clear that I have a passion for twentieth
century American novelists. Fitzgerald,
Thompson, Vonnegut, Steinbeck, I love
them all. I actually just read a book
called The Pleasure of My Company, by
Steve Martin (yes, the comedian). What
a quirky, fascinating little book. I’m all
over the place here.
MAER: Can you share a bit about the
project you’re working on now?
CHAD: I’m not actually working on
anything as we speak. I’m pretty caught
up in my day job. However, I can tell
you, in addition to the sequel of Idyllic,
I have a horror novel sitting on my
hard-drive that’s about half finished.
I’m in love with the story (I’m a huge
horror buff) and I can’t wait to get back
at it. I’m going to concentrate on those
two projects next. I don’t like to work
on more than one thing at a time. I’m
hyper-focused on whatever writing
project that’s in front of me, and
nothing else. People who know me will
tell you that I can’t multitask. They’re
right.
MAER: So, what do you do when
you’re not writing?
CHAD: When I’m not writing, and I’m
not working for the school district, I’m
up to my eyeballs in sports. I’m
Canadian, so it will come as little
surprise to you that I’m a hockey
fanatic. I watch as much hockey as I
can. I also love Canadian football. Most
of your readers probably don’t even
realize that there is a Canadian Football
League, but there is and I love it. It’s a
really uni que and exciting brand of
football that has a good following up
here. I also like to spend time throwing
back a beer or two at the local pub. It’s
a nice release and I enjoy taking a break
from writing and/or thinking about
writing. Writing can be all-consuming
and very solitary. It’s important to get
out and socialize once in a while. A
balance is hard to achieve, but it’s
critical.
MAER: Good point about the solitary
nature of writing. It’s always great to get
out and do other things. What
influenced you to write in your genre?
Do you write in others?
CHAD: I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a science-fiction writer. I like
to write in other genres. Like I said, I
have a horror novel half completed and
other, smaller works of fiction across
different genres that I will get back to
when I have the time. As for who
influenced Idyllic Avenue, I think it’s a
combination of the science fiction
writers I’ve already mentioned as well as
science fiction movies. I’m a movie
buff. I like dark, apocalyptic themes. I
don’t necessarily like science fiction
stories that are heavy into the science;
rather I prefer character-driven stories
that show human relationships and
struggles. That’s what I tried to achieve
with Idyllic Avenue.
MAER: Character-driven are my faves,
too. What music, if any, do you like to
listen to while writing?
CHAD: I require complete silence
when I write. I can’t have any
distractions. That’s why I write at night
when everybody has gone to bed.
Sounds take me outside of the story.
Even quiet music is a distraction. I
don’t even have a window in my writing
room, that’s how isolated I am when I
write. In Stephen King’s memoir, On
Writing, he talks about writing with the
door closed. I share that philosophy.
Every distraction is a setback and the
door needs to be closed to block out
the external stimuli. There’s a horrifying
scene in The Shining where Jack
Nicholson’s character loses it on Wendy
when she tries to bring him lunch while
he’s at his typewriter. It’s a disturbing
scene, but I think a lot of writers who
You can buy Idyllic Avenue at Amazon and
Follow Chad at these links:
Chad on Twitter
Barnes & Noble.
Chad on Facebook
Page 23
write with “the door closed” can relate
to that.
MAER: Chad, thanks again for
stopping by today and for a great
interview! Do you have anything you’d
like to add?
CHAD: I just want to thank you for
hosting me on your blog, Maer. It’s a
great opportunity for me to showcase
my novel. Perhaps the most interesting
feedback I’m getting about Idyllic
comes from people who don’t normally
read science fiction. The feedback is
really positive and I’m flattered. It goes
to show that my book appeals to fans
across different genres and that’s
exactly what I was hoping for. I’m
thrilled with how it’s being received …
and just maybe I’ll churn out that sequel
very soon. Thanks again, Maer.
MAER: My pleasure. I’m be looking
froward to reading Idyllic Avenue
seeing more from you in the future!