So we go back in time, so when we see him, his family is still alive. We see how he changes from being the Prince, to living on a rock, and the desert and how he survived that, to becoming the rebel he becomes, and coming into his own, and how he becomes Emperor. He has to overthrow the government. Oh, God, I think I gave away spoilers! Then again, if you've read the Legacy books, then you'd know. Yeah.
SDLS: Bastien started out as this very self-centered, playboy kind of character. So, how has he grown by the time we see him in "Born of Vengeance"? Where is he in his maturation and development?
SK: In the beginning, he is, his whole thing was, "My goal is to be the playboy that gives my family something to talk about at cocktail parties", and he relished that role. So, he's actually very charming. In a way, he's kind of like Tony Stark, but he's a little different from Tony. But yeah, as a point of reference, he was like, "I'm rich. I like to be rich. I like my womanizing.", but you find out he's not quite what you think he is.
It's actually a pretty lonely lifestyle that he leads. And why he joined the Army when he did, it was, you know, a teenage rebellion kind of thing, so you learn a lot about him. He grows, from that. We see 4 major changes in his life. We meet him when he's 20 years old, or early 20's, and by the time the book ends, he's in his 30's. So you see a lot of maturation.
SDLS: "Born of Vengeance" has another surprise. In the back of the book, there's a bonus - a short story about Thia. Are there any plans for a full book for Thia. What role does this character have in future stories?
SK: If she doesn't die. (laughs) Well, I mean, do I have plans for her? Yes. Will she cooperate? Who knows? Yeah, I know what happens to her. I know how she leaves - although, what happened with The League books, they were the first books that I ever published, back in the early '90s. They all went to different publishers that would not coordinate their efforts, and so, for about 17 years, I lost control of the series and I had to wait until I got the rights back. Now I am able to go on.
That is why I initially broke it up. I had lost complete control over the first set of characters in Nemesis Rising, so I started Nemesis Legacy because I didn't want to let go the world. When you spend so much time building something that complex, it's, you know, that was a lot of effort on my part. So, yeah, that's what we had - the 2 books in that world, and 3 books in the original one. I don't want to re-start Legacy now that we have got the Nemesis Rising back. I want to do them actually the way they were supposed to be done originally. If everything had worked out the way they were supposed to back in the early '90s, we'd now be on those books.
SDLS: Speaking of way back when, I read that you started writing The League series when you were 8 years old.
SK: Yeah, all of my childhood friends were Saxons. Tells you a lot about my childhood, doesn't it? (laughs)
SDLS: When 8 year old you started writing The League, what were you thinking? Was it always going to be an on-going series, or had you written it as a single, stand-alone story? What do you think your 8 year old self would say about where the books are today?
SK: 8 year old me, they were my childhood playmates. I mean, to me, I didn't think in terms of "Yes, I know about story structure", and thought "I'm gonna build a series." To me, it was the world I escaped to. It's how I played. I would turn the chairs - you remember in the - well, you're probably not that old - but in the '70s they had the chairs with the tall backs? Well, I would lay them down, and that would become my spaceship, and the legs on the back of it were the thrusters. So, I would sit there and I would belts and stuff up, and my mother was like, "On God, my daughter's so weird." And you know, while other kids were playing cowboys & Indians, and superheroes, I was, you know, "I'm an assassin from space!", and my brothers are like, "She's so weird.".
SDLS: So writing was more of an escape, as opposed to a literary endeavor, at that time?
SK: Well, it was both. I would carry around, my brother had those - at that time, he was in high school, and he had those black and white composition books - and so I was constantly stealing them when he wasn't looking. He was like, "You're going to get me in so much trouble!", and I was like, "Well, buy extra, cuz Mom won't give me money for them.", so yeah, I was writing down the adventures I was taking with them. I was writing the stories as I was doing them. I would chart the different planets and stuff. So I was always doing both.
SDLS: So, what would 8 year old you say if she showed up today and saw what The League has become, has grown into?
SK: She'd probably be like, "You're not doing it right!" (laughs)
SDLS: You've said the characters are always talking to you, and that almost complete storylines will come to you all at one time. I have also read that you do some advance planning, and have some things mapped out in advance. For example, I see that books 13 & 14 in The League: Nemesis Rising series are already posted on your website. So, would you consider yourself a "Planner", or a "Pantser", when it comes to your writing style?
SK: Oh, I'm a "Pantser"! I mean, things change all the time. Well, a couple of things have happened in "Born of Vengeance", and I was like, "I didn't know that! I've known you since I was an infant, and you didn't tell me this until now? Really?" And even like, well, Bastien is one of the later characters. He didn't come about until I was in college. But, when I was writing "Born of Legend", Nykyrian and Jullien actually are some of the original characters that have been with me since I was - at birth. I don't even remember when they came into being. I mean, literally, they have been with me my entire life. So, in writing that one, it was like, "WOW! I knew a lot about you, but there's something I didn't know. That's a strange quirk you have.", and so, yeah, it's always an on-going learning.
SDLS: It sounds fun, though. You have these characters that you've grown up with, that you've developed in a certain way, but it sounds like they're also developing you. They're surprising you. They're teaching you, you know?
SK: Well yeah. It's like having a lifelong friend, and you're like, "I don't know that story! What?", or your brother, "Yeah, when I was in high school...", and I'm like, "Wait, I was in high school with you, and I, where was I??", "Well, you were in the car.", "You left me in the car for this??? And you were having fun?? How dare you!", "Well, you were asleep.", "What?? The 3 hours a night I slept, and you did something without me?"
