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HUZZAH!
Would you like to share your full name with our readers or
is it important to maintain your secret identity as an
author?
Oh, my
secret identity isn't very secret. I'd make a terrible super
hero. Actually, if you find the original WICKED contest
thread at COBBLESTONE, you'll see I submitted "YOU CAN LEAVE
YOUR MASK ON" under my real name. Right after I got the
contract, though, I had a talk with publisher Deanna Lee.
She asked if I wanted to use a pen name because people
browsing through erotica will gravitate towards female and
gender neutral names before masculine sounding names. I told
her I definitely wanted to think about it and immediately
hopped on YIM to brainstorm with Bree of Moira Rogers infamy
(Because, and I assume we'll get to this story as well, it's
entirely her fault I got into this in the first place!). I
don't remember which one of us came up with it, but I ended
up going with a gender neutral spin on my real name - Paul
Andrew Floyd. (Though, I never use Paul - in everyday life I
go by Andy.)
Your super heroine character, Grasshopper, debuts in You Can
Leave Your Mask On and returns in the sequel What Shall We
Do With A Drunken Sailor. Grasshopper has the power of an
insect. So does Spiderman. Did you set out to create a
female protagonist inspired by Spiderman?
I don't
THINK so… I know that's non-committal but I can't totally
speak for my subconscious; it's always doing things behind
my back. The creation of Grasshopper occurred when she
started talking to me. I knew I was going to write a female
lead because, well, I LOVE females.
Next, I
checked off powers in my head until I couldn't stop thinking
about one, which ended up being jumping. The idea of pushing
off the concrete and soaring through the air with nothing
keeping you up apart from kinetic energy and joy just made
me tingle all over. Then she took shape physically in my
head and was wearing green and black -- most likely because
they're my two favorite colors. From there it was just
finding an appropriate name that didn't come up with a
billion hits when I searched for it "+ superhero" in Google.
J
When did you first begin to visualize this character?
As soon as
I figured out her power. Since I almost ALWAYS fall in love
with my female characters, a lot of what they look like in
my mind comes from whatever fetish or kink I happen to be
obsessing about at the time. 'Hopper came along when I was
really into corsets, cat suits, and opera gloves (I say that
like I'm ever NOT into them!). Her third appearance, if it
gets contracted (crosses fingers), actually has her first
costume change which was brought on, oddly enough, by an
episode of FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance." There was
this AMAZING piece called "The Garden" that was
choreographed by Sonya Tayeh and performed by Courtney
Galiano and Mark Kanemura.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJbQpYZ2WY)
The entire
time I was watching it, I was geeking out because to me it
embodied the spirit of the Grasshopper/Circuit-Breaker
relationship. It almost felt like an interpretive dance
version of one of their stories! Plus, Courtney's outfit
SCREAMED "Grasshopper." So, if - I should say when - when
three comes out you'll get 'Hopper in an outfit inspired by
that dance. I figure 'Hopper probably changes outfits quite
a bit, anyway.
In what way(s) has this character changed/evolved with each
installment?
Oh, oh! Can
I be cryptic here? She hasn't really changed much over the
two published and one submitted story, but I'm currently
finding out that there was a time when she was a different
girl than she is now. *a-wink*
She's
pretty consistent throughout the current three, in my
opinion. She decides what she wants, and figures out a way
to get it. We do get to see different sides to her, though.
In "MASK" we get a peek at her rarely seen submissive side.
In "SAILOR" we get to see her manipulative side. And in…
the third one, we get to see some red hot anger. But it
all fits with the context of her.
She did
most of her evolving hopping around my brain before I
put fingers to keyboard.
When I imagine Grasshopper, I picture actress Rosario
Dawson. If you could choose any actress to play Grasshopper
in an upcoming film, who would it be?
Let me just
preface this with - there is no wrong answer here, no matter
what I say. Rosario would be AWESOME.
