Alright, people. I got some really fun questions from readers when I asked what you’d want to ask Wesley Chu (interview going live on the 25th), so I’m going to do it again. I have three author interviews that I’m working on right now, and I’d love to know what you’d want to ask these authors. I might choose one of your questions for their interviews (and yes, you get credit for your question).
Here’s the rundown:
Bradley P. Beaulieu
Bradley P. Beaulieu began writing his first fantasy novel in college, but in the way of these things, it was set aside as life intervened. As time went on, though, Brad realized that his love of writing and telling tales wasn’t going to just slink quietly into the night. The drive to write came back full force in the early 2000s, at which point Brad dedicated himself to the craft, writing several novels and learning under the guidance of writers like Nancy Kress, Joe Haldeman, Tim Powers, Holly Black, Michael Swanwick, Kij Johnson, and many more.
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Peter Orullian
As a writer, Peter tends to write the stories that occur to him and prove compelling, which means he writes in any number of genres. His published fiction is mostly fantasy and science fiction at this point, but he’s written a couple of thrillers he hopes to find homes for soon. At least one bestselling fiction writer has seen the outline of one of Peter’s unpublished novels—a more mainstream story—and thinks it’s bound to be his bestselling work. That book is on hold for now, though, as Peter ramps up a new fantasy series, THE VAULT OF HEAVEN.
Then as a musician, Peter’s tastes likewise run the gamut. There are few musical genres he doesn’t enjoy. So, while many might find easy stereotypes when they see Peter, those stereotypes are too narrow to accommodate the variety of his musical tastes. Which isn’t to say he doesn’t love rock music—he absolutely does!
Beyond these consuming interests, he currently works at Microsoft in the Interactive Entertainment Business (Xbox), loves the outdoors (with a fondness for the Rocky Mountains that he’ll never lose) and taking his Jeep deep into the back-country, but more than anything enjoys spending time with his family.
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Teresa Frohock
Raised in a small town, Teresa Frohock learned to escape to other worlds through the fiction collection of her local library. Although Teresa has been reading fantasy and science fiction since she was twelve, her fascination with the grotesque extends back into childhood. Whenever she went to a carnival, she was the first one at the tent that housed the freak-show. She wanted to see the two-headed (chicken, snake, fetus, fill-in-the-blank) and was always disappointed when it wasn’t alive–it seemed like such a rip-off.
Her author photo is very formal. What you can’t see in that picture is that she is wearing jeans and boots. Teresa always wears boots except when it’s 90+ degrees outside, then she wears sandals and wishes she was wearing boots. Next time she has her picture taken, it will be in front of the old pick-up truck so you can get a better read on her personality.
Over her life, Teresa has been employed as a waitress, a DJ, a newspaper carrier, a factory worker, a legal assistant, a community workforce instructor, and finally as a cataloger in a community college library. She loves her job and gets to work with some really super people. If you have something bad to say about community colleges, don’t say it to her.
Teresa lives in a very rural area, which is sometimes good, sometimes boring. During her youth, her life was very, VERY exciting. she did a lot of exciting things, met a lot of electrifying people, engaged in a lot of stimulating activities, and saw things that would send most sane people howling into the woods.
She has had enough exhilaration for one lifetime and the brain damage to prove it. Given that self-preservation has never been one of her strong points, Teresa is lucky to be alive. It’s someone else’s turn. Have fun and tell them Teresa sent you, just don’t call her if you get into trouble. She is not running a bail-bond service.
People who know Teresa claim that she is warm and has a sense of humor. She thinks her personality can better be described as sharp and being around her is a little like biting on tinfoil. You’ll have to make your own determination.
Neither her religion nor her politics are any of your damn business.
Her hair is starting to turn silver and she likes that.
Her eyes are hazel. She likes that too.
Teresa was raised in North Carolina, lived in Virginia and South Carolina before returning to the Piedmont, where she currently resides with her husband and daughter. Teresa has long been accused of telling stories, which is a southern colloquialism for lying.
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Either email me your questions (which most of you seemed to prefer last time I did this) or leave me a comment on Twitter, Facebook, or here.
18 Responses
I would ask Teresa what her favourite job has been (other than”awesome author,” of course), and what her greatest fear is.
I would also as Bradley if he minds me still calling him Bieber Cake. :p
Okay, I will play
Brad: The Anuskaya series interestingly blended both Persian and Russian influences in the major cultures in the book and put them cheek by jowl. What will your new series do in terms of cultural mixing and conflict?
Peter: Why Epic Fantasy instead of, say, Sword and Sorcery? What is it about the big scale that draws you?
Teresa: How do you think living in the wilds of North Carolina has influenced your fiction?
What kind of music do you write to? (As in helping to set the mood for your inspiration, and help your ideas flow.) Particular artists?
Peter: As an author who also juggles a full time job and a family you must have experimented in many different ways to find the time to work on your novels without neglecting the other important aspects of your life. What kind of balace has worked best for you? (ie only writing on weekends, working late at night or early mornings, etc)
I’d like to know how Peter comes up with the names for his characters.
Peter: What do you find more challenging, writing a short story or writing song lyrics?
When it comes to writing song lyrics does the music inspire you to think of a concept or do you have a concept already in mind you want to explore to fit the music?
I would like to ask Peter how he balances working at Microsoft, writing novels/short stories, singing in bands and having a good family life. Impressive schedule indeed.
I would ask Peter Orullian how he breathes such life into his characters that you think they are real breathing people that you care about.
Peter — What do you find to be the easiest/most enjoyable aspect of writing and vice-versa what is the hardest part of writing?
Peter — Do you use any type of software to create your story bible?
Peter: I would ask you if you write better at certain times of day?
Peter,
The Vault of Heaven is an ambitious project for you.
Do you have any plans/ideas for shorter projects to periodically give you a break from it?
Also, where’s the concept album you’ve been mentioning from time to time?
Peter, what is your middle name?
How much collaboration have you done in the past and with current efforts? Do you find that it has been easier or harder, and is it more dependent on what your editors/publishers expect? As you are focusing on finishing single projects at a time, how many works & ideas have you started and put aside?
Hi Peter,
Which fantasy book or series (from any author) do you think would make a great open world game?
Brad- You were one of the authors orphaned by the closing of Night Shade Books, how do you feel about the new company that bought them out, and would you rather have had your rights revert instead?
I would ask Peter how his love of the outdoors informs his writing, in terms of both content and process.
For Peter especially – not sure if Bradley has children – but do/did they read bedtime stories to their children or did they make up their own bedtime stories to tell. If they read, what were the favorite read-alouds.