Interview w/ Paul Genesse
Thanks to Paul for the interview. You can find out more about him on his personal website and be sure to check out his novel The Golden Cord, which will be out on April 16th! This is a whopper of an interview, by the way. So hold on to your seats and here goes! Thanks for doing this interview with me. First, could you tell us a little about yourself? When did you first gain an interest in writing fantasy? I think it was the toy castle that sent me over the edge. Soon after that gift I told my parents that I wanted to be a writer. I was four years old. Even then dragons and castles were my thing. I remember being terrified of The Hobbit movie (cartoon) on TV when I was five or six and hiding under the couch cushion when the goblins were chasing the dwarves. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I pursued my other passion and became a Registered Nurse. I’ve been a nurse since 1996 and work in a cardiac unit in Salt Lake City. I’m never going to quit being a nurse and will always be a writer and a nurse. Luckily, I’ve found two things that I love to do and both of them feed my soul. The Golden Cord is the first novel in a series. Could you tell us a little about this first book and then a bit about the other books you’re working on, are done with, etc.? Do you have other projects in mind for the future? All five books in The Iron Dragon Series are written. The Golden Cord is the first book and the others are just waiting to be edited. I wrote all of the novels before the first one was accepted for publication. I just had to get them all done and wrote the first drafts over a period of about three years. I was so focused on getting the books finished that I slavishly worked on them, sometimes staying up all night. Back then I could easily get 20-35 pages written in one night. My pace has slowed a bit as I agonize over each sentence, but I still love to write. The Golden Cord (tGC) is the opening of an epic adventure fantasy that will take the characters all over the harsh world of Ae’leron (A-luh-ron), which means winged in the ancient language of my world. The one line description of the book is: The dragon king arises, and a hunter must leave behind the woman he loves, give up all hope of survival, and guide his most hated enemies to the lair of the beast that threatens to enslave their world. The other books keep the story going and explore the world and the mystery surrounding the overall plot, which involves the diabolical dragon king and his goal of taking over the world; but behind the scenes, like a puppet master. Draglune is a dragon that doesn’t have to show up and burn the city down, though he does enjoy that. He would rather have his cultish spies and minions take over from the shadows, manipulating the people into doing whatever he wants, putting him in full control, but secretly. The main characters of the novel are very outmatched and are always on the edge of being burned to a crisp and having their ashes scattered into the wind. They struggle with what has gone before and those friends and family who they have lost. Most of the characters in The Golden Cord are literally haunted heroes. About my other projects, I’ve sold nine short stories as of March 2008, and I’m often getting asked to write more for various editors. There’s usually a short story on the back burner. However, my current novel project, aside from The Iron Dragon Series, is Medusa’s Daughter, a love story set in ancient Greece involving the mythological Medusa and the daughter she could have had. Read chapter one on my website. As of this writing, I’ve finished the rough draft of the manuscript. What is it about fantasy that you find most interesting? What are some of your favorite authors from the past and from today? What are you currently reading or plan to read? My favorite authors are: George. R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones in the Song of Ice and Fire Series), J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), Michael Stackpole (The Dragon Crown War Cycle), Dennis L. McKiernan (Dragondoom), Joshua Palmatier (The Cracked Throne), Dan Simmons (Illium), Terry Brooks (The Elfstones of Shannara), and Bradley P. Beaulieu (Tears of Tendali—not out yet). I’m about to dive into several books right now. I’ve got about 40 on my shelf that need to be read, such as: In The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Dead To Me by Anton Strout, and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I love fantasy and science fiction above all other genres. When I read it my imagination soars and I become part of the world and see things through the character’s eyes as if I was there. Experiencing a new world that I had never known before is my favorite thing, though the characters have to be great. It’s all about the characters for me now. I’m a character writer and want to read about well-developed characters. Cardboard cutouts of characters do not interest me anymore. I want to be in their heads and know how they think. If the writer does a good job, I identify with the character and live my life through theirs. I think that’s why reading is so great; you can live many different lives and experience things you could never experience unless you read the book. Movies are great too, but with books you can get inside someone’s mind and know what’s it like to crawl up the slopes of Mount Doom. On the subject of movies, do you find movie adaptations of books to be