P.R.O.B.E.: Out of the Shadows: An Interview with James Wylder

P.R.O.B.E. Range Editor James Hornby spoke with author James Wylder about his story in P.R.O.B.E.: Out of the Shadows. Available to purchase on Amazon. P.R.O.B.E. © BBV Productions, used under license.

Q: How did you get involved with P.R.O.B.E.: Out of the Shadows?
A: Oh geez, well that's a long story. The short version is that James Hornby and Hunter O'Connell brought the idea of doing P.R.OB.E. to me, and asked if Arcbeatle Press would be interested in working on it. I helped develop the project, and decided pretty quickly it'd be very fun to write a story for it. Writing two (well, three if you count the tiny prologue...) stories for it wasn't even on the horizon then! Along with Genevieve Clovis, Hornby, and O'Connell, we put together the new P.R.O.B.E team members, and I made Maxie Masters as my contribution to the line up. She's a fun lady.

Q: What can the audience expect to see from your stories in Out of the Shadows?
A: Readers can expect to find a wide variety of memorable feelings: from quiet beauty to grotesque horror, I hope to bring you images and characters who will stick with you. You have some exciting stuff to look forward to, including getting to learn more about Maxie from P.R.O.B.E., a team member I'm very fond of. Oh--you'll also be in for a big treat if you're a fan of Arthurian myth. Get excited if so.
My second story is going to be a treat if you're a fan of character drama and... waiting in airports? Ha, that one is harder to describe, but its very special. I think readers will be surprised by both of them in different ways!

Q: How did you find the writing process?
A: It was both very easy and very hard, ha, I know it sounds like a ridiculous answer, but during the depths of lockdown I really struggled to get my story "A Honeycomb of Souls" finished while juggling all my other responsibilities. Which, well, I was very much not alone in struggling, so at least I wasn't alone. Once things got stable though, Honeycomb went very quickly.
"Nowhere Women" was... different lol. But I'll talk about that more later.

Q: What are you most proud of about your stories?
A: I'm really proud of a character in "A Honeycomb of Souls" that you'll get to meet--I'm very excited for readers to learn about her, and I am crossing my fingers that fan art gets made of her. She's very cool, and I hope people like her.
"Nowhere Women" was a surprise, as it wasn't originally planned as part of the anthology, but a writer drop with the pandemic, followed by some strange and boring stuff with the length of the book, meant we needed another story. The idea for it suddenly hit me, I'd been thinking about doing more with Brittany Mordley from Cyberon as she ended being a favorite of both readers and myself, and for some reason that merged with my many memories of waiting in airports. "Nowhere Women" is probably my standout piece of the two, and was one of those stories that came together remarkably quickly. It just flowed out of me, like it was tying to catch a flight itself and needed to hurry. I think you're in for something special with that one.

Q: Where else can we find your work?
A: You can check out my patreon, where I post most of my stuff these days, right here: http://www.patreon.com/jameswyder
I also putter around on twitter at @arcbeatle

P.R.O.B.E.: Out of the Shadows is available to purchase on Amazon.
Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMB1J6V
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HQ7FDCQ