Tattoo
Page 7
I am not a sociologist and I refuse to make assumptions as to body modification's popularity. I work with folks in their early twenties, and most of them are getting tattooed and pierced in ways that make a grizzled old man of forty shudder. Tongue piercings? Neck rings? Tattoos on your fingers?
What's driving this? When I ask that question, I just get shrugs. Shrugs. Seems to me that if you're going to get a tattoo or some other body augmentation, you should have a pretty damned good rationale for it.
But I digress. I would like to have a tattoo myself. But not something for anyone else to see. Something just for me. Something that signifies my return to writing and creativity. After reading "Tattoo," you should have a pretty good idea of what it is.
The discussions in this story regarding the tattoo community and the sociologists and psychologists who study it are real. The body modification movement has many in the academic world ecstatic because they can perform studies and speculate as to what has changed in our society and pontificate about the compulsions that drive individuals to engage in body augmentation.
The idea for the character of Pons Matal sprang from a conversation that occurred after I first podcasted my story "Canvas." Mr. Matal is a real person and one of the first shadowpublications.com patrons. He is not, in fact, completely covered in tattoos. Nor is he homicidal...that I know of. He's a jovial, supportive man who has only a few tatts. But after listening to "Canvas," he sent me a rather disturbing email.
The conversation in the story regarding the Korean War tattoo that was flayed from a corpse's back is real. Pons told me about the article he'd read. It immediately sparked an idea for a new fiend.
If you are familiar with shadowpublications.com, you'll know that my patrons end up in my stories. Since Pons sparked the idea for the fiend, I knew it would have his name. It's a memorable and unique moniker. Thus, it was perfect.
I tried to write Tattoo three times before I finally found my way into the story. In each of the failed cases, I tried to write the story from the fiend's point of view, but it wouldn't hold together. When I came upon the idea of telling the story from the vantage point of a reporter ignorant of the world of body art, the story not only found itself, but pounded out of my fingers in an absolute rush.
The story transformed from an idea about a deranged man to a discussion about identity and the culture of body art. Jackson's ignorance led him to question people and do what reporters should do--try and find the truth. The questions he asks in the story are those I asked Pons Matal and Joseph Cartwright. Mr. Cartwright is another tattooed fiendling who has shown great support for my work. Asking about the culture is perhaps the only way to comprehend it. Or at least attempt comprehension. Jackson provided the perfect vehicle to accomplish that task.
Nigel and his shop are creations of my imagination. There has been some outrage over the way I portrayed the "modern" tattoo studio as a smoke filled, dingy hole. I have also been taken to task for portraying tattoo artists as dope-smoking, foul-mouthed cretins.
My friend's wife is a tattoo artist. From my talks with her and my tattoed fiendlings, I know that Nigel is certainly an abhorrent caricature of the industry. However, I loved the idea of Nigel as a character and I have other plans for him beyond this story. His shop had to match his personality and so I went way over-the-top.
The modern tattoo studio is usually clean, sterile, well-lit, and free of drunk or stoned patrons, let alone the artists. As the real Pons Matal said of Nigel's studio: "You walk into a place like Nigel's, you walk out as fast as you can." Enough said.
The "Tattoo" podcast novella was a 2010 Parsec Award Finalist and is the story responsible for putting me on the map. I can't possibly offer Pons Matal enough gratitude for planting this story in my brain.
Acknowledgments
I have been fortunate to fall in with a great group of people and supporters who have made this book possible. There are far too many to thank by name.
To those of you in The Graveyard:
your financial assistance made this work possible.
To the podcasting community at large:
I owe you a debt of thanks that can never properly be repaid.
To my family:
You never gave up on my talents, even after I had. Thank you for pushing me, encouraging me, and giving me the faith in myself to succeed.
About the Author
A writer, podcaster, and software architect from Houston, Texas, Paul Elard Cooley has been writing since the age of 12. In 2009, he began producing free psychological thriller and horror podcasts, essays, and reviews available from Shadowpublications.com and iTunes.
His stories have been listened to by thousands and he has been a guest on such notable podcasts as Podioracket, John Mierau's "Podcast Teardown," The Dead Robots Society, Geek Out with Mainframe, Shadowcast Audio, and Vertigo Radio Live. In 2010, his short story Canvas and novella Tattoo were nominated for Parsec Awards. Tattoo became a Parsec Award finalist. He has collaborated with New York Times Bestselling author Scott Sigler on the series "The Crypt" as well as contributed his voice talents to a number of podiofiction productions.
For more information about this series, as well as current and upcoming projects, please visit Shadowpublications.com.
Contact the author:
Email: stories@shadowpublications.com
Twitter: twitter.com/paul_e_cooley
Facebook: facebook.com/paul.e.cooley
Tattoo
By
Paul Elard Cooley
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2011 by Paul Elard Cooley
www.shadowpublications.com
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States of America by
Blue Moose Press
ISBN: 978-1-936960-04-0