Monday, June 25, 2012

Author Interview: S. Boyd Taylor author of Teddy Bears and Tea Parties: A Horror Story

Teddy Bears and Tea Parties: A Horror StoryOur interview today is with S. Boyd Taylor and his book Teddy Bears and Tea Parties: A Horror Story. The book is FREE 6/23 – 6/27. A brief book description: Enter a fairy tale gone terrifyingly wrong: magic has come back, and now the world is alive — teddy bears, houses, swing sets — everything. And everything that lives must eat. A creepy little girl with a knife struggles to rescue her sister, Angie, from the teddy bears they both used to love. Can she find her sister? And can she defeat Hymn, the strange creature that the teddy bears serve?

Interview with S. Boyd Taylor

What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
Regarding my current eBook for “Teddy Bears and Tea Parties: A Horror Story” (available here: http://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Bears-Tea-Parties-ebook/dp/B005H5AI5U ) — the setting, in my opinion, is the lead character in the piece.
It’s a world where “magic” has come back to modern day suburban America – magic as in old-school animism, where everything is alive. And everything that is alive must eat, so you get swing sets and teddy bears trying to eat people. Houses that have to be fed to be safe. Picture frames with your mom’s photo in them that try to bite your fingers off, stuff like that.
What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
Well, I was trying to convey how empty and starving the world has become. How everyone is so disconnected, so distant from each other. You go out to eat with your friends just so you have a couple of moments to talk to them, and you leave and you’re hungry again – not because of lack of food, because of lack of time with your people. This is the silent desperation and suffering of America.
Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
The main character, Little Girl, is someone who has been pushed too far. She’s gotten mean and hard because that’s what it takes to survive, and it takes all her work not to give up and cry. The house she grew up in ate her parents, the teddy bears she used to cuddle at night stole her sister, and she has had enough. Angie, the sister, is someone who has gone to the other extreme – someone who has surrendered, stopped fighting, and just wants to give in. But Little Girl is going to save her somehow.
In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author’s world view?

Well, I believe there’s something missing in the world – a type of magic, if you will. But I think that people don’t know what they really ask for when they ask for the magic back. So, in a way, this is a cautionary tale – be careful what you wish for, but also, it’s about how vicious and dark the world can be and how sometimes it takes a hero to change things.
Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?
The whole story was a challenge for me. Dark stories are nothing new for me, I write about half light and half dark, but in this one I pushed everything over the red lines, way into the danger zone. Every bit of it made me uncomfortable, and all I can hope is that uncomfortable feeling transfers to the reader and helps keep them on edge.
Was there a basis for your story? A previous experience? Something else?
Just that one thought: Everyone wants magic to come back, but they don’t know what magic really is. What if it really DID come back? What if EVERYTHING was alive?
What is your method for writing a book? A certain amount of hours every day? A certain routine? Are you character/story builder or an outliner or some other method?
I keep a minimum of 250 words per day, but I prefer if it’s closer to 1,000 or 2,000 words. And I try to edit stories a little bit each day too – keep all the plates spinning.
How do you get past writers block or distractions like the internet?
Research. Reading broadly. Putting new ideas in my head: new images, new visuals, new languages (Sanskrit one month, Spanish the next, etc.) – that’s the only way I can keep the gears greased. The only problem I have is that everything I write is so incredibly different from the last thing. It can be hard for my readers to pin me down or know what to expect next.
S. Boyd Taylor on the web: www.sboydtaylor.com
S. Boyd Taylor on Facebook: www.facebook.com/the.sboydtaylor
S. Boyd Taylor on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sboydtaylor
S. Boyd Taylor on LiveJournal: http://sboydtaylor.livejournal.com/
“Teddy Bears and Tea Parties: A Horror Story” on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Bears-Tea-Parties-ebook/dp/B005H5AI5U

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