Anyway,
because I was writing erotica, I deliberately avoided TOO
much physical description of the leads. I don't even think I
mentioned race. At least not with Circuit-Breaker, anyway. I
figured that way, the reader could cast whoever they were
currently crushing on and not get derailed by the sudden
mention of hook nose when they were picturing a person with
a much more petite one.
That said,
looks-wise I picture alt-porn actress Stoya [Doll]. She has
the straight black hair and porcelain skin that I'm in love
with right now. Plus, she just looks like she has ‘Hopper's
attitude. But going with mainstream Hollywood types I'd love
to see **Selma** Blair or Natalia Tena try out Grasshopper's
tights, but I think my dream mainstream actress to put on
the green mask would be Lizzy Caplan. (Though after that
inspiring dance I mentioned earlier, if she could act I
would not be against Courtney Galiano.)
J
What has been the response to Grasshopper?
I don't
know -- If you find out, would you tell me please? Kidding.
It's one of those things where I'm a new author and I've
gotten less reviews than there are fingers on my right hand.
So far, they've all been really good. But apart from that I
can really only speak for my friends' responses and that
just feels like cheating!
Why did you decide to introduce Circuit Breaker as a
villain? Would you consider Circuit Breaker to be a villain
or a super villain?
You mean
instead of as a hero? That's an interesting question… He
just sorta… grew that way. In my head, I mean. He's
definitely a villain (He sprang forth out of the story's
necessity for one), and he does have super-powers, but he's
got to be at least a little likeable for me. I'm all for bad
boys -- as long as they have redeeming qualities. C-B seems
to me like he's more into villainy because it's interesting
(and for the chicks, of course!) rather than malicious
reasons.
Circuit Breaker reminds me of a ‘certain’ Spiderman
villain. Which villain(s) was the inspiration behind his
character?
See answer
for similar Grasshopper question! I was definitely a big
Spidey fan growing up, so it's very possible there's an
Electro influence there, but the reason I chose his power,
frankly, is because it turned me on. The process behind
creating C-B was much like the one behind making 'Hopper. I
went through different powers, some fun, some useful, some
that didn't even fit, and then I hit on electricity and I
tingled again. It's one of those things that's already used
in bondage and other kinks, but with a little dab of fiction
and a splash of fantasy you don't have to worry about
running out of batteries!
Basically,
were I in 'Hopper's place… that's the power I'd hope C-B
had.
What type of villains (besides Circuit Breaker) inhabit
Grasshopper’s universe?
If you can
think one up, I'm sure Make City has one! And that is
something I plan to explore in the future. Though, I will
say that because I love Deanna Lee and Sable Grey so much
there is at least one evil Werekraken. (Long story! ;D)
When did you first plan to write What Shall We Do With A
Drunken Sailor?
As soon as
I finished the first one I knew I wanted to write a sequel.
But it wasn't until inspiration hit that I planned that
specific story. The inspiration just happened to come in the
form of the song it's named for. My wife plays World of
Warcraft, and one of the guild members in a chat channel
played a punk version of the song by THE BLAGGARDS. It got
in her head so she bought it and played it -- which got it
in my head.
And the
only thing that would get it out of my head was to blast it
at full volume and write!
What influences came into play when you started writing the
sequel?
Apart from
the song, the desire to show a different less submissive
side to 'Hopper and a certain scene from Kevin Smith's
"Chasing Amy?"
Where did the idea to write erotic fiction with superheroes
characters spring from?
The whole
thing started with the WICKED contest at Cobblestone-Press.
It was January, I had JUST made the resolution to not pass
up ANY opportunities, I was on YIM, when the Bree half of
Moira Roger's tells me about this contest. I hesitated for a
moment, then decided that the timing was too perfect to go
against my resolution so quickly. So I asked when the
deadline was. She told me Noon Saturday.
We were having the conversation
late Thursday evening.
Luckily I
was in a writing mood, so the brainstorming hit hard and
fast and went well. Really well. I love comics, so doing
supers wasn't a stretch for me. But what really sold me on
the idea was that after a little research I was convinced it
wasn't something that was done outside of fan fic. Not only
did I think doing something different would be fun, but
being new to the genre… I thought I'd be less likely to step
on other authors' toes or accidentally fill my story with
overused devices or clichés.
