My Conversation with Ren Cummins

Husband. Father. Musician. Writer. Ren Cummins is a man of many talents who has worn a lot of hats in his time. I was fortunate enough to claim a few moments of his time to have him answer some questions for my, and your, elucidation.

 

And now, without further ado, I give you Ren Cummins!

 

In 15 words or less, tell us about your Chronicles of Aesirium series.

Death wears a pretty dress. (Now with 25% more steampunk.)

Now there's an interesting image, to be sure. Where did the idea for the storyline come from?

Some most excellent friends of mine and I did a tabletop roleplaying game several years ago, and my wife wanted her character to be kind of like an anime version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So we tossed ideas around and came up with teenaged Romany, a little girl who fights the undead. After that game ended, I found I was really missing that character, so my wife told me to suck it up and write her story. So I fleshed it out, changed things around a bit to convert the concept into a lightly steampunk world, added monsters, giant robots, magic, and airships… and the world of Aerthos was born.

The storyline as it rolls out was one that flowed naturally from my fascination with history - not just the events as they happen, but, more curiously in the way in which they are remembered. And, more than just in terms of world or cultural history, our own individual and personal histories are as much dependent upon the actual events as they are our perception of them. I wanted to explore this, so I wrote out the history both as it was as well as how it was known, and even as it was known by multiple cultural segments within the populace. I definitely believe that the most important thing a person can do is learn from the past, but sometimes that can be an extremely difficult thing to do; I kept this idea in mind while the story unfolded itself.

But also, I've got a now-ten-year-old daughter, and I wanted to write a story that would inspire her imagination; one that gave her a world and characters she could enjoy reading, with a sense of empowerment involving young characters, and, specifically, a young girl as the protagonist. I wanted my daughter to believe that a little girl could do anything, even save the world.

As a woman who grew up with role models like Wonder Woman and Princess Leia, I can certainly attest to how important fictional characters can be in a young girl's life. How did you come up with the idea for the realm of Aethros? What went into your world-building process?

The original concept was more of a standard science fiction world - flying cars, the whole enchilada. But the more I thought about how I wanted the characters to look and act, that just didn't work. So at some point the idea of a Victorian-esque culture came to mind; I might have been playing a lot of Final Fantasy at the time, or watching Firefly for the hundredth time. I just liked the paradox and juxtaposition of a future past sort of world. Not a utopia, not a distopia, just an…Opia. *chuckle*  Seriously, though, once the Victorian element appeared, I couldn't imagine the world any other way. But even that - I didn't want it to be that cut and dried. In playing up the "misremembered history" aspect, I gave them a twist on their own origins, suggesting a beginnings founded in a much higher degree of technology. And from there, I penciled my way back about 4000 years and worked my way forward, developing out a time line with dates and events and civilizations, adding more and more details the further forward I came.

I even played with the idea of scripture and historical referential documentation, much of which found its way into the books in fun and - I hope - interesting ways.

When I was about halfway through the first draft of book one, a friend of mine read some of it and told me it reminded them of Steampunk. I responded, "Steampunk? What's that?" I'm horribly ashamed to admit this now, truly. But as it turns out, a lot of "steampunk" authors got their start in the genre almost by accident, so I'm okay with that, too.

I think that the work you put into building the world shows. The world definitely feels like it's been around for a while and has a certain amount of weight to it. It's almost inevitable that some aspect of the author winds up in the characters in their stories. Which character would you say is the most like you, and why?

Yikes. Honestly, I'm torn between the one I wish I was, the one I think I am, and the one I'm sure other people think I am. I wish I were Favo, but I'm probably like Cousins, and I figure most people think I'm like Mulligan. Favo, because I believe that much of a person's success is based upon good timing and a witty retort, and that man just seems to have both in spades. I envy that man his good fortune and the way he manages to make every situation look like it happened exactly as he'd planned for it to be. Cousins, on the other hand, is a young man in search of himself, who tries to talk his way out of (or into) every challenge. I admire the tenacity of a person who can take a set of circumstances and use them to reinvent himself, and, in the end, come out shining. Mulligan is just a furry little combination of wisdom, certitude and grumpiness. I'm usually fine once I've had my daily coffee, however.

