Catching up with James Curcio: Party at the World's End, the Fallen Cycle and Doing it Yourself

 

In our second Catching Up post, we meet again with James Curcio of Modern Mythology (see everything here: http://www.mythosmedia.net/) and he sketches out a quick note of current projects and struggles. Our interview from two years back on Occupy, Grey Aliens and HooDoo Engine can be found here: http://thermonuclearbar.blogspot.com/p/interviews.html . James is in very interesting period of focus and regrowth, so without further ado...



It's been sometime since TNB listeners have heard directly from you,what have been the high water marks of the last 2 years of writing/research? what are you working on now? where do you see your new projects leading?what's can we look forward to from you in the next few months?


James Curcio: The past two years have been the process of starting over in everything. I developed chronic health and pain issues that are probably going to be with me for the rest of my life. The interesting thing is it's gradually changed my perspective about pretty much everything as well, and a part of that is recognizing what a mad dash I was in to get material out. I partially blame the world we're living in now, there's such an emphasis on cranking out content that the actual quality of that content is rarely even a part of the discussion.

I've been working on building my illustration chops again, as it is seeming more realistic for me to illustrate my own graphic novels than find the right illustrator. That's been an incredibly humbling process also. I think the more you work and develop an eye or ear for things, the further you realize you have to go. That never ends.

I'm wrapping up the task of reworking Party at the Worlds End so it can serve as the first book of the Fallen Cycle- it's a project I've been working on for a decade now, with quite a few false starts, but I think this first installment will be a good one. It opens up the way to tell more tales. All of it is born from the desire to take urban fantasy but give it the consideration of literature.

So that's what I'm up to, and likely to be up to for a very long time. There are many sketchbooks full of notes and concept art for the Fallen Cycle.