I love stories about things that go bump in the night. So I was thrilled when I heard that one of my short stories made it into a new anthology published by Pill Hill Press. The company is housed in a haunted house and here to tell us all about the press and yes, the house, is one of its co owners and editors, Jessy Marie Roberts. Oh and by the way, the anthology is called Back to the Middle of Nowhere…just in case you want to pick up a copy for some early Halloween reading!
Susan Palmquist (SP)-How did Pill Hill Press begin?
Jessy Marie Roberts (JMR)-Pill Hill Press started when my husband and I bought an old “haunted” Victorian in Western Nebraska. We thought it would be a fantastic location for a small press. We converted part of the house into Pill Hill Press’ offices.
SP-I’m intrigued that press is housed in a haunted property. Tell us more… any personal ghostly sightings? Did you choose to run the business there because of the types of books you publish or vice versa?
JMR-We’ve never had any ghostly experiences in the house, though we’ve been told some really spooky stories from the locals. The house is listed as haunted in the historical walking tour guide. We chose to operate out of our “haunted” house because of its fantastic, creepy history, and that history has influenced the type of books we publish.
SP-You publish both anthologies and single author books. Tell us about some of the themes for upcoming anthologies.
JMR-Some upcoming anthology titles are Monster Mash (where there is more than one type of monster featured in each story), the Dark Things series (four horror anthology volumes drenched in the dark and dreary) and Fem-Fangs (our vampire anthology with a feminine twist). All titles are expected to be released before Christmas.
SP-What type of single author books are you looking for? Anything you’d like to see?
JMR-I enjoy a variety of genre fiction, so we publish horror, science fiction, fantasy and mystery. I would really enjoy a knock-your-socks-off romantic suspense novel.
SP-You accept romantic suspense. Is any heat level acceptable or is it more sweet romance than spicy. Do you consider erotic romances in this category?
JMR-I’m not opposed to some spicy romance as long as it is integral to the plot (shows some sort of plot and/or character development). Erotic scenes just for the sake of eroticism are better suited for a different publisher.
SP-What storylines do you think have been overdone?
JMR-Waking up suddenly without a clue as to how/why/where the protagonist is, and then the entire story is the character trying to unravel the mystery. I find myself as confused as the protagonist through most of these storylines, and not in a good way.
SP-You publish both print and electronic books, is it print first then an e-book or does it depend on the book?
JMR-The eBook is usually released about 3 months after printing.
SP-What you do like to see in a submitted manuscript?
JMR-My favorite manuscript has been proofread for common grammatical errors (misspelled words, dropped words, misplaced commas, etc).
SP-Once a writer submits a manuscript to you, how long before they hear back from you?
JMR-We try to initially respond to a manuscript within 6 weeks (either pass on the manuscript or request the entire manuscript). If we request the manuscript, we have to carefully read it, so it can take another couple of months to hear back from us. We make every effort to respond to all submissions in a timely fashion.
SP-Any new projects on the horizon for Pill Hill Press?
JMR-We’re looking forward to a variety of new projects in 2011. To keep up with everything Pill Hill Press is doing, please visit www.pillhillpress.com or drop in our friendly forum at http://www.pillhillpress.lefora.com/
