tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37530025486152432472024-03-13T17:20:25.985+00:00Red Moon ChronicleReviews & Interviews - Dedicated to Science Fiction, Fantasy and the Speculation of Creative MindsWayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-84360296870718228782018-01-23T13:00:00.000+00:002018-01-23T13:04:17.972+00:00Interview with Dave Seeley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GL63kmbQZBw/WmcOnfUwobI/AAAAAAAACW8/Gz_Xa-PwXd8S_C-iFjKBlU3edzN8KaWXwCLcBGAs/s1600/ButteryBathroom-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GL63kmbQZBw/WmcOnfUwobI/AAAAAAAACW8/Gz_Xa-PwXd8S_C-iFjKBlU3edzN8KaWXwCLcBGAs/s400/ButteryBathroom-small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";"><b>Dave Seeley claims to be a victim of modern mass media and the one-second-MTV-vid-shot, hence the moniker “Image Junkie”. He is far more influenced by contemporary sci-fi film noir than by the legacy of science fiction illustration.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";"><b>Dave came from an education in architecture and fine art. After 10 years as an award-winning architect, he was seduced by the glamour of illustration and derailed his career for the far more immediate gratification of image making. The inner-architect is flourishing in his work, where a sense of materials fetishism and a love of spatial atmospherics are omnipresent. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";"><b>Dave’s recent monograph, <u>The Art of Dave Seeley</u>, published by Insight Editions, has received top-ranked reviews from ImagineFX magazine and io9.com. In addition, Dave is one of 10 artists profiled in Dick Jude’s <u>Fantasy Art Masters</u> by Harper Collins and profiled in Karen Haber’s <u>Masters of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art</u>. He is a contributor to Jane Frank’s <u>Pixel or Paint</u> by NonStop Press. Dave is interviewed in issue 39 of <u>ImagineFX Magazine</u> and is featured in the August ’06 <u>Art Scene International</u>. He is also featured in the documentary film by Michael MacDonald at Roadhouse films called <u>Visions From the Edge: The Art of Science Fiction</u>, and is included in the Bill Neimeyer film <u>Art of the Fantastic</u>.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";"><b>Clients Include: Hasbro, Disney, Lucasfilm, Vivendi Universal, Microsoft Games Studios, FromSoft Games, Sideshow Collectibles, Sony, Baen Books, Tor Books, Randomhouse / Del Rey / Ballantine Books / Penguin, Harlequin Gold Eagle, Ace, St Martins, Kensington Books, PYR press, Simon and Schuster, Harper Collins, Scholastic, Harcourt School Publishers, Night Shade Books, Solaris Books, Midway Games, Fox Interactive, The Village Voice, Heavy Metal Magazine, Popular Science Magazine, Boy’s Life Magazine, Humanoids Publishing, White Wolf Publishing, FASA, Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Wild Planet Toys, DC Comics, and a host of advertising firms.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";">You can see, commission, learn about and buy work in multiple media at DaveSeeley.com.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="500" height="275" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TD1KgM7YGP0/Wmckne1Re7I/AAAAAAAACYM/QTfZzkZargwQqF1xD7IQ9P36GLRNFah_wCEwYBhgL/s400/16664919_423652214635267_6303441993022042828_o.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "optima";"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us about your work.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m far more influenced by contemporary sci-fi film noir than by the legacy of science fiction illustration. I strive for edgy, sexy, dark, high impact, gritty, witty, substantial. At any given moment, I’ll have several obsessions bubbling in my psyche, and they all will play a role in current work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I utilize all available tools in 2D and 3D, using photographic, digital and traditional media, and I try to add to my toolbox as often as I can.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="233" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VeuQoYNWAis/WmcpmzgQO2I/AAAAAAAACY4/lfqtCR5w_JEqZKtbwTg0gTEP7Ac7_oqogCEwYBhgL/s320/Skywalker.jpg" width="212" /> <a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VeuQoYNWAis/WmcpmzgQO2I/AAAAAAAACY4/lfqtCR5w_JEqZKtbwTg0gTEP7Ac7_oqogCEwYBhgL/s1600/Skywalker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></a><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="241" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S5g8QHsYJJ4/WmcpmoLCIMI/AAAAAAAACY0/pYeNlgX71C0aCDizKpV5aDZ8mKOTLPfWgCEwYBhgL/s320/Solo.jpg" width="219" /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us about your artistic training, learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, I went to school as an architecture major and minored in fine art. Then I practised as an architect for a dozen years while collecting comics and fantasy art before I decided to make the lateral move to being a pro illustrator. I certainly approach image making with an eye toward complex problem solving, which is the core of architectural design. I also still have a strong sense of materials fetishism and a love of spatial atmospherics. Not sure if that was in place prior to architecture training, but it persists in my work as an illustrator.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="500" height="289" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QdhTSG1rhqI/WmckhPsp0YI/AAAAAAAACYU/Xy9IN2PZQ9gY65rMttTT8bdzpdvEPmT1ACEwYBhgL/s320/18699938_475275736139581_61335781343771616_n.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->How did your interest in science fiction and fantasy develop?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve always been fascinated by visions of the future or alternate visions of our past. Early television shows certainly played a part and pulp novels as a teen. Heavy Metal magazine was a great source of sci-fi, fantasy, and libido tickling rolled into one visual package. It introduced me to adult-centric euro-comics.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HYl8UyYMvKc/Wmckihm6IJI/AAAAAAAACYI/qTuo4uL6jWgANZU0MHmKtz7XOh2ye6Z3QCEwYBhgL/s320/16587121_421888284811660_1495835516480526081_o.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<b>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><o:p></o:p><b style="text-indent: -18pt;">What is the glamour of image making?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is glamour in the conquest of a satisfying final image, and the reaction of my audience as the rabbit is pulled from the hat. That sets one apart and provides for a low level simmering celebrity, in our tiny circle.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->What are your ambitions as an artist?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My ambitions have always been “to feed the art spirit, and still get paid.” Easy to do one OR the other, or both part-time; but tough to do both simultaneously full time. Of course, the art spirit is a moving target, so I make an effort to take time to reflect and plot my course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="369" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oAwKuoHHrnI/WmckgISHJmI/AAAAAAAACYY/QwDJzcUfXncvlnRkCA_LT_f7Au5HffEWACEwYBhgL/s320/unnamed%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="236" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us about your fine art tools and techniques and how you incorporate them into your art and illustrations.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oil painting is my primary fine art tool. Digital tools have replaced almost all else because of superiority in explorations and modifications. I used to draw incessantly, and now, almost never. It’s the final look/feel and painterliness of oils that I love, so often when I use it, I have already developed the image digitally to a very high degree of finish, then make an archival print, and cover it in oil paint as a final massaging of beautiful abstract mark making. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5pu6C7xml9w/WmckeJitotI/AAAAAAAACYY/W5qWyyRilQM9k-GsnHgXvohsubkWcB9NwCEwYBhgL/s400/16819492_430441510623004_7277466454228578557_o.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most rewarding part is emerging from the inherent struggle of the creative process with something that is surprising and or satisfying. All of it is challenging, and I find that sustained attention and iteration is how you overcome challenges. Sometimes mixing several projects into a timeline helps by getting me disengaged and allowing a fresh look when I return.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lAlJAiyzDaA/WmclvpEQ7YI/AAAAAAAACYg/_f2SuDxgQCkWHXgS46Um7XzRQdHiuJhhwCLcBGAs/s320/dave%2Bseeley-1200x1200.jpg" width="253" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us about your book, The Art of Dave Seeley.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The book was a very long time in the making… but awesome to have it published and out there. It started as a conversation with Insight Editions, my publisher, about a dozen years ago, when they were doing a lot of high-end Star Wars related books. The initial flirtation waned and went dormant because I think there was a lacklustre response from potential buyers. In 2013, I reached out again, thinking it really was time to make the book, and they ultimately agreed. An “art of” book is on every artist’s bucket list, so it’s very satisfying to have that one checked off. The only substantive downside is that every time I finish a new image that I really love, I’m sad that it’s NOT in the book. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="500" height="304" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vwzs-2V5mF4/Wmck2cr8uDI/AAAAAAAACYY/9NAJr3WCNagWjt469a93ht7DNeBjmk3kQCEwYBhgL/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us about the role of photography in your work.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Photography has been in my life since my dad gave me a Canonette 28 rangefinder camera as a teen. It was a necessary base skill in college while studying architecture, and even more so when I swapped into illustration. I had a subsistence level skill up until about six years ago when I decided I really needed to up my game. I expanded my equipment and began to learn a lot about studio lighting. I rigged up a drop screen and began using model/photographer sites to track models. I’d hire a model for a particular job, and then shoot for everything else I could think of. It was incredibly helpful in image building for illustration to develop my own series of shoots of high resolution “stock.” Typically publishers will only pay for a single shoot, so this allows me to do multiple characters from my backlog of pics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="271" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cIEQI3awDsk/WmckkjGQD-I/AAAAAAAACYQ/0OibhgvYL_0FNPBXoEsH0_t6yl4uyo6WgCEwYBhgL/s320/dave-seeley-jaguarpriestess3000.jpg" width="173" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->How essential are Photoshop, Corel Painter, and other types of software to you as a professional artist?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I lecture on my process, I talk about my “toolbox.” Within the toolbox, Photoshop is the glue. It allows me to take all the disparate parts and pieces created with all the tools, and put them together seamlessly. In contrast, Painter is a very specific tool for me. It’s about digitally giving the image a painterly quality…so more like a very complex and multifaceted “filter” within Photoshop. The way I use Painter, it’s only about the final finish. There are times when I don’t have time to mount a canvas and use oil paint, and there are images where the client wants a purely digital workflow. I use 3d software more and more. It’s awesome for finding unexpected perspectives or lighting a complex architectural background.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NLywA4qPiPM/Wmck_MNBmCI/AAAAAAAACYY/Ug1Prf0obh8Yt6Cd3Uc-gP4sY5wu5whzACEwYBhgL/s320/PredatorPredalienPrint.jpg" width="226" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>11.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->What advice can you give regarding copyright protection?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can only speak to copyright protection under the US laws. As soon as you create an image that is not derivative of another work, it is considered copyrighted. If you chase another person’s infringement of your work, it becomes an issue of proving you created yours first, so documentation is an issue. Registering your work with the US Copyright Office is the best way, but because of time and modest expense, most artists don’t bother. That said, I don’t worry much about it. I’d much rather be creating new work, than fretting over people stealing my images. With time and expense, you can get a court injunction for infringers to stop, but you can’t get a monetary judgement from them unless you can show that their infringement has lost you revenue. That’s an unlikely scenario for an illustrator. If the infringer is looking at financial loss because they have to pull product from the market because of an injunction, then they will typically pay you a settlement in order to license the image. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Flip that around, and my advice to artists who infringe on other artists’ work, is don’t do it. It’s not legal, despite what you think you know. There is no such thing as “changed it enough.” “Fair use” does not apply to commercial work. Anything derived from another’s work, in any degree, without a license, is illegal. The rub is that it costs money and time to chase infringers, so they think they will not get caught, or they even evolve into believing that it must be ok because they aren’t seeing other infringers penalized. Legality aside, artists who infringe develop a reputation as thieves, and at some point, clients avoid them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="500" height="278" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDujo6JBkbA/WmckZt6wD6I/AAAAAAAACYQ/OiGxr1ZON4Qb5zn2azd2GucgIbacxMzwgCEwYBhgL/s400/17522999_450487628618392_4804620597694366973_n.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>12.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->In the digital age, a lifetime of work can be lost in an instant. How do you store, archive, and backup your precious work?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I keep two complete sets of backups on hard drives…. and one is off-site. I rotate the on and off-site copies as often as I can. This is so much less expensive now that huge hard drives are comparatively cheap. I depend on hard drives failing, but not at the same time. Still risky, but so far so good. Yet another set of drives in another location would be a worthwhile expense (maybe one for images only). For backup files on hard drives, I use Carbon Copy Cloner to keep them identical. That does NOT protect me from overwriting as yet un-cloned files (usually current working files) inadvertently. For that, I use Apple’s Time Machine functionality with a dedicated 8tb drive inside my desktop computer… hourly. That way, I can protect anything over one hour’s work. The only time it has failed me is when I inadvertently overwrite a file without realizing it for a long period of time. That happens.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpKVLI8x88/WmcwAPgFITI/AAAAAAAACZE/ADSvcq3QzD8aTq811k45uzeIUdx9-db1ACEwYBhgL/s1600/dave-seeley-terminator1arnoldweb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEpKVLI8x88/WmcwAPgFITI/AAAAAAAACZE/ADSvcq3QzD8aTq811k45uzeIUdx9-db1ACEwYBhgL/s320/dave-seeley-terminator1arnoldweb.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>13.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently or good books you’ve read.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m constantly discovering new art I like/love. Facebook and Instagram are great for that. Recent discoveries are <a href="http://nicolasuribeart.com/">http://nicolasuribeart.com/</a> and <a href="https://willeysart.com/">https://willeysart.com/</a> , both via Instagram. Currently enjoying audiobook Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari. Fun to get a long-term perspective, and to ponder that we were happier as hunter-gatherers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mEeOiiAfj8U/Wmckql2oi4I/AAAAAAAACYQ/hJ0iovLe-7cOb51ldLXg2KHWtNwaDmIHwCEwYBhgL/s1600/QueenOfWandsPainted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mEeOiiAfj8U/Wmckql2oi4I/AAAAAAAACYQ/hJ0iovLe-7cOb51ldLXg2KHWtNwaDmIHwCEwYBhgL/s320/QueenOfWandsPainted.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>14.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->What are your other interests?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was an architect I had hobbies in personal computing, collecting comics and art, painting, drawing, travelling and woodworking. Most of those have been subsumed in my career as an illustrator, and I am ALWAYS working. Even when I’m on vacation, I shoot pictures that I might use in my illustrations. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBwRGUmo1XY/WmcwbLdQPSI/AAAAAAAACZI/1FKpt7YE6eIpVuYawqLLgsjzybccslNBwCLcBGAs/s1600/AutumnKnightPrint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="500" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HBwRGUmo1XY/WmcwbLdQPSI/AAAAAAAACZI/1FKpt7YE6eIpVuYawqLLgsjzybccslNBwCLcBGAs/s320/AutumnKnightPrint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 31.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 31.5pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b>15.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Where can we find you and your work?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Art of Dave Seeley</u> is a great collection up through February 2015. The only piece I had, but could not show because of NDA, was Ronin.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Signed Slipcased edition available through me exclusively on <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/262637656477?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649">eBay</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or Trade Edition via <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Art-Dave-Seeley/dp/1608874052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421644292&sr=8-1&keywords=art+of+dave+seeley">Amazon</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Online:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.daveseeley.com/">www.daveseeley.com</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.shannonassociates.com/davidseeley">www.shannonassociates.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.photographercentral.com/photographer/26551767636661/boston-photographer-dave-seeley-boston-massachusetts">www.photographercentral.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ixgallery.com/ArtistGalleryRoom.asp?ArtistId=1012">www.ixgallery.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-3150451525578797092016-04-15T13:56:00.000+01:002019-05-31T13:17:22.766+01:00Interview with Armen Chakmakian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cWwPejPpwEU/VxDHBJdq0LI/AAAAAAAACBg/t7j-A7K-4aQqIHOkg2JsfLL2CCq8ehJWgCLcB/s400/ArmenC_021116_623%2BSide%2Blg%2Bsq%2Bheadshot.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Armen Chakmakian is an Armenian-American musician, composer, recording artist, and producer. A native of Glendale, California where he still resides, Armen attended the Berklee College of Music, UCLA, and USC. </b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>His professional recording career began in 1991 when he joined the GRAMMY® Award-winning band, Shadowfax as their keyboardist. It was his unique style of World Fusion blending indigenous Armenian and Arabic influences with contemporary jazz, and world elements that helped win him the prestigious job. A prolific composer, Armen began incorporating his signature style when he co-wrote the music for Esperanto. This led to him receiving his own GRAMMY® AWARD nomination when the Shadowfax production was nominated for Best New Age Album of 1992. For the next four years, he co-wrote, recorded and toured with the band as they produced an impressive body of work including the albums Magic Theater, Shadowfax Live and a 90-minute concert video of the Live album. </b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>Armen launched an indie label, TruArt Records in 1998 releasing his first solo album, Ceremonies to rave reviews. The album debuted #1 on the New Age/World radio charts (NAV Top 50) and received airplay on more than 600 stations worldwide. Two tracks from Ceremonies entitled Gypsy Rain and Distant Lands were featured on the European compilation CD series, Buddha-Bar, and Buddha-Bar IV, which were released in 2000 and 2002, respectively. To date, they have sold more than 700,000 units.</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>In 2004, the label released Armen’s second solo album, Caravans, a 12-track production melding the artist’s unique, contemporary jazz compositions with exotic world percussion and textures. Like its predecessor, this collection received dozens of glowing reviews continuing to build TruArts’ worldwide audience.</b><br />
<b><br /></b> <b>In addition to his solo career and time with Shadowfax, Armen has contributed to a variety of other productions including Cirque du Soleil’s flagship show, Saltimbanco. He has continued to experiment with various genres leading him to a new body of work composing source music and library music for television. In this area alone he has amassed more than 200 credits since entering the field.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cUkhTnuqcCE/VxDcA9TTQ6I/AAAAAAAACCM/mgni7Cu3Sv0EQ7mG2MyrIt7pcPN9IPSgACLcB/s1600/Armen-Saltimbanco%2BProgram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cUkhTnuqcCE/VxDcA9TTQ6I/AAAAAAAACCM/mgni7Cu3Sv0EQ7mG2MyrIt7pcPN9IPSgACLcB/s400/Armen-Saltimbanco%2BProgram.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about your inspiration and development as a musician.</b><br />
<br />
I’m still developing!<br />
<br />
I loved music as far back as I could remember. I always wanted a drum set when I was a kid…in preschool. So for my birthday one year, my dad bought me a cheap drumkit from Sears. I was elated! The family gathered around as I sat on the stool and I started singing “Onward Christian Soldier” while bangin’ out the rhythm on the toms. I got about 10 seconds into the tune before all the paper drumheads were torn and that was the end of my career as a drummer. I had 2 older brothers; one a big band jazz fan and saxophonist/clarinetist; the other a lover of all things late 60’s/early 70’s rock. My parents always had music on the turntable - Armenian pop, Arabic pop, Armenian choir and some classical. So I was getting it from all sides. When I was 7 years old, my parents moved us into a new home, which happened to be next door to a woman who had kids coming and going. I sat on the wall of our driveway and watched this happening for a couple of days before I finally walked over there, knocked on her door and told her I noticed all the kids coming and going and asked her what’s going on. She invited me in, sat me down at a piano, next to her on a stool, and started to play. That was the first time I’d been in the presence of a pianist and a musician of that caliber. Nell Sansom Brown would be my piano teacher for the next 10 years.<br />
<br />
A few years later my brother, the big band fan, started taking me to the USO gatherings where he’d sit in with musicians who had played with most of the famous big band leaders. It was pretty incredible. Then he taught me how to read basic jazz chord charts for some of those tunes and at around 10 years old we’d visited a couple of old-folks homes and played, as a duo, songs that were familiar to them. I remember how they lit up and that felt amazing – to see all the smiles. Age 12, my Uncle decided it’s time to start a family band playing some 50s tunes, Armenian pop songs, and some continental pop thrown in for good measure. That’s when I started “gigging” and getting paid. Picnics, Armenian weddings, birthday parties. It was a blast to play with my cousins, brother, and uncle! I was getting turned on to a lot of music from friends at the time too – Styx, Queen, Beatles… then I heard Van Halen, the hair on my arms was standing on end. I’d never heard anything like that before. I also loved Randy Rhoads who was the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne’s first two solo albums. I listened every weekend to the Dr. Dimento show and discovered Frank Zappa, which was the first time music made me laugh. There was some 80s pop I loved too, but I was never really into lyrics. I was too busy honing in on the groove and melody and what the instruments were doing to create that groove. I was more into music than the piano or keyboards as an instrument so when my friend’s father took us to see Return to Forever – it blew my mind!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jhDH8Mcorp8/VxDcuBiVG9I/AAAAAAAACCY/KTb5mUw18q0xtZ93nWHmLig96XLdQ1HoACLcB/s1600/MI0002012897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jhDH8Mcorp8/VxDcuBiVG9I/AAAAAAAACCY/KTb5mUw18q0xtZ93nWHmLig96XLdQ1HoACLcB/s320/MI0002012897.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
But I still felt like a drummer trapped in a keyboardist’s body, so I bought a drumset. I was 15 and joined the high school marching band as a drummer. Something very important happened to me in that band. Three of the seniors turned me on to jazz, progressive rock, and music that you couldn’t really categorize. Over the next month or so, I discovered Chick Corea as a solo artist, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, U.K., Michael Oldfield and Tubular Bells, Walter/Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream, King Crimson, Bill Bruford’s solo stuff, Alan Holdsworth, Mark Isham, anything Terry Bozzio played on and a bunch of other recording artists. Those were the days where I’d go to a friend’s house and for hours, we’d sit on the floor. I’d have the vinyl album cover in my hand for one record, and we’d listen and talk about what we were hearing. My friends would explain how the sounds were created, point out different things to pay attention to, and the time would fly by. Those days were really important – extremely important to me and that’s when I started writing my own music on the piano.<br />
<br />
My senior year of high school I took an analog synthesizer programming class at the local college and learned to program synthesizers and sequencers (1984), which was also huge. Shortly after, I studied improvisation on the piano with Chuck Wild who later became the artist behind the Liquid Mind albums. Chuck gave me great confidence because I never felt like I completely fit into a neat and tidy category as a musician or artist. “What do you call that music you’re writing?” I don’t know. I was fortunate enough to always have musicians around me and would start my own projects. Eventually, I met Chuck Greenberg and was part of Shadowfax from 1991-1995 until his passing. What I admired most about my music heroes and Shadowfax is that they all had something unique about them… a style that was theirs and theirs alone. I wanted that and during my time with Shadowfax, I enrolled in a History of Armenian music class at USC and was introduced to hours and hours of music I’d never heard before. I’d transcribe as much as I could and let it soak in…much of it was familiar to me already and then I would just improvise and play freely on the piano, recording everything I played. Those improvisations and recordings eventually turned into my first solo album, “Ceremonies.”<br />
<br />
<b>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are you a Tolkien fan?</b><br />
<br />
No. I never gravitated towards that type of fantasy. A part of me wishes I was because I see a lot of people who are total fanatics. I’m more of a sci-fi fan but I like sci-fi that can back up the technology – even if it’s technobabble that’s impossible. Most of all I love biographies. I love information. I like reading a well-written manual too!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BRPXEZXgckE/VxDZ6NEqo8I/AAAAAAAACBw/9M_Nzbk7fOgA6b-oGV2TESuccxiyQOKdQCLcB/s1600/Shadowfax%2BWTC%2B1993%2B-%2B07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BRPXEZXgckE/VxDZ6NEqo8I/AAAAAAAACBw/9M_Nzbk7fOgA6b-oGV2TESuccxiyQOKdQCLcB/s400/Shadowfax%2BWTC%2B1993%2B-%2B07.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shadowfax performing at CD101's "Jazz at the World Trade Center."</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about Shadowfax.</b><br />
<br />
If you asked me back then to name any band in the world that I’d like to be a part of, I would’ve told you Peter Gabriel or Shadowfax. But Peter Gabriel isn’t a band so I’d have to throw that idea out. As their keyboardist, I had free reign as far as sound design, coming up with parts, introducing music to the band, it was wide open. There were no rules. It was a great hang, I learned a lot about music, food, the music business and how to read a contract and understand every single word. It was a band of brothers, a family, a school (I got schooled a couple of times!), and one of the highlights of my life.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about your label and studio albums. </b><br />
<br />
TruArt Records. I started the label after going to 36 labels with “Ceremonies” and hearing, “That sounds great! What kind of music do you call it?” I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that almost everyone I talked to at all the labels asked me the same question. Instead of saying “I don’t know” or “Good music” or “Music that I think doesn’t suck”, I started asking back – “What would you call it?” Then I’d hear, “I don’t know.” Some of the people told me if I could come up with one word to describe my music, they might be able to “do something with it.” I thought that’s why labels had marketing departments.<br />
<br />
I called my former piano teacher and friend Chuck Wild, who I talked about earlier in the interview and asked him how he ended up releasing his own albums on his own label. He already had success with his Liquid Mind albums and has a very organized and brilliant business mind. He introduced me to Suzanne Doucet who I brought on as a consultant and we ended up releasing “Ceremonies” tied at #1 on the radio with an Anne Dudley album in 1998 and had a track, “Gypsy Rain” -two tracks licensed by the Buddha-Bar series. At that point, it was 90% business and 10% music, which was frustrating. It was a great experience. I loved working with the people I had brought on, and most of the buyers at the stores, but I didn’t like that it was cutting into my music time. So it was 6 years before I had released “Caravans.” The business model in the music biz had completely changed and Tower Records, which was my bread and butter was going to file bankruptcy in two years unbeknownst to me. So the label is “inactive” at the moment while I have a career writing music for television.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vmmww8vy5iY/VxDbVDXWrTI/AAAAAAAACB8/iHP0mRk9Fzk33oBsgk7J0fO1fhh1w9EmwCLcB/s320/CeremoniesCoverCropped.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<b>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why did you choose to create these albums, and what do you hope to give to your listeners? </b><br />
<br />
It’s fun for me to turn my friends on to something that makes them smile or feel good. Writing this music, arranging it, getting the musicians together to record, mixing, mastering – I love the entire process and felt that I had something to offer that was uniquely my own. The hope was to turn people on to something that they’d enjoy listening to that was something they hadn’t heard before and have them feel good about it. It’s the same reason I enjoy cooking for people or making someone laugh. It comes from the same place.<br />
<br />
<b>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</b><br />
<br />
Beauty. “Art” has different meanings to different people. There are the “I’m going to paint a glacier red” artists or the “I’m going to dress up a mannequin in an NYPD uniform, turn it upside down and sell it for $90,000” artists – these are real projects. Whether they qualify as art or not is not for me to say. I’m moved by things that I find to be beautiful. Seeing or hearing something beautiful makes me feel great. It can be soothing, exciting, healing – that’s what I look for in art and that’s what I want to express. I’m hoping the listener finds something beautiful and healing in my music. I write about that in my liner notes. I’m big on liner notes, which is an endangered species now. There’s an anecdote about every piece I write…another way for me to connect with the listener.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1FZJlCeuuMs/VxDbgOej5bI/AAAAAAAACCE/_UBEwy6ch84LHk4aAz11vtxwucV2zVM_QCLcB/s320/caravans%2Bfinal%2Bcover.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<b>7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How would you describe traditional Armenian music to anyone who has not had the pleasure of listening to it? </b><br />
<br />
There’s a long timeline of music that came from the area well beyond what are now the borders of this tiny country. Once the largest country in that area, those borders have been eroded a great deal. Verbally, describing the music to a layman is difficult for me to really nail. The music that I have heard and the notation I’ve read – it’s very simple music. It comes so much from the heart… a pouring out of emotions at times. Some of it has a sense of humor or can even sound a bit mischievous. Now that I think about it, I’m describing the overall personality of the Armenian people. Much of it was written for dance, in odd time signatures or no time signature at all. Originally there were no harmonies with multiple instruments. It was all unison until it was influenced by European music and it continued to evolve. There’s the instrument that Peter Gabriel introduced to the world when he composed his score for the film, “The Last Temptation of Christ” in 1988 – the duduk. He talked about this Armenian instrument. It’s kind of become the “poster boy” instrument for Armenian music to the rest of the world. It has a gorgeous sound in the right hands.<br />
<br />
<b>8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about your collaborations and the part your Armenian heritage plays in your work.</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
When I was taking the History of Armenian music class at USC, and really diving into it, my teacher, Lucina Agbabian-Hubbard asked me if I’d like to meet Djivan Gasparyan, the duduk player. He’s also an amazing singer and plays other wind and brass instruments. Of course, I said yes. I picked him up from the airport, stopped at a dry cleaners shop to drop off a pair of his pants, then went right to my studio and we laid down the tracks for “Distant Lands.” I had the rhythm track all laid down, and he played a collage of existing melodies from other Armenian songs. That’s one of his specialties. He can hear a rhythm track and start playing from beginning to end playing melodies from maybe 3 to 6 different existing pieces to create this new cohesive melody. It’s pretty amazing to hear him do it. Parts of the melodies might be improvisations. But in my recordings, everything I grew up listening to comes out somehow and that includes the old Armenian choral, pop, Arabic popular music and everything else that’s in that cocktail of a thousand songs that is somewhere buried deep inside of my brain.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vmL8WljZrSE/VxDgTYxoOXI/AAAAAAAACCk/OOfyd6hIlHokVx_r-kd4NqoG6ZRViqL7QCLcB/s400/Ceremonies.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
<b>9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about the production of your Ceremonies video. </b><br />
<br />
Albert Kodagolian, the director and me were part of a group of mutual friends. He approached me one day and said, “You need a video, and I’m the one to make it for you.” I said ok. We talked a little bit about it and I told him, I want to make something with an old man, a pomegranate, a baby and a good looking couple. So we met at a later time and he had it all storyboarded - all, minus the baby, and he suggested we shoot it in the desert because of the lighting and also we wouldn’t have to pay for lighting. I loved his ideas, so I recruit the band and a friend who I know will look good in the video and we meet out in the desert – El Mirage lake bed in California. Albert had a van that he would use for most of the shots involving camera movement. He would be hanging out of the van while there was one person inside the van holding on to his belt and another person holding open the door so he wouldn’t get decapitated. It was crazy! There were people riding motorcycles, ATVs, and other cars, so he took these incredible shots where it looked like we were all out there alone in the desert. By the time he got to shooting the band, the sun had just set, and we didn’t have great lighting, but he used that to his advantage as you’ll see when you watch the video. The old man in the video was Albert’s grandfather. He was the sweetest man, and was thanking everyone and was expressing his joy for having met us all and working with us. The following day, Albert told me that his grandfather remembered none of it because of his Alzheimers disease. He’s my favorite part of that entire video. Albert proved correct telling me weeks earlier that he was the one who should make the video for me.<br />
<br />
<b>10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Do you have plans to release more studio albums? </b><br />
<br />
I think about it but have mixed feelings. I have enough music for another four albums. Since the music biz was turned on its head in the mid-2000s, I don’t see a way to do it without making it an expensive hobby for myself. I’d love to release more music. The music part of it is the easy part; having to handle the business part of it as well, that’s just no fun for me anymore.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t-z7__ywbGc/VxDhOy6X2oI/AAAAAAAACC4/vE_EL3ufGAAyiG88_ATVcTNAQHVAZSXIACLcB/s1600/IMG_6140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t-z7__ywbGc/VxDhOy6X2oI/AAAAAAAACC4/vE_EL3ufGAAyiG88_ATVcTNAQHVAZSXIACLcB/s400/IMG_6140.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell us about your work with film and television. </b><br />
<br />
I received two phone calls in 2004 that changed the course of my music career. They were both for television shows. One call was to license a track from Ceremonies, “Echoes of a Prayer” for the show “Malcolm in the Middle.” The second call was from a production company asking if I’d be interested in writing music cues for their television shows. I’ve been doing it ever since. I’m writing music I would’ve never have been able to produce on one of my albums, or anyone else’s for that matter. The variety of genres I’m asked to compose is endless. I’ve been doing it for about 12 years now and it’s a blast!<br />
<b><br /></b> <b>12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</b> <br />
<br />
The beginning steps are the most fun, but finishing up a work or project is the most rewarding. I had a ritual when I’d finish any album where I’d take the finished album, get into my car late at night and take a drive down to the beach while listening to it beginning to end.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GoGNIe1WBas/VxDhs-dWIdI/AAAAAAAACDE/9H3eUd6-XMQrUoxrcMiqHloifmzyBsr9gCLcB/s1600/Doheny%2BBlues%2B-%2B17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GoGNIe1WBas/VxDhs-dWIdI/AAAAAAAACDE/9H3eUd6-XMQrUoxrcMiqHloifmzyBsr9gCLcB/s400/Doheny%2BBlues%2B-%2B17.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Doheny Blues Festival, 2008.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and how do you overcome it? </b><br />
<br />
Different projects have different speed bumps or different walls I might seem to come up against. The key is to just not stop. To keep on it until there’s a breakthrough. Sometimes, the challenging part is to get everyone in the same room if that’s what’s called for. Other times, it might be all the editing involved. Staying up late nights can be another. It varies quite a bit for me.<br />
<b><br /></b> <b>14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What have you done to promote and market your music, and what advice would you give to other artists? </b><br />
<br />
If you asked me this back in the late 90s, I would’ve had brilliant advice. But now I wouldn’t know how valuable my advice would be in this climate of the music business. I don’t take the time to actively promote or market my music from my albums anymore. The advice I’d give to other artists is to simply do your thing. Create what you want to create and what satisfies you. Try to find what’s unique about what you do and develop that.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5N9zwYrfuRk/VxDhDbaIMFI/AAAAAAAACCw/9Lqr3QGXQWsCLFsw2T0hfYFv9Rq-Tgi2gCLcB/s1600/MI0000461375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5N9zwYrfuRk/VxDhDbaIMFI/AAAAAAAACCw/9Lqr3QGXQWsCLFsw2T0hfYFv9Rq-Tgi2gCLcB/s320/MI0000461375.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal listener?</b><br />
<br />
Very simply, my ideal listener would be someone who enjoys the music. Of course, as the artist, I would like a listener who would drop everything and give the music their full attention. They’d notice every nuance and be curious about things that they hear in the music and aren’t sure what they are. Then, they’ll call (do people call anymore?) all of their friends raving about it and post flyers in the neighborhood pledging their allegiance to it! I once met a friend of a friend who spoke with me about the keyboard textures and sound design on the record. It felt good to have that part of my creation noticed since I rarely use preset sounds. I like to make my own synth patches.<br />
<b><br /></b> <b>16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What are your interests outside of music? </b><br />
<br />
I love sports, cooking, and tea. I played sports growing up and have two older brothers that were always coaching me. One of my earliest memories was my father taking me to a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. He knew the game well enough to understand what’s going on and I remember him jumping out of his seat when our team scored. He turned to the guy next to him and they shook hands. I have some really great sports memories. As far as cooking, I have a handful of some recipes I like to make but mostly like to try out new recipes and cooking for friends. Tea: I was really enamored by tea around 2008 when in one week I had an incredible Japanese Sencha tea and a Chinese ginseng oolong. I didn’t know tea could be that amazing, and I’ve been in love ever since. Dragonwell Lung Ching is my favorite. It’s a green tea, I believe the most popular in China. And, if I could pique your interest with this thought: If you make green tea and it’s bitter, which was my experience for many years, you’re either (1) brewing it too hot (about 175 °F for green tea), (2) steeping it too long (3 gms for about 30-45 seconds for the first brew), or (3) using the dust that fell on the floor from the higher quality tea.<br />
<br />
<b>17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Where can we find you and your work? </b><br />
<br />
<i>My albums could be found here:</i><br />
<a href="http://cdbaby.com/Artist/ArmenChakmakian">CD Baby</a><br />
<a href="http://itunes.com/armenchakmakian">iTunes</a><br />
<i><br /></i> <i>Examples of my tv music can be heard at:</i><br />
<a href="http://armen.tv/music">Armen TV</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/VftH17zxCRg">Ceremonies Video</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/C_TBMfVp144">Neda’s Calling Video Tribute</a><br />
<i>Read about it here:</i><br />
<a href="http://armen.tv/?p=296">Armen TV</a><br />
<a href="http://armen.tv/?p=297">Armen TV</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/UQFMVSE-v0w"> Souls and Saints Video</a><br />
<br />
<i>Social Media:</i><br />
<a href="http://facebook.com/armenchakmakianmusic">Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://twitter.com/armenchakmakian">Twitter</a><br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/armenchakmakian">Instagram</a><br />
<a href="http://linkedin.com/in/armenchakmakian">Linkedin</a><br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span> <span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-26653069052805697302016-02-10T01:18:00.000+00:002016-02-23T11:34:34.661+00:00Interview with Alan Dean Foster<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="307" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k42GKdL7KBg/Vrp3UO9tE4I/AAAAAAAAB8k/nbbvL9MBe2w/s400/Author%2Band%2Bfriend.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Alan Dean Foster is an American writer known primarily for his work in fantasy and science fiction. Born in New York City in 1946, he was raised in Los Angeles and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and a Master of Fine Arts in Cinema from UCLA.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Foster's published oeurve includes more than 100 books featuring excursions into hard science-fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction. He has also written numerous non-fiction articles on film, science, and scuba diving, as well as having produced the novel versions of many films, including such well-known productions as Star Wars (Foster was the <em>ghostwriter</em> of the original novelization of Star Wars, which had been credited solely to George Lucas), the first three Alien films, Alien Nation, The Chronicles of Riddick, Star Trek, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. His latest publications include the fantasy novel Oshenerth, and the young adult fantasy novel The Deavys. Other works include scripts for talking records, radio, computer games, and the story for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. His novel Shadowkeep was the first ever book adaptation of an original computer game. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>In addition to publications in English his work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has won awards in Spain and Russia. His novel Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990, the first work of science-fiction ever to do so. He is also the recipient of the ‘Faust’ - the IAMTW Lifetime Achievement Award.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Foster's love of the far-away and exotic has led him to travel extensively. Besides traveling he enjoys listening to both classical music and heavy metal. Other pastimes include basketball, hiking, body surfing, and scuba diving. In his age and weight class he is a current world and Eurasian champion in power-lifting (bench press). He studied karate with brothers Aaron and Chuck Norris. He has taught screenwriting, literature, and film history at UCLA and Los Angeles City College as well as having lectured at universities and conferences around the world. A member of the Science-Fiction Writers of America, the Author's Guild of America, and the Writer's Guild of America, he also spent two years serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission of his home town of Prescott, Arizona. Foster's correspondence and manuscripts are in the Special Collection of the Hayden Library of Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJkC3J5rQJA/Vrp8RUwfEnI/AAAAAAAAB80/pkd-Ha0KDgo/s320/the-novelization-of-the-original-star-wars-was-ghostwritten-by-foster-and-attributed-to-george-luc.jpeg" width="217" /> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XjAwWU2KXpg/Vrp8hoNWiGI/AAAAAAAAB88/m9S6oWay5vo/s320/51VWcX2sJDL._SX327_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="211" /></b></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">What aspects of your childhood inspired your prolific writing
career?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I
was four, my parents bought me a set of small paperback books called <b><i>The Golden Nature Guides</i></b>. One each for such subjects as birds, insects,
etc. They began a lifelong fascination
with the natural world, and with science.
