Author Bill Blais stops by to
chat with me about his novel, No Good Deed, which is
the first book in his Kelly and
Umber Series. He discusses why he chose to write from a
female prespective, how he approached writing dark themes, what he thinks is
the hardest part about writing a novel and why he would do a book tour with
Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz.
Author Bill Blais: I just want to preface my responses with the
fact that I'm working on a deficit of sleep recently, thanks to the new baby,
so the coherence of the following is likely minimal in places, for which I
apologize because Annabell came up with some fantastic and really challenging
questions.
Annabell: Where did the idea
for No Good Deed stem from?
Why demons and why the supernatural/fantasy genres?
Bill Blais:The core of
NGD actually came to me in the car as I was driving to Readercon a few years
ago. I'd been reading about a lot of the growing Urban Fantasy genre,
particularly the 'strong' female characters, but I wasn't seeing it. It felt
like 'strong' was being used in the purely physical/aggression sense (in and of
itself, not terrible, but where was the true strength of character, the
difficult choices, the genuine sacrifice?). So, I decided to see if I could
write my own hero.
I've been a fantasy kid from day one
(to my parents' occasional concern), but urban fantasy was relatively new to
me. Aside from Anne Rice's seminal series, vampires and werewolves have never
really interested me, but demons, particularly as I came to understand them in
these books, gave me something else entirely, and opened doors I had not
expected.
Fun fact: The original idea for No Good Deed centered not around Kelly or even
Umber, but around Grishane, a character who doesn't actually make an appearance
until Hell Hath No Fury. As the story blossomed from kernel to book, though,
Kelly appeared and took center stage almost without me realizing it.
Annabell: Why did you decide
to narrate your book through a female voice?
Bill Blais:Two reasons.
First, I thought a woman like Kelly was overdue in the genre. She's not perfect
but she's trying to do the right thing. She's not svelte, but she has her own
beauty. She's not brilliant, but she doesn't give up. She's the kind of
character I hope readers can appreciate and root for.
Second, I wanted to see if I could
pull off a 'believable' female voice. I think I still have some work to do, but
I hope it’s close. Kelly started as an amalgamation of various people I had
met, but she quickly became her own distinct person. When I'm really listening
to her, I write her best; when I try to get her to say what I want her to say,
it's never right and everyone can tell (except, sometimes, me, for which I am
deeply indebted to my beta readers).
Annabel: Kelly is the
quote-end quote ordinary person thrown into an extraordinary world. What I like
is that the world of demon hunting is not glamorized or romanticized. It’s as
dark and dangerous as normal life can sometimes feel. What do you think it is
about “ordinary heroes” that draws readers in? How did you approach creating
the dark themes in the book?
Bill Blais:I think
ordinary heroes are the best kind. I'm an absolute sucker for underdogs, but
underdogs are underdogs not because they are destined for greatness, but
because they are people like us, people with weaknesses and frailties, and
despite the odds that push them down, they manage to get back up.
As for the dark themes, I tried very
hard to approach them with the same reality that I did Kelly's 'normal' life.
There are certainly (hopefully!) moments of kick-butt fun, but everything has
consequences, and it is these consequences that are the most challenging and
exciting to me, as a writer.
The world Kelly discovers is brutal
and dark and, at times, incomprehensible, but I didn't want it to be arbitrary
or gratuitous. Ultimately, though, what's the point of having demons if they
aren't scary?
Annabell: What type of
research did you have to undertake in order to create the world Denis Larocque
introduces both Kelly and the readers to?
Bill Blais:As an
English major, I started with my copy of Dante's Inferno, but I quickly
discovered this was too easy. If an underworld of demons really did exist, I
can't imagine it adhering to a single culture's interpretation. As a result, I
found myself trolling the Internet for demons across all cultures, from Western
to Eastern, Russian to African, Witch-Hunts to Zoroastrianism, literary to
role-playing games. This was a lot of fun and quite an eye opener.
