Interview with S. Evan Townsend

Sci-fi author S. Evan Townsend is with WR this week telling us about himself and his awesome novels! Drop a comment below for a chance to win an ebook of your choice!

WR: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you write? Why?

S: I'm a 51 year old guy who lives in Washington State with his wife and two of my three sons. I have been writing since I was 12 years old (so that's going on 40 years). I need to write like I need to breathe. Even if I'm not hammering out a novel on the computer, I'm writing in my mind. My wife hates it because we'll be watching T.V. and I'll start re-writing the show we're watching. I write mostly speculative fiction, that is, science fiction and fantasy. That is the power of "what if?" Such as: "What if there were people with magical powers that got involved in recent history?"

WR: If you could be any one of your characters, who would you choose?

S: It would be Michael Vaughn from Agent of Artifice. He's handsome, debonair, and a powerful wizard (although I call them "adepts"). The lifestyle he lives in pre-revolutionary Havana is a lifestyle I would enjoy very much.

WR: What is your creative process like? Do you need music to write? Silence?

S: I write to the sound of my computer's cooling fan. I think music would make it harder to hear the voices in my head speak to me. My creative process is basically two-fold. There's the "think stage" or what I call "pre-writing" where I think about what I plan to write and then there's the writing stage, where I actually write it. And sometimes it goes in directions I never planned. Then there's re-writing, when I try to improve on what I wrote in step two.

WR: What is a guilty pleasure of yours?

S: I'm on a twelve step program to kick Starbucks. But since I haven't taken the first step, it's going slow. I tend to drive fast and have done so on a race track which is the most fun I've had with my clothes on. I guess my only other guilty pleasure would be watching Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel.

WR: What inspires you?

S: Movies, television, books I read (both fiction and non-fiction), the news, conversations with people, and my intrinsic need to educate people.

WR: What is one of your worst pet peeves?

S: People who drive too slow. Also books/movies/television shows that are more interested in selling their message than entertaining (unless the purpose of the book or movie or television show is to get a point across). Or, and writers who don't do research on their subjects.

WR: Describe what a perfect day would be for you.

S: Olivia Wilde wakes me up with a soft kiss and a plate of bacon. . . A perfect (realistic) day for me would be first a trip to Starbucks to get my daily allotment of 1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione 3,7-dihydro-1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (also known as caffeine) and run into friends to talk with. Then back to my office to do some writing, then some reading, and since the sun is shining, go for a drive just for the heck of it. Then maybe a nice dinner and watch a movie on Blu-Ray and cuddle into bed about 10.

WR: If you could bring any fictional character to life, yours or anyone else’s, who would you pick?

S: Gandalf. The combination of compassion, strength, power, humor, and hard headedness just amazes me. Maybe we could go on an adventure together even if it did make us late for dinner. Of my own characters, Charlie Jones, only because I'm a little bit in love with her.

WR: If you could shape-shift, what animal would you turn into and why?

S: An eagle because I always wanted to fly. I watch birds riding thermals and I get so jealous. I might have a bit of a problem eating raw mouse, however.

WR: Where can we find you and your work around the web?

S: I tweet at @SEvanTownsend

My website that has all the links you need is at www.sevantownsend.com

Or you can go to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Thor-S-Evan-Townsend/dp/1937593045/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1318011654&sr=8-6

http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Killer-S-Evan-Townsend/dp/1937593452/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

http://www.amazon.com/Agent-Artifice-S-Evan-Townsend/dp/193759386X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3