And Now Time For The Interview!!!!
Where are you from?
I've
lived throughout the Midwest and I've travelled to different places
around the country for my other work - doing costume work for theatres.
I'm just as happy in the city as I am small towns, but there is
something to be said for small communities and being able to walk
through woods and creeks. That's probably my inner romantic coming out,
but I love the idea of those kinds of places. Plus, they harbor the best
ideas!
Tell us your latest news?
I
released my first ebook, 'Mooner,' with No Boundaries Press in January.
My next release, a contemporary piece about music and relationships
called 'The Other Man' comes out in March! I'll be popping up in a few
magazines in early spring and I've been writing a column on women's
roles and portrayals in genre fiction and film for Fandom Scene, the
official blog of the Fandom Fest convention. And of course I'm writing!
I've got a lot going on and some days it feels like I have more ideas
than time, but I'm really enjoying myself and all the people I'm
meeting.
When and why did you begin writing?
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Oh,
lord...the whole author vs. writer vs. whatever makes me uncomfortable
anyway; I'm really not used to calling myself anything yet. I'm getting
there and of course I'll tell people I'm a writer, but I feel more
comfortable thinking of myself as a storyteller or a person who has a
lot of stories in them.
What inspired you to write your first book?
I
really like history, especially those parts of American history that we
tend to overlook. Growing up all my friends went to Disneyworld or the
beach and my family went to places like old mining towns and Civil War
battle sites. It took a while for me to appreciate what my parents were
trying to do, but I eventually gravitated towards the humanizing aspects
of the places we visited. There were so many stories about daily life
or legends associated with the time period, and I love that. It's a
shame that a lot of people aren't familiar with that sort of thing since
national history is so much a part of a person. We'd never visited any
lumber camps, but I've always been interested in pioneer history which
led to mining towns and lumber camps. There are so many different
personalities and mixed intentions in a place like that, and I really
wanted to add in that mythical creature, that bogeyman in the woods type
of character. In Mooner's case it's a vampire, but it's definitely not
the modern, romantic vampire that we've gotten used to seeing. I get
frustrated that with vampires lately it's all or none -- they're either
these sexy, fangless characters or they're portrayed as mindless killing
machines, and that's way too close to zombie lore for me. I wanted to
hit that middle ground and make a vampire that was (or had been) human
and had his own devices and drive, but not make him necessarily
beautiful or romantic. He's intent on survival, just like any of the
humans in the story.
Do you have a specific writing style?
My
close writing friends tell me that my style is to always change my
style! I really go where an idea takes me, though I think I've been
influenced a little here and there by writers like Ray Bradbury. I love
his descriptions and how he always cuts through to the emotional truth
in a scene. That resonnates with me and I find myself focusing on
similar aspects, though in a very different way. But some manuscripts
definitely have a more casual style than others, some have a gentler
tone, etc. I found I had to be very specific about descriptions and
settings because I was very aware that the historical element would be
unfamiliar to a lot of people.
How did you come up with the title?
I
was fussing on some online educational dictionaries, trying to work
with the vocabulary that's a big part of the story and I stumbled across
the term. Mooner refers to a legendary creature or thing that was said
to haunt or skulk around logging camps. Because the moon features
heavily in early vampire lore I just loved it! It was absolutely the
perfect title, even though I've gotten my share of jokes over it.
Is there a message in your story that you want readers to grasp?
I
didn't set out to make it overtly moral, even though there are moral
tones here and there in the story. I suppose you could say the message
is to be a good person and watch the company you keep. Always keep your
eyes open, or something like that. I find it more fascinating that even
the most upright characters in this story are willing to use
questionable methods to get their point across to a group of people that
may or may not even care what they have to say.
How much of the book is realistic?
What books have most influenced your life most?
'Dandelion
Wine' is one of my all-time favorites. I love the reminder that little
things in life are important and magical, because someday you're not
going to be there to experience them. I think as a whole we've let
ourselves become desensitized to lot of wonderful things. Creatively,
books like 'American Gods' or 'Imajica' have reminded me that it's okay
to think big, it's okay to be that person who sees zany possibilities
that other people may not catch right away. Madeline L'Engle's books
have been a constant reminder that you can have strong women characters
that are multi-faceted and wonderful. And I've always adored The Little
House series and Heidi. They may seem simplistic but their messages
about never giving up, the importance of family, and finding something
to have faith in are so important.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Ray
Bradbury, all the way. He has this insane talent of making everything
believable. While it is important to do your research, I think in some
ways his sci-fi resonates more than titles that strive to be grounded in
science. He's so good at using that as a setting or metaphor, but
allowing the characters to shine through. His creepiest stories are
creepy because you identify with something that's being felt by the
characters. He works at such a core level that I find utterly brilliant.
