The Sharkpunk Interview - Laurel Sills

Laurel Sills is a fantasy reader, scribbler, and co-editor of holdfast magazine. She is also now a SHARKPUNK contributor...


Sharkpunk: What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks? 
Laurel Sills: As an English girl growing up on an island where all of our natural predators have been wiped out, the idea that something that powerful, something that might actually want to eat me, could just swan up to our beaches if it wanted, scared the living bejesus out of me as a child. Maybe that has something to do with our collective fascination. The ocean has few barriers, and although logic tells us that the great white is unlikely to be hanging out around Brighton pier, it’s hard to escape the idea that it could be. It goes back to the idea of something wanting to eat us. We have a rather reduced risk of being eaten by badgers, and the idea of being eaten is so alien, so bizarre, that perhaps we latch on to the one, tiny shred of possibility that we could be eaten by sharks on our bank holiday day trip. There are of course still a lot of other animals out there that would like to eat us, but, you know, lions can’t swim over and drag themselves onto our shores to feast on our blue goose-pimpled bikini-clad bodies...can they?!

SP: What was the inspiration behind your story Le Shark? 
LS: As much as I love Jaws and other shark films, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking, how hard is it really to just stay out of the water?! So I wanted to play with that a bit. I also love a good old-fashioned deal with the devil gone wrong (that deal can never really work out can it?) so thought it would be fun to combine the two.

SP: What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story? 
LS: I think I went into it thinking I’d just write a silly story about a shark god, (which I did!) but it surprised me that it got a lot darker than I thought it would. There is a point in my story where you’re not sure whether The Shark is real or a figment of Carlos’ imagination, and I think a lot of the story is about Carlos’ inner shark. How far is he willing to go for success or to protect himself? I also wanted to make sure that Leslie, the other main character in the story, was not purely a love interest or a victim. I had to think hard about making sure I didn’t fall into the tired tropes women often fall into, and I hope I’ve achieved that.

SP: If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be? 
LS: Probably the basking shark, because me and a friend of mine found a dead baby one (which was still pretty big) washed up on the beach in St Ives when I was little. I liked the fact that they were gentle giants.

SP: Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)? 
LS: It would have to be Sharky of Sharky and George. I used to watch it with my dad and it reminds me of eating Rice Krispies in my pyjamas. Also, a shark detective? Yes. Just yes.

Thanks, Laurel!

Laurel Sills co-edits holdfast magazine with Lucy Smee. Holdfast is a free, quarterly online speculative fiction magazine, which is bringing out its first print anthology in 2015. She used to be in a touring band but gave that up in order to be able to afford regular meals. Laurel now works in publishing and holds a Master’s degree in creative writing from Goldsmiths University. She was also on the judging panel for the British Fantasy Society Robert Holdstock award for Best Fantasy Novel 2014. Go to www.holdfastmagazine.com and follow her @laurelsills and @holdfastmag.

The Sharkpunk Interview - Jenni Hill

I first met Jenni Hill when she worked as an editor at Abaddon Books. (It was Jenni who saw Pax Britannia: Anno Frankenstein through to publication.) Jenni is currently Commissioning Editor for Orbit UK, but as well as guiding writers to publication she is also a writer in her own right...

What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks?

We’re fascinated by anything that can knock us off the top of the food chain. Us monkeys worked hard to get up here at the top, but we fall in the water with a shark and bam, another species makes us its dinner. We can’t help but be fascinated by it. People’s fascination with predators – from serial killers to endangered species, is a big part of the story I submitted for this anthology.

What was the inspiration behind your story ‘The Serial Killer Who Thought She Was A Shark’?

I enjoy shows such as Hannibal and Dexter but I wanted to write about a female serial killer, as they’re so rare in fiction. I also discovered that in Australia,sharks ‘tweet’ at surfers when they’re nearby, and I wondered how we might use that technology in future. I also started reading about shark fin soup, how we’re combating the cruel fishing practices around that, and how absurd yet kind of wonderful it is that some of us – charities, ecologists etc. – are often trying so hard to help all these endangered species that want to eat us alive.

What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story?

I discovered that death scenes, especially gory ones, can be really difficult to write. I think I put the manuscript away for at least a month or two, and only urging from Jon and from my husband made me pick it up again, grit my teeth and write!

If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be?

Stethacanthus, a.k.a. the anvil shark. He’s a prehistoric shark I saw on Walking with Dinosaurs and he looks absolutely ridiculous.

Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)?

