A (Not So) Silent Interview With Sue London

In this line of work, I get to meet many amazing people with great passion for everything that makes a great comic book or novel. As my popularity slowly started rising on twitter (at this point I’m the equivalent of the guy in the corner people can see) I ran across @cmdrsue, who–more then anything else–was funny. I started slowly having twitter conversations, and soon I knew that I had to share this great person with the rest of the Comic Booked readers. Getting her for the interview was a bit of a challenge though because she had her doubts that an interview about her would fit on a comic book website, the great thing is where there is a great story Comic Booked is willing to write about it, she even went comic nerd for us, so sit back and enjoy folks.

Sue is a cartoonist and speculative fiction writer who also loves to support the dreams and ambitions of other writers, interviewing them on the website Writing Insight.

After having two boys, Sue’s parents were delighted to finally have a little girl. This delight was almost immediately dampened as her true tomboy nature began to show. The first time she was let loose at Toys R’ Us to pick out any toy she wanted she ended up with a miniature Spiderman on a motorcycle. She grew up on Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, and OMNI magazine, yet can pass for “normal” in an office. This lends some credence to the idea that Clark Kent got away with it for so long.

Long famous for her own sonic scream and married to an archer, Sue remains convinced that the Black Canary and Green Arrow wedding was secretly written by one her friends. You are mostly likely not surprised that she and her husband spent their honeymoon at Disney’s Star Wars Weekends and have dressed in costume for more than one movie premier. She thinks it is probably very illuminating that her favorite song ever is The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.

-What drives you to want to write?
That’s like asking what drives me to breathe. I’ve always been expressive, starting with art and spoken stories before I learned to read and write. In fact, one of my earliest memories is of making up ghost stories with my best friend as a toddler. We would sit in the grass in the front yard, staring at the sky and whispering the stories to each other like secrets. In my teens years it became more about making my mark on life, leaving something behind. Now that I’m older it’s become richer and more complex. My drive is to communicate, entertain, and, ultimately, try to make the world a better place by influencing what people think about and how they think about it. Part of why I love speculative fiction, and science fiction in particular, is that it challenges how we look at reality.

-Where do you pull your ideas from?
It depends. Some ideas seem to come out of nowhere, springing fully formed from my forehead like Venus. Others I get from a construction approach – like “Hmm, I want to write something with a creature I’ve never done before and try the urban fantasy genre” (that was how I came up with the merfolk plot for 2009 NaNoWriMo).

-When writing what are you superstitions?
Isn’t that an interesting question… Writing goes better with cats around, even when they are trying to sprawl on your computer keyboard.

-What are your do’s and do nots as a writer?
Do or do not, there is no try. Ha! No, lemme think…
Do: Write! Be authentic. Honor the relationship between writer and reader.
Do Not: Be stuck on yourself. Preach. Be boring.

-What writers are your inspiration?
Whoever I’m reading right now! There is nothing better than getting in a fresh new space with a great new author (I’m looking at YOU, Jeremy C. Shipp). Over the long term I would say Douglas Adams, Oscar Wilde, Harry Harrison, Spider Robinson, C.S. Lewis (especially “Out of the Silent Planet”), Alexandre Dumas, and Mark Twain. More recently Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Michael Connelly. Oh, and also all the pulp stuff I pick up at the bookstore and say, “Really? This got published? I so totally have a shot.”

A big thanks to Sue for taking her time and  answering all of these questions. Do yourself a favor and follow Sue London on her twitter account and go to the Sueniverse and read some more about her.

Until next time, Comic Booked fans, please put your tray tables up and place your seats in the upright position.