The 10D10 Interview Challenge

#10 – E.J. Stevens, author

I met E.J. at a small author gathering at our mutual friend Remy Flagg’s house a couple years ago. We had all gathered to discuss the business of writing, and I knew about ten minutes into meeting her that she had her shit together far better than I did.

Might be because she lives in rural Maine without all the crazy distractions offered to me by living in rural New Hampshire, but who really knows. Point is; she’s smart, creative, funny, successful, and I wanted to interview her for the 10D10 challenge!

E.J.’s rolls for the interview were: 6, 1, 3, 10, 6, 7, 5, 6, 1, 7, though she only answered seven of the questions I put to her. I blame her rocking out to inspirational music!

So before we start, I just want to point out that in the first ten 10D10 interviews, no interview has been the same yet. Mission accomplished!

And now, onto E.J.!

 

1. What’s your favorite cold beverage and why?

My favorite cold beverage is coffee. I never intend to drink it cold, but I get so immersed in the worlds that I create that I forget my caffeine fix until it’s ice cold.

See, it’s answers like this that allow me to have faith in humanity. I can say to myself, “I’M NOT ALONE.”  Huzzah to you for hallucinating so vividly you forget about your drink. Happens to me. Happening to me right now.

2. Do you listen to rad music when you write, and if so, what are your most rad favorites?

I can’t listen to music while I write, but I do like to create character playlists to get in the mood to write. Think of it as a super rad mood board (okay, I do those too!). Here are a few sample playlists from my Ivy Granger series.

Ivy:

Stand My Ground by Within Temptation

Survivor by Destiny’s Child

The Kill (Bury Me) by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Going Under by Evancescence

Broken Pieces by Apocalyptica and Lacey

Shatter Me by Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale

Horse and I by Bat for Lashes

Ceff:

River by Bishop Briggs

Iron by Woodkid

What the Water Gave Me by Florence + The Machine

I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li

Jinx:

Human by Rag’n’Bone Man

What Have You Done Now by Within Temptation

There Is XXXX (Within My Heart) by You Say Party! We Say Die!

Something Just Like This by The Chainsmokers

Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri

The Only Exception by Paramore

Forneus:

Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine

Bring Me To Life by Evanescence

Cuts You Up by Peter Murphy

Human by The Killers

Running Up That Hill by Placebo

For You I’m Bleeding by Wolfsheim

Kaye:

Only For A Night (Ceremonials) by Florence + The Machine

Marvin:

Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men

Mab:

Castle Down by Emilie Autumn

The Killing Type by Amanda Palmer

Ice Queen by Within Temptation

Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Will-o-the-Wisp (Willem):

Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford & Sons

The Glaistig (The Green Lady):

Carnival of Rust by Poets of the Fall

Melusine:

Sinking Ships by Trees of Eternity

Running to the Sea by Röyksopp

Sir Gaius:

Satin in a Coffin by Modest Mouse

Leanansidhe:

Frozen by Within Temptation

Sparky:

What Else Is There? by Röyksopp

When I’m Small by Phantogram

What songs are on your Ivy Granger Playlist?

I am afraid to say I have no songs on my Ivy Granger playlist. I do however have a ton of Spotify playlists mostly revolving around my teenager years, as I chase that nostalgia. Also, I completely feel you on mood-building music. I can get pumped to write an action scene by playing the right song, or get into a romantic scene in the same way. Music is a crazy thing we humans invented, for sure.

3. What pulls you out of a movie or book most? Bad dialogue? Bad Special effects? What? WHAT I DEMAND TO KNOW?!

I’ve been screening dozens of TV shows and the thing that will always pull me out of the story and make me change the channel is non-consensual sexual advances. I nope right out of there. I also have zero tolerance for animal violence. Amazing book but you kill the dog? Sorry, not for me. (see below)

Animal violence is a rough one, especially if the genre can call for it. It’s like that Sarah McLachlan video for the ASPCA, or Humane Society. I bawl, and bawl… Horror movies are no sweat, but if a puppy gets hurt, I lose it.

4. Pets. Do you have them? What’s the best thing about each of them?

I had an adorable corgi. She was the best writing partner. I also had three cats who literally saved my life when they woke me during a home invasion. Pets are AWESOME.

CORGI! I think they are a top ten breed for raw cuteness factor. Their legs! Their cute little faces!!!

And a home invasion? What the flying holy shitballs of hell? That’s messed up. Praise those cats. Pets can be serious heroes too.

5. Is time travel possible? Or likely? If you could travel through time, what’s one thing you’d want to do?

I think anything is possible. I’ve seen ghosts, UFOs, and other things that I can’t explain. Time travel seems mundane by comparison.

As an amateur Ripperologist, I’m tempted to travel back to London’s East End to learn what really happened, but I’ve done too much research on the Great Stink, the Vanishing Girls, and the Thames Torso Murders to really want to travel back to Victorian London. I’ll skip time travel and go on a cryptid hunt!

A fascinating, and actually pragmatic response! I would be really afraid of travelling through time for fear of messing something up. I’d much rather take a really neat vacation where I could get mauled by a mythical beast. You’re totally on point with that.

Also.. what the hell  is the Great Stink? *off to Google*

6. I love games. Do you enjoy playing games? Card games, board games, naked Twister, that kind of thing? What games do you like, or have played?

I’m a huge gaming nerd. I grew up playing boardgames, D&D and Shadowrun D20 RPGs, Vampire the Masquerade LARPing, and have played video games since I received an Atari 2600.

I KNEW IT. I sensed the gamerness with you. I grew up with AD&D, and VtM, and all the Storyteller/WoD games. They colored so much of my imagination for so long, it’ll never change. I find commonalities in my urban fiction that aren’t accidental, though they also aren’t intentional.

I… I had an Atari 2600 *nostalgia intensifies*

7. Why are we so frigging obsessed with robots? Like, why are robot vacuum cleaners a thing?

I blame Voltron. They combined cats and robots. What’s not to like? Admittedly, I don’t own a Roomba. Have you SEEN that episode of X-Files?

I don’t think anyone in my life has ever blamed Voltron for anything until just now. I  mean, if my friends were wandering around pretending to be a giant mecha made out of giants cats, they might’ve blamed that behavior on Voltron, but somehow… I feel that’s different.

Voltron is awesome, for the record.

And no, I haven’t seen that episode of the X-Files, and now, I don’t ever want to.

 

Thanks E.J.!

E.J.’s interview concludes the first season of the 10D10 challenge. As more interviews come back to me, I’ll set up the next ten people, then share the schedule. I hope everyone has enjoyed “meeting” my interviewees, and enjoyed our banter back and forth.

Reach out if you have suggestions, or questions, and please stay tuned for more authors, artists, narrators, and other random people I feel like rolling dice for.

 

E.J. Stevens is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Ivy Granger Psychic Detective urban fantasy series, the Spirit Guide young adult paranormal mystery series, the Hunters’ Guild urban fantasy series, and the upcoming Whitechapel Paranormal Society Victorian horror series. She is known for filling pages with quirky characters, bloodsucking vampires, psychotic faeries, and snarky, kick-butt heroines. Her novels are available worldwide in multiple languages.

Connect with E.J. at http://www.EJStevensAuthor.com and @EJStevensAuthor on Twitter.

Want to begin your adventures in Harborsmouth? Love free books? Sign up for E.J.’s newsletter and get the first novel free today! http://www.subscribepage.com/n6k1a5

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