If it makes you feel any better, Mulligan is my favorite character. Now that you're working through the final installment of the series, which character do you believe has the most dramatic evolution during the course of their story arc? (For example, I believe that in the Lord of the Rings movies, Pippin has the most dramatic evolution during the course of the story, going from being a loyal, if slightly dim, young man who looks at the mission as a game to a seasoned warrior who finds the courage to defy Denethor to save Faramir's life.)

The easy answer would be Rom - - she goes from 11 year old orphan to powerful Sheharid Is'iin, guardian and shepherd of souls. That's a big deal, and it's wonderful to watch her evolve. *SPOILER ALERT!* But for me, the truly mighty evolution is of the series' villain, Artifice. Fallen angel, heartbroken Reaper and resigned assassin… the path of her life is truly a challenging one to write. I am looking forward to seeing people's reactions to the revelations that occur in book 6. And I can't say any more than that yet.

Ooh, I do love a good villain! Speaking of which writer's block is generally the nemesis of a writer and some create rituals to help activate their creativity and stave the wicked thing off. Do you have any rituals around your writing? A particular place/time that you write? Do you listen to music, etc?

I've set up a table and comfortable chair in my "man cave" on the lower floor of my house, and with that I add an iPod with a predesigned "Writing" playlist, a venti white chocolate mocha, and a closed door.

You have a pretty diverse skill set; husband, father, musician, and now writer. How did you determine that you wanted to be a writer? What made you decide that would be your primary artistic focus?

I've always loved telling stories. (I know if you asked my parents, they'll totally back that up.) But originally, I wanted to be Spiderman, and, when it was clear that was never going to happen, I started looking at alternative choices which still supported the idea of heroic adventures and the wonder and excitement of the sort of physics I think Shaw had in mind when he talked about imagining things that have not been and asking, "Why not?" I got interested in playing and writing music when I got into high school and spent about ten years in studios and on stage…. but everything changed when I first held my daughter. The idea of going on tour for 10 months out of the year, long nights in studios, all the trappings of being a full time musician - they just all felt completely lifeless and empty. I just didn't want to do anything that would take me away from her. Fast-forward a few years, and then all the stories started flooding back. A lot of them have come from bedtime stories, even - but the central element is just the idea of sharing ideas and imaginings with other people. Writing just encompasses that, for me.

Yes, children do have a way of changing things, don't they? Once you've wrapped the Chronicles of Aesirium, what's next?

The Return to Aesirium! No, well, no, not yet. Later, though, yes, I've already got a few other books in my head about those characters. But the next books will be a series of contemporary paranormal books - - targeted to an older reader than the current series, and darker. Looking forward to writing some more contemporary dialogue and exploring a bit of modern mythology. Also, I've always wanted to write… oh, but that would be spoiling. Bwah hah hah. Mine is an evil laugh.

You're such a tease! So, for my final question, I pose this to you: If you could give one piece of advice to someone trying to break into writing, what would you tell them?

Only one? There are a few bits I'd suggest: first, write, write and write some more. Second, get to know other people in the industry - not so they'll help you, but so you can learn. Third, learn everything you can about the industry - don't expect your fairy godmother to appear one night and make the world a magical place for you, wherein all your dreams come true: you have to be prepared to work. Last, be ready for rejection. I've never heard of a single author who was never rejected at least once: worst case scenario, you have to accept that you may NEVER be discovered, and you may be writing for a small audience…but if you truly love writing, that's all you'd ever really need.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, Ren Cummins. Writer and friend, I frequently think of him when I read the opening verse of Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode:

We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; —
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.