| Interviews |
Interview with D.W. Jones, book reviewer and webmaster
for Blood Moon Rising Magazine about 10th Anniversary of
BMR
by Andrew Davis
D.W. Jones has been with Blood Moon Rising from the beginning and I
decided to sit down with him to get the inside look of his time with BMR,
how his role evolved and how the magazine made it ten years when many
fell.
A. Davis: How did you get involved with BMR?
D.W. Jones: Well, years ago while moving a cousin of mine, AL who was driving
the truck told me about a project he was doing and was wondering if I could help out
with it. The project was going to be a little horror magazine with artist, articles and
short stories. AL asked me to write a story to help get the magazine started. At first
I was reluctant but AL was so passionate about it so said I would do it.
AD: What did the first issue contain?
DJ: It had Blood Notes, a handful of stories, the creature feature section and
Bloody Comix, sort of the precursor to the Nightmare Gallery. What made it
different from some independent magazines in the same genre is that it had color.
Many of the magazines back then were only in black and white.
AD: What happened once the issue came out?
DJ: So the first issue came out and I thought this was the coolest. It was the first
time I saw something of mine in print. And people beside my family were actually
reading it? The issue itself was very simple but to me it was as good as any other
magazine. AL started selling by word of mouth and conventions. The first one was
a comics convention I Madison Square Garden.
AD: When did you begin reviewing books for the magazine?
DJ: Well AL coultdn’t leave the magazine as it was and was looking how to make
the magazine better. The first issue had only a couple of elements of horror. AL
approached me because he knew I read books and wanted to know if I would review
some of the books I read. So, I said okay since I was high off seeing my story
published in the first issue.
AD: How was the second issue different from the first?
DJ: It was not only different but better. Along with the new book review section,
there was the Written in Blood, Nightmare Gallery, Graveyard Cinema and the first
of many horror related articles entered into the magazine. This improved the
magazine because it cover more areas that horror genre touched.
AD: What made BMR different from similar magazines of the same content?
DJ: We were about giving the upcoming/new writer or artist a place to display their
art without having to be published somewhere else. Larger magazines and
publishing houses rarely published new writers, never mind unpublished writers. AL
felt that because of this, he wanted to help these writers and artist. This was
because of the hard time he had getting his foot in the door. This gave rise to our
slogan “the aspiring writers/artist showcase”.
AD: What was some of the biggest advances or pitfalls that BMR faced?
DJ: One of the biggest wins for BMR was to get a distributor. This automatically
meant that BMR would go from a distribution of selling by word of mouth to actually
being in bookstores. Many more people would know about the magazine and be
able to buy it. The biggest of the stores was Borders and Books A Million. These
were all up and down the east coast. This was also a pitfall. We went from printing
maybe a couple of hundred to over a thousand. We were working our of AL’s
apartment and it taxed our equipment severely.
AD: How did you take the magazine online?
DJ: It was another case of AL evolving the magazine to fit the situation. About four
years ago, after a couple of disasters, the economy slowing down, things were not
looking good for the magazine. But despite people around him telling him to close
up and limit his losses, AL suggested to me to put the magazine online through the
website. I just recently took over duties of overseeing the website, I was reluctant to
do it. But he insisted and wanted to keep it going for the fans of the magazine and
he wanted to keep his dream alive. I said okay, I would try and the first issue online
was Issue 31.
AD: Did fans accept the change from print to online?
DJ: Yes, surprisingly our fans followed us and I guess the price (free) I’m sure didn’
t hurt. One of the best things about being online was getting back to the thing that
helped us in the beginning. That was color and being online meant being all color.
This definitely helped the Nightmare Gallery part of the magazine. It also meant
increasing the size of the magazine since the cost didn’t go up because of color
pages or adding stories.
AD: How do you juggle all of your duties with the magazine?
