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Jason Sizemore has one of those senses of humor that it takes a while to get used to. I’m never really sure if what he’s asking me to do is serious, or if what he’s telling me is the whole truth… so when he told me - sotto voce - that Maurice Broaddus and Wrath James White wanted to talk about an orgy, I was kind of leery. On one hand, Maurice is a respected church leader; on the other, his nickname is The Sinister Minister. On one hand, Wrath looks like he could tear someone’s limbs from their body and beat them with it; on the other hand, I’ve seen a picture of Wrath cuddled up with his kid, looking for all the world like a giant teddy bear.

Jason could see my imagination drifting away in the oh-so-wrong direction, and pointed (electronically) to the cover of Maurice and Wrath’s absolutely hot novel, Orgy of Souls. I grin like an idiot and pretend I wasn’t having a nerd moment. The boss interrupts my fan-grrl moment to whisper warnings about the Yin and Yang that is this writing pair. I’m not to get too close, but close enough. No teasing, no taunting, no poking with sticks (sharp or otherwise) and absolutely, positively – no soul swapping. At that point, Jason signed off, chuckling in that creepy old man way he can have. I kinda like my soul where it is, and now names like ‘sinister’ and ‘wrath’ are starting to worry me. Was I walking into a bear-sized trap?? I almost balked - The Boss asked me to put these two on a rack and grill them with the hard-hitting (more likely nonsensical) questions; I had to oblige. Resistance is futile, and all that.

Besides, what woman in her right mind (or out of it, as my case may be) wouldn’t want to strap these two fetching young men to a rack and.. wait, what? Married? Damn!

So, once more, into the breach!

Questions for both authors:

Jodi Lee: Having had an early preview of Orgy of Souls, I have to say I was blown away by the stark realities of both points of view. Was it hard for the two of you to write together, to create such a dynamic pair?

Maurice Broaddus: Not really. The key to any good collaboration is to figure out who is the larger writer. I don’t mean who’s the bigger name, I mean who literally towers over whom. They get to set the rules.

It’s easier to work with people you already have a pretty good relationship with if you’re both good communicators. We just set up some initial ground rules (which Wrath broke immediately) and went back and forth. As we got more comfortable with the story and each other, we took more chances. It’s no accident that the two leads are brothers. As surprised as most people are that Wrath and I are friends, at our cores, we’re actually very similar.

Wrath James White: The characters of Samuel and Samson are as dichotomous as Maurice and I. It was easy to write the characters because there was so much of us in each character. There was some of me in both Samuel and Samson. This was a character driven story so staying true to each character kept us true to the story and precluded any ideological posturing that might have otherwise murdered any semblance of realism.

JL: Are there any glimpses of your personalities in the characters? If so, which one, and why?

MB: Write what you know, and all that. Obviously the beautiful, highly paid male model is based on my personal experience. I’ve been working on getting Wrath out of his shell more.

However, if you mean, for example, does Samuel’s faith and inner struggles mirror my own? I’d have to say yes. Constant reflection and questioning is key to how I practice my faith (and, ironically, how I imagine Wrath’s inner workings go also).

WJW: The hedonism of Samson comes directly from me. I am indeed a man of the flesh. But I don’t have as much faith as Samson. Samson is angry at God. I don’t believe such a being exists. I also used a lot of my experiences growing up in the fashion industry. My mother was a runway model. I did my first modeling job at age twelve. I never really took it serious though. Samson is sort of my nightmare of what life might have been like had I pursued a modeling career. Not that I thought I was anywhere near as pretty as Samson, ruggedly handsome maybe. I turned a few heads in my younger days.

JL: What was it like, working on such a raw, emotional, hot-button of a topic in Orgy of Souls? Did either of you have any reservations at all?

WJW: Controversy is the climate in which I thrive. I have few reservations about any topic.

MB: Seriously, Wrath had more reservations than I did. Well, let me put it another way, Wrath had reservations for me. He was curious how far I’d be willing to go, as a church leader, in telling the story that we tell. And if I’d face any backlash. I figure anyone who picked up and read a book with the words “Orgy of Souls” as its title and a blood splattered cross on the cover…well, let’s just say I couldn’t imagine too many folks who’d object to the material picking it up in the first place. And if they do, complain all you want … just be sure to link to the book.