A year later I received subscriptions to a dozen or so comic books. These came in the mail. I learned how to read from them, especially
from the great comics done by Carl Barks (Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck). Otherwise, I had a very normal childhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about any childhood heroes.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I didn’t
really have any, except in books. My
parents had an old copy of one of the books by the famous world traveler
Richard Halliburton, now little-read. I
poured over his tales and wanted to be like him.</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">How did your career begin?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">August Derleth bought a long Lovecraftian
letter I wrote to him, just for fun. He
ended up publishing it, as a short story, in his semi-annual magazine <b><i>The
Arkham Collector</i></b>. Subsequent to
that, John W. Campbell bought a short, <b><i>With Friends Like These</i></b>, that
appeared in the June, 1971 issue of Analog magazine. Those were my first professional sales.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bi9j157F-qk/VrsGUOnUIdI/AAAAAAAAB_k/XtDc16VpQj0/s320/krang1.jpg" width="199" /> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7nTF2nC5Qg/VrsHL-DAYpI/AAAAAAAAB_w/q5PFpiGEgHY/s1600/bloodhype.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7nTF2nC5Qg/VrsHL-DAYpI/AAAAAAAAB_w/q5PFpiGEgHY/s320/bloodhype.jpg" width="192" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your Humanx Commonwealth Universe.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It
started off as my first novel, <b><i>The
Tar-Aiym Krang</i></b>. At that time I
had no idea if the book would sell. When
Betty Ballantine asked for a sequel, I ended up writing something a bit
different<i>, <b>Bloodhype</b></i>. By the time I was asked for a third novel,
which became <b><i>Icerigger</i></b> but
which did not involve the character of Flinx, it was easier to utilize the
existing background from the first two books instead of inventing an entirely
new one. At that point, the notion of
writing other books in the series on a regular basis became viable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
Humanx Commonwealth is a political and social amalgamation between two species:
ours, and the insectoid Thranx. As
someone who has always rooted for the underdog, I thought it would be
appropriate if, when we do go out to the stars, the intelligent species with
whom we most readily get along turns out to look like creatures we have battled
throughout our entire existence: namely, bugs.
The Thranx are not terrestrial insects, of course. It’s a matter of convergent evolution.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8p7WrIvETeA/VrqAz64qllI/AAAAAAAAB9M/guf6w_kv1S0/s320/alien.jpg" width="197" /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf2VR8OMxGs/VrqCIbOoZNI/AAAAAAAAB9Y/cMElsOkSqQM/s1600/thing.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qf2VR8OMxGs/VrqCIbOoZNI/AAAAAAAAB9Y/cMElsOkSqQM/s320/thing.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">You have either novelised or created several of the most iconic
stories in science fiction, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien,
Terminator, Transformers and The Thing. How have you developed and
maintained your career for so many decades?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As far as
the novelizations are concerned, it became a matter of doing something well
that others involved with similar projects also wished to see done well. In other words, you acquire a reputation for
being good at something. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As to my
original work, I think a large part of it has to do with the fact that I write
in many different genres. Those who
enjoy my fantasy may not care for science fiction, and vice versa. Those who read novelizations may not care for
original fiction. And so on. When you go to a restaurant you may not like
everything on the menu, but if the menu is large and the food is decent, you’ll
find yourself returning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your working regime. What does it take to produce
such a great volume of exceptional work?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I get up,
take care of the house and the critters, go out to my study, and read the news
from all around the world. I go through
my email personally. Then I write. Which means I stare at the computer, or my
surroundings, or the scenery outside, until something forms in my mind, which I
then set down in print. As to volume,
you have to work at it every day.
Doesn’t matter if it’s prose, painting, sculpture, music…do a little
every day and you’d be surprised how much you can produce.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It helps
that I am a fast typist, but these days you can dictate without having to type.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OgJu4o6FL0U/VrqF7WGnAbI/AAAAAAAAB94/tLXqN5b1Aew/s320/interlopers.jpg" width="198" /> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOB4KnabC70/VrqE2RbP_-I/AAAAAAAAB9k/-CvbTd57tyY/s320/midworld.jpg" width="191" /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">I believe your love of adventure, travel, and exotic locations
has been influential in your work. Tell us about some of the places you
have visited that inspired your fictional world-building.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes
you get just a character, or a location, from traveling. Sometimes, as with <b><i>Into the Out Of </i></b>(Tanzania) or Sagramanda (Northern India), you
get an entire novel. Bits and pieces
end up welded together, depending on the storyline. <b><i>Interlopers</i></b>
utilizes locations I’ve visited in Peru, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. The second and third books of the <b><i>Tipping Point</i></b> trilogy are set in
South Africa and Namibia, respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about any underlying themes or messages in your work.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As has
been noted, ecology and the state of the natural world are of great importance
to me. Books like <b><i>Midworld</i></b> and <b><i>Drowning World</i></b> are good examples. But I don’t preach. It’s better to write a popular novel that
reaches a couple of hundred thousand readers and makes one point than to write
a critically acclaimed novel that reaches a hundred readers and makes dozens of
points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Is there an existing film or story you would particularly love
to novelize?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The 1940
version of <b><i>The Thief of Bagdad</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zUi6R4lR1cY/VrqGxPb-VGI/AAAAAAAAB-M/3Jg-YgyWOP0/s320/Spellsinger.jpg" width="192" /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your Spellsinger series.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I attempt something I’ve never done
before, I’ll only do it if I can be different.
Having never written a fantasy novel prior to <b><i>Spellsinger</i></b>, I made a
conscious decision not to do aged wizards with long white beards, princesses in
distress, noble heroes waving magic swords: I wanted to do something
different. And there was that influence
of Carl Barks and his anthropomophosized animals. It all came together very pleasantly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When the characters and the story take
over, and write themselves on autopilot.
When I can sit back and just let them do the heavy lifting for me. In order for that to work, your characters
have to be real and fully-rounded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zzu0Xg4UOLU/VrqI2DinJ0I/AAAAAAAAB-Y/_DwJ6ta2cGY/s320/startrek.jpg" width="213" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8pSgFknoQq0/VrqI5c-SJuI/AAAAAAAAB-g/NNr0Z7Y2Gi8/s320/41jAOfgNJaL._SX309_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="199" /> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--mpQ4bumATw/VrqI8TrnSVI/AAAAAAAAB-o/8H3N4ds_-JU/s320/51Il4Bd6WNL._SX303_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="195" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and
how do you overcome it?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sometimes
you just don’t feel like writing. It’s
as if the mechanical process itself is holding you back. When that happens, you just have to push on. Bad writing is still writing, but it gets you
from page 10 to page 15. You can go back
and fix it, revise, later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your experience filming Great White Sharks in
Australia.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That was
in 1991, with Rodney Fox. Rodney is the
world’s most famous great white shark attack survivor, and has dedicated his
life to their protection. The water was
very cold, so you’re heavily weighted, and in a shark cage you don’t wear
fins. So if you have to get out, you can’t
swim. You just sink. So you’re always wondering if the cage is
going to stay afloat. But once past
that, it’s the closest thing to hanging with dinosaurs you can do today. They’re such magnificent animals. You can reach out between the bars and touch
them as they swim past. Given the
opportunity to free swim with them now, I’d do it in a moment. Sharks are really just big dogs. They’re curious, and they check you out, but
you’re not their natural prey, and they’re more wary than aggressive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5bfeqc9Gyx8/VrqMmpTviSI/AAAAAAAAB-0/nnJE1oeQiAI/s320/oshenerth.jpg" width="208" /> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ORsLEwtpG2c/VrsHtFpZAiI/AAAAAAAAB_8/Z6ux-6oovEU/s1600/deavys.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ORsLEwtpG2c/VrsHtFpZAiI/AAAAAAAAB_8/Z6ux-6oovEU/s400/deavys.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your collection of animals.</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All of
our animals are rescued animals. Current
population is two dogs and eight cats. I
did once have a Columbian boa. Very nice
pet. Doesn’t bark, doesn’t scratch,
doesn’t have to be walked, and easy to
clean up after. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">Where can we find more official information about you and your
work?</span></b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.alandeanfoster.com/">www.alandeanfoster.com</a><span id="goog_2103984635"></span><span id="goog_2103984636"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> Also,
one of my publishers, Open Road Media, maintains a fannish Facebook page for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-28291561141764545192015-04-30T20:13:00.000+01:002015-04-30T20:13:38.429+01:00Interview with Alex Saberi <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_S7xhWg7VOY/VUJjGIMp2kI/AAAAAAAABvc/SqaDYib8Ak4/s1600/alexsaberi.jpg" height="400" width="337" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Alex Saberi is a National Geographic photographer from London, England. He began photography as a hobby, mainly taking photographs of Richmond Park, the largest of London's Royal Parks. Only recently, he turned this hobby into a profession and has published a photo book of the park, titled <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richmond-Park-Alex-Saberi/dp/1851496793">Richmond Park</a></i>.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Alex has appeared in many digital camera magazines and publications, and has won several photography competitions, including the <i>Environmental Protection Agency’s Wildlife Competition</i>, as well as several worldwide online competitions. He placed second in <i>Landscape Photographer of the Year</i> with his photograph, <i>One Man and His Dog</i>, and appeared several times in both the <i>British Wildlife Photographer of the Year </i>and <i>Landscape Photographer of the Year </i>books.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>With his <i>Year in Richmond Park</i> collection, </b><b>Alex has been featured in the national press, including the Daily Mail, Metro, Evening Standard, the Times, the Sun, and the Telegraph. He also appeared in the November edition of National Geographic and is a National Geographic exclusive artist. His photographs are available for commercial use through his agent, Nat Geo Creative.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-53FWs7LxTEQ/VUJ4ALS98EI/AAAAAAAABwA/jRUX7ilOB3g/s1600/saberi_mandog.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></div>
<b><br /></b>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your work.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I am primarily a nature and
wildlife photographer. Although I enjoy mixing it up sometimes by delving into
street photography and more artistic styles. I am happiest when taking photos
of animals with dramatic or atmospheric backdrops.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your photographic training, learning process, and particularly
how your work evolved as a result of it.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I think I was always a creative
person and originally worked as a web designer. I took up photography as a
hobby and enjoyed the whole process of teaching myself. Although, a big help
was using online photographic competition sites such as www.dpchallenge.com.
Here I could learn from other photographers, submit my own work and get
feedback. Each week there were several different challenges, each giving you a
chance to be creative and to learn different styles and techniques. This led me
to develop and turn to what I loved most, nature.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gKIJoq9M6o8/VUJ5mYx3E1I/AAAAAAAABwg/-gcve2mt8QY/s1600/saberi_reflections.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">How
did you make the transition from hobbyist to professional photographer?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Well, I was lucky really, in that a journalist picked
up my work from Flickr. She ran a story on my time in Richmond Park, which was
well received by all the newspapers in the UK. From there, I got a book deal
and offer to appear in Nat Geo November 2011 edition with my Angel Swan photo.
All this happened whilst still doing my day job as a web designer. Shortly
afterwards, I got signed up to be an exclusive photographer with Nat Geo and
decided to leave the day job to become a photographer.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Po6UmLSNnIY/VUJ5Kw7hPBI/AAAAAAAABwY/Wdf5FTPtro8/s1600/saberi_havana.jpg" height="341" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about the gear you use and your loyalty to Canon.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Well, I started with a Canon 300D and then continued
down the 5D path. I now use the Canon 5D MKIII and the MKII as backup. I shot
quite a great deal of photos using the Canon 100-400mm lens, which for me did a
great job. For landscape shots, originally I used the Canon 16-35mm. I have now
moved on to the Canon 200-400mm, which is AMAZING. I love to have the flexibility
of a zoom for wildlife - I think a great deal of shots can be missed otherwise.
I replaced the 16-35mm with a 14mm Canon and a Canon 24-70mm. I prefer that
combination. I also have a few other lenses such as the Canon 85mm 1.8 and
Sigma 50mm 1.4, plus a Canon 180mm macro.<br />
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What’s
always in your camera bag?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I usually carry with me both the MKIII and MKII
bodies, a Canon flash, Canon 200-400mm, 14mm, and 24-70mm MKII lenses. Along
with ND grad filters, polariser, tripod, spare batteries, and a cable release.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OPH8e1yFq90/VUJ40SKGJAI/AAAAAAAABwQ/BamZCW3UTOM/s1600/saberi_angel.jpg" height="273" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about the challenges involved in shooting in exotic, foreign locations.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
In Brazil, where I live now, I
have had a few problems with the humidity. In fact, my Canon 5D MKIII stopped
working several times due to this. I now use silica gel bags in my kit as
standard. The main problem is actually choosing whether to go with a non-photographer,
a photographer, or alone. Each has advantages and disadvantages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you
overcome that which you find challenging?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
For me, just being at an amazing location and having
the sheer luck to have an animal walk into the frame at the right time in the
right spot, that is always the highlight. Then, I suppose, the excitement of
getting home to see it on the computer and find out if it was as good as I
thought. With nature photography, I try to just go with the flow and not force
things. It’s impossible anyway! That way, I never feel challenged, just happy
if I get a few good shots at the end of the day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HxpUv9dWX-I/VUJ4dT-RL7I/AAAAAAAABwI/Ma_WRujThn0/s1600/saberi_realmofthedeer.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your book, Richmond Park.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
My first book, Richmond Park, was a collection of
shots throughout the years in a park, near to where I used to live, in London.
It is still one of the most stunning and atmospheric places I have ever been
to; that, combined with having so many animals there, makes it a very special
place. Even though I must have visited the park over a thousand times, each
time I visited, it took on a slightly different feel. Another thing I really
enjoy, that Brazil doesn’t have, is the seasons. This really makes photography
in the same locations a lot more fun.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">How
essential is Photoshop and other types of software to the contemporary
professional photographer?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
For me, I used Photoshop a lot more in the old days,
when the digital cameras were struggling more to capture what you saw. Now, I
am steering away from any real processing, other than slight contrast and
saturation tweaks, cropping, and white balance control.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T_pvc-lrFn8/VUJ5_G_LgCI/AAAAAAAABww/_tVF-Zg79Wk/s1600/saberi_brazil.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">I’m
aware of at least one instance where your work was used without your
permission. What advice can you give regarding copyright protection?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
There isn’t anything you can really do, apart from
sending a polite email asking if they can credit you. I do try to place a watermark
on my shots in an area where cloning it out would be problematic.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">In
the digital age, a lifetime of work can be lost in an instant. How do you
store, archive, and backup your precious work?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Since I had a hard drive malfunction, a while back, I
always copy each hard drive and store the copies in another location. I try to
always have the work in two places, even three.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UcSW7dUSVuw/VUJ6e3M4N5I/AAAAAAAABw4/Rv_5OrlJRak/s1600/saberi_namibia.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us a little about any good photography you’ve seen recently or good books
you’ve read.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I am a massive fan of Steve McCurry. For me, he captures
the essence of a person or scene.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
advice can you give to aspiring photographers?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Just be true to what you love - combine the love of taking
photos with a passion; whether it is
travel, a sport, people or animals. In that way, the passion will show in the
work.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHi8_TNpyYs/VUJ5yjooS6I/AAAAAAAABwo/hxkyJDlyMJ8/s1600/saberi_salar.jpg" height="252" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Where
can we find you and your work?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Online at <a href="http://www.alexsaberi.com/">www.alexsaberi.com</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexsaberi">www.flickr.com/photos/alexsaberi</a>, www.facebook.com/alexsaberiphotography. The vast majority of my photos are available for commercial use through my agent Nat Geo Creative. Alternatively, please use the contact form on my website to contact me directly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-2882562508914161922015-04-20T14:41:00.000+01:002015-04-20T14:41:09.843+01:00Interview with Mike Thompson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TjjW8C1BE6E/VTTROLjmzYI/AAAAAAAABtE/eho3sWvUZNM/s1600/promo-picture-new-500x500.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Best known for his portraits of entertainers and
celebrities, Mike Thompson has built a name for himself in the world of
art. His paintings have been featured on
television, and in print and web campaigns. Mike began his career working as both
Designer and Art Director in the fashion industry. After creating top selling designs for
companies such as Timberland, Ecko and Nike, the artist left the corporate
world to become a full-time illustrator.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Over the past decade, his artwork has been featured in
magazines, video game covers, movie posters and toy packaging. Some of his clients include: Marvel, Hasbro, Warner Bros, Dimension Films, and Cartoon Network.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>One of Corel’s featured 'Painter Masters,' Mike has hosted
several webinars for the company. His
art and techniques have appeared in many international publications, as well as
the books: <i>Digital Collage and Painting</i>, by Susan Ruddick Bloom, and <i>Secrets
of Corel Painter Experts</i>, by Darryl Wise and Linda Hellfritsch.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bG6LBL_mH0o/VTTVoGectII/AAAAAAAABtY/LDlpmd5dP8U/s1600/Brimstone.jpg" height="348" width="400" /></div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us about your work.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I am a professional illustrator.
Over the past 15 years I’ve worked on pieces for the music, fashion, video game,
television and movie industries.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What
aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I grew up reading comics and
watching cartoons, which proved to be a constant source of inspiration. I was
always a big fan of music, especially hip-hop, so I started my career painting
rappers for magazines. I am also a very big sci-fi and videogame nerd, so later
I transitioned into package design for action figures, and console games.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IXYDE9djlBs/VTTbBtLKOGI/AAAAAAAABt0/i6hssVip04k/s1600/Chun%2BLi.jpg" height="473" width="290" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us about your artistic training, learning process, and particularly how
your work evolved as a result of it.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Drawing and painting has pretty
much been a constant for me since I was a child. I can’t really remember not
doing it. So, naturally, I majored in graphic design in college. I am a fan of
great art, so I look at other artists’ work to improve my own. I still use
books, and tutorial videos, to learn new techniques. I am a big believer that
you are never done learning. That and a desire to always improve is what
motivate me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us about your various creative roles and any important lessons you
learned.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Over the years I have been a
staff artist, art director, creative director and consultant. I’ve enjoyed and
learned a lot from each position. Most importantly, the more people you need to
direct, the less time you have to create. I like to create.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pzheMEZZbIs/VTTdXk17O1I/AAAAAAAABuI/zW-oIYnKT-A/s1600/TuPac.jpg" height="362" width="381" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What
advice would you give to someone considering making a transition from
traditional drawing and painting to digital?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Too many artists jump right into digital work with no
foundation in traditional techniques. I think it is important to start with the
basics before moving to digital work. Where should they start - what equipment
and software do they need? Very simple; paper and pencil. Master that and your
paintings will look infinitely better. As far as equipment for digital work,
any PC with decent specs and enough memory will work. I would definitely
suggest buying a drawing tablet, trying to paint with a mouse is not really an
option.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Corel
Painter is an integral tool in your most recent work. What is Corel Painter and how does it help you to create your stunning images?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Painter is a natural media
painting application. It mimics traditional drawing and painting very
convincingly. One thing I am not a fan of in digital painting is the traditional
“digitally painted” look. I think leaving in brush strokes makes your work less
sterile and far more interesting. I also use Photoshop, usually for its transformation
tools and color correction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Traditional
artistic training or computer aptitude? What advice would you give to anyone
considering a career in commercial illustration?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I believe you have to have some
form of traditional training in order to succeed - even if you are learning
from videos, books or online, that training is very important. Computer
aptitude helps, but I know digital artists who know very little and are
successful.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CKR16goxFPg/VTTbr_JWaxI/AAAAAAAABt8/ExMgJERb2jI/s1600/Joker.jpg" height="400" width="381" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Your
image of the Joker, as portrayed by Heath Ledger, is truly iconic. Tell us
about it.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Thank you. I painted that piece
for Warner Bros. around the time that the Dark Knight was released. It was used
for promotion of the movie and is still one of my favourite pieces. That is one
of those pieces of art I mentioned earlier where leaving in all the strokes
added to the impact of the painting. Unfortunately, it is also one of my most
bootlegged paintings, but I guess that just means people like it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What
do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you
overcome that which you find challenging?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
The most rewarding part of the
process to me is, stepping away from a finished painting and knowing I have
accomplished what I set out to do. I’d like to say it happens more often than
it does, but when you nail it on the first pass, I have to admit, it feels
good. The challenging thing is going back to something that could be done
better and reworking it. Over the years, it’s become less of a chore, or even
an option. It doesn’t matter how much good work I’ve put out, the paintings
people don’t forget are the ones that aren’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us about your contributions to the Verizon Interactive Fan Wall at the
Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey.</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
That was a really fun project. The
concept was pitched to me as kind of Tom Cruise in Minority Report. The ad
agency had me paint full sized versions of the Verizon actors for a 10’ x 30’
wall. They then mounted three HD touch screen monitors vertically on rails in
front of my painting. As you slide the monitor over my painting, it appears on
the monitor then transitions from a black and white static image into a live
action feed talking about the service. Very cool! As a tech nut, I was all over
this project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z6EBjhgpNe4/VTTZ58_gNdI/AAAAAAAABts/gFJHYXNQo6A/s1600/Batman.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>You
have worked on animated television series such as Green Lantern and Beware
the Batman. You have also created posters and iconic images for the film
industry. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the
continuing application of your work to film and television?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
My aspirations are to continue
doing it as long as possible, hah. I am a tremendous comic fan, so working with
DC and now Marvel has always been a dream of mine. I don’t really have any
reservations, what is not to like about superheroes and movies? Working on the
Guardians before the movie came out was fantastic, so I couldn’t be happier.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DovmY1ipofU/VTTg8-NPZ5I/AAAAAAAABug/BlaoMu0bb5s/s1600/NickFury.jpg" height="435" width="290" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us about your work exhibited at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I painted an illustration I
called the 4<sup> </sup>Elements. The concept was four legendary figures of
hip-hop: a graffiti artist (Lady Pink), a break dancer (Crazy Legs), a
turntablist (Grandmaster Flash) and a rapper (Jay Z). I chose to unify them
with the colour orange. Since my origins were with hip-hop, this piece meant a
lot to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What
other interests do you have?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I’ve always been a big gamer, so
in what little free time I have I’ll jump on one of my consoles or watch a
movie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-atclSs2WzmE/VTTfJXT4bWI/AAAAAAAABuY/ZiVPok_8fRs/s1600/MasterChief.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell
us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently or good books you’ve
read.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I see fantastic art every day. Pinterest
has proven to be both the best and worst thing ever. I spend way too much time
there… “Do you like this awesome painting? Well here are a thousand more you
might like!” I have to set limits or I will blow my entire day. The last book I
read isn’t new, but it was awesome, <i>Ready
Player One</i>. And, I just heard Spielberg will be directing the movie!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Where
can we find you and your work?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Everywhere; but my site is a good
start: <a href="http://www.miketartworks.com/">www.miketartworks.com</a> I have
links to everything else from there.<o:p></o:p></div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-58825158552624224802014-05-15T14:49:00.000+01:002015-04-22T09:28:05.234+01:00Interview with Ian Miller<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9VfAqDQm_M/U3Sy99Hh6VI/AAAAAAAAA28/Q5SuX1wuBjs/s1600/Portrait.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Ian Miller is a British artist, illustrator and writer best known for his macabre
sensibility, and surreal, quirkily-etched Gothic style. He is a graduate of St
Martin’s School of Art Painting Faculty, and is noted for his detailed book,
magazine, and graphic novel illustrations, including covers for books by H.P.