I’ve a soft spot for another ridiculous shark –King Shark in DC Comics, especially when written by Gail Simone in Secret Six, where his battlecry was “I’m a shark! I’m a shaaaarrk!” Memorably, when the team were shown their personal hells by a supervillain, the rest of the team saw some pretty angsty, dark stuff, whereas King Shark found himself trapped in a restaurant where all the food was vegetarian.

Jenni Hill has written short stories for several anthologies and is also working on a fantasy novel. She lives in London with her husband and their several million books, but you can find her on Twitter at @Jenni_Hill.

The Sharkpunk Interview - Ian Whates

To fans of science fiction, Ian Whates will need no introduction. An award-winning writer, editor and publisher, I was delighted when he agreed to submit a story to SHARKPUNK.

Sharkpunk: What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks?

Ian Whates: Sharks are streamlined killing machines, perfectly adapted to their environment.  Enough of the hunter-gatherer’s fear of predation lurks in our genetic heritage to make them unnerving.  At the same time we can’t help but admire just how fit for purpose they are.  Add to that the fact that because of their habitat you don’t see a shark coming (unless you’re tooled up with specialist equipment) until that ominous fin breaks the surface (cue theme music to Jaws), and how could we not be fascinated?  People are intrigued by killers in general, whether human or animal – raptors, big cats, wolves – sharks have all that going for them with an added dose of the sinister.

SP: What was the inspiration behind your story “Sharkadelic”?

IW: A few years ago I watched a documentary investigating why great white sharks had disappeared for more than a year from a territory they were known to frequent.  The conclusion was that a pod of orcas were responsible, that this particular group had perfected a method of preying on sharks, even great whites, and their presence was enough to cause the sharks to flee.  I found the idea that even an apex predator such as the great white had reason to fear, and possessed the intelligence to know it was outmatched and communicate that to others of its kind, remarkable.  That was the starting point for the story.  Where the rest of it came from, I’ve no idea, except that I was able to weave in persistent but unsubstantiated reports of great whites being spotted off the coast of Cornwall.  Other than that, well… making stuff up is what I do. 

SP: What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story?

IW: I’d never honestly considered writing a shark-related story before being approached for this anthology.  When I was, two stories occurred to me, both very different.  One was a fairly action-packed pulp-ish tale involving genetically enhanced sharks being utilised to guard a precious shipping convoy (which seemed perfectly in line with the anthology’s brief), the other was a psychological horror set in the art world.  It was the latter story that gripped me, that demanded to be written. To be honest, the story itself flowed with uncharacteristic ease, though I reworked the end section a couple of times before I was happy with it.  My greatest challenge was whether or not the anthology’s editor would like a story whose nature veered away from the guidelines.  Fortunately, he did, and “Sharkaneer”, the sharks-guarding-shipping story, remains unwritten.  Sharkpunk 2, maybe? [SP: Definitely!]

SP: If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be?

IW: Ooh, that’s a toughie.  I’m going to keep the definition of ‘shark’ pretty narrow, so that I’m not tempted to consider such graceful giants as the manta ray, but even then I’m not sure I can decide between three: the basking shark because they’re so huge and atypically harmless, and because I stand a chance of actually seeing one off the UK coast someday (I haven’t yet, though I have twice been out on boats looking for them), the great white because they are so formidable, not to mention persecuted, and the hammerhead, because, I mean, how could you not?  They are so stunningly bizarre.  Okay, three is cheating, but hey, I’m an author, I’m allowed to bend the rules.

SP: Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)?

IW: I’m going to have to be very predictable here and go with the shark in Jaws, primarily because I’ve never really taken note of sharks in fiction, being fascinated enough by them in real life.  So, when it comes to picking a favourite fictional shark I’m choosing from a field of, ehm… one. (Unless you include the sequels, but hey, we all know that the first was the best.)

Thanks, Ian!

Ian Whates lives in a quiet Cambridgeshire village with his partner, Helen, and Honey, a manic cocker spaniel.  Ian is the author of six novels to date, most recently Pelquin’s Comet, released in April 2015. Also, the  Helen, a manic cocker spaniel, and a tailless black cat.  He City of 100 Rows trilogy (Angry Robot), and the Noise duology (Solaris). Sixty-odd of his short stories have appeared in various venues, two of which were shortlisted for BSFA Awards, and his second collection Growing Pains (PS Publishing) appeared in 2013. Ian has edited some two dozen anthologies and in 2014 one of these, Solaris Rising 2, was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award. He has served a term as Overseas Director of SFWA and spent five years as chairman the BSFA, stepping down in 2013. In his spare time Ian runs multiple award-winning independent publisher NewCon Press, which he founded by accident in 2006. Find out more at www.ianwhates.co.uk.

