Sean Robin Hughes was born and raised in Colorado, which among the people that live in Colorado, makes him a certified unicorn. He has four kids, two dogs, a saint for a wife, and writes in his free time when he is not at work. Ironically, he is in IT, so he is always working in a fashion, so that is not a fair assessment.
Sean Robin Hughes enjoys writing, playing with his kids, eating apple pie, enjoying the mountains, and solving problems. Not necessarily in that order, but we don’t need an ordered list at this point in the relationship.
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When did you first start writing?
My first real short story was something I wrote for a writing exercise in a class called Forensics (a competitive acting/debate team in high school). It was meant to be a first person story from the perspective of your story selection. My selected character was a mafia boss in New York, and I wrote my story from his point of view as a kid when he took on his abusive father with a baseball bat. It was rooted in my own loss of my father, and when I was done reading it aloud for the class, there was absolute reverent silence. This is the only time this sort of thing has happened for me, so it has stuck with me since. My teacher responded with a breathless “Wow”, and the next kid, looking deadpan towards my teacher said, “How can I possibly follow that?” That was when I knew I could affect others with my words, and it is what stuck with me.
Why did you want to become an author?
I have two answers, one was realized in a hospital room after an organ was removed, and the other was dreamed of when I was in High School. Like many folks out there, as I was asked what I wanted to do with my life as a teenager full of promise, I thought I wanted to be a writer. My problem was that I was perfectionist. I read hundreds, thousands, of books in high school and college, and I struggled with the process of writing my own. How could I create anything that would be at the level I would be proud of it? I would scrap everything I started, or it would fizzle out and I would lose it. Then I ended up in a hospital bed in my mid-thirties, I realized I had to do something. I had to realize the desire and put in the time. So I did. Every day. My blog started because I needed a place to put my writing and call it done after a single pass. This broke the need for perfection, and lead me to my first novel, The Lines Are Ours To Follow.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
People don’t believe me when I say it, but when writing is going well, it is not me doing the writing. I truly experience the Muse at times, and the story tells itself. When asked why a character died or made the choice they did, my answer is often ‘I did not have a hand in it.’ The greatest joy is when the story is being told and I am merely the conduit to bring it out to this world.
How did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in a broken family, which seems to be a requirement for many people these days, and the lack of family, friends, and early positive experiences really drove me inwards. I developed a vivid imagination, and I am often at it’s mercy when my mind is idle. A simple thought can unspool into an entire dialogue, or an image can generate a story that I post the same day. I have found that knowing the pain of loneliness has been a strength in making my own family, as well as a driver for character viewpoints.
How do you approach cover design?
I do all my own cover design with a vision in mind ahead of time. As an IT guy, I am comfortable with most apps out there, and GIMP has been a friend for decades. I usually start thinking about the perspective of my title laying in bed at night. If I was the main character or at the viewpoint of a character, what would my world look like? What would I see? Or what image represents this collection of stories? I start there having a strict vision in my head as I nod off, then the next day start with a Creative Commons or License Free image (noted on the copyright page of my books), and play with the fonts, the layout, etc until it is close to my vision. I have been fortunate enough to get close nearly every time! (Although I would love to source a professional artist someday…)
Who are your favorite authors?
SO MANY CHOICES, but top of mind are as of late are John Scalzi, Ian M. Banks, Brandon Sanderson, Douglas Adams, Charles de Lint, Jim Butcher, Susanna Clarke, Neal Asher.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
My four kids pretty much force me out of bed each day. =) Or one of my dogs nosing my face to tell me ‘good morning, pops.’ Thankfully my wife will stay in the warmth for as long as I am willing, so at least I have company before rolling out to challenge the day!