As we are going through our many health issues in our house. I have been growing bored of sitting and lying around from pain.blah, blah, blah... I decided to check my inbox one day, and I saw a message from someone I highly admire, S.E. Gordon. He wanted to do another interview, so I said ok. I mean I really have nothing else to do right now, and like I said I really admire him, he's great. So without further ado, here's my interview with the man with the plan.
TEMPERANCE: Up until now, I’ve interviewed Scott about his
upcoming vampire novels. Now suddenly he drops this piece of fantasy fiction on
my lap. What is this all about? It sounds totally nuts.
S.E. GORDON: Thanks, Temperance. What is this? The third
interview you’ve done for me? You’d figure that I’d have one of my novels out
by now, but good things are in the works, I promise. Maniacal, chaotic things
that could only come from a disturbed mind like yours truly.
But The Sweetest Stalk represents something else entirely.
First and foremost, I would consider myself a fantasy author. Though I love
horror, science fiction and thrillers, it all started with my love of fantasy
epics such as Lord of the Rings. If you’ve been following my blog and reading all the mayhem, you
might think that I’m a horror writer and nothing more. But that’s merely what’s
‘hot’ right now. As is cliché, you must strike while the iron is hot, and
that’s exactly what I’m doing with Enura and the Vampire Hunters series. The
Sweetest Stalk is an attempt to get back to my roots, and show readers what I
can do in the fantasy genre.
TEMPERANCE: So what is The Sweetest Stalk? And where did the
idea come from?
S.E. GORDON: The Sweetest Stalk actually came to me while I
was participating in Writers Weekly’s 24-hour Short Story Contest. I thought it
would be a great opportunity to showcase my skills and pocket a little prize
money (the top prize was $300). It was a humbling experience to say the least:
not only did I not win a prize of any sort, I did not even place in the Honorable
Mentions List. Apparently, there’s some stiff competition out there.
Months later, I dusted it off and was surprised at what I
found (yes, writers with feeble minds like my own often forget what they’ve
written). Sure there were a few things that needed to be tweaked and expanded
upon, but by and large the overall writing was good.
When I attempted to expand it into a longer story (even 500 additional
words would have sufficed), something strange happened (and I’m the king of
strange). Though I tried in earnest to expand it, I only succeeded in adding a
couple hundred words, while also cutting out about half that amount. That was
when I realized that I had put down all that was needed to be said. And then a
dubious idea hit me: what I really needed to do was write the next short story
that came after it, so I jumped behind the computer and pounded out another
3,000 words (it’s still not finished, but it is coming).
This left me with an odd dilemma: even though I was giving
away the first short story for free on my website, it did not appear that I had
chosen the right medium. One of my books on blogging mentions that the ideal
length for a blog entry is approximately 500 words; anything greater than that
and you’re stretching it. The Sweetest Stalk is 1,100 words in length; so
indeed, I was stretching it.
Further research also revealed some other interesting facts.
One website (I forget the name, but not Project Guttenberg) offers complete
novels that you can read online. By publishing the works in their entirety,
they’ve found that most readers only read the first 10% of a novel, and use it as
a deciding factor in purchasing the print version. I’d imagine that this also
holds true with e-books in a sense. Ultimately readers don’t want to read a
novel on a blog cluttered with lists of links and ads. They want a ‘clean’
version on their medium of choice (print, e-book, etc.) that they can take with
them wherever they go, regardless of whether or not they have network
connectivity.
After taking this into account, I decided that the best way
to get people to read my work was…(drumroll)…to publish the e-book. What can I
say? I have a very hard head.
Although I had intended to release The Sweetest Stalk along
with its sequel, The Sweetest Stalklings, I got an idea for a third story:
Stalkers, Aren’t They All? When I realized that it would be awhile before all three
were finished, I decided to move ahead and publish the first one by itself.
Even worse, these three short stories comprise the back-story for yet another
fantasy novel in development called Goblin Story.
TEMPERANCE: Ooh, another fantasy novel! You must tell us
more about it!
S.E. GORDON: I would certainly love to, but even I don’t
know a whole lot about it. Goblin Story is about three goblings living with
their uncle Ganqua. One day Yeka comes across a magic eye in the swamp and
brings it to her uncle. Annoyed at the disruption, he swallows the eye and gets
back to work, thinking nothing of it. Of course, that’s when all the fun
begins.
TEMPERANCE: I’ve noticed on your blog that you have another fantasy
novel in the works called The Key of Neverhence. The cover art is awesome, what
can you tell us about that one?
S.E. GORDON: The Key of Neverhence was actually the first
thing that I wrote when I decided to take a stab at writing. Over the span of a
couple months, I tapped out 77,000 words of faery mayhem. When I went back to
read what I had written, I realized that the rough draft I had was indeed that:
very, very rough. A massive editing job awaited.
Initially it scared me off, but eventually I dove in,
editing chapter after chapter, not really sure what I was doing. I’m a
perfectionist of sorts, and soon realized that this outlook was having an
adverse effect on the editing process. I would comb through my work over and
over again until I could not find any errors. Of course, all the rereading
slowed me down to a snail’s pace. After getting 10% of the book edited, I gave
up. “When does the editing end?” I threw up my hands in frustration. Inevitably
it does not.
You only get better at editing through practice and knowledge.
