Interview with Anton Strout and Giveaway - February 22, 2011

The Qwillery is delighted to welcome Anton Strout, author of the Simon Canderous series. Anton's latest book, Dead Waters, is available today. You can read my 5 Qwill review of Dead Waters here.

TQ:  Describe the Simon Canderous series in 140 characters or less.

Anton:  Man with bat strives to Do Good, fighting evil and staying under budget in paranormally infested New York City

TQ:  How have Simon's psychometric powers evolved since the first book?

Anton:  I think much of his power has stayed relatively the same, it's Simon that has changed... he has better control over it, but there are certain things that have happened over time where we've seen little tweaks to it. In Dead Matter, we saw Simon use his powers in conjunction with Jane's technomancy to broadcast one of his psychometric visions. In Dead Waters, we're going to see Simon struggling with some of the emotional states that he ends up 'feeling' when he does particular emotionally charged readings with his powers.

TQ:  You write primarily Urban Fantasy. In what other genre(s) would you like to write?

Anton:  I'd love to try my hand at more traditional fantasy, but right now I'm having a lot of fun working on a yet unsold YA steampunk book that I keep calling my Dickensian urchin Iron Man book... I dabble a lot. I even do regular fiction, such as my fictional punk band book I keep meaning to get back to, but the UF is the one paying the bills these days, so that's where my time goes.

TQ:  Who is your favorite secondary character or characters?

Anton:  I really have a lot of love for my secondary characters, which is why they either become the topic of books or some of the short stories. I love Godfrey, but that's because I totally see him as John Hodgman. And I love the Inspectre because he's part of the old guard, and with Dead Waters, I wanted to explore his past again, his time in his prime, as well as what it means to get old in the world of fighting evil.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what it your favorite scene or scenes in Dead Waters?

Anton:  I love all of my scenes out on the Hudson River in the boat... something about floating on the calm water just outside the city as all kinds of paranormal hell breaks loose that makes me giggle like a kindergartener.

TQ:  What is the playlist for Dead Waters?

Anton:  Well, I always have Beat On The Brat by the Ramones in my head while I write, along with the Fight Club soundtrack, the Matrix and some Bach for the lighter moments. I also think I listened to a lot of Alien Ant Farm's The Movies and The Cranberries Zombie.

TQ:  How many books are planned for the Simon Canderous series? Are there any upcoming short stories/novellas set in the Simonverse?

Anton:  Well, I'D like the series to go on, but that's really not up to me at the moment. I have at least two more books semi-planned out, but I may be putting some time into a second series soon... more on that later when I have something to share.

TQ:  What's next?

Anton:  Hopefully I'll get to shop around the YA in a month or so. I have a zombie apocalypse short coming up in the March anthology After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar and I owe two stories to some editors out there... one of them a modern day fairie story and one a Weird West kinda tale. And then there's that little bit of news I can't discuss yet :D



Anton's Books

Dead to Me
Simon Canderous 1
Ace, February, 26, 2008
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

A new urban fantasy featuring a man working on the right side of law-with talents that come from left field.

Psychometry-the power to touch an object and divine information about its history-has meant a life of petty crime for Simon Canderous, but now he's gone over to the good side. At New York's underfunded and (mostly) secret Department of Extraordinary Affairs, he's learning about red tape, office politics, and the basics of paranormal investigation. But it's not the paperwork that has him breathless.

After Simon spills his coffee on (okay, through) the ghost of a beautiful woman- who doesn't know she's dead-he and his mentor plan to find her killers. But Simon's not prepared for the nefarious plot that unfolds before him, involving politically correct cultists, a large wooden fish, a homicidal bookcase, and the forces of Darkness, which kind of have a crush on him.

Deader Still
Simon Canderous 2
Ace, February 24, 2009
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

It’s hard to defeat evil on a budget. Just ask Simon Canderous.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF DEAD TO ME.

It’s been 737 days since the Department of Extraordinary Affairs’ last vampire incursion, but that streak appears to have ended when a boat full of dead lawyers is found in the Hudson River. Using the power of psychometry—the ability to divine the history of an object by touching it—agent Simon Canderous discovers that the booze cruise was crashed by something that sucked all the blood out of the litigators. Now, his workday may never end—until his life does.

Dead Matter
Simon Canderous 3
Ace, February 23, 2010
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 336 pages

Shaking up the spirits of Manhattan

The spirit populace of Manhattan doesn't appreciate its well-deserved RIP being disturbed, and Department of Extraordinary Affairs Agent Simon Canderous is sent in to do damage control. Meanwhile, his vacationing partner, Connor Christos, is in a sorry state, and he tells Simon that each night he's being haunted by visions of his long-lost brother at his window. Simon is worried that his partner may be going crazy-or worse, maybe he's not...

Dead Waters

Simon Canderous 4

Ace, February 22, 2012

Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

From the back cover:

With Manhattan's Department of Extraordinary Affairs in disarray (forget vampires and zombies -- it's the budget cuts that can kill you), Simon Canderous is still expected to stamp out any crime that adds the "para" to normal." And his newest case is no exception...

A university professor has been found murdered in his apartment. His lungs show signs of death by drowning. But his skin and clothes? Bone-dry. Now Simon has to rely on his powers -- plus a little help from his ghost-whispering partner and technomancer girlfriend -- to solve a mystery that has the NYPD stumped and the D.E.A. shaken and stirred.

Anthologies:

2007                  2008                        2009             2010

2011

About Anton

Fantasy author Anton Strout was born in the Berkshire Hills mere miles from writing heavyweights Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville and currently lives in the haunted corn maze that is New Jersey (where nothing paranormal ever really happens, he assures you).

He has been a featured speaker and workshopper at San Diego Comic-Con, Gencon, New York Comic-Con, the Brooklyn Book Festival.

He is the co-creator of the faux folk musical Sneezin’ Jeff & Blue Raccoon: The Loose Gravel Tour (winner of the Best Storytelling Award at the First Annual New York International Fringe Festival).

In his scant spare time, his is a writer, a sometimes actor, sometimes musician, occasional RPGer, and the worlds most casual and controller smashing video gamer. He currently works in the exciting world of publishing and yes, it is as glamorous as it sounds.

Anton's Links

Website
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
Livejournal
The League of Reluctant Adults

The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win signed copies of the 1st 3 Simon Canderous books: Dead to Me, Deader Still, and Dead Matter.

How:  Leave a comment telling The Qwillery what is your power? Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3) Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who & When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Tuesday, March 1, 2011. Void where prohibited by law.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change*