In Those Fading Stars by Andrew Najberg

 Happy Release Day, Andrew Najberg!

"...the stories press humanity against the macro and the micro scales of the universe - but every one of them shines a light on a little piece of our souls at the core."

Andrew Najberg is easily one of my favorite indie authors, both to read and to talk to. An interview I did with him and Blaine Daigle earlier this year was one of my favorites. He's like that teacher you wish you had in high school for that one boring subject you thought you hated, but you really just didn't understand it. He has a way of talking about things that makes you want to know more. There's an air of excitement and passion in the way he both speaks and writes, and it's a really cool thing to observe. 

I have never considered myself a "fan" of two subgenres of horror in particular: cosmic horror and sci-fi horror. Two books changed that for me this past year. One was This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. The other was Gollitok by Andrew Najberg. For that reason, I am so excited to read his newest release and first collection, In Those Fading Stars.

Here is a description of the collection:

A father whose son fades away every day unless he passes the boy a bit of his own life. Three robots holding a séance. A man who suffers the effects of an intergalactic portal opening in his stomach.

These stories exist at the intersection of science fiction, horror, and magic and explore both our humanity in the face of the weird as well as our most ordinary and fundamental relationships. Whether attempting to voyage to a distant star on a generational craft whose destination is so far no living passengers will reach it or whether a daughter’s new friend is teaching her to break the trendiest of dimensional boundaries, the stories press humanity against the macro and the micro scales of the universe – but everyone of them shines a light on a little piece of our souls at the core.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Andrew answered a few questions about In Those Fading Stars and his writing in general.

Q: You've been involved in a number of anthologies, but what was the impetus for putting together your first short story collection?

A: Well, I've had a lot of luck getting these stories out in magazines, including some that have really strong reputations, but it's tough to get readers to visit magazines consistently. At the same time, these stories definitely have a significant part of my voice and person in them, and I really want them to reach a broader relationship. I have a lot of confidence that readers will find many pieces in this set to be genuinely moving - and once I realized I had enough that I felt were thematically cohesive with each other, this juts seemed the best way to get the stories out there.

Q: I have to admit I've never considered myself much of a sci-fi girlie, but I love how you marry sci-fi and horror. Where did your love for both genres start, and what are some inspirations for you in your writing?

A: I find that both science fiction and horror deal with reflections of reality. They're places we go when we want to cast our views about the world into something while also creating a strong vehicle for engaging readers. I do have things I want to say with my writing. The Mobius Door tackles a lot of serious questions about families, about reality, about identity - Gollitok explores a lot of questions about the fargility of the world, the nature of evil - and much more. At the same time, neither of them makes those things the exclusive focus. They use their narratives to allow the exploration of significant questions while also presenting a framework we can invest in emotionally. The same for these stories. Some are personal expressions like Before You Fade Away and The Robots Inside Us, some explore broader cultural issues like Intersected Sky and Where We Leave Ourselves - but each one is a statement about something that matters with me - and presented, hopefully in a way, people will find much more emotionally engaging than if I just made a Facebook post!

Q: Your writing style is so vivid and detailed. I know you have a map of Gollitok you'd drawn out, and it's amazing that you were able to put that landscape into words and paint it so clearly for readers. Do you typically use things like drawings, maps and other aids to flesh out your writing? What does your writing process looking like, and how did it differ for you when writing a collection versus a novel?

A: The truth is, I use very few tools. I keep almost zero notes. The Gollitok map was created because I specifically wanted to communicate a certain reality to a very real place that is Goli Otok, but none of my stories have outlines, character profiles, or anything like that. Instead, I run through things over and over in my head, re-read portions of the manuscripts I've already created. I do keep fragmentary notes about some planned upcoming scenes, but I delete those as I go, so I never have more than a few pages at any given time. Instead, the manuscript is alive to me. I shape it and adjust it as it grows, kind of like a bit of clay on a pottery wheel. The process mostly looks like me pacing around, talking to myself while I drive, typing and deleting on the computer and maybe just sitting back and staring at the ceiling.

Honestly, the more I learn about Andrew Najberg, the more fascinated I am. If you've read his work, the idea of him keeping virtually no notes or outlines and still having the ability to be as illustrative as he is with his writing is impressive. I will never stop touting the masterpiece that is Gollitok, and I hope to report back soon with similar feelings on In Those Fading Stars! Grab your copy today here or here.