Plus, his short stories like Hopscotch and Medicine for Melancholy are
so gentle and lovely. He's truly a master that knows how get the very
best out of every idea he has.
What book are you reading now?
I've
been on a Flavia De Luce kick - I just finished 'The Weed that Strings
the Hangman's Bag.' I'm in awe of how fluid the plot is and how
well-researched! Everything is believable and you have this wonderful
balance of mystery and the conflict between Flavia and the rest of her
family. Plus, she's such a nutcase! She's the perfect balance of
eleven-year-old innocence and immaturity, brilliant detective/chemist,
and all-around evil genius.
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I
have a lot that I want to read and haven't yet. S.H. Roddey, Charles
Day, Alexandra Christian, Cherie Reich, Morgan Shamy -- we're at a
point now where there are so many talented names just starting to come
out, too many to name! My hope is that those I've mentioned (and others
I'm still discovering) don't get covered up by all the new stuff coming
out every day, because truly I've seen some fabulous things from these
people! Besides getting my own work out there, this has been the most
awesome aspect of writing to me. I love the community and discovering
other writers.
What are your current projects?
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
I
have an incredible group of friends. There's a core group of people
that really gets me, and if I'm in one of my worry-wart phases all I
have to do is text and they're willing to shake some sense back into me.
They've been there for me through a hell of a lot and are just an
amazing, warm, supportive group that believes in me. Plus they're used
to my humor and can take some of the wilder things that pop out of my
mouth in stride!
Do you see writing as a career?
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
I
don't think so. I'm really pleased with the suspenseful tone and the
balance of plot and historical aspects. I feel like none of the elements
run over the others, so for me it's a success.
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I
was always encouraged to read a lot. During summer vacations I
practically lived at the library. I was interested in stories, anyway,
so it seemed very natural to start trying to write them down. As I got
older I loved the writing assignments we got in school that everyone
else hated!
Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Here's an excerpt from Mooner:
For a moment, Bill thought he was imagining things or was
having a particularly bad reaction to the rot gut. Blinking a few times
refocused his tired gaze and proved there was, indeed, a moving pile
of…something at a table close to the other end of the bar.
Nancy shuffled back towards the bar, casting a wary look
over her shoulder. “Red, he’s back,” she breathed as she scooped up another
tray and fled to the other side of the room. Upon closer inspection, the youth
realized it wasn’t a pile of something, but a figure draped in a patchwork of
skins then cloaked with half-torn, moldy furs. Most who passed his way quickly
avoided him, though whether it was because of his odd looks or his smell, it
was hard to say.
Red hissed through his teeth and ran a sweating hand through
his thick mane. “Tom Haskins,” he mumbled under his breath for the benefit of
those crowded round him.
“I thought he lived on the edge of town,” Jack replied as he
glared down the length of the bar.
“He tried to start a dry goods store, and it didn’t go over
too well. He had it in his mind he could make up his loss with fur, though he
ain’t no trapper. He moved out to the woods weeks ago and comes into town every
so often to hang round and get his fix. Just when I think he’s finally died out
there, he comes round again.” Not once did the saloon proprietor take his eyes
off the body hunched over a table. Every breath made Tom’s ragtag cloak
shudder, and every moldy hair on him quivered.
“You want me to kick him out?” Jack offered, already
shifting his weight across the room.
“Nah, let him warm up at least. He doesn’t do much; just
pesters everyone for drink now that he can’t afford it for himself. Give him
time, and he’ll be up to his tricks.”
Bill couldn’t stop looking away. The pile of sloughed
animals slumped as the man’s head rose. His skin was a cold grey and stretched
taught across his face and hands. His hair had all but fallen out, but what was
still left of it hung in clumps of long, ragtag strands that were paler than
dried straw. His thin-lipped mouth was open and he sucked in air in painful,
erratic pants.
