BATTLE OF EBULON: Kaine Andrews
Today we are continuing our series of interviews with the authors who contributed to the Battle of Ebulon collaboration. Later this week I will be sharing the cover art for the anthology!
Name: Kaine Andrews (among others... XD)
Title of the Book that loaned a character: Woken (AKA Woken: A Fairy Tale)
Tell us a little about yourself:I discovered writing around the age of six. While engaging in exploration of my parents' closet, I found my grandfather's typewriter. Terribly ugly thing; one of those "suitcase" models, baby blue in color, weighed about 30 pounds. I drug it back to my room and spent an hour trying to make it work (funny how these things only function when power is supplied...) then proceeded to scribble positively awful Super Mario Bros. fanfiction on it.
From there, it progressed until I finally ended up writing a short fantasy novella (sad that I still recall the line that planted the seed? "The vampiric bard backflipped over Anthor, slashing at his throat before landing and laughing." Ugh. Awful, isn't it?) which eventually evolved into my first world building exercise.
As far as the why... I've always told myself stories - and still do - and decided that writing them down was of value. Growing up, nobody wanted to hear my stories, and I got bored telling them to myself, so writing them down seemed like a good way to get them out of my system. That, plus there are days where it feels like my characters are sitting at my shoulder, egging me on, telling me what to say. Might be a sign of psychosis rather than talent, though... oh well!
Please tell us a bit about the character who comes to Ebulon's aid:Andrew Weiss (known in some circles as Ulato) comes from a slightly more realistic modern world than many of his contemporary "heroes." Circa 2010 United States, to be precise. He's much, much older than his appearance of twenty-something years would suggest, however; a malignant dream-spirit of pain, vengeance and rejection, Andrew's gotten around quite a bit. His current incarnation, derived from a lonely little boy's wish, had been hunting and killing since the early 80s... until one of his victims turned the tables.
Rendered comatose, Andrew's "dreamself" was lost and floating in the ether when he heard the call... and decided a little violence and adoration was just what the doctor ordered. Plus, his kind have history with beings very similar to the orcs; once upon a time Andrew and his kind waged war with the fomori, and part of Andrew still misses those fights.
What intrigued you about this collaboration?Curiosity, the chance to meet and work with other authors, the chance to try something a little different - I haven't done much fantasy since that vampiric bard and his crew - all had a place.
What was the most fun part about writing for this collaboration?Seeing everyone else's takes on things and different types of characters (pacifists, reactionaries, bloodthirsty psychos and dragons, oh my!) and watching other people get excited about a project.
What was the least fun part?My health and computer issues interfering with being more active with the other authors. :(
Where can interested readers learn more about you and your books?Alas, I'm not one of the cool kids with my own website or anything, but I am on Facebook (facebook.com/kaineandrewsuathor), Twitter (@kaineandrews) and Goodreads (goodreads.com/kaineandrews), and try to keep up with messages and e-mail from all those sources.