S.W. Hammond's Blog, page 14

Interview: Behind the Scenes of "The Final Book"

Jadis Shaw of Juniper Groove Books fires off a few questions about The Final Book: Gods–from favorite characters to who would play the leads in a movie–and then things get random.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

It will force you to contemplate your own life and either reinforce, or contradict, everything you hold to be sacred—we need more of those uncomfortable thoughts in our society.

Who was your favorite character to write and why?

Pom Hork. I really enjoyed writing this character as she’s incredibly powerful, confident, and sultry while at the same time has these deep undertones of uncontrollable rage and jealousy. She has matured in recent years—earnestly committed to improving herself and transcending beyond her temper, though it’s a constant inner battle. You can feel her teeth grinding while “doing the right thing”—she’s trying so hard to lead by example. However, when William pushes her a little too far, hell hath no fury…

Have you experimented writing in other genres? If so, which one(s)?

My first book was a compilation of personal essays that were based around music, movies, and tv shows. Kind of like a memoir, but you didn’t really need to be interested in or care about my life to get something from it. The Final Book is straight up supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy—it’s much different than anything else I’ve written, but I really tried to ground it in history and philosophy. Doing so added a sense realism to the mythology—bring the Gods down to earth.

Right now I’m working on this super-sugary bubblegum-poppy LA-starlet-meets-starving-artist love story… with a devastating twist. I love it and I’m super excited for it. My writing is all over the place—and I like that.

Do any of your characters have qualities/characteristics that are similar to yourself?

Everyone thinks that I’m Josh—I didn’t realize I had so many Dionysian tendencies, haha. Yes, I put a lot of myself into Josh just because we have a similar profile—I know what it feels like to be disenchanted with society, single, and looking for a bit more meaning. However, Josh is playing up big stereotypes that represent who his character is really based off of—and that should not be confused with me, haha.

Interview: Behind the Scenes of 'The Final Book'

Jaidis Shaw of Juniper Groove Books fires off a few questions about The Final Book: Gods–from favorite characters to who would play the leads in a movie–and then things get random.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

It will force you to contemplate your own life and either reinforce, or contradict, everything you hold to be sacred—we need more of those uncomfortable thoughts in our society.

Who was your favorite character to write and why?

Jones' Formula For Best Sellers

Here’s a much different way of looking at art and storytelling—perhaps a method that your editor or writing group may never have considered, or succinctly explained.

I’m going to share with you a formula created by Dr. Todd Jones that explains what makes good art and literature. Jones is a celebrated philosophy professor with a significant background in anthropology.

Jones’s BeDE Theory of Art Criticism:

Art or literature’s only function—the only thing it is good at doing—is creating beliefs, desires, and emotions (or BeDE for short). Art fails at doing anything and everything else.

The BeDE theory is designed to tell you which works of art are comparatively better than other works of art in its class, based on how well it performs its function of creating beliefs, desires, and emotions within its audience.

What makes something “art” is a social fact—such as the concept of money or Tuesday. Society agrees that “x” is art, and therefore it becomes art.

Jones' Formula of Literary Criticism

Here’s a much different way of looking at art and storytelling—perhaps a method that your editor or writing group may never have considered, or succinctly explained.

I’m going to share with you a formula created by Dr. Todd Jones that explains what makes good art and literature. Jones is a celebrated philosophy professor with a significant background in anthropology.

Jones’s BeDE Theory of Art Criticism:

Art or literature’s only function—the only thing it is good at doing—is creating beliefs, desires, and emotions (or BeDE for short). Art fails at doing anything and everything else.

The BeDE theory is designed to tell you which works of art are comparatively better than other works of art in its class, based on how well it performs its function of creating beliefs, desires, and emotions within its audience.

What makes something “art” is a social fact—such as the concept of money or Tuesday. Society agrees that “x” is art, and therefore it becomes art.

Jones' Formula For Best Sellers

Here’s a much different way of looking at art and storytelling—perhaps a method that your editor or writing group may never have considered, or succinctly explained.

I’m going to share with you a formula created by Dr. Todd Jones that explains what makes good art and literature. Jones is a celebrated philosophy professor with a significant background in anthropology.

Jones’s BeDE Theory of Art Criticism:

Art or literature’s only function—the only thing it is good at doing—is creating beliefs, desires, and emotions (or BeDE for short). Art fails at doing anything and everything else.

The BeDE theory is designed to tell you which works of art are comparatively better than other works of art in its class, based on how well it performs its function of creating beliefs, desires, and emotions within its audience.

What makes something “art” is a social fact—such as the concept of money or Tuesday. Society agrees that “x” is art, and therefore it becomes art.

Upcoming Events – Fall 2017

Comic Cons & Book Fest!

Hey, hey! I had a great time at the Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con a couple of weeks ago and met so many fantastic people. I was lucky to get placed next to fellow author, Natalie Wright; she made the weekend so much fun. Also, Alex and Riney Whisenand made me the coolest sketch of Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange—I keep it on my desk and it makes me happy, haha.

With that, the shows will continue. I currently have four events booked for this fall, with the possibility of adding a couple more. If you’re in the area, please come out and say hi—I’d love the chance to hangout for a bit.

I just placed an order for some fancy schmancy new buttons that I’ll be giving away along with the bookmarks. Also, and I’m really excited about this, finally a batch of hardcover coffee table versions of The Mixtape Manifesto: A Pop Culture Confessional will be available! Pick that up along with a copy of The Final Book: Gods and i luv you long time.

