The following interview was posted on the magazine
Underground Book Reviews on February 26, 2014. I'm including it here, but encourage you to visit their site as there are many great interviews and indie book reviews. It's a classy site! Richard E.D. Jones also
reviewed Primary Fault for the magazine. Not greatly into the cult of self, it was a fantastically fun interview and some of the answers might be of interest to readers of the Schattenreich series, so I wanted to repost it here.
Since Richard did me a great favor by reading my book, reviewing it and asking me a bunch of questions that were great fun to answer, I hope I can return the favor a smidgen by getting you to go check out his stuff.
A little bit about Richard:
Richard E.D. Jones is an award-winning writer and author of the hilarious how-to book for new dads, A Dude’s Guide to Babies: The New Dad’s Playbook.
After surviving for a decade as a stay-at-home dad rearing three boys
and a wife, Richard and his friend, Barry Robert Ozer, decided someone
had to writer the user’s guide to babies for men. Broken down in to
small chunks for easier, throne-sitting ingestion, the Guide has big
print, a bunch of lists and a guaranteed laugh every 1.3 pages. Note,
it’s not a money-back guarantee, ‘cause he’s not giving that back.
In
addition to working as a freelance non-fiction writer, Richard also writes a-bit-too-funny-for-their-own-good urban fantasy and science-fiction stories. Until Tomorrow,
the story of the bastard son of the god of wine and revelry and himself
the god of procrastination, still is looking for a home if you’d like
to represent.
His most recent finished novel is the genre-blending urban
fantasy, Reptile Wisdom.
The story takes place in the CurseWerks universe, the setting of
several of his popular short stories. The novel deals with mad science,
appalling magic, zombies, snot monsters and the occasional advisability
of allowing a severed hand to roam freely throughout a mad scientist’s
laboratory. Adventure, humor and redemption all wrapped up in one
page-turning package. Representation rights available.
Richard also is
pounding the keyboard for his newest Work in Progress, a secret book
that goes by the initials RL. It is a YA adventure book combining
several of Richard’s favorite things. When he’s not lobbing softballs
at more successful writers, Richard writes for the daily fatherhood
blog, A Dude’s Guide to . . . Everything. His fiction can be found on Amazon.com and the website where he writes things ByRichardJones.
And now for the interview (the original on Underground Book Reviews is here):
Sharon Kae Reamer is a native Philadelphian, who coyly admits to
being wowed by the original Star Trek series when it first aired on live
television. She and her family quickly moved to slightly warmer climes
in Texas, where she was raised in Dallas and attended Southern Methodist
University, receiving an advanced degree in geophysics. While in
graduate school, Reamer met a “sexy German guy” visiting the university
and struck up a relationship that led to her moving to Germany and
marrying her sexy guy almost twenty years ago. Currently, she works part
time in Bensberg, Germany, as a research scientist and lecturer at the
Earthquake Observatory of the University of Cologne. Reamer said she
always planned to write speculative-fiction stories “someday,” but that
day kept getting pushed further and further back. Eventually, she
recognized that “someday” was today and started writing.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: Sharon, first off, please excuse the scientific fuzziness.
I’m probably going to be lumping in things that would be egregiously
wrong in your community, but work just fine for lay idiots such as
myself. Still, I’ll try to not offend you too much. You’re an earthquake
scientist. Caitlin is an earthquake scientist. You live in Germany. She
lives in Germany. She gets dragged into a horrifying netherverse of
mystical beings and danger. You get drag—Well, the analogy probably
breaks down right about there. So how much of yourself did you put into
Caitlin? And if, as I suspect, there might be a lot of you in the base
DNA of your character, why?
SHARON KAE REAMER: It’s not easy for
the non-specialist to tell the difference in specialties. Most people
don’t even know there’s a difference between geologists and
geophysicists. It’s similar to speculative fiction encompassing a whole
range of subgenres including science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.
