Interview with Author Paul Schumacher

I was able to interview another TLT Publishing author (and fellow fantasy writer!) Paul Schumacher. Paul is a self-proclaimed Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (see his "Lupin" photo to the right) and Star Wars nerd (Star Wars game post) AND he's getting married next month! Lots of exciting stuff coming his way.

His book LITTLE RED WOLF is being released October 22 and you can pre-order it here and get 30% off with code: fffxxx2tlt .


Interview with Paul!

Q - So, your book is Little Red Wolf.  Give me a little synopsis of it.

A - What would old fairy tales have been like had the women been more empowered? What would have happened had Red Riding Hood been the hunter and the Big Bad Wolf been in love with her? What would have happened had Goldilocks been made into an indentured servant to pay for the damage she had done to the Three Bear's house? What if Prince Charming was an incompetent jerk and Rapunzel knew exactly what she was doing when she decided to seduce him and escape the tower?  These questions and more make up the basis for this coming of age adventure story, told by a more modern bard.

 

Q - Who is your favorite character in the story? Why?

A - This is a really difficult question.  It almost feels like that time a group of women walked up to me and asked, “Which one of us is the prettiest?”  While this situation is less dangerous, I don’t know if I can just put my finger on one. 

 

Puck is a really fun character to write, because he gets away with things I never would.  He’s a dirty pervert who is also a bard … so he speaks in rhymes.  His sense of humor is great fun but he takes a lot of effort to get right whenever he’s in a scene.  This is mostly because he’s a lot funnier than I am … so a lot of work goes into his words.

 

Gothel (The witch from Rapunzel) is also an amazing character to write about because she’s so very complicated.  As a mother who wants to protect her daughter, she has a great deal of powerful emotions guiding her actions and the bad things that she does have the power of a mother’s love behind them.  Thus, she is not just a cut and paste villain … I tried really hard to avoid that.

 

Q - What are your future plans for the book series?

 

A - I already have three separate book series within this world which I plan to write within this world.  Each book series will focus on a specific group of characters and they will take place over about 80 years of time.  My original outline called for a trilogy of trilogies (9 books) but then book two just turned into two books … and maybe three books by the time I am finished.  Because I want to keep my page count under control, I will be writing all of the second part of my story before releasing the next book.  That way I am less likely to lock myself into a piece of plot which I discover is unfavorable later.

 

It occurs to me that I will likely be writing stories for this book series for the next ten to twenty years.

Q - How many people read the story in its “beta” form?

A - Six, and my mother is always the first to respond.

Q - Tell me about the cover.

A - Matthew Maniscalco is my artist, and when Randi introduced us, I told him what was in my imagination: Selena would be in the Red Riding Hood outfit.  She’s a hunter and she should be aware of something dangerous in the forest.  Her bow is at the ready, concern on her face, and the Big Bad Wolf at her side … protecting her.  Not only did Matt get it right on his first sketch, but he knocked my expectations right out of the park.  I was very specific about her not being the typical “pretty girl” and she really does look like she’s been in the woods for a week.  She’s even got dirt under her nails!  The cover has gotten a lot of praise, from friends, and I am delighted with its construction.  I look forward to seeing Matt’s future covers.

 

THIS OR THAT

(Lightning round! First thing that comes to mind!)

 

Q - Blue or Green?

A - Blue

Q - Computer or Television?

A - Computer

Q - Coke or Pepsi?

A - Coke

Q - Aragorn or Legolas?

A - Aragorn

Q - Spring or Fall?

A - Spring (Fall is allergy season)

Q - E-mail or Text?

A - E-mail

Q - Cat or Dog?

A - Cat (My cat, Gobi, is my Mascot)

Q - Camping trip or Hotel stay?

A - HOTEL (I was in the Army.  I never want to camp again.)

Q - History or Math?

A - History

Q - Teleport or Be invisible?

A - As a kid = Invisible

A - As an adult = Teleport

Q - Have eleven toes or Have eleven fingers?

A - Eleven Fingers (I have a hard enough time finding shoes that fit)

Q - Be a professional tennis player or Be a professional rodeo clown?

A - Tennis Player (I don't feel like being Gored)

Q - Have a cold or Have the stomach flu?

A - Cold

Q - Skiing or Surfing?

A - Skiing

Q - Eat at home or Eat at a restaurant?

A - Tie (depends on the night)

Q - Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese?

A - Nacho Cheese (just the cheese no peppers)

Q - Watch Pride and Prejudice (the 6 hour version) or Watch the entire trilogy of The Lord of the Rings?

A - I own all three Lord of the Rings extended collectors additions!

Q - Coffee or Tea?

A - Coffee (Check my BLOG)

Q - Plane or Car?

A - Plane

Q - Flowers or Chocolates?

A - Chocolates for me, Flowers for her (preferably mums)

Q - Paint or Markers?

A - Markers (less messy)

Q - Barefoot or Sneakers?

A - Barefoot inside, Sneakers outside

Q - Fairy tales or Ghost stories?

A - Fairy Tales!

Q - Top of the Eiffel Tower or Top of the Empire State Building?

A - Neither (fear of heights)

Q - Color inside of the lines or Color outside of the lines?

A - Color inside of the lines

Q - Five small presents or One large present?

A - It all depends on the presents (I'll be happy either way)

 

-Other questions of randomness-

Q - Last movie you saw in the theater?

A - Thor

Q - Last book you read?

A - THE SEVENTH BLESSING -by Melissa Buell  (YAY! - From Melissa)

Q - Last book you read that you cried while reading it?

A - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Q - If you could dress up as anything, what would it be?

A - Remus Lupin!

Q - The area of the bookstore you spend the most time in?

A - The Adolescent Lit section

Q - What did you want to be when you grew up?

A - I wanted to be a video game designer

Q - What is the next place you want to travel to?

A - All my life i have wanted to go to Japan, so that is where my bride-to-be and I are going for our honeymoon!

Thanks, Paul! If you want to learn more about Paul, you can check out his blog: Paul's Blog , follow him on Twitter: @pwschum . 

Happy reading!