Writing
is quite a lonely business and, as such, you really value the writer friends
you make. I am lucky to have writer
friends from the Fforde Ffiesta and writer friends I made during
Nanowrimo. Back in the ethers of time,
during my first or second Nanowrimo, I met Sean Sweeney, a writer based in New
England. It is because of him I became
an e published author, without his advice and guidance it just wouldn’t have
happened. Sean is a prolific author who
always has at least one project on the go.
His latest is The Long Crimson line and he has kindly let me probe him
about writing in general and his latest book.
EHW: I
remember the first time I tried to write a book. I must have been eight
or nine and it was about a family of mice. What was the first novel you
ever attempted?
SMS: We
have to go back through the mists of time to the mid-1990s. I was in high
school, and I had been writing about sports with my local newspaper
(ironically, the same one I for which I write to this day). I had never been
much of a reader growing up; the books that teachers ripped your arms out of
your sockets and beat you over the head with to get these books read, as I see
it now, had very dry writing that didn’t reach out and grab me by the throat.
When I was maybe 16 or 17, I discovered Star Wars Expanded Universe books at my
local WaldenBooks, and I just jumped into them. This was well before I knew
what trademarked material was, and so I wrote a couple of pages of what I
thought happened to Luke, Han, and Leia a few years after Return of the Jedi.
After
that, it was a few years before I really put my fingertips on the keyboard to
create the Obloeron fantasy world, which should return to eTailers this
November.
EHW: What is the best thing about being a
novelist?
SMS:
Drinking as much coffee as I can. No, seriously: it is probably knowing that
people read the stories that I create, and actually enjoy them, too.
EHW: You
are the person who got me into e publishing (without your advice I would never
have taken the leap), so as someone who knows this side of the business really
well – what one piece of advice would you give an aspiring e novelist?
SMS: So
much advice. And I can only pick one thing? Lordy. You drive a hard bargain,
Ms. Walter. Gee, I would have to say make time for yourself outside of the
worlds you create. I sacrificed quite a bit while starting out; at one point,
all I was doing was covering games, writing my fiction, and sleeping. That
meant no going out to the bar/pub, no dating, no TV. It was a rather solo
existence, and I kind of forgot who I was outside of being an author, or an
aspiring author, at the time.
Shit, I
sound like such a loser. :)
EHW: Like
me, you write an ongoing series (the Jaclyn Johnson ‘Model’ series) and stand
alone books. How do you organise your time and concentration to work on
such diverse projects?
SMS:
Basically, you have to treat it like a job. For me, and my experience will be
different from other authors, but I basically punch the clock: I’m in my office
by 8 am, and I punch out by 2 pm. In the winter, that may change due to night
games; instead I’m in the office by 10 and out at 3, 3:30. Recently, I’ve been
distracted by a lot in the news; the Tsarnaev trial in Boston, the FIFA
escapades, the Aaron Hernandez trial. But I still manage to get a thousand
words or so, sometimes more, written per day. On some days, I’ll write a couple
thousand words. And then you throw that in with sportswriting, managing a farm,
and laundry (which I still have to do this week, since I really can’t do it on
the weekends because my wife and sister-in-law are both teachers), sometimes
you have to push everything else out and put your fingertips on the keyboard.
EHW: Can
you let us in on what adventures might be waiting for Jaclyn in your latest
‘Model’ book?
SMS:
Right now, I’m writing Jaclyn’s seventh full-length adventure, and it’s taking
place in Seattle. Slogging through this scene, which I hope to have done soon.
Then I can move on to the next, and the next, and the next. Hoping to have this
book done by the middle of July.
EHW: Going
on to your stand alone work, tell me what The Long Crimson Line is about…
SMS: In a
nutshell, The Long Crimson Line takes place in my beloved Boston, where a few
heinous murders have taken place. There are no leads, and the police haven’t
been able to come up with a suspect. A former cop, Ricky Madison, comes up with
the idea that the killer may not be all that he seems—and that it may not be a
he doing the killing, either.
EHW: What
gave you the germ of the idea that became TLCL?
SMS: I am
a massive Anglophile, more so than anyone else I know or with whom I grew up. I
love everything about England; football (I’m an Arsenal supporter), the Royal
Family (GSTQ), Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, everything. And I always knew
that Jack the Ripper was from England, but during some reading I discovered
that one member of the Royal Family (Albert Victor) was once accused of being
The Ripper…. So that got my mind a-thinking, and I thought, “what if I put The
Ripper in Boston, make the killer a devotee of him, and let the devotee run
wild?” I knew this book would be rather bloody, and that it would go into great
detail. So this is by far the most envelope-pushing I’ve done in my stories,
that’s for sure.
EHW: You've
decided to offer TLCL for preorder (which I don't think you've done before) –
why the change?
SMS: I
had wanted to try it out but I hadn’t found the right book with which to do it;
my AGENT novels get snapped up pretty quickly. I want to put a concerted effort
into marketing this story with the avenues that don’t cost a lot of money
(since I have none… practical) available to me. And I hear it’s a great way to
get onto best seller lists, so get me there, people. Get. Me. There. : )
EHW: Will
there be more adventures ahead for Ricky Madison?
SMS: You
assume much. Do you think he’s still alive? Muhahaha.
EHW: I’ll just start calling you George R R Martin
then. Another question for you: what
inspires you to write?
SMS: My
rent bill. No, seriously: The inspiration is simple—I just want to be read. And
writing is great therapy, let me tell you. A lot cheaper than paying a shrink.
EHW: If
the universe was to give you your perfect writing career tomorrow, what would
that look like?
SMS: Look
out the window of your flat, love. If there was a way that I could take my
wife, our horses, and cats… all of my books and movies and my laptop and
desktop and clothes, our cars… and get them to England. I could do that. Write
in the pastoral loveliness of England? Where do I sign up?
EHW: And
finally, if you had to take just one of your characters to live on a desert
island with you, which one would escort you and why?
SMS: I
would say private detective Connor Wood, of AN INVITATION TO DRINK… OR TO DIE.
He likes his booze.
Thank
you, Sean. Remember folks, The LongCrimson Line is available to preorder in the UK and in the USA.