JL: When can we see something new and equally disturbing from both of you? Any plans on working together again?

MB: I suspect that we both have a lot of work (and even other collaborations) keeping us busy for a long while. And Mr. Leisure Book Deal soon won’t have time for us little folks anymore. Actually, we’re always working together, even if it’s just coordinating how we can help each other out with whatever we are working on.

WJW: We have no immediate plans to work together but I’m sure this won’t be the last.

JL: Wrath, any truth to the rumor that you ‘offered’ to take Jason to the ring, and Maurice, were you to administer last rights if he didn’t take Orgy of Souls? ;) (obligatory poke fun at my boss question)

MB: If by last rites you mean “What’s that about our royalties? Kick his ass … in Jesus’ name” then absolutely.

WJW: No comment.

Questions I asked Wrath:

JL: You’ve done several collaborations as well as solo works. How was it different working with Maurice on Orgy of Souls?

WJW: What was unusual working with Maurice was not knowing how far he would be willing to go. With Monica, J.F. Gonzalez, and Lee I knew that there were no limits. With Maurice I wasn’t sure and I don’t think he knew either. I think we were both pleasantly surprised.

JL: For those of us who’ve become addicted to your style, what have you got coming out in the coming months?

WJW: Population Zero is coming out in October from Cargo Cult Press and the mass-market release of Succulent Prey is scheduled for December.

JL: You’ve become known for your Gross-Out stories. Any plans on attending WHC 09 and having a go at the next round?

WJW: I’m officially retired from the Gross-out contest. I’ll leave it to the next generation.

JL: I heard another rumor, Wrath - do you really settle theological differences via the ever popular atomic wedgie?

WJW: No comment.

Questions I asked Maurice:

JL: Did you have any reservations about the theme of Orgy of Souls?

MB: I firmly believe in serving the story first. I do what I have to do in order to tell the best story I can. Even when I wasn’t sure where the story was going (read: me - “Wrath, what the hell are you doing?”; Wrath - “Don’t worry, man, I got this.”; me - “You better. I don’t want to be fired from the church. How’s that gonna look on a resume: ‘hmm, looks like Jesus got tired of your behind and kicked you off his team.’” — and, wow, was that a long digression. Good luck editing this.), I had confidence in my writing partner.
(note from Jodi: I didn’t edit that digression out. Digressions are good! That’s where the juicy bits are…)

JL: Was Wrath your first collaborative partner, or have you had others?

MB: Wrath was my second collaboration. I have an unpublished tale co-written with Chesya Burke that we wrote for laughs and to see if we were as good as we claimed to be (she had just won the flash fiction contest at World Horror Convention 2004 and I had won it’s short story contest. Coincidently, Wrath in his continuing bid to be the Susan Lucci of the WHC Gross Out contest, came in second place that year). I’m also working on a sword and sorcery novel with Steve Shrewsbury.

JL: What was the reaction to the book, in your community? Did hosting Mo*Con at your church help introduce people to the ‘normal’ side of horror writers?

MB: I refer to Mo*Con as my on-going experiment in trying to get fired from the church. Not much that I do shocks anyone anymore. I suspect it’s because I don’t have the title “pastor” or “elder” otherwise, I’d be creating quite the crapstorm with some of my antics. Also, I use Mo*Con, on the congregation side, to let folks put their money where they mouths are. If we’re truly a community who loves people, let them (us) demonstrate our faith by loving everyone who comes through the doors. I think the congregation is kind of let down that horror writers are as normal as they are.

JL: Maurice, does Wrath have a soul, and if so - did he really give it to you for safekeeping? What have you done to it?

MB: Sh! Don’t let him know that he has one. I keep it safe in a little chest on my dresser. Every morning I stroke it while muttering “My Precious”.

JL: I’m rather glad I followed Jason’s breadcrumb trail into this bear’s den; I love the writers with senses of humor and mysterious, short silences… It was a pleasure getting to know you both a little better. Thank you, Maurice and Wrath, for taking the time to answer my questions. I can’t say I won’t tell anyone your secrets, because, well – I just did. It was certainly fun… and again, because it can’t be said enough: thank you for the Orgy!

The horror novella Orgy of Souls is now available in the Apex store or in the Apex Amazon store.