Sandra: Tell us about Pulp Pusher. Where did you get the
idea?
Pusher: It was a bizarre start...a friend of mine was, and
still is actually, in the process of setting up a more general
webzine and knowing we shared an interest in hardboiled
and noir writing I suggested we add a section on that. He
agreed and I went a'fishing for short stuff...we got more
than we bargained for and hence, Pusher was born.
Sandra: When did you launch it?
Pusher: Officially in April of this year, though there seemed
to be a prolonged period of madness before that trying to
get the dang thing off the ground. It looked simple enough,
but nah...amazingly everyone delivered on time, it was the
techy side bollixed us more than a wee bit.
Sandra: You had a lot of known names in the first issue.
How did you get people involved?
Pusher: We'd been stalking quite a few big names for some
time with a view to blackmailing them for money, but then
Pusher came along and we had to change our plan. Tip: raking
their garbage generally turns up stuff you can poke them
with, and if you don't find anything, evidence of transvestism
is easy to plant!
Sandra: What sets Pulp Pusher apart from what's currently
out there?
Pusher: Good question. There's so many great outlets for
short fiction now we must be mad to try and add one of our
own. What I think sets us apart is a slightly different
format, because we're all doing the same thing in the end
it's just down to presentation. The invention of the Pusher
and his workin' girls is something kinda new and there's
a few more characters in the bag just waiting to escape
and unleash havoc.
Sandra: What is it in a story that makes you sit up and
take notice, that makes you want to publish it?
Pusher: We generally like to let three sets of eyeballs
look over any piece we put it. And, we're all different.
I've made picks that I've shown to the rest of the Pusher
editors and been told, "Nup". It's utterly subjective,
like the entire business, but here's a tip for anyone thinking
of submitting, we all like Ken Bruen!
Sandra: Do you have set plans for a certain number of issues
per year?
Pusher: The original intention was to be quarterly. I'm
keen to stick to that because I think it's the best way
to get the work done to any kind of professional standard.
But, there are moves afoot at Pusher Towers to have the
zine updated much more regularly, maybe even on an almost
daily basis. Watch this space!
Sandra: What's coming up next in Pulp Pusher?
Pusher: We've got one killer issue up next and the one after
that...oh, man! Issue Two has an incredible short story
from Nick Stone - Mr Clarinet author - which features the
characters from his new novel King of Swords. We've also
got an interview with Nick which is being done by our new
recruit Little Tommie Pockets, I know they've been having
a blast over that one so it should be something special.
There's more interviews with Cathi Unsworth and Charles
Ardai - I've done those myself and can tell you both authors
are on form and get right into the spirit of the Pusher...Cathi's
interview especially is a shocker! We'd expect no less,
right?
We've also got a short from Thug Lit's Todd Robinson that'll
put the frightners on; some pure class from Jim Winter and
a tale of stone-cold precision from Sandra Ruttan. What
I'm really excited about for Issue Two though, I can't tell
you about yet...it's big!
For more information, visit http://www.booksfromscotland.com/Features/Articles-and-Essays/Pulp-Pusher
and the Pulp Pusher website at http://www.pulppusher.com/
Tony Black, the mastermind behind Pulp Pusher, is a former
Young Journalist of the Year and his novel, PAYING FOR IT,
has recently been signed by Random House. PAYING FOR IT
is scheduled for publication next year. Ken Bruen kindly
praised the book, saying: “[Black’s] writing
is a joy, in your face, with that wondrous dead-pan humour
that only the Celts really grasp”.
Black lives and works in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.
More of his writing can be found online at: Scotsman.com,
Thug Lit, Pulp Pusher, Shots Magazine and is forthcoming
in the fall ’07 issue of Demolition Magazine.
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWER
Sandra Ruttan’s debut suspense novel, Suspicious Circumstances,
was released in January, 2007. For more information about Sandra visit
her website
Return to Summer 2007 Table of Contents
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2007 SPINETINGLER Magazine - All rights reserved
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