When Denis and team stepped into the
story, I discovered that their day-jobs were an excellent intermediary between
the worlds. My previous interest in the world of antiques was largely limited
to occasional viewings of The Antiques Road Show, but Denis challenged me to do
things right and try to make the shop and their work as realistic as I could.
Did I succeed?
Annabell: Shawn has Multiple
Sclerosis, why did you choose to present such an important topic within the
storyline of the book?
Bill Blais: Actually, this was part mental exercise, part
malicious author decision, and part personal note.
First, it seemed to me that people
are rarely sick in books. Either they're deathly ill or they have the sniffles,
but few are long-term survivors, people making do day by day with an ongoing
sickness. What this would do to the story intrigued me, and I wanted to know
whether I could pull it off honestly.
Second, I thought I should make
Kelly's life more difficult. Mean, huh? Probably, but again, it seems to me
that the people with the greatest burdens often rise to the greatest
challenges. It's unfair, no question, but that's the point. Life often is
unfair, but heroes strive to rise above, not condemn and bemoan.
Last, some folks in my life have
been stricken with terrible and insidious diseases and I wanted to show a
character who dealt with such an illness in a realistic, believable way, and
how that impacts the rest of the people in that person's life. Mostly, though,
I wanted to show that sick people are heroes too, fighting silent battles every
single day, whatever the end result.
Annabell: Denis’ team have
different colors to indicate who they are when they are out chasing demons and
all of them undergo extensive training. If you could create your own demon
hunting team, what would the team be called and what kind of job would be your
cover? What kind of training would you demand your team to have?
Hm. I'm afraid I'll have to plead
the fifth. I have some ideas, but they have a bearing on future Kelly &
Umber books.
Also, I'm really not sure I would
trust anyone who trusted me to be their leader. I wish I was that person, but
I'm not.
Annabell: No Good Deed is the first
in the Kelly and
Umber Series. How many more books will there be?
And what are some fun tidbits you’re willing to give away about what happens in
the next installment, Hell Hath No
Fury?
Bill Blais:I currently
have the final outline for book 3, tentatively titled The Road To Hell, and some loose
ideas for book 4, but I don't have a specific end in sight. I do worry
sometimes about 'jumping the shark', but I believe Kelly and Umber and the
others still have plenty to share. As long as they keep talking to me, I'll
keep writing it down.
As for HHNF tidbits, I can honestly
say that I did not expect to write what I wrote. It's actually darker than NGD,
but I couldn't see any other way to do it. To be cliché about it, I would say
that this time, it's personal. Some folks in the foreground of NGD fade to the
back, but if you're looking for more Umber . . . well, I guess that's the next
question.
Annabell: Outside of Kelly,
Umber is my favorite character! He’s an Incubus with a powerful touch
(literally). Will there be more of his backstory in the Hell Hath No Fury? Does he
have a bigger role in the next book? If you were an Incubus, what would you
want your power to be?
Umber definitely has a certain . . .
appeal, doesn't he? He does indeed have a much bigger role in the next book. As
for being an Incubus, I can think of few more terrible fates. It's also part of
the appeal of writing him. But that's probably a discussion for after you've
read HHNF (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).
Annabell: You’ve recently
become a dad, how does having a family affect the way you approach creating plots
and characters for your story?
Bill Blais:You know, I
actually thought it would, but so far it hasn't. Perhaps that's because it's
only been a month (!), but even when I have thought about new stories and
characters, I don't feel much differently about them. I've learned I have to
write the stories that speak to me, not the stories I think I should write, and
the stories that speak to me are ones that, ultimately, empower (I hope).
Annabell: In your opinion,
what is the hardest part about writing a book? What is the easiest part?
Bill Blais:Hardest:
Starting. I don't get writer's block, per se. I get an idea for a book that
fires me up, and I race through outlines and tangents and possibilities,
scratching them onto whatever writing surface is near. When the first blush has
passed and my plan is largely laid, however, I balk at the months of pre-dawn
mornings and past-my-bedtime nights ahead, and the emotional rollercoaster of
good writing days and bad. Once I finally put pencil to paper on the first
draft, though, I'm off to the races.
