I have been interviewed by moad_terran_hq

[tinhuviel]

So now I have to do the whole megillah, which is okay, 'cos I knew what I was getting into.

Rules
01. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
02. I will respond by asking you five questions of a very intimate and creepily personal nature. Or not so creepy/personal.
03. You WILL update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. Tell me about your Creative Process. How did you come up with Cadmus, Kelat, et al - and how did the plot for your book(s) evolve?
Oh jeez.  You're killing me here.  When it comes to The Chalice, my creative process has taken almost 20 years and reams of paper, dozens of coloured pencils, and at least a full sketch tablet.  The first character created was Vasily Tenin (original name Thiyennen) in a short story called "Vasily's Kiss."  Originally, the story was going to revolve around Vasily living in modern-day Asheville and being discovered by an obnoxious Yuppie.  I wasn't happy with this and didn't develop it much at all.  It was around this time that Timothy urged me to read a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail.  That, combined with my research on traditional vampires and the development of my personal myth of the Tarmi, created the idea of Kelat'menan and her "anti-grail."  She was initially the villain of the novel, and Thiyennen was the hero.  There were other things at work, though.  I needed to process the fact that I had met my soulmate and that he was married and we'd never ever be together in this life.  Our relationship became a vampiric one, each of us taking what we needed from the other, but never taking enough.  The grievous situation begged for address in my writing, so the story of Kelat and Dmitri was born.  This created the need for another villain, which came on soundwaves in the shroud of "Deeply Lined Up" by Shriekback.  An instantaneous vision of abomination gave birth to Cadmus, who initially had only a cameo in the developing story.  Over the course of 16 years, like any good vampire, Cadmus has eaten up every scene in the story, making it his own.  Somehow, it all fits perfectly, though, with the arc-story of the mysterious grail and its protectors over the years.  Sorry for the length of the explanation.  This was the short one.


2. What would Your Dream Job be? (Derivative, but a good question, so I'll snatch.)
I'd like to be the subject of a sleep test.  Just hook me up to machines and let me sleep and dream all the time, and get paid for it. 


3. What do you find attractive in people? (Physically, spiritually, personality wise....)
   I pull off auras a lot, so looks mean very little when it comes to my attraction to others.  I do have my preferences when it comes to appearance.  I like men with meat on their bones, and with hair, lots of hair.  Beards, moustaches, long dark hair, hairy chests, so on and so forth.  Spiritually, again it's the aura.  Seekers appeal to me as do Priests (not in the Catholic sense, but in the spiritual sense).  I'm drawn to unusual personalities, those who can see the weirdness in everything around them, and can laugh at the darkest situation because they can see the ludicrous within it.  For instance, the story about the people on the plane that depressurised, freezing them all, but the plane was still flying.  Someone who can see beyond the horror of that situation and just cackle at the thought of the Death Plane flying overhead is someone with whom I could probably fall in love.  John Kricfalusi is a perfect example of a man I could love.  Anyone who can think up Ren & Stimpy is a man after my own heart.


4. Just how many critters do you have, anyways? And are there any kinds you'd like to own, but can't for some reason? Any critters you don't like?
I have 3 dogs, 22 cats (I just found out that Lynx was mooshed by a car....), and 2 opossums.  Four of the cats are thoroughly domesticated and the rest I'm working on in hopes of getting all their shots, getting them "fixed," and finding them homes.  I'd love to have a couple of llamas or alpaca, but I don't have enough room.  If I were certain the neighbours wouldn't fuss, I'd get a couple of goats in a heartbeat.  Some other critters I've had in the past:  a hedgehog, a skunk, a raccoon, various tropical fish, a rabbit, a couple of turtles, and some Mexican jumping beans.  The only creatures on this planet I cannot tolerate are centipedes and (especially) millipedes.  Anything with more than 20 limbs is abomination in my world.  ::shudders::  BUH!


5. As Mistress of the Alpaca Lips, do you think it will be a total reset (removing All Life), or just a removal of homo sapiens from the Oxygen Consumers List? If the latter, do you think some people might survive, just in smaller/more managable numbers?
I think we've been given enough chances to do the right thing and we've screwed it up one too many times.  The Alpaca Lips for which I'm hoping is one in which the meek shall truly inherit the Earth, meaning that all Humanity will be wiped off  the surface of the planet by the Terrifying Squeegee of God and all the little critters can come out and party like it's 1999.....even the millipedes.  Amen.