But
to clarify, I am not an earthquake scientist, I’m a seismologist. Under
that name there are also a range of subspecialties, including
earthquake seismology. For my dissertation, I studied the seismic
effects of explosions so that makes me an explosion seismologist by
training. My main character, Caitlin Schwarzbach, is a field
geophysicist and data expert – give her some measurement data and she’ll
give you results – since she worked as a consultant. She knows the
basics of earthquake seismology, but her brother, Gus Schwarzbach, he’s
the real earthquake expert.
As for similarities between Caitlin
and myself, I gave her a scientist’s worldview and a Texas upbringing.
This was important since much of the series is written in first person
perspective from Caitie’s POV, and I had to be able to slip inside her
head easily. I could relate to her on at least two critical levels,
making it easier to start fleshing her out. But that’s where things
start to diverge. She’s invested with many characteristics I’ve observed
in strong Texas women, women I’ve known and admired. In many ways, I
would love to be Caitie. I’d especially like to be as thin as she is.
And she has a much better fashion sense than I ever did, even if she
does have to model some of her wardrobe around those ropers. Her fear of
Death is also something unique to her since she knows him personally. I
don’t envy her that.
RICHARD E.D. JONES: One of the most
fascinating things I found while reading Primary Fault is the way you
fuse what seemed to be Celtic myth figures with Germanic aspects of
magic. What made you consider this as the basis for your supernatural
events in the novel? Was it difficult finding research materials?
SHARON
KAE REAMER: I originally wanted the whole thing to be Germanic. But
while researching the presence of the Germanic tribes in the Rhineland, I
realized that, at least according to one scholar, some of the tribes
were ‘Celticized’. So I twigged to the idea of mixing the two. I
developed a deep backstory that moved things more firmly towards the
Celtic end of the spectrum because I wanted to have Druids in there. The
Germanic tribes didn’t have Druids.
With hindsight, I’m glad I
did this because information on the continental Celtic pantheon is thin –
the Celts didn’t write things down – and that allows more leeway in
mythological worldbuilding. There are a ton of books on Celtic
mythology, magickal practice, modern Paganism, the history of the Celts
and speculation about whether the Druids even existed. But aside from
the archeological evidence, there is little concrete knowledge about how
the continental tribes lived and structured their society. Historians
and archeologists basically have to sift through what the Celts’
conquerors, the Romans, particularly Julius Caesar, wrote about them.
The
Germanic research material is more definite – historians have written
evidence to work with – but it’s also been hard (for me in my research)
to clearly separate the Nordic and (older) Germanic pantheons. Odin
versus Wōden, for example. In addition, I’ve made a sincere effort to
interpret where crossovers between the Celtic and Germanic mythology
might be – it’s not a scholarly contribution but a fantasist’s conceit.
The
reason I threw all the mythology in there instead of just a straight-up
suspense/thriller was because I liked the ‘what if’ scenario of
subjecting a person trained as a scientist to a substantial challenge to
her worldview, namely, the existence of a supernatural Otherworld
populated by Celtic deities.
I was somewhat leery of a purely
Germanic thrust to the story because the series takes place in Germany,
and I wanted to avoid steering the story into any areas that overlapped
with Nazi mysticism or the like. It might seem like a cool idea, ‘hey,
let’s throw some evil Nazis in there’, but after you’ve lived in Germany
for any length of time, you don’t think there’s anything cool about
Nazis, not even as stereotypical bad guys. There’s some backstory,
particularly in the third book, that shines a light on the effects of
the holocaust on the von der Lahn family. The characters also have to
address their relationship to their Germanic heritage at some point. and
I’m dealing with that right now while writing the fifth book.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: Let me state flat out that I’m not a big paranormal romance
reader. Nothing against it, but I always found that either there was
too much romance, not enough paranormal or, and this is my pet peeve,
the authors turned vampires from vicious apex predators into superheroes
with a tragic allergy to sunlight. Moving on. Your book has a lot of
romantic tension in it, but I’m not sure I would classify it as
paranormal romance. Most fantasy books might have a bit about will they
kiss or won’t they, but they don’t have a lot of romance in it. Your
book does. What made you consider the fusion of romance and urban
fantasy? And thanks for not romanticizing vampires.