I did later
find out that not only does a fellow Cobblestone author
write erotic super hero stories at Changeling Press, but
Changeling has an entire section of the stuff.
So, it didn't end up being NEW
ground - but I don't regret the choice one bit.
If you could take any superheroes and villains from Marvel,
DC, etc. to star in a scene with Grasshopper, who would you
choose?
Oh, don't
get me started! Let's see… If I'm being honest I'd say
without hesitation, X-23, Jubilee (Now Wondra), Traci 13,
Harley Quinn, Tigra, Hawkgirl, Mystique, Kitty Pryde, the
list goes on.
But if I
were to calm my inner giddy boy child and look at this from
the perspective of actually writing it as a new story -- I'm
told F/F doesn't sell very well and even cut a F/F scene out
of my third story that I MAY post as a freebie extra on my
website after that story hits -- I'd probably go with
Gambit, Bigby Wolf, Jaime Reyes (though… written older LMAO),
and or of course Spidey.
What’s the most difficult aspect of writing these stories?
Waiting on
the submission process. KIDDING! No, really it's balancing
them with the day job. I have a very chaotic personality
when it comes to creativity. Motivation comes in dips and
waves and I can't punch through the dips. I just have to
ride them until another wave hits. I have found that when my
body is allowed to fall into its natural sleeping schedule,
I hit waves pretty often. But with the day job dictating my
schedule, they come at much more sporadic times. So, I'll
come up with this great idea… but can't write it yet. At
least, not if I want it to be good!
Will you continue to write stories in this genre/universe or
do you plan to spread out?
BOTH! I
just submitted something to Changeling that's in outer space
and does not involve super powers! But I'm also working on
at least three different Make City stories. (Though, by
working I mostly mean brainstorming.)
How do you come up with your titles?
I love
coming up with titles, and most of the time they hit me for
different reasons. It really was a coincidence that both
stories so far were named after songs that were stuck in my
head. We've already discussed "SAILOR." And "YOU CAN LEAVE
YOUR MASK ON" came from "YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR HAT ON" by Tom
Jones.
Which means
the third Make City story will have a couple of different
firsts. It's the first to not feature Grasshopper as the
main character (Though, she's still in it!) and it's the
first title that's not based on a song. It is based on
SOMETHING though… but if I tell you, it'll ruin the joke.
What do you do to promote your work?
Talk to
you! Kidding! I haven't done much, really. I'm not terribly
good at that sort of stuff. I have tried, though. I've done
some chats and promoted at a comic community on LiveJournal.
But I've mostly failed at promotion. I plan on doing better,
but I'm not exactly sure where to start. I'm open to
suggestions!
Where can we find you and your books?
Both books
can be found at Cobblestone - http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/author/pandrews.htm
- and "MASK" is on Fictionwise - http://fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook75214.htm.
I can be
found at several places. P. Andrews is at http://www.p-andrews.com
and http://www.myspace.com/p__andrews (yup, two
underscores!). There also might be some interesting stuff
over at http://www.thegpz.com. Outside of the pseudonym, if
you see "speaker" or "speakerwiggin" somewhere, there's a
decent chance it's me. I'm speakerwiggin at LJ and twitter
and MySpace.
Let’s talk more about you. Where are you from?
Born in
Louisiana, but spent most of my life in Alabama. Though, I'm
told I do not have an accent.
What do you do to relax and unwind?
Apart from
writing, mostly watching television or reading comic books.
Oh, and then there's playing around on the internet!
Do you watch Adult Swim or Cartoon Network? If not, what?
Robot
Chicken, Aqua Teen, Venture Brothers, and many others are
staples in this household. I honestly watch way too much TV.
I could name off the shows I watch, but I don't know if
there's enough room on the page for them all!
What makes your author senses tingle?
Excitement,
good music, driving, and that state of mind just before you
fall asleep but are still kind of aware of your
surroundings.
