The Digital Ink Spot interviewed
Todd Maternowski, Todd
studied Ancient Near Eastern religion and early Judeo-Christianity at
the University of Chicago before heading into the real world. He has
since worked as a ballroom dance instructor, bass player, mediator,
credit specialist, art preparator, janitor, journalist, copy editor,
armored car money counter, mambo dancer and satirist. He lives in
Dallas, Texas with his hyper-creative wife, baby girl and unborn son.
The Digital Ink Spot: Tell the readers a little about your books.
Todd Maternowski: The
Exmortus series is about a young, self-absorbed and arrogant young
man, Ash Xavier, whose entire meticulously-planned world is
obliterated in a single night. Ash is left without food, weapons,
armor or hope in a hostile world that actively tries to devour him at
every turn. By the end of the first book, EXMORTUS: TOWERS OF DAWN,
Ash has progressed to a certain point in his mental and spiritual
development, despite overwhelming odds. By the end of the second
book, EXMORTUS II: TEMPLES DIABOLIC, he is ready to move on from the
power-obsessed adolescent fantasies that drove his youth, and instead
use every power at his disposal to grow into a decent human being.
Along the way, he must deal with a nightmarish terror from his
childhood, the abandonment of his friends, and a hopeless romance
with a woman that may well be entirely imaginary.
The Digital Ink Spot: How
extensive is the world your books are based on?
Todd Maternowski: Extremely:
all three books cover less than 10% of the world it occurs in. I love
rich, detailed and painstakingly thought-out worlds, and have made a
dozen or so maps that have no relevance whatsoever to the events in
Exmortus. We live in a world of constant mystery and discovery, so
why should our fantasy worlds be any different?
The Digital Ink Spot: Is
it hard to write about grisly murders, sex
magic and genocidal demons?
Todd Maternowski: Actually,
it's very easy. I'm a huge fan of heavy metal, and have always loved
how completely over-the-top it can get. 'Go big or go home.' That
said, you first have to create a completely grounded, hyper-realistic
setting first, or the flashier elements get lost in the shuffle and
lose their potency.
The Digital Ink Spot: What
do you enjoy reading?
Todd Maternowski: Anything
that's well-written, especially if it has a dark sense of humor. I
grew up on the bleak, soul-crushing Russian literature of Dostoevsky
and Gogol, and have since learned to really love more contemporary
authors like Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Umberto Eco, Cormac
McCarthy and Gene Wolfe. 'Zorba the Greek' is probably my favorite
book of the last century.
The Digital Ink Spot: What
can readers expect from you in the near future?
Todd Maternowski: I'm
about to have a baby boy, so the third and final installment of the
Exmortus trilogy might be a little slow this time around, but I've
got mountains of exquisitely-detailed notes and planned-out chapters
for it already: just know in terms of emotional and literary
catharsis, it will put the first two books in the series to shame.
Following that, I've got about 15-20 projects I could work on next,
starting with a sci-fi novel about a scientist who goes back in time
for philanthropic reasons, only to use his advanced knowledge to
become a master criminal; and a long short story about a
military-grade psychic who does espionage on the astral plane for the
Pentagon. I've got some other long-term projects, but they're
top-secret.
Visit the author's website: http://towersofdawn.com/
Follow the author on Twitter: @ToddMaternowski
And feel free to share this post via your social network of choice. Let's help these authors get the word out to other readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment