Q: So, tell the readers a bit about you.
A: I was born and raised in California, but these days I call Pennsylvania home, as it’s where my other half, Molly, hails from.
At age six, I became very ill and lost my vision. Up until that time, I could see perfectly well, so I have plenty of memories of what things look like, colors, and so forth—not to mention Masters of the Universe, a comic, cartoon, and action figure sword and sorcery property for which I still harbor a, possibly unhealthy, passion. :)
Throughout my life, I’ve explored a variety of creative endeavors. I write and perform music, develop software, host a few podcasts, and do a bit of blogging as well. I’ve always loved pulling things out of my imagination and bringing them to life. I drew a great deal before losing my vision, and afterward, my creativity branched out in a number of different directions.
I love music, especially artists from the UK, and am an avid reader. Oh, and I enjoy way too much hockey. Go Kings go!
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your book, Haven Lost? How did you come up with the name of it?
A: Haven Lost is the first volume in a series called The Dragon’s Brood Cycle. The story arc for the entire series has been sloshing around in my brain for over twenty years. Over that time, while I was writing other stories or working on other projects, flashes of new details, specifics, characters, locations, what have you, would come to me for Dragon’s Brood. Every couple of years or so I’d set other projects aside and start out on a fresh attempt at the story, but it never entirely worked out to my satisfaction.
The story’s primary protagonist, Emily Haven, came to me completely disconnected from the Dragon’s Brood concept in the summer of 2007. I wrote a few short pieces about her, and gradually came to realize that she was really the character that the Dragon’s Brood Cycle was intended to circle around.
Last fall, while taking in some heartbreaking losses of the Penn State Women’s Hockey team, I realized the time was right to tell Emily’s story, and the story of the Dragon’s Brood. (Emily plays on the girls’ hockey team at her high school). Once I started this time, there was no stopping it. I found the entry point for the story, which was far earlier than where the older drafts had begun. There’s a full ten chapters now before the point where I had been starting the story previously, and it worked so much better that way.
Everything seemed to just fall into place at last, and I loved every minute of finally creating the strange world I’d been daydreaming about for two decades.
As for the title, it went through several changes during the writing of the first draft. For a long time the working title was Haven 21, which was Emily’s surname and the number on her jersey. In the end, I went with Haven Lost, because it had multiple layers of meaning in the story, and I’m a sucker for layers in my stories.
Q: What is your favourite colour? (This must be read in a British accent a-la Monty Python)
A: Oh, how I love Monty Python … oh, wait, wait! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Red has always been a favorite of mine, though black and silver hang around in my top three as well.
Q: Do you have any special rituals or quirks when writing? Special foods or drinks? Troll doll on the desk/Etc.
A: I drink a ton of tea and coffee. Molly, my other half, made gallons of both for me during the writing of Haven Lost. I love spearmint tea in particular, and my coffee comes from an AeroPress. You haven’t had coffee until you’ve had it made with an AeroPress. It’s true. Try it.
I don’t have any troll dolls, but my Masters of the Universe action figures oversaw most, if not all, of the writing of Haven Lost.
Q: What was the easiest part about writing Haven Lost?
A: The story itself was probably the easiest part of writing Haven Lost. It had been, in the most basic sense at least, clattering around inside my skull for so long that it was easy to keep the story moving forward. When I did hit a snag, the characters, strange as it may sound, were always there to tell me just what the hell was going on. Probably that sounds crazy to most people, but perfectly rational to anyone who has ever written a piece of fiction.
Q: What was the hardest part?
A: Without a doubt, editing was the most difficult part of the process. Going through the first and second drafts is an absolute joy, but when it comes down to the hack-and-slash of preparing your book for publication, its a maddening ordeal. In some ways, I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and I agonized over a lot of the details.
Q: Do you like bacon?
A: I do, but mostly just on breakfast burritos or hamburgers.
Q: How long have you been writing, or wanting to write and when did you actually write your first story?
A: I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I recall putting together an Inspector Clouzot comic book of my own at around age four or five. In the fourth grade, I wrote a science-fiction story that won a writing competition at the school district level. Writing has always been something I’ve done in one form or another.
Q: Do you have a favourite character from your book/books? If so, who and why?
A: It has to be Emily, the heroine of Haven Lost. She’s a strong, if flawed, female character, and, in both my own writing or when reading, I’ve always been drawn to compelling female characters. Celine, the first friend Emily makes on her adventure, is also a favorite of mine, partly because she’s such a contrast to Emily in a lot of ways, despite the fact that they both come from very troubled backgrounds.
Q: Are you working on anything else right now? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
A: I’m currently well underway on the second volume of the Dragon’s Brood Cycle.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers of this interview?
A: I love Twitter, and I tweet about all kinds of things from the latest Stephen King book to Apple tech or the LA Kings. I have a wide range of interests.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lioncourt
Blog: http://lioncourt.com
The Dragon’s Brood Cycle: http://dragonsbrood.net
Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk to you and your readers.
Thank YOU, Josh! It was shiny!
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