Interview: Shiraz, author of Defenders of the Scroll

Today I have the honor of interviewing Shiraz, the author of Defenders of the Scroll. Shiraz is South African born, but he was raised right here in Canada. DotS is his first published work. Now, on to the interview, with Shiraz's words in bold.

First off, to learn a bit about you, let's play three truths and a lie. Tell us four facts about yourself, one of which is fictional. (scroll to the end of the interview for the answer)

1. Everything I own (excluding my car) fits in my car, a Honda Civic.

2. I spent a night in a Spanish prison for being black.

3. I unearthed the skeleton of a thief in a 2nd century Roman outpost found on an archeological dig in Hungary.

4. I won't eat toast unless the crust is cut off.

Tell us a bit about Defenders of the Scroll.

It has consumed my life. Few very days have gone by in the last 2 years where I hadn't worked on DotS in some way, be it writing, editing, contacting bloggers, entering contests, artwork, promotion, you name it. DotS has evolved from a television concept I was involved with, to a story and characters that are very near and dear to my heart, and something that will leave a large void when it eventually comes to an end.

Why did you decide to write this book?

I felt Alex and Dara's stories needed to be told. They've been through so much. No, really. I'd known the characters for years before I wrote the book, and I've seen them (and the whole gang) go on a dozen more adventures than you've read. But attempts to make DotS an animated series (and have those adventures come to life) have failed so far, and I felt it was too good a story to just get shelved. So when the creators asked me if I wanted to write the novel, of course I said yes!

Which one of your characters is the most fun for you to write?

Which ONE? Ugh. I guess I'd have to say Alex, but he's not as fun to write for unless he's interacting with the others. I think that's been the most fun with DotS, the character chemistry, and Alex seems to always be at the center of it.

What are some of your favorite books and authors?

George R.R. Martin, Terry Goodkind, Stephen King (his early work), Frank Miller, Isaac Asimov, R.A. Salvatore. My favourite books as most books by these authors. Lately I've been tending to find an author and then read everything I can by him/her before moving onto someone else so it's taking me a while to find new favourite authors.

What's up next for Alex and Dara? Can we expect a sequel soon?

There's so much up next for Alex and Dara. Yes, you can expect a sequel. it's not right to leave a story hanging like that. Soon? I don't know. DotS is still just getting ramped up. And, as I mentioned earlier, it's taking up most of my time, including writing time for a sequel. Also, since the creators own the property, its their call.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Certainty to Heisenberg's principle.

Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Shiraz! For those who are interested, Shiraz's lie was #4. Good thing too, the only people who can get away with not eating crusts are toddlers.

For more information, please visit the Defenders of the Scroll website.