Lovecraft, contributions to David Day's Tolkien-inspired compendiums, work for various
Games Workshop-published fantasy gaming periodicals, role-playing and war gaming
books and supplements, including popular Warhammer titles. His experience also extends
to feature films such as Ralph Bakshi’s <i>Wizards </i>and <i>Coolworld,</i> and pre-production
and production work on numerous short films and highly successful movies
including ‘Shrek’.</b><o:p></o:p><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CLo0A7jb2Lk/U3S5zSvK0kI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/l_SDs38goAw/s1600/Art-of-Miller-selected-721.jpg" height="400" width="293" /></div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>What aspects of your childhood inspired
your artistic creativity?</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
My mother worked for one of the leading theatrical
costumiers in London during the early part of the fifties; so I was, from the
outset, caught up in the most intimate workings of the Illusion Machine. My toy
chests overflowed with the cast offs and oddments from a score of film and
theatre productions. I was receptive to everything that was weird and
wonderful. Fact and fiction were not in contention. Strange worlds could still
be reached through the backs of cupboards, if you knew where to look. Bubble
gum was made from Everglades swamp water - that was a fact. I remember, whilst
travelling to Manchester on a steam train, seeing a herd of headless cows from
the carriage window. When I mentioned it to the other occupants of the
carriage, they just smiled, and said such things where commonplace in the North
of England.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-thn-5ViSxNw/U3S8GmS0wiI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/E4hwPCqjeyA/s1600/city-pipemon-72.jpg" height="400" width="317" /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Your work is meticulous, highly
detailed, dark and often humorous. What creative works inspired you or
first drew you to your preferred forms of artistic expression?</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Most everything, if truth be
known. We are bombarded by detail wherever we look. I have always had an
enquiring mind, and for me, making marks seemed like an appropriate response
(making sense of, if you will). I used whatever tools were to hand; and by
elimination, found the ones that best suited my needs. I do not think I set out
with any preconceptions about how I wanted to express myself as an artist, nor
how I should achieve that. I studied painting at Art School, but seldom went
near a canvas. I think I got lost in seven years of Art History and Theory and
always found myself painting like, after, or in the manner of, some other
person or school. Etching and dip pens felt more like me, a more direct conduit
to expression if you will. That said, however, I have a wide remit and my
studio is cluttered with a plethora of large images and constructions. I
started off at St Martin’s in the Sculpture Department and switched to painting
in the second year. I think of this as a slow meander to God knows where? But
I’m still drawing; so, “Huzzah!” for that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMIatZ5z29c/U3S_rGNu8yI/AAAAAAAAA34/LbxQCzELdpY/s1600/swampthing-1-cover-DC-comic.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Tell us about your learning process,
and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
First, magic colouring books -
you added water and the colours magically appeared. My father bought them in
London somewhere. After this, twelve coloured pencils with a different colour
each end. It was my sixth birthday. The vivid quality of the colours was
startling; and even now, all these years on, I can still remember the
excitement they aroused in me. Their arrival prompted my ‘Ancient Egyptian
Phase‘. Frontality, hieroglyphic pillars, pyramids, and Ancient Egyptians was
all that mattered. It must have been the desert yellow that started it. But
whatever the reason, sand, asps, striped towels, palm trees and pyramids,
filled the pages of my drawing books until every one of those twelve pencils
was all used up. That was a very sad day for me. Then school, and those bloody
awful powder paints, and small yard brooms they passed off as paint brushes. I
remember I used to paint papier-mâché buns with the paint then eat them. I seem
to remember I liked brown paper bags as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I took up etching in my first
year at Art School and flirted on and off with the process for the next seven
years of study. Needless to say, I was wholly intrigued by the process, but
eternally frustrated by the difficulties of securing time on an etching press.
The printing facilities at St Martin’s School of Art in the late sixties were
not brilliant, and always heavily oversubscribed. This was a real shame because
the staff and technicians were really very good. In any event, I came across
one of my friends drawing with a Rotring Rapidograph and after trying one out
myself, knew I’d stumbled on the solution to my problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
The drawing point of the
technical pen, although different in so many ways from that of an etching
needle, provided a precise substitute. Although every image was now an edition
of one, it did allow me to create the type of line work I wanted; and most
importantly, when I wanted. This was a sheer joy. Admittedly, the mono line
quality of these pens imposed limitations; but they were clean and efficient
tools, and I found I quickly compensated for any shortfalls. In fact, building
up surfaces / veneers, was so much easier and so much faster that my image
production quadrupled. Laying down one pattern of lines on top of another, for
so many years, in all manner of configurations and permutations, was perhaps
the perfect preparation for understanding and manipulating the levels feature
in Photoshop. Some might say, “What about working a knitting machine?” and I
would have to say, “Yes, but I prefer the former.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzvjBSVcj30/U3TBP-jFwEI/AAAAAAAAA4I/44RVBkdeDM0/s1600/The-City-.jpg" height="400" width="306" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Of the work you’ve created, do you have
a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
I do not have a fixed favourite.
Mood dictates ‘favourite’ and, for the most part, all I see are the shortfalls
in my imagery. That said, I always view this as a healthy state of mind,
because it motivates me to try harder. My favourite painting is <i>Mr and Mrs Andrews</i> by Thomas
Gainsborough in the National Gallery. I love this image in any mood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>‘Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am
large, I contain multitudes.’ ~ Walt Whitman<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-goIdslW0Qc0/U3S_Tv9kznI/AAAAAAAAA3w/LXRXEWiZ6jc/s1600/cover-the-broken-diaryw.jpg" height="400" width="282" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Tell us about The Broken Diary.</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The Broken Diary</i> is a natural extension of my working practise, a
necessary development. I have always loved storytelling, and picked the right
tool and vehicle for the job. Transposing my thoughts and images into words is
always an exciting process. I was inspired many years ago by Alfred Kubin’s
book, <i>The Other Side</i>. <i>The Broken Diary</i> is a real life diary,
juxtaposed against a twisting tale of delusion, dream and nightmare. Perhaps they
are one and the same thing?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
It was a very generic process.
There were no real constraints. All things were possible. I’m now reworking a
theatre project, which nearly made it to the London stage some years back,
called <i>The Shingle Dance</i> for an
animation project/film in the Netherlands. I also adapted it for opera, but the
lighthouse collapsed in the Shetlands. Third time lucky, maybe?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YKyEc1436Tg/U3S89CQm_RI/AAAAAAAAA3g/vzdZ_LzK36I/s1600/ianmillerStudio.jpg" height="252" width="320" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>You are a writer and artist who successfully
applied imaginative skills to several creative outlets, including graphic
novels and feature films. Tell us about any challenges you have faced with
the adaptation of your work.</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
The creative imperative, in my view, is to push
constantly at the boundaries of one’s practise, beyond the comfort zones, if
you will. I try hard to do this. I do not always succeed, but I do try. I find
the process of image making hard, and always have done. Sometimes I’m
astonished I found a way through, despite a lifetime of application.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
A tale about Hollywood?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
It was whilst my wife and I were wandering penniless
around San Francisco in 1974 /5, that Ralph (Bakshi) tracked me down via London
and New York, and offered me a job working on his film, <i>Wizards</i> in Los Angeles. At that time, the working title for the
film, as I recall, was <i>War Wizards</i>.
This hunt was prompted by Ralph having seen a Gormenghast Castle image I had created
for Pan Books some months earlier. After our frugal time in the old Gaylord Hotel near Union Square, where the lift threatened to
die every day, and the event of the week was the free doughnuts and coffee on
Sunday mornings, West Hollywood was a startling contrast. Although the scenery
was not so good, the material gains were quite dramatic - in short, a fairytale
transformation.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Seeing my work enhanced and animated was astonishing,
as was interacting with so many talented people in the Bakshi studios. Ralph
allowed me immense freedom of expression; and I worked all the better for it, I
think. Such licence is rarely given or found. My association with Ralph was a
dynamic, and never to be forgotten experience. Sometimes, I liken it to trench
warfare for the artists. You lived ever second of it - whizz, bangs, screams, and
all. It was sometimes exhausting; but it was never ever boring, or middle of
the road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B3oIqGFmUbY/U3S-h4MPY1I/AAAAAAAAA3o/OD9kwu97QFI/s1600/orangr-m-are-dangerous+card+(1).jpg" height="282" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Where do Orange Monkeys come from, and
why are they so dangerous?</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
They pop into your head when you’re dreaming. Some
people dangle them in cocktails by their tails and giggle a lot. I suspect that
that pisses them off, big time. I swore I’d never say a thing, if they left me
in peace. Even the spiders are frightened of them. Just pray they never visit
you in your dreams.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>What do you find most rewarding in the
creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</b><o:p></o:p></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
By taking a very deep breath, three
in fact; and saying mantra style, “I can do this,” as many times as it takes to
get me moving. I remind myself I have served my time and that I have the skills
and discipline to follow through. The magic comes through application. The
experience is always different, tantalizing even. There is always so much to
learn, so much to hone and perfect, then there is magic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5fVKGYKbbCA/U3TB9E7jRpI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/BAB6pAkkhRs/s1600/gormenghast+the+tree+2.jpg" height="400" width="316" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>You have worked on popular films such
as Shrek. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the
continuing application of your work to film and television?</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
My last stint working on a film
was in Vancouver. It was a wee bit ‘humourless and sweat shop’. I went to work
on development imagery, and everything was being pushed to finish from the very
start. I did not feel it was an environment I could function well in. I left
early. I have no problem with applying my work to film or any other medium. As
I mentioned earlier, I’m adapting a script and imagery for an animation
project. Wonderful stuff, if we get the funding. I’ll be working with some
superb and talented people. It doesn’t get any better than that. I love the
vital interaction these situations throw up, and I am always open to
suggestions and offers. If somebody thinks I can contribute something useful,
then why not give it a go?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oj4RIfmlJmM/U3TAxwuX5PI/AAAAAAAAA4A/GPrDoSceYYw/s1600/assured+Mrs+miller.jpg" height="320" width="284" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Who, do you imagine, would be your
ideal client?</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Somebody who trusts me to do what
I do well, pays an equitable fee, has a sense of humour, and sees beyond the
pound or dollar signs associated with the project. Whether you attach a small
or big ‘A’ to the word art that is what I try to do. I care a great deal about
the process of image making.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Tell us a little about any good art
you’ve seen recently, and good books you’ve read.</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
The Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition
at Tate Modern is a superb exhibition in my opinion. I hope to see it several
more times before it finishes. I loved the Mira Schendel show, also at Tate
modern, and the Lowry at Tate Britain, a month or so back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Books: <i>The Great Game</i> by Peter Hopkirk, <i>Berlin Letters</i> by Robert Walser, and <i>A Field Guide to Getting Lost</i> by Rebecca Solnit. I’m about to start
reading <i>What is Madness?</i> by Darian
Leader, and <i>War and Cinema</i> by Paul
Virilio, if the madness doesn’t take me first.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fs9IHaEisFU/U3TBjYmXVGI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/Mm3-uv-e39Q/s1600/front+wrapround+web.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>What other interests do you have?</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
Walking, sailing, staring at the
sky, and talking to rabbits and dogs. Also, planning my next move in the search
for my long-lost green sock, with the orange windmills on it - last seen by the
ornamental lake, in Victoria Park, Rangoon.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Where can we find you and your work?</b></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
In dark cupboards; and if you
look me up on: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Miller_%28illustrator%29">Wikipedia</a>. In places I’ve forgotten I’ve even been. I’ve been
scratching away for a very long time. Some of it would perhaps be best buried
and forgotten.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<i>Editor's note: I found Ian on his official website: <a href="http://www.ian-miller.org/">www.ian-miller.org</a> and you can too.</i></div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-30285171592321404392013-09-01T21:44:00.001+01:002013-09-01T21:46:46.523+01:00Interview with Christopher Guinness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dxzt9bpAaLU/UiOhFnkCN3I/AAAAAAAAAmg/t_imQ0YE6_g/s400/pothoundstills4.jpg" width="352" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Christopher Guinness is an animator and director from
Trinidad and Tobago. Graduating from Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada, he is
a multi-award winner in the advertising and animation circuit and a former
President of the Caribbean chapter of the American Advertising. Having worked
as an Art Director at McCann Erickson Port of Spain and Lonsdale Saatchi & Saatchi, Christopher now operates a design, film and animation agency,
Bepperton.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>His work has won over 70 awards including two Animae Caribe
Awards, the Advertising Agencies Association of Trinidad and Tobago Campaign of
the Year Award, Caribbean Advertising Federation Best of Show TV, Print and
Overall Award, Ads of the World Best from Emerging Market, Adobe Cut and Paste
People’s Choice Award and three American Advertising Federation US National
ADDY® Awards.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Recently his short film, Pothound was selected as a finalist
at the 2012 Vimeo Awards.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Tell
us about your studies in Trinidad and Canada that led to your career
choices.</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My interests in visual mediums have always seemed to direct
my educational choices. Art class was one of the few I showed up for in
secondary school. Otherwise, I was notorious for being absent and always in
some arcade throwing Hadoukens. So I pursued studies that complimented that
artistic expression in college, which was truly a joy. An expensive joy but the
experience was wonderful - the people, the mentors, the creative energy.
Advertising and filmmaking both rely on similar principles, getting the story
across in an engaging manner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Tell
us about your work as an animator, art director and filmmaker.</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The majority of my work has been corporate. The art
director/ad-man projects pay the bills. The filmmaking stuff is a recent
development, a throwback to earlier days. I’m only now getting to the fun
stuff, doing work that speaks from my conscience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>How
was Bepperton Entertainment Productions realised?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My wife and I decided to form a company! LOL. No epic story
behind it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wo0G7eibwb0/UiOi5omkeyI/AAAAAAAAAm4/-xjwx2BTIUw/s400/cap.jpg" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Captain T&T</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Growing
up in San Fernando, I immediately identified with the connection to the
ocean in your films. What other aspects of your childhood in Trinidad
inspired your artistic creativity?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The natural curiosity I hope never dies at the hands of
complacency; that insatiable yearning to know why, when, where, how. And well,
like most kids, media - the endless stream of cartoons, comic books and novels.
Also, my family - the contrast of their personalities; my grand father was a
strong silent gentleman, my father a cussing loud mouth with a chip on his shoulder,
my mother a hypochondriac. Real characters. Lastly, experiencing the diversity
of a Trinbago culture. I’ve been jarayed, baptised, attended a Muslim school,
and lived on a Carnival route since a baby. The sum of my experiences shows in
my work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Tell
us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as
a result of it. </i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I learn from doing. Usually, I pick a project first and
research how to get the technical stuff done along the way. I get stuck all the
time in the process, sometimes in the heat of the moment, but improvising
usually saves the day. College was kind of the same thing - more discovery than
instruction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>What
are the underlying themes and messages in your films, and why are they
important to you?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh man, so many - from overcoming adversity, redemption,
good conquering evil, taking responsibility, but most importantly, to love. To
practice love, that kind of encompasses everything good.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HrqAy6raz1M/UiOiX1cS7UI/AAAAAAAAAmw/6KzhZ25t6rQ/s320/imdbposter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="239" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pothound</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Bubbercin
is every bit the star in her titular role as ‘Pothound’. Who owns her, and
what were the challenges involved in filming her?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She belongs to Leizelle, my wife. She handled Bubbercin on
Pothound. She’s a really smart dog and somehow comprehends what needs to be
done. The biggest challenge though was getting the shots before she got bored!
Yes, this dog gets bored, so we have two or three chances to get whatever, then
she’s like, “I’m bored, what’s next?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><em>“Never
work with animals or children”</em><em> is
the stern advice of the American comedian W.C. Fields. You have valiantly
ignored his advice and produced superbly heart-warming and inspirational
results. What is your secret?</em></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ha! Yeah, I’m well aware of that piece of advice. I like
kids and animals though, so I was like, “Fuck it, the worse that can happen is
failure.” My pig headed ways don’t always work out, but on these occasions they
did. Kids are harder to work with than animals though. You have to be patient,
and be really good at bribing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>You’ve
won many prestigious awards. Tell us about them.</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The three National ADDYs were pretty special, still
unprecedented in the Caribbean at that tier. Also, the Adobe Cut and Paste
Award, and the Finalist selection at Vimeo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But BS elitist classifications aside… they’re nice call
cards for more work. They open doors - little testaments for new clients and
investors to put their trust in you. Besides that, just another ornament on the
shelf that gets dusty.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>What
advice would you give to anyone considering a creative career? </i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go for it. Things fall into place. Be sure to experience
stuff. Whether it is through travel or just on your computer or at the library
with a book. Transport your brain to a place where it can learn and grow.
Creativity is the sum of your knowledge and technical skill moulded into
something unique.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Who,
do you imagine, would be your ideal client?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone who actually knows what she wants and pays on time,
without reminders, threats or lawsuits!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Who
is your biggest fan?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My wife first and foremost, she supports all my little
ideas. And Brunty, a dog that took an entire year to get off the street. She
was the untrusting type. When I finally got her, I couldn’t leave a room
without her following. She was my shadow. Very attached, very loving. She died
though.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fovfAWG_iIw/UiOh7ZgeyNI/AAAAAAAAAmo/jBSJ7F9EBTE/s400/pothoundstills2.jpg" width="263" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>What
aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing
application of your creativity to film and television?</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just to continue doing work I’m proud of. I’ll strive to do
bigger stories and larger formats.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Tell
us a little about any good artistic work you’ve seen recently.</i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park. Just wonderful!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>What
other interests do you have? </i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guy stuff I suppose - football, combat sports, and video
games.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i>Where
can we find you and your work?</i></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can check our website at <a href="http://www.bepperton.com/">Bepperton.com</a> and I can be
reached at dream@bepperton.com, thanks Wayne.</div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-60312937317705506832013-06-12T20:49:00.001+01:002013-06-13T12:52:48.706+01:00Interview with Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kDv90OdryFI/UbisyBlDPcI/AAAAAAAAAkY/3RwFJxr40n0/s320/Dr.+Camille+Alleyne.jpg" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne currently serves as the Assistant Program Scientist for the International Space Station (ISS), a science laboratory in space. She is resident at NASA- Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas. There she is responsible for managing the communication strategy for ISS Research and Technology that conveys the benefits of ISS scientific research to stakeholders, the public and potential users. She also leads the integration of all international education programs across the ISS Partners (US, Japan, Russia, Europe and Canada). Prior to this, Dr. Alleyne has held several positions at NASA, most recently as the Orion Crew Module Systems, Integration and Test Technical Manager at Johnson Space Center, the Systems Engineering and Integration Lead for Constellation Systems Requirements at NASA Headquarters and as a Flight Systems Test Engineer at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. She has also held positions as an Aerospace Systems Engineer at the Missile Defense Agency and the Department of Defense, where she led analysis and integration of several ballistic missile defense projects. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>Dr. Alleyne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University in Washington DC. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL, a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Houston. </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b>Ms. Alleyne is a licensed Private Pilot whose accomplishments include being a Finalist in the 2004 Astronaut Selection Program. She is the Founder of the Brightest Stars Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to educating, empowering and inspiring young women around the world to be future leaders through the study of science, math and technology. She has received numerous awards and commendations both from NASA and other national and international organizations. She has been honored as a Caribbean Woman Icon in Science and Technology by the National Institute for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in Trinidad and Tobago. She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Aerospace by the National Society of Black Engineers.</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">You
were born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. How did your life and
upbringing in Trinidad equip you for your successful career in science and
assist in the realisation of your achievements?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>My early childhood was very instrumental in
helping me to become the person I am today.
Besides an innate curiosity about the natural world around me and about
space, I had parents who held deep values for education and for allowing me to
nurture my gifts and talents. My mind
was very mechanical and analytical and so I gravitated towards building and
fixing things around the house, which my mother encouraged. Additionally, I attended all-girl schools in
Trinidad and Tobago, which I believe played a critical role in building my
self-confidence that allowed me to navigate the career path I had chosen.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Chsaf4BWRHQ/UbjG6gN75NI/AAAAAAAAAlE/ghsYVopD2m0/s320/ISS+and+Earth.jpg" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISS and Earth (Credit: NASA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">During
your childhood, was there a film, television show, comic or novel, which
acted as a primary catalyst to your passion for science and your desire to
venture into space?<br />
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>My affinity for science truly was one that
was innate. Along with maths, these
subjects were just things I naturally excelled in, again because I think my
brain was wired to think that way. My
love for space started long before I knew what I was dreaming about, when at the
ages of 6 and 7 years old I would sit on the trunk of my dad’s car and stargaze
every night – wondering what was “out there”. Two of my favourite shows growing up were The Jetsons and Star Trek, both
of which seemed far-fetched at the time, but I enjoyed tremendously.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">You
are a role model. Did you have role models of your own?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>My mom was my first role model in a very
subconscious way. I say subconscious
because I was too young to know what being a role model meant. She was a very strong and independent woman
who along with my dad raised their three daughters to be strong,
independent and self-sufficient. In the
last 20 years or so, my other role models were people who gave their lives in
love and service of humanity – Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma
Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ddl5YbmxABo/UbjI7u4B0LI/AAAAAAAAAlc/XItfUBs9Ipk/s320/US+Spacewalk+-+1st+EVA+on+ISS.jpg" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Spacewalk / 1st EVA on ISS (Credit: NASA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">You
were a finalist in the 2004 Astronaut Selection Program. Please tell us
about this program and your desire to be an astronaut.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>My desire to fly in space (the job of an
astronaut) started when I was a freshman in college in 1986 when the Space
shuttle Challenger accident happened. </i><i><span lang="EN-US">At the time, just having moved from my home in the
Caribbean, I did not know anything about NASA, the space shuttle or the career
of being an astronaut – but I was hooked! I had just commenced my undergraduate
studies in aeronautical engineering but the tragic event of the Challenger,
opened my eyes, and instantly moved me, to switch my major to a focus on space
and aerospace. Six years later, after completing my college and graduate studies, I was driving into the gates
of Kennedy Space Center to start what has been an amazing 18-year career.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The Astronaut Selection program is NASA’s
process for recruiting candidates who train to be astronauts. In the 2003-2004 selection process, I was one of
100 finalists who were selected from a pool of 4000+ applicants and who were
invited to interview and undergo medical evaluation. This was a week-long process that resulted in the selection of 12
of the 100 who undertook 2 years of training to be US astronauts. Even though I wasn’t selected as one of the
12 candidates, going through the final selection process was one of the
greatest accomplishments of my life. </i><i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your role within the International Space Station Program.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The International Space Station (ISS) is a
multidisciplinary (biology, physical sciences, human research, just to name a
few) laboratory in space where we conduct scientific research and technology
development in a microgravity environment.
As an Assistant Program Scientist, I am responsible for </i><i><span lang="EN-US">the development and implementation of the
communication strategies that effectively convey the benefits of microgravity
scientific research to stakeholders, the public and potential users. I also lead the integration of all
international education programs across the ISS Partners (US, Japan, Russia,
Europe and Canada) that have engaged and inspired millions of students
globally, in their studies of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
is an aerospace engineer?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>An aerospace engineer is a person who
designs, develops, integrates and tests rockets and spacecraft vehicles and
their systems.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
advice would you give to someone with a desire to pursue a career in
engineering?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>Firstly, your career choice should be
something that you are passionate about.
Engineering itself is a very challenging but fulfilling career. Engineers are trained to analyse problems,
develop solutions and think critically about the world around us. It requires determination, perseverance and tenacity
to successfully complete a college engineering program, especially for women, because it is traditionally a male-dominated field.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your role as a designer.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>In the design of rockets or spacecrafts
there are many sub-areas or subsystems that need to be designed first and then
integrated to make a whole system. The
subsystems of rockets include the structures, propulsion, navigation and
controls, aerodynamics (flow of air over a structure), avionics, thermal
protection (specific to spacecraft).
Each of these areas is a sub-speciality in itself. Then there are systems engineers who are
responsible for integrating each of these parts into a whole and testing the
whole to ensure that it meets the requirements it was designed for. Most of my
career was spent involved in the design of spacecraft systems, rocket systems
and the integration and testing of both. In
the last few years however, I have moved away from engineering into leading
and managing projects and programs.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">As a
child, I expected jet packs, flying cars, sub-orbital commercial flight
and moon bases to be a part of our everyday life by now; but after just 6
missions, manned lunar landings ended in 1972. Since then, we’ve seen
Concorde retire in 2003 after 27 years of service; and after 30 years of
service we’ve witnessed the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011. Is
science fiction unreasonably optimistic with regards to human
technological potential?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>Sometimes it seems that our human potential
lags what we coin as “science fiction” and sometimes we have surpassed science
fiction in many ways. There is nothing
wrong with human beings dreaming big and using our imagination; in fact, it is a
part of our nature! But there are scientific and physical realities of how our
universe works that, regardless of how innovative and imaginative our thoughts
are, the universal laws always dictate. Having said that, in 2013, we are on
the verge of sub-orbital commercial flights for everyday people; we have smart
phones in our pockets that are revolutionary- I never would have imagined 15,
20, or 25 years ago, this small device would allow me to respond to voice
commands, access the internet and give me a capability to video conference with
friends and family across the globe. We
have athletes with artificial limbs competing in able-bodied Olympics. There are cars that don’t require gasoline.
Finally, something that’s near and dear to my heart, and that is our Space
Station in low Earth orbit built and operated by 15 countries working together
to explore and further human knowledge.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
does the foreseeable future of aerospace engineering and manned space
exploration hold for us?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The development of a transport capability
that would take humans to an asteroid by 2025 with the goal of reaching Mars by
2030. Our goal and objective is to advance space exploration capability that
would allow humans to travel beyond Low Earth Orbit.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
do you find most rewarding in your career?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>Most rewarding about my career is being in
the very unique, specialized and highly technical field of human space
exploration. Also, I have had the
opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant people on the planet.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>Most challenging is the fact that I am a
woman in a very male-dominated environment and career, and one that has very,
very few people of color (male or female).
One is not always given the benefit of the doubt because of those
physical attributes. But what I know
for sure is that there is no substitute for excellence – it transcends
ethnicity, gender, culture etc. So
striving for excellence is the way to overcome those barriers.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i61L62Ct6WA/Ubi6T6VXjtI/AAAAAAAAAko/A7r9J0Umh8I/s320/Dr.+Camille+Alleyne+2.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your involvement with the Caribbean Youth Science Forum.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The Caribbean Youth Forum is an annual
educational event that hosts about 300+ Sixth Form students from all over the
Caribbean. The weeklong event hosted by
the Trinidad and Tobago National Institute of Higher Education, Science and
Technology, provides students with the opportunity to be exposed to various aspects
of science and technology through a mix of academic, social and cultural
activities. In 2011, I was invited to
participate as the keynote speaker at the event’s opening. I was also able to organise for the
students, with the assistance of the Trinidad and Tobago Amateur Radio League
(TTARL) and NIHERST, their participation in one of the International Space
Station education programs called Amateur Radio on ISS (ARISS). This allowed the students to talk to
astronauts on board the space station in real time, as it passed over
Argentina. This was an historic event
for the region, as no Caribbean students had ever conducted this type of contact
with the ISS. Later that week, I also
gave a public lecture on ISS Research and its Benefits to Humanity, to the
citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Rationalism
versus mysticism and the intersection between science and religion is
often explored in works of fiction. Do you come from a religious family
background, do you have strong religious views, or do you believe that
there is no place for religion in science?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>I do come from a strong religious
background and was raised Catholic, but I believe strongly that there is an
intersection between religion and science and they are more tightly intertwined
that most people are willing to admit.
I am not religious even though I am deeply spiritual (there is a
distinction) and am extremely open-minded and consistently in an “inquiry”
about our place in the scope and vastness of the universe.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about the Brightest Stars Foundation.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>The Brightest Stars Foundation is a
non-governmental organization I founded in 2007 with the mission of education,
empowering and inspiring young women to be future leaders through the study of
science, technology and engineering. I travel all over the world, on behalf of my foundation, advocating for
the rights of girls to have access to quality education, specifically STEM
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics). I also spend time speaking to and inspiring youth (boys and
girls) to believe in themselves and live up to their fullest potential. A vision of my foundation however, is the
establishment of Science Academies for Girls in the developing world, the first
one being in Kenya. These are
residential high schools that will educate girls in highly scientific and
technological fields, with the goal of educating the next generation of Nobel
Laureates in Science. This project has been slow getting off the ground because
of the financial commitment needed, but this year it is finally taking off and I am
hopeful and determined that by 2016 we would be opening our first school.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Do
you read science fiction or fantasy? If so, tell us a little about a good
science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>No I do not read science fiction or
fantasy. I often read biographies of
extraordinary people and books with social consciousness like “The End of
Poverty” By Dr. Jeffrey Sachs.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HlM5Bc1PN54/UbjH1Fkz2-I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/Nu-28MDF30w/s320/Mt.+Etna+Eruption.jpg" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="bold">Mt. Etna Eruption from ISS (Credit: NASA)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sTZCdd-Xxns/UbjDbREgrZI/AAAAAAAAAk4/qj3Dfuy2_OM/s320/Hurricane+Isabel.jpg" width="320" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eye of Hurricane Isabel from ISS (Credit: NASA)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="17" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">What
new developments, in the world of science fact, excite you?</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>In the world of science, what excites me is
something I am exposed to on a daily basis and that is the discoveries we get
from conducting scientific experiments in the microgravity environment of
space. What we don’t often realize is
that gravity affects every biological, chemical and physical process that
occurs on Earth. So when we take
gravity out of the equation and are able to control it via the International
Space Station – a science laboratory in low earth orbit – we advance our
knowledge significantly on terrestrial systems including human beings. The new
discoveries such as vaccine development for Salmonella bacteria, candidate
treatments for a certain type of Muscular Dystrophy, development of
countermeasures for osteoporosis patients, the possibility of finding real
evidence for how our universe started, the ability to take images from 400 km
above the Earth that assists us in natural disaster response. All these and more are new developments
courtesy of the International Space Station and ones that excite me daily.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="18" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Tell
us about your other interests.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<i>Besides
space exploration, I have a passion for travelling the world and experiencing
people of other cultures and traditions.
I also have a passion for dance (hip-hop and jazz) and flying planes
(something I don’t get to do as often as I would like). But as a mom to an amazing teenage girl who
is an extremely gifted athlete and excellent scholar, I spend most of my time
investing in her upbringing and ensuring that she has the supportive environment
(like I did) that will allow her to realize her capacity for greatness.</i><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Links:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/iss-science/" target="_blank">ISS Research and Technology</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="http://www.brighteststarsfoundation.org/" target="_blank">The Brightest Stars Foundation</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-60599524379792147162013-03-12T13:58:00.001+00:002016-11-08T02:17:37.395+00:00Character Interview with Chi-Ro Jin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KI6PHtVmddk/UT8pqA2MFzI/AAAAAAAAAi8/HzQDp5nltqQ/s400/Chi-Ro+Jin.jpg" width="268" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>General Chi-Ro Jin is a hero of the first and second Psychic
Wars. He was born on the planet Talis, the son of Space Commodore Jin Lan. He
is a master of Hatari Ikou - the Way of Matchless Power, an extremely ancient
martial art developed by Mara Kai fighting monks. While a sentinel in the
Imperial Court of His Majesty The Emperor Sakara Rey I, he was secretly
assigned the role of shamira or protector of Prince Armon of the Blood and has
been a key figure in the pivotal Battle of Miru. Chi-Ro is one of the most
highly-decorated veterans of the Psychic Wars, having been awarded the Star of
Ra, Star of Enki, Order of the Tordon Raptor, Verlaine Star, Sentinel of the
Cosmic Sea, Distinguished Aerospace Service Medal, and Commander of the Order
of the Eternal Warrior.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>How did you first meet Wayne Gerard Trotman?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I am Chi-Ro, son of Jin. I first met Master Wayne, the
writer of ‘Veterans of the Psychic Wars’ in a waking dream of my design.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Did you ever expect your adventures to be written in a book?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Certainly not in a Kian book, and my recent portrayal in
Talisian opera is somewhat disconcerting. However, I have dedicated my life to
the service of His Majesty The Emperor Sakara Rey I; and he has entrusted me
with a most important task – the safety of his only son. As shamira to the
prince, it seems, my life has become of interest to others. May the scribes
record it.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What are your favourite scenes in Veterans of the Psychic
Wars: dialogue, romance, action?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I am a warrior not an orator; and I fear that at the hour of
succession, the Prince Armon may abdicate for love of his Kian consort. Romance
leads to folly, and in times of war, folly leads to death. So I say to you, my
favourite scenes involve action, for it is by action that we will bring the Psychic
Wars to an end.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Did you have difficulty convincing Wayne Gerard Trotman to
write any particular scenes for you?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>At times, I sensed a great struggle in the mind of Master
Wayne regarding whether some characters should live or die; then there were
times when he displayed wanton recklessness regarding the lives of his
characters. Often, we were left to wonder who would die when the page was
turned. To compound matters, I soon discovered that Master Wayne is also
exceptionally stubborn – I suspect he may be Talisian. But, with considerable
effort, I was able to influence a few of his decisions.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--LEI5kDz7b0/VOIHJRJ4s7I/AAAAAAAABnk/Jqz2sWoy-mQ/s1600/Ten-Shi.png" style="border: none;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Have you ever infiltrated Wayne Gerard Trotman’s dreams?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Verily, I am Chi-Ro son of Jin, master of Hatari Ikou, and a
veteran of the Psychic Wars. Dream infiltration is but one of my skills. Have
you not read the book?</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you enjoy doing when not on active duty?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I enjoy playing my Sythenian wax wood flute.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Are you currently in a relationship?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>No, my beloved consort is no longer in a plane of existence
that is accessible to me; and I will love no other.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Are you pleased with the genre you have been placed in?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Verily, military science fiction is a noble genre.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What would you rewrite in Veterans of the Psychic Wars, if you
could?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I would completely erase the Kian character known as Dr.