“Look at ‘im! Actin’ like a piglet pulled away from its ma’s
teat!” Big John sneered. “I bet his clothes are fulla maggots!”
“It’s too cold for maggots,” Ben snorted. “His clothes are
thin. Wonder how the hell he stands bein’ out in the woods in weather like
this.” “We do it,” Bill muttered. The recluse’s head jerked at the sound of his
voice; the young man immediately snapped his mouth shut.
“Yeah, but we’re used to it! And younger’n he ever was!”
John’s voice was purposefully loud and carried the haughty tone that won him
admiration from the other loggers. “He’s durn crazy, that’s why he don’t
notice.” He cocked his head Tom’s way with a sneer. “All that time on your own
turn you yaps, man?”
Tom’s head very slowly shifted towards them, and Bill
shuddered. There were days he’d survived the logging camp and the extreme
conditions by will power and prayer alone, all the while wondering in the back
of his head what it would be like if he didn’t have even that. Looking at the
vagrant, he knew.
Ben was cursing behind them. “I saw him not more than a
month ago and he didn’t look like that. Solitary life don’t turn a man in that
short a’ time! Maybe he’s got rabies or fever n’ ague.”
Tom’s eyes sat so far back in his skull, it was impossible
to tell what color they were, though they harbored a steady, unsettling gleam.
They roved over the huddled group, searching hungrily for an easy mark. Bill’s
heart plummeted to his boots when the hollow glitter locked onto him. He was
suddenly as cold as he was when a seventh-year blizzard hit. All the
frustrations and hell he’d endured since joining the logging team, all his good
intentions and reasons, all he was trying to move forward to, swelled and
jumbled together in a brief, howling wind of thought. The two distant stars in
Tom’s eyes were the only thing that pegged him as a stable man in his otherwise
rotting and dozy appearance.
All around the little group, the saloon’s weekend life went
on. The distant sound of swearing and dice clattering across the floor mixed
with discordant harmonies and a half-hearted mouth organ. But in the area by
the bar, all was muffled and still. It was like the snows had come without
warning over the forest, smothering everything in their path with chilled
silence. Bill shuddered, and out of the corner of his eye, noticed Red do the
same.
“You want I should knock his ears down, Red?” John’s bravado
was the sudden yell that knocked the snow from the treetops, for better or ill.
He had the relaxed look of a man who’d been in his cup just enough to throw
caution to the wind. “I’ll toss him out and give ‘im a pat on the lip he won’t
forget!”
“Leave be, John,” the barkeep muttered. His hand never
stopped wiping down the bar. Though his head was tilted down towards his task,
his eyes were set on their target across the room.
“What…what you want me to do for a drink?” At first it
didn’t register that that thing, that man, had actually spoken. His voice was
high and reedy, and cracked the way the thinnest ice along the river did.
“Pardon?”
“What you want me to do for a drink?” His lips cracked when
his mouth moved. A thin trail of spittle dripped off his lower lip and was
quickly caught up by the tip of the derelict’s seeking tongue. The distant
gleam in Tom’s eyes burned as his mouth formed the last word. Otherwise, it was
hard to even say how he’d made it into the saloon; he looked more than a little
dim.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I tend to have a sideways way of
looking at things, so a lot of the time I'm asking readers to really
suspend their belief as to how the world works and what people are
capable of. But I think that's a good thing. So much of what we're
exposed to these days is really formulaic, and I love turning genres and
expectations on their heads.
Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Who designed the covers?
Dakota
Trace - she is a mad genius! She's so good at taking random snippets of
images that I may have floating in my head and turning them into a
cover that exactly matches the vibe of the story.
What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I'm
capable of more than I thought I was. Every time I started to get
discouraged with where the story was going I would remind myself that I
could totally handle the different elements and make them into a
cohesive whole. There really is something to be said for believing in
yourself and taking things one step at a time.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I
truly appreciate anyone who takes a moment of their time to check out
my work. Plus, I always welcome people's opinions and feedback. It's so
easy to read and enjoy a book or a story, but especially for new authors
it's important to let us know! And no matter what your opinions, I
always welcome the support.
You can find me at the following places:
Fandom Scene Column: www.fandomfestblog.com/blogs/
facebook: www.facebook.com/selahjanel
facebook author page: www.facebook.com/authorSJ
twitter: www.twitter.com/SelahJanel
