Title of story: "Pyrrhic Victory."
1. How did you hear about the Blood Is Thicker anthology, and what convinced you to spend days (weeks? months?) crafting a story about the attempted murder of a character by a member of their family on leap day?
My fantastic wife told me about it. As a child I won a newspaper contest writing a short story based on seven or eight words selected by the newspaper. When I heard about the Iguana concept my past success inspired me to try again!
2. What was the writing process like? Did your story come out with a bang, or did you struggle to make something of the premise?
I came up with the concept fairly quickly. Most of the struggle was with the internal mechanics and rules of the conflict within the story.
3. How long have you been writing, and what are some of your writing goals and/or successes so far?
Off and on I suppose I’ve been writing for about 35 years. A lot of it has been just for me, or friends and family. I have also written a lot as part of my education, which requires many of the same skills as writing fiction. Much of my fantasy writing has been for Dungeons & Dragons adventures.
4. What’s your favourite line or passage in your submission, and why?
Either this full passage,
“We struggled up and down the wide stretch of golden sand. Waves crashed upon the shore as we collided and broke apart. The cries of the gulls mingled with our roars of pain and fury. Great blows were struck, no quarter given. Once the challenge was made, neither could suffer the other to live. Slowly but surely my father’s strength eroded; the tide of battle turned in my favour. Then, at last, the body of my sire lay broken upon the shore. I gazed upon it for the final time. The light of the rising sun was reflected briefly within his remaining eye, then faded away to darkness.”
Or just this sentence.
“The light of the rising sun was reflected briefly within his remaining eye, then faded away to darkness.”
I like the metaphors mostly, and it doesn’t give anything away like some later passages/lines I like.
5. What’s your writing routine?
Sit on the couch and brainstorm. Sit at the computer and write. Then rewrite several times. Then try to call it done before rewriting several more times. I really want to rewrite my anthology story.
6. What do you do for a living (or if you’re retired, what did you do), and what do you do for fun?
eLearning, media development , and instructional design. Often those are both fun and money. I also read for fun, go camping and hiking, hang out with friends and family, and play D&D and strategy board games.
7. If you could have a lunch date with any person living or dead, who would it be and why?
My sister Abigail. I love her, and I don’t get to see her enough. Other people high on the list would be Elon Musk because I love all that near-future stuff, and Scott R. Bakker because his books are amazing.
8. What’s a favourite book that you’ve read in the past five years? Notice we didn’t ask you to name your ultimate favourite. We’re not monsters!
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie. Further back, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, just damn amazing, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R.Tolkien, and The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke.
9. What else should readers know about you?
Two of my favourite words are diaphanous and eldritch. The world needs more diaphanous and eldritch things. Things that are either, or both. Until I was sixteen I was not a citizen of any country on earth. I hope to live to be at least 500 years old, assuming medical science can keep me healthy and alert.