Zachary Silverman. I found his frivolous attitude to be most irritating; but he
is the loyal friend of Master Armon, and I must admit I gained a measure of
enjoyment from sparring with him. Alas, in the end, his portrayal was
particularly poignant. So, in
retrospect, perhaps I would not rewrite anything.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Do you like the way your epic adventure ended?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A most satisfactory conclusion; however, I sense that the
story has not ended. I expect I will be called upon to wield my sok-bou again.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Would you be interested in a sequel written by Wayne Gerard
Trotman?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Verily, even if it were not my sworn duty to serve the
Talisian Empire, I would be most interested in the continuation of this epic.
Rest assured, I have every confidence that my psychic projections will be
successful. There will be a sequel. May the scribes record it.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Are you happy being portrayed in digital editions or would you
rather be in paperback versions only?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A veteran of the Psychic Wars cannot be limited by formats -
paperback books, eBooks… All formats are suitable. In fact, I believe I would
even be quite suited to that archaic form of entertainment, which Kians refer
to as ‘movies’. Verily, the Kian known as Jackie Chan would be most ideal for
my portrayal. Perhaps I should infiltrate his dreams…</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Hi4f2yU0Gc/UT8tjasmYpI/AAAAAAAAAjM/wIPzZHsxwGY/s1600/FullCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_Hi4f2yU0Gc/UT8tjasmYpI/AAAAAAAAAjM/wIPzZHsxwGY/s400/FullCover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Were you able to contribute to the cover design for Veterans
of the Psychic Wars?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Alas, I had been engaged in Imperial duties when the cover
was conceived. You will note the conspicuous absence of my image from the book
cover. Instead, Kiya Mankuria was granted that honour. It seems she has also
been infiltrating Master Wayne’s dreams. I must remind him that beauty can be a
deadly weapon; and this is especially true of the highly trained Kiya Mankuria.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What is the lamest characteristic attributed to you by Wayne
Gerard Trotman?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>You dare to suggest that the son of Jin is lame? Ahhh… Your
thoughts are transparent. You refer to the most displeasing characteristic.
Forgive my outburst, the Kian use of language is often imprecise and years of
combat have left me prone to intolerance. On occasion, Master Wayne made the
most unsettling suggestion that Chi-Ro Jin is capable of panic, especially with
regards to the protection of the prince. I assure you, I have engaged in the
dance of death countless times. Panic, however mild, is not something I am
capable of.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>If you could have any superpower, what would it be?</b><o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I suspect, by Kian standards, any well-trained veteran of
the Psychic Wars would appear to be superhuman. Nevertheless, despite my
attempts, the secret of astral projection continues to elude me.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Author Bio:</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wayne Gerard Trotman is a British writer, filmmaker, artist,
photographer, composer and producer of electronic music. Born in the Republic
of Trinidad and Tobago, Trotman immigrated to England in 1984, where he lives
with his wife and two young sons.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A martial arts enthusiast, he wrote and directed 'Ashes to
Ashes', Britain's first martial arts feature-film. He has a cosmopolitan and
multi-cultural approach to all his artistic work, which has received
recognition internationally. His epic science-fiction novel, 'Veterans of the
Psychic Wars', is the first of a proposed 'Psychic Wars' series.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Synopsis:</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a distant galaxy known as the Cosmic Sea, Baron Seti
Aljyk has caused the Second Psychic War by seizing Najura, the last of the
ancient swords of power, and usurping the imperial throne from Sakara Rey, the
True Emperor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Earth, young schoolteacher Roman Doyle remains unaware he
is Prince Armon Sakara, heir apparent of the True Emperor. That is, until he
encounters Chi-Ro Jin, a Veteran of the Psychic Wars. Chi-Ro’s mission is to
return Roman to the True Emperor, but Roman believes that Chi-Ro is crazy. When
Roman’s wife, Soraya, is abducted by the Baron’s assassins, Roman is forced to
make the epic journey to the Cosmic Sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However he does not go alone. He is joined by his shamira
Chi-Ro, Nuri Nemsys a beautiful secret agent, Anah Sadaka the mysterious
captain of the Starglider Sanura and Roman’s friend, Zachary Silverman, a
quantum physicist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With his dormant psychic and astral abilities awakened by an
alien drug and pursued by the Baron’s assassins, Roman, his friend, and the
Veterans of the Psychic Wars face evil and danger in uncharted space and on
alien worlds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Roman must overcome his fears, master the martial art of
Hatari Ikou, and learn the secrets of astral projection, in order to rescue his
wife, retrieve the sword of power, and bring the Psychic Wars to an end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Amazon links:</i></b><i><br /></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Veterans-Psychic-Wars-ebook/dp/B004GNFUIY" target="_blank">amazon.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Veterans-of-the-Psychic-Wars/dp/B004GNFUIY" target="_blank">amazon.co.uk</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Smashwords:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34303" target="_blank">smashwords.com</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Official site:<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a href="http://www.waynegerardtrotman.com/" target="_blank">waynegerardtrotman.com</a>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-21606963594721284782012-07-10T11:29:00.001+01:002012-07-13T18:57:04.867+01:00Interview with Samuel Z Jones<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k-E7u2Y6T68/T_v03HqxABI/AAAAAAAAAgA/qgyeK-4bwKw/s400/sam+and+saul.jpg" width="313" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Samuel Z Jones is a
prolific English fantasy writer. He lives on the Isle of Wight, and is
perpetually working on several novels simultaneously alongside other projects. </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Tell us about the Akurite
Empire series of books.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well,
it's epic fantasy, but I've been told by some readers that what I'm writing
goes beyond that definition. This isn't just another <i>Lord of The Rings</i>
knock-off about elves in the woods and dwarves
in the mines fighting orcs and goblins. There's none of that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can I summarise the plot of the
whole series? Um... five immortal heroes quest across the history of their
world to defeat an enemy from the distant future that plots to invade the past.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The story follows several
generations of characters through the rise and fall of nations on a mountain
plateau isolated from the rest of their world. Events sometimes take the story
beyond this region, but fundamentally the books concern the wars and alliances
between Silveneir, Kellia, Daricia and Uria.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Silvans are a matriarchal,
religious culture that arrived from the east several centuries previously,
while the Kellions are a patriarchal nation from the distant west. These two
cultures are fundamentally polarized and their politics and conflicts comprise
much of the back-story underlying the setting. The Darians are a non-human race
that dominate the southern half of the plateau; they have as much in common
with elves as they do with trolls, being ageless and immortal but also
massively strong and muscular. They
are the giants, the titans of this world. Finally, Uria is populated by hybrid
beast men who are explicitly not natural races but rather the results of
medical experiments involving humans, Darians and animals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The structure of the series, which
now runs to over a dozen books beginning with the <i>Akurite Empire</i> trilogy, is
dynastic, so talking about one or two particular characters isn't really
helpful; the lives of several hundred fictional people are interwoven so each
novel is part of a vast tapestry.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="409" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aSDV3EFN72U/T_v2kHhOQFI/AAAAAAAAAgI/SRO8UWvuCHk/s320/Akurite+Omnibus.jpg" width="250" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Why did you write this
series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You've heard of the <i>Neverending
Story</i>? Spoiler; it ends. But the idea at least was of a story that didn't. It's
something of the holy grail of fantasy; <i>The Worm Ouroborous</i>, or Moorcock's
<i>Eternal Champion</i>, Donaldson's <i>Thomas Covenant</i>, and others, have all tried to
create a self-contained fantasy world that runs like a perpetual motion
machine. Donaldson, I think, came closest quite recently with his <i>Last
Chronicles</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm going to do it, though. The
overall plot forms a time loop, which when complete will allow a reader to pick
up the story at any point, at any volume, and read on from there until they
come full circle back to the place they started from. At this point, they will
discover that the first book they read has a second main plot woven through it
that they didn't notice first time around. And then a third time around. And a
fourth; each revolution revealing deeper and more detailed stories that were
previously invisible. I have the whole thing in draft, I'm halfway through
publishing, and already a few readers have noticed the interweaving and
layering of plotlines building this marvellous story-machine.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Is there an underlying
message in the <i>Akurite Empire</i> series?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don't
set out to make any particular point when I write a novel; the theme or message
emerges from the process. Every book, conceptually, is an exploration of human
psychology; the way people perceive and construct reality. From that arises the
central theme of each book. I think in the current work-in-progress I'm saying
something about gender-roles and post-modern feminism, but that's honestly not
important if what you want is to read a good yarn about questing knights and
women with guns. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Of the characters
you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I approach characters as if I'm
getting to know a real person; after all, how well can you really know someone?
A supporting character I know about as well as someone I've had a few drinks
with, a main character is someone I know as well as a close friend.
Conceptually, I wander through an imagined forest meeting various people
camping there. Sometimes I spend weeks or months camping with one character,
hearing their stories and meeting their friends, before we part ways, perhaps
to cross paths again in the future. The first character I had this experience
with was Montesinos DeKellia, a character now so well developed that someone actually
succeeded in channelling him. The person in question had never read the books;
the mannerisms and expression of DeKellia simply overtook him for a few seconds
and told him to get lost. He was very shaken afterwards, he'd done a lot of
channelling and I sandbagged him with a fictional character.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, DeKellia told me he
was off on his own for a bit and left me to chat with Sabra Daishen. She was
his fencing student, a very aggressive but spiritual young woman who in her
turn introduced me to knights, outlaws, assassins and a whole host of other
people. I've also spent a great deal of time with DeKellia's son and Sabra's
sister, who eventually settled down together in a nice house in the woods.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>What do you find most
rewarding in the writing process?<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reading it when it's done. When
writing, the story and imagery are changeable, reading it unfinished is part of
the writing and editing process. Once finished, reading it again is like
reading something written by someone else, but someone who actually writes what
I want to read. I want emotional realism, fully developed ideas, vivid imagery,
and that only crystallizes in the finished novel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's equally rewarding to know
that someone else has read and enjoyed one of my stories; writing is in many
ways an exercise in telepathy, I spend a great deal of time creating a highly
detailed thought, and writing is the only form we have of transmitting that
thought directly to another mind; even film doesn't quite do that, the imagined
world is on the screen, while with a book it takes shape within the reader's
mind, becomes a place they visit rather than a performance they watch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i> </i>
</span></b><b>What do you find most
challenging in the writing process, and how do you overcome it?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Making a living. The modern world
keeps hassling me for money. I'd like it to stop, please, and the only way I
can find of doing that is to sell enough books so I can write in peace. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="382" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O9HoOhxj-6o/T_v3TbgnlHI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/2pZ3ZR-n6bQ/s320/Sorcha+Omnibus+Cover.JPG" width="250" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Just how do you
produce so much work?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The way to learn any skill is to
practice every day. The way to get good is to practice every day for hours. To
write a book, you open your document and write at least one word per day. With
a little effort, you can train yourself to turn out 2000 words a day reliably.
With dedication, you can write 5000+ words a day, every day. Emotional and
material concerns do affect this; in the best possible state (which isn't,
incidentally, being happy and wealthy), I can write 10-15k words a day fairly
consistently.<i> Akurite Empire</i>, all 300,000 words of the trilogy, were written in
two months. Editing and proofing took a lot longer, but I left it alone for a
long time and wrote several other novels in the meantime. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On average, I write three novels
simultaneously and finish one or two a year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Tell us about your
interest in martial arts and sword fighting.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From a
purely literary perspective, one should write what one knows, even in fantasy.
Others disagree, but logically if your genre features large amounts of horse
riding, camping, and sword fights, it really isn't tenable to know nothing
about them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let's
see... my grandfathers on both sides of the family were boxers, one a
professional coach and the other a bare-knuckle contender. I started Karate
aged six and have pursued every opportunity to train any martial art or combat
system since; I have about twenty five years of training. I hold a black belt,
I've taught martial arts and self-defence in some of the roughest areas of
London. Over the past few years, I've pursued Kobudo and Kobujutsu, which
broadly means archaic weapons; I've taught nunchaku and fencing, among other
things. I really will take any opportunity to grab a shinai (that's a Kendo
sword), and bound out into the garden to fight anyone who's willing. Without
body armour; padding is for sissies. I'd like to do more work with shields and
pole arms, and I've yet to find anyone brave enough to let me come at them with
my two-handed war flail... but we really would need armour for that (anyone
reading my work may have noticed that I hold a special fondness for the
terrifying two-handed flail, aka the threshal, corn flail, or a giant set of
nunchuks).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I make
an effort not to get technical when writing about swordfights and combat, but I
can't help think that direct experience and study can only improve the way I
write about these things.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="375" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5TYtzsB_ZUA/T_v8C6S1OFI/AAAAAAAAAgw/fLSXFGQZ-rs/s320/Gaes+of+The+Red+Witch.jpg" width="250" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i>
</i></span></b><b>What have you done to
promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until quite recently, I was
running all over Facebook waving links at people. I have used Twitter, and it
does work, but I really don't like the site, it's like YouTube without videos.
Currently I don't have the regular Internet access to make serious marketing
efforts, but I do what I can. I'm looking forward to a near future where I can
use YouTube and similar media again. Without a huge publicity budget, one
really is down to WoM, even if we do that now online.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Advice... unless you can afford to
hire a publicist, don't pay for anything. Anyone asking for money to read your
book is ripping you off. The writer gets paid to write, they do not pay to be
read. If you're already making a living from your books, you might consider
hiring an editor or a proof-reader just to speed things up. If you really can
afford it, or you're lucky enough to find someone who'll work on commission,
hire a publicist. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don't waste time canvassing blogs
and vlogs that purport to review books: these folk are either fan geeks who
want to bask in the reflected glory of their existing favourite authors, or
money-making enterprises that are only interested in well-known writers (who
already get tons of reviews anyway from both of the above).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want reviews and
interviews, talk to fellow writers who run their own blogs and need regular
posts (hi Wayne), these people are far more approachable and professional.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With ebooks, its possible to tap
those people who read so much that they'll review anything in their favourite
genre in exchange for a freebie. You can get a small fan club going like that,
but it's unlikely to be the foundation of wealth and fame.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, if you're serious, you
have to approach the industry. That means contriving to sit down and have
drinks with people already working in some capacity in entertainment: most
deals are done at the bar, not over the phone, for what should be the obvious
reason that people deal sooner with their friends than with strangers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Who, do you imagine,
would be your ideal reader?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My readership seem to be mostly
women. The most common thing people say about my stories is that they love the
strong female characters... I'm puzzled by this, I just work for psychological
realism. That means all my characters are products of their emotional traumas,
as are real people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My ideal reader, I think, is
someone who wants to explore the frontiers of their own mind, and finds my stories
a useful map in an infinite territory.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>11.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i> </i>
</span></b><b>What advice would you
give to help others build the confidence required to write novels?<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Give up! Give up now! I started
writing a novel and it's completely devoured my life! Seriously, don't do it,
think of your family, your children, your career...! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
...It's not really about
confidence. Writing is a learned skill, talent is just the desire to learn. Let
the first rule be “Rules are there for a reason”, learn what they are and why
they are the rules. Let the second rule be “Rules are there to be broken”, and
go wild with your imagination. Let the third rule be “No they're not, get over
yourself”, and put in the work necessary to develop technical skill.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Writing a novel is a massive
undertaking, and I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who don't seem
to realise that the primary skill of a writer is mastery of written language.
When you write well enough, in the technical sense of actually knowing what
you're doing as with any other skill, then confidence is not a major issue;
competence begets confidence.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="330" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--W8YDLyOrRg/T_v5UMKve9I/AAAAAAAAAgg/non0rSWvDSU/s320/washington2.jpg" width="250" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>12.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i> </i>
</span></b><b>Tell us about The
Flame of Freedom.<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was actually a paid
commission; there is a whole world of writing-for-hire which is hard to get
into and easy to fall out of, but when you're in it is a great boost: you're
actually getting paid a working wage to write! Break out the good booze and
smoke a fat cigar.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Flame of Freedom</i> is a story of two
halves; George Washington at war, and Betsy Ross in British-occupied
Philadelphia. Everyone (I hope) knows who Washington is. Betsy Ross is the
woman who physically made the first American flag. It's officially considered
an apocryphal story, but having researched it in depth I can say it is
absolutely true.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Betsy lived directly across the
street from Ben Franklin and was close friends with his daughter Sarah. Betsy
was literally at the centre of the Culper Ring, Washington's spy network in
Philadelphia. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So <i>The Flame of Freedom</i> follows
the men's war on the battlefield and the women's war of espionage.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm currently working with the
same publisher who hired me for <i>Flame of Freedom</i>, Gabriel Murray. We're working
on a screen-adaptation of <i>Hamlet</i>. Gabriel's recent work includes <i>Kingdom of
The Crystal Skull</i> and <i>Obama's Irish Roots</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>13.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i> </i>
</span></b><b>Would you like to see
your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations or
reservations regarding this?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes! Give me my movie cheque! I
want to sit in casting sessions while Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen literally
fight it out to play Montesinos DeKellia! I want to lose my temper with
executives who keep presenting willowy bimbos to play the six-foot female
body-builder Sabra Daishen! I want to be presented with an endless queue of
tattooed models vying to play Sorcha! I want to point out to censors that if Dr
Manhattan can spend the whole of <i>Watchmen</i> literally balls-out naked, then
there's no reason Isa Maxine can't bound around topless the whole time!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reservations? Yes, obviously;
there are great adaptations and awful ones. The great ones usually let the
actual writer of the actual book actually call some shots. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I envisage adaptations of my
stories as having the style and sensibility of <i>Excalibur</i>; if I'm writing with a
director in mind, it's John Boorman (armed with modern FX and a massive
budget). Much as I love the <i>Lord of The Rings</i> movies, the notion that all
fantasy should be like that is sorely mistaken. Look at the <i>Narnia</i> films;
someone in Hollywood thought that the way to do it was to smash <i>Harry Potter</i>
and <i>LOTR</i> headlong into each other. Doing a <i>LOTR</i> treatment on my stories would
have roughly the same effect; it's not <i>LOTR</i>, treating it as if it was would <i>not</i>
make a good movie. There's no sex in <i>LOTR</i>, just for a start.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>14.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;">
</span></b><b>Tell us a little about
a good fantasy book you’ve read recently.<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently I'm reading Joseph
Campbell, which should say something about my grasp of mythology. I think the
last fantasy novel I read was <i>Unseen Academical</i> by Terry Pratchett. I'd avoided
this one because it's a fantasy about football, and I have no interest in
footie whatsoever. I actually devoured this book in two days flat though
because it had something unexpected; a good modern treatment of orcs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I used to love Orcs as a kid, far
more than I liked elves. I've always been disappointed though that Tolkien
never went near the orcs as a culture or as characters, and attempts after him
to write something about Orcs have always been <i>LOTR</i> knock-offs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pratchett's treatment of orcs in
<i>Unseen Academicals</i> was brilliant, a well-spoken orc football player... I almost
gave up writing completely when I read Pratchett's <i>Nation</i>, but then I thought
“He's been writing professionally for over thirty years,<i> </i>of course he's
better than I am!” Then I pushed on and finished <i>Akurite Empire</i>, and I
personally reckon it's pretty good. I'm not as funny or as sociologically
incisive as Pratchett, but then I'm not trying to be: He's definitely an
influence, but I'm no more writing <i>Discworld</i> than I am <i>LOTR</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="360" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4dC9lv-ph5A/T_v8v1ykPgI/AAAAAAAAAg4/UwYdQjypvJw/s320/Kingdom+of+the+Void.jpg" width="250" /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>15.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i>
</i></span></b><b>What are you doing
now?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Writing or generally? Currently
I'm working on the final draft of book three of <i>The Lord Protector </i>series,
which is the sequel to <i>Akurite Empire</i>: While Sabra Daishen is away crusading,
her most trusted knight attempts to rebuild the nations shattered by war. At
the same time, I'm developing the rough drafts of three or four other novels in
the same series, getting ready to bring the epic around into its complete loop.
I'm also, as I mentioned, working on an adaptation of <i>Hamlet</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Generally, I'm just waiting out
the summer before taking a place at Portsmouth University as a mature student.
It's about time I got a degree in Creative Writing, and Portsmouth quite
reasonably offered me a place on the strength of being a published author, even
if I am virtually unknown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<b>16.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-weight: normal;"> <i>
</i></span></b><b>Where can we find you
and your books?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><i>BOOKS BY SAMUEL Z JONES<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>ROMANCING THE SWORD<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99432">Book One: Kingdom of The
Void</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99481">Book Two: Far Hrinor</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/105108%20">Book Three: Sins of The
Father</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/109143">Book Four: Masters of War</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/157956">Book Five: Weapons of The
Gods</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>AKURITE EMPIRE<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/97230">Book One: The Red Knight</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98448%20">Book Two: Golden Firebird</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99309%20">Book Three: Beyond The
Sunset</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>THE LORD PROTECTOR<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/150406">Book One: Gaes of The Red
Witch</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
Book Two: Fortress of Knighthood<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>THE SORCHA STORIES<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/104294%20">Book One: Sorcha's Story</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/130742">Book Two: Sorcha's Revenge</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/137211%20">Book Three: Sorcha's
Revolt</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>OTHER BOOKS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98592">The Flame of Freedom (with
Gabriel Murray)</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/107256%20">Sifu Dansac's Kung Fu
Secrets</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/100885%20">They Call Me Anonymous</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b>OMNIBUS EDITIONS<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/103199%20">The Complete Akurite
Empire</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/137235">The Sorcha Omnibus</a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/97230"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<i>E-book formats available at </i><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/samuelzjones">Smashwords.com</a><br />
<i style="line-height: normal;">Hardback and paperback editions exclusively from Lulu.com</i>
</div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-19953972711820983382012-04-16T21:46:00.000+01:002013-01-19T18:33:42.968+00:00Interview with The Wimshurst’s Machine (Augusto Chiarle)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2w0S7qSzpA/T4x0p_auEzI/AAAAAAAAAek/qWNQ9TQX-fI/s400/TWM2.jpg" width="341" /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Wimshurst’s Machine is an award-winning 8-member Italian chillout orchestra that plays warm, infectious, environmental music. They are: <span class="name"><i>Augusto Chiarle</i> - </span>sax and synths, <i>Antonio Rapacciuolo</i> - trumpet and cornet, <i>Massimiliano Baudissard</i> – acoustic drums, <i>Roberto Canone</i> - sax, clarinet and keyboards, <i>Daniele Scerra</i> – electric guitar and visual arts, <i>Fabio Rodi</i> – keyboards and synths, <i>Elvis Bergero</i> – keyboards, and <i>Duilio Chiarle</i> – novels, acoustic and classical guitars. Seamlessly crossing between rock, jazz, world beat and progressive electronica TWM produce themes ideal for big-screen productions. According to co-founder and manager, <span class="name">Augusto Chiarle</span>, The Wimshurst’s Machine is a steampunk project developed between friends and colleagues with little time to play together in person. Thanks to modern computer technology and software packages such as Propellerhead Reason, Apple Garage Band, Symphonic Orchestra, Sound Studio Pro and Apple Soundtrack, members of the band play together and record material even when living apart. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>How and why did you decide on the name The Wimshurst’s Machine?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in 2003, my friend Fabio and I just started to think about a music project and while talking in a pub a friend mentioned this old generator from the 18<sup>th</sup> century. I was really charmed by it, what a shame it’s such a hard name to remember. But now we are TWM and the name will stay as it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AyQJqDuc2sw/T4x-rcQe_2I/AAAAAAAAAfU/7lqGQkr_ugk/s400/Fabio+&+Augusto.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="303" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fabio & Augusto</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What is your definition of ‘Steampunk’ and how does it relate to The Wimshurst’s Machine?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantasy and Science Fiction are always an essential part of our albums. If you have something serious to tell, you may also do it while entertaining - just as H.G. Wells and other great writers did. Our 'steampunk' gets inspiration from the early 20<sup>th</sup> century, mixed with some more modern science fiction. Some call the subgenre “dieselpunk” or “raygun”; we do not mind if it is steam, diesel or ray, we like steampunk in itself, all included. The main idea came from two sources: 1st, the band name. Back in 2003 we chose to name the band after a very steampunk item, one of the very 1st electric generators created by mankind. And 2nd: we always loved the fantastic mix of modernity and retro-styled fashion of certain types of science fiction. That was already the perfect combination, even if the stage costumes only came in late 2010 due to our low budget.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oBI1POui7zE/T4x2swfgbxI/AAAAAAAAAes/n54jlhsLZ8I/s320/Steam.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Steam</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Why did you choose to create electro-acoustic music, and what do you hope to give to your listeners?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The music genre came by itself. We played what we enjoyed to listen to. It’s easier to believe in your music if you like what you play. To the people who buy our CDs, we try to give more than just a collection of good tracks or good songs; we try to build soundtracks for written stories. Every studio album is a concept-album, with a story available as a short novel - <i>Time Traveller</i> (2007), or <i>Thunder & Lightning</i> (2010), or as a podcast - <i>The Alchemist</i> (2005), and <i>A Traveller Who Didn’t Ask For Glory</i> (2004). Often they are available as free downloads from the band’s website. Next to be released is an album, which includes an entire book as a booklet - we’re already working on it. So far, band member Duilio Chiarle, a professional writer with several important awards in his career, has written all the stories. Our Cover art changes, but in <i>Time Traveller</i> (2007) we had a full booklet with great illustrations by our other guitarist, Daniele Scerra - great and talented artist; his illustrations were featured in hundreds of books around the world, particularly Italy, France and Germany.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VCZHguMOSXY/T4x4WA7hdhI/AAAAAAAAAe0/hz-nEGPLs08/s320/Breathe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="319" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Breathe</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about your latest album, <i>Breathe</i>.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Breathe</i> is a live album, our first live album. We like to do something new for every CD project - a new road to explore. The CD is not of a single concert, but a compilation of previously unreleased tracks, played in live jams, recorded between 2010 and 2011. We created a lot of electronic music in the past, so “Breathe” is also a way to say: “You see, we do play live; and we do like to jam. Our music is not just computer-generated.” We also went for the jam sessions because we wanted to give our listeners all new tracks. In <i>Breathe</i>, you’ll find new age, ambient and soft electronica. I believe it is a very good album, which also features the great cover art and photography of the talented Italian photographer, Natalia Ghiani.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</b> </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Always. Music is the only thing that has no race, no country, no boundaries and no social differences. We can all be brothers and sisters in music, no matter what. So our motto is: “Music for a better world.” We also give charity donations of 50% of our earnings from music. Unfortunately, it is never enough.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OZSIriW4SA/T4x7Tx5-xoI/AAAAAAAAAfE/09F6VVZj1aA/s320/Time+Traveller.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="317" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Time Traveller</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Which musicians have influenced you the most, and how?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Personally, when I was a teen, Mike Oldfield and The Alan Parsons Project mostly influenced me; both for the soft electronic style and also for concept-disc projects. When I heard albums such as <i>Crises</i> or <i>I Robot</i>, I was immersed in a story narrated by music - this charmed me the most. Other TWM band members have different influences. For example: with Fabio, it’s Depeche Mode and Jean-Michel Jarre. With Elvis, it’s classical music, and for Roberto and Tony it’s jazz.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This will be the third year in a row we got a nomination in that contest. To be there, interviewed by TV and magazines while you walk on a red carpet, is a great thing. The first year, I went alone and had a lot of fun. Last year, three of us were there and I had even more fun, especially meeting so many talented musicians from around the world, and from every imaginable musical genre. This year, I believe we will be three or even four, and I’m looking forward to it once again. A fun and interesting experience that satisfies the ego and gives some reward for the effort involved in composing music, which is never an easy task. The opportunity to meet new musicians from around the world is magic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Uho6MtlixI/T4yByo11QmI/AAAAAAAAAfc/iqz2xEzyN4g/s320/Thunder+&+Lightning.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Thunder and Lightning</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you create something, it’s like having a new baby. What you’ve created is not completely yours anymore and, somehow, it starts a new life by itself. But, it gives you a good feeling. The same feeling you get when you find a good story, or read a good book. It’s somehow an expression of yourself, a slight bit of you that vibrates in the air.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and how do you overcome it?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you want to create something good, you have to be ready to work a lot. And, regardless of how painful it is, accept that perfection is impossible. So, when the moment comes, you have to be prepared to say, “OK, it’s good enough.” Or you will never complete anything. Saying that something is ‘good enough’ is always a difficult compromise. To compose, we let just let things flow out. So far, during the years, just a couple of us have experienced a pause in the creative flow. But, as there are many of us in the band who compose, they regained it along the way, well before it could become a real problem for the whole band. For one of us, this lasted two years before everything finally returned to normal and was fine. As with everything in life, there are times the ‘real world’ makes you loose your grip on creativity; but creativity is also a cure for the crudeness of the ‘real world’. You have to manage somehow and find a good balance between things; but it isn’t always easy and varies from person to person. At least, I noticed that it is different for each member of TWM, even if seven people don’t count in terms of statistics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="143" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uGvRhHat8Mk/T4xua25JjcI/AAAAAAAAAec/jOExiy4XDV0/s400/The+Wimshurst%2527s+Machine1.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What have you done to promote and market your music, and what advice would you give to other artists?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An independent label distributes us; this is less remunerative, but gives us more freedom. And I like freedom, so I don’t mind earning less money. To promote our music, we mainly use podcasts, websites and Internet radio stations. Our current label, the British label, Astranova, does our promotion; but mainly, we built our own image by ourselves and are trying to gain exposure through the Internet. My advice is: if you want to go for your own artistic expression, be ready to work as bartenders, masons or whatever is necessary while you make your music in your free time. So, if and when success comes, it comes with your own rules. If you like to play cover songs or dancehall or mainstream music, well, this advice may not be for you. But it works for me, as I like to be free to play what I like the most. Oh, and don’t be in a hurry. Success comes when you do not expect it, and seldom without a great bunch of work.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JA9LlTRY0cM/T4x5sULY2qI/AAAAAAAAAe8/O_8rZ-8RVR4/s320/cover_art_aquarius_ok_1000x1000_300dpi_resized.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Aquarius</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal listener?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I believe, anybody who loves steampunk, concept-albums and the fantastic. We have also released a couple of collections: <i>Freedom Lights</i> (2006), and <i>Aquarius</i> (2009) that can be enjoyed by an even wider audience and are also featured in some chillout bars around the world. So, you see, we like to be free but at the same time we do not fill our CDs with intellectual exercises - we decided to put a limit of two ‘experimental tracks’ for every twenty.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your music being used in film and television?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our music was born to be a soundtrack. Actually, we’ve already scored several movies, documentaries and stage plays. Our best placements were: <i>The Quiet Assassin</i> directed by Alex Hardcastle for Channel 4, back in 2006, which used our <i>Freedom Calls</i> as the main title theme, and the Italian movies <i>Avanti, sempre avanti</i> and <i>Polesine</i>, where we scored the entire movies. We love to listen to our music as a soundtrack, be it for a movie, a stage play, a documentary or a novel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8slhau0Xn4E/T4x84NgdKZI/AAAAAAAAAfM/2-ZAKcx1uTg/s400/TWM3.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Where can we find you and your work?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thewimshurstsmachine.com/" target="_blank">Official Website</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/twm6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CD Baby</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://itunes.apple.com/artist/the-wimshursts-machine/id30617871" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_mus_ep_srch?ie=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=music&field-artist=The%20Wimshurst%27s%20Machine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F2b318b06-06a1-48bc-a991-685e3b8cc0e1&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-61796845877668221252012-03-30T01:12:00.006+01:002013-01-19T19:13:11.458+00:00Interview with Robert J. Sawyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XGFghbbxrY/T3UYrT6lAUI/AAAAAAAAAeM/l9piSiXQ00U/s1600/Robert+J.+Sawyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7XGFghbbxrY/T3UYrT6lAUI/AAAAAAAAAeM/l9piSiXQ00U/s400/Robert+J.+Sawyer.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo Credit: Christina Molendyk</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history to win all three of the science-fiction field’s top awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has published in <i>Science</i> (guest editorial), <i>Nature</i> (fiction), and <i>Sky & Telescope,</i> was a participant in the workshop “The Future of Intelligence in the Cosmos” sponsored jointly by the NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute, and is a contributor to DARPA’s “100 Year Starship Project.” His website is <a href="http://sfwriter.com/">sfwriter.com</a>.</b></span><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>During your childhood, was there a film, television show, comic or novel, which acted as a primary catalyst to your passion for science fiction?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of those except for the comic. On TV, it was <i>Star Trek: The Original Series</i>, on film it was <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, and as for novels, it was the wonderful book <i>The Enormous Egg</i> by Oliver P. Butterworth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AuK0pgS3joM/T3T0GVZogZI/AAAAAAAAAd8/9Aqf6oomOIs/s400/hominids.jpg" width="247" /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>You have won over forty awards for fiction, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and several Aurora awards. What would you say is the key to your critical acclaim and phenomenal success?