DJ: At times it’s tough with working on the magazine after a fullt ime job and family
to take care of. But it makes it worh it to know that people are looking at the
magazine every day and enjoying it. While I don’t get a chance to write short stories
like I use to, writing about books I love to read and having creative freedom with
developing the site is more than enough duties for me.
AD: Has anything come out of the success of the magazine?
DJ: Yes, many things have. The first is the Bloodfest events that we started a
couple of years after the magazine started as a way to celebrate the magazine and
Halloween. This October will be Bloodfest 7. Another event that we do is the
Institution of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction. We introduce fans to almost a live
version of the magazine where we have writers & artist show there art and do
readings. This year will be our third. AL has also started a series of workshops
involved in helping the upcoming writer get published and even guide people in self
publishing.
AD: How is it working with AL for all these years?
DJ: It has never been a dull moment. He always has ideas floating around and
looking for ways to promote, sell, distribute and improve the magazine. I have rarely
seen someone with his passion for his dream to put everything on the line. It can be
exhausting at times (HA HA).
AD: How would you describe your job at BMR?
DJ: First and foremost, I am the book reviewer. Second, the webmaster, third a
writer. Fourth, overall go to guy for most of AL’s ideas and projects. This could be
doing an interview for the magazine, assisting at the Bloodfest event (BMR’s
Halloween parties) or helping in a BMR video or movie.
AD: Where to you see BMR in the future?
DJ. Well, the Blood Moon Rising Magazine is getting an update look and plans to
be more fan friendly. We have a few new features so check them out. We continue
to have our events at the library such as Bloodfest, Institution of Horror Fantasy and
Science Fiction and workshops in writing and self publishing by our fearless leader
AL. We hope to find a way to get back to print soon because there is nothing better
to read with the item in your hands. We are venturing into the video field in the near
future with a couple of project in mind including a live version of Graveyard Cinema
and Come the Reaper, one of the first projects promoted by BMR.
AD: Thank you for speaking to the fans and giving us an peek inside of
BMR.
DJ: You’re welcome and thank you to the fans who have helped make BMR what it
is today and your support. We look to another ten years of giving you all that horror
has to offer.
for Blood Moon Rising Magazine about 10th Anniversary of
BMR
by Andrew Davis
D.W. Jones has been with Blood Moon Rising from the beginning and I
decided to sit down with him to get the inside look of his time with BMR,
how his role evolved and how the magazine made it ten years when many
fell.
A. Davis: How did you get involved with BMR?
D.W. Jones: Well, years ago while moving a cousin of mine, AL who was driving
the truck told me about a project he was doing and was wondering if I could help out
with it. The project was going to be a little horror magazine with artist, articles and
short stories. AL asked me to write a story to help get the magazine started. At first
I was reluctant but AL was so passionate about it so said I would do it.
AD: What did the first issue contain?
DJ: It had Blood Notes, a handful of stories, the creature feature section and
Bloody Comix, sort of the precursor to the Nightmare Gallery. What made it
different from some independent magazines in the same genre is that it had color.
Many of the magazines back then were only in black and white.
AD: What happened once the issue came out?
DJ: So the first issue came out and I thought this was the coolest. It was the first
time I saw something of mine in print. And people beside my family were actually
reading it? The issue itself was very simple but to me it was as good as any other
magazine. AL started selling by word of mouth and conventions. The first one was
a comics convention I Madison Square Garden.
AD: When did you begin reviewing books for the magazine?
DJ: Well AL coultdn’t leave the magazine as it was and was looking how to make
the magazine better. The first issue had only a couple of elements of horror. AL
approached me because he knew I read books and wanted to know if I would review
some of the books I read. So, I said okay since I was high off seeing my story
published in the first issue.
AD: How was the second issue different from the first?
DJ: It was not only different but better. Along with the new book review section,
there was the Written in Blood, Nightmare Gallery, Graveyard Cinema and the first
of many horror related articles entered into the magazine. This improved the
magazine because it cover more areas that horror genre touched.
AD: What made BMR different from similar magazines of the same content?