September 23 & 24 – Reno Comic Con @ Sands Regency Hotel
October 21 – Vegas Valley Book Festival @ Historic Fifth Street School
November 4 – Vegas Valley Comic Con @ Clark County Library
November 18 & 19 – Bakersfield Comic Con @ Kern County Fair Grounds

Upcoming Events – Fall 2017

Comic Cons & Book Fest!

September 23 & 24 – Reno Comic Con @ Sands Regency Hotel
October 21 – Vegas Valley Book Festival @ Historic Fifth Street School
November 18 & 19 – Bakersfield Comic Con @ Kern County Fair Grounds

Hey, hey! I had a great time at the Amazing! Las Vegas Comic Con a couple of weeks ago and met so many fantastic people. I was lucky to get placed next to fellow author, Natalie Wright; she made the weekend so much fun. Also, Alex and Riney Whisenand made me the coolest sketch of Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange—I keep it on my desk and it makes me happy, haha.

Three Fourths Home: A Melancholic Chat With Mom

Hold on… Can’t type—my trigger finger has a cramp from holding down R2 two hours straight…

I’m don’t know what Three Fourths Home was supposed to be, but it definitely shouldn’t have been a video game. There was nothing about this story that warranted it being played or visualized in this medium. The graphical element of a car driving through cornfields added nothing to the story, the controls and playability added no feeling or connection with the characters—if anything these components distracted from the plot and created a barrier between the “player” and what the story was trying to convey. To me, this story could have easily been a novel or perhaps a film—as a video game it was a frustrating and underwhelming experience.

So let’s break it down—all that’s on the screen is a silhouette of a car and stick-figure cornfields that you drive through during a thunderstorm. And when I say “drive”, I use the term loosely as you simply hold the gas (R2) and the car drives for you—no steering or anything fancy like braking. During this time, a phone conversation is had by an early 20 something female and her parents. The only thing of importance in the game is this conversation, so naturally to you begin to ignore the driving car, the corn, and thunderstorm and focus on reading the dialog. However, you must be driving (holding R2) in order for the conversation to continue—tape down the button, because it’s a long, uneventful ride.

I will give them this—the dialog does seem authentic. Whoever wrote the story is either from or spent a lot of time in Nebraska as they nailed the cadence of speech and expressions of the region. Beyond that, as a human interest story goes, it lacked the “interest” part. It’s a character piece with way too little connection with the characters. The protagonist, Kelly, is obnoxiously eye-roll-snotty mixed with the dissatisfied realization of a long-sigh-welcome-to-adulthood.

'Three Fourths Home' - A Melancholic Chat With Mom

Hold on… Can’t type—my trigger finger has a cramp from holding down R2 two hours straight…

I’m don’t know what Three Fourths Home was supposed to be, but it definitely shouldn’t have been a video game. There was nothing about this story that warranted it being played or visualized in this medium. The graphical element of a car driving through cornfields added nothing to the story, the controls and playability added no feeling or connection with the characters—if anything these components distracted from the plot and created a barrier between the “player” and what the story was trying to convey. To me, this story could have easily been a novel or perhaps a film—as a video game it was a frustrating and underwhelming experience.

Interview: Gods & The Writing Process

SW Hammond talks with Amber Stoke about the creative process behind The Final Book: Gods, favorite characters, and the future of the trilogy.

What was the inspiration for your story?

The idea for The Final Book came to me as I was digging fencepost holes in Colorado Springs. I had a lot of time to myself, digging hole after hole by hand in an empty field. Anyone who has been to Colorado Springs knows that you can't escape the shadow of Pikes Peak--the mountain is enormous, majestic, and inspiring. While peaceful and sunny in the middle of town, you can watch storms come in over the top of its peak, the wind blowing snow for miles out into the sky. It seemed to me that if moody ol' Zeus were ever to leave Mount Olympus, this would be his peak of choice. Frustrated, sweating, and barely scratching away at the dirt, my mind became lost in a fantastic tale of the Gods living right above the city.

What kept you going throughout the writing process?

This is a good question because it was a chore. The book took six years to write. My work-life became really demanding about a month after I started and I was always on the road—it made it really hard to find a consistent writing schedule or a conducive environment for creativity.

The biggest thing that kept me going was that I truly love these characters—it makes me so happy when I think about them. Serious. It’s weird, but I adore them. I’d also have these moments of vivid imagination where I’d see the story so clearly—I knew I had to try to do it justice and give it life. Lastly, the book was a big chip on my shoulder. It seems I start a lot of things in life, but never finish them, haha. I really didn’t want that to happen to this book—I wanted to finish something. It took a lot of sacrifice—I had to consciously choose to work on the book over meeting friends for dinner, spending time with family, enjoying favorite tv shows and movies, etc. Of course there’s a sense of balance and you can still have a life—but at some point the book has to come first in order to finish it.

Who is your most meaningful character and why?

Oooo, this is hard… Gods is a team effort. While you’ll quickly realize who the story is centralized around, the book doesn’t have a clear “primary” protagonist. Dr. Hork is probably the most meaningful character, as everything begins and ends with him (*think about the title, hint hint*), but Ana might be my favorite character. She doesn’t have a lot of real estate in the book, but she’s important to me—I just love her spirit and attitude.

I think a lot people would assume that I’d choose Josh as my favorite character—but in all honesty, I look at him as a vehicle that gives life to all the others. He’s needed to allow everyone else to shine.