Questions Anyone?

[srboone]

What was the inspiration behind "Popsicle Man" from After the Burn? Of all the stories in the book, this is the one that stunned me with it's mixture of horror and humor, always surprising me with the directions you took the story. It is, for me, one of your best works--imaginative, witty, horrorific, and quite memorable.

There were no story notes in ATB and if you have them online, I apologize for not finding them.

[Ronald Kelly]

There's a very personal reason for me writing "Popsicle Man". If you read my introduction to the Bad Moon Books edition of John R. Little's The Memory Tree, you'll have a good idea why (it's also the reason why I dedicated "PM" to John). Simply put, one of my children suffered abuse at the hands of a child molester several years ago and my loathing of such creatures (I refuse to classify them as 'people') probably shines through in this tale. I also wanted to give defenseless victims of such lurid subhumans a champion. So I came up with the Angel of Vengeance in the form of a post-apocalyptic Good Humor Man.

The child molesters themselves -- the Clownies -- were inspired by the serial killer John Wayne Gacy more than anything else, I suppose. I once saw a photo of a smiling Gacy dressed as a clown and the image still sends shivers down my spine. After the end of the world, I don't believe it would be too far-fetched to imagine a whole brigade of the sick bastards roaming the ruins, looking for children to prey upon. As for the humor, maybe it's a defense mechanism on my part... something to ward off those ugly old memories and keep the storyline balanced and in prespective, without allowing my own biases and hard feelings to dominate the narrative (neither the local police or Department of Children's Services would do anything to help us in our situation).

[Antmusic]

Gah, that is horrific, Ron. I'm very sorry to hear about that. I think you had mentioned it before, but I probably blocked it out. Horrible.

[srboone]

Thank you Ron, I know how difficult that was for you to write (and you didn't have to). And I'm sorry for having you dredge those memories up. Eventually somebody was bound to put their foot in ther mouth in this thread and it was me...I feel awful.

"Popsicle Man" is truly something special.

[Ronald Kelly]

Don't worry about it, Squire. This has pretty much been public knowledge since BMB released TMT. If you learn anything about Ol' Ron, it's that I'm pretty upfront about things and brutally honest about others. I appreciate your question and your kind comments about "Popsicle Man", too. It was one of my favorites among the ATB stories.

[Tito_Villa]

Hey Ron just tried to reply to your pm but your inbox is full

[Ronald Kelly]

Hey Ron just tried to reply to your pm but your inbox is full

It's empty now, Tom. Give it another try.

[srboone]

You wrote the intro to The Memory Tree by John R. Little; have you written any others? or other odd pieces that have found their ways into publication?

[Ronald Kelly]

I also wrote the introduction to Four Rode Out, the weird western collection CD put out starring Keene, Vernon, Lebbon, and Curran... as well as the intro to Mark Justice's first short story collection, Looking at the World with Broken Glass in my Eye, published by Graveside Books.

[srboone]

Your website says you're also wokring on a mystery with a detective modelled after your Grandpa Kelly, and will include some of his dry witticisms. Will "I won't look under a skunk's tail twice" be one of them?

[Ronald Kelly]

Grandpa Kelly's first mystery, Dead Old Men, will likely be chocked full of the old dude's wit and wisdom. And, yes, I'm sure his infamous 'skunk tail' quote will make it in there.

[peteOcha]

Sounds good, can't wait!

[srboone]

Will there be anymore new covers for the Essentials collection, or is UM the only one?

[Ronald Kelly]

Every volume of the Essentials will have a new cover by Alex McVey, Squire. I think the snake-critter on FEAR is a good companion to the Blue Werewolf cover on UM, don't you?

[srboone]

It is. For some reaon I thought the snake was the cover of the Z paperback. That's what prompted the question, but I was wrong. I'm kinda confused about the spine art, they don't seem to go together, but I'm probably wrong again. Maybe I can e-mail Paul and see if he has a pic of what it is supposed to be...