Name: Clint Collins
Author of: “The Summoned”
Age: 59
Geographic Location: Northern Virginia
Original Hometown, if different: Lexington, Kentucky
Past publications: Story in “Under the Fang,” a Horror Writers Association anthology published by Pocket Books (paperback) and Borderlands Press (hardcover); story in the “Lilith Unbound” anthology published by Popcorn Press; poetry in “Vampyr Verse” published by Popcorn Press.
What’s your favorite H.P. Lovecraft story or other Mythos story? It has to be the cornerstone of the Cthulhu mythos, “The Call of Cthulhu.”
What comes to mind when you think “Lovecraft” + “Erotica”? The gentle, whispering slither of a cool tentacle under clean sheets.
How did you hear about Cthulhurotica? From that excellent markets newsletter, “Duotrope’s Digest.””
What inspired your story? In “The Call of Cthulhu,” sculptor Henry Wilcox is delirious and his friends in the Fleur-de-Lys Building (an actual place in Providence, RI) come to his assistance upon hearing his cries. I wondered what would happen if someone went into his room afterwards. What would they discover? How would they be affected? The story focuses on an impressionable artist who finds Henry’s stunning sketches when she enters his room.
What music or movies helped you to write this story? None. I am enough of a procrastinator that if I turned on any music I’d probably still be listening. I invent enough distractions of my own without inviting them.
How many rewrites did you do before submitting? That is hard to answer as I continually re-read and rewrite from the very beginning. If I am happy with a paragraph, I move on and build from there. I have to say it is an ongoing process. By the time I finish I’ve read it many times.
What is your favorite bit?
She led me to her work desk and handed me a very detailed drawing in pencil. “Richard, take a look at this? What do you think?”
Of course, it was Henry’s monster, though much better imagined and executed, and, therefore, all the more revolting.