What drives your art? What forces you, rides you, hustles you, controls you until its latest needs have been met? What really drives you to create speculative fiction art, be it words or images?

[Declined to answer]

If there was the possibility of becoming any speculative fiction character ever created (except your own), would you? Who? Why?

Probably not, but if forced to pick, I’d say Howard’s Conan because it would be cool to be strong enough to kick ass whenever I wanted to.

If you could only take one author’s works compressed on an e-book reader on a “one-bag-only” one-way trip to another galaxy, whose works would it be and why?

The Holy Bible. It’s the ultimate horror/fantasy/speculative fiction book. It’s all in there. Nothing is new, man.

Why Kabar? What initiated his story and made you complete this particular tale?

The barbarian Kabar of El Hazzar is my protag. I have an ongoing series based on the character published by several independent presses.

In the privacy of your favorite writing nook, do you act out your protagonist’s actions? Do you know how to use his weapons? Do you wear his clothes? Do you talk like him?

I don’t act out my characters as that would border on lunacy. I do read the story out loud during editing process. I research the weapons used in my fiction, this involves handling/using the weapons when necessary.

Quick: List your first thought as your answers to these questions about the future of genre fiction:

Printing Methods: Offset or Print-on-Demand?

Paper will become obsolete one day.

Reading Formats: Electronic or Print?

Prefer print.

Book Tours: Physical or Virtual?

Neither do very much to encourage book sales and it’s hard to find definitive stats on how many book sales are generated by such tours.

Reading Habits: Dead, Dying, Alive, Growing?

Mine? Always alive. Others – dying.

Length: Flash, Short, Novella, 1970’s novel (60k), 1980’s novel (80k), 1990’s novel (120k), 2000’s novel (150k)

Novel 120k.

Robert E. Howard, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Fritz Leiber, Karl Edward Wagner, Louis L’Amour, Frederick Faust, Ian Fleming, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rafael Sabatini . . . the list could go on. Some lived long lives, some flared and burned out young. All lived life hard. All wrote pulse-pounding action-adventure, often dipping into the many different genres they share, yet each eventually establishing their name within a specific one. What do you believe you have in common with these authors, and what makes you so sure speculative fiction – heroic fantasy fiction to be precise – is your genre? Or is it?

[Declined to answer]

Thanks for your time and answers, Angeline!

Angeline Hawkes is a Bram Stoker award nominated author of fantasy and horror fiction who isn’t too hip on interviews but does them because she loves her publishers. You can find everything you ever wanted to know about her at her website… if you dare.

EDITOR’S NOTE: RBE loves its authors, especially those who partake in interviews Thanks Angeline!

Review Praise for “Lair of the Cherufe: A Tale of the Barbarian Kabar of El Hazzar”

“…A reader hungry to mainline pure sword-and-sorcery adventure should flip to [this story]. Barbarian hero Kabar goes forth to rescue a kidnapped princess — from sacrifice to a lava monster, no less — and generous portions of creative action ensue. It’s quite tasty; if you want the heroic goods delivered, this is the place to start.” ~ Ryan Harvey

An excerpt

…Kabar watched him scurry from the wharf tavern like a rat running from a ship. “I better be able to trust you, Moya,” Kabar said in a hiss as he took another drink.

The plan was simple. He knew he must get inside the palace. The best way to do so was to get captured. One way or the other he had to reach the volcano and the Cherufe. Kabar knew Caspian intended to sacrifice Laraine there, so he knew eventually the girl would be on the volcano. With the Singing Sword of Varquest hid-den near the top, he could find it and free the girl. The in-between parts of the plan were still being worked out as he paid for a new mug of ale, but Kabar was determined on one point. He would go into the palace as a thief. Hopefully no one would recognize him before tossing him into a fetid cell somewhere…

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