 |
Question & Answer
Q: Why this particular photo?
A: I'm uncomfortable in front of the camera, despite having photographers for parents, but I wanted to have an author's photo out there. I've always liked
seeing what the authors looked like after I've enjoyed their books. So I compromised by hiding behind a tree and those salal bushes.
Q: Are you excited about publishing your first book?
A: Nah, not a bit. Duh! Of course! Who wouldn't be? (laughs)
Q: Where do your ideas come from?
A: Anywhere. Everywhere. Actually, a lot of my short stories come from dreams I've had, some of them almost perfectly intact. I have very crazy,
interesting dreams. But my long stories and novels usually start with a large seed - the first 50 pages or so - springing intact from an alternate universe.
Then all I have to do is have the patience to follow the characters as they live out their lives and document what happens.
Q: I understand that the first half of your second book, Daigu, was actually written before any of the first book, Blood Cult. How did that come about?
A: Daigu is one that sprang nearly fully formed. I wrote the first 60 pages in one weekend. Then it stalled out for a long time, mostly because I didn't
dedicate the time to working on it. One day I was kinda-sorta working on it and Lamia - a main character in Blood Cult, but a latecomer in Daigu - makes a
reference to the 'Blood Cult.' That phrase totally caught my imagination, and the next day I sat down and wrote the first 78 pages of Blood Cult. Because
the timeline sets Blood Cult before Daigu I made that my primary project and set Daigu onto the back burner. But the third book, Desert Wanderer, is set
eons before either of the first two, so chronology-wise the whole trilogy is kind of screwy.
Q: So you obviously have plans for at least several more books after Blood Cult.
A: Oh, yes. Several might be an understatement. Once I dedicate myself to a project I tend to go full-force until I completely burn out, and my current
'project' - actually my life's first love - is being a writer. So I don't foresee getting burned out anytime soon. Actually, besides the Chronicles of the
Elvestra trilogy I also have a collection of short stories, a children's book, and two other novels in the works.
Q: It sounds like the Elvestra trilogy is not a true 'trilogy' in the usual sense.
A: I suppose not. Chronicles really does describe it better. But it is a trilogy in the sense that the stories are intertwined and the same characters show
up. But you could pick up any one of the three and it would make perfect sense by itself, and you could read them in any order.
Q: You don't talk much about what you do besides being a writer. Why is that?
A: I think it's unfortunate that in our corporate world, people are identified by the jobs they do rather than what kind of people they are. I've had a lot of
different jobs, but no one of them comprises all of who I am. Being an elementary-school teacher is the closest to being 'who I am' besides being a writer,
even though I haven't worked in a school in several years.
Q: What do you hope your readers get from your books?
A: Primarily I just want them to get enjoyment from the story. I'm not trying to be the next Agatha Christie or Stephen King, although I wouldn't mind it
(laughs). But I really believe that stories reflect real life if you look under the surface, so I hope my readers might come away with something the way I've
done with other writers.
Q: Who would you consider your 'primary influences?'
A: Hmm... Laura Ingalls Wilder and C.S. Lewis were huge in my younger life. You can only image what Narnia did for an imagination like mine. Later,
Stephen King came and went, and came again. Many of his books - the Tower series, The Stand, Rose Madder - did for me as an adult what Narnia did
for me as a youngster. I reread his books whenever I'm in a slump or just want to escape my own brain for awhile. And yes, I am a huge Harry Potter fan.
I love that if you read the H.P. series back to back, you can literally watch J.K. Rowling's writing and storytelling skills grow exponentially. But there's so
many authors I love it's hard to name them all - Madeleine L'Engle, Anne McCaffrey, Dean Koontz, and on and on.
Q: Who are your 'biggest fans?'
A: Mainly my sister. She's really the only person in my family who reads 'my kind' of writing - fantasy and all that.
Q: Your stories often seem to involve languages other than English. Are you a linguist?
A: (laughs) Hardly, though that's a field I'd love to get into. But I do love languages, and I have studied many on an informal basis. Even as a child I loved
to make up codes and languages, and you'll notice in the Elvestran trilogy that my created language comes into play quite a bit. I think language and
culture are so intertwined that if you are going to introduce a new or different culture, it's important to have at least some of the language as well. That's
why my non-white characters - such as Lonnie, the Navajo teenager in Daigu - speak their own language, as much as they can without making the story
or dialog too difficult. Plus, I love language so much that I don't think I'm capable of writing a long story without having something other than English make
an appearance.
Q: What is that language, and how involved did you get?
A: It's called Uas, pronounced Uh-yosh. It's also sometimes referred to as High Elvish. It's quite involved, or maybe I should say evolved. I even have a
combined dictionary, grammar guide, and pronunciation guide that I plan to publish at some point if there's enough interest.
see an example of written Uas (original and in English letters)
Q: Anything else you want to tell the folks out there?
A: Buy my books. (laughs) No, there's nothing else I can think of. But I would like to encourage people to email me. You can reach me at
Ebs@nighthawkravenpublishing.com. Let's chat. Just please don't send me manuscripts - I barely have time to look at my own stuff. (laughs)
Q: Why this particular photo?
