Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m Eva Sandor— longtime illustrator… attacker of DIY projects… lover of sensory experiences including, but not limited to: wolfing down delicious food, smelling aromas, basking in music and ever so gently crrrrushing the pets of the world in my loving grip… I enjoy communing with horses, running far on shady trails, visiting new nooks of the globe… oh, and I wrote two novels. You probably want to hear about the novels.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest one is Power’s Play and it’s the sequel to Fool’s Proof. It was inspired by people asking: “So? When’s the next one?”, and me realizing that I did indeed have plenty more in me.
I like to call the world my characters inhabit “mildly magical”. Yes, it’s a fantasy, but not because I wanted it to be full of prithee-thou and Ancient Prophecieees. I just wanted the opportunity to really mix and mash, and to indulge in the kind of luscious, intricate, heavily detailed language I myself so enjoy reading. So I built an alternative version of our own early Renaissance, filled with halfway recognizable pastiches of real-world locations, glimmers of advanced technology powered by an unknown natural force, animal life that’s almost, but not quite, similar to our own and a cast of characters ranging from lovable to repellent.
My main character, Malfred Murd, is somewhere in the middle of that range and continues to paddle clumsily toward the “hero” end of the pool. In Power’s Play he’s achieved a kind of semi-comfortable repose, but of course you know it can’t end there— Fred just has to get tangled up in some new foolishness. This time, it’s going undercover to help take down a criminal empire. Uh-oh. What could possibly go wrong?
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well, unusual for me is that, since 2020, I’ve had a complete reset of my inner clock. I became aware of what I like to call “Night 2.0″— the wee morning hours, the time Sky Masterson sang about in Guys And Dolls.
Now that’s my time of day, too. If I wake up and it’s after 4 am… then it’s time to brew up that Cafe Bustelo, flap open the MacBook and get cranking. Plus, if the weather is appropriate I’m probably out on my back deck. The sun comes up, the chapters get written, the rest of the day spreads out ahead, including time to draw. This is my new habit and I feel like it’s a well-kept secret. Shhhh! All the cool people are switching to Night 2.0.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Everything has, to some extent. I take writing I like as an example, and what I dislike as a warning. But to be specific, in the case of my two novels, my major influence was Patrick O’Brian.
I’m one of those fans who’s “circumnavigated”— read all 20 of his Aubrey-Maturin novels, and more than once. There’s a terrific Facebook group out there for us, and after sharing a few humorous spoof chapters I wrote in imitation of POB’s unmistakable voice, I just… felt like going further. I wanted to offer something brand-new and all-me to those readers who enjoy the POB style of intertwining turns of phrase, studded here and there with gleaming Baroque words, piled neatly into dense stacks that unfold and unfold when you tug on ’em. But I wanted it to be comedy, because dammit, I just like humor.
What are you working on now?
Why, the third book, of course!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve found that Facebook ads are my best bang for the buck: they let me zero right in on the readers who are pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down. And the Facebook groups I’ve joined as part of the research for my books are full of wonderful fans who have become online friends. They spread the word.
BookFunnel is another great resource, letting me share sample chapters to get people hooked on that sweet, sweet Evamagination. Samples have gained me readers halfway around the world… literally! I recently made some woodblock prints of a monster from the books, and offered them to readers just for fun. I ended up sending quite a few from Chicago to New Zealand.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I do indeed. Writing is just like art: you’ve got to make a certain number of things (drawings, poems, stories) before you start getting good at it, and during that time there is no requirement whatever that other people see those things. In fact, don’t even keep them— or at least, not all of them. It’s the making process, and not the finished products, that turns you into a writer or artist. Do like art students everywhere: use cheap paper, stuff ’em all into the Dumpster after class, and make 100 more tomorrow.
I’m constantly turning up stuff I forgot I did. In my basement I have literal shopping bags full of brochures I wrote and laid out, and those are just the ones I thought might be worth keeping for my “portfolio”. Doing the thing teaches the skill, and then at some point you’ll feel completely at ease letting the world see your creative output because… it’s you, as you as your face, and you’re just walking down the street of creativity with everyone else who makes stuff. You have every bit as much right to be there as the others do.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well, that’s a big question but I’ll try and keep it pithy!
I once read a wonderful quotation that was attributed to Audrey Hepburn— although as with many internet quotations, it’s anyone’s guess whether she really said it. Doesn’t matter. It went: “We are not loved because we are beautiful. We are beautiful because we are loved.”
So many people are out there flailing and struggling to make strangers see them as amazing, thinking that’s what will bring them love. They have it absolutely backwards. If we make ourselves worthy of being loved, even if it’s just to one friend or one reader, then we’ll be beautiful to them— though the delightful irony is, of course, that we won’t care about that anymore. The beauty will be beside the point. The love is the point.
What are you reading now?
Classic spy lit. For example, I just finished re-reading The Eye of the Needle. Why this genre? Oh, no reason… (whistling, looking off into the distance)
What’s next for you as a writer?
Audiobooks! I just finished recording the audio version of Fool’s Proof and I hope to have it for sale in November, in time for Christmas gifting. And then of course, I’ll want to record Power’s Play as well. Ach Mensch, I could do a whole interview just on the incredible experience I had taking on the role of narrator— it was a crash course in voice acting and so much more.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Blank ones (and something to write with, of course)! The world outside the island is full of completed books— bringing them along to read would entertain me, but it would add nothing new to the world. Whereas if I were writing, my time on the island wouldn’t be wasted… and to be honest, I’d find it more fun. I get way more satisfaction out of creating than consuming.
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