Interview with H.G. Martin | |
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I was too shy to be a rock singer and too left-handed to be a great artist (I kept smearing the pictures with the side of my hand). Actually, I like the fact that I'm in complete control of everything when I write a story. This phenomenon doesn't occur in any other facet of my life. What authors have inspired you over the years? They are far too numerous to mention--but I'll give it a shot anyway. Roger Zelazny, George MacDonald Fraser, Stephen King, William Goldman, Dashiell Hammett, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, Ian Fleming, Alexandre Dumas, Homer (not Simpson!), and Rudyard Kipling. Actually, that's just some of the fiction authors. A comprehensive list would, I'm sure, take more time than either of us have. What other things have inspired you? Comic books, the ocean, snow, forests, high places, movies, sunsets, sunrises, every animated feature that Max Fleischer, Bruce Timm, and Brad Bird have created, my wife, my children, other members of my family, and finding out that someone has enjoyed something I've written. What are some of your favorite books? Flashman (the whole series really, but the first book is always special), Nine Princes in Amber, The Maltese Falcon, The Stand, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many more that I apologize for not being able to remember right now. What are you passionate about, besides your wife? Well, Patty's way up at the top, but after her, my kids, and my family. A few miles below are things like creating a compelling story, the future, science and the great good that can come from it, what is right (as contrasted with what is legal or what is accepted), finding happiness in life, and finding fulfillment in life. Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer? I always knew I wanted to be artistic in some way and I always knew I wanted to create something that was all mine, but I didn't consider that I could reach those goals through storytelling until I was in my early thirties. Do you try to teach morals in your writing? I believe I have very strong morals, at least I think a lot about what I consider to be right and what I think is wrong. Having said that, my only conscious goal when I'm cooking up a story idea is to create a really rip-snorting tale that will hopefully knock the readers socks off, or at least give them a few hours of enjoyment. It's probably inevitable that my morals will sneak into my stories somehow, but that's not why I write. What's your favorite writing style? First person, because it's friendlier and easier for me to do. I'm lazy, so that matters to me. You are currently a Software Test Engineer and a father of two, when do you find time to write? I get up at 5:00 AM every weekday morning, exercise, and then write until I have to get ready for work. Since my brain and creativity well both shut down at about 5:00 PM, it's the only way I could do it. What motivates you to get up early every day to write? My children, for two reasons. One, if I don't get up early, before they're awake, I'll never get the privacy and quiet I need at any other time of the day. Two, although I have a good job and life's been good to me and my family, I want more for them (and myself, of course) and I believe writing is the way to achieve that. Talk about inner conflicts between good and evil. I know it's an old-fashioned notion, but I believe that good and evil do exist. It's not always easy tell the difference between them, as many lazy-minded people would wish, but the difference remains. I believe that most people are basically good, that some people deserve our special thanks, hearty handshakes, and all the good luck life can offer (the true heroes), and that a very few people deserve nothing better than an early grave (the true villains). I'm of the opinion that we should be fairly free with handing out the handshakes and thanks to the first group and very careful in our deliberations about the second. As far as inner-conflict goes, I think everyone feels it. The hero may feel it about whether or not to tell a friend that their spouse is cheating on them. The villain may feel it about whether to torture his victim first or simply put a bullet through his head. Each one will choose the path that they think is good. In fact, the villain's choice probably won't be good, the hero's choice probably will be and, to a lesser extent, the average person's choice will go either way, but probably lean towards the benign if not always the beneficent. | |