Easiest: Revising. I believe Will
Shetterly had it right: "The great thing about revision is that it's your
opportunity to fake being brilliant." I don't claim to be or sound
brilliant, but I absolutely adore the craft of writing, from whole plots all
the way down to individual words. That said, I can easily succumb to the devil
in the details. My first book, Witness, had 13 revisions over 3 years (yes, my
wife is a saint).
Annabell: As an avid reader,
what is the type of content you look for in a novel?
Bill Blais:I know it's
sad, but the things I most value in a novel are coherence and believability. I
like to read across all genres, but there are few things that bother me more
than plot flaws and poor editing. I'm also an English instructor, after all.
Beyond this, though, I love being
taken someplace new, either in our world or another, with characters I can
believe in.
Annabell: Fun Random
Questions:
What was it like living in
London? What is one of the best memories you have?
Bill Blais:London is an
amazing city. That's said a lot, and there are a lot of not-so-nice things
about it (the recent riots are an example of racial tensions), but we had a
wonderful experience, from wandering the great streets to the fabulous food to
the history everywhere around us.
I think the best part, though, was
living a couple streets over from Portobello Market (featured in the Hugh
Grant/Julia Roberts film Notting Hill), an incredibly long open-air public
market with everything from kumquats to sweatshirts to pork chops to antiques,
with vendors calling prices and people bustling everywhere. It was like a slice
of another time.
Shawn and Kelly have such a
deep love for each other. What is something romantic you have done for your
wife?
Bill Blais:I'm the
luckiest man in love that I know though I may not always show her as much as
she deserves, I keep trying: A couple years ago, I secretly wrote her a new
poem each day for a year and then surprised her with the collection as a book
for Christmas.
The best part? Having more poems
than days and never once running out of things to say.
What was one of your favorite
scenes to write in No Good Deed?
Bill BlaisOoh, tough
question. I think one of the most unexpected favorites, though, was the scene
with Linwood. I don't think I knew it was coming at all, actually (I may not
have known until Walter told Kelly about it), but it turned out to be both a
very grounding -- and rather spooky -- situation for Kelly and for the story,
that surprised and fascinated me.
Superman or Batman?
Bill Blais:I'd have to
say Batman, though neither one was really a favorite of mine. Superman never
had to work for his powers and Batman had all the money in the world. Yes, they
both had trauma to overcome, but they were also starting from such heights that
I never felt deeply invested.
Favorite snack you just can’t
get enough of:
Bill Blais:Jax cheese
curls. Deadly things, those. Delicious, but deadly.
Great, now I'm hungry.
If you could tag team with
one of your favorite authors to go on a book tour with, which author would you
choose and how would you design the tour bus to look like?
Bill Blais:A little
weird, but I would pick Polish author, Henryk Sienkiewicz (Quo Vadis and
With Fire and Sword, among others). He's long dead, but With Fire and Sword is a historical fiction epic in every
sense of the word. I was swept away by the writing, covering everything from
sweeping battle scenes to courtly intrigues to nuanced romances. I think it
would be amazing to spend time with him and 'talk shop' about writing.
I'd trade the tour bus for an old
fashioned train, as that was what he travelled the US in during a visit across
the country. And it would be more comfortable than the horses and carts often
found in his novels.
Annabell: BIG thank you to
Author Bill Blais for the FUN and inspiring interview! Sleep deprivation didn't
hurt any *wink*
About the Author: Bill Blais is a writer, web developer and perennial part-time college instructor. His novels includeWitness (winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Fantasy) and the first two books in the Kelly & Umber series(No Good Deed and Hell Hath No Fury).
Bill graduated from Skidmore College before earning an MA in Medieval Studies from University College London. He lives in Maine with his wife and daughter.
Where to Find the Author
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