land of the beautiful dead by r lee smith

When it comes to my books, well, horror is what I read (and the movies I watch and the games I play), so it’s naturally what I write.

I don’t even have a smart phone (or a stupid phone), so the dancers simultaneously represented the old AND the new while I stood outside the wheel of Time entirely.

Yeah, last time I visited a Pow-wow, I was struck by all those dancers in their amazing ceremonial attire, sitting around tapping at their smart phones. One of my favorite photos is of a sheep herder in Amman, Jordan – dressed in traditional Bedouin garb, herding his sheep in front of a brand new and modern stand alone Starbucks! Its also funny at our tribal ceremonials in Northern Oklahoma where I am from when our dancers, dressed completely in traditional clothing are holding a handheld fan to keep cool or are drinking a bottle of chilled water – our drum keeper tries to keep these little things out of our ceremonials but it is a losing battle! lol! When I travel I like to take photographs of the old next to the new, ancient next to modern, etc. I love powerful contrasts in all areas of life. Its funny because the gore and horror in your stories provide the perfect juxtaposition for some pretty incredible love stories – I love the contrast – it makes them stand out and feel that much more powerful. I love your “non-traditional” formula approach – your inhuman romantic leads don’t have any human counterparts that could do them justice – the typical human romantic lead just doesn’t hold beans to your nonhuman romantic leads. I could tell that Pool was not a romance when I read the snippet of it you provided but I was looking forward to it.

Land of the beautiful dead by r lee smith