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doing that one thing that hard science fiction is traditionally the least good at: putting believable human characters in fantastic situations. Most SF—especially hard SF—has cardboard characters; I labor hard to make mine live and breathe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>In the world of publishing, there seems to be ongoing tension between independents and the established, traditional publishers. What advice, or encouragement, can you give to independent authors and publishers? </b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For independent authors, remember that quality does matter. Hire yourself an editor, a copyeditor, a proofreader, and a real cover artist—all four of them. You’re competing with those who are having those skills brought to their books by their traditional publishers, and each of those experts brings an enormous amount to the finished product. At the moment, for most independent authors, you’re competing mostly on price, at least in the ebook arena: you’re cheaper than the ebooks from the traditional publishers. But ebook prices from traditional publishers are bound to drop, and then you have to compete point-for-point with authors who have a solid professional team behind them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For independent publishers, stop overstating things. Print publishing isn’t dead, it’s not “legacy publishing,” and you haven’t yet taken over the world and perhaps never will. For every reader you win over with hype, you turn one off.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0HxEbh-c8Ok/T3TxKhzy62I/AAAAAAAAAdc/Ic5-O3O3Y10/s400/triggers-uk-cover.jpg" width="260" /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about <i>Triggers</i>.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, <i>Publishers Weekly</i> calls it “a turbo-charged technothriller,” and that pleases me because it’s exactly what I was trying to produce. It’s a slam-bang novel about an attempted assassination of the US president, and an experiment that goes awry, linking people’s memories—including letting some unknown person read the president’s memories, thereby posing a huge risk to national security.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Why did you write this book, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2009-2010, ABC aired a wonderful TV series based on my novel <i>FlashForward</i>. That novel, like most of my novels, was a thoughtful, philosophical tale, but ABC turned it into a conspiracy-theory thriller—with my approval and cooperation, I hasten to add: I wrote one of the episodes and consulted on all of them. I gained an enormous number of new readers because of that series, but they expected something like what they’d seen on TV—and so I decided to give it to them, while hopefully still serving up the philosophy and introspection my existing readership has come to expect from me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gd5mOSSZzWk/T3TxLaST8ZI/AAAAAAAAAdk/9XbxffOYyfA/s400/triggers-us-cover.jpg" width="257" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>You are a teacher of science fiction writing who has served as Writer-in-Residence for several prestigious institutions. You are also a highly respected authority and keynote speaker on technology and future genetics with an interest in palaeontology. Did your lifelong interest in science fiction inspire your study of science, and how has it influenced your writing?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was a science fan first, ever since I was a little boy. When I was in public school, I wanted to be a palaeontologist, and I was also fascinated by astronomy. It was definitely my interest in science that led me to science fiction, not the other way around. For me, the most interesting questions in science are the speculative ones why did the dinosaurs die out (which was a big mystery when I was a kid), what causes galaxies to have the shape they do (which is still a big mystery). The speculation fascinated me, and when I found there was a field of literature devoted to asking such questions and positing entertaining and intriguing answers, I was hooked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HZsNVymfJAI/T3T14C-epXI/AAAAAAAAAeE/emTagpuhOXc/s400/mindscan-pb.jpg" width="247" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feedback from readers. My readers have been hugely supportive over the years, and many have become friends. It’s so gratifying to know that they’re enjoying my work. I write for them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keeping up my own level of interest during the year-long process of creating a book. Around about the halfway mark, when I’ve finished all the research and am well into the manuscript, I start to get antsy for moving on to my next project. Fortunately, I know other writers, including the wonderful horror writer Edo van Belkom, who have the exact same problem. They talk me through my crisis, and I talk them through theirs. It’s always worked—so far!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="362" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DMfYDNE-Yus/T3Txu0q-l_I/AAAAAAAAAds/jfvPKmJNc8Q/s400/calculating-god-tp.jpg" width="247" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Rationalism versus mysticism and the intersection between science and religion is often explored in your work. Do you come from a religious family background, do you have strong religious views, and would you argue that there is a place for religion in science fiction?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Exactly the opposite. I come from a secular background. My father is a non-practicing Anglican and my mother is a Unitarian—and I’m an atheist. But unlike most atheists, I don’t disparage those who have beliefs. I’ve met too many thoughtful, questioning, intelligent people who believe in God to dismiss them. I don’t have any patience with fundamentalists, but those are only the fringe, fortunately. And given that science fiction is indeed the literature of ideas, there are no more interesting ideas to explore than whether there are intellects greater than our own that might have had a hand in how we got here, and what might become of us after we die. I explore the former in <i>Calculating God</i> and the latter in <i>The Terminal Experiment</i>, and I think it’s <i>only</i> in science fiction, with its tradition of grand thought experiments, that you really can grapple with such issues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTSYGJ_HpxI/T3TyGb2V-TI/AAAAAAAAAd0/FqeGxV3WARY/s400/terminal-experiment.jpg" width="247" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>In a genre where many writers opt for dystopia, disaster and nihilism, your work is often refreshingly optimistic particularly regarding the future of humanity. Tell us why you believe the future of the human race is bright.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Simple: the central skill of the science fiction writer is the extrapolation of trends, and the world has been consistently improving over time. The smallest percentage of the population ever is currently involved in armed combat, the highest number are literate, and so on. We also are more compassionate than we’ve ever been, according the rights of personhood to a larger proportion of the human race than ever before. If you don’t believe me, read the excellent non-fiction books <i>The Evolution of God</i> by Robert Wright and <i>The Better Angels of our Nature</i> by Steven Pinker.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>My wife is Armenian and the cosmopolitan approach to science fiction pioneered by the original <i>Star Trek</i> is very close to my heart. With prominent characters such as Karen Bessarian in <i>Mindscan</i>, and Professor Ranjip Singh in <i>Triggers, </i>can we deduce that the inclusion of diverse races and cultures is important to your work? And if so, why?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Absolutely. I grew up watching the original <i>Star Trek</i>, and that inclusiveness just seemed so natural to me. Plus, I grew up in Toronto, which the UN officially recognized as the most multicultural city on the planet. The future belongs to the whole human race; I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t reflect that in my fiction.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eN5GY64GYJ8/T3TvcMssMaI/AAAAAAAAAdU/nT61hcTDv_0/s400/flashforward2.jpg" width="247" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about <i>FlashForward</i>.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a novel about everyone on Earth blacking out for two minutes, and those who survived waking up with overlapping visions of what, it seems, the future is actually going to hold. My novel came out in 1999, and it was adapted for television by ABC Studios in 2009. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the screen adaptation of your original books?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I loved the <i>FlashForward</i> TV series, and I’d very much like to see other works of mine adapted for the big or small screen. I have no problem with liberal adaptations; after all, my books, with my specific visions, will always still exist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S2308J2aTvE/T3TslWggsiI/AAAAAAAAAdM/72GnFrauGk0/s400/FlashForward.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Julian Comstock: A Novel of 22nd Century America</i>, by Hugo Award-winner Robert Charles Wilson. It takes on religious fundamentalism in the US, and, with some of the current debates going on, it could not be more timely. Plus, it’s a joy to read.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>What new developments, in the world of science fact, excite you?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Exo-planets! I love that we finally are discovering strange new worlds—and that so many of them <i>are</i> so strange is just fabulous.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about your other interests.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love palaeontology, I used to captain a pub-league trivia team, I enjoy reading, and I love to travel.<br />
<br />
<b>Links:</b><br />
<br />
Website: <a href="http://sfwriter.com/">http://sfwriter.com</a><br />
Blog: <a href="http://sfwriter.com/blog">http://sfwriter.com/blog</a> <br />
Dedicated website for my WWW trilogy: <a href="http://wakewatchwonder.com/">http://wakewatchwonder.com</a> <br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertJSawyer">http://twitter.com/RobertJSawyer</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/robertjsawyer">http://facebook.com/robertjsawyer</a><br />
<br /></div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_c2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fc2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fc2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_c2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_c2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fc2e5b06c-4636-44a2-af92-94c23d59d527&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-87411015683022265082011-11-11T23:43:00.000+00:002011-11-15T17:56:44.962+00:00Interview with Martin McKenna<div><b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElUgHgpQF_c/Tr2KhVjuaTI/AAAAAAAAAa0/TZsRkohyCf8/s400/Hero.jpg" width="285" /></b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Martin McKenna is a freelance illustrator based in the UK. </b><b><b>He was born in London, and started out in illustration with work for fantasy & horror RPG fanzines in the 80s, in particular the H.P. Lovecraft-devoted <i>Dagon</i>. His first professional commissions came from Games Workshop for their magazine <i>White Dwarf</i> and this began a long relationship with the company, illustrating lots of <i>Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay</i> publications and the very first <i>Warhammer 40,000</i> book, as well as many other GW books and board games. Martin has also created game-related material for other publishers, including covers and internal illustrations for twenty-five of the <i>Fighting Fantasy</i> series from Puffin Books/Wizard Books, and card art for <i>Magic: The Gathering</i> from <i>Wizards of the Coast</i>.</b></b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Martin also produced artwork for various publishers around the world including Scholastic, Time-Warner, HarperCollins and Oxford University Press, illustrating popular authors such as Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist and Harry Turtledove, as well as some classics including <i>Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde</i> and <i>The Silver Sword</i>. He was fortunate enough to receive the British Fantasy Award for Best Artist.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Martin illustrated the book accompanying the album release of <i>Misterstourworm & the Kelpie's Gift</i>, an orchestral work based on stories and characters from Scottish legend. His artwork was used as large-scale backdrops for live performances of the work by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, with narration by <i>Lord of the Rings</i> actor Billy Boyd.</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>As an author, Martin has written books about digital art including <i>Digital Fantasy Painting Workshop and Digital Horror Art</i>, and edited <i>Fantasy Art</i> Now published by Collins. In addition to work in publishing, Martin does concept and production art for computer games, and film and television productions which have included the BAFTA-nominated <i>The Magician of Samarkand</i> for the BBC, and most recently <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> for 20th Century Fox.</b></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uSUAb1R6AvM/Tr2K9EiiWrI/AAAAAAAAAa8/baqN8_MSQjk/s400/TalismanOfDeath.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="293" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Talisman Of Death</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div></div></div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Tell us about your artwork.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">I’d hope it can speak for itself for the most part. I’m not sure there’s a lot I can add, especially if a picture’s worth a thousand words and all that. I like drawing dark, shadowy, gnarled things. They’re a lot easier and more fun than doing light, bright and pretty things. Particularly when, if something goes wrong, you can just make it a silhouette, stick it behind a bit of knobbly tree, or hide it in some mist. But no, generally I’m drawn to monsters, melodrama, and a crepuscular gothic sort of mood. Plus over the years I hope I’ve got better at some kind of useful storytelling through pictures, and in my most recent projects I’m working really hard on that. For probably too long now I’ve been working on my first big solo picture book project, which has a deceptively simple story I’ve struggled to perfect. It’s my first serious stab at writing, at the suggestion of one of my kindly editors. It’s a nightmarish adventure for children exploring themes of darkness and light. I’ve strived to create the look and feel of the ‘golden age’ of book illustration and the work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rackham">Rackham</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Dulac">Dulac</a>, but with some modern touches. With any luck I may not have fallen too far short.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nSzvPj4QwNU/Tr2lzWKaX4I/AAAAAAAAAcU/JIku9tRAi94/s320/CarolWailers.jpg" width="212" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Carol Wailers</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZY_B3qu6R58/Tr2lyLrwT0I/AAAAAAAAAcM/wFFDKlUbvio/s320/RemovalGiant.jpg" width="216" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Removal Giant</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div></div></div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">The things that I found most frightening! My earliest drawings, mostly scrawled on my bedroom wallpaper as if I were a troglodyte, all came as a direct result of whatever good, strange things disturbed me in books and comics, and especially on television. The first murky TV memories I have are of Doctor Who, and I was fortunate to be at an ideal impressionable age that coincided with those great gothic horror episodes of the mid 70s. Combined with a very early introduction to Hammer and Universal horror movies - again, I’m grateful to have grown up with all the late night horror double bills that used to be shown by the BBC. This proved to be formative, vital stuff and provided a foundation for exploring all sorts of spooky fare that I still love and find inspiring. I’m at my happiest when I have goosebumps.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eNekwHmrRak/Tr2M2Kp5eRI/AAAAAAAAAbc/qKWIIy4W8AE/s320/BigBen.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="234" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Big Ben</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Whatever I’ve learned has been self-taught; nothing I’ve done has come as a result of any formal training. Perhaps it shows! For many years all my stuff was done with purely traditional materials, using inks and other often unpredictable unguents on paper that didn’t allow for much in the way of mistakes, so I had to gain confidence in my technical abilities early on if I was ever going to complete jobs and meet deadlines. Since 1997 most of my stuff has been digital, which is much more forgiving and I guess it helped me loosen up a bit in my work. But it was a case of almost relearning things or at least how to approach things slightly differently and how to embrace the perceived freedom of all this new-fangled electrickery. My digital work went through a few dodgy phases while I was finding my feet again and searching for some sort of identity within it all, and now I feel happier with how I’m using Photoshop etc for drawing and painting. I seem to be enjoying doing things that are simpler again, using the new technology so I don’t have to worry about the paper buckling.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Are there any underlying themes or messages in your work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">Virtually everything I do is commissioned work, so whatever themes or messages it contains are mostly those that are necessary for the artwork to be doing its job in conveying a mood or helping to tell a story, for the client. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">There’s not really one particular picture I like, it tends to boil down to things that stand the test of time and that I can bear to still look at. Any time I look through old work I find different things that I like and dislike each time. It’s a nice surprise when I look at something I’d almost forgotten doing because it had to be done in a hurry, which is usually the case, and discovering that it really wasn’t too bad. Some pictures remain stinkers and are best buried at the bottom of the drawer.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wSuPXYqZ9w8/Tr2pPsAraXI/AAAAAAAAAck/qinMCt0fqEs/s320/TheShadowing.jpg" width="205" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Shadowing</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8qnxOVqNZLs/Tr2pRj2kmnI/AAAAAAAAAcs/I7O6mJRitU4/s320/HowlOfTheWerewolf.jpg" width="237" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Howl of the Werewolf</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Tell us about your British Fantasy Award for Best Artist.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">It was quite a long time ago now. But still I caress it and polish it and adore it for most of every day. I carry it with me everywhere and show it to people at bus stops. Actually, there’s not a great deal to tell. It was nice to get one, whatever it was I did that year, or cumulatively up to that point, to get me nominated and all. The best thing is having an example of the statuette itself, which was made from a carving by my great old friend Dave Carson. Although I did already have one he made for me out of concrete in case I never received a real one, and I still use that as a doorstop.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="357" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aHbT1HxIWe4/Tr2OwjHAACI/AAAAAAAAAbk/ZGHRHX3W2do/s320/Spellbreaker.jpg" width="300" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Spellbreaker</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><b> </b></div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>How is creating science fiction or fantasy art different from creating other genres?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of difference. As a commission, any job requires an individual approach to fulfil the brief, whether it’s something fantastical or otherwise one works within whatever stylistic parameters are put in place. The same basic rules of lighting and composition and whatnot remain the same. The main difference is in the challenge of making a fantastical, unreal subject appear believable to some extent.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">I’m very happy if I get something finished. And if I don’t hate it, then I’m ecstatic. I’m exaggerating somewhat but it’s not so far from the truth. I love it when there’s an image, a piece of work that I’m happy with, that I can sit back and look at in the evening but which didn’t exist in the world that morning. There’s so much about the process of making this stuff that I find challenging. I’ll usually get underway with some procrastination. And after some frisbee with the dog and a bit of gardening, and the washing-up, I’ll procrastinate a bit more. Eventually I’ll confront my demons and probably, not having overcome that which I find most challenging at all but merely sidling around the back of it to give it a kick before running away, I’ll have produced another piece of work which I’ll forever thereafter think could’ve been better. But the next one’s bound to be great.<o:p></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lKQhmjAUD8Q/Tr2LbdU8HQI/AAAAAAAAAbE/JUlob8m0Tdg/s320/Bloodbones.jpg" width="234" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Bloodbones</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Sorry, art’s full. Anyway plumbing pays better. Oh okay, to attempt a more serious answer, I guess the key thing is to keep working and enjoy it. If you love what you’re doing, stick at it and really put everything into pursuing it chances are stuff will happen for you. There's no tried and tested method of getting into illustration work, everyone I know who does it professionally got to where they are by different routes. Overall it's simply a case of remaining persistent. The important thing is to get your work seen by art directors etc -- submit samples of your work to companies and publishers who put out the kind of stuff you like, and maybe approach art agencies. Some diligent research online can give you the name of an art director within an organization and how to contact them. And then if you fire off enough bullets, depending on the suitability of your work (and any number of other random factors), one is sure to eventually hit something and you're off to a start -- anything to gain experience. I remember when I was about sixteen I entered a Games Workshop drawing competition, but rather than being entered into the competition I received a letter from John Blanche (their then art director) inviting me to work for them, which was incredibly exciting for me at the time. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained. My career started before the internet made it so much easier to contact people -- now it's possible to really put yourself out there in the world through Facebook and the like. Get a site set up, or simply start a page on an art site such as CGSociety. Love what you do, keep at it and don't give up.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What have you done to promote and market your artwork and what advice would you give to other artists?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">I suspect I’ve probably not been doing enough to promote myself recently. What I could really do with is to be asked to give an interview for a blog -- then I’ll hit the big-time. I’ve been a bit quiet of late, working away on my projects. But I dare say I need to remind folk I’m not deceased, so I must do things like update the blog on my own site soon... too easily neglected, as I’ve discovered. As for advice to artists, I’ve probably already covered that in the previous answer.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal client?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">That has got to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Davies">Windsor Davies</a>. Just the thought of him fixing me with his steely squint while gurning that moustachioed pout, before complimenting me on the good job what I done by saying, “My lovely boy!” in his sonorous Welsh baritone is what forever drives me on. A slightly more serious answer might be, I dunno, designing some telly Doctor Who monster stuff perhaps. If you’re reading this, Moffat, give us a bell.<br />
<div><br />
</div></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DYBcnjTd4WY/Tr2v1MrQQ_I/AAAAAAAAAc0/K6E-kRwvzsI/s320/CentaurUniforms.jpg" width="300" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Centaur Uniforms</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><br />
</b></div></div><div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing application of your work to film and television?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">My little forays into film and TV have been fun, but quite intense and stressful at times. Although that might have been due to negotiating the M25 at 6am to get to film studios - I’m not much of a commuter. I’ve loved seeing my artwork come alive on screen as costumes worn by actors, or as animation or whatever. I’d really like to do more work in film if I get the chance to muck in on anything good, as long as I don’t abandon the sorts of personal book projects, which have been taking up all my time recently. If I have any reservations, it might be that movie productions can be just so sprawling and complex with so many people involved - I went from the last such experience I had at Pinewood to working alone on my simple little picture books, which has been a nice, calm time in comparison. Having opportunities to hop between the two spheres every now and again provides a refreshing contrast, if I’m lucky enough to continue to be asked.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">I’m seeing good things all the time. But recently I’ve been stuck very much in the past, on that Rackham and Dulac trip, with a liberal dose of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Sime">Sidney Sime</a>. The latter can really stir my imagination and lure it away into murky, spectral reaches. Just the thing on a slow day.<br />
<br />
</div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="417" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaGuXvin1rA/Tr2nbaEhCdI/AAAAAAAAAcc/qHuSon9H2p4/s320/Jack.jpg" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Jack</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b><br />
</b></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b> </b></div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>What other interests do you have?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">Aside from reading a lot and endlessly watching films, other interests are mainly outdoor activities, in necessary contrast to sitting indoors and the very sedentary business of doing illustrations. Training my brilliant border collie for sheepdog trials - by far my best achievement of late! Climbing Scottish mountains in sideways rain, and recently learning to fly aeroplanes, which provides plenty of thrills and mental exhaustion.<b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div><ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Where can we find you and your art?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">My work and I turn up in all sorts of odd places. But check out <a href="http://www.martinmckenna.net/">www.martinmckenna.net</a> and that poor neglected blog it features that one day I might actually update.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-35862737593939296732011-09-27T12:04:00.000+01:002014-04-17T18:46:16.465+01:00Interview with Synergy (Larry Fast)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QgSBJ8Vjavc/ToGP717RD0I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/m-69UgE1IAA/s400/Larry8+copy.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></div>
<br />
<b>Larry Fast is a synthesiser expert and composer, best known for his series of pioneering electronic music albums recorded under the project name Synergy. He is also known for his work with Peter Gabriel; playing synthesiser on records and on tour, and rounding out the production team on many of Peter's albums for nearly a decade. Larry has also worked with Rick Wakeman and Yes, Foreigner, Hall and Oates, Bonnie Tyler, Wendy Carlos, Tony Levin, Nektar, Iam Siam, Annie Haslam and others. He also contributed music to the Carl Sagan 1980 television program Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, and created the soundtrack for the 1982 film The Jupiter Menace.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You are one of the pioneers of electronic music. How did you enter, what was once, one of the most exclusive worlds in modern music?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It really started happening for me in the late 1960s. I had been an electronic experimenter since I was a kid, building and wiring things since I soldered my first wires together in the late 1950s. I also loved listening to music and took lessons on violin and piano, and later self-taught myself guitar and bass. Couple that with hi-fi and stereo, tape recording and the various aspects of audio circuitry and I was primed for electronic music. When the Moog products evolved into instrument systems from individual modules between 1964 and 1967, I wanted to own some of them. But still in school at that time, there was no way I could afford those thousands of dollars. So I started building my own devices. Some from circuits I found in technical magazines and others that I developed myself from classic oscillator and filter circuits. One of my first oscillators was a modified Morse code practice oscillator. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">By the early 70s I was building electronic devices for other musicians such as Rick Wakeman from Yes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But I had also started to write and record, to satisfy my own creative leanings. And by then had managed to scrape together enough money to buy some genuine Moog instruments, which were superior to my own designs and construction. I used the combination of Moog and my own equipment to work with bands and on my own. After a short-lived band experience I was offered a record deal in 1974 for what would become the Synergy solo electronic project.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7MZ-dntAO4Y/ToGk7HT_BQI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/JBUpDee6L7w/s320/electronic_realizations.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>How and why did you choose the name ‘Synergy’?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I was looking for a project name to hide behind - a sort of fictional band. Reading Buck Minster Fuller's <i>Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth</i> there was a chapter called Synergy. He was describing the combined effects observed in metallurgy, chemistry and environmental sciences. But the word did apply to the effects I had observed in multi-track audio recording. And it sounded a bit like "synthesizer", so I appropriated the then-obscure term for my project. Now, about forty years later, it is a much-overused mainstream term.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>In my opinion, <i>Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra</i> is one of the most innovative and important recordings of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century. Tell us about the development of this album, and the technology you employed to produce it.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The earliest form of the album started shaping up as a senior thesis piece in my 20th Century Composition course at college. There is an entire section of the appropriately named <i>Legacy</i> piece, which was written for that course. <i>Slaughter On Tenth Avenue</i> was a piece that I had performed on piano as a student in junior high school. It struck me a decade later, as something that would translate well into the electronic genre. Other pieces evolved from writing sessions with a short-lived band I had on a development deal with Warner Bros. Records, which didn't pan out, and things I wrote after that band broke up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Soon after that I signed as a solo artist to Passport Records and began putting the album together in preproduction. The technology was fairly standard for the time. Much of it is listed in the album credits. I used Moog instruments, which on that early album was mostly Minimoog along with modules from Oberheim and 360 Systems. Recording was quite conventional 16-track to 2-inch tape with dbx noise reduction. Mixing was done in both quad and stereo. The original quad mix is encoded in the stereo mix, though the quad fad of the 1970s soon faded so few people have heard the old surround mix. The original release was on the available formats of the day which were vinyl, cassette and 8-track. There was even a quad 8-track format released in very limited numbers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8V2T3a9FiqI/ToGh4TL5hZI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/8JI3Pipnk8Q/s400/LF_PeterGabrieltour1977-1.jpg" height="320" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Peter Gabriel Tour, 1977</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us about your work with Peter Gabriel and others.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That is a huge topic covering more than five albums and almost a decade with Peter Gabriel alone. Session work and touring with other acts has never really stopped, but was a fairly consistent 35-year-run with so many recording dates that I can't even remember all of them anymore. Without a specific question it's difficult to know where to even begin. For the years 1976 through 1985 or so, the recording and touring cycle with Peter Gabriel was fairly constant. Many of the other recordings that I worked on like Foreigner, Hall & Oates, Bonnie Tyler and others were slotted in when there were breaks in the Gabriel schedule. After that, it was easier to get involved in special projects.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;">One of the most interesting projects was working with Wendy Carlos in 1997 on the live version of <i>Switched On Bach</i> performance at a Bach festival in New York. It was the first time that the classic 1967 album had been performed live by a synthesizer ensemble. It took months of work and was the finest all-synthesizer group that I have ever performed with. That kind of work was so different from the many rock tours that I have done that it really stands out in my experiences.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0ZqtGPA_Wu8/ToGmrcVx0kI/AAAAAAAAAaI/F6wr9U_7Nxk/s200/cords.jpg" height="200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Cords</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f-65_mBheLg/ToGmmSoSwOI/AAAAAAAAAaE/WyOl7fLuxZk/s200/sequencer.jpg" height="200" width="198" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sequencer</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You have designed listening devices for the hearing disabled; and you own several patents for optical distribution using infrared audio technologies. Has this expertise helped you with your career in music, and if so, how?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In reality, it's the other way around. The technologies that underlie audio in the studio and synthesis are all about quality sound. For people with hearing losses, finding ways to compensate for their hearing through technology is very much related. I had already spent several decades exploring the nuances of audio circuit designs so it was not a big leap when I was charged with finding some new solutions to problems in accommodating those people with hearing losses covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The only aspect that was new to me was getting up to speed on transmitting audio over infrared light. But even that was not all that much different from the design of blinking LEDs that I had incorporated into a lot of my sequencers and computer interfaces for analog synthesizers. The one irony out of the whole exercise was that in all of my earlier years developing specialized synthesizer modules, nothing I had developed was clearly patentable. The changes that I brought into infrared assistive listening, a small side project, was patent-ready on multiple counts.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BeOkESj2Nsc/ToGplWuSknI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/W9cEnMMel_Y/s320/games.jpg" height="314" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Games</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us about your new Synergy album. Why have you chosen to return to the Synergy project, after over 20 years, and what do you hope to give to your listeners?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There wasn't a conscious decision to stop doing the Synergy recordings. It was more a matter of economics. The record business has always been notoriously unstable and to some degree untrustworthy. Over the years, I found myself getting more commissions to work on corporate projects and in broadcast media, which took up as much, if not more, time to execute on a per-project basis. That left little time for making records just for art sake. That, coupled with the bankruptcy of the label I had been originally signed to, and a protracted fight to get the rights to the Synergy catalog back, put new Synergy recordings on hold for quite a while. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">What has happened recently, is that at my current stage in life (older) I can back off on the outside projects a bit. And in the current extended recession, there aren't as many commissioned projects as there once were, either. So that opens up some time for me to indulge in the Synergy project experimentation again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The listeners are along for the ride, because I can't predict exactly where it will take us or even when it will be completed. I do know that the recordings will be high-bit audiophile digital masters, which will be down-converted to regular CDs and of course compressed audio for download sales and streaming. However, I'm actively pursuing the best way to make the audiophile versions available to the general public and in what formats. I'd also like to do 5.1 surround versions of the final mixes. I expect that I'll use many of the same creative tools, which these days focus heavily on software synthesis tools.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">No, not really. You might pick up something from a title here and there, but I like the music to stand on its own, conveying spaces and emotions non-verbally. And even that tends to be "fiction" without a specific storyline. Think of it more as a soundtrack that doesn't have a movie attached to it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ogWPi5iq9s/ToGl3t_bQFI/AAAAAAAAAaA/Rz10GZduxNU/s320/metropolitan_suite.jpg" height="315" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Metropolitan Suite</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Of the music you’ve created, is there one piece that you are particularly proud of? If so, why this particular work?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So far, the <i>Metropolitan Suite</i> is the most integrated collection of my earlier works. But it is very hard to have a single favorite piece. At the time any one of the Synergy pieces is being written, it is my favorite piece in the world. If it wasn't, why would I even bother to keep working on it? But after any collection is finished, some of the pieces just work better than others. And sometimes that is completely unexpected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The pieces I've created over the decades are so different from each other that various aspects of different pieces have strengths that are more appropriate for different listeners and in different settings. So no one piece could ever be my universal favorite for all times.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I never quite know where the creative process is going to take me. I sometimes have a starting point with a rough idea of where I want to explore. Setting up some parameters of tempo, feel, texture and so on, gives me the beginnings of structure. Often I'll also have some kind of melodic hook or partial melody to get me started. And then it's off to that mysterious place in the creative thought process where ideas come together. I'm constantly switching between programming, arranging, writing and rewriting parts. These days it is all integrated into an ongoing recording process in the computer. Even the mixing is roughed in at this point, as the piece develops. The simultaneous job functions are somewhat of a departure from the analog days where there was a writing phase along with programming sounds on the synthesizers. But other than rough sketches on a 4-track recorder, there wasn't a whole lot more that could be done outside of the studio other than plan and note things like patch setups and the settings on the outboard equipment. Then, after all of the preparation, there was a distinct master recording phase onto multitrack tape, and then another period of time where recording was finished and locked, and mixing could begin. And the mastering for LP manufacturing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Now many of these phases occur as part of one continuous process with the ability to revisit individual notes on any one part and make a quick change after the mix and mastering have been done on a first or second pass. I find that work sessions will last many hours with intense concentration, which is almost like going into some kind of zone. A lot gets done to move any production forward during that process. But sometimes I will hit an impasse where I can't decide which path to take, or I find that I'm unable to make some kind of decision about a musical part or a mix level or the sound of a patch. And I find it best to just leave it all for a while and stop working on it. Hearing it fresh an hour later, or a day or two later, usually makes the resolution of whatever the problem was become obvious. Often the right path is easy to get to, but if it won't resolve, then there is probably some kind of fundamental problem with the decisions that I've been making, which need to be revisited. At those points, the best thing to do is to go back a few or more steps in the process and try to re-imagine an alternate way to make the production evolve.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnyNc7gATuc/ToGqEPBZqmI/AAAAAAAAAaY/-4mdRnCCpWk/s200/computer-experiments.jpg" height="197" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Computer Experiments, Vol. 1</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nvcWgtT_h0I/ToGqDgBBpyI/AAAAAAAAAaU/W-tgqGvEb2c/s200/audion.jpg" height="194" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Audion</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What advice would you give to someone considering a career producing electronic music?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That is a difficult question because I’m not really sure that electronic music in the sense that I started working in even exists as a meaningful genre anymore. What is now called electronic music is more of a dance and beat genre using laptop software, dedicated devices and other tools, which evolved from the work done forty plus years ago. But what used to be electronic music, a composer and technologist's medium, was always a very small group of people and to some extent with limited opportunities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My advice would be more universal to anyone considering working in the music business. Know your craft and be as good at it as you can be. Have high standards and specific artistic and business goals. And especially, learn the business side and have a good lawyer you can trust. The music business changes every week and if you don't understand how you are going to get paid for all of your hard creative work, then it's just a hobby.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GT78yn0kx5c/ToGtH3xyCdI/AAAAAAAAAak/35W1X_JXg-8/s320/larryfast_seattle_02.300px.jpg" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Tony Levin Band, Seattle</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Evolution is an inherent facet of modern music. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology in electronic music production?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Of course there are always some new developments in the evolution of sound technology, but what I'm seeing now in many ways is the commercialization and affordability of many of the concepts that I was fortunate enough to experience in the mid 1970s and 80s at Bell Laboratories. The underlying technologies and concepts of digital sound and synthesis were being developed back then. But it was extraordinarily expensive and time consuming. What we're seeing now is the evolution of those ideas to become available at consumer prices and on standard computers, pads and phones. And that allows further evolution of the user interface and development of ways to use underlying audio technologies in creative new ways that are a part of the social evolution of digital music. That encompasses everything from how the music is created to the many ways that digital music is distributed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bNLj73a8zG4/ToGoqQLgqAI/AAAAAAAAAaM/Yfwf8wXWfZI/s320/jupiter_menace.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Jupiter Menace</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>My earliest memory of your music is from Carl Sagan’s <i>Cosmos</i>. I also have the soundtrack for <i>The Jupiter Menace</i>. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continued use of your music in film and television?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Most of the last few decades when I have been out of the direct public eye has been spent working in broadcast media, TV, radio, advertising and special projects related to film and scoring. Being based on the east coast that tends to be a bit more anonymous than working on Hollywood projects. But I have almost no reservations about either licensing my existing work for these kinds of uses or accepting commissions to create new music in these same fields. I have probably written and recorded more commissioned work over the last 20 years than all of the earlier Synergy albums combined. As a purely economic matter for the working electronic musician as the established record industry continues to unravel, these alternative media provide a much-needed economic base to replace what the record companies once provided.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us a little about any good electronic music you’ve heard recently.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I don't listen to music much, so I can't comment on anything new. After spending time in the studio, I find myself listening to news and talk radio in the car and watching TV in my downtime at home (or on the computer while travelling). I do keep some of Wendy Carlos' classic pieces and a lot of Beatles in my iTunes collection to remind me to keep my standards high. Those works, the earliest of which are nearly a half-century old, really defined production values, composition and in Wendy's case (as well as some later Beatles pieces on Abbey Road) the purest essence of Moog-based synthesis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us about your interest in photography.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">That's been a hobby since I was very small. I've been documenting phases of my life, and where I've been, since I was in single digits. That's my historian side. There's also the visual artist side, which I also express through photography. Of course for the last 15 years or so I've given up most of my darkroom work and use digital cameras and photo software.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It was only natural that I'd have a hand in both photographing some of my album art and working closely with the art directors and photographers that they brought into the projects.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0Uv8-oyOeAc/ToGrWqNrBnI/AAAAAAAAAac/95IZROl_BlM/s200/reconstructed_artifacts.jpg" height="200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Reconstructed Artifacts</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PjJIhRp169I/ToGrXDtJh3I/AAAAAAAAAag/LkVF5h5BuPg/s200/semi-conductor.jpg" height="198" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Semi-Conductor</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Describe ‘Synergy’ in one sentence.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The sum is greater than the whole of the parts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Where can we find you and your work?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It is all available on iTunes as well and a number of major online download sites. Physical CDs of some of the titles can be found on CD Baby (www.cdbaby.com). As of this writing there are some changes underway in the distribution of the rest of the Synergy titles on CD so the best thing to do is check the updated information on the Synergy website: www.synergy-emusic.com.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F66925403-e865-470e-b6cf-f83a09bcac01&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript></div>
Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-84261898259988649632011-09-23T00:24:00.000+01:002011-09-23T00:26:30.473+01:00Interview with Scott Grimando<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BjzS7MfiFMs/TnuPqMf3hrI/AAAAAAAAAY0/zzgtB8pgcTI/s400/AVATAR_7474.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
<b>Indigenous to planet Earth, Scott Grimando currently resides in the outer spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. He hopes to relocate soon. In the meantime, he paints pretty pictures of zombies and fairies, takes nice photos and tries to write. </b><br />
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b>Tell us about your artwork.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">It’s the most amazing, fantastical art in the known universe. Or so my mother tells me.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Why did you choose this type of creative work, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I assume you mean Science Fiction and Fantasy art? I was raised on it. This kind of art speaks to me. It speaks of the promise of a better tomorrow and a magical past. I hope to touch people with my work - to get them to think and dream.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="404" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1a1hkxa96bA/Tnu7uCni-qI/AAAAAAAAAY4/3zGcWEVJMwE/s400/Hex.jpg" width="275" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What’s your strongest memory of your childhood, and how has it helped to define your art?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">My earliest memory is a recurring dream that I had when I was still in the crib. I could see into my parents room and they were being eaten by monsters that later took on their identity. At least I think that was a dream. I can’t see any relationship between that and my art. My goal as an artist was defined by an early Boris Vallejo calendar my father bought for me. It gave my overactive imagination a sense of direction. I wanted to be as good as Boris!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Are there any underlying themes or messages in your work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Yes. Monsters ate my parents.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6V6fwoho3l8/Tnu78On7KHI/AAAAAAAAAY8/hnYfnTD9VSA/s400/DesertofSouls.jpg" width="275" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I was raised by a commercial artist, so I always had the tools and encouragement. As a teenager, I studied under Harold Stevenson, one of the few students of Norman Rockwell. In my early twenties, computers entered the art scene and I applied my classical training to the new tools.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Y-glQ0Exo4/Tnu8YPtcUdI/AAAAAAAAAZA/UhFeTKRpWhs/s400/SacredDragon.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
</div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have any favourite? If so, why this particular work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">My favourite personal work is the fjords found on the coast of Norway on planet Earth… Now I’ve said too much.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>How is creating science fiction and fantasy art different from creating other genres?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">A Fantasy artist has to be able to create things that don’t exist and make them believable. The viewer must suspend disbelief when looking at fantasy art. That doesn’t work if the Dragon’s not convincing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview-with-scott-grimando.html"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LoTlpLVS-lY/Tnu8h120biI/AAAAAAAAAZE/8CDb9FsxB0I/s320/AngryBones.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/09/interview-with-scott-grimando.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnCOob4R_bg/Tnu8iS8bi8I/AAAAAAAAAZI/K3B5Fg6j5BU/s320/CITYOFGHOSTS.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Creating. Bringing an idea to life. Seeing a person respond to my creation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Illustration as an occupation is the job of visual problem solving. You are given a set of criteria along with an outline or manuscript and you must come up with a visually compelling image that hopefully conveys a narrative in your own unique way. That’s the constant challenge and often rewarding aspect of the craft.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rBCJnW1JQzc/Tnu9Gp4MF5I/AAAAAAAAAZM/YL0QdFdd5Ek/s400/TheRestlessDreamofFlight5.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
</div><ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What have you done to promote and market your artwork, and what advice would you give to other artists?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Traditionally artists used expensive illustration directories and direct mail campaigns. The modern art department revolves around the computer and instant access to the Internet by art directors. A strong web presence is the best approach to promotion now. The web is not the only piece of the puzzle though. An artist must research and reach out to as many relevant art directors as possible. Direct mail is still a good way to keep your most recent work on an A.D.’s wall. However, once a contact has been made, keep them updated through non-harassing emails. Update your website regularly and get involved in as many promotional websites as possible.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="438" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5TeUZXAL-hs/Tnu9i839lQI/AAAAAAAAAZU/9ulFp5LIIxs/s400/CityofRuin.jpg" width="275" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What memorable responses have you had, regarding your work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">A fan once told me that my work had gotten her through cancer. That’s pretty cool. Other than that, I have at least one fan at each fairy show approach me with a whisper of, “Do You Believe?”<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="372" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ebg55RyhLYk/Tnu9jyneOwI/AAAAAAAAAZY/Yw8RKHK82xk/s400/ResidentEvil.jpg" width="275" /></div><br />
</div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Evolution seems an inherent facet of fantasy art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Digital Art is just about the only kind of art being used in publishing today (excluding children’s books). A few painters still make an important impact on the industry, but they are finding it hard to deal with increasingly tight deadlines and editorial changes. More importantly, a photo-illustration style is what’s being sought by publishers and consumers. Here’s the interesting thing: I get hired because I have both sets of skills. I’m a classically trained painter with digital photography expertise. We’re still talking about fantasy art here. Things need to be convincingly made up. The last thing an art director wants to hear is that the “illustrator” can’t convey the message because they can’t photograph the subject.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z3mKaZ3bIzU/Tnu-htOl1yI/AAAAAAAAAZc/KAA1yBmtzzo/s400/PursuitOfFreedom.jpg" width="275" /></div><br />
</div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have with regards to your art being used in film and television?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I think a lot of illustrators want to get involved in concept development for TV and film. It seems so glamorous and prestigious. There are downsides but I still want to get deeper into the field. I did character development for video game companies and Hallmark Entertainment and I really enjoyed it. A concept art agent is currently looking for a project for me, so we’ll see how it pans out. No pun intended.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you do when you’re not being artistic?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I kayak, fish, hike, exercise, write, perform poetry and wrestle pandas.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Describe your art in one sentence.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 18.0pt;"> What? How’s that?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jxXAFFs7Ux8/Tnu9VgYdC8I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/g253OyCdgNk/s400/NewWatrflCityLng.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
</div><ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Where can we find you and your art?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Hopefully you can find my cover work in bookstores. Assuming you can find a bookstore. My first art book from SQP publishers can be found on Amazon or any other online source. Look for, <b><i>The Art of the Mythical Woman, Lucid Dreams</i></b>. I think fantasy fans and art students will find it enlightening. The first half deals with components of an assignment and the second half deals with painting theory and the concepts behind my personal work.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3fZi6aphus/TnvCp02WqnI/AAAAAAAAAZg/rWMGLBTDThU/s1600/The-Art-of-the-Mythical-Woman-9780865621848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a3fZi6aphus/TnvCp02WqnI/AAAAAAAAAZg/rWMGLBTDThU/s400/The-Art-of-the-Mythical-Woman-9780865621848.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><b>Links:</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><b> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><b><a href="http://www.grimstudios.com/" target="_blank">www.grimstudios.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.theartofthemyth.com/" target="_blank">www.theArtoftheMyth.com</a></b> </div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-83444139682427001272011-09-13T12:14:00.000+01:002013-01-19T19:23:50.735+00:00Interview with Susan Bischoff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KlOeBxY0Fmo/Tm83zkl3PHI/AAAAAAAAAYc/VVguyjzsblc/s400/4844785520_843e38dc96.jpg" width="260" /></div>
<br />
<b>Susan in her own words:</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">I’m just a girl who wants superhero romance! Is that so much to ask? Why must it always be a tragedy? Why does Angel walk away? Why does Spike—what <i>did </i>happen to Spike? Why did Wonder Woman go back home after the end of season 1 and WWII, then come <i>back</i>, work with Steve Trevor’s <i>grandson</i>, and <i>still </i>not hook up? Seriously! And let’s not even talk about <i>Superman Returns</i>, OK? Let’s. Just. Not.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tell us about the ‘Talent Chronicles’.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Talents are mostly teens that have been born with supernatural abilities. No one knows (yet) why this started happening, but as the kids started to exhibit powers and some of them got out of hand, people got scared. The government set up an agency to “deal with the issue,” and of course gave them too much power and free reign. So now, when the evil government agency finds out about these kids, they remove them from their families and put them in special research facilities where they can be studied and taught to control their abilities. Or turned into human killing machines for the government. Potato, potahto, right? Anyway, the kids naturally want to keep their abilities secret to avoid prison, so a lot of the Chronicles is about their attempts to do that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why are you writing this series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Right now I’m kind of into gas and groceries. These days, being able to afford those things feels like an achievement, right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a more writerly sense, there are a lot of reasons I wanted to write the series. I love superheroes, and I longed for more super-powered stories with an emphasis on romance—not to mention with some Happily Ever Afters. I wanted to try my hand at writing something with a lot of characters and threads, where people’s lives kept intersecting—like in a soap opera. The characters have these cool abilities, the kind that makes you think, ooh, I could totally use that. But for these guys, it brings them a lot of grief. And both the ability and keeping the secret go far in shaping each character. For some reason that really speaks to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Is there an underlying message in ‘Hush Money’?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think there are, like, fifty underlying messages in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hush Money.</i> And that’s part of the fun for me in reading what other people get out of it is that I can go: Yes! You totally got that! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I had to pick out just one to mention, it would be this idea that what makes you a freak is the thing that makes you awesome. The series is YA and I think that’s something I’d like kids to understand. There’s so much pressure to fit into categories and to be like everyone else, or at least a subset of everyone else, and if you’ve got something about you that makes you stick out somehow, it can be really uncomfortable. But if you can take that thing, own it, make something out of it, be who you are, there’s freedom in that. And maybe more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You have more than a passing interest in computer games. Has this influenced your writing, and if so, how?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Computer games are kind of a new obsession for me, but because I always like to make connections I am seeing lessons as far as the kind of video game stories that appeal to me. For those interested, I’ve talked about that on my blog in a post called <a href="http://susan-bischoff.com/2011/08/08/zelda-dragon-age-and-the-power-of-choice/">Zelda, Dragon Age, and the Power ofChoice</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a lame answer, but I love all the characters. Every one of them contains some facet of my personality and my experience. I’ve spent a lot of time now writing as Joss and Dylan, so I’m very attached to them, but I have others who are dear to me I have yet to introduce.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How is writing superhero stories different from writing other genres?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the end of the day, it’s probably not. We all have our rules. Sometimes I get jealous because I’ve restricted the superpowers in my world to things I can sort of wrap my brain around. So I don’t have some of the super-creative and how does that even happen?? Stuff like you’d see in X-Men. And I can’t just whip out some new kind of magic, magic object, or whatever to make a scene more interesting or get me out of a tight spot like writer friends in other genres. But they’re probably just making it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">look</i> easy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RfuOuycGsEM/Tm863yA1KKI/AAAAAAAAAYs/R21t4ZDu92E/s400/5515321237_77407c8e56.jpg" width="260" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why do you think romances, within the superhero genre, often end in tragedy?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One explanation, perhaps, is the serial nature of a lot of superhero fic. If you’ve got a guy wandering around battling evil issue after issue, it might be inconvenient for him to have a family in tow. I guess there’s probably some basic belief that the life—and “with great power comes great responsibility” to lead that life—is incompatible with a relationship. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s also something terribly romantic about that lonely hero thing. It’s just that in romance we like that to be the beginning of the story, not the end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All the surprises. Like the things that just come out unexpectedly and totally work. Or going back and reading something I’ve written and having that feeling of, “Holy crap, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> wrote that?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting out of my own way. Getting over myself and all my insecurities to just sit down and do the work. I’m still working on this one, but having a designated ass-kicker does help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What have you done to promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Start here: <a href="http://susan-bischoff.com/2010/10/09/kindle-rank-unknown-to-top-1k-in-8-weeks/">Kindle Rank: Unknown to top 1K in 8 Weeks</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then keep clicking for the next post. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal reader?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I usually think of my readers as people like me. We spend a lot of time daydreaming to change the course of relationships in our favourite TV shows because things just didn’t end right. We don’t understand why “a slayer is always alone.” We were horrified by deadbeat dad Superman in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Returns</i>. Those of us who are my age probably watched Steve Trevor’s admiration for Wonder Woman and Diana’s obvious interest in him and desperately wanted to see that go somewhere, only to be disappointed. And then there was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAP9TPDAN5g&feature=related">Batman and Catwoman</a>…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What advice would you give to help others build the confidence required to write their first book?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just write it for yourself. Because if you’re the only one who’s ever going to see it, it doesn’t so much matter what you do. Making it “perfect,” releasing it, finding readers… That’s all stuff that can come later. But you have to write it first. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Would you like to see your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations, or reservations, regarding this?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would love to see a Talent Chronicles TV series. Not something that follows the books, but something based on the idea, maybe with a new set of characters. And of course I’d love Joss Whedon to show up for that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What are you doing now?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve just released the second novel in the series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heroes ’Til Curfew, </i>so I’m trying to get the word out about that. I’m deep in the planning phase for the third book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heroes Under Siege.</i> And, having decided to keep Talent Chronicles and independent endeavour, at least for now, I’m trying to come up with an idea for something new to share with my agent and New York.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-puwoDzJBquE/Tm86ySrUgtI/AAAAAAAAAYo/IOnz9WI4tEM/s400/5314128145_d57124cf5c.jpg" width="260" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Describe the ‘Talent Chronicles’ in one sentence.</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If Buffy led the X-Men—it’s teen angst drama, action, and romance; kids with super powers trying to become the people they were meant to be—without getting caught.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where can we find you and your books?</b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hush Money, </i>the first novel, is available in eBook and paperback pretty much everywhere you’d expect.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Impulse Control</i>, is a short story available for free on Smashwords or as part of an eBook anthology called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kiss Me, Kill Me, </i>where you can get it with the works of several other awesome authors for a great price and good cause. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heroes ’Til Curfew,</i> the second novel, is currently available in eBook at select retailers with a paperback in the works and coming in the next few weeks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Visit <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAP9TPDAN5g&feature=related">my website</a> for more information on any of these titles.</span><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Links:</b></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<a href="http://susan-bischoff.com/">Official Website</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<a href="http://twitter.com/susan_bischoff">Twitter</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<a href="http://facebook.com/SusanBischoffAuthor">Facebook</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4171164.Susan_Bischoff">Goodreads</a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"><b> </b> </span>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_a4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fa4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fa4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_a4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_a4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fa4a92d13-2778-4ed4-849a-d93e54d48f0d&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-42102483663899124442011-08-30T15:27:00.000+01:002013-01-19T19:36:06.751+00:00Interview with John Howe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FCNdpKHcQ6w/Tl1yDxR-j4I/AAAAAAAAAXc/S4BkAQbIF-o/s1600/120+PORTRAIT+copy+2.jpg" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>John Howe is a Canadian illustrator and concept artist, best known for his work based on J. R. R. Tolkien's worlds. Howe and noted Tolkien artist Alan Lee served as chief conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, John Howe also did the illustration for the "Lord of the Rings" board game and re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in 1996–2003. <br />
<br />
His work is however not limited to this, and includes images of myths such as the Anglo Saxon legend of Beowulf. He also illustrated the board game Beowulf: The Legend. John Howe illustrated many other books, amongst which many belong to the fantasy genre. He also contributed to the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. In 2005, a limited edition of George R. R. Martin's novel, A Clash of Kings was released, complete with numerous illustrations by John Howe. He has also illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.<br />
<br />
For the upcoming The Hobbit films, former director Guillermo del Toro and current director Peter Jackson have been in consultation with John Howe and fellow conceptual artist Alan Lee to ensure continuity of design. John Howe is a member of the living history group, The Company of Saynt George.</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hKOumUWDSrk/Tl1y5QyNCbI/AAAAAAAAAXg/T-9ffE8-ZR0/s400/127+Bridge+of+Kazad-dum+copy+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge of Kazad-dum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">You are a world-famous illustrator and concept artist whose work I have long admired. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with your work, tell us about your career and your artistic creations.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span></span></i><b> </b></li>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I’m afraid I’ll have to leave the introduction to you; I am not very good at writing about my own work. I am grateful, though, to have been able to pursue drawing and painting as a profession. I suppose the best part is being under the constant obligation to LOOK at things, since so much is needed to paint fantasy, from an acceptable layman’s knowledge of history, armour, architecture, and much, much more, to landscape and light and the human figure, not to mention all the astonishing creatures that inhabit fantasy. This means you are always attentive to atmosphere and detail. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7wlsSkyid9w/Tl11vccrQvI/AAAAAAAAAXs/IKN7gl40ARs/s400/111+Orthanc+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Orthanc</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I spend a lot of time visiting the cities in countries I go for convention or work, stopping at museums, visiting sites, getting up at all hours to catch sunrises, heading out in the rain to take photos. Insatiable curiosity is a desirable trait for an illustrator, it keeps you open to the world, rather than centring your technique on your own depictions, you can retain a certain vulnerability to circumstance, to the appreciation of everything around you. To have had that appreciation of things opened up for me is perhaps the thing for which I am most grateful.</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Concerning my own work, it’s either done, therefore not really of much interest to me; or yet to be done, which, while I’m eagerly looking forward to it, cannot really say much about it. The best picture is always the next one.</span></span></b></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><br />
</span></span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2snRrCUxXnA/Tl1vlAhnUzI/AAAAAAAAAXY/iUUv3pQ3Ea0/s320/GandalfTheGrey+copy+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Gandalf the Grey</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?</span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span></span> </i></li>
</ol>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">A certain freedom, I think, to pursue drawing. Also, a certain undeniable obsession with a few fantasy illustrators likely helped. This was, you’ll have to remember, back in the ‘70s, before a lot of fantasy art books came out, and you had to search through stacks of old paperbacks to find appealing book covers. The first art book I bought was a collection of works by Gustave Doré. I knew nothing at all about art history, not even about the 19<sup>th</sup> century fin de siècle painters, who have since become my favourites. </span></span></b><br />
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"></ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="572" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iI8TNswaBbY/Tl1up_ZZalI/AAAAAAAAAXU/bQok_f7zU0M/s400/Smaug+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Smaug the Golden</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span></span> </i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I wasn’t able to follow many art classes in school, but finally did get into art class in the last year of high school, in the class of a lovely art teacher with whom I am still in touch. After that, I went on to art school in France. This said, although it’s a little trite, you never stop learning. It’s a process that demands a good deal of attentiveness, though, always keeping both eyes open, recalling visual relationships, establishing a little order in what you see, since a person’s wanderings, whether in situ or in books, cannot always be chronological or by category – so, when you stumble on a little church on a street corner in some small medieval town, you are much better prepared to remember (and profit from) what you see if you have some basic notion of architectural period and style. Fantasy is not a departure from history, but a refining and an enhancement of it. The only way to make fantasy real is to make it as solid as reality, but simply other or extra-worldly.</span></span></b></div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NzLP-hcFddE/Tl13UlagG2I/AAAAAAAAAX4/pYkl1aDvrmM/s1600/Lancelot+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NzLP-hcFddE/Tl13UlagG2I/AAAAAAAAAX4/pYkl1aDvrmM/s320/Lancelot+copy.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Lancelot</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uvT-_Tklcrs/Tl139hNJyGI/AAAAAAAAAX8/K1ZaeXwGnVg/s1600/DRAGONS+Lancelot1+copy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uvT-_Tklcrs/Tl139hNJyGI/AAAAAAAAAX8/K1ZaeXwGnVg/s320/DRAGONS+Lancelot1+copy+2.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lancelot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I’d be tempted to say that the challenges are the most rewarding aspect. It would be a shame to fall into a certain routine. That’s why I enjoy illustration work; every picture on a theme is first and foremost an introduction to the vision of another, whether it’s the anonymous author of some ancient saga like Gilgamesh or Beowulf, or a modern fantasy writer. They open up a window on a world, and then stand to one side to let you try and capture the view. Remaining attentive to the text is like having them at your elbow, prompting, providing details you might have missed, enriching the experience. The process is what it all reminds you of, those things that you’ve picked up over the years, and which come into play with what you’re being shown. The result is a blending, interweaving, extrapolating and emulating of the two, a pictorial narrative where the story is either implicit or explicit, but underpins the image itself. I also very much enjoy the interweaving of narrative with the inner logic of an image in the graphic sense. These two can be complimentary or opposed, intertwined or independent of each other. </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hqdM9HYfvLY/Tl1-GtQ2vcI/AAAAAAAAAYI/zROOWe049kk/s400/MythagoWood+copy+2.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mythago Wood</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Go to school! Even just for a short time, to give yourself time to get a little experience and maturity before trying to make it in the professional world. Judging one’s own work is near impossible at the best of times, and it can be quite hard to step out of the world where you’ve grown up as the clever child who can draw and into a world where it’s your bread and butter (for better or worse).</span></span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h30GWyWAJtk/Tl1-h8W58-I/AAAAAAAAAYM/CLCRUddfUlY/s400/85+Winter+of+the+Raven+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="260" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Winter of the Raven</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Tell us about your experience as a chief conceptual designer for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">It was very challenging, and enormous fun. I don’t think anyone realized at the beginning how huge it was going to grow. We created thousands of pieces of artwork to help Peter capture the vision he had of Middle-Earth.</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span></span></b><br />
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Evolution is an inherent facet of contemporary art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in art?</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">"When an idea seems to revolutionize the world, it is really you that is changing. "-- Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914)</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0BpNL9J3bM/Tl1_AqCpLUI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/-_p8VMBGQeY/s400/151a+Rainstorm+copy+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Rainstorm</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently.</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I’m far more interested in sculpture and metalworking than painting; I’ve recently seen some wonderful work by a number of artists. </span></span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">What other interests do you have?</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"></span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Many, though they are mostly related to history, architecture and art. I do enjoy blacksmithing, although my skills are minimal. I’m also involved in a re-enactment group, which is enormous fun, though I’ve not been to many events recently. I have done a little archery and fencing, but all on a strictly amateur level. Otherwise, I very much enjoy making things and often retreat to my little workshop and poke about amongst bits of wood, plaster and metal.</span></span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dru8ix4HjPg/Tl12pTNUcoI/AAAAAAAAAXw/Li1c4WSW82I/s400/Perilous+Wood1+copy+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Perilous Wood</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><br />
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">What are you doing now?</span></span></i></li>
</ol>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Back in the movie business for a brief stint! Looking forward to getting back to publishing, though I am working on texts as best I can, it’s not possible to draw and paint right now.</span></span></b><br />
<br />
You can find out more about John Howe at his <a href="http://www.john-howe.com/">Official Website</a>.<br />
<br />
Listen to the artist, in his own words, in the <a href="http://www.john-howe.com/portfolio/gallery/details.php?image_id=4977">Forging Dragons - Trailer</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_cec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_cec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_cec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcec31e33-cd35-4b9b-b1f4-b9d8909223a0&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-34608244360736326402011-08-28T12:21:00.000+01:002011-08-30T16:02:43.034+01:00Interview with Dawid Michalczyk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RF6kL0eY824/TloNlzpPYDI/AAAAAAAAAVo/iSN7rZk3KMA/s200/196768561.png" width="260" /></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><b>Dawid Michalczyk was born in Poland in the early 1970s and has been working as an artist since 1996. He mainly works in the computer games industry but also does illustration for book and CD covers. The popular PC games he worked on include "The Longest Journey" (Funcom), "Unreal 2" (Legend Entertainment) and "Dungeons & Dragons Online: StormReach" (Turbine Entertainment). Lately, he has also been involved in casual online games, like the world's most played online pool game "Quick Fire Pool" (Miniclip). He now lives in Denmark creating freelance and personal artwork.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>My dad was an artist and art collector, so I grew up surrounded by paintings and antiques. We had a large library and a lot of books about art and architecture. Back then, I was not interested in art at all, it was just part of my life. Nevertheless, I always liked looking at pictures, whether drawings, paintings or photographs. I used to go through encyclopaedias just to look at the pictures, hardly ever reading anything.</b></div><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XWQtfkUvwdA/TlohqaEVgeI/AAAAAAAAAVs/oX3oPqVC8GY/s400/alien_3d_scifi_landscape-200810-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b> </div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">You have lived and worked in several countries, including Norway, USA and Denmark. What have you gained from various cultural experiences, and attitudes to work and art?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Living and working in different countries broadens the perspective on life - perhaps too much. It is both interesting and very educational to experience different cultures because it is so revealing about human nature, and challenges your own beliefs. Overall I have gained many insights about the various aspects of the cultures I lived in. There are good and bad things about every country, and in the end a lot of the likes/dislikes are based on personal preference. As far as attitudes toward work and art, it seems that talented or successful individuals are rewarded and treated much better in the USA. Americans are also much more work oriented. They work more; and they seem more attached to, and responsible for, their work.</b></div><b> </b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOFVHz8Pn0w/TloiQCqXZoI/AAAAAAAAAVw/7N3Dut-9XdM/s400/space_art_landscape-200801-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it. </li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>I'm self-taught and I primarily learn through studying other artists’ work. I say studying, but in reality it's a very enjoyable process. I just sit and look at the pictures in a book or computer screen. My artwork has changed somewhat over the years. In the past, I often did images that had a lot of detail in them. I'm not all that interested in detail anymore; I like simpler images now. Simpler images are easier to process visually and often don't require as much creative energy to produce; yet they can be just as effective or more so. I also noticed that I tend to use a more colourful palette now, I'm not sure exactly why. I think the changes in my work are the result of me changing as I go through life. The accumulated experiences, increased awareness and understanding of the environment, influence my creative output.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0eQcTMEP9xw/TloitK-guvI/AAAAAAAAAV0/NaEcLqb6qw8/s400/alien_art_picture-200301-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What attracted you to the world of computer games?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>During the late 1980s and early 1990s I played a lot of computer games - especially on Commodore 64 and Amiga 500. I was fascinated by the pretty graphics of Amiga 500 and collected a lot of games and demos. So it was mainly the wonderful visuals, music and good game play that got me interested in computer games. Later when I started working in the computer games industry it felt quite natural to be part of it. In fact, I don't think I would be doing what I do today if it wasn't for all those Amiga games and demos.</b></div><b> </b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Sometimes there is a message in some of my artwork. For example, in "Endless opposites" I illustrate the perplexity of duality - that there is always a choice to be made. Every choice made is a step in one of two directions; and every step taken leads to a new choice to be made.</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dGtOmcnlQJk/TlojENGaRnI/AAAAAAAAAV4/TeVYdj0o2-k/s400/surreal_posters_prints-200601-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><b> </b> <br />
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>I don't have one favourite piece, but there are many, which I like better than most. One surreal piece that I particularly like is "Edge of perception". The composition, colours, and metaphysical content works really well together. The blue sky, which gradually transitions into green and then meets the horizon as a bright red fog on the right and a soft white transition on the left. And then there is the abstract structure in front of a standing man looking ahead at the uncharted frontier. The closer one gets to the edge of perception, the more abstract and incomprehensible the unknown becomes. Eventually, a new structure of beliefs emerges which may lead to a new understanding of a particular aspect of reality.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-72wxwBxz_Vw/TlojcPEfwWI/AAAAAAAAAV8/4X7ZXcc7yMk/s400/3d_surreal_art-200901-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal">Evolution is an inherent facet of contemporary art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in illustration? <b> </b></li>
</ol><b>In general, computer technology makes many things much easier to do. Especially what traditionally used to be hard or time consuming is now relatively easy and quick to do. Because of that much of the focus shifts to areas that digital technology offers greater control over, like finer colour ranges, better composition, more realistic and precise rendering, increased image complexity, etc. The availability of art assets like libraries of high quality 3D models and photographs transforms the whole process of picture making. Now, instead of doing everything yourself, you can simply use pre-fabricated 3D models, textures, photographs, etc and create a picture out of that.</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n5LNRduCBgY/Tloj4Mp4nzI/AAAAAAAAAWA/g9Npa-Z2X4w/s400/sci-fi_future_car-200309-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