SDLS: I know that music is important in your life. You love classical music, play the flute, and even worked at a radio station. On your website, you have a playlist that accompanies individual novels. So, what comes first for you when writing, the story or the music? I mean, if you've got the story already planned in your mind, are you already thinking about what music you want to put on in order to create the mood, or do you just play any music at all, which then becomes associated with the book by default?
SK: My sister has Cerebral Palsy, so I grew up in a house with a sister who shrieks. She's deaf, so she can't tell how loud she is, and she can't communicate, so she literally makes noise. A lot of noise. And the boys are always loud. My mom was deaf, and my dad was deaf, so they couldn't tell how loud they were being. If you wanted to get their attention, you had to be like, "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH", and so, as my older brother always said, we had 3 volumes in our family: loud, louder, and Oh My God, My Ears Are Bleeding!
And, yeah, so I would use the music like headphones. You know, when I went to college, it was quiet. I'm probably the only person who went to a dorm room and was like, "aaaaahhhhhh, this is unnerving." My roommate was like, "Are you on crack cocaine?" I'm like, "No. It's just so quiet."
But, um, yeah, my sons are also very loud people. And I come from a musician family, so, yeah, music has just always been around, and it drowns out other sounds. So, it comes first, but as I'm progressing, I'll find a new song an go, "I like this", and I'll add it to the playlist.
SDLS: But you're actually listening to music as you're writing?
SK: Oh, I have to! Oh my God, they're killing themselves upstairs! My oldest son, well, all 3 of my sons, have autism. It manifests very differently in all of them. My oldest son, one of the things he does is run in circles directly above my office. He weighs about a buck twenty, but he sounds like a herd of elephants. And my girlfriend didn't believe me. Alethea (Kontis) came and was staying at my house, and she was like, "Oh my God!" and I said, "I told you!" My bookshelves have these lights that you tap and they come on, and so he'll be at the bookcase and I'll have this lightshow going on.
SDLS: So music is really more like self-defense.
SK: Yes, exactly.
SDLS: But, it does seem that a lot of the music on your playlists actually does go well with the books.
SK: Yeah, well, its' the DJay thing. I used to have to do the dance parties. What's the theme of the party? Let's get the playlist going.
SDLS: You've had some work that has been adapted into comic books (Lords of Avalon) and manga (Dark Hunter). Have you given any thought to writing an original series exclusively for either of those mediums?
SK: Well, I have. Actually, Dark Hunter was originally (in comic book form) at one time, and everybody turned it down. I was a sequential artist. I got accepted into SCAD, but I couldn't afford it. I was so disappointed. But, yeah, no, Dark Hunter was, actually. Way back when, I hit everybody: DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, you know, all of them, and they all turned me down. But Hellchaser, the first one I did, "Thorn", I did first as a comic book way back. That would have been, I don't know, '90? '93? We just re-did it last year for San Diego Comic Con. You can download it from my site.
SDLS: Would you do it again, and would you want to do both the writing and the artwork for it?
SK: Yeah. I do a lot of sketching and stuff. I work with the Dabel Brothers, and I have some of their original art here. We do a lot of stuff on the side. All of the emblems for the series, and such, are mine. You know, when I first got married, all of the art that was in the house was mine. A lot of the book covers are mine.
SDLS: (Sherrilyn shows me some of the art) WOW! That's really nice. I didn't know that (you were an artist, too). So, in regard to San Diego Comic Con, I know you'll be here in July to attend again. How much fun is that?
SK: The biggest ass-kicking you're ever gonna love. (we laugh)
SDLS: That's right. I go every year, and every year I say this is the last time I'm going, and yet I keep going back. Any other stops in Southern California or San Diego between now and July?
SK: I don't know without looking at my schedule. I do come out to L.A.. We are doing the movie, so I come out and meet with my producer whenever she's in town.
SDLS: Are there any updates on the movie or tv projects?
SK: I just talked to her and she's actually out here next week, and I'm not, because I'm out here now. I'm like, "Darn it! I missed you by two days." They're working it out.
SDLS: Will this be for Dark Hunter, or ...
SK: For Dark Hunter and CON. CON will be a movie, and Dark Hunter will be both a TV series and a movie.
SDLS: So, they're still in the early development stages?
SK: Yeah. There are more delays in Hollywood. You're like, "Eh, okay.", and now, the actors that we had are now too old for the parts and we have to go back.
SDLS: My last question is: what do you like to do when you are in San Diego? Do you have any free time when you are here?
SK: Oh, the restaurants! I love everything about San Diego. I have not gone to Sea World, which I want to do, but I love just walking around. I'd love to do a haunted tour, which I have not been able to do yet either.
SDLS: Yeah, Old Town Trolley does one.
SK: Yes. We got rained out the night we could do it. Yeah, I brought the rain. Thank you, Grandad! My grandfather was a rainmaker, so any time I go somewhere, I bring the rain. They're gonna ban me from touring.
(From Mysterious Galaxy staff mbr): So, you're the problem?
SK: Yes, I AM the problem.
**Note: It's been raining in San Diego for days. :)
Again, San Diego Literary Scene thanks Sherrilyn Kenyon so very much for sitting with us to do this interview. We also thank Mysterious Galaxy Books for setting up space for us to conduct the interview. "Born of Vengeance" is available for pre-order now, and will be in stores on February 7th.
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