Interview Saje Williams

by

Janet Cooper

 1) Please tell us a little about Of Man And Monster.

 Of Man And Monster has a little bit of everything in it. Suspense, humor, magic, and, of course, vampires. Something dark has moved into a small town in Oregon, and the police are working without a single clue.

 Of Man And Monster has elements of suspense and mystery, as well as fantasy and paranormal, but it is, at its base, a coming-of-age story. It’s about young Cory Flynn, a high school kid who’s about to find himself swimming in waters darker than he could have imagined, and his police detective mother trying to solve a series of inexplicable murders.

2) Have you ever written a vampire book before? If not, what drew you to this theme?

My first book, Loki’s Sin, introduced the very first vampire, so I guess one might say I have. I wanted to take a slightly different approach to the idea, and I think I’ve done a credible job of it.

3) What’s the easiest part of writing for you? And the hardest?

The easiest part is writing when it simply flows out of me, when the story practically tells itself. The hardest is when I have to fight for every word, every sentence. In every project, I seem to have a bit of both.

4) Do your characters ‘find’ you? Or do you discover them?

Hard to say. Some characters I just know. They are born out of me as whole cloth, while some simply step into the story and demand that I pay attention to them.

5) Do you add details/descriptions when you initially write your story? Add them later? Or a little of both? Why?

The story comes out as it is. Aside from a little tweaking, what you get is the tale as it pours out of my imagination. I may occasionally go back and add a few details, but, in general, everything fits together as I’m writing it.

6. Do you love or hate ending a story? Why?

I love the end. I like to throw a bit of a twist and a teaser at the end just to get people thinking. Of Man And Monster is no different. The last few scenes will spark the reader’s imagination and make him or her wonder “what if?”

7) Was there a particularly difficult part of this story to write? If so, how did you solve this problem.

It depends on what you mean by “difficult.” In the climactic battle scene toward the end of the book, the characters are given a very difficult choice. Had I been reading it rather than writing it, I probably would have gasped out loud. It’s frightening and heart-wrenching at the same time. It was very hard to write. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. :)

8) Is there a story you want to tell, but for whatever reason you’ve put it aside? If so, will you write the tale?

Actually, there is. I’d like to write it, but it wouldn’t meet the submission standards because of a single clause in the policies regarding “alternative lifestyles.” What I may end up doing with the story is writing it anyway and offering it for free download on my website. Someday. It’s a story that needs to be told.

9. Your last book was a Paranormal Science Fantasy, what genre would you call Of Man And Monster?

Well, it’s set in the same universe as Loki’s Sin, but doesn’t involve the culture of the immortals and their inherited technology, so it’s not really “science” fantasy. I’d say it’s more paranormal fantasy suspense.

I don’t seem to be able to write anything that includes only two descriptive terms. LOL. Everything’s a genre-bender.

10) When can we expect the next book? And can you give us a hint as to the story?

The next book, Freak City, is due out in December. It takes up where Of Man and Monster left off, and involves a young lycanthrope traveling to Tacoma, Washington (where Loki’s Sin is set) to track down his best friend and reconnect with the beautiful young federal agent for whom he developed feelings in Of Man And Monster. So you might say Freak City is a paranormal science fantasy romance. <g>