Interviews

SciFiChick.com Exclusive Interview: Sterling Gates

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Supergirl Sterling Gates

I was lucky enough to meet Sterling Gates a couple years ago at Comic Con, through one of my favorite authors – Mel Odom. Gates had just been hired to write for the Supergirl comic series, and was able to share some of the preliminary sketches. I was very excited, as Supergirl is one of the few comics that I still keep up with. (This will be no surprise to those who know I named my dog “Lois Lane.”). From the Silver Banshee to the latest New Krypton storyline, Supergirl has had quite a wild ride since Gates came on board. Now Gates shares with SciFiChick.com readers about what’s coming next for Supergirl and his experience with the DC Comics world.

What can you tell us about the latest Supergirl story arc?

It’s a dark time for the Girl of Steel. We’re coming out of the WAR OF THE SUPERMEN, an arc that featured the destruction of the planet New Krypton and the death of Supergirl’s mother, Alura. So she’s in a pretty dark place, both physically and emotionally. She’s been away for a few weeks, just getting her head back on straight, and she’s just returned to Metropolis and moved back in with Lana Lang. Lana acts as a big sister-type to Kara, helping her in ways that not even Superman can. And that’s where we pick up.

Kara’s dealing with the loss of her people, and coming to terms with what she perceives as her culpability in their deaths. That’s a lot for a teenager to handle, even if they are a superhero, so she’s got a lot to think about.

Then a twisted and scary version of Supergirl arrives in the form of a villain named BizarroGirl. BizarroGirl is exactly that, a Bizarro version of Supergirl, and she crashes down in the middle of Metropolis. Intense mayhem ensues. [laughs]

The next arc is about responsibility and dealing with regret and remorse, though. It seems like a romp though the streets on the surface, but there’s a lot going on there emotionally and physically for Supergirl.

Can you tell us about any new villain(s) Supergirl will be facing? Any spoilers?

Well, coming out of New Krypton, I wanted to start adding new and different villains to Supergirl’s rogue’s gallery We’re introducing a completely new “cosmic” villain to the DCU in the BizarroGirl arc, and then I’m dusting off an old Legion of Super-Heroes villain for Supergirl Annual #2, which is out this fall.

After that, there are a couple familiar faces coming, and a couple new ones that I’ve been setting up since I started writing the book. Long time readers will be rewarded for their patience!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your experience in writing. How did you get your start?

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Giveaway & Exclusive Interview with Darren Shan!

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Procession of the Dead ShanDarren[1]

SciFiChick.com was granted an exclusive interview with Darren Shan, author of the children’s series Cirque Du Freak and The Demonata. His latest trilogy The City, is his first geared towards adults. You can read more about Darren Shan and his books at his official website: http://darrenshan.com. And keep reading for a chance to win one of five copies of the first in the trilogy, Procession of the Dead!

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Can you tell us a bit about your new adult trilogy, The City?

The first two books can be read independently of each other, as they are stand-alone stories which are set at the same time. Events do overlap, but it isn’t until the third book that the plot threads are pulled firmly together. The first, Procession of the Dead, is about a young man who comes to a mysterious city to become a gangster. He soon falls in with The Cardinal, the city’s criminal kingpin, and begins a meteoric rise to the top. It should be a smooth ride, except he soon becomes aware that all is not well in the city – people vanish without trace, a legendary serial killer operates freely, blind Incan priests seem to pop up everywhere he looks, and most worryingly of all he can’t recall anything before coming to the city…

How different was it for you, switching from a focus on young readers to adults? Any difference to your writing style or technique?

They’re actually not as different as you might think. My children’s books have always been dark, vicious affairs, so the leap to adult fiction wasn’t as great as it probably would have been for many authors in my position. Having said that, the language is certainly a lot rougher in my adult books, and I don’t have to shy away from sexual references!! The main difference is that these are more amoral – in my children’s books there is a fairly clear divide between good and evil, right and wrong, whereas in my books for older readers I like to be more ambiguous.

I read that it took over 14 years for the final version of the story to come about! How much of it changed throughout the years and editing?

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Exclusive Q&A with the Cast & Crew of Grey Skies

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grey skiesSciFiChick.com was recently able conduct a Q&A with the cast and crew of the new scifi/horror flick Grey Skies! The independent film will release this summer. Keep reading below the break for Q&A’s with Aaron McPherson (actor), Michael Cornocchia (actor and producer), Kai Blackwood (director), Stacy Jorgensen (actress and producer), Mark Reilly (writer and producer), and Barney Barnum (Star Trek Oscar Winner and FX Creature Creator).

The film follows a group of old college friends who reunite to relive their glory days by renting a beautiful cabin in the woods. As the bonding begins, a surprise arrival of mysterious antagonistic alien creatures forces the group to ban together and outwit them in order to survive.

Grey Skies Trailer from Kai Blackwood on Vimeo.

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  • Aaron McPherson – lead actor playing Robert:

    • Can you tell us briefly about your character?
    He is not who he seems to be. The loyal fiancé and friend to all. He has a secret and it is up to the others to figure it out.

    What drew you to the role?

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