Elizabetta interviews John Tristan author of “The Peacock Prince”

(click HERE for Elizabetta’s review)

 Blurb:

Prince Alessander’s twin sister Celandine has long been promised to the pirate lord Dagon Blackstone, who demanded a royal bride as the price for peace. On the night they are first meant to meet, she convinces Alessander to don her clothes and go in her place, as a prank on the sea monster that is to be her husband. He goes along with the prank, and finds himself unexpectedly intrigued by the larger-than-life Dagon.

Dagon is a worldly man, more amused–and aroused–than scandalized by discovering a boy in a bodice pretending to be his betrothed. When the deception is revealed, though, Cel is nowhere to be found: she’s fled the royal isle, leaving her brother a scapegoat in her skirts. Their father offers to hunt her down, but Dagon declines: he will use his own fleet to find his runaway princess, and he is taking along insurance. Alessander is brought aboard his flagship as a hostage, albeit an honored one…and until Celandine is found, he must serve as Dagon’s royal ‘bride’.

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Interview:

We’re excited to have John Tristan here at the Blog of Sid Love today.

Mr. Tristan is well known for his wonderful fantasy books which include the Skoria Series (“A Stranger in Skoria” and ”A Slave in Skoria”), this summer’s release, “The Adorned”, and most recently, “The Peacock Prince” which we’re here to talk about today.

Welcome, and thanks so much for stopping by!  

Elizabetta:  I was delighted to see you had another book out so soon after the excellent “Adorned”. Are you a speed writer? haha!!… Did you write “Peacock Prince” right after “Adorned”?  

John Tristan:  I actually wrote all of the Skoria books in between “The Adorned” and “The Peacock Prince”; “The Adorned” just took a little while longer to get to publication. 🙂

You seem to have unlimited inspiration for your fantasy worlds– “Adorned” with its beautiful courtesans decorated in moving tattoos, “Forest of Glass” with its fantastical setting in a tree canopy high above the forest floor… and now “Peacock Prince”… inventive worlds, these…  

What is your process, do you start with the premise, or a character, or a plot line?

Usually it’s a character that first piques my interest. I tend to write from a very character-centric place, telling the story of one person that won’t leave me alone. The world tends to grow up around them as I go, but I have to admit I have a weakness for fantastic, even bizarre settings. 

Which of these is the most challenging for you to develop? The easiest? 

Even though the characters come first, they’re also the hardest for me to get a grip on. If I don’t believe, on some level, that they’re real people, I know nobody that reads it will believe in them either!

So true. Ok, here it comes… the inspiration question… What was the spark for “The Peacock Prince”? 

It was the idea of twins swapping their clothes and passing for each other. I started thinking, what if this went on for more than a day? A month? A year? What about indefinitely? It wasn’t the story I eventually ended up going with, but it was the first spark that set me off. 

Did you need to do any background work for it? 

I went through a phase a few years ago where I was reading a lot of nautical fiction and Age of Sail histories, going as far as making my friends eat hardtack I had baked (sorry guys), and some of that came out in writing “The Peacock Prince”.

Every bit of background work helps, sounds like. How about Alessander’s pirate, what is Blackstone’s backstory? We know he escaped slavery as an oarsman and he seems pretty progressive for a pirate lord (not using his title, working alongside his men, maintaining peace). What type of life did he have before his piracy, what shaped him? 

He would claim that if it hadn’t been for being chained to the oar, he would have been very happy as a simple fisherman, but I think there would always be a kind of ambition in him. He was just born with one of those internal dynamos that drive people to improve things, whether as a politician, an inventor, or a rather progressive pirate lord.

Interesting, you do have a sense that there is more to him than meets the eye.

And there’s this intriguing island kingdom you describe so beautifully… I was trying to situate the islands in my mind’s eye, where Alessander’s home, Aël is, and how far it is from Blackstone’s Orchid Isle. Did you draw some sort of map to help in working on the story?

I had a very vague map of distances sketched out in MS Paint, but I wasn’t chained to it. To be honest, if I thought the story sounded better with a journey of a day when it ‘should’ have taken a week, I went with the day instead!

Would it be possible to see a copy or sketch of it?

I didn’t keep it, alas! Also, it was really terrible. 😉

Did you use any other resources in working the story?

I bounce things off my friends a lot—I’m lucky enough to have a circle of ravenous readers and fellow writers with a very broad knowledge base, who tend to catch out any horrible errors I might make. Any left are my fault alone, though!

There wasn’t a lot of fierce pirate sword play in the book, thought the threat was certainly there…  how did you decide about the balance between the romance and the pirate story?

I followed Alessander’s story, really, and he’s not the kind of person to bandy about a saber. Maybe if I end up writing a sequel, it’ll be from Dagon’s point of view—that would include a lot more swordplay, to be sure.

If you could make a movie out of “Peacock Prince” who could you see as Alessander? As Dagon?