DJ: We were about giving the upcoming/new writer or artist a place to display their
art without having to be published somewhere else. Larger magazines and
publishing houses rarely published new writers, never mind unpublished writers. AL
felt that because of this, he wanted to help these writers and artist. This was
because of the hard time he had getting his foot in the door. This gave rise to our
slogan “the aspiring writers/artist showcase”.
AD: What was some of the biggest advances or pitfalls that BMR faced?
DJ: One of the biggest wins for BMR was to get a distributor. This automatically
meant that BMR would go from a distribution of selling by word of mouth to actually
being in bookstores. Many more people would know about the magazine and be
able to buy it. The biggest of the stores was Borders and Books A Million. These
were all up and down the east coast. This was also a pitfall. We went from printing
maybe a couple of hundred to over a thousand. We were working our of AL’s
apartment and it taxed our equipment severely.
AD: How did you take the magazine online?
DJ: It was another case of AL evolving the magazine to fit the situation. About four
years ago, after a couple of disasters, the economy slowing down, things were not
looking good for the magazine. But despite people around him telling him to close
up and limit his losses, AL suggested to me to put the magazine online through the
website. I just recently took over duties of overseeing the website, I was reluctant to
do it. But he insisted and wanted to keep it going for the fans of the magazine and
he wanted to keep his dream alive. I said okay, I would try and the first issue online
was Issue 31.
AD: Did fans accept the change from print to online?
DJ: Yes, surprisingly our fans followed us and I guess the price (free) I’m sure didn’
t hurt. One of the best things about being online was getting back to the thing that
helped us in the beginning. That was color and being online meant being all color.
This definitely helped the Nightmare Gallery part of the magazine. It also meant
increasing the size of the magazine since the cost didn’t go up because of color
pages or adding stories.
AD: How do you juggle all of your duties with the magazine?
DJ: At times it’s tough with working on the magazine after a fullt ime job and family
to take care of. But it makes it worh it to know that people are looking at the
magazine every day and enjoying it. While I don’t get a chance to write short stories
like I use to, writing about books I love to read and having creative freedom with
developing the site is more than enough duties for me.
AD: Has anything come out of the success of the magazine?
DJ: Yes, many things have. The first is the Bloodfest events that we started a
couple of years after the magazine started as a way to celebrate the magazine and
Halloween. This October will be Bloodfest 7. Another event that we do is the
Institution of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction. We introduce fans to almost a live
version of the magazine where we have writers & artist show there art and do
readings. This year will be our third. AL has also started a series of workshops
involved in helping the upcoming writer get published and even guide people in self
publishing.
AD: How is it working with AL for all these years?
DJ: It has never been a dull moment. He always has ideas floating around and
looking for ways to promote, sell, distribute and improve the magazine. I have rarely
seen someone with his passion for his dream to put everything on the line. It can be
exhausting at times (HA HA).
AD: How would you describe your job at BMR?
DJ: First and foremost, I am the book reviewer. Second, the webmaster, third a
writer. Fourth, overall go to guy for most of AL’s ideas and projects. This could be
doing an interview for the magazine, assisting at the Bloodfest event (BMR’s
Halloween parties) or helping in a BMR video or movie.
AD: Where to you see BMR in the future?
DJ. Well, the Blood Moon Rising Magazine is getting an update look and plans to
be more fan friendly. We have a few new features so check them out. We continue
to have our events at the library such as Bloodfest, Institution of Horror Fantasy and
Science Fiction and workshops in writing and self publishing by our fearless leader
AL. We hope to find a way to get back to print soon because there is nothing better
to read with the item in your hands. We are venturing into the video field in the near
future with a couple of project in mind including a live version of Graveyard Cinema
and Come the Reaper, one of the first projects promoted by BMR.
AD: Thank you for speaking to the fans and giving us an peek inside of
BMR.
DJ: You’re welcome and thank you to the fans who have helped make BMR what it
is today and your support. We look to another ten years of giving you all that horror
has to offer.
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