Zowie! Two posts in one week! Obviously, I’m busy with my editing and consulting biz, my own writing projects, and my recent political signifying, since Jellyfish Day [now Wordwhacking Dreams] has lain mostly fallow for two years . . .
As you know, if you’ve read here before, I’ve posted several book reviews in tandem with author interviews, and now that I’ve cranked up the ole blog again, I decided to experiment with guest posts. Guest posts will save me half to a full day of composing and revising. Most of my posts until this week have been long, doable in the past but almost impossible to squeeze in lately. (I hope to do more short posts in 2017 - make them brief but fun).
But even with guest posts, I still have to wrangle with Blogger.com, which works smoothly most days but sometimes sends me to the pits of digital hell to claw my way back to a presentable post, which eats up the hours. That’s likely a user issue and not Google’s fault, but I digress . . .
. . . Andy Peloquin is a fantasy author who came to my attention on Facebook through his energetic and high-spirited marketing approaches and willingness to network with his fellow writers. He’s a dedicated and energetic writer with several novels under his belt, and is quite an articulate and productive blogger as well.
His upcoming novel (January 17, 2017) is Child of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves Book 1). It can be pre-ordered in Kindle format.
Without further adieu, please welcome author Andy Peloquin!
Throughout his story
The Last Bucelarii (two books published to date, four more to come), this character faces all manner of
disorders: psychopathy, sociopathy, bipolar disorder, Williams’ syndrome,
schizophrenia, and more. Each disorder gives the characters a unique flavor,
and provides a rationalization for why they do what they do. They also affect
the assassin’s perspective on the world, and slowly he comes to understand his
actions as well.
As you know, if you’ve read here before, I’ve posted several book reviews in tandem with author interviews, and now that I’ve cranked up the ole blog again, I decided to experiment with guest posts. Guest posts will save me half to a full day of composing and revising. Most of my posts until this week have been long, doable in the past but almost impossible to squeeze in lately. (I hope to do more short posts in 2017 - make them brief but fun).
But even with guest posts, I still have to wrangle with Blogger.com, which works smoothly most days but sometimes sends me to the pits of digital hell to claw my way back to a presentable post, which eats up the hours. That’s likely a user issue and not Google’s fault, but I digress . . .
. . . Andy Peloquin is a fantasy author who came to my attention on Facebook through his energetic and high-spirited marketing approaches and willingness to network with his fellow writers. He’s a dedicated and energetic writer with several novels under his belt, and is quite an articulate and productive blogger as well. Without further adieu, please welcome author Andy Peloquin!
The Story Behind the Story
Every superhero and
supervillain has their origin story. Batman lost his parents. Captain American
received Super Soldier Serum. Spiderman got bitten by a radioactive spider.
If only we authors had as
awesome an origin story! Perhaps, in a Doctor Who-esque twist, I was pricked by
a radioactive quill and transformed into Super Writer Man. I wish.
No, the story behind my
stories is a simpler one, one that starts in a psychologist’s office…
I had begun visiting a
psychologist because I was eager to find out what made me tick, why I do the
things I do, and so on. Through the course of the sessions, it became clear
that my brain and mind were abnormal. Eventually, I was diagnosed with
Asperger’s Syndrome.
According to Wikipedia, “Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger’s, is a developmental
disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and
nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of
behavior and interests. As a milder autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it differs
from other ASDs by relatively normal language and intelligence.”
In the wake of this
diagnosis, I delved into psychology and studied the human mind, psyche, thought
patterns, emotions, and everything else I could find to help me understand why
my brain was different than others’. The more I studied, the more I realized
that the human brain was one of the greatest antagonists my characters could
face.
I started out by
writing an assassin who is as much a victim as the people he kills Because of
the voices in his mind (classic dissociative identity disorder), he is driven
to kill. Thus, he has become a killer out of necessity.
Throughout his story
The Last Bucelarii (two books published to date, four more to come), this character faces all manner of
disorders: psychopathy, sociopathy, bipolar disorder, Williams’ syndrome,
schizophrenia, and more. Each disorder gives the characters a unique flavor,
and provides a rationalization for why they do what they do. They also affect
the assassin’s perspective on the world, and slowly he comes to understand his
actions as well.
For the new series
(launching now), I wanted to examine “how a killer is born.” Genetic
predisposition to psychopathy aside, it takes a lot of abuse, trauma,
suffering, and extenuating circumstances to turn an innocent, happy child into
a hardened criminal. Writing the story led me down some fascinating holes,
delving into thought control, indoctrination, abuse, and more.
A series of short
stories (all set in my world) delve into topics like PTSD, fibromyalgia,
autism, sensory perception disorder, and more—all through the lens of a fantasy
world.
My stories are not intended to GLORIFY these
problems. On the contrary, they’re meant to shed light on very real issues.
However, I’ve found that in seeking to understand myself, I’ve come to
understand the human mind a lot more. And the mind, for all its amazing
capabilities, can be a truly terrifying thing!
~:::~:::~:::~
 |
| Author Andy Peloquin |
On that note, I’m just now discovering Andy is AS [now known as ASD] while I open his Word doc and post his essay into the post composition field! I’m both surprised and delighted with this serendipity, because three of my four kids are diagnosed bipolar, plus, I have an autistic grandson, and all are bright souls with active minds and busy lives. In fact, these brain and brain chemistry aberrations are sometimes more a gift than a liability and often enhance imagination and creativity. (I don’t mean to sugarcoat the very real struggles that AS and bipolar people experience, but there are often unexpected advantages that balance the disadvantages).
Thank you, Andy Peloquin, Super Writer Man, for your heartfelt and illuminating essay. Best wishes for your new novel and your works-in-progress!
Read more about Andy and his fantasy novels at:
