Interview with Sylvain Reynard - Part III

Dear Everyone,



Thank you for your continued support of me and my writing. I'm pleased to say that Heather Huffman and I are in talks about co-authoring a romantic comedy whose royalties would be donated to charity.  More details will be forthcoming. If you haven't read Heather's novel, "Throwaway," please do. Not only is it a compelling and redemptive read, Heather donates a portion of her royalties to combat human trafficking. I'm honoured to be able to work with her on a project that will continue to support those efforts.





What follows is the third instalment of my interview with Serendipitous, a long time reader. Her words are in bold:





















There are many references
to art, literature and music throughout “Gabriel’s Inferno.” Did these works
inspire the scenes you wrote? Or did the writing come first, to be complemented
by art?




In some cases, the artistic elements were part of my
original idea. The works of Botticelli and Holiday’s painting of Dante and
Beatrice were part of my outline. 
As the story progressed, pieces of music and literature were added in
order to illustrate a point or to signal something to the reader.




You created your characters
with a very sure eye. Their mistakes, their failures, and their victories are
perfectly in line with what we come to know about them.  How much
character development was done before you began writing? Was it challenging to
adjust when they took an abrupt turn from what you’d planned?   




When I began the story, I
outlined the arc of the narrative from beginning to end. But the way in which
the characters interacted and the things they said emerged through successive
drafts. The character of Professor Singer, for example, wasn’t in my original
outline. But when I envisioned Professor Emerson’s public lecture, I saw her
sitting in the audience and I knew they would have a history.







I can’t imagine the story without her.  She’s vile, but she plays
a certain role in the progression of Julia and Gabriel’s relationship. 
Gabriel is rather vague when Julia questions him on what happened with
Professor Singer. Did you prefer leaving it to the reader’s imagination?




Yes. The reader can decide
for his or herself what happened between Gabriel and Singer.  For Gabriel, those encounters were
self-destructive and desperate and that wasn’t a place I wanted to go within
the context of the narrative.




Paul treats Julia with
kindness from the start, and he makes it clear he’d like to be more than a
friend. But Julia’s heart knows only one direction, and it leads to Gabriel:
 someone who acts remote, cold, and even cruel to her on occasion.  Do
nice guys finish last, even if they’re Virgil?




I don’t think nice guys ever finish last, including
Virgil.  If someone is good, he is
rewarded by being good. No amount of failed relationships or unrequited love
can ever diminish that.  Certainly, the historical Virgil didn't finish last. He spends eternity in the Vestibule with Homer and Ovid.
(Parenthetically it should be noted that readers shouldn’t give up on Paul so
quickly. There is much more in store for him in the sequel)







It’s good to hear that, because Paul deserves happiness and someone who
truly appreciates everything he has to offer.  Thanks for
the little glimpse into the next book! 




I'll be posting more from our interview soon.





All the best and thanks for reading,





SR



www.sylvainreynard.com