{"id":24675,"date":"2018-02-23T08:39:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T13:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/?p=24675"},"modified":"2018-03-02T14:25:57","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T19:25:57","slug":"gobble-fried-green-tomatoes-with-thomas-f-monteleone-in-episode-60-of-eating-the-fantastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/2018\/02\/23\/gobble-fried-green-tomatoes-with-thomas-f-monteleone-in-episode-60-of-eating-the-fantastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Gobble fried green tomatoes with Thomas F. Monteleone in Episode 60 of Eating the Fantastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I don&#8217;t know which meal you&#8217;re getting ready for wherever you happen to be, but here at Eating the Fantastic world headquarters, it&#8217;s time for lunch at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mountainbranch.com\/-about-the-grill-and-pub\">Mountain Branch Grille &#038; Pub<\/a> with Thomas F. Monteleone, a five-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, who\u2019s published more than 100 stories since his first one appeared in <em>Amazing<\/em> back in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>My first fictional encounter with him, though, wasn&#8217;t until 1975, when his first novel, <em>Seeds of Change<\/em>, became the debut title for the famed (or infamous, depending on how you look at it) Laser Books science fiction line, and in this episode you\u2019ll get to hear all about the serendipity which made that sale happen.  <\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s accomplished so much since those early sales that last year, the Horror Writers Association honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He&#8217;s also a highly opinionated guy, as is proven by his ongoing no-holds-barred column The Mothers And Fathers Italian Association, a collection of which won the 2003 Bram Stoker Award for Non-Fiction &#8230;and is also proven by this episode.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-24678\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ThomasFMonteleoneEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We discussed the tricks he teaches to transform writers at his famed Borderlands Bootcamp, the 200+ rejections he received before he finally made his first fiction sale, how Theodore Sturgeon helped him realize it was possible for him to become a writer, why he ended up as a horror icon after his big start in science fiction, which horror writers you want on your team when you&#8217;re choosing sides for softball, the reason his live readings have become legendary, how Peter Straub reacted when Tom put him on his list  of most overrated writers, how a challenge from Damon Knight changed his life, and much more.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/eatingthefantastic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2-300x59.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"59\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2-300x59.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2.jpg 522w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to join us for some shrimp and grits&#8212;<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>1) Subscribe at  <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796\">the iTunes store<\/a>, where you&#8217;ll also find all 59 previous episodes.<\/p>\n<p>2) Use the show&#8217;s RSS feed of <a href=\"http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss\">http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss<\/a> and listen to the episode on the device of your choice.<\/p>\n<p>3) Or simply check it via the embed below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/6293238\/height\/240\/width\/480\/theme\/legacy\/autonext\/no\/thumbnail\/yes\/autoplay\/no\/preload\/no\/no_addthis\/no\/direction\/backward\/\" height=\"240\" width=\"480\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what Tom  and I shared as we chatted over lunch&#8212;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Cream of potato bacon soup<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-24677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SoupMountainBranch-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Fried green tomatoes<\/strong><br \/>\nblackeyed pea salad, smoked tomato mayo, and crisp Virginia country ham bits <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-24676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FriedGreenTomatoesMountainBranch-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Shrimp and grits<\/strong><br \/>\nsmoked gouda stone-ground grits, tasso ham gravy<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-24679\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ShrimpandGritsMountainBranch-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And&#8212;as promised in the episode&#8212;here&#8217;s Tom giving one of his legendary live readings, which I captured several years ago at a World Fantasy Convention.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e3md2et2Lyc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this episode and would like  to support my mission to break bread with creators of the fantastic while letting you take a seat at the table, there are several ways you can help&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>First of all&#8212;tell your friends about it! There&#8217;s no better advertisement than word of mouth.  If you know anyone you think might like the show but you don\u2019t believe has heard of it yet, send them a link and share what I\u2019m doing here.<\/p>\n<p>You could also  <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796\">rate Eating the Fantastic on iTunes<\/a>  and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eatingthefantastic\/?fref=ts\">like it on Facebook<\/a>, since the more ratings and likes the show gets, the more likely it is online analytics will bring this podcast to the attention of potential new listeners who are looking for science fiction, fantasy, and horror ear candy.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019d like to become even more involved, there are three more substantial ways you can support this show. I have  expenses such as equipment, bandwidth, parking, the shuttling of guests between hotels and convention centers to and from restaurants, the gas I put in my car if I&#8217;m driving them myself, and, yes, the meals which loosen the tongues of those guests, so any monetary contribution you feel up to sending my way to help cover those and other associated costs would be appreciated.<\/p>\n<p>To do this, you could make a small recurring monthly donation over at  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/eatingthefantastic\">Patreon<\/a>, where there are various perks involved depending on your level of support, such as access to a patrons-only blog, getting a shout-out on the show, stickers, postcards, and more. In fact, just this week I\u2019ve been mailing out the latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/posts\/behold-latest-16554728\">limited edition postcard<\/a>, which features the photos of all 2017 guests.<\/p>\n<p>But if an ongoing level of commitment\u2019s not for you, or if Patreon\u2019s just not your thing, then consider tossing a couple of bucks in the tip jar instead and making a one-time donation of any size via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.me\/eatingthefantastic\">Paypal.me<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>And I recently added a <em>new<\/em> way you can support the show \u2014 by buying me a cup of coffee. Head on over to <a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic<\/a> and you can send me the funds to cover the cost of a cup of joe&#8212;though to tell you the truth, it\u2019ll more likely go to buying dessert for one of my guests. It\u2019s a new way to fund creators, and&#8212;because I can\u2019t afford to do this alone \u2014 I plan on trying them all until I find the one that\u2019s right for you.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you&#8217;ll join me  two weeks from now when I chat with David Mack&#8212;no, not <em>that<\/em> David Mack, the <em>other<\/em> David Mack&#8212;the prolific novelist whose latest book <em>The Midnight Front<\/em> crosses Harry Potter with WWII.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks as always for listening!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don&#8217;t know which meal you&#8217;re getting ready for wherever you happen to be, but here at Eating the Fantastic world headquarters, it&#8217;s time for lunch at the Mountain Branch Grille &#038; Pub with Thomas F. Monteleone, a five-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, who\u2019s published more than 100 stories since his first one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[732,49,834],"class_list":["post-24675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-eating-the-fantastic","tag-food","tag-thomas-f-monteleone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24675"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24772,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24675\/revisions\/24772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}