A: I'm uncomfortable in front of the camera, despite having photographers for parents, but I wanted to have an author's photo out there. I've always liked
seeing what the authors looked like after I've enjoyed their books. So I compromised by hiding behind a tree and those salal bushes.
Q: Are you excited about publishing your first book?
A: Nah, not a bit. Duh! Of course! Who wouldn't be? (laughs)
Q: Where do your ideas come from?
A: Anywhere. Everywhere. Actually, a lot of my short stories come from dreams I've had, some of them almost perfectly intact. I have very crazy,
interesting dreams. But my long stories and novels usually start with a large seed - the first 50 pages or so - springing intact from an alternate universe.
Then all I have to do is have the patience to follow the characters as they live out their lives and document what happens.
Q: I understand that the first half of your second book, Daigu, was actually written before any of the first book, Blood Cult. How did that come about?
A: Daigu is one that sprang nearly fully formed. I wrote the first 60 pages in one weekend. Then it stalled out for a long time, mostly because I didn't
dedicate the time to working on it. One day I was kinda-sorta working on it and Lamia - a main character in Blood Cult, but a latecomer in Daigu - makes a
reference to the 'Blood Cult.' That phrase totally caught my imagination, and the next day I sat down and wrote the first 78 pages of Blood Cult. Because
the timeline sets Blood Cult before Daigu I made that my primary project and set Daigu onto the back burner. But the third book, Desert Wanderer, is set
eons before either of the first two, so chronology-wise the whole trilogy is kind of screwy.
Q: So you obviously have plans for at least several more books after Blood Cult.
A: Oh, yes. Several might be an understatement. Once I dedicate myself to a project I tend to go full-force until I completely burn out, and my current
'project' - actually my life's first love - is being a writer. So I don't foresee getting burned out anytime soon. Actually, besides the Chronicles of the
Elvestra trilogy I also have a collection of short stories, a children's book, and two other novels in the works.
Q: It sounds like the Elvestra trilogy is not a true 'trilogy' in the usual sense.
A: I suppose not. Chronicles really does describe it better. But it is a trilogy in the sense that the stories are intertwined and the same characters show
up. But you could pick up any one of the three and it would make perfect sense by itself, and you could read them in any order.
Q: You don't talk much about what you do besides being a writer. Why is that?
A: I think it's unfortunate that in our corporate world, people are identified by the jobs they do rather than what kind of people they are. I've had a lot of
different jobs, but no one of them comprises all of who I am. Being an elementary-school teacher is the closest to being 'who I am' besides being a writer,
even though I haven't worked in a school in several years.
Q: What do you hope your readers get from your books?
A: Primarily I just want them to get enjoyment from the story. I'm not trying to be the next Agatha Christie or Stephen King, although I wouldn't mind it
(laughs). But I really believe that stories reflect real life if you look under the surface, so I hope my readers might come away with something the way I've
done with other writers.
Q: Who would you consider your 'primary influences?'
A: Hmm... Laura Ingalls Wilder and C.S. Lewis were huge in my younger life. You can only image what Narnia did for an imagination like mine. Later,
Stephen King came and went, and came again. Many of his books - the Tower series, The Stand, Rose Madder - did for me as an adult what Narnia did
for me as a youngster. I reread his books whenever I'm in a slump or just want to escape my own brain for awhile. And yes, I am a huge Harry Potter fan.
I love that if you read the H.P. series back to back, you can literally watch J.K. Rowling's writing and storytelling skills grow exponentially. But there's so
many authors I love it's hard to name them all - Madeleine L'Engle, Anne McCaffrey, Dean Koontz, and on and on.
Q: Who are your 'biggest fans?'
A: Mainly my sister. She's really the only person in my family who reads 'my kind' of writing - fantasy and all that.
Q: Your stories often seem to involve languages other than English. Are you a linguist?
A: (laughs) Hardly, though that's a field I'd love to get into. But I do love languages, and I have studied many on an informal basis. Even as a child I loved
to make up codes and languages, and you'll notice in the Elvestran trilogy that my created language comes into play quite a bit. I think language and
culture are so intertwined that if you are going to introduce a new or different culture, it's important to have at least some of the language as well. That's
why my non-white characters - such as Lonnie, the Navajo teenager in Daigu - speak their own language, as much as they can without making the story
or dialog too difficult. Plus, I love language so much that I don't think I'm capable of writing a long story without having something other than English make
an appearance.
Q: What is that language, and how involved did you get?
A: It's called Uas, pronounced Uh-yosh. It's also sometimes referred to as High Elvish. It's quite involved, or maybe I should say evolved. I even have a
combined dictionary, grammar guide, and pronunciation guide that I plan to publish at some point if there's enough interest.
see an example of written Uas (original and in English letters)
Q: Anything else you want to tell the folks out there?
A: Buy my books. (laughs) No, there's nothing else I can think of. But I would like to encourage people to email me. You can reach me at
Ebs@nighthawkravenpublishing.com. Let's chat. Just please don't send me manuscripts - I barely have time to look at my own stuff. (laughs)