SHARON KAE
REAMER: Funny you should mention vampires. There are parallels between
the Celtic deities in the Schattenreich series and vampires. Both feed
on human blood. But the Celtic power players go about acquiring it
differently. They’re heavily invested in sacrifice.
I also never
got into the whole paranormal romance thing either, although that
doesn’t mean I won’t start reading the stuff someday. It does have an
appeal and I’m sure there are many authors who do it well (Hell’s Belles by Jackie Kessler is on
my hot hot hot reading list and A Modern Witch, by Deborah Geary is
sitting in my Kindle). That said, reading (and being totally enthralled
by) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon encouraged me to put in more rather than
less sex as the Schattenreich series progresses because it’s definitely
intrinsic to the series themes of sacrifice, surrender and redemption.
But
I have a strong penchant for mythological fantasy with a healthy dose
of magical realism. My ultimate Otherworld go-to has always been Roger
Zelazny’s Amber series. It has influenced me heavily. But the love
interest aspects in both his series left a lot to be desired, so to
speak. I’ve read a fair amount of Simon Green’s Nightside series and Jim
Butcher’s The Dresden Files and enjoyed them because they were
different than the usual paranormal tropes. The badass chicks in both
those series are sidekicks and strong characters in their own rights.
But I also sort of hankered for a little more romance and less bluster
than those series afforded. I finally realized that to get the story I
wanted, I’d have to write it myself.
My standard line is, I don’t
consider the Schattenreich series to be a romance. It’s a solid cross
between contemporary fantasy and suspense with a strong love story.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: In the past, the list of science-fiction and fantasy main
characters has been a bit of a sausage fest. That’s been changing
lately. Still, the majority of female protagonists seem to be in the
kick-ass, Buffy-the-vampire-slayer, action-grrl mold with an amazing
combat skill set. Caitlin, to be kind, doesn’t have an amazing combat
skill set. What I really enjoyed about her character was that she seemed
like a regular woman in this respect. What was your thinking behind
staying away from the Buffy-style action hero?
SHARON KAE REAMER:
I suppose I could have given Caitlin super-duper earthquake powers, and
she does have that going for her – it’s how she manages to stumble, I
mean, cross into the Otherworld for a while. And although I was a little
too subtle about it, she invests herself with the power from her first
day in Germany. But I guess my motive in not going the kickass
paranormal chick route was that I wanted Caitie to be a thinking hero.
She gets into plenty of scrapes, but her main weapon is her ability to
solve problems by reasoning them out. That keeps her vulnerable –
because she can also come to the wrong conclusions – but flexible. And I
hoped her braininess combined with her Southern Belle charm would make
her likeable, even if she does make some really stupid decisions on
occasion. Even as the series progresses and her options become more
limited, she still doesn’t give up on her analytic skills.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: Now that I think about it, Caitlin feels like a real woman
in a lot of different ways. She enjoys sex, but isn’t man crazy. She’s
not a combat adept. When introduced to magic, she’s not a natural at the
whole thing. She makes realistic mistakes, bad choices and good
choices. Most fantasy and science-fiction stories seem to deal in
archetypes. That is, the writers pare down their characters to essential
characteristics and work from there. Caitlin seems to bring along a lot
of baggage, but in a good way. I won’t ask why you decided to create a
fully fleshed-out character because I don’t pitch that soft a soft ball.
However, I will ask this. When you sat down to write Primary Fault, did
you have a list of characteristics you wanted Caitlin to have or is
this more a question of having a general idea of who she was and letting
circumstances fill in the details?