<b>For artists and illustrators the wonders of digital technology is a mixed bag. Personally, I don't like when too much stuff is being done for me. I like to paint my own textures, do the concept design, the 3D modelling or traditionally paint a 2D illustration digitally. That way I get satisfaction from my work and a sense of accomplishment. So in the end, it's a matter of personal preference how much technology one is willing to incorporate in the picture making process. Digital art is not any better or worse than traditional art; it is merely a product of the technological progression.</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Doing the remaining 20-30% of an image is the most rewarding for me because the image just keeps getting better. I overcome the challenging aspects through learning, experimenting, and practice. Studying other artists work is essential.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What have you done to promote and market your artwork?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>My website under my own domain is central to my online marketing efforts. In the past, I did quite a bit work to improve my search engine rankings, but found it too time consuming. I have accounts on many popular social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and others. I try to post my new artwork there on a regular basis. Overall, however, the return of investment has been low. Regular updates through my RSS feed and newsletter seems to work better. There is so much competition out there and, now with the recession, getting sales is much tougher.</b></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RRtMiNDDWEQ/TlokQhhJM_I/AAAAAAAAAWE/E-VRHsLxmrM/s400/desert_outpost_sunset-200703-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div> <br />
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Follow your passion and take care of your health. Good health is the most important thing in life - it allows you to do the things you want. Without it you are more limited. Educate yourself about healthy diet, do regular exercise, minimize stress, and cut out the unnecessary stuff. In the beginning, it's probably best to work at a studio with other artists, to learn not only the craft but also the business side of things. Working as a self-employed artist is not for everybody. The main disadvantage here is unstable income, and having to do everything yourself (promotion, selling, website, etc). The main advantages are more freedom to structure your daily life, do the type of work you really enjoy, no commuting, no office politics, bureaucracy, etc.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your art being used in film and television?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>As long as I get paid and credited I'm all for it.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qEv_4zRlht4/TlokokWPX_I/AAAAAAAAAWI/h9Hvpj-fX3Y/s400/planet_stars_sunset-200407-SM.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Describe your art in one sentence.</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Colourful, thought provoking, original and memorable.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What other interests do you have?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoBodyTextIndent"><b>Health and nutrition is my primary interest - especially healthy diets and supplements. I have been experimenting with different diets for many years and keep journals about my observations. Another subject that interests me is anthropology. I find human behaviour and value systems across very different cultures particularly interesting. Lately, I've become interested in urban and wilderness survival in case the whole system, or parts of it, collapses.</b><br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Where can we find you and your art? <b></b></li>
</ol><b>On my website at <a href="http://www.art.eonworks.com/" target="_blank">http://www.art.eonworks.com</a></b> Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-91707521315623746682011-08-17T19:06:00.000+01:002011-09-25T11:50:19.320+01:00Interview with Chris Moore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NV4YQDyg3uE/TkvPX5dcg1I/AAAAAAAAAVA/kOAhQ8D3HHA/s320/ChrisMoore-small.jpg" width="230" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Chris Moore is a British illustrator, noted for the classic science fiction book covers he has created for many of the world's most famous science fiction authors, including Philip K Dick and Alfred Bester. Born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, Chris was educated at Mexborough Grammar School, after which he attended Doncaster Art School. Thereafter, he enrolled on a Graphic Design course at Maidstone College of Art, and was subsequently accepted by the Royal College of Art to study illustration. <br />
<br />
His professional career began in the early 70s, working on book, magazine and record covers. The mid 70s marked the start of his long association with the science fiction genre. But it wasn’t an exclusive association. As well as work on titles by Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Frederick Pohl, Anne McCaffrey, Clifford D Simak, Kurt Vonnegut, J G Ballard, Arthur C Clarke, Philip K Dick, and Samuel R Delaney, Moore was also the Artist of Choice for more mainstream writers like Arthur Hailey, Frederick Forsyth, Jackie Collins, Claire Francis, Stephen Leather, Leon Uris, Wilbur Smith, Craig Thomas, and Colin Forbes. Chris has also provided art for directors such as Stanley Kubrick and George Lucas, producing the very popular wallpaper design for The Empire Strikes Back. He was commissioned by the Isle of Man Postal Service to incorporate his cover for Arthur C Clarke’s 2001 into a special First Day Cover, an example of which was signed in orbit by the crew of NASA's space shuttle.<br />
<br />
Despite a wide range of achievements, Moore has never sought to promote himself. Aside from a readers’ award for Best Cover Art from Asimov’s Magazine, his only public acknowledgement, to date, has come in the form of a Pink Pig Award in 1982, given by women in publishing for ‘Higher Tech’ a painting of a sensuous female robot! Chris says, "All I’ve ever wanted over the years has been to gain the respect of my peers. They know what it takes to survive in this business. I’d like to think that I’ve not only gained their respect, but also their friendship."</b></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="460" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pXjyo8Sfzxs/Tkv5sZl9wEI/AAAAAAAAAVE/0us3w50IT9g/s400/Stars_my_destination_masterworks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Stars My Destination</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Why did you choose to produce science fiction art, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had a vague interest in SF as a child, being brought up in the 50's and 60's with some of the films and comics around at the time - Superman, Batman etc. and the development of space travel with the Apollo programme. They landed on the moon when I was still at college.<br />
<br />
In or around 1972, as part of a small design group, I met and started to work with Peter Bennett who was art director at Magnum paperbacks doing mainstream titles. He decided to try me out on a couple of PK Dick covers and an Alfred Bester. They were pretty crummy, but he persisted and gradually they got better with the Clifford D Simak's etc. I guess I was at that time full of optimism about the future and wanted to portray my vision of what the future could mean.</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JjsyRj9G8VY/TkwCbnMUHQI/AAAAAAAAAVc/Slj9EuzgFYQ/s320/download-blues-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Download Blues</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not really, the object of the exercise has always been to sell books because that is my job, and as a side issue to indulge myself in my visions of the future. Largely, art directors and the book buying public at that time were content to see something on the cover that looked like SF, not necessarily relevant to the actual story and we were sometimes producing the images so quickly that there wasn't time to read the manuscript, sometimes I had up to 20 jobs on at any one time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Prior to 1974, you had not produced any artwork related to science fiction. When you did move to the genre, did this delay prove helpful, and if so, how?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have developed a technique of producing fairly realistic images, thanks to the use of my airbrush (a Conopois - no longer manufactured). I was able to apply that to pretty much any subject that I was given. SF was around 30% of the work I did at that time and, thanks mainly to Pete Bennett, I was able to channel it in the direction of SF. So I guess it was helpful. When I was at The Royal College of Art studying illustration, I was loosely in the employ of the graphic design department doing finished pieces of illustration to be used in the degree shows of some of the graphics students in my year. It was a good grounding for working at a fast pace in the actual real world.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NTugG0EwUHs/TkwAd4HIzpI/AAAAAAAAAVM/AnpcMw0nbcU/s320/i-robot-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>I, Robot</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I quite like some of the PK Dick covers I have done, but generally I like very few of them a lot. You do a picture and then move on to the next job. The test of an image for me, is how long these things are around; there are some things that I did in the late 70's that are still being used and they still seem fresh. I once said to my mother that the process of creating these images was more of a journey of discovery than creation and that you had almost 'found' the image, like it was a combination of some text you'd been given and a series of happy accidents that you had gone through to arrive at this window on the future. Bit strange really.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">How is creating science fiction or fantasy art different from creating other genres?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is different in that you can be self-indulgent and express yourself to a certain extent, but you still have to do something that's right for the cover just as you had to for other commissions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aaJVRT8JMgI/TkwBDZx3SiI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/zJeh0f_CPCY/s400/sandworms-of-dune-small.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sandworms Of Dune</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Certainly not the money; I still get a buzz from people's reaction to something when they look at a painting and say, "How the hell did you do that?" This happens a lot less now, because everyone is exposed to the polish of digital imagery so they aren't impressed any more by the workmanship, which is a bit sad really. It's one of the side effects of computerisation, that and the flexibility that the art director now expects from the service you provide. I still like to get it right and it's nice to go onto the Amazon website and see all your covers displayed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and how did you overcome it?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">You start with a pencil and a piece of paper and design the cover as a thumbnail sketch. Then work this up to the final image with whatever medium that you decide to use. 3D is more flexible, and it's easier to change things with this medium. Art directors are used to this flexibility now. I still produce a drawing on paper to work out my design so an ability to draw is pretty essential. It's a shame art schools don't cater for this very much now, preferring to concentrate on mastering digital software technology, drawing boards have almost disappeared.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JvQATvgrYj0/TkwBqTUK5HI/AAAAAAAAAVU/PNad39F0uxg/s400/the-exiles-trilogy-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Exiles Trilogy</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Have you opened your gallery in East Lancashire? Tell us about what we should expect to find on display there.</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will be opening it in October, when my kids have gone back to school and university, so I can give it more attention. The kind of work will be a mixture of SF, techno, and local landscapes with some acrylics, (mostly realistic) some oil paintings and watercolours, a mixture of original and giclée prints, framed and unframed, hopefully something for everyone. A lot of my originals head off to America but I still have quite a few in my personal collection.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Evolution is an inherent facet of science fiction art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are so many tools at one's elbow nowadays that anything is possible and there are a lot of new up and coming and established artists working in the digital idiom. I have dabbled, but I can't hope to compete with guys who have been brought up using computers all their working lives. I admit to being a struggling Luddite, surviving more by luck than judgement in today's technology-driven market. Sometimes I think I should go back to college!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rOrlMS21IJ0/TkwCAvJ-rHI/AAAAAAAAAVY/1OamDrWvTzo/s320/war-of-the-worlds-small.jpg" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>War Of The Worlds</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us about your work for Stanley Kubrick and George Lucas. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your art being applied to film or television?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn't do very much for Stanley Kubrick, the film was 'AI', which was shelved very soon after I got involved. Steven Spielberg subsequently took it up, with <span class="il">Chris</span> Baker as concept artist, and he did a great job. I did some poster work for a re-release of THX 1138 and a wallpaper design for ICI for 'The Empire Strikes Back', which sold out of sight! Regarding working in film and TV, well, I've skirted around it a little but the truth is I've been pretty busy bashing out book covers so I'm not sure if I would be able to function in that medium. I was asked a couple of years ago by my chum Fred Gambino if I'd like to go with him to Vancouver to work on a film as concept and production artist but they chose John Harris instead, which was a good choice for them; but I don't think that John found it very rewarding from what I hear.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What advice would you give to artists considering a career in art?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">My advice would be to spend your time at art school doing lots of drawing. Learn about anatomy of people and animals, study other people’s work in detail, read about how they work, look at how your work may well be used, as well as keeping up with all the new developments in computer software. Most people are now employed in the games industry, as well as special effects in film and TV; so really, you need to decide what speciality you want to go for fairly early on because there's a lot to learn. But drawing will be something that you can always fall back on, and will generally sort the men from the boys. Check out Ridley Scott's sketches for 'Blade Runner' as well as Syd Mead’s...'nuff said!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us a little about any good science fiction or fantasy art you’ve seen recently.</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I haven't seen much really, other than in the film genre, which is amazing. My favourites are guys like Jim Burns, Fred Gambino, Les Edwards and John Harris in the UK, and Donato Giancola, Jon Foster, Phil Hale, Mike Whelan, Stephan Martiniere, Steve Hickman etc. in America; but really, there are so many talented people out there that the mind boggles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="359" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M_FzLY9igG8/Tkv-jl8zbWI/AAAAAAAAAVI/Lh1T6RtUo8o/s320/The-Journeyman-Art-of-Chris-Moore.jpg" width="300" /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What are you doing now?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Still doing SF covers, everything else has been replaced by photos and Photoshop, with some 3D thrown in. I guess I'm now branching out to do other types of work, landscapes and private commissions. I'm still quite busy really.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Describe your art in one sentence.</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Functional. I'm still a jobbing illustrator, working from one job to the next with a bit of time now to do things of a more personal nature.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Where can we find you and your art?</span></b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">I live in Rural Lancashire in a barn conversion, with my wife, Katie, 2 children and 2 dogs. My art can be found in my gallery, and gracing the covers of the Orion SF Masterworks series, the latest David Weber covers, and Hannu Rajaniemi covers. My website is: <a href="http://www.chrismooreillustration.co.uk/">http://www.chrismooreillustration.co.uk/</a></span> </div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-53975257436731152942011-08-14T22:02:00.000+01:002011-08-17T21:55:14.363+01:00Interview with Gary Tonge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2tvvyo_3XJQ/Tkgqj4-rjCI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/UToQGAoBy-w/s400/mugshot_small-WT.jpg" width="256" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Gary Tonge is a Conceptual Art Director and Visionary Artist who lives in Warwickshire England. He currently works for Codemasters in the UK and has worked for many other publishers, development companies, and magazines in his 23 years as a professional artist.</b></span></div><div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">You are an award-winning painter and conceptual artist, known internationally for your science fiction and fantasy art. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with your work, tell us about your career and the work you create.</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ok then. I started out as a computer graphic artist in 1987 (I had just turned 17 at the time) working on games and over the years I progressed from the little single colour graphics of the old 8-bit machines through the enormous technological advances of computers and the software written for them. I have worked in high-end 3D modelling, rendering, and animation in my time, and also on many platforms. About 1999 – in between projects – I thought I would spend some time doodling in Photoshop, just for fun. I ended up painting a number of space and sci-fi landscape pieces and, with the advent of the Internet sweeping the world, decided it might be nice to put the pieces online. My website was set up as a gallery for my personal art but I have added some sections over the years to show some of my art I create in my day job as a conceptual Art Director and Illustrator. I am at my most happy these days painting conceptual art and my <i>Vision Afar</i> works when I have the time.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--GMxXu2nB7A/Tkgy4k9RjTI/AAAAAAAAAUY/OBmOHUoB6sA/s400/Race-WT.jpg" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Race</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Why did you choose to produce conceptual art, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I think I have ended up working conceptually because the time it takes to produce state-of-the-art 3D work these days is just so long. I prefer the faster and more dynamic way of visualising “what could be” illustration-ally. I always try and find new and unique ways of portraying ideas, which tends to be invaluable to the art teams I work with in my day job and interesting to anybody who comes across my work online.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My personal art is my attempt to express that there is much more to life and the universe than many of us might think- that there is a greater reality out there, in the infinity of space and beyond our current understanding. I guess I like to try and get people to “think bigger” with my art.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qGjne-MgCyU/Tkg1eKLmEwI/AAAAAAAAAUo/sJDgYsAI-WM/s400/Geo-WT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="315" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Geo</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Straight out of school, you started work at a computer games company called Elite Systems. How did this help the quality of your work, and what impact did it have on your choice of career?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hmmm… Good question. I think working professionally in the games industry certainly made me have to work hard at my skill set – and I learned a great deal from being around the other creative people who worked there. And I still do from everybody I work with. I cannot imagine my life without art in it anymore and trying to look back at those formative years I do remember I truly wanted to be an artist!</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MkdMr0ZqJj0/TkgzlpGKC_I/AAAAAAAAAUg/LDA1d4EiAYA/s400/Outer+Rim-WT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Outer Rim</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I really like the works I have created based on The Urantia Book and I really want to have the time to create as many more of these as I can. I also quite like “Nimbus” still (it is odd in general for me to like my art once I finish it – I tend to be bored of it quickly after it is finished!)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w4w7joflVKc/Tkg1BBlU8GI/AAAAAAAAAUk/fC3SWb9bFsw/s400/Master+Universe+Map-WT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Master Universe Map</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">How is creating science fiction or fantasy art different from creating other genres?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Well, working on my personal art is a more emancipating experience for me as I am literally working on something I have seen in my imagination and trying to bring it to life. Working with real or near-real art means I have to take into account a little more of a cohesive goal for the finished piece – rather than the more emotive end result in my personal art.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /> </li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I just love creating to be honest. I love being part of a creative mechanism when working with a team of artists or designers and I also love expressing my own artistic ideas too. </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and how did you overcome it?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When I first started out as an artist I used to become very nervous about people seeing anything I was working on before I felt I had nearly completed it. But, as I have grown, I have overcome this fear and now I am happy to literally doodle in front of other people while discussing the ideas we are trying to bring to life.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZC6X47w6EE/TkgyiO-lkQI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Pt-YvT3OtUI/s400/Bold+Visions.jpg" width="353" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Tell us about ‘Bold Visions: The Digital Painting Bible’ and what inspired it.</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A number of years ago, I had been asked to do some writing for a couple of art publications as a featured artist or an expert in a specific field of art. I was contacted by F&W / David and Charles Publishing after they had read some of my articles and they wanted me to create an entire book about how I create my art. I spent some time with my publishing editor, Freya Dangerfield and designers working up some ideas on what I could write about. The aim of the book was to give some instructional ideas to new, aspiring and adept artists while also showing off some of my work in the process. It came out quite well, I think.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Evolution is an inherent facet of science fiction art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wow... That is a deep question. But one thing I have noticed recently is the architectural flamboyance on this planet has come on leaps and bounds in the last 15 years or so. There are buildings being erected and already built that challenge my own structures I have created previously in my art. Now that is an impressive leap in development!</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U3sCyWa6FgM/Tkg2PLmyIEI/AAAAAAAAAUs/x2cNNWQ5m8k/s400/Dungeon+Down-WT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="268" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Dungeon Down</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">You have produced work for the biggest names in computer gaming. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your art being applied to film or television?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I would like to work on some feature films in the future, but I think the right project needs to come along. I am willing to work on those sorts of projects and I have a great deal of interest in seeing what film and TV art is up to.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What advice would you give to artists considering a career in art?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">If you really feel inspired to be creative as a profession, I can say that it is a very rewarding and invigorating experience. It can be challenging and stressful at times also, but to be honest these things only make the payoff for great art even bigger.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Tell us a little about any good science fiction or fantasy art you’ve seen recently.</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I see amazing art everyday, to be honest. Whenever I have a little spare time or want some inspiration I will check in on some online galleries to see if there are any new and interesting images. I love seeing other people’s artistic efforts.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9mFdhs2ZypY/Tkg21k7xFbI/AAAAAAAAAUw/RkxUcd0EO0w/s400/The+Sky+Opens-WT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Sky Opens</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">What are you doing now?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">At work, I cannot say as it is a secret – but it is great. At home, I have just finished my second book – due out at the end of the year. Which, at the moment, looks like it is going to be called 'Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques'. <span style="color: #333333;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Describe your art in one sentence.</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Visionary (hopefully!) – wait that is two words... </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Where can we find you and your art?</li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">All over the Internet, to be honest; but mostly my art can be found at:</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.visionafar.com/">www.visionafar.com</a></b></div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-30160304253298919112011-08-12T00:39:00.000+01:002013-01-19T19:18:33.725+00:00Interview with Kevin J. Anderson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJWfFEXs-uU/TkQ8vNUX1HI/AAAAAAAAATk/MEP7eXFJ-Ms/s320/KevinHeadMd.jpg" width="285" /> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><b><span lang="EN-US">Kevin J. Anderson goes to work every day in several different universes, from his own Seven Suns or Terra Incognita universes, to Dune, or Star Wars. He is a #1 international bestselling author of more than 100 novels, </span><span style="font-size: small;">48 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists; he has over 20 million books in print in 30 languages. He has won or been nominated for the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, and New York Times Notable Book.<br />
<br />
Anderson has co-authored 11 books in the Dune saga with Brian Herbert. Anderson's popular epic SF series, The Saga of Seven Suns, is his most ambitious work, and he is currently at work on a sweeping fantasy trilogy, Terra Incognita, about sailing ships, sea monsters, and the crusades. As an innovative companion project to Terra Incognita, Anderson co-wrote </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"></span></b><b><span style="font-size: small;">and produced the lyrics for two ambitious rock CDs based on the novels, with </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"> his frequent co-author, Rebecca Moesta, with whom he has been married for 20 years.</span></b></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
His novel Enemies & Allies chronicles the first meeting of Batman and Superman in the 1950s; Anderson also wrote The Last Days of Krypton. He has written numerous Star Wars projects, including the Jedi Academy trilogy, the Young Jedi Knights series (with Moesta), and Tales of the Jedi comics from Dark Horse. Fans might also know him from his X-Files novels or Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son. </span>Anderson<span lang="EN-US"> is also a publisher at wordfirepress.com, teaches writing seminars, climbs mountains, and he cooks, too. </span></b></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br />
</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">When did you first read <i>The War of the Worlds</i>, and what effect did it have on you?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I was only 5 years old when I saw the George Pal movie, and it blew me away. I didn’t sleep at all that night - I was so obsessively fascinated about the heat ray, the ruined cities, the feeling of hopelessness; and then that crawling 3-fingered hand covered with leprous splotches, dying because of our germs. Amazing!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So, when I was 9 years old, I read the H. G. Wells novel, the second adult novel I ever read (the first was <i>The Time Machine</i>). I’ve since read a great many of Wells’s novels, read biographies, and even wrote a novel with H. G. Wells as a main character (<i>The Martian War</i>). Yeah, it had a pretty big effect.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hA8E-upr5I/TkRhtsaMOJI/AAAAAAAAATw/QQct-svkFn8/s320/Anderson1EdgeOfTheWorldPBUK2.jpg" width="194" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Since 1993, 48 of your novels have been on bestseller lists; and you have over 23 million books in print worldwide. What would you say is the key to your phenomenal success?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I write a lot, I read a lot, and I’m a die-hard fan at heart. I’m fortunate that I happen to have broad, commercial tastes so that what I like to read, and write, also matches what a lot of other fans like to read. I work very hard, have numerous projects in the works at once, and I never stop thinking about my characters and stories.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">In the world of publishing, there seems to be ongoing tension between independents and the established, traditional publishers. Many of your titles are available in eBook form at wordfirepress.com. What advice, or encouragement, can you give to independent authors and publishers?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I work in both worlds, and intend to keep doing so (as long as the big traditional publishers will have me); I think they serve two different purposes. At wordfirepress.com, we’ve put up a great many of my hard-to-find backlist books, dozens of my novels and short stories that have been out of print, but are no longer economically viable for a major publisher to reprint and distribute. Nevertheless, I want them available for all of the fans. I can post something there, maybe a side story, a novella, a different type of writing, that wouldn’t fit with my big publishers. On the other hand, I don’t think ambitious new writers should just dive into self-publishing without going through the hard work of competing against other aspiring authors, rising to the top of the heap, getting revision requests, detailed editing, major distribution. It’s not supposed to be easy - it’s like making a major-league baseball team. I think too many new authors turn too quickly to self-publishing because they see it as a quick and easy way to get published. Work hard and earn your chops.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-deeSwEfYTQM/TkRiVZVa4pI/AAAAAAAAAT0/Dlf3NbKKS3Q/s320/2618447_f520.jpg" width="206" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about <i>The Saga of Seven Suns</i>. Why did you write this series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Saga of Seven Suns is my love-letter to the genre of science fiction, a big epic that I spent about eight years writing (and now I’m just about to start a new trilogy set in the same universe, twenty years after The Ashes Of Worlds). It has a huge cast of characters, hundreds of planets, a war among races on a galactic scale (not to mention alien races, monsters, space battles, ancient abandoned cities, killer robots, exploding planets and stars). What more could you want? I plotted the epic from start to finish, all seven volumes, and delivered the volumes on time, every single year. It’s really a huge scope, and I loved living there. I think it shows the scale of what science fiction can be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">You have studied physics, and you have worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for twelve years. Did your lifelong interest in science fiction inspire your study of science, and how has it influenced your writing?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I grew up watching and reading SF, so by the time I got to high school, I was also reading Astronomy Magazine, had my own telescope, and was interested in the science behind the science fiction. I needed to know about quasars, black holes, supernovas, etc. before I could write them. The more I learned about how the real universe worked, the more story ideas came to me (some of the ideas didn’t work, because the science precluded it, but that’s OK). Working for so many years, at a very large government research lab, allowed me to see how real scientists work and interact (believe me, it’s not the way you see it in the movies).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TOI3uBV65Eg/TkRkcVT6UVI/AAAAAAAAAUA/hrWoncW-OF8/s320/Crystal-small.jpg" width="213" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I love building the stories, painting the worlds, and constructing the plotlines like an intricate puzzle. Also, while I’m writing, I use a digital recorder and go out for hours on the forest or mountain trails here in Colorado. I get to go hiking and do writing at the same time - the best of both worlds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I work on a lot of different projects at once, and balancing the priorities is often challenging. A lot of people and deadlines are all pulling at my time, so the only solution is to do it all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">What advice would you give to other authors regarding marketing and promoting their books?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Writing a brilliant book doesn’t do any good if nobody knows about it and nobody reads it. You have to get out and talk about your book, meet people, write blogs, go on Facebook or Twitter - but don’t just be a monotonous “buy my book!” commercial; be interesting, and then readers will think your book is interesting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your Guinness World Record for "Largest Single Author Signing".</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Hours and hours and hours - thousands of books signed, two bands playing, an entire street in Hollywood blocked off, free banana splits. I would run a pen into the ground and then toss it out to the audience like a rock drummer tossing a drumstick. I set the Guinness Record - I’m pretty sure someone has broken it since, but I’ve got the nice certificate on my wall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EC2tO5QbQU0/TkRi3o92PrI/AAAAAAAAAT4/kR9v3LcdZwM/s320/372913-L.jpg" width="198" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">You have collaborated with other authors including Brian Herbert, Dean Koontz, Doug Beason and your wife, Rebecca Moesta. Tell us about your writing process when collaborating.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<b> </b> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I love to brainstorm with other writers; Brian and I meet together and spend a few days just hashing out a new <i>Dune</i> or <i>Hellhole</i> novel; we write up the outline together, break down the chapters, and then we hash out who is going to write what chapters. Then we write the draft chapters, each edit them, and then combine them for more start-to-finish editing. Brian and I have each written our chapters in <i>Hellhole Awakening</i>, and now I’m working through the first edit. When I’m done, I’ll send it to Brian, and he’ll do the same. It goes back and forth until it’s done.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Your deal with Bantam Books was the largest single science fiction contract in publishing history. Tell us about your <i>Dune</i> novels and the major new film currently in development by Paramount.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dune has always been my favorite SF novel ever, so I am very pleased to be working with Frank Herbert’s son Brian on the new novels. We’ve now been working on big books together for twelve years. When we sold our first three Dune books: <i>House Atreides, House Harkonnen</i>, and <i>House Corrino</i>, that contract was the largest single SF contract in publishing history, and those books outsold Bantam’s projections by three times, according to our editor. Because Dune is such an incredible classic, there has always been Hollywood interest in remaking the original film and possibly some of the other novels, but right now there’s nothing in production. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RNbLTKDXZ54/TkRlJt-GroI/AAAAAAAAAUE/aG0DLA6Cvno/s320/Jedi-Search-9780553297980.jpg" width="188" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the screen adaptation of your original books?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I would love to see film adaptations of some of my books, because it exposes a much larger audience to my work. Films are a different art form to books. I’d like to take a crack at doing a screenplay adaptation, but I’m primarily a novelist. Of course, we’ve all seen crappy adaptations of great novels more often than great adaptations, but even films like <i>The Postman</i> and <i>Starship Troopers </i>sold many hundreds of thousands of copies of the original novels. I see it as a good thing, regardless.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I am halfway through reading <i>Dragon Keeper</i> by Robin Hobb and really enjoying it. I always like Robin Hobb’s work and I’m glad to revisit her universe. Next up is <i>The Temporal Void</i> by Peter F. Hamilton, one of my favorite big SF writers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">What new developments, in the world of science fact, excite you?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Good news, bad news: I was saddened to see the landing of the last space shuttle flight, the end of our shuttle program. Imagine a science fiction writer in the 1960s who wrote a future history novel about a space program that put a man on the Moon several times, then stopped due to lack of interest, then created a space shuttle program that went on for years of incredible breakthroughs, and then stopped without any successor program ready… That author would have been a laughing stock! But I was also glad to see the new launch of the Juno probe to Jupiter, even though it’ll take five years to get there, I can’t wait to see the pics. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zqZHIPIrLCo/TkRMVzHXmOI/AAAAAAAAATs/QbYQ_J9cjlk/s320/summitridge-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mt Guyot - 13,370 feet</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tell us about your interest in mountain climbing.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I love being on the summit, meeting the challenge of scaling a slope, working my way along the rocks, usually alone, often racing gathering thunderstorms. I have checklists of peaks and knock off as many as I can every summer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b> Links: </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.wordfire.com/">eBooks</a><b> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://wordfire.com/">Official Site</a><b></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://superstarswritingseminars.com/"><span lang="EN-US">Seminars</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.dunenovels.com/">Dune</a><b><br />
</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_feba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Ffeba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Ffeba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_feba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_feba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Ffeba2144-03d5-421a-afb7-ff2a26530d8d&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-42737849822876673532011-08-11T04:44:00.000+01:002011-08-11T05:24:44.023+01:00Interview with Phatpuppy (Claudia Bartoli-McKinney)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZOQcFots-Y/TkMwJj00w1I/AAAAAAAAAS4/5azqAExgvsM/s400/phatpuppy-small.jpg" width="310" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Claudia Bartoli-McKinney, known as Phatpuppy, is a mom to four children and a digital artist by night - specializing in book covers for best selling authors including, Amanda Hocking, JL Bryan, Courtney Milan, and others. Her clients include: Random House Books, Flux Publishing and Monalis360 Entertainment, to name a few.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Tell us about your artwork.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I discovered it rather later in years at the age of around 41. For me, my art is like keeping a journal - each art piece represents a time in my life, whether good or bad; and it's clearly reflected, for me anyways, in my work.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1G00TiviRA/TkNH7SSMxzI/AAAAAAAAATE/26fKTDyxnac/s320/Phat03-small.jpg" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>B-L-U-E</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What led you to become an artist?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">After the birth of my 4th child at 37, even though busy with being a wife and mom, I wanted to do something to fulfil something inside of me personally; and I literally fell into it, when having to help my daughter with something on one of her photographs used for her singing career.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>How do you define your art, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div>I am a mixed media artist; and I hope to just continue what I'm doing - hopefully it's uplifting to people.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What’s your strongest memory of your childhood, and how has it helped you develop as an artist?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: left;">My strongest memory is always, probably, of one of my heroes - my grandfather who raised me like a daughter. His love and sacrifice envelops me to this very day.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-78uzhlS4DJE/TkNVK9N9DHI/AAAAAAAAATY/kYSEqwSs4eA/s400/Phat09-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>My Bestest Friend</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
</div><ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Always hope. I have very strong faith, and even though I may at times do darker images, I always try to put the element of light to leave a glimmer of hope. For me, especially in today's times, this is sorely lacking. I find that so many young people seem to gravitate towards the dark, seemingly gloomy and hopeless images. Although they may be emotional pieces I see out there - they still lack hope.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>How is creating fantasy art different from creating other genres?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Fantasy art is just another type; and I usually, with the help of Danny Elfman’s music, can get transported there mentally rather easily. It's different for me, in that it's colder - not necessarily what I prefer to do, but often what authors want when commissioning me for covers. Yet, I still LOVE making them.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-41_NdrO4UDc/TkNItkLB_1I/AAAAAAAAATI/zG8EUlup2PM/s320/Phat06.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sumptuous</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">A happy client rewards me the most - someone who flips over the moon for their pic. That always makes me so happy.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-py5nvJ1TJBc/TkNK3Ufx4oI/AAAAAAAAATQ/TfE9iocpls0/s320/Phat05.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="318" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Geisha Walk</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Most challenging is how to introduce new styles of art to my watcher base. People have a harder time accepting a new style if they really like you for one type. But to be honest, the dark gothic stuff is wildly popular, but also, in my opinion, totally overdone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAOzGa634kA/TkNEjbpFm1I/AAAAAAAAAS8/SGsDGQ9M2x4/s320/Phat12-small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="312" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Blind to Beauty</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Of the images you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">My favourite, and I do have a few, is "Blind to Beauty", because it represents a time in my life when I did feel hopeless, and the miracle that came from it. To sum it up, I had been suddenly struck blind, told I would not live by doctors, scheduled for a surgery to try to abate the progress of the disease, and less than 8 hours before surgery, had a bona fide miracle. That's the condensed version.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><b> </b><br />
