Author Interview: Shawn Odyssey

Dropping in today is Shawn Odyssey, the man behind  yesterday's release The Wizard of Dark Street!

Why would you want to be the Wizard's apprentice?

That’s a good question. I think delving into the deeper mysteries of life is something I’ve been attracted to for a long time. Conjuring elaborate spells and concocting smelly potions just seems like a lovely way to pass the time. And let’s face it, learning how to make things float in mid air would never grow old…well, okay, maybe it would, but imagine how impressed your friends would be. You’d surely be the life of the party.

I would also love to live in Pendulum House, which sits at the very center of Dark Street. To be surrounded by such an old and immensely magical structure would keep me on my toes, to be sure. It’s quite an unpredictable place to live. I would especially enjoy the enchanted secret garden in the center of the house, with its glass tree and exotic Faerie native plants. I think I’d be very happy there, so long as I didn’t have to stay in the Captain’s Cabin. I get seasick quite easily (and that’s as much as I’ll say about that. You’ll have to read the book for a better explanation of Pendulum House and its countless quirks and idiosyncrasies).

What was your favorite part about writing in your chosen time period?

The Victorian era has always fascinated me. Always? you might ask. Yes. If what my mother tells me is correct, I was born with a top hat on my head and a fashionable walking stick clutched in my infant hand. So it might be said that the fashion of the period is something that drew me into the time period. Also the air of decorum and propriety in the upper class is something I find captivating; how one face is shown publicly while inside each person there can be something very different. Like caged animals.

One research item I found to be particularly interesting was the physical pace of life. It took an awfully long time to get from one place to another in the days of horse and carriage (though at the time it must have seemed like a great way to travel). For those without horses or cab fair, they walked…or simply stayed at home. This might seem obvious, and maybe even romantic, but when you’re pacing a mystery novel in such a historical context it becomes apparent that travel in 1877 was a different experience entirely than we are use to today. Especially when someone needs to quickly get from one part of the street to another. Somebody call a carriage!

If you could spend one day with any one of your characters, who would it be?

To be honest, I feel as if I have spent days with them. Months. Years. As many authors out there will attest, writing a novel, not to mention the publishing process itself, takes a long time. And I still love all of these characters. It’s surprising that I could spend so much time with the same group of players and they still continue to fascinate me.

That having been said, let me answer the question properly. I think Oona, the books central protagonist, is the one I’d love to take a day with and stroll up Dark Street, so long as Deacon (her enchanted raven/encyclopedia) was riding on her shoulder, and I could hear them banter back and forth over what a nutcase I must be to suggest that I was their creator.


Besides Voldemort, what Death Eater would you want to fight?

Off the top of my head I’d have to go with Bellatrix Lestrange. Anyone with a propensity for torture really must be “taken care of”…and I don’t mean tucked into bed at night either. I was thinking more old-time gangster, sleeping with the fishes kind of “taking care of” somebody—Mrs. Weasley style. Bellatrix was quite nasty. And besides, I think her lively banter as she fought would make the whole experience much more exciting than dueling most of the other Death Eaters, don’t you?

What kind of dinosaur would you describe yourself as?

The first thing that comes to mind is a pterodactyl. For one thing, it has a silent “p” at the beginning of its name. How wonderful and strange is that? Also, they could fly around and observe the world from a higher vantage point. I like that. And lastly, they had that terrifying, high-pitched cry, kind of like a descending firework. Yes, yes, I know: it’s only a Hollywood sound effect. No one knows what they really sounded like. Sure. But I’ll bet that’s exactly what they sounded like. It could be heard for miles and miles. A spine tingling shriek that said one thing: “Lookout world, here I come!”

The Wizard of Dark Street is available in bookstores nationwide and online in both hardback and eBook formats! And you can check out it's dedicated (and seriously awesome) website at http://www.thewizardofdarkstreet.com

Also, I don't normally post trailers, but I really love this one of the prologue of the book, so I had to share it!