At a diminutive 5-foot-nothing, Emerian Rich remains a force of nature not to be trifled with. This amazing lady is one of the friendliest, most enthusiastic podcasters on the 'net, and she spins the meanest vampire story out there. In addition to being the hostess of the wildly popular Horror Addicts podcast, she is also an accomplished artist and novelist. Her current offerings include the recent Night's Knights publication, Artistic License, Dusk's Warriors (the sequel to Night's Knights), as well as Star Struck and Sweet Dreams, which she presents under the author name of Emmy Z. Madrigal. One of her short stories will also be included in an upcoming anthology to be released by Dragon Moon Press. I met Emerian through Podiobooks.com, and was delighted to find someone so talented and encouraging of her fellow podcasters. She recently agreed to be featured on this here blog, and answered a few questions for those of us curious about the Dark Mistress of the Podosphere.
JR: How long have you been podcasting?
ER: Since June 2007.
JR: How did you get into podcasting? 
ER: I had been recording my books for some time for my husband and me. I didn’t know other people might like to listen as well. When my husband told me other people were doing it online, I jumped at the chance to get my work out there.
JR: What attracts you to the gothic and vampiric?
ER: Darkness and the creatures of darkness have always intrigued me. The beauty of the full moon casting light onto a savage sea... The power of black wings against the moonlit sky… The serenity of a graveyard just before dark… These things make me happy! There’s also a sort of freedom that these powerful beings have that I envy. To be able to go anywhere on the globe, to meet whomever you choose, to sleep in!
JR: What were you like as a kid?
ER: I was a total tomboy. I beat all the boys at arm wrestling and sports. I grew up poor, in mostly rich neighborhoods, so I had to do something that would make me valuable to them. Don’t ask me about sports today, I don’t follow them at all.
JR: The cover art for Night's Knights is kickass. How was the image generated?
ER: Yes, that cover is awesome! I was very lucky to run into the artist, Christen Kojnok, right before I went to print. She is the photographer and the model. You can find out all about her at: http://christenkojnok.com/ I’d like to say it was created by magic, but I’m sure it had something to do with photoshop. Christen has a lot of beautiful art. I just wish I had projects enough to use them all!
JR: Tell us about the print version of NK. Are you satisfied with your publishing experience? What has been wonderful about it? What would you change?
ER: I love my book Night’s Knights. It was really hard work and a learning experience, but I wouldn’t change any of the hurdles I went through because they taught me to persevere. Next time I will know how to format correctly the first time and will understand the steps I must go through. The most awesome part is seeing my name on a beautiful book like that. Sometimes I just stare at it. Is that really my book?
JR: How long does it take you to generate one show? What software program(s) would you recommend to someone who was just starting? What kind of podcasting rig would you suggest?
ER: I led a whole panel on this in Second Life and it can been seen on line here: http://emzbox.ning.com/video/video/listFeatured I would recommend anyone serious about podcasting to watch these videos because we take the beginner through 5 steps that will let them understand and determine if it’s right for them to pursue. My show HorrorAddicts.net takes about 4 hours prep, 2 hours taping, 4 hours editing, and 2 hours posting/promoting. So that’s about 12 hours for every episode, and that is only because I have been doing it so long. This is not something one would take on unless they love it! Novel chapters can take more or less time depending on which way I will be podcasting it and if I am having anyone else do voices.
JR: Do you do public appearances? Are any coming up?
ER: Yes, I do. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so if you have an event you’d like me to come to, please let me know. I’ve done cons, readings, I’ve even sold my books at concerts! The next con I will attend is Baycon. You can find out more about that at http://www.baycon.org. For those who can not see me in person, I am on Second Life regularly. I just finished reading my book chapter by chapter there and I record Horror Addicts there every other Sunday at 9:30am PST. Come to my shop Quills to see the schedule of dates and featured authors! My shop is located in beautiful downtown
JR: What are your fans like?
ER: It’s strange because you would think that my fans are just all a bunch of goth kids like me. But, I actually have a wide range of listeners/readers that include every age, every walk of life, and every religion. Most people are confused when I tell them I have Christians listening to my book. Yes, it is a horror book about vampires, but I think the heavenly theme draws them to it. I was raised by ministers, so it’s not a stretch that the ritual of religious life bleeds into my writing. I’ve been told, that’s what they find appealing. For the horror fans, they love the vampire battles and the bloody gorey stuff. You could say there’s something for everyone.
JR: How do you find time to do it all?
ER: I have no clue. I have a full time job, a four year old, and this big writing career that comes at me 24-7, 100 miles an hour. I use my time wisely, try to budget time for every project I have going and hope that my emails don’t get too piled up. Thank goodness for holidays and weekends or I would never catch up!
JR: What projects are you working on now?
ER: HorrorAddicts.net Season 4 is in full swing. I’m finishing up my sequel to Night’s Knights, Dusk’s Warriors, and hope to have that podcasted later this year. I also have a third book to my Sweet Dreams Series which is a musical romance based on seniors in high school and their dreams for the future. That will be coming very soon. I’ve got a short coming out in April in an anthology from Dragon Moon Press, and another short will be airing soon in an Asia-inspired anthology. I just started a short I could not get out of my head based on the
JR: What is the origin of your name (which is also kickass)?
ER: Thank you. Emerian is a derivative of my grandfather’s name Emerson, who I loved dearly. He was the one who inspired my imagination and he taught me how to tell stories.
JR: If you could learn anything, what would it be?
ER: Everything! I am a knowledge addict! I love researching and finding out little tidbits I can add to my writing. As far as things I’ll never be… I’d love to be able to play piano (my short fingers aren’t the best start!) or a linguist (my memory is really bad when it comes to remembering languages!).
JR: If you could be anything, what would it be?
ER: A writer. Just a writer. Not an employee of anyone else, not a two or three jobs at a time person… Just a writer, with time to write everything that’s in my head before I forget it!
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Emerian Rich
Writer, Artist, Podcaster
http://www.emzbox.com
HorrorAddicts.net Hostess
dashPunk.com Staff Author
Sweet Dreams Series / Office Angst
Night's Knights print novel - October 2009
1 comment:
Thanks Jen! Awesome.
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