SHARON KAE REAMER: That’s the
beauty of writing a series, and it has been a revelation for me,
learning how the characters react to their situations. In early drafts, I
did a lot of floundering with Caitlin – and the other characters –
before I figured out who they were and what they wanted. But I did have a
clear picture of the characters from the start, an amalgam of traits,
some taken from real people, and glommed together to form a whole. So,
no archetypes, at least not consciously. I like to think that all the
main characters started out well but have become more real with time,
even the baddies. And I would be dishonest if I didn’t admit that they
have surprised me more than once with how they’ve evolved. Caitie has
proved to be plenty stubborn. But so have Gus Schwarzbach and Hagen von
der Lahn. And Sebastian. I think of all the characters, he’s surprised
me the most. It’s very gratifying. Ending the series will be a relief,
but will also be like losing an entire family all at once.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: The main male characters, Gus and Hagen von der Lahn, both
seem to share a similar trait. Gus, Caitlin’s estranged by divorce
brother, and Hagen, her German love interest, both insist on trying to
protect Caitlin. To me, it felt as if they were a bit overprotective on
more than one occasion. Is this just who the characters are, or did you
have a specific purpose in having both the relative and the hunk act in
the same way? I mean, this sort of overprotectiveness seems a bit
condescending at times. Something against which Caitlin can rebel?
SHARON
KAE REAMER: That’s an interesting point. Gus and Hagen are compelling
characters. They present a challenge for Caitlin to maintain her
independence.
Gus’s situation has a few hidden aspects to it
that I don’t necessarily want to spoil. Caitlin doesn’t rebel against
him often – at least not openly – because she idolizes him. She has her
own way of managing Gus, and it works most of the time.
Hagen is
a different matter. His attractiveness, sexual magnetism and force of
personality are a bit overwhelming to most women, including Caitie. The
rebel in her does assert itself, especially when she feels betrayed.
Because she’s had a lot of experience dealing with her headstrong
brother, she also knows how to choose her battles as most savvy women
do. But again, I didn’t want to use the trope of
stubborn-paranormal-chick-who-doesn’t-need-help-from-her-strong-handsome-lover.
She does need help, even in the face of betrayal. She’s vulnerable. And
she’s smart enough to know it – for the most part. Hagen enjoys making
her surrender – not succumb – to him. She accedes to a certain extent.
It’s the dance they do, an integral part of their relationship.
RICHARD E.D. JONES: What are the other books in the Schattenreich sequence?
SHARON
KAE REAMER: Shaky Ground and Double Couple are now available in trade
paperback and ebook format. Shadow Zone, book four, will be out in early
summer 2014. Triple Junction, the last book in the series, will appear
near the end of 2014. I’ll also be bringing out a few short stories from
a one-off series, The Eternal Guardian, this year.
RICHARD
E.D. JONES: Anything you want to say to the readers who enjoyed Primary
Fault? Maybe a hint about what’s in store for Caitlin.
SHARON KAE
REAMER: Caitlin’s quest has barely begun in Primary Fault. She first
has to learn who and what she is, what she really wants and then figure
out how to get it without losing everything dear to her, including her
life. The plot does, indeed, thicken. Thanks for taking the time to read
this, and I thank everyone who has given up a part of their free time
to read my book.
This excerpt from Book 4 of The Schattenreich, Shadow Zone, refers to a Celtic father god, named by Caesar as Dis Pater. This is a pretty good (if not complete) summary of my interpretation of
the Germano-Celtic Lord of the Dead. Ankou aka Woden aka (according to
Caesar) Dis Pater. Caesar even claimed that the Gauls believed they were descended from this 'unnamed' deity. According to some scholars (e.g., Derek Bryce in his introduction to his English translation of some of Anatole Le Braz's collected folk tales), the Breton people, although traditionally Catholic, were particularly resistant to suppression of some of their pagan traditions. These traditions also included acceptance of the existence of mythological (and superstitious) events.
Anatole Le Braz collected these 'folk' tales in the late nineteenth century. The above named collection, Celtic Legends of the Beyond, also include some references to Ankou in the form of 'recollections' of his visits and one in particular that I also freely borrowed from (Hell) in Book 5 of The Schattenreich, Triple Junction in the form of an oral tale told by Bertha von der Lahn.
Characteristically, he wears a wide-brimmed hat, a cape, has long white hair, might or might not have a scythe, and drives a wagon (or even a train) that he uses to collect the dead. Koch cites references of a similar figure that date to 16th century Breton.
