6th Grade during one long Academy Award Winning week where I pretended to be sick just so I could journey along with the Baggins'. I loved the idea of heroism. I admired those in the tales who, battered and bruised, were able to defeat evil. I believe one of the main ideas I garnered from Fantasy was the existence of a higher purpose - you know, a goal or an ideal that is greater than any individual. Things like freedom and truth come to mind. (Is it any wonder I joined the Army?)

The third element, I believe, has much to do with the way I look at the world. Horror writers, as a rule, tend to stare with a skewed eye. It is what allows us to be who we are. How that skewed eye is formed, I have no idea, but it seems to be a group characteristic. Growing up in the South I was able to use this vision to see beyond and underneath things. And in the South there are always things to see underneath, whether it is a handshake or a rusted out Buick. I always questioned and wondered at the origins of what I was observing.

What was your first published work?

WESTON: My first piece published on the internet was called The Watcher and was published in Chiaroscuro way way back. My first print story was called Rhythm and was published in the Cochise College Literary Arts magazine and probably read by several dozen people, five of which were sober and three of those spoke English.

You've got another collaboration with David Whitman, Appalachian Galapagos, coming out soon. Is that finished? What are you working on now? What's headed our way in the coming year?

WESTON: Whap! Bam! You have the questions coming fast and furious!

Appalachian Galapagos: God's Special Playground is indeed finished. It contains a 29,000 word collaborative novella and six individual stories. The cover art was created by Chris Whitlow as well as 9 black and white interiors. The book is due out in May from Imaginary Worlds in two states: Limited Signed Hardbacks and Regular Hardbacks.

I am currently finishing up Scarecrow Gods, a novel that has been tentatively accepted by a NY House. As it's my first novel, it's taking me a while to do, but I am very excited about how it's turning out. If I could, I would be there as each and every person who buys a copy reads it, just to see the looks on their faces. Yeah, this one has even more of that Southern-mythic flavor and I am very confident it will be a tremendous hit. Excerpts to Scarecrow Gods, as well as my next novel Peckerwood, can be read at my website. [Click here for Weston's site.]

I heard an actor say one time that when he does press for a certain movie, sometimes it's hard to get into it fully because he's already moved on to the next project, if not the next couple, and that current release is pretty old to him. Is it like that for you? When a book finally makes it to market and you're discussing it for, oh, I don't know, say Larry King, have you, in your mind, already moved on to the next work?

WESTON: You know, Larry and I were just talking about that the other day while drinking Mai Tais and perusing some neked pictures of Darva Konger. HA! Whatever! I think Don King would have me as a practice dummy for one of his fixed-fight flunkies before Larry King would ever hear my name, much less pronounce it correctly. But I know what you mean. My novella, Natural Selection came out about the same time as my announcement of the contract signing of Appalachian Galapagos. Both of events were very exciting, but I found myself waffling between the two. As well, my concentration was also on a story I was preparing for the Twilight Tales Reading Series in Chicago and then of course, Scarecrow Gods.

What was the very first thing you did/said/screamed/whatevered at the very moment you were told your work would be published?

WESTON: Please. I am much too manly to ever reveal that.

DarkTales is building one of the best publishing reputations out there among horror writers. What sets them apart from the pack (besides that unlike many, they will publish horror fiction)?

WESTON: Yes, they are. Darktales certainly exploded upon the scene, didn't they. I think their success has more to do with production quality, than anything else. From content to packaging each Darktales publication is beautiful. Hell, my novella was the prettiest damn thing I had ever seen of its kind.

Natural Selection is a fantastic read but it does feel like it may be a part of a bigger whole. Any larger work planned with those characters?

WESTON: Yeah. (sigh). I know. Like most of my short work of late, Natural Selection is conceptually longer than the constraints within which it was created. I've had two recent rejections from mass market anthos for just the same problem. I think Natural Selection works well alone, however. And it's probably better to have readers wanting more of your characters. I've had many letters from friends and fans detailing possible novel plotlines for the novella. The characters are interesting enough, as you say, to do things within a longer work; the concept sure hasn't been fully plumbed yet. There are many authors out there who have turned out incredible novels from novellas or short stories - Orson Scott Card's Lost Boys, for example. I may do something with Natural Selection. I don't know. I have my next four novels already planned, though, so if I will do something, it is several years down the line.

How long have you been in the military? Enlisted or officer? How long have you been with MI? You don't often hear of active duty military as published horror authors. What specific challenges does U.S. Army life hold for the author-to-be?

WESTON: And he reels from another hurricane barrage of questions.

I've been in the Army for seventeen years, eleven of which I have spent in Military Intelligence. I'm a Staff Sergeant. As far as challenges, well...I don't want to come across as a whiner or seem to be putting down everyone else, so let me just detail my average day. I wake up at 0430 (that's 4:30 AM for all you civilians) so I can be at Physical Training by 0515. I work out, return home for a shower and breakfast and begin work at 0800. Lunch is iffy, but is available if you have the time and/or inclination. Work ends around 1700. So, besides sleeping and watching Survivor episodes, the rest of the time is available for writing and all its associated things. Of course, there are deployments to Kosovo and Bosnia and Asia and such, but what's six months in a combat zone to a Tough Manly Writer Type.

How did you come to team up with David Whitman, and did you have any idea when you began the collaboration that your work would be so complementary of each other's? It's almost like an echo kind of thing you two have going on.

WESTON: David and I are actually the same person. There. I said it. The truth is out. Man, do I feel better.

What's your favorite comedy movie? Classic novel? (Horror writers always get asked about horror stuff, probably gets old after a while, figured I'd mix it up a little.)

WESTON: Favorite comedy? It used to be IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD. Then I was into the Monty Python schlock for the longest. I think now, however, my tastes have changed. My choice for favorite comedy is a tie between PRINCESS BRIDE and PULP FICTION.

And back to the question about David Whitman-- I was just kidding. We've never met, actually. I read something of his and emailed him. He read something of mine and he emailed me. We both noticed a similarity of subject matter and decided to put out a small little chapbook...you know, something where we could show people what we can do in a thematic way...then I mentioned it to Butch Miller, who then mentioned it to David Nordhaus, who then mentioned they were going to begin a new publishing company and POOF...the small inconsequential chapbook quickly evolved into the 75,000 word Scary Rednecks and Other Inbred Horrors which is apparently getting some serious Bram Stoker Award scrutiny.

As far as classic novel goes, it would have to be Lord of the Flies. Definitely Lord of the Flies.

What are the four best things about Tennessee?

WESTON: Not necessarily in order...