Down and Dirty Questions: Andrew Peloquin 1. If you had one image/idea to represent you, what would it be? -- The dark side of the moon. People usually only see the side that we show them, but there's so much that we never see. I love to delve into that darker side of humanity! 2. What s one theme you cover and explore within your writing? -- What's really going on behind it all. I love a quote that says, "There is no evil; there is only desire and what you will do to achieve it." I love getting into the things that take a character from "normal" down that road toward being "evil". 3. Pick one of your covers and tell us how that represents your book. Who did the cover? How was the experience? What was the planning like? -- The cover for The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer is the PERFECT cover. It encapsulates the dark tone of the book perfectly, but it looks like a "less than finished product". It's meant to be raw and rough, and that's a reflection of the character in the book. He's raw and rough, and there are bits missing from him--just like the cover. It was done by the amazing Alvi Story, and she came up with the concept almost entirely. I just added a few suggestions, and the result--as you can see--is AMAZING! 4. What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Easy? Why? -- Publishing is probably the hardest part of the writing process. It's easy to just sit down and put a story on paper, but "publishing" means packaging that story in a way that will appeal to people. That forces us writers to hone our craft so that the readers understand what we are trying to say and are interested in the way we say it. 5.. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you? -- I want readers to know that they will always get a good story, but with a glimpse at something deeper than the weapon-wielding, bad-ass character. It's not just about action, adventure, intrigue, and cool plots--there's more to it. | 6. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had? -- In Book 2 of The Last Bucelarii series, the main character encounters an ally that is paranoid schizophrenic. Writing that character and just putting whatever nonsense came into my mind was a whole lot of fun. At one point, the character says, "murder the purple chickens with the quill…" I've always wanted to say nonsense like that! 7. How do you title a book? Where does it come from? -- Coming up with a title is a challenge for me. I've come up with titles using name generators, and the titles give me ideas for where the story is going. At other times, the titles just pop into my head. Sometimes the titles are dual purpose, such as the title for the book "Blade of the Destroyer". That one has three meanings: a. He is the tool (blade) of the Destroyer (the evil god) b. He is a natural force of destruction, and the story centers on the blade that he wields c. He wields a cursed blade that feeds the evil god power with every life taken 8. What are your strongest abilities in writing? -- I think I do well with dialogue. I struggle with fight scenes, narrative, and the more emotional passages (as I think all writers do), as I tend to add more to try and communicate to the reader what I am feeling. But the dialogue usually flows pretty well. I can also paint vivid pictures for the reader to visualize when they read it. |
Stephen Cooney art
Name: R.J. Spears Via JEA: Books of the Dead series Sanctuary from the Dead Lord of the Dead Dead Man’s Land Indie-Published Forget the Zombies 1: Forget the Alamo Forget the Zombies 2: Forget Texas Forget the Zombies 3: Forget America Dark Matters A Monster in the Woods Shutterbug Down and Dirty Questions: 1. If you had one image/idea to represent you, what would it be? The triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity 2. What s one theme you cover and explore within your writing? Zombies, undead, and horror with a little bit of comedy thrown in. 3. Give us one (or 2) character (s) (tell us the book(s)) and tell us why you admire/hate/ love that person. Joel Hendricks - Books of the Dead series - He’s the main character in the series and rewarding watching him grow up. Grant - Forget the Zombies series - he is the main character in the series and I love his dark sarcastic wit. 4. Pick one of your covers and tell us how that represents your book. Who did the cover? How was the experience? What was the planning like? Sanctuary from the Dead - I designed the cover myself and went through 14 evolving designs before I finished up with the final. I learned a lot on this cover. I was inspired by the cover design of the book, Let the Right One In 5. What is publishing like? Is it difficult? Easy? Why? Publishing is both challenging and also easy. Writing is the most rewarding part, but it requires a lot of discipline. The publishing process requires more than just creativity, but also business skills. Marketing is a necessary evil. Plus you need a lot of fortitude. The indie publishing field is getting very saturated. It’s very challenging to get readers to discover your work. 6. In 10 years, what do you want readers to say about your work/you? I hope they say they’re reading my books. Then after that, I want them to say they’re enjoying them and want more. 7. What is the funniest writing experience you’ve had? On a dare, I wrote a story, edited it, made the cover, and published it in less than 8 hours. 8. How do you title a book? Where does it come from? I feel the title of a book must represent the genre and content of a book. With a series, it’s always good to have a common thread that carries throughout the books |