And don't forget - SHARKPUNK is published on Friday!

The sharks are circling...

SHARKPUNK is published one week today...

Sharks – the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind’s most primal fears. The tell-tale dorsal fin slicing through the water, the dead eyed-stare, the gaping jaws full to unforgiving teeth, the remorseless drive to kill and feed…

Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea – as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus – the stories contained within are rip-roaring page-turners and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian.


Covering the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and steampunk, through to SF and WTF, these are stories with bite!

Come on in. The water’s fine…

Pre-order your copy today!

The Sharkpunk Interview - Steven Savile

Steven Savile is the best-selling writer you've never heard of (unless you've heard of him). He has written for countless well-known IPs, from Primeval to Doctor Who, as well as numerous original projects including the #2 eBook-charting thriller SILVER.


Sharkpunk: What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks? 
Steven Savile: The easy answer, for my generation, I think, is JAWS. I can still remember my older cousin handing me a copy of Peter Benchley's novel when I was maybe 8 or 9 and saying it's the scariest thing he'd ever read. I sat in his bedroom listening to Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran or well, you get the picture, and read the opening shark attack and the description of the severed leg and the blood. Straight into nightmare territory and it's never gone away. You see National Geographic films in beautifully shot HD of this killer cutting through the deep blue and all you see, really, is muscle mass and razor sharp teeth. There's no reasoning with that kind of threat. It's almost elemental in its nature. A few years ago I did a Top Trumps book for Penguin, and the Great White was by far my favourite card. I loved scouring the research for fun facts about that particular beastie. Oh my word. So, yeah...

SP: What was the inspiration behind your story Swimming with the Fishes? 
SS: Is this where I own up that I pitched Jon a completely different story to Swimming with the Fishes and right up to the point of stretching the deadline incredibly thin (remember that famous Douglas Adams quote about loving the sound of deadlines whooshing by?) finally sat down to write what I thought was going to be a very serious JAWS-like homage... and then... this voice took over and the first line hit the page, this unexpected noir-esque Godfather kind of thing, and I wrote to Jon saying 'Mate, I'm REALLY sorry...' and probably said a dozen times that I'd understand if he didn't want it, because I'd gone so far off the reservation I was pretty sure he'd never read anything like it and may not again... in terms of inspiration, several years ago I sold a story I'd co-written with a mate to Sony Entertainment of development as a possible TV series, and while it had got close, I've got the pilot scripts etc, it just never made it out the gate... well, that had the same kind of irreverent vibe and mash-up for classic horror tropes and, well, that was more like NYPD BLUE with Monsters... where Fishes became The Godfather with Monsters... and a very wicked sense of humour...

SP: What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story? 
SS: See Above. Nothing went as planned. Jon was expecting an entirely different story about a neolithic shark that had survived all these millennia and was attacking an oil rig... so the biggest surprise was when he said 'I love it!'

SP: If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be? 
SS: I always had a soft spot for the Hammerhead... it's kinda like the Thing of the shark world... I imagine it turning around to its Great White and Basking Shark super-buddies and saying 'It's clobberin' time!'

SP: Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)? 
SS: It's got to be Jaws, it just has to be... that music, the unforgettable image of the fin cutting through the water...then the blood. Perfect.

Thanks, Steven.

Steven Savile has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Slaine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, Arkham Horror, Risen, and other popular game and comic worlds. His novels have been published in eight languages to date, including the Italian bestseller L'eridita. He won the International Media Association of Tie-In Writers award for his Primeval novel, Shadow of the Jaguar, published by Titan, in 2010, and the inaugural Lifeboat to the Stars award for Tau Ceti (co-authored with Kevin J. Anderson). Silver, his debut thriller reached #2 in the Amazon UK e-charts in the summer of 2011. It was among the UK's top 30 bestselling novels of 2011 according to The Bookseller.  The series continues in Solomon's Seal, WarGod, and Lucifer's Machine, and is available in a variety of languages. His latest books include HNIC (along with the legendary Hip Hop artist Prodigy, of Mobb Deep) which was Library Journal's Pick of the Month, the Lovecraftian horror The Sign of Glaaki, co-written with Steve Lockley, and has recently started writing the popular Rogue Angel novels as Alex Archer, the first of which, Grendel's Curse, is out in May. He has lived in Sweden for the last 17 years. His online presence can be found at www.stevensavile.com.

SHARKPUNK exists!

SHARKPUNK is back from the printers and in the offices of Snowbooks.

There's no long to go now before the official publication date of 1 May, and not long until the official launch at London's Forbidden Planet store.

