One of the most unexpected (and wonderful) attributes about being in critique groups is the extended network of fascinating people that I’ve met. Richard Lamb is a great example. Writer, editor, and designer, he’s not only ridiculously talented, he’s also a ton of fun to hang out with and a fascinating in-person storyteller with the sort of easygoing sense of humor that I envy. Also, he designed the cover for Emil, which is all kinds of awesome.

Let’s get to the questions!

Question 1

In your Substacks Autistic All Along and The Hermit Crab, you dive into topics that are both intensely personal and extremely helpful. That’s a difficult line to tread, and one that many writers (including myself) struggle with. Can you talk a bit about the challenges – or pleasures – of reaching into your own life to find stories that people connect to? Is there a particular quality that you look for in your stories, something that you know will help create common ground?

The most important things I try to inject into my posts are honesty, humor and humility. I’m very open and upfront about who I am, flaws and all. I can discuss both the highs and lows of my life with equal bluntness. And honestly, I think the autism, one of those very subjects I like to write about, has a lot to do with those things. There are times when my wife, who is my primary editor, has to rein me in because I’ve been a little too honest and direct! [editor’s note, Richard’s wife is none other than Margaret Dempsey]

We all have common ground with each other in various ways, and it’s always encouraging when someone comments that I have captured how they feel or what they’ve experienced. And sometimes you just need someone to come along and say ‘look, I’m ridiculous, are you ridiculous too?’ I think people respond to that level of openness.

People also respond to humor. The internet is full of content creators who take themselves way too seriously, or are only interested in making themselves sound bigger, better, or faster than they are. I have no desire for self-aggrandizement. I’m a screw-up and that’s okay.

Question 2

Writing a regular feature brings its own kind of pressure. Substack isn’t quite as unforgiving as writing for a newspaper, but there still is some pressure to produce. How do you deal with that feeling of having to create something? So many people I’ve talked to feel that deadlines are in direct opposition to creativity. Do you agree, or are they more invigorating than terrifying?

I’ve always hated deadlines, even if they do motivate me to get stuff finished. Maybe because they do. But the worst deadlines are the ones you impose on yourself. I do tend to criticize myself if I haven’t put out a new post for a week. In fact, I’ve had a very dry spell lately, but that is really down to autistic burnout and the lack of creativity that comes with it. Incidentally, I’ve written about that!

The thing about Substack is that you have the option to monetize your writing, but it is just an option. I haven’t decided to go down the monetizing path yet because I feel like that would just increase the pressure on myself to produce regular posts. I probably wouldn’t make much money anyway since both my readers are happy I’m a freebie.

Question 3

I’m fascinated by different types of creativity. I feel like a lot of people understand writing or painting or sculpture, but the challenge of creating an anthology is something completely new to me. You didn’t create just one anthology, but four (And Midnight Never Come, Terror By Gaslight: Memorial Edition, Things that Wait in the Dark, and Victorian Tales of Terror), all from a collection of horror stories you inherited from your father, Hugh Lamb. What kind of process is that? Is it similar to writing, where you’re looking for plot points and complementary themes?

My father was a renowned anthologist of Victorian ghost stories. He unearthed stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. These stories were previously published in periodicals or small press editions and my father collected them and republished them to new audiences in over 30 books. He reintroduced readers to several authors who had been forgotten but are now to be found in many other anthologies. So if there is a theme, it is the period that these stories are from and the supernatural nature of them.

Originally, I decided to republish one of my father’s original books from the 70s, Victorian Tales of Terror. He had just passed away and I was looking for a way to memorialize him. So I took the book, and added a story that he had originally planned to put in the anthology (removed for the page count). So my version was the version that he had always planned. It did so well that I decided to take the follow-up to that anthology, which was called Terror by Gaslight, and republish it as a memorial edition. This time I added three stories that he had kept in his notes but never published in any of his anthologies. This is what gave me the bug, and I made the decision the following year to publish a brand new anthology, in his name, with a mix of stories that he had left behind and stories that I sourced myself.

So, creating these anthologies is 80% research. It’s like treasure hunting. When I was a child I would spend hours in musty old book shops with my father while he looked for rare and unheard of short stories to bring back to the light. Nowadays there is so much material online in digital libraries that I never have to leave my chair. It’s a less dusty endeavor, but it does lack that charm of dimly lit bookshops, with shafts of light revealing just how dusty they are! And I was asthmatic! What was he thinking?

Question 4

One of my favorite things about being a writer is interacting with readers. These days, that interaction is easier than ever before. How about you? Any fun (or funny) stories you can share?

I’d like to say that I have a wide variety of amusing stories about interacting with my readers, but the truth is I’m not the most interactive guy on the planet. I am autistic, after all. And so are most of my readers.

I can tell you that I have really enjoyed the community of neurodivergent readers I’ve discovered on Substack, many of whom are also writers, and the small interactions we have.

Question 5

Moving away from writing for a moment, you’re also an accomplished cover designer (Inspired Lamb Design). Cover design is a weirdly intense collaborative process. The author (or at least this one) typically has both strong feelings about and an incomplete view of the finished project. Where do you land on that kind of collaboration?

Yes, cover design can be slightly different to other design jobs, in its collaboration between client and designer. I think this is mostly down to the fact that it’s one of those few instances where you are creating something for someone who is also creative. I’m also a web designer and often someone running a business simply wants you to design something for them and leaves you to make the design decisions.

Authors are going to want much more input into the design than someone less creative. And that’s okay. They’ve just spent all this time writing the book. They’re going to be heavily invested in that visual first impression. I try to be sensitive to that. Yes, there are times when you just want to say ‘that idea is not going to work’, but it’s better to explain why it won’t work and then suggest something that might, but reflects the same approach. Then they will come back with another variation, and so it goes. It’s a bit like haggling.

Question 6

I always end with the same last question. Any projects you can tell us about? Anything on the horizon we can look forward to?

Well, more posts on Autistic All Along, for sure. I’ve also started working on a book about discovering my autism and how it has affected both my present and my view of the past.

Possibly a new anthology in the near future. I have some stories collected.

I also have screenplays that I wrote many years ago and really want to come back to and put out there again. Back in 2008 I won a BAFTA new writing contest for a screenplay. It’s a father and son road trip movie, with supernatural elements and my usual fatuous humor. For some reason, over the years I have found it so hard to simply start sending it out there again. But I’m working on that. Honest.

Thanks, Richard! This has been absolutely fascinating. I look forward to following your articles on Autistic All Along!

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