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What have you done to promote and market your artwork, and what advice would you give to other artists?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-phatpuppy-claudia.html" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8LAzPrTOHhQ/TkNNJ3KkdAI/AAAAAAAAATU/q5nqARoFfQk/s320/Phat01-small.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Escape</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have never promoted or marketed ever; other than art sites where my work appears.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What memorable responses have you had, regarding your work?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">Just happy customers referring me; and that's the best of all.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Evolution seems an inherent facet of digital art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology in this genre?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div>I stay fairly up to date - but don't go too crazy. I have a mind-blowing computer with 16 gigs of Ram and a monitor that is 22 inches that I actually paint directly on - so my monitor is my canvas. I have an electric desk that goes up and down, so I sit or stand while working.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have with regards to your art being used in film and television?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I have been blessed in that I do work in film now, doing storyboarding for films in production. I love the creative process. My daughter is now in film and television makeup so it's fun to work with her on projects.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>What do you do when you’re not being artistic?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">I have fun with my children - a LOT of fun!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-88--yO30ENQ/TkNFC9YL_mI/AAAAAAAAATA/oi5ErYEX5j0/s320/Phat10.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="224" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Here I am Lord</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><b>Describe your art in one sentence.</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">A Light in the Dark.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><b>Where can we find you and your art?</b></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;">On my <a href="http://phatpuppyart.com/">Personal Page</a> or on <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1148108755"></a><a href="http://facebook.com/phatpuppyart">Facebook</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-75616501703515969812011-08-09T22:13:00.000+01:002013-01-19T19:59:07.626+00:00Interview with Linda Nagata<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vz38Ek85Mdo/TkGNwnEnkAI/AAAAAAAAAR8/Yj3MW8EPyzc/s400/Linda-Nagata-1.jpg" width="266" /> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Linda Nagata grew up in a rented beach house on the north shore of Oahu. She graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in zoology and worked for a time at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui. She has been a writer, a mom, a programmer of database-driven websites, and lately a publisher and book designer. She is the author of eight novels including The Bohr Maker, winner of the Locus Award for best first novel, and the novella "Goddesses," the first online publication to receive a Nebula award. She lives with her husband in their long-time home on the island of Maui. </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us about your science fiction books.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6cwPxJyOOKU/TkGW6k3cuQI/AAAAAAAAASI/aZhkdiLW_vg/s1600/LoV-small.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I love adventure stories. I always have. This is a big reason that I gravitated to science fiction: it’s the perfect genre for telling tales of great adventures, and that’s what I’ve tried to do in my novels. The first four books take place in the same story world, sharing a future drenched in nanotechnology, in which it sometimes seems like all things are possible, but in which things can, and do, go very wrong. The next book, <i>Limit of Vision</i>, is a near-future thriller that explores the escape and evolution of an artificial life form, while touching on the theme of how the future always unfolds in unexpected, and unforeseeable ways. My last traditionally published book, <i>Memory</i>, goes in a different direction. It’s a far-future, hard SF tale that feels like fantasy—a coming of age adventure set on a world where the underlying technology has begun running out of control. Oh, and I should also mention my young adult novel, <i>Skye Object 3270a</i>. It’s a far future, hard science fiction adventure aimed at advanced middle school readers.</span><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Why did you choose hard science, and what do you hope to achieve with your writing?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-47DMP8hqikM/TkGfCzimMVI/AAAAAAAAASY/XY6CONQHymg/s1600/Memory-small.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, so my first goal as a writer was to write the sort of stories that I desperately wanted to read. I’ve also always been deeply interested in science, in particular biology. I was raised in a household where science shows were always on the TV and science books were always on the shelf, so it was natural to combine my interests by writing hard science fiction. But I also like the challenge of the genre, the idea of working within a fairly strict rule set. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Is there an underlying message in your science fiction books?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I didn’t set out to include one, but most of my work is interested in the evolution of people, culture, and technology, and the idea that if it can be done, someone, somewhere, is likely to try it. Also, that what we might find reprehensible today, particularly in fields like genetic engineering, could very well be seen as perfectly normal a little further down the timeline. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us about your science background and how it has helped you to create your work.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I majored in biology, with an emphasis on ecology, evolution, cellular structures, and biochemistry. I managed to not learn much physics until after I graduated, when I needed to figure things out for the books. Also, lots of reading of layman’s books on many subjects. I simply could not have written the books without this background. Not that the books are about science. Very few of my characters are professional scientists. I’m just interested in constructing a story world that’s in some sense an extrapolation of known science and technology.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nDQh2W1jLuQ/TkGe3jel4II/AAAAAAAAASU/4_vMIaG0Lkw/s400/TBM-small.jpg" width="259" /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Oh, I’m very fond of all of them! I think an author has to be, to stick with the same characters throughout an entire novel. But since he managed to put in an appearance in three different books, I’ll have to name Nikko, from <i>The Bohr Maker</i>, as one of my favourites. He’s an unapologetic, genetically engineered, radical technologist, and I put him through hell.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">How is writing hard science fiction different from writing other genres?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpkihj__gzM/TkGhIpTDQ0I/AAAAAAAAASk/FF5MKMHfNa0/s320/DW-small.jpg" width="207" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I think all genres have their rules. Hard science fiction just has a different set of rules, and that rule set varies with the writer. For example, none of my stories use faster-than-light travel. I’ve also been very cautious about including aliens, though many hard SF writers freely include both. Many fantasy novels, historical novels, thrillers, etc. require just as much research to get right.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">For me the pleasure comes in those moments when I know I’m finding the right words to tell the story I wanted to tell. This usually takes place during the revision, when the story starts to come together and the words begin to feel graceful instead of awkward. But of course there’s a lot to be said for that moment when someone first tells me they loved the book. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Focusing on the work and writing everyday; keeping the faith that what I’m doing is worth the time and anxiety. I’ve written nine novels, but on many days I still find it very hard to give in mentally, embrace the challenge, and do the work. It’s ever so much easier to go work on one of the websites I look after, or to prep another eBook, or work on a cover or layout. Right now, for example, I’m supposed to be revising my latest novel, but I’m doing this interview! And I’m late with it too. How do I meet the challenge of working consistently? Simply by returning to the work, whether I want to or not. Aiming for a daily word count helps. 2011 has been my year of writing with a new level of determination. I’ve written and published one novel so far, and I have finished the draft of a second novel. So it can be done.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fu8TtoCTn5c/TkGiLAt0JgI/AAAAAAAAASs/Dy9oO5B5aAU/s1600/Vast-small.jpg" /></a><a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gGOyO-FO52I/TkGiKrq3R8I/AAAAAAAAASo/LjMFlSJPR4Y/s1600/TH-small.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us about your decision to strike out on your own.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Despite awards, some very nice reviews and support from other writers, my career was caught in the infamous “death spiral” in which each book is printed in smaller quantities than the one before; and so each sells less than the one before. It was very frustrating, and the couple of books that I tried to sell after <i>Memory</i> didn’t find buyers. So I decided that if somebody was going to fail at selling my books, it might as well be me! Realistically, the field is changing so fast that the idea of signing a traditional contract scares me. I’ve come to enjoy having full control over my work. Right now it’s not something I’m willing to give up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What have you done to promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Don’t look to me for advice on promotion! I’m terrible at it. This was a weak point in my traditional career, and it’s a weak point now. Mostly, like everyone else, I try to be active on social networks, in particular Twitter (@LindaNagata), and increasingly, Google+. I also have my blog; but this is a puzzle I’m still working on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">You have also written a fantasy book entitled ‘The Dread Hammer’ under the pen name, Trey Shiels. Tell us about this book, and why you decided to use a pen name.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-linda-nagata.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_BY6iUok_PY/TkGffDQA5wI/AAAAAAAAASc/bULgS7jFOJU/s1600/the_dread_hammer-small.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I love this book, for itself, and because it got me seriously writing again. It has a “medieval-ish” setting and involves a rather violent young man - well, he’s not quite human - who finds himself unexpectedly in love. <i>The Dread Hammer</i> is a bit outrageous. It’s a fast-paced, violent, sexy short novel that touches on marriage, family, and self-determination. People seem to like it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Why the pen name? First, because hard experience has shown that the name “Linda Nagata” doesn’t sell many books. Second, because the readers who do know my name expect a different sort of story from me, and I don’t want to mislead anyone. It seemed like a worthwhile experiment to publish in a new genre under a new name.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Would you like to see any of your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations, or reservations, regarding this?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I almost answered this question with “Who wouldn’t?” but I suppose there are writers who would hesitate. For myself, I’d love to see it happen. Most of my books would be very hard to do, given the level of special effects required and the complexity of the stories, but I’ve actually written a treatment for my novel <i>Limit of Vision</i>. That didn’t go anywhere, but it was an interesting experience. Now that you mention it, maybe I should do something with <i>The Dread Hammer</i>. That’s a story that could work nicely as a screenplay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I haven’t been reading nearly as much as I want to, but my latest “Book Rave” on the blog was over Martha Wells’ <i>The Cloud Roads</i>, a fantasy novel set in a huge, complex, wild world, following the adventures of a man named Moon, a classic outsider looking for his place in life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it highly.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oEsNhYsXnQg/TkGgYtdECmI/AAAAAAAAASg/QTnecBeJS8Y/s400/Goddesses-small.jpg" width="258" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Describe your Nebula award-winning novella ‘Goddesses’, in one sentence.</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">A near-future tale of how simple actions can make the world a better place; also, the first online fiction to win a Nebula award. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="15" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">As an ambitious science fiction author, I would love to have my novel considered for a Nebula award. What advice could you give to independent authors regarding this?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I haven’t looked into the process in years! Awards are great to mention when you’re trying to interest people in your books, but a lot of great books have never won awards. Awards and readers don’t necessarily go together, and while the awards are fun, I’d rather have the readers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="16" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Where can we find you and your books?</span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">My books are getting easier to find. Most are available worldwide via Book View Café, in both mobi and epub formats. You can also find them at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amazon UK, and at the UK online store, Wizards Tower. I’ve also been at work republishing some of the books in print editions. Look for them at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble. Hopefully they’ll also be showing up soon at some Australian online bookstores.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">You can find me at all the usual haunts. Here’s a quick list, depending on your preference:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://hahvi.net/">Blog </a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mythicisland.com/"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3753002548615243247">Website</a> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LindaNagata">Twitter</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Google+</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/Linda.Nagata.author" style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</a><br />
<br /></div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2F98a54245-1287-45af-8ec7-6e18351662a5&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-51373185761065070442011-08-06T04:19:00.000+01:002013-01-19T19:00:40.096+00:00Interview with Syd Mead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HsZ9LylTVic/TjyC4dcyrDI/AAAAAAAAAQs/OVJ03P_GMqo/s320/SydMead-small.jpg" width="281" /></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Syd Mead is an American "visual futurist" and concept artist, best known for his visionary designs for popular science-fiction films. Syd Mead, Inc. accommodates international clients, including work with major Hollywood and Japanese film studios. His impressive portfolio includes designs for Tron’s light cycles, Blade Runner’s flying cars, Japanese toy and television characters, “The New Yamato” and the 8 robots of “Turn A Gundam” mobile suits.<br />
<br />
An advocate of new technologies, Syd Mead has expanded his horizons to include computer illustrations and graphics, using the latest in available techniques to their full advantage. In a career that spans over 50 years, and includes an astounding range of creative activities, Syd Mead attributes his success, to the premise that imagination, or the idea, supersedes technique.</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="257" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ShXtrvVxTvo/TjysrJbm4aI/AAAAAAAAARA/I2DovO9Zdr8/s400/Mead1-small.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You are a world famous "visual futurist" and concept artist who has produced iconic work for films such as Tron, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, Aliens and 2010. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with your work, tell us about your career and your artistic creations. </b></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My ‘career’ started just out of high school in 1952 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was my first ‘paid to create’ job, doing background scenes and character origination for a local animation trailer studio called Alexander Film. After three years in the Army Engineer Corps on Okinawa during the Korean War, I spent the next two and a half years at Art Center School, then in Los Angeles. I was hired by Ford Motor Company’s Advanced styling studio in Dearborn, Michigan, quit after 26 months to be hired by a small promotional company in Chicago, designing and producing a series of ‘future’ vehicular technology promotional books for United States Steel, and several promotional books for Celanese Corporation. I redesigned the corporate logo for Allis Chalmers, did a promotional book for Atlas Cement Corporation and several other promotional illustrative publications. I started my own company, the eponymous Syd Mead, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan in the fall of 1970. I moved to Southern California in 1975, and I am still here, now in Pasadena. The movie part of my career, started with designing the V’Ger entity for the finale of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, going from that post-production entrée to Blade Runner, Tron, 2010, Aliens, etc. You can pursue further information on our website, <u><span lang="EN" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sydmead.com/">www.sydmead.com</a></span></u><span lang="EN">.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rUbS4sQGJFU/TjyuRq7cceI/AAAAAAAAARM/ym46XEQAg1M/s400/Sentinel-small.jpg" width="335" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You served a three-year enlistment in the U.S. Army. Has this experience helped you in the creation of your concept art, and if so, how?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Army service gave me an appreciative insight into the Asian mentality and design sensibility. That exposure served to fine-tune my already developing appreciation of proportion and interval.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>How did you make the transition from providing designs and illustrations for Philips, to producing concept art for major Hollywood studios?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I was trained at Art Center to think, to arrange problem solving into a procedural effort. I make no distinction between various kinds of design problem solutions; it all resolves down to understanding what the challenge is, whether a consumer product, a 750 foot cruise ship, a 400 foot super yacht, a movie prop or graphical solutions to corporate graphics. It is a common mistake to put a label on any discreet field of design; that is termed ‘linear career’ limitation. I treat all design challenges as variants of procedural problem solving methodology. I have never been trapped into a ‘specialized,’ linear career parameter. That’s why I’ve been continuously and profitably active for over 50 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>How did you become known as a “visual futurist”?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I created that title spontaneously after a brief call with my entertainment lawyer from New York, for my credit on the after roll of Blade Runner. It is purely a promotional ‘bumper sticker’ denotation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Syd-Meads-Sentury-II-Mead/dp/1933492481"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4c-CxBTAzT4/Tjyt1NCdSeI/AAAAAAAAARI/DBbNzytJQi8/s320/SenturyII.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us about your latest publication, the long-anticipated Syd Mead’s Sentury II.</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sentury II is a compilation of the last ten years of design activity of Syd Mead, Inc. The peripheral exception is the anime Gundam project, which started in 1998 and finished in 2000. Sentury II is a companion sequel to Sentury. The two cover art examples are cross-related in composition, coloration and scenario presentation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Why did you produce this book, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The book serves as a ‘place holder’ in the rapidly expanding media universe. Our intention is to serialize it, at some point in the next years, as the print version sells out. This will be for archival purposes. All of our books have increased in value as re-sales over the years, many of them now on eBay or other shopping networks for many times their original price. The books serve as visibility portfolios and inspiration sources for designers and artists all over the world. Check our <a href="http://www.sydmead.com/v/10/guestbook/">Guest Sign-In</a> page or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=635313147&sk=info">Facebook</a> for an idea of our visibility worldwide.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="281" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8q0A2eJO5i4/Tjyw_O9ku4I/AAAAAAAAARQ/1H5Kxs66gG8/s400/FutureDohaQatar-small.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="7" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The reward in being creative is in the success of the solution, first of all to myself and secondly to the client. This sounds egotistical but think about it. I immerse myself in the specifics of the client’s problem presentation. If that presentation, or critique is inaccurate or incomplete, I can be sucked into solving either a non-existent, or a wrong problem. But if I am professionally happy with the result, operating on information I’ve been given, to me the solution is a success, and I get paid. If the client has given me the correct information, then they are happy also and become another link in the referral chain of further business, either in their field of endeavor or ancillary fields. The biggest challenge in any design problem job is getting accurate information from the client, as a basis for solving the problem. Sometimes, I’ve had to identify the problem myself, to the client, before starting. Client staff structures often obfuscate the ‘real’ problem with some vague or procedural rationale. This is disastrous.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="302" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-28DKuikmmGU/TjyyE3VP3QI/AAAAAAAAARU/EIgxSEp-bJ4/s400/Gundam-small.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="8" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Of the work you’ve created, is there one that you are particularly proud of? If so, why this particular work?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I am particularly proud of several large project involvements. The two 747 aircraft interiors for heads of state come to mind. I did these as only the second entry into the aircraft interior field of work. The other kind of project is more recent. I designed two very different food-service installations in New York City, FoodParc and Bar Basque, both on 6th Avenue at 30th. You can view these on our website, if you pursue the links with the architect group’s name of Philip Koether Architects.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KNdcsMGFyBc/TjyoHyXy7BI/AAAAAAAAAQw/qw1AbM41uu8/s400/BladeRunner-small.jpg" width="450" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="9" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Evolution is an inherent facet of science fiction art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Science Fiction owes its fascination and literary persistence to our inherent curiosity about ‘future.’ Evolution, as referenced by your question, hopefully compliments the maturation of the genre from cheap, pulp-fiction to more serious inquiries into what the future may either promise or threaten, depending on the mental health of the writer, social invention or the purely business-minded pursuit of the movie industry. The reason why Blade Runner has become such an iconic movie, is that it is consistent to itself, involves several levels of social imperatives, and on top of it all, is a morality tale of human worth and the evolution of ‘love.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-syd-mead.html"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gKK9gDVdGxI/TjypJGWNB-I/AAAAAAAAAQ4/bzieTy4XfmI/s200/BladeRunner3-small.jpg" width="225" /></a><a href="http://redmoonchronicle.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-syd-mead.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AZLPnDyxtTk/TjypHxwAH9I/AAAAAAAAAQ0/BdJseXbb85U/s200/BladeRunner2-small.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<ol start="10" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Your visuals for the film Blade Runner helped shape the public perception of the look of the future, influencing the visual design of many of the science fiction films that followed. To what do you owe your uniquely inspiring vision?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">My vision… Well, let’s go back. By the time I created a lot of stuff for Blade Runner, working with Sir Ridley Scott, I’d been doing elaborate scenario and design solutions for over twenty years. Working on Blade Runner followed the procedures I’ve described in previous answers. I was presented with a clearly defined ‘problem’; and I solved it, along with several parallel jobs I was doing for other clients.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnKzmMjUEo8/TjypLE8_14I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/bGV2FYpMeEg/s400/BladeRunner4-small.jpg" width="400" /></div>
<br /></div>
<ol start="11" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing application of your work to film?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are many more resources for training guys to work in the electronic game industry, and entertainment industries, than there were in 1959. My ideas are still valid, as evidenced by my continued visibility across the entire range of guys working in those industries. Movie financiers tend to like a ‘one-stop’ source for creative effort, because of the risk-factor in financing productions. They like to have ‘prior’ experience.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f0aBHVjHedo/Tjytf79Q9NI/AAAAAAAAARE/KgjlL09ql78/s400/LightCycle-small.jpg" width="400" /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="12" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What advice would you give to artists considering a career in concept art?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Career advice is sort of hazardous because you necessarily have to generalize. With that caveat, here goes. Notice everything. Sophistication is basically memory; how things look, why they look that way, how people react, how they stand and physically interrelate, how light plays across architecture, and how foliage softens perspective edges. A successful problem solver has to take the ‘problem’ apart, identify what the problem is and reassemble all the parts into a new solution. Big problems are combinations of smaller ones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="13" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What are you doing now?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Right now I have taken a hiatus from commission work to write and compose my autobiography. I have stacks of photographic references, drawings my parents kept since I started to draw at around three years old… It’s been a fascinating life, and writing my way through seventy-eight years is entertaining.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="14" style="margin-top: 0cm; text-align: left;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Where can we find you and your work?</b></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">Our website is:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN"> <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sydmead.com/">www.sydmead.com</a></span></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">Our e-mail URL is:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN"> <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="mailto:oblagon@att.net">oblagon@att.net</a></span></u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN"><u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="mailto:oblagon@att.net"><br /></a></span></u></span></span></div>
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab" height="175px" id="Player_cda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e" width="500px"> <param NAME="movie" VALUE="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate"><param NAME="quality" VALUE="high"><param NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="#FFFFFF"><param NAME="allowscriptaccess" VALUE="always"><embed src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate" id="Player_cda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="Player_cda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" height="175px" width="500px"></embed></OBJECT> <noscript><a HREF="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?rt=tf_cw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fredmoonprodli-20%2F8010%2Fcda51565-ac95-49c2-bc40-9923c5d89a3e&Operation=NoScript">Amazon.com Widgets</A></noscript>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3753002548615243247.post-16506340890945623362011-08-02T14:27:00.000+01:002011-08-02T14:27:57.407+01:00Interview with Michael R. Hicks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRwXtB8ld_U/Tjft9hOu_PI/AAAAAAAAAQA/QNnK06V_npM/s320/MichaelHicks-small.jpg" width="280" /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Born in 1963, Michael Hicks grew up in the age of the Apollo program and spent his youth glued to the television watching the original Star Trek series and other science fiction movies, which continue to be a source of entertainment and inspiration. Having spent the majority of his life as a voracious reader, he has been heavily influenced by writers ranging from Robert Heinlein to Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, and David Weber to S.M. Stirling. Living in Maryland with his beautiful wife, two wonderful stepsons and two mischievous Siberian cats, he’s now living his dream of writing full-time.</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us about ‘<i>Season of the Harvest</i>’.</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Season of the Harvest</i> is a techno-thriller that blends in a bit of science fiction and horror. The premise of the story asks the question, what if the genetically engineered food that we’re eating wasn’t developed by people? What if had a far more sinister purpose?</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">We then follow FBI Special Agent Jack Dawson as he investigates the gruesome murder of his best friend and fellow agent who had been pursuing a group of suspected eco-terrorists. The group's leader, Naomi Perrault, is a beautiful geneticist who Jack believes conspired to kill his friend, and is claiming that a major international conglomerate specializing in genetically modified organisms is plotting a sinister transformation of our world that will lead humanity to extinction.<br />
<br />
As he pursues the truth, Jack is drawn into a quietly raging war that suddenly explodes onto the front pages of the news, and discovers that Naomi's claims may not be so outrageous after all. Together, the two of them must battle a horror Jack could never have imagined as he learns the terrifying truth behind the old adage that "you are what you eat..." </span> </div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="2" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Why did you write this book, and what do you hope to achieve with it?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I wrote it out of the really outrageous issues I discovered while researching the food that we eat. That research stemmed from the need for my wife and I to radically change our diets for health reasons, and if you more than scratch the surface of finding out what goes into our food, you’ll run right into the GMO – Genetically Modified Organism – issue. While I think it makes a great thriller, aside from the “bad guys” in the story (I hope, at least), everything else is based on fact. The information about GMOs, the locales, the organizations (well, except for the Earth Defense Society, the group of good guys in the book), and so on are all drawn from real life. </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">With my other books, thus far, which have all been based in the far future in a human-alien war, my goal has been simply to tell a story and entertain. But <i>Season of the Harvest</i> is also intended to be a form of education through entertainment. If I can get the reader to think just a little bit about what they’re eating, in addition to giving them a fun read, then I’ve succeeded.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="3" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Is there an underlying message in ‘<i>Season of the Harvest</i>’?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, and it boils down to the one-liner hook for the story: you are what you eat. And while it’s taken to a science fiction extreme in the book to further the entertainment aspect, it’s also very, very true in real life. I believe that it’s not a coincidence that the incidence of many of the diseases, allergies, and syndromes has skyrocketed in our population since the mid-1990s when GMOs were first introduced on a massive scale into our food supply. The government tells us that these things are safe to eat, but food manufacturers are prohibited from telling consumers if their products contain GMO-based ingredients. The companies that produce the GMOs are the ones who are “responsible” for verifying that they’re safe to eat. There aren’t any third party honest brokers to verify those claims, and many officials in the FDA and Department of Agriculture are former officials of GMO companies, or have vested interests in those companies. It’s a mess, and it’s scary.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GQs_m04qSt8/Tjf1JprxHDI/AAAAAAAAAQE/6wt1fzQ7plQ/s400/harvest-cover-small.jpg" width="258" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="4" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>You were commissioned in the US Army. Has this helped you to create this work, and if so, how? </b></span> </li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I think my Army experience, brief though it was in the great scheme of things, has helped me develop some of the characters in this and my other books. I’ve also had the honour of working with quite a lot of military folks over the last 25 years, which has also been extremely helpful.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="5" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character? </b></span> </li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I get asked that question a lot, and my answer is always the same: I hate trying to pick a favourite character, because it’s like trying to say which of your children you love the most. They’re all part of my family, so to speak, so I have to leave it to the readers to figure out which ones they like, or hate, the most!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="6" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>How is writing science fiction or fantasy different from writing other genres?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I can’t really say, as those are the only genres I’ve written in thus far. Season of the Harvest isn’t strictly science fiction; it’s more of a thriller, but it has a sci-fi twist and a lot of sci-fi fact. But my next book, which will be a standalone novel, is going to be something of a historical romance, but also with a sci-fi twist. So I’ll let you know after I get through that!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="7" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What did you find most rewarding in the writing process?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Mostly what happens in the story; I never know when I start a book exactly where it’s going or how it will end. I don’t script things out or do an outline. I wish I could, because that would be more efficient, but that’s not the way my pea brain works. I get an initial snapshot in my head, a visual, of the story, and then I go from there. But I have no idea where my fingers are going to take me most of the time when I start typing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="8" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What did you find most challenging in the writing process, and how did you overcome it?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">The most challenging thing for me is simply disciplining myself to write every day. This is something I’m still working on, and is even more critical now that I’m leaving my day job to write full-time. It’s often a struggle to sit down and start hammering out words, but the irony is that it’s never as hard to get going as I tell myself it is. That’s a mental habit I need to break.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="9" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What have you done to promote and market your book, and what advice would you give to other authors?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Twitter is my gold mine. I’ve gotten some traction from Facebook, but Twitter is where I’m making my fortune and have gained my freedom from my day job. But the main advice I have for other authors is: 1) write, and keep writing; 2) improve your craft and yourself a little bit every day; 3) you have to write AND promote to be successful; 4) give it time – don’t expect your book to shoot up the charts just because you published it; and 5) keep writing. Did I mention that already? </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve put out a lot of information on self-publishing on my blog at <a href="http://authormichaelhicks.com/">http://authormichaelhicks.com</a>, and am also getting ready to publish a guide on how I’ve done things in the upcoming book ‘<i>The Path To Self-Publishing Success</i>.’</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="10" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal reader?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I’ve had a number of readers comment that folks who enjoy stories along the lines of what Michael Crichton or Preston & Child have written will enjoy <i>Season of the Harvest</i>. Basically, if you’re looking for a thriller with a lot of action, a bit of science that’s not over the top, and a little horror sprinkled in for good measure, you’ll probably like this book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="11" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What advice would you give to help others build the confidence required to write their first book?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">If you don’t write it, no one will ever read it. If your first book is a flop, learn from it and start writing your second book. Who does something really complicated and has it come out exactly right the first time? And when (not “if”, but “when” - it will happen!) someone pans your book, take to heart what they have to say, then move on. If you really want to be an author, if you want to succeed, start writing and keep writing. The only true way to fail is to give up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GBmiLHlvUfk/Tjf1vlZRfiI/AAAAAAAAAQI/tMgIDeLrLTs/s400/InHerName-small.jpg" width="258" /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="12" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Would you like to see your book adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations, or reservations, regarding this?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Absolutely! I’ve had tons of readers say that they could easily pictures <i>Season of the Harvest</i> on the big screen (and the books of the <i>In Her Name</i> series, as well). Getting screenplays done and starting to pound the pavement in Hollywood is on my strategic “to-do” list for next year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="13" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Airborn</i>, by Kenneth Oppel is the most recent one I’ve read. It’s not quite science fiction, but is a bit of an alternate history where airships, or zeppelins, are the dominant form of long-range transportation. It was a very endearing story that kept me quite entertained, and I bought the sequel and have started in on that. </span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">One thing I’d also like to point out for other authors: reading is part of your professional development. I’ve had very little time to read over the last couple years, as I’ve been working 12 to 16 hours most days, between my day job and squeezing in as much writing and promoting time as I could in my off-hours. Now that I’m close to writing full-time, I’m trying to read more, as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="14" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What are you doing now?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">At the moment, we’re on another one of our many RV trips, this time for the weekend to Pennsylvania. And once I get this interview finished, I’m going to cook up some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="15" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Describe ‘<i>Season of the Harvest</i>’ in one sentence.</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">After you’ve read <i>Season of the Harvest</i>, you’ll never look at an ear of corn the same way again...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><ol start="16" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> Where can we find you and your book?</b></span></li>
</ol><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">Season of the Harvest is available for all the major eBook platforms, including the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, and Kobo. It’s also available in print on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Links:</b></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://authormichaelhicks.com/"><span style="font-size: small;">Author Site</span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://twitter.com/kreelanwarrior"><span style="font-size: small;">Twitter</span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://facebook.com/authormichaelhicks"><span style="font-size: small;">Facebook</span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Michael-R.-Hicks/e/B002BMIC96"><span style="font-size: small;">Amazon Profile</span></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Wayne Gerard Trotmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08281873253560497926noreply@blogger.com3