Ooh, I tend to love these questions, but this is a tough one. Maybe a young James McAvoy as Alessander and Naveen Andrews as Dagon?

Oh, they would work just fine, *nods* I can see that! I think “Peacock” wraps up well, still, I’d love to learn more about these lovely islands and following up on Dagon and Alessander. Any more adventures for them? Are you planning a sequel?

Nothing solid so far, but I do have a few ideas. It won’t be entirely smooth sailing for Dagon and Alessander, after all! 

Ok, now that’s a teaser! Any other projects in the pipeline?

I’m currently working on another book for Carina Press, a post-apocalyptic fantasy, and the final book of the Skoria trilogy is also in the works for Loose Id.

That’s great news, we’ll surely be on the lookout for those books. Your focus is on fantasy or alternate world settings. Any plans for a contemporary piece?

Not so far! If I do write something contemporary, it’ll have fantastic elements, though. I can’t seem to stay away from it. 

I have to ask an “Adorned” question… Blackstone has some elaborate tattoos– that octopus tat, wow! And, of course, tats figure prominently in “The Adorned”. Can I ask how you came upon the cool concept of the tattoos coming to life in that book?

I once saw a light show in an art gallery that made the paintings seem to move and breathe. Something about that always stayed with me, and inspired the moving tattoos of the Adorned.

And now for some ‘get to know you’, the man behind the pen, questions…

Any tats of your own? Describe!! 

Yeah, loads actually! I’m currently working on a biomechanical half-sleeve, and have six other tattoos so far. I eventually plan to be as fully inked as an Adorned. 🙂 

Wow, that’ll be a lot of tats! The Adorned had such intricate, full-body tats. Next question…  When did you start writing or get serious about the craft?

I’ve been writing almost all my life, though it mostly used to be (terrible!) poetry in my earlier years. I decided to throw myself into it in a serious way about four years ago, though.

What authors have inspired you and your work?

Clive Barker is a huge inspiration for me, and I have grown up with JRR Tolkien—but I will read basically anything and every author inspires me in some way.

Do you have a favorite book in the slash genre? In mainstream literature? 

I’m a big fan of Rachel Haimowitz’s “Counterpoint” and “Crescendo”, and I’ve recently very much enjoyed Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep”. 

Any literary character you’d like to spend an evening with, and why?

The characters I tend to love all seem to be terrible people, haha! They’re really better enjoyed from a distance.

Okay… we’ll keep that in mind! What time of day do you prefer to write? Favorite place to write?

Anytime, anywhere. I especially thrive on writing in noisy, busy places—it helps me shut out the internal editor part of my brain. 

Any hobbies?  What do you like to do in your ‘off’ time?

I play a lot of video games (I love the Elder Scrolls series), spend time with my husband, and am currently trying to teach myself how to draw. Mostly so I can stop harassing my artistic friends to draw my characters.

Ha! Then you could do your own covers… though your book covers have been quite nice so far. And… the Elder Scrolls… why doesn’t that surprise me? Another great fantasy world there, and incredible graphics.  

You describe yourself as “a multinational gay nerd”. Have you lived abroad? What do you nerd over?

I’ve lived in three countries over as many continents! Today, I’m happily settled in England, though. As for nerdery…well, to give a sample, I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons for over fifteen years, collecting comics (mostly X-Men and Dr. Strange) for even longer, and still have a shelf full of Transformers as a thirty-year-old man. Though I don’t think I’m that unique in that one… 

Maybe not, haha! I know some thirty-year-old guys who still hoard their Legos! Anything else you’d like to share with us today?

Thanks for asking me onto your blog, and I hope you keep reading my stories!

No problems there 🙂 We’re looking forward to many future books from you. Thank you so much for your time and letting us get to know you better!

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About the Author

John is a multinational gay nerd who’s fast approaching thirty. He lives in Northern England with his husband and their various cats. He writes, and loves, speculative fiction with a queer and sexy twist.

Mr. Tristan’s website: http://www.johntristan.com/

and on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2738973.John_Tristan

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Buy links for Mr. Tristan’s books: 

“The Peacock Prince”:  http://www.loose-id.com/the-peacock-prince.html

“The Adorned”:  http://ebooks.carinapress.com/B5DE84C2-45BE-4BBF-98EA-7359955E6B46/10/134/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID={16536FBB-5B76-4BF4-A76F-1FEA8AFBB484}

“The Skoria Series”: Stranger in Skoria:  http://www.loose-id.com/a-stranger-in-skoria-1.html
Slave in Skoria:  http://www.loose-id.com/a-slave-in-skoria-1.html
Forest of Glass: http://www.loose-id.com/forest-of-glass-1.html

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GIVEAWAY

 Mr. Tristan is kindly donating a copy of his book, “The Peacock Prince” for an e-book give-away.

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CONTEST WILL END ON 22nd October, 2013 @ 11:59 PM Pacific Time!!