Featured Interview With Andrei Cherascu
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Timisoara, a charming, cozy town in Western Romania, relatively close to the Hungarian border. I’ve lived here all my life and all my family is here, so I have little interest in moving away. I live with my lovely wife, Ioana and our precious Netherland dwarf bunny, Picky, with whom I also share my home-office. Picky is more than a pet, though. She is an integral part of our family and by far the best friend anyone could ever hope for. She doesn’t read much SF but, on occasion, she’ll sink her teeth into a good book. Literally.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I think I started reading when I was 13, upon realizing that the life of a teenager can be very boring, while books were not. The first book I really got into was Treasure Island. I had seen the Japanese anime, Takarajima, based on the story and I was absolutely fascinated with the villain, John Silver. When the series ended I wanted more Silver, so I decided to read the novel. My love for Treasure Island evolved into a general love for books.
The first SF I ever read was Garden of Rama which was a gift from my grandfather. I always looked up to him, so I especially loved reading the books I knew he had read. Now, whenever I finish a book, I leave a small mark on the last page, just like he used to do. Many of the books on our shelves bear two small marks on the upper left corner of the last page.
My relationship with my grandfather inspired Sheldon’s relationship with Kinsey in Mindguard. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away while I was still working on the novel. He never got to find out about my tribute to him.
I started writing when I was a teenager. I wrote poetry – in German, of all things. I published a collection of my poetry when I was 18. It’s called Das Ende der Kindheit (Childhood’s End) – Google it! The title was an homage to Arthur C Clarke, though the book has very little to do with SF. After that, I took a six year break from writing.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read a lot of SF but I will generally “devour” everything I can get my hands on. To quote my character, Sheldon: “I have an interest in everything”. I’ll read an encyclopedia about wine or A Brief History of Time with the same interest I read an Agatha Christie mystery.
My all-time favorite book is Frank Herbert’s Dune. It changed the way I view literature and life in general. Dune inspired many aspects of Mindguard, most transparently the short texts at the beginning of every chapter.
To be honest, I get very little inspiration from the (quote/unquote) real world. My storytelling is mostly inspired by other samples of storytelling, whether it’s something I read in a book, something I see in a movie or (most of the time) a particularly brilliant piece of music. I am a devoted audiophile, so I spend a good amount of time listening to music. I also run a website called The Music and Myth, where I review records and concerts and interview musicians. It’s mostly focused on jazz, but I’ll listen to everything, provided it’s brilliant. Hell, right now I’m listening to John Zorn’s concert in Warsaw with The Song Project (2013). Check it out, it’s really great!
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Mindguard is the literary manifestation of my mind in all its raw, tortured, passionate, curious, bipolar clusterf**kedness (hey, if bootylicious is a word, then this one is too!) Really, it’s the novel I wanted to write all of my life. I wrote it with the pressing obsession that I might never get a crack at another one, so it contains parts of everything I care about and everything I ever wanted to say to the world hidden within an intricate maze of fiction.
The main characters, Sheldon and Tamisa, are manifestations of my own obsessions, with the “sound” turned up to eleven. I wanted to build a story that I would personally enjoy reading over and over again. I’m immensely grateful that, so far, the response to it has been very positive. Also that, in the end, I did get another “crack” at writing. Right now I’m working on a sequel to Mindguard and an independent story I plan to release as a serial early next year.
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