RT: If I had my way, everything I write would make it to the page and does in the original draft. It's my editor that does the slicing and dicing. For an example, there is a deleted scene from Madhouse that my editor cut from the book. It's on my LJ, right hand side, scroll down to deleted scene.
IBT: What's your favorite type of hero?
RT: Anti-hero all the way. Good, wholesome heroes are so boring and two-dimensional. If you were dropped into Cal and Niko's world, really, how long would you stay good? How long could you afford to stay entirely good and survive? The land of urban fantasy is a difficult road to walk for the characters.
IBT: Some authors really enjoy putting their protagonists through the wringer. Jim Butcher, for example, takes an almost sadistic joy in making sure Harry Dresden suffers as much as possible. The ever embattled Cal and Niko seem to share a similar condition. So I have to ask, is there such a thing as a happy ending in the world of the Leandros brothers?
RT: Mmmmmm. I don't know exactly how the series might end, so I couldn't say there, but in between now and some hopefully far off future ending, would you want happiness? Or would you want angst and sarcasm and the constant battle between good and evil that takes place in Cal's head? I suppose I could do bright balloons, rainbows, baskets of kittens, and unicorns...nahhhhhh.
IBT: The your latest book, "Deathwish", you kept your readers on the razor's edge right alongside your heroes, and the only thing keeping them and us from falling was the ironclad loyalty between the brothers. It was undoubtedly the most beautifully written torture! How did this book- and especially how did the ending come about for you?
RT: I wanted to show what genuinely is within Niko. Seeing him from the outside, he can seem so perfect and calm. Levelheaded. But I wanted the reader to know the lengths he would go to, what he is actually capable of when it comes to his emotional ties with his brother. I wanted the reader to see that in his way Niko is as deadly and lethal as any Auphe and maybe even more so. He might have only one button to push, but push it and Hell walks on earth.
IBT: Seemingly everything that Cal and Niko stand for hinges on the relationship between them, and the absolute faith they have in each other. Will we see a time or a situation present itself where we find the brothers on opposite sides? After reading "Deathwish", it feels as if this were to come to pass it could have catastrophic results for one or both of them.
RT: Nope, barring drugging, brainwashing, amnesia, Auphe hiccup in Cal's brain, you will never see an intentional break in the loyalty. I have one line that won't be crossed in this series, and that is it.
IBT: Have we really seen the last of the full-blooded Auphe? Is it possible that Cal isn't the only one of his kind? The Auphe seemed like creatures who wouldn't put all their eggs in one basket.
RT: I actually don't know. But I do know you don't have to be full Auphe to do some damage, and Cal is on a long road.
IBT: The dialogue in your books flow sharp and quick, it seems to come so naturally. What part of the books does not?
RT: Romance. Most romance written (except with Robin and Ishiah or Robin's many, many escapades) I have to force myself to do. Just because I'm female doesn't mean I like romance. I usually don't. I like action, adventure, mystery, comedy, sci fi, fantasy, horror...but I do not always like romance. It probably comes from being a kid and watching TV. Every single time a romantic possibility would show up, the two main characters would inevitably fight over her or because of her. It imprinted on my impressionable seven year old brain that romance leads to strife between my favorite characters. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy an occasional well done, strife free fictional romance that someone else has written, but I don't, as a rule, like to write it myself. There are some exceptions...Robin and Ish and two relationships in my new book Trick of the Light, but one of those is a potential relationship...a 'we can't be together now, but maybe someday' one, which leads to a lot of back and forth sarcastic sniping between the two. And sarcastic sniping I always enjoy.
IBT: Your characters are very three dimensional, as a fan it's exciting to anticipate your new series. The Trickster Series introduces your female protagonist Trixa Iktomi, was the transition from a male dominated cast in the Cal Leandros series to Trixa a difficult one?
I thought it would be, but actually it wasn't. Of course Trixa is a very fun character. She's somewhat like Goodfellow with her enthusiasm for life, her sarcastic nature, but lacking Robin's rather frightening sex hyper-drive. Plus there are four male characters that I also was able to write who are quite...entertaining. Zeke and Eli being my current favorites (Eli is a demon who is also a bit like Goodfellow only evil. Now who doesn't want to see a purely evil, homicidal Goodfellow?) IBT:
Do both series share the same world? Is a crossover ever a possibility?
RT: Yes. I don't know about a crossover, but Robin has two audio cameos in Trick of the Light and Ishiah may show up in book two. IBT:
As an author how do you respond to those who think that censorship is a necessary evil?
RT: Bang head against wall. I could write pages on this, but I'll go with the most simple answer: censorship is evil...period. When someone says something is a necessary evil, the word necessary is their justification for doing evil. And there is no justification for doing evil. You can read about evil, watch it in a movie, whatever, but in the real world you don't do it. We live in a society here, come on and get with the program. Oh, and leave the gay penguin books alone already. There's war, poverty, and disease the world over. Who knows how many children overseas starved to death while I wrote the answer to this question. Try worrying about that. Priorities, people!
IBT: Hypothetically speaking, if you had a plan for world domination, one that succeeds, what would your first order of business be?
RT: Equal rights for everyone, and I would ban all reality shows (except for Kathy Griffin's...she works her ass off and she's a comic--she can carry it off.) And, yes, I know this directly contradicts what I said about censorship, but as this is a fantasy, I'll do as I please. I'm tired of shows getting by lacking all creativity because it's cheaper to have people make jackasses of themselves than hire writers. Gah! It makes me insane.