Jeff Mariotte, novelist and writer of the comics series Desperadoes
(among others), was just recently nominated for Stoker Award by the Horror
Writers Association. Scoop talked with Mariotte this week to find out
what it’s all about.

Scoop: How does the nomination process work for
the Stoker awards?
Jeff Mariotte: All year, members of the Horror Writers
Association recommend books that catch their interest. After the mid-February
deadline for the previous year’s work, books with a set minimum number of
recommendations are put onto a preliminary ballot. Active members of the HWA get
to vote on the preliminary ballot (as opposed to the recommendations, which can
come from members at any level of the organization), selecting what they believe
should be on the final ballot. A Stoker jury can also add significant works that
they feel should be on the ballot.

In this case, the first two Witch
Season books, Summer and Fall, both had the recommendations
necessary to make the preliminary ballot. When the voting was tabulated,
however, only Fall made the final ballot.

Scoop: Were you
surprised when you found out you’d been nominated?
JM: I was a member of
HWA until recently, so I knew that I was on the preliminary ballot. Given the
number of recommendations the books received, I knew there was a good chance I’d
wind up on the final ballot. But I didn’t know the final ballot had been
tabulated and released until I got a few congratulatory e-mails, so that was a
pleasant surprise.

Scoop: When are the awards announced?
JM:
The HWA holds a Stoker weekend event, this year in late June in Los Angeles.
I’ll be wrapping up a cross-country trip with my family so won’t be able to make
it this year, unfortunately, but I’ll be waiting anxiously for the
results.

Scoop: What else are you working on?
JM: I’m not sure
yet if I’m supposed to reveal the novel project I’m in the middle of right

now–but rest assured, it’s something that will be of great interest to the
comic book community, when I can talk about it. My next book to be released, a
little later this month, will be Andromeda: The Attitude of Silence, an
original novel based on the Gene Roddenberry TV series. I’ve recently wrapped up
a trilogy of young adult novels set in the world of Conan, part of a series of
“Hyborian Adventures” trilogies that flesh out his world a bit
without using Conan himself as a main character (although he gets a guest
appearance in my trilogy). Comics-wise, the last couple of issues of
Desperadoes: Banners of Gold are about to be released, and my post-TV
series Angel miniseries, The Curse, launches in June. There are a
couple of other projects in various stages, which I can announce a bit later on.
So I’m plenty busy.