devonmonk ([info]devonmonk) wrote in [info]fangs_fur_fey,
2008-03-22 10:27:00
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Interview with Anton Strout author of DEAD TO ME

Congratulations, Anton, on the release of your book, DEAD TO ME.  Has the thrill of seeing your book on the shelf worn off yet?

Hell, no!  If anything, it’s made me mad with power… muahahaha! *ahem!* It’s still ever surreal to see it out there in the world.  You know, out there where I can’t tweak it anymore or fix things in it that bother me.. sigh.  Maybe it doesn’t make me mad with power, just mad…


So why do you write urban fantasy?  What drew you to the genre?

I didn’t intend to write urban fantasy, but I did sit down to start a story about a guy.  And then that guy had a power… and he lived in New York City.  And dammit, there I suddenly was writing urban fantasy!  Actually, I sat down to write the kind of stuff I like to watch on T.V. or in movies.  I missed Ghostbusters and Buffy and I wanted to tell my kind of stories that hopefully held that same mix of the paranormal and humor.

 

Do you read urban fantasy for the fangs, the fur or the fey, or is there some other aspect of the genre that you relish?

I actually don’t read too much of our genre.  My day job is in publishing so I see snippets of the latest urban fantasies coming out all the time,

but I typically don’t read too much of it.  It’s picked up since I’ve been branded an urban fantasist, but my reading is all over the place.  For instance, one of my workshop leaders was Riverhead author Jennifer Belle (Going Down, High Maintenance).  I look at her work for characterization and how she portrays New York City.  I go to Stephen King when I’m looking to build those universal touchpoints he puts in his writing.  As long as the story is gripping and I can glean something from the writing, I’ll pick it up and see what I can learn from it.

 
What is your favorite thing about writing?

I love seeing where my own work is going to take me.  I get to meet these characters, breath life into them… then torture them.  So I get to be God for a bit.  That’s kind of keen.

Above all, I think the anticipation of sharing the story with the readers excites me most.  Writing is only half the journey. 


What has been the biggest challenge so far for you as a writer?

Letting go of the fact that my books aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  I have to write first and foremost to please myself.  I write the types of book I like to read.  Then I hope there are other like minded people out there willing to take a chance on me.

 On the technical side, every word I set down is just part of a long learning process.  Every day I learn new things about what I can do and what I'm capable of.  The hardest part of it all is finding the time to write a book a year around a day job.  Luckily I only sleep like five hours a night.


What has surprised you the most about having your book on the shelf?

I think it’s the variety of reactions to it.  I’m a single mind, telling a single story.  Once readers get a hold of my work, it’s like a Borg hive mind starts to form, thousands of minds being analytical and critical of one.  The writer is outnumbered and it’s hard to process every reaction to the book out there, so you kind of build a general feel of how people are liking it… and for the most part they are.  I think drinking helps…

 

If you could go back in time and meet the pre-published "you" what words of advice would you give yourself?

Show, don’t tell, dumbass!  The beginning of a series is always tough.  I spend a bit of time ramping up the story, and looking back, I think I could have held back on that a bit more when working on DEAD TO ME.  That lead to a strange realization about first books… they should be forgiven a certain amount of their errors, because they’re almost like a training wheel phase to someone trying to build a career as a writer.  Again, drinking helps. 


What kind of reading experience are you hoping your books will create for your readers?

I came to New York fourteen years ago with the vague idea that I would be an entertainer.  I’ve acted, played music in a variety of bands, and finally settled on writing.  First and foremost I want to show them a good time, then I hope I provoke little pockets of thought.  My third phase involves brainwashing them all into depositing their money into my Swiss bank account… perhaps I’ve said too much.

 

Tell us a secret about your book or a character in it.  We want an exclusive scoop.

Hmmmm… two of the major character’s names are references to video games.  Simon Canderous takes his last name from the game Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.  The Director of Greater & Lesser Arcana, Thaddeus Wesker, is a reference to the Resident Evil series and one of the Umbrella Corporation baddies Alex Wesker.


When you're not a writer, what are you doing?

Well, my day job is pimping other authors to the Barnes & Noble College bookstore buyers.  When I’m not doing that, I’m quite the controller smashing video gamer.  Video games are a storytelling genre all their own and if the story is good, I’m hooked!  Especially if there are zombies…

 
What upcoming readings/signings are on your plate?

I’ll be doing a signing for all the managers at the Barnes & Noble College Back to Campus show in a few weeks, but this weekend I’m heading out to The Book Cellar in Chicago.  Then there’s New York Comic Con and that’s it until summer when I’m at Denvention and part of the Writer’s Symposium at Gencon Indy. 


What can readers look forward to seeing from you next?

Well, in July my short story The Fourteenth Virtue will appear in THE DIMENSION NEXT DOOR from DAW.  It's a tie-in story to a historical event that is touched upon in the world of DEAD TO ME.  Then next March will see book two of the series, which I'm pushing to be called DEADER STILL.


Very exciting!  Thank you for stopping in to chat today.  And in case readers haven't gotten their hands on DEAD TO ME yet, here's a teaser....


Welcome to the Department of Extraordinary Affairs Other Division—New York’s answer to the underfunded world of paranormal investigation.  It’s a job caught up in red tape, memos, and office politics, but its becoming par for the course for recent recruit Simon Canderous.  After a life of petty crime and twenty four years of watching his power of psychometry—the ability to divine information solely by touching an object—destroy any chance of a real relationship, he’s joined the forces of Good hoping to gain some control.  But when the mysterious ghost of a recently dead woman shows up at the Lovecraft Café, he and his mentor must figure out how she fits into a nefarious plot involving the cultists rights movement, a large wooden fish, and the forces of Darkness crushing on him.

DEAD TO ME by Anton Strout

Tags: anton strout, interview

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  • 3 comments

[info]ciorstan

March 22 2008, 18:59:04 UTC 4 years ago

And I promptly bought it once it was released, devoured it and enjoyed it.

My copy is now in Japan in the company of my husband, having been taken along as his flight companion.

[info]tmthomas

March 22 2008, 19:30:21 UTC 4 years ago

I have a copy in my briefcase to read during dead times and waiting for meetings. It's fun to reread some of those great scenes. I'm not sure I can wait patiently for book 2.

[info]ewokallie

March 23 2008, 06:08:37 UTC 4 years ago

Interview

That was a really cool intereview.
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