Happy Monday Everyone! I had the exquisite pleasure of having the very lovely Dez Schwartz stop by the blog for a visit. Her latest release, Hunter (Roam, 2) was up for discussion along with some rather interesting and juicy tidbits about the author herself.
Dez, this is everyone. Everyone, meet Dez.
Dez Schwartz: “Hello, Everyone!”
JP Jackson: “You know, I have to confess something to you.”
Dez Schwartz: “Oh! Okay, shoot.”
JP Jackson: “I totally overlooked your book on the NineStar Press website and I have no idea how that happened. After reading Hunter, I have to say, I LOVED it. I’m going to have to go back now and read the first book, Roam and I think you had said there’s another novel, The Revelation of Dacey Sinnett – also now on the “To Be Read” list!
Dez Schwartz: “Aww, thank you. I really love this project. I hope you’ll like the first book too!”
JP Jackson: “I think that’s a given. Alright, you ready for some Rapid-Fire questions?”
Dez Schwartz: “Ready! Go!”
JP Jackson: “Set the spider free outside or stomp on it until it’s an unrecognizable smoosh spot?”
Dez Schwartz: “Leave it be completely, unless it’s a black widow or a recluse–in which case, sorry bud, GOODBYE!”
JP Jackson: “Oh, yes. I have to tell you, living in Northern Canada where it’s so cold for so many months of the year, we don’t really have any of those creepy crawlies. But I did live for a short time in Florida, so I am familiar with them…and wolf spiders. Damn those things get big.
Okay, freedom to the spiders, usually, mostly. LOL!”
<Laughs>
JP Jackson: “Okay, next… Considering your series is called Roam: What’s the furthest you’ve been away from home?
Dez Schwartz: “I feel like a sham not having traveled far myself! Assuredly, that’s why the idea is so appealing to me. I live in Texas and the furthest I’ve been is California and Florida. Someone, please spot me your free airline miles! I clearly need to escape.”
JP Jackson: <digs in a pocket for air miles card> “I will spot you! Did you know that my hubby and I frequently go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico? Would you like to come? It’s glorious.”
Dez Schwartz: “Oh god, YES PLEASE!”
JP Jackson: “TEQUILA FOR EVERYONE! Your liver will never be the same, but deal. After the interview though, okay?”
Dez Schwartz: “Yes!”
JP Jackson: “Alright, well, now that we know you want to travel, care to share what city were you born in?
Dez Schwartz: “Sure, but it’s not even remotely close to a city. I was born in the small desert town of Monahans, Texas. Known for coyotes and prickly pear jam.”
JP Jackson: “No kidding? Prickly Pear? I love that stuff. Imma gonna give you my address, maybe you could send me a jar? I recently had Prickly Pear licorice. It was really sweet but so yummy!”
Dez Schwartz: “I don’t think I’ve ever had that.”
JP Jackson: “I hadn’t either, but I thought, hey, I’ll put anything in my mouth once.”
Dez Schwartz: <gives the side eye and a lascivious grin> “You bad boy.”
JP Jackson: “Usually.”<winks> “How about this: Have you ever been in a natural disaster?”
Dez Schwartz: “Where do you come up with these questions? Thankfully, no. *knocks on wood* I was in a small flood once which was terrifying enough for me since I was a pre-teen and had just had surgery earlier in the day. I have nothing but the utmost compassion for anyone who has endured one. On a mildly related note, when I was five years old, a cousin of mine took me out into the middle of a cornfield in New Mexico and left me there alone during a lightning storm for two hours. I’m fairly certain that made a lasting impression on my psyche!”
JP Jackson: “It would leave a lasting impression on me, that’s for darn sure. Remind me to tell you about Lichtenberg figures. Fascinating marks. I used that in my last novel.”
Dez Schwartz: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that either! What are they?”
JP Jackson: “The result of a lightning strike on skin. They really are cool looking. Check them out.”
Dez Schwartz: “I’m gonna do that!”
JP Jackson: “Next – You have an empty pool. You can fill it with whatever you want and then dive in. What would you fill it with??”
Dez Schwartz: “Cheez Whiz. Next question.”
JP Jackson: <raises eyebrow> “There’s a story there. But, okay, the woman chooses to retain her mysteries. But now you have me thinking! How about this – What time of the day do you think is your peak performance time?”
Dez Schwartz: “This has changed for me over the past few years. When I first started writing, I was a midnight writer. Now, I tend to write best from 9AM-Noon.”
JP Jackson: “I can barely function in the morning. I’m inhuman until noon.”
Dez Schwartz: “I’ve heard you’re just inhuman!”
JP Jackson: <snorts> “I can neither confirm, nor deny.”
<laughs>
JP Jackson: “What city would you love to live in?
Dez Schwartz: “In the realm of realistic goals, I do hope to move to Florida someday; any of the towns close to Walt Disney World will do. Now, if we’re talking anywhere around the world, then I’d love to live in Castle Combe, England. It’s essentially where my character Dr. Grady Hunter is from.”
JP Jackson: “I might talk you out of Florida – especially after the spider comment! Otherwise, it’s beautiful there. Kissimmee – check that out. But I could definitely see writing as a profession and living in England. The two sort of go hand in hand, right?”
Dez Schwartz: “Exactly! Holed up in a little stone English cottage, surrounded by lovely magical gardens and creating tomes of spell-binding stories. Ugh, I want to go now.”
JP Jackson: “Sounds glorious. Okay, how about something else you can share that will expose more you to our readers…tell me, what is your weirdest quirk?
Dez Schwartz: “I make sure that all of my dishes have their bottom logos faced in the same direction when I put them up after washing. This is probably less of a “quirk” and more to do with my OCD.”
