Barbara Doran
Interview
Hello Barbara and
welcome to Ralph’s rants does interviews
Thanks for having me!
Barbara, tell us a
little about yourself; where are you from?
My father was a West Point grad and my mother was a Chinese
student who'd been working at the cafeteria my grandmother ran. With dad in the
military we've moved around to a number of different places; Chicago, Colorado
and Missouri, among others. I've been in the Western Ohio region since my
father retired, however. I'm married, with two children, a dog and a cat who
claims my only job is to feed her.
How long have you been
writing?
I've been telling stories to myself since I was small, and
started putting them down on paper as soon as I figured out how to write. Once
I started, I never stopped.
Barbara, tell us about
your new novel? Is it your first novel?
This is my first published work. I have a number of other
works I'm trying to get published, but this is the only pulp… so far.
What is the novel
called and what is it about?
"Claws of the Golden Dragon" is set in the town of
Strikersport, CA, and is about a series of strange incidents relating to the
local Chinatown and the inheritance of one of the main characters. A villain
known as The Voice starts causing trouble and in so doing, cause the mysterious
masked adventurers, Tiger and Dragon, to step in to protect Chinatown.
What inspired you to
write this novel?
"Claws" came out of the idea that so many of the
original pulps had some painful attitudes towards Asian characters. If they
weren't outright villains they were sneaky, or lazy or simply there for comic
relief. I wanted to have a pulp story where there was an Asian presence and
they weren't any of those things. (Although I have a feeling Tiger and Dragon
are natural comedians, tricksters that they are.)
Who do you consider to
be your inspirations to write?
Pulp-wise, I'm a big Shadow fan. I also adore Sherlock
Holmes and M.R. James, although they predate the pulp era by a number of years.
I've been a comic-book fan for most of my life, with a fondness for Doctor
Strange, Tomb of Dracula and Phantom Stranger.
Who are your favorite
authors?
Mainstream-SF/Fantasy/Mystery authors I love reading include
Terry Pratchett… (GNU Terry Pratchett), P.C. Hodgell, John Scalzi, Diana Wynn
Jones, Tamora Pierce and Donna Andrews.
Pulp-wise: Maxwell Grant, Leslie Charteris (Though I'm not
sure he qualifies as a true pulp writer) and Edgar Rice Burroughs were among my
favorites. I also love Jim Beard's work and am slowly getting to know the other
New Fictioneers.
What is your favorite
genre to read?
It varies according to mood, but I think I like Fantasy
most. I prefer the more intimate types of fantasy, with smaller casts and a
need for the heroes to resolve a problem together and to learn a little about
themselves. Of course, what I really love are cross-genre pollinations, where
you never quite know what you're going to get.
Now tell us all what
is your favorite genre to write?
Like my reading, my writing depends on my mood. It's most
often fantasy based, in fact, the entire world I work within is based on the
idea that magic exists and that there are parallel worlds connected to ours. So
even if I'm working on a mystery, if it's set in what I call The Acre, magic's
there, though it may or may not be noticed.
Besides your current
novel, ‘Claws of the Golden Dragon’, what else are you working on?
I'm currently finishing a mainstream fantasy called
"The Sea Wolf and The Falcon", which is set in the early 1600s and is
about two young men who get dropped into the Summerlands (fairyland), where
they have to help find the murderer of one of that world's Kings and - in the
process - discover their own natures.
For Pulps, this November I'll turn back to the world of
"Claws" and tell the story about how two of the main characters,
Mudan Chang and Connal McLeod, met. 1930's Shanghai will play a big part in the
story, which means I get to do loads of research! (I love research.)
How has the experience
of being published been to you? Was it wonderful, was it trying? Did you enjoy
it? Or are you glad the first one is over and done with?
I've enjoyed it. I've been submitting my longer works to
larger publishers for a while with no joy, so Rob giving me a chance has been
just great! I'm glad the story's out and available to the public and am really
hoping people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Barbara it was
wonderful having you here on Ralph’s Rants and I want to wish you all the best.
Please leave any other information you may have here, such as your website,
your twitter handle, your amazon author’s page and your facebook page.
Website:
Twitter:
(BarbaraDoran)
Facebook:
As a note for the curious, Sum Ergo Scriptum was originally
intended to mean "I am, therefore I write", but my Latin translator
forgot that scriptum actually means an unfinished piece of work. This turned
out to be a happy mistake, however, because I'm not done yet and don't intend
to be for a long time to come.
Thanks again, Barbara,
good luck!
Thank you for having me!
You are very welcome!
As
always all of my own books are available at http://RLAngeloJr.com
or http://tinyurl.com/ralphsamazon
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