yet more reasons Sean Stewart rocks
An interview with Perfect Circle author Sean Stewart that's full of interesting things in The Capitol Times.
The interview delves into Sean's experience writing the AI game "The Beast," but evolves into a discussion about his how he sees his writing changing and the struggles of getting Perfect Circle published, as the novel he wanted it to be.
When Stewart first brought "Perfect Circle" to a major publisher, he was urged to "cut out all the family stuff" and make it more of a conventional thriller. While the book definitely has some frightening moments, Stewart felt that the heart of the book would be lost, and went with the indie Small Beer Press instead.
"I was actually writing a book about family and what's forgotten and what's never forgotten, and what we love and what we can't get over loving," he said. "Sure, the occasional person gets shot and has gasoline thrown on them. But without that emotional center, the book didn't feel urgent to me."
The article goes on to talk about the divide between what's "literary" and what's "genre" being bridged by people like Michael Chabon, and Sean gets eminently quotable.
He said that those elements can be used to dramatize themes in ways that literary novels can't. It's one thing to talk about missing somebody; it's another to see their ghostly reflection in your oven door.
"Ask yourself if 'Hamlet' would be better if Hamlet went up on the battlements to consult with his psychiatrist," Stewart said.
Read the whole interview.
Also, unrelated message to ZZ Packer: Kentucky rocks. Mostly.
worm "It's a Hit," Rilo Kiley
namecheck Chris "Great Taste" McLaren
The interview delves into Sean's experience writing the AI game "The Beast," but evolves into a discussion about his how he sees his writing changing and the struggles of getting Perfect Circle published, as the novel he wanted it to be.
When Stewart first brought "Perfect Circle" to a major publisher, he was urged to "cut out all the family stuff" and make it more of a conventional thriller. While the book definitely has some frightening moments, Stewart felt that the heart of the book would be lost, and went with the indie Small Beer Press instead.
"I was actually writing a book about family and what's forgotten and what's never forgotten, and what we love and what we can't get over loving," he said. "Sure, the occasional person gets shot and has gasoline thrown on them. But without that emotional center, the book didn't feel urgent to me."
The article goes on to talk about the divide between what's "literary" and what's "genre" being bridged by people like Michael Chabon, and Sean gets eminently quotable.
He said that those elements can be used to dramatize themes in ways that literary novels can't. It's one thing to talk about missing somebody; it's another to see their ghostly reflection in your oven door.
"Ask yourself if 'Hamlet' would be better if Hamlet went up on the battlements to consult with his psychiatrist," Stewart said.
Read the whole interview.
Also, unrelated message to ZZ Packer: Kentucky rocks. Mostly.
worm "It's a Hit," Rilo Kiley
namecheck Chris "Great Taste" McLaren
posted by Gwenda @ 7/23/2004 06:58:00 AM
1 Comments:
At 7:17 AM ,
Anonymous said...
I was doing a search on Sean, to see if he'd finally come out with a new book, and not only was I excited to see that he had, but I found your blog post as well.
And I have to say, he does rock.
I first found Resurrection Man in an airport bookstore of all places, and was so taken with his portrayal of the characters that I special ordered both of his previous books, and have been following him ever since. I can hardly wait to get my hands on Perfect Circle.
-Haze
http://www.shootingzen.com
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