In the Multiverse of Atlanta-ness

I recently attended Multiverse, a cozy literary convention in Peachtree Village, one of the innumerable bedroom communities of Atlanta. It was absolutely delightful. The con runners were kind and energetic, smart and extremely thoughtful to all the needs and wants of their attendees and vendors. 

The con suite was bangin’, too.

While I was there I was solicited for a pair of interviews, the first by Sean Taylor, (Click here to visit Sean’s site) and the second by Winnie Tataw. Sean’s interview is below, and I’ll be sure to include a link to Winnie’s when it becomes available. 

1. Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Having just come off the humorous fantasy series Misplaced Mercenaries (and still working on the ongoing Misplaced Adventures expanded universe), I was excited to work on something sort of different. The newest book, The Gordian, is sci-fi thriller about a man who is paid by wealthy ex-husbands to seduce and marry their ex-wives, and thus cancel out their alimony payments. In the middle of a post-climate change Florida, he chooses the wrong woman to con and finds both his own life, as well as that of his younger sister, in immediate and mortal peril. There’s also lots of monkeys.

2. What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

Flawed or broken people struggling to be worthy of their loved ones comes up a lot. I’m sure that says nothing about me. I like the idea of kinda bad folks with otherwise entirely understandable motivations navigating through worlds where they don’t quite fit, and finding themselves changed from the experience. Also humor. I can’t seem to avoid it. If I wrote a story about invading aliens who only wanted to murder kittens, it would still end up funny. (Well, to me, but I’m more of a dog person.)

3. What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

A complete inability to take authority figures seriously. It always bugged the shit out of me to go to an office where I was compensated 10% of my earnings, the rest of which went into some undeserving asshole’s pocket. So I figured out a way to only split my money with people I wanted to, and to take home a much bigger percentage of that pie. (Money pie is always pecan, by the way.)

4. What inspires you to write? 

My wife, Lena. When I don’t write I get cranky, and she yells at me until I go back to the computer and write something.

5. What would be your dream project?

Executive producer/writer of an HBO adaptation of my work where everyone thought my name was Carlos from Venezuela, and I got paid millions and millions of dollars. Then I get to go back to Florida and relative obscurity again, but I can afford the iPhone with the slightly bigger screen.

6. If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

I put too much cayenne in the chili last time I made it and Lena didn’t eat any. I mean, I thought it was good, but I could have added spice at the table. At least I didn’t have to watch her put ketchup in it.

7. What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Boy. That’s a long list. I’ll try to pare it down some. I’ve always admired Roger Zelazny’s almost Hemmingwayesque directness, coupled with nearly poetic prose. It’s a heady mix. Terry Pratchett is both clever and tight with his writing. No scene is wasted. Joe Abercrombie has a fantastically understated sense of humor and brilliantly drawn characters with very real motivations. I’ve found Stephen King’s endings to be hit-or-miss, but his people simply walk off the page—occasionally with an axe in their hands. Carl Hiaasen is both funny and a master of tension, always knowing when to pull and when to slacken. There are more, but that’s probably a good place to stop.

8. Where would you rank writing on the “Is it an art or it is a science continuum?” Why?

“Writing” is too big. It’s holding chopsticks. Everyone does it differently. “My writing,” generally, is a combination. I can’t make art without a technical command of the tools, and that includes plotting, dialog, humor, characterization, arcs, and every other piece of what goes into making a book. Thinking about it, it’s difficult to separate art from science. You can’t have one without the other. The art is the manipulation of the science. Like baking. And pecan pie. Well now I’m hungry.

9. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Waiting for the editor’s notes to get back. I love to write, and I love to edit my work. But from the instant I send off that draft until I get those notes back I am entirely convinced that everything is crap and no one will ever like it and everyone in the world is just buying my books in an effort to be polite to me. Then I get the notes and I’m all happy again.

But what if my editor is just being polite in their notes when they say the book is good? Aw crap …

10. How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

It’s great having folks to bounce ideas around with who genuinely understand what you do. Our writers’ community at Cursed Dragon Ship (my publisher) is both active and engaging and filled with really smart people who want to help. A writer with a strong support system is always going to produce better work than someone writing in a hole in the ground. Unless you’re a gopher. I think they get a pass.

11. What does literary success look like to you? 

Honestly? There are always going to be people who are more well-known than you are, or who sell more books, or who get the HBO adaptations under a Venezuelan pseudonym. But if I never sold another book again, I would still be happy. Getting to do what I do, surrounded by the people I know and love, is a tremendous reward in and of itself. And I don’t work for assholes. (Maybe. I do work for myself, so …)

12. Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

Going back to the top, the biggest project right now is Misplaced Adventures. Based on the world of the Misplaced Mercenaries, this is six brand new series of novels, each written by a different, and amazingly talented, author. Every series is tonally different, but they all fit the setting beautifully. This has been an immensely flattering, humbling, and satisfying project. All the smartest and prettiest people are reading it.