JP Jackson: “Oh, fair. I don’t think that’s all that OCD. I’m horrible about ‘everything has a spot and everything in its spot’. Actually, I don’t think that’s a quirk at all. I think that’s the sign of a well-organized brain.”
Dez Schwartz: “I like that. I’m gonna use that.”
JP Jackson: “Be my guest! What’s your favorite “go to” piece of clothing right now?”
Dez Schwartz: “It’s almost always riding boots but with our temperatures being so high lately I’ve been thinking of switching them out for some espadrilles.”
JP Jackson: “I like. Smart, sassy and classy! And definitely easier to wear when it’s hot. But I have to say, I totally have a thing for women’s shoes and I love the riding boots.”
Dez Schwartz: “Right?” <Wry grin>
JP Jackson: “I think the two of us left alone for too long, unsupervised, would be trouble. Chaos might erupt – but we’d have a blast shopping for shoes!”
Dez Schwartz: “HA! I’m game.”
JP Jackson: “Excellent! Okay, last rapid-fire question. Piercings? Yes or no?”
Dez Schwartz: “No, for myself. I have the standard ear piercings and that’s all. I had pierced my eyebrow during my punk-rock college phase but got rid of it after about a year. I’ve honestly never had any real desire to get piercings or tattoos (of which I have none) but I understand why others like them. Just not my thing.”
JP Jackson: “That’s allowed, besides, they hurt. At least my non-ear piercing did. No, I’m not telling you where it is. Stop looking at me like that.”
<giggles>
JP Jackson: “Okay, book time! Now, tell us about your book! I thought Hunter was a bit of a smashup between an Urban Fantasy and a Cyberpunk style because of the use of technology, multiverse dimensions coupled with magic and vampires. Would this statement be accurate?”
Dez Schwartz: “Well, this is the second in the Roam series, called Hunter, which you’ve already mentioned, and it’s an LGBTQ Dreampunk story. I actually had no idea what Dreampunk was before I wrote it and found the genre once I was ready to start pitching it around. I initially wrote it as an LGBTQ Urban Fantasy. The nods to Cyberpunk are intentional. Chris’ character is a techno-mage so I wanted to play around with Cyberpunk ideas in the universe I’d created.”
JP Jackson: “Okay – yes! I had heard you call it Dreampunk. I was not familiar with that genre at all.”
Dez Schwartz: “It’s a hodgepodge of elements, similar in nature to cyberpunk or dieselpunk, but the base of it is rooted in dreams. It utilizes fairy-tale like plots that usually seem simple, but have deeper meanings, uses mystical symbols, mythological references and elements of a dystopian environment, but it’s the subjective experience of the character that drives the plot.”
JP Jackson: “My god, that was a mouthful. But I saw all those things in Hunter. As I was reading it I kept trying to place it as an urban fantasy, and it’s close, but there were pieces of it that just didn’t fit that description, and then you referred to it as Dreampunk. And now I totally see it. How long did it take you to write this book?”
Dez Schwartz: “I’m progressively getting slower.” <Laughs> “ROAM took three months, HUNTER took four months, and this third book has taken about six months.”
JP Jackson: “I’m writing two sequels right now – one for Daimonion and one for Magic or Die – and I totally see how it can take longer. Even though all the original conceptualization for the world is done, there’s this drive to make the next book in the series even better than the first. I get it.”
Dez Schwartz: “Yes! That’s exactly it. Plus you’re adding in new characters and places, and they all have to ‘fit’.”
JP Jackson: “So, how did you come up with your magic system?”
Dez Schwartz: “Because my series is Dreampunk I knew I was going to be dealing with dreams and sandman lore. I used that as the foundation and then decided what specific powers/abilities that I wanted my characters to have and from there I worked backward in order to establish how those things would function in their universe.”
JP Jackson: “Cool. I have to say, some of the magic in this story is a departure from a lot of books I’ve read. It’s incredibly original, and there were several times I read something – and it was so brilliantly put together, and clever, I had to go back and read it again. Your writing style is really polished.”
Dez Schwartz: “Oh! Thank you, that’s a fantastic compliment.”
JP Jackson: “So if you could be any character in your book/series who would you choose?”
Dez Schwartz: “There are honestly so many good ones to choose from but I’d ultimately go with Dacey. He has the most fun.”
JP Jackson: “He is an interesting creature. I’m looking forward to reading The Revelation of Dacey Sinnett. They say every author’s story has a little bit of them in it – considering Death is a god or god-like creature in your story do you believe in life after death?”
Dez Schwartz: “I believe that we’re made up of energy and that energy cannot be created or destroyed but it can be transformed. This is a huge theme in the series and I’ll leave it at that.”
JP Jackson: “More mystery! I love it. Okay, last question – Do you have any new projects you’re working on that you’d care to tease us with?”
Dez Schwartz: “Book three, obviously!” <wry grin> “I’m very excited to share the culmination of this story and I think readers will be pleased with how it ends. AND… I’m excited to share that my publisher, NineStar Press, will be releasing Spanish translations of the series!”
JP Jackson: “Muy Bueno! Oh my god, I can’t wait! Okay, in the meantime, how do people find your books?”
Dez Schwartz: “Everywhere!”
Click On These Links for Dez Schwartz Stories
Amazon | NineStar Press | Barnes & Noble
JP Jackson: “And if readers wanted to look you up and say hi?”
Dez Schwartz: “I love hearing from my readers. Yes, please come find me!”
Dez Schwartz: “Thanks for having me!”
JP Jackson: “It was my pleasure! Okay, here’s my airmiles card – now go!”
<Dez squeals with excitement and runs off towards the airport in her summery espadrilles!>
J.P. Jackson 
Dreampunk sounds like it has certain qualities in common with ambient fantasy. 🙂