Review copies have gone out but if you know of a reviewer who would like one, drop me a line at info@jonathangreenauthor.com.

The Sharkpunk Interview - Robert Spalding

Rob Spalding is a short fiction writer with an eye for the pulp homage. In fact, his story is the one in SHARKPUNK that probably celebrates the original Sharkpunk movie JAWS most directly. Here's what he had to say about the experience of writing the piece...

Sharkpunk: What, do you think, is the reason for people's enduring fascination with sharks?

Robert Spalding: I think it's the silence of them that continually terrifies people. If you think about all the other monsters and fearsome creatures we are scared of, they roar and hiss and yowl. Sharks don't do any of that.  They just appear and start eating you without a kindly forewarning sound. Couple that with the fact that they patrol an area that is physically off limits to humans, in that we cannot survive where they live without specialist equipment, and you've got a creature that it would take an awful lot of effort to encounter in the wild. They are mysterious and I think that's what keeps them alive in our minds.

SP: What was the inspiration behind your story Rise of the Übershark?

RS: To anyone who reads it, the most obvious inspiration for this story will be anime.  Specifically Mecha anime.  I've always enjoyed seeing big robots smash the hell out of each other and all of their fancy weaponry. What I first pitched to Jon when he told me about the anthology my suggestions (Sharks in Spaaaaaace!) were met with “Someone's already doing that.” So I thought about the type of stories I wanted to tell.  Post-Apocalyptic Waste World is my favourite phrase in the English language.  I love the sound of it (the phrase, not the reality). So it had to be a post-apocalyptic shark story. 

Where do I go from there? Well, very quickly I had my world and the weaponry and the big idea behind it all. The one thing I didn't actually have was a story to tell. I actually started this story four times in different ways with different characters because I couldn't find an “in” that was going to be just a short story. Finally I landed on the “last survivor of an elite squad discovers a terrible revelation.” And then I had it. The hero of the story in all its variations was always a woman because I hadn't tried to write a story with one before.

SP: What challenges, or surprises, did you encounter in writing your story?

RS: Finding a story that I could tell in the word limit. I completely fell for the world I created for this story.  Then I created a character that I thought would be unique or at least less obvious than the norm for the type of Mecha-Monster-Military mash up I was planning. But then I realised they needed a novel length story to fit in everything I wanted to say about them. As such I had to set them aside and start again, new protagonist, new conflict for the story.  New everything except the world.

I have to say I have never had more trouble getting something started that I was excited about than I have with this story. I was constantly having to revise my central ideas until I ground it down enough to fill just the one story. Even then I opened up a whole new level to the world with the ending. I think I might have found a place I want to spend my writing time in future – which isn't something I ever expected when I started to think about a submission to this anthology.

SP: If you had to pick a favourite shark, which would it be?

RS: I think I'd have to say Hammerhead. I know the Great Whites are the Daddy of shark fiction, but just look at a Hammerhead.  The description of them is right in the name! They have such a distinctive look.

SP: Do you have a favourite fictional shark (in books, comics, films, or video games)?

RS: I've got a soft spot for the smart sharks in Deep Blue Sea, especially for their sense of dramatic timing in saying Samuel L Jackson's part has served its purpose. But my favourite shark in all of fiction is Sharky, from Sharky and George. He was one half of a crime-busting aquatic duo and they had the best theme tune. I'll be honest and say I haven't watched an episode in years because I'm worried it will taint my memory of the show.  But yeah, Sharky.

SP: Apart from SHARKPUNK, what's coming next from Robert Spalding?

RS: I am currently writing a quirky novel called Lost on the Traveller's Road. Its based on several ideas I've had over the years all being amalgamated into one crazy road trip story. I've only just started it but I like where its heading so far. Then I plan to try my hand at some serial fiction. I've got a few worlds to work in and one of them will be the world Rise of the Ubershark is set in. I'm planning them out like an anime series (the influence strikes again!) and hope to be releasing them for free on the web with collected editions sold as ebooks with added extras when they are done. At the moment this will probably end up being a self-published idea, but if I can find a publisher then I'm going to go for it.

Thanks, Rob!

Robert Spalding lives in Sussex, quite near the seaside but he never goes for a paddle. He had stories published by Whispers of Wickedness near the turn of the Millennium but then went radio silent for a few years due to what he describes as “Purely mundane reasons.” His recently had Men with False Faces published in Terror Tales of the Seaside. Rise of the Übershark marks the beginning of what he hopes will be a series all set in the same world. He occasionally blogs and posts short fiction at robspalding.wordpress.com and Tweets at @robspalding.