SEAN TAYLOR: ON ZOMBIES, ROBOTS, RICK RUBY, AND MORE

"Farm Fresh" within these pages

Portrait of the writer as a young seller of his wares

He has posted much and interviewed many upon his own website at
http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com , but now the time has come to grant Sean Taylor his moment in the spotlight and ask him a few questions.
The Free Choice E-zine: Welcome Sean. Please tell us a little about your latest work.
Sean Taylor: Zombies versus Robots, This Means War is a prose expansion of the Zombies versus Robots comic book stories created by writer Chris Ryall and artist Ashley Wood, that redefines both zombie and robot fiction. I contributed the story "Farm Fresh" but am amongst some talented people, including Jesse Bullington, Nancy Collins, Lincoln Crisler, Brea Grant, Robert Hood, Nicholas Kaufmann, James A. Moore, Norman Prentiss, Rachel Swirsky, Steve Rasnic, Rio Youers, and Jeff Conner.



TFCE: And who do you root for in a battle like that?
SEAN: Any poor humans caught in the middle! Although sometimes the robots do tend to be a little more pro-human than the zombies. But each force has so many different types on their side, that it's hard to tell at times.


TFCE: You've contributed to many anthologies of late, including co-creating The Ruby Files. Can you tell us a little bit of how that came about?
SEAN: Bobby Nash is a friend of mine, and Richard/Rick Ruby grew out of our mutual admiration for the classic, hard boiled type of private detective that started in the 1930s. But what sets him apart from others is that we approached the series from the more enlightened era of today so Rick can interact with others, especially African-Americans, a lot more than he would have been able to during the series' time period.
In my story, "Die Giftig Lillie" I focus on Edy Rose Adams, who is

A co-creation with Bobby Nash

Rick's secretary and kind of looks out for him when she can, and Evelyn Johnson, a slinky jazz singer who knows any romantic relationship with Rick can never last, but intends to make sure he always remembers her.


TFCE: You've done a lot of work in the budding genre of New Pulp. What is that field to you?
SEAN: Personally, I'm more than happy to define New Pulp by the authors and the stories.
The stories are engaging and targeted to the common man and woman. That's as simple a line in the sand as I can reduce it too, yet it's open enough to allow interpretation that hopefully doesn't foster argument but circumvents it. Whether they scare, enthrall, titillate, or take the reader on a grand adventure, they're a simple contract between the author, the publisher, and the average reader. Pulp, both old and new, is escapist fiction. Like classic pulp, some is deftly written by literary masters, some is averagely written by good writers who know their trade well, and some is, well, some is quite bad.
In defining Pulp by the authors, I know that if I read a story by Andrew Salmon, even if it's a futuristic sci-fi tale, it's going to feel like a pulp, so it's pulp. If I read something by Tommy Hancock, it's going to be literally drenched in pulp sensibilities. And as I go deeper into the New Pulp movement, I expect to find more names that become synonymous with the words "New Pulp."
Those are my thoughts anyway. You're mileage may differ. 

TFCE: Why do you write what you do?
SEAN: Because they are the kind of stories I enjoy telling. They're the tales I love to read. They're, although it sounds rather high-falootin' to say it, the blood I bleed. I write what I do because I have to. I don't seem to have the options that other people have, to play video games or go watch a ball game, because something inside me compels me to get these stories out. It's a difficult obsession to explain, but it is what it is.

TFCE: Let's attempt that. What inspires you to write?

SEAN: Compulsion and obsession drive me to write, as does my selfish need to be remembered. Seriously. I desperately crave to be remembered one day long after I'm dead as someone whose stories live on and continue to be read. It's a personality fault, I know, but it is what it is, and I crave to be remembered for my work

TFCE: What has influenced your style and technique?

SEAN: There are two key influences that have had the most sway over me in terms of style and technique. 
The first is Ernest Hemingway. His straight-to-the-point way of writing narrative, and his knack for having people talk about everything but the most important thing on their minds really influenced my own style. He took the purple out of prose and streamlined it, and in effect created modern bookwriting. 
The second is comic book writer Chuck Dixon. He's in many ways the Hemingway of comic books. I learned from him how to cut to the important details and to always write in such a way to make a reader turn the page. He also taught me to give my bad guys something good to make the reader feel for them, and to give my good guys a bad trait to make my readers realize they're not the perfect white hat cowboys of the black and white serials. 

TFCE: What would be your dream project?

SEAN: I've done so many of my dream projects thus far--Rick Ruby, Blackstorm, Zombies vs. Robots--but one property I'd really, really love to have the opportunity to write is DC's The Metal Men. I've been a fan of them for years, and the dynamic that team has opens itself to so many stories in my head. I'd sacrifice a right arm (good thing I'm left-handed) for that gig. DC's recent universe reboot (The New 52) gives any writer a chance to start over from practically Square One, but so far The Metal Men have yet to appear in the New DC Universe. So if anyone connected with the company is reading this...

TFCE: Where do you foresee yourself within the next few years?
SEAN: I hope to be doing the same thing I'm doing now--writing stories I love to tell. But I sure hope to be doing it from the veranda of my new beach house that I'll buy from the sell-out money Hollywood gives me to option one or two of my tales. 

TFCE: You have been asked and answered many questions upon your own blog. But has there ever been an interview question you have not been asked but would love to answer, and if so, what is it and your response?

SEAN: Yes. Why the obsession with Drew Barrymore? My answer: Because I saw the movie Doppleganger and fell in love. That's why. 

TFCE: Any other projects you'd like to promote?

SEAN: Oh man, where do I start? Besides my blog and my official website at at www.taylorverse.com

I've also contributed a story to the upcoming Pulp Obscura volume: The New Adventures of Armless O'Neil, which is a joint venture between Pro Se Press and Altus Press and there is a lot of other stuff in the works, so it's just a question of when and what's next.

TFCE: Sounds like you're quite a busy guy Sean, so we better let you get back to work. Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

SEAN: You're welcome.

The various works of Sean Taylor can be found and acquired through his websites, those of his publishers, and Amazon.com.