You are hosting a New Years Eve party. You can invite
anyone you want from any time, place, series, book, movie,
etc. Aside from your family, friends, co-workers etc. name
four people that you would invite to ring in an
unforgettable New Year with.
Jeebus,
okay - just to help narrow it down for me I'm going to avoid
naming people I've already mentioned in this interview.
Veronica
Mars, Captain Tightpants Malcolm Reynolds, Selene from
Underworld, and Bruce Campbell.
What comic books and novels have most influenced your life?
Let's see…
Pre-clone saga Spidey taught me how to be a hero and have
fun doing it. Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" taught me to
love writing itself. After a long hiatus, Brian K. Vaughan's
"Y: The Last Man" taught me to love comics again. And the
novel "Steel Beach" by John Varley taught me the meaning of
"endless possibilities."
What first triggered your interest in writing?
I dabbled
in writing awhile before I became interested in it. I can
remember some Deep Space Nine fan fic I wrote at 13 before I
knew what fan fic was. But it wasn't until 2003 when a
friend of mine convinced me to do NaNoWriMo with him that I
realized that not only did I like writing, but I actually
felt like it was something I was good at. So, you have my
friend Brian Peace to thank for that.
What is your greatest strength as a writer?
I always
feel so conceited answering these types of questions! Okay,
I'd probably have to say my narrative voice. I think that
the easy going narration I tend to write makes for quick,
easy, and hopefully fun reads.
Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do
about it?
If you
watch "An Evening with Kevin Smith" he says that he's never
had writer's block, only writer's laze. I totally identify
with that. I'm NEVER at a loss for ideas or things to write,
but I struggle with motivation and distraction. I might have
this great idea with full formed characters and a great
payoff but, ooo - there's a DeLorean on CHUCK! I said above
that motivation hits in waves, so I just ride them when they
hit. Trust me, the stories turn out MUCH better that way.
J
What are your goals as a writer?
This is
going to sound really dorky, but my only real goal is
happiness. That goes for me and others. Nothing gives me a
rush like brainstorming a great idea. And nothing makes me
happier than making others smile with the fruits of that
idea. Writing gives me a creative outlet to help keep me
sane, it relieves stress, and it gives me joy.
And if it
entertains others… well, have you ever heard a grown man "squee?"
How have you dealt with rejection letters?
I'm still
relatively new to submitting so I haven't dealt with many -
YET. But my first submission was to a magazine via snail
mail. So, by the time I got the rejection I had actually
forgotten that I submitted it. What's funny is, it wasn't a
story I was terribly attached to so I sent it on a lark.
Didn't think a rejection would bother me. But when I read
it, I couldn't help it. A light depression hit me for a
couple days. But I got over it.
I used the
word yet because I'm preparing for one as we speak. The
space project I mentioned that I sent to Changeling? I
really hope they accept it, but it's one of those… there are
definite erotic and romantic elements to it, but it doesn't
TOTALLY fit with most lines I've seen at e-publishers. I
really like the story, but I'm afraid I may get rejected on
technicalities.
But on the bright side, I'll be all the more excited if it
DOES get accepted!
What were you doing when you received your first contract?
I honestly
don't remember what I was doing. But I know that as soon as
I saw the contest winners, I called Moira "Bree" Rogers
because she and her partner Donna were on the list too.
What’s the best advice you would give to aspiring genre
specific writers?
If you find
yourself re-treading ground, don't be afraid to pull from
other genres. Mixing and matching can lead to some very
interesting results.
Any new and upcoming projects you would like to share?
Hopefully
this third super story will get contracted soon. It's really
hard not to talk about it 'cause it's one of those concepts
that just makes me giggle, but I think it'll be more fun if
you realize it with the actual story in front of you. I will
say that it's about a super hero groupie who's sort of
reminiscing about some of her favorite encounters. And poor
Grasshopper doesn't like her one bit.
Thank you for the interview! We’ll all be looking forward
to more Grasshopper stories and other goodies from you on
the horizon!
You're
welcome, and I can't wait to see what you all think of my
next projects, no matter good or bad! |
