Ask the Author: Derek Vasconi
Answered Questions (9)
Derek Vasconi
I'm so sorry, but your 2 year old daughter died in the car crash.
Oh, I almost forgot- so did your wife.
Oh, I almost forgot- so did your wife.
Derek Vasconi
I would go to my own world, which is really our world but with different people in seats of power and full of cryptids that are more real than cryptic. I would want to join up with my main character, Daryl, as he struggles to find Fei, his imaginary (or is she) friend from when he was just a boy, and help save the world from some very nasty billionaires, all the while keeping an eye on the impending clock of doom that rooted to an ancient myth which some really believe to be real, and some are trying to manipulate for the lesser good of mankind.
And yes, I know you have absolutely no idea what the heck I'm talking about, but you will... I'm writing a trilogy that deals with all the aforementioned, and right now I'm nearly 1,000 pages into book one and I'm not even done with Part one of Book One. I hope by the time I'm finished people will refer to my story as the Modern Day Game of Thrones.
And yes, I know you have absolutely no idea what the heck I'm talking about, but you will... I'm writing a trilogy that deals with all the aforementioned, and right now I'm nearly 1,000 pages into book one and I'm not even done with Part one of Book One. I hope by the time I'm finished people will refer to my story as the Modern Day Game of Thrones.
Derek Vasconi
Hi Lolah! Huge thanks for your interest in me and my work! I appreciate it so much!
So to answer your questions, I am not fluent in the Japanese language, but I speak enough of it and understand enough of it that if I had to go back and live in Tokyo on my own, I would be okay. I can always learn more, and I always am learning something new with the Japanese language every day. How about you? Any interest in the language or the culture?
Murakami has been in my life a long, long time. He's not so much an influence as a personal guide to all things surreal and metaphysical in my life. I can't even begin to explain why he's important to me or how he's been such a huge part of who I am, but if I had to answer that, it would also answer your question about what captured me with his work. I would have to say it's his magical realism style approach to the world, and the fact that his stories don't necessarily wrap up nicely, and that when you read his stories it's like he's sitting right there telling you all of them in person. Like a conversation. He never goes too crazy with his descriptions of things, at least in terms of piling adjectives up adjectives into describing something. And most of all, he just lives in a world so different from anyone else that when he allows me to visit it with a new story, it's like I feel incredibly privileged, blessed, and full of wonder all at once. Have you ever felt that way about an author? That's what he does to me. And for the record, 1Q84 is the greatest example of what Murakami can do with your heart and soul if you are willing to take that journey with him in his stories.
And he likes Jazz music, so being that I am also a musician, well, I really appreciate how he sneaks in something about his love of music in just about all of his works that he writes.
So to answer your questions, I am not fluent in the Japanese language, but I speak enough of it and understand enough of it that if I had to go back and live in Tokyo on my own, I would be okay. I can always learn more, and I always am learning something new with the Japanese language every day. How about you? Any interest in the language or the culture?
Murakami has been in my life a long, long time. He's not so much an influence as a personal guide to all things surreal and metaphysical in my life. I can't even begin to explain why he's important to me or how he's been such a huge part of who I am, but if I had to answer that, it would also answer your question about what captured me with his work. I would have to say it's his magical realism style approach to the world, and the fact that his stories don't necessarily wrap up nicely, and that when you read his stories it's like he's sitting right there telling you all of them in person. Like a conversation. He never goes too crazy with his descriptions of things, at least in terms of piling adjectives up adjectives into describing something. And most of all, he just lives in a world so different from anyone else that when he allows me to visit it with a new story, it's like I feel incredibly privileged, blessed, and full of wonder all at once. Have you ever felt that way about an author? That's what he does to me. And for the record, 1Q84 is the greatest example of what Murakami can do with your heart and soul if you are willing to take that journey with him in his stories.
And he likes Jazz music, so being that I am also a musician, well, I really appreciate how he sneaks in something about his love of music in just about all of his works that he writes.
Derek Vasconi
I've always wanted to tell an apocalyptic story that didn't depend on religion or Christ coming down from heaven or all the other usual end of the world tropes that TV and movies have abused for decades. I always wondered... what if there was an existence of species well before time was written about by humans, and this species that pre-dated our own threatened our existence to such a degree that it would be inevitable we all would die? All except maybe a few? And then what if none of it mattered because it was all a cycle of evolution? Or something like this?
It's a pretty epic concept that hinges on a lot of things happening, and I've got it all outlined, but as the writing progresses, I'm finding even more stories to tell within the umbrella concept of this whole crazy end of the world scenario.
It's a pretty epic concept that hinges on a lot of things happening, and I've got it all outlined, but as the writing progresses, I'm finding even more stories to tell within the umbrella concept of this whole crazy end of the world scenario.
Derek Vasconi
I think I've always wanted to write, but my life, initially, went toward the musical direction first. But while I was on tour with my band, and also when I was younger, I was always that guy who had a book or two or three with him always. So I think this is kind of a natural progression for me to go from playing music when I was younger to writing music now that I'm older.
Derek Vasconi
A massive, two or three book epic involving cryptids, the Pan Gu myth as reality, and the end of the world. It's like my Game of Thrones for this day and age, as I have around 80 characters so far in the story. After this, I want to write a horror story about a young Japanese girl who is obsessed with ikemen porn and is secretly cultivating the ebola virus in her home. Kind of doing both at the same time right now, so we'll see how it goes.
Derek Vasconi
Tell a GOOD story. Research it and don't cheat your readers or insult their intelligence. And most of all, believe in what you're writing. There is somebody out there who wants to read what you're writing. You have to assume that or believe that. The rest of writing you'll figure out along the way.
Derek Vasconi
I can go places and be people I could never be in real life. I get to imagine things I want to see or feel or know, even if it's horrific, because it's fun to live on the edge a bit like that. For instance, one of the things I love is the Japanese idol music industry. But I'm a middle-aged white guy, and definitely not the target demographic that the JPOP idol music industry wants to showcase or be in business with. So when I write about a girl who is an idol in the JPOP industry, I can become something I would never get to become in real life. It's just fascinating to do stuff like this over and over again with every character I decide to write about. I love this the most about being a writer.
Derek Vasconi
Writer's block rarely comes to me. I always know what I want to write. The problem for me is the research I need to do in order to write about things I like to write about. I can spend sometimes weeks and even months researching to get things right, and I'm talk about even for one sentence in my stories I do this!
I think the thing about writer's block is that if you have a good outline and know the story you want to tell inside and out, then writer's block won't be as big of an issue as you think it would be.
I think the thing about writer's block is that if you have a good outline and know the story you want to tell inside and out, then writer's block won't be as big of an issue as you think it would be.
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