Knowing grammar inside out and having other writers point out your tendencies
helps cut down the amount of editing that is necessary. And also--I can’t
stress this enough because I’m terrible at it--good organization can cut out
entire drafts. Organization helps you produce more effectively. I realize all
of this is a lot for a new writer, but if I were to focus on one thing just to
get started, it would be to write consistently every day. One way or another,
you will learn grammar and how to best tell a story, but ultimately you need to
put in the hard word so that you can build the necessary connections to be a
writer. Once you establish this mentality, you can add to it, and sculpt
yourself into the writer that you wish to be.
Oops. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. What was I
talking about?
TEMPERANCE: Neverhence.
S.E. GORDON: Oh yeah. I probably didn’t tell you what it’s
about, did I?
TEMPERANCE: Nope.
S.E. GORDON: Let’s see if I can remember…Oh yes! The Key of
Neverhence is a comedic fantasy set entirely in the faery kingdom of Timara.
(After all, when am I going to finish it? Timara, I always say.) Our main
character, Yvan Frollingswyrth, unwittingly brings the Key of Neverhence into
Holloway Springs, a dangerous magical tool that opens doors between the lands
of the cloud and netherfaeries. But this is the least of the old geezer’s
problems. While visiting the dragon lands, he’s duped into marriage with a
cloud faery. Due to his advanced age, the last thing that he wants to do is to
be pestered by pack of ravenous, pecker-headed kids. Will he ever find the
peace and quiet he seeks? Hopefully I can throw a few wrenches into his plans.
TEMPERANCE: Wow, that sounds…insane!
S.E. GORDON: Par for the course…
TEMPERANCE: I love it! Tell me more.
S.E. GORDON: Well, I don’t want to give away too much of the
story. Let’s just say that it doesn’t all go according to plan. He encounters a
dark faery named Kymira, and stumbles upon an equally evil force called
Myzeroff. There’s humor, intrigue, and plenty of spankings to go around.
TEMPERANCE: Sounds great! Like The Sweetest Stalk, is this
the first book in a series?
S.E. GORDON: Oh boy. Do I have an answer for you...Not only
is this the first in a series, it’s also the first book in a series of series. Series
1 is called The Withered Ones, which includes The Key of Neverhence and two
other novels. I may slip in a couple novellas in between releases (including Frollingswyrth’s
dubious honeymoon exploits), but the first series is three books long.
Series 2 I know even less about, but it will probably be three
books as well. Then we get to the real meat of the adventure, The First Light
of the Sword, a five-book series that is told from five different perspectives.
Each of these books will be enormous. Dare I say that each will top 150,000
words?
It will be awhile until these are done, but thankfully
there’s plenty to do in the interim. Series 4 I know a little more about, and it
will continue the use of multiple viewpoints over the span of five novels. Then
there’s Series 5, which I know absolutely nothing about and don’t want to,
because I’ve also devised side-stories (or “gaidens” in Japanese) and
subseries. Ugh!
It’s enough to make one’s head explode. So I’m just focusing
on The Key of Neverhence for now…
TEMPERANCE: Whoa.
S.E. GORDON: Yeah.
TEMPERANCE: Do you have a life?
S.E. GORDON: A very good one, if I can continue to support
myself with my writing.
TEMPERANCE: Real quick, for those who have not read the
other interview and are not aware of your vampire novels, please tell us a
little bit about those.
S.E. GORDON: For those brave hearts that desire a darker
adventure, I would suggest that they check out my forthcoming novel Enura. It’s
a dark tale set in the town of Vissorouy, a haven where humans and vampires
live in harmony. A dangerous transient called Enura descends upon their lands
and begins killing everything in her path. To rid themselves of her evil presence,
a vampire hunter is brought in. To survive, they must put aside their
differences and band together, otherwise everything that they know and love will
be extinguished.
If you enjoy Enura, I also have a novella that will be
released around the same time called Vampire Hunters: Prelude, which is
actually the prequel to Enura, and features the exploits of Vampire Hunter
Lawson Parker. It’s more vampire mayhem, but on a smaller scale (about 100
pages). Actually, you might want to start with Prelude first to get an idea of
what you’re in for.
Beyond that, who knows? I plan to follow up Enura with Half
Light and Endolyn, and continue the Vampire Hunters series with Vampire
Hunters: Calamity, Vampire Hunters: Forsaken and Vampire Hunters: Enigma.
If only there were enough hours in the day.
TEMPERANCE: No kidding. That all sounds great, Scott.
Anything else you’d like to say before you go?
S.E. GORDON: Only that if you want to accomplish something
great, the first thing that you must do is believe in yourself. As your belief grows,
so does your productivity. Certainly my plans are ambitious, and perhaps there
are more books than I actually have time to write. But one thing at a time, one
day at a time, and all dreams will come true, no matter how outlandish they
seem.
You’ve heard the saying, “How do you eat an elephant? A
little at a time.” It’s the same with writing. By doing a little each day, you
can accomplish many great things. Here’s an example: if you were to commit to
writing 1,000 words a day, and do this consistently over the span of a year,
you’d have over 365,000 words, or the equivalent of 7 novels. If you did this
over a period of 10 years, you’d produce at least 70 books. Not bad for someone
who ‘only’ writes 1,000 words a day. But it’s not about the speed, it’s about
consistency; and if you have that, then you will truly be prolific.
Thanks for having me, Temperance. And good luck with your
own novels. I have the feeling that we’ll be doing this again soon with the
roles reversed.
TEMPERANCE: Indeed. Take care Scott, and thank you for
taking the time to speak to me about your novels.
S.E. GORDON: Always a pleasure, Temperance.
