Thursday, December 23, 2010

Special guest author: Sean Poindexter!


Okay, Sean’s not exactly a paranormal romance author, but he tells me there is some romance in his “Dragon’s Blood Chronicles” AND we share the same awesome agent and a love of firearms, so I’m gonna let it slide and feature him.

Sean, tell us about yourself:

I live in the Ozarks. Right now it’s cold and there are wolves after me. No, seriously, right now I devote most of my time to writing and do odd jobs for money. Very odd jobs. Before that, I did investigations for the State of Missouri into abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly and disabled adults. I did that for over three years. It was challenging work, and I’m happy to have the experience, but I’m happier to be out of it.
1.)    
               Dragons have been a little neglected in popular fiction lately. What inspired you to resurrect them and what is a new twist you’ve added to the dragon tale?

That’s a pretty big part of why I picked them: dragons are something everyone is familiar with, but it isn’t something that’s been done to death yet. At least, not in the urban fantasy genre. I think including dragons in an urban fantasy is intimidating, because they are huge and powerful. The only way to hide them is to make them smaller, or make them shapechangers. I chose the latter, since I wanted my dragons to be huge. And they are. But, they can turn into humans (and occasionally other forms) so that allowed me to keep them hidden. Also, there aren’t a lot of them. Less than a thousand world-wide. They are very rare but they live a very long time.

As for a new twist, I’ve managed to weave dragons into this cosmology I created for the Universe in which my books are set. I don’t want to give too much away, but I believe in a causal Universe, i.e. nothing happens without a reason…even if the reason is so far removed from human understanding that it seems meaningless. There is a reason why dragons exist. They have a purpose. Everything has a purpose, even if they aren’t aware of it. I also wanted to contrast dragons with humans. Humans have short lives, almost insectile compared to dragons. But because of their nature, dragons lack a creative impulse. They have no desire to make the world better or to create new things of beauty and order. They admire it, even covet it, but they can’t (or don’t) make it. That’s why humans have gone from troglodytic scavengers to space flight and atomic power, all in the lifespan of a single dragon. For all their power, these are things dragons never would have done, or could have.
2.)   
       What triumphs and challenges have you faced in your writing?

The greatest triumph I’ve experienced is the feeling I get when someone tells me they enjoyed something I wrote. I’m generally very insular about other people’s opinions, but the positive feedback I’ve gotten from people has been very heartwarming. It’s particularly exciting when my writing brings me into contact with artists I’ve respected and admired for years. Last summer, I was shocked when a musician I idolized (Thomas Gabriel Fischer, aka Tom Warrior of Celtic Frost) contacted me and invited me to come backstage at an upcoming show. This was someone I’d listened to since I was a child, and a pioneer in the genre of music in which he played. It was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.
But honestly, the best I’ve met have been everyday people who enjoy my work, and are willing to take time out of their lives to promote me to their friends. That, in my opinion, is the greatest compliment a writer can get.
3.)   
      What is some memorable feedback that you’ve received from your fans?

The most flattering compliment I’ve gotten was when another writer compared my work to a very popular, very well known author. I don’t want to say which one because I don’t want to sound like a conceited jerk…and I don’t really agree with the comparison: I’m nowhere near as good as the person to which I was likened. But still, it was flattering beyond words to hear it. The most memorable was probably when a female friend who was able to read the whole manuscript told me that the first love scene between Meg (a human) and Garrett (a dragon) had inspired a number of personal fantasies. Dozens of other women (and a few guys) have written to me—just based on the excerpt on my website—that they would like to have a dragon lover of their own. That feels like I accomplished something in making Garrett a desirable and memorable character.
4.)   
      Name one thing you’d do/ buy if you became a mega best-seller?

Heh…I promised my wife a new car. One of the characters in my book series—Max, who also gets his own spin-off series of paranormal mysteries—drives a Toyota Prius. My wife wants one of those, so it will probably be the first thing I buy once all our student loans, mortgage and credit cards are paid off. As for myself, I have a medical condition called TMJ…there is a surgery available to have it fixed, but its considered elective by most American insurance companies and very expensive. I’d like to have that done. After that…well, there are a few more guns I’d like a get. I can’t really have too many guns.

5.)    Tell us a little about your next project.

I’m always working on something. I’ve finished five books in the Dragon’s Blood Chronicles, and one in Max’s Paranormal Mysteries series. I’m currently working on Max’s second mystery, which always takes longer to write than the Dragon books. I’ve begun the sixth Dragon’s Blood book, but it’s on hiatus right now as I devote all my attention to Max’s second book. I can finish a Dragon’s Blood book in about a month, but Max’s books take longer. I’m not sure why, but probably because they are so dark, comparatively.

Thanks bunches for stopping by, this was a lot of fun and it looks like there is a little romance in your work after all! Now, where can readers follow your career?

Thank you so much! This was great! www.seanpoindexter.com for an excerpt and a link to my blog at 
blogspot.seanpoindexter

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