By Anthony Bottan
If you're willing and not afraid of the extraordinary, he can take you there in his new science-fiction fantasy story, "Feelings of the Flesh."
The 29-year-old Valley Stream author is celebrating his first published story, which will be in the British science-fiction magazine, Interzone, set to hit the U.K. stands on Sept. 6. Cohen describes the novelette as a story that dramatizes the "clash between desire and instinct."
Cohen, who is a Valley Stream South graduate, has been in love with fantasy fiction novels since he was 11. He said he began reading books like "The Hardy Boys" when he was in third grade, which in turn sparked his interest in fanstasy comic books. He has been addicted ever since.
"I started reading these books like a crackhead does crack," Cohen said.
As a child, Cohen indulged in epic fantasy novels, so much that he wanted to live in these fantasy worlds. Since that wasn't possible, Cohen decided to write his own stories, where he created the world for characters to live in. When he was 20 years old, Cohen began writing his novelette while working as an assistant editor at the fantasy magazine, "Realms of Fantasy."
Cohen, who has a Bachelor's degree in English from Hofstra University, realized that the best chance for him to become a successful writer was to get insight on his work from established fantasy writers. So he thought who better to critique the rough draft of his novelette than his favorite fantasy author, Dan Simmons.
Cohen found Simmons at the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop, a six-week program in New Hampshire hosted by award-winning editor Jeanne Cavelos. Writers who want into the workshop must apply and be selected to attend. Cohen was lucky to be one of the chosen ones, but realized once in the program it was going to be an intense six weeks.
"It's a brutal reality check once you set out to be a writer," he said.
Even though Cohen had his work shredded during a critique session at the workshop, he is grateful for the review because it taught him out to handle criticism.
"Ninety-nine out of 100 times," he said, "the list of things people didn't like about your story is always longer than the list of things they like."
The workshop helped Cohen craft and develop characters for his stories. He said he learned to stay away from the clichés and instead re-draw ideas that add his perspective. Many fantasy authors were simply trying to emulate fantasy writers like J.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin.
After the workshop ended, Cohen decided to send his re-worked story to several science-fiction fantasy publications. Though he received some "encouraging rejections," it did not deter Cohen from forging ahead and finding a publication for his story. He finally received a response from the assistant editor of the British fantasy magazine Interzone. Unfortunately, his gratification was ephemeral at best. The assistant editor wanted to make several changes to Cohen's story, some that Cohen did not agree with.
After several re-writes and two years of his life dedicated to the story, Cohen finally got an e-mail from the publisher of Interzone, Andy Cox, saying they would run his story in the Sept. 6 issue.
"I sat there at my computer and read the e-mail about five times," Cohen said. "I never worked on a story as hard as I did this one."
Cohen's passion for fantasy writing has led him to begin his next project, "a vast sprawling epic," which is set during the era of King Arthur. The book's tentative title is "The Stones of Camelot." Cohen hopes to take the world he created in "Feelings of the Flesh" and convert it into a novel. Until then, Cohen continues to write and create worlds for his readers to live in.
"This is my passion," he said. "I can't think of a better way to make a living than creating these stories."
If you would like an advanced copy of "Feelings of the Flesh" before it hit stands in America, go to www.ttapress.com.
