Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
For now my only published book is Vampires of Gnosson, Book One of a saga that should be a tetralogy. I have written a few more sci-fi mixed with archaeology novels, that hopefully would some day will polish and publish. My background is in science (chemistry and biotechnology) with an MBA added later on. Been a history buff for a while and also an enthusiast of keeping Earth habitable for future generations—not exactly a ‘tree hugger’ but an advocate of clean energy, recycling and biodiversity preservation. On religious matters, I think each one should be free to choose whatever they may want to believe or not, provided nobody tries to impose on others whatever limitations their own faith imposes on them. Politically speaking, I think democracy is a work in progress that can only be sustained and improved by civic engagement. No matter how many times I might hear “they’re all the same”, I’d insist History shows us otherwise.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Vampires of Gnosson, Book One”. The fact that history seems cyclical on the one hand, the need to raise awareness on the dire consequences of man-made global warming and its consequences by every creative means available, the need to delve into “vampire Darwinism” and my predilection for combining sci-fi and vampires with ancient history, which in my view should offer incredible possibilities as yet unimagined. I love recycling for environmental preservation but would like to break traditional moulds in ‘vampirology’ , a bit like French chefs sometimes add the strangest ingredients to create new dishes. The city’s name seemed appropriate in light of the role knowledge plays in the perennial panic attacks some faiths experience when science questions some of their tenets. Although it is more a backdrop in this first book, this should come front and centre further along in the saga.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
To write books on vampires I’ve considered writing upside down, at night, in a dark forest with an owl on my shoulder; but nothing beats a colossal mug of coffee early morning and comfortable chair with a couple of computer screens where one can find relevant information on a pinch. I LOVE silence to write, but when one can hear mosquitos buzzing on the other end of the Earth on a good day, earplugs or muffs sometimes are necessary. For some age-related reason I presume, spurts of creativity are better released when they stampede early morning by writing with pen and paper, however. For some reason the keyboard is a great tool when the sequence of events has to find a voice, but doesn’t work so well for me when plots and such decide be born at the wee hours past midnight. Most of the time, I keep notepads (not like Schubert under his pillow) but close by, just in case. Does pathological panic about inconsistencies in complicated plots having one hunt down a sentence at 3AM count as an unusual writing habit? In that case, maybe add that one .
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ve read quite a bit Anne Rice, especially her vampires, which I find fascinating; witches, angels and such not so much. Love Gore Vidal’s historical novels and almost anything he wrote. Historical novels in general, from Robert Graves “Claudius, the God” to almost anything dealing with the Nile from Emil Ludwig’s book on it, Alan Moorehead’s “The White Nile”. Fantasy from Asimov to Michael Moorcock’s “Von Bek” (whose translation to french I much prefer to the English version—not to be snob, just accurate), medievalists like Umberto Eco, to Dan Brown who I find supreme master of the fast-paced, to Tolkien and the biting irony of Pierre Daninos and Alvaro de Laiglesia. “When all of them start talking at the same time in my head, I turn them all off anyway” as someone told me, many years ago. Nonetheless, no few of them I’ve re-read and, were I a vampire and live long enough, would gladly re-read yet again.
What are you working on now?
The next books of the saga, which tell how Byron became what he was at the beginning of the Book One, what exactly ‘that’ is, why he came ‘back’ to Earth, and why ‘back’ is between quotation marks, his many adventures in Per-Maat and his discovery of something that made him re-evaluate many of his preconceptions. There is also a novel I wrote in 1998 with extraterrestrials, ancient Egyptians and what not I might soon be dusting off.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I am exploring and discovering but so far, guess I ma too new to the game to decide. Aside from amazon.com, I use GoodReads.com, Indie Book Lounge.com, babelio.com (mostly for books in french, but since I’m quite a francophile makes sense), now Awesomegang.com. From time to time I let people in twitter my book is out there. That part is truly a work in progress.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I suppose: if an idea constantly bothers you enough, an idea constantly simmering inside, following you everywhere, screaming that it has the right to exist in words, don’t deny it. Find you voice and write it down, even if it’s an the back of a cereal box ripped open on an impulse. And prepare, if you want it to be presented to the world, to become a human orchestra of one, giving as much effort to make that happen as to the writing itself. Few people are born with a colossal contract by a large publishing house, an agent, an editor, a PR consultant, a secretary, a researcher, and such other niceties. If you are one of them, congratulations! If not, take heart: others had done it in the past, when the marvels of the Internet didn’t exist to help them get there.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Not everything that is good is new nor is the reverse always true. On the other hand, if something new helps you learn anything about yourself, be it good or not so good, it sure is useful.
Occam’s razor never needs sharpening, in writing as in everything else in life.
What are you reading now?
Umberto Eco’s “Baudolino”
What’s next for you as a writer?
On the immediate, trying to complete the saga and striving to find ways to devote more time to writing. I also still have to discover the nuts and bolts of the writing world, as much as many an indie writer.Ideas tend to erupt on one’s head and with only two hands and two eyes enslaved by the screen, they often form lava tubes one has to clean before the next eruption. Like many, I contemplate more projects that I can tackle, but sure would love to have some of them become movies or serials someday and be able to help with that. It’s in a sense like having an entire universe on one’s shoulders; so for now, beyond the “Vampires of Gnosson” saga, I’m playing by ear.
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?
John Ralston Saul “The Doubter’s Companion”, Gore Vidal’s “Creation” and “Julian”, Cervantes’ “Don Quijote de la Mancha”
Author Websites and Profiles
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