David S. Grant and Emotionless Souls

I hadn't heard much about transgression fiction prior to coming in contact with author David S. Grant. David is the author of Corporate Porn and the novella, The Last Breakfast. His rock and drug fueled novels Beach and Blackout are now available as a double novel through Offense Mechanisms, an imprint of Silverthought Press. His latest release is the short story collection Emotionless Souls.

Synopsis: Disaffected tourists idle through the streets and bars of Paris and Dublin. Office workers suspect each other of stealing cocaine at the Christmas party. Human Resource officers interview the stripper they frequent for a position in the firm (or at least they think it’s that stripper). Pickpockets get pick-pocketed. Nobodies stage emergencies to save the day. Mediocre porn stars murder their co-stars to increase DVD rentals. Executives drop Ecstasy during the board meeting and realize their affection for the touch of their supervisor’s shirt. Comics drop shrooms in the restaurant’s sauce to get laughs from even the toughest of Monday night crowds.

I asked David to explain what transgression fiction is, since I figured if I didn't know much about it, others might not know either. Here's what he had to say.

"Transgressive Fiction is not an easy genre to define. Satire combined with taboo topics combined with social commentary combined with shock combined with those dark secrets we all have that nobody wants to talk about. For me personally, it's more of getting to the souls of my characters with no detours. Why start with hair color? Instead, go right for the closet and pull out a horrifying skeleton. This is going to tell you much more than knowing "Dale is wearing oversized glasses". You don't need an author to tell you what someone looks like. If there is a character that is sexually abusing women, then injecting them with amphetamines, in your head you know what this person looks like. You just don't want to talk about it.

For me, the enjoyment of writing this type of fiction is to find balance in the characters. The mundane conversations, humorous stereotypes, and the everyday get out of bed and go to work mix that all can relate to with a twist. The situation often determines the plot. Homeless CEO is a tale about a man living in the gutter, and finding a way to pull himself out, only to get thrown back down by society. Open Mic Night details a struggling comic who finds an interesting way to make people laugh. Lucy's Place asks the question "What if you went out partying, blackout, and wake up in Idaho?" Some of my stories make you laugh, others will make you scratch your head and nod, and others you will not want to talk about.

Emotionless Souls, my collection of short stories centered around the lowest of morals, is my latest project. All twenty stories stand on their own yet the characters face many of the same challenges; finding themselves down and then achieving redemption in unconventional ways. White Christmas is a story of stolen drugs and the quest across the room to confront the thief. Open Door Policy, Clubbing, and Gag are violent takes on fitting in within the cubicle world through unravelling many of the people we sit next to every day. Money Shot focuses on the adult movie industry and the importance of finding you niche. These stories, plus fifteen others will take the reader to a very dark, but real place. You know you want to read it, you just may not want to talk about it."

You can find David on the web at http://www.davidsgrant.com and http://www.myspace/davidsgrant


EMOTIONLESS SOULS VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on May 1, 2008 and continue all month. If you would like to follow David's tour in progress, visit http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in May. Leave a comment at any of his blog stops and become eligible to win a free copy of Emotionless Souls at the end of his tour! One lucky winner will be announced on this tour page on May 30!


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