September 2015

Q & A with Sean O'Dea

1. Can you tell us a little what your story, "Wind Chimes," is about?

A group of suburbanites meddle with the forces of Feng Shui, creating fluctuating prosperity and strife within a cul-de-sac.

2. How did you come up with the idea? Why did you pick the story setting?

All supernatural elements aside, I lived on the aforementioned cul-de-sac for three years. A cul-de-sac that, in 2008, was devastated by the housing market collapse and ensuing recession. I wrote this story on the cusp of foreclosing on my own home and uprooting my new family. Ultimately, I just wanted to express the plight of the 2008 crisis by using "mysterious forces," which many people understood to be the cause of such a collapse. In reality, the actual "market forces" that caused so much strife among hard-working people back then were entirely rational and foreseeable. Strangely enough however, readers will see that regardless of the forces at work, the outcome in the story was the same as real life.

3. What is your inspiration for writing as a whole?

To paraphrase Philip K Dick: I write because the "real" world does not meet my standards. The worlds I create, do a better job.

4. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder. I am also a former US NAVY lieutenant, and south Denver police officer who now teaches world history and philosophy at an all-girls school in Centennial, Colorado. When not preparing my students for AP exams, or attempting to raise two crazy, little boys, my wife encourages me to write.

5. Where can listeners find more of your work?

My debut novel, Peacemakers, is a historical scifi novel set in 1914 that reveals the origin of America's first covert ops unit. A unit consisting of a wandering hired gun, a mysterious train robber, a relentless private detective, an out-of-work prostitute, a knife-throwing feral woman, a genius scientist, and a former President of the United States.

You can find it for sale on Amazon or the Tattered Cover. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TW0VZU4

6. Any new work we should keep an eye out for?

The sequel to Peacemakers - Warmongers - will be out in 2016. For more info on release dates, follow @Sean_M_ODea on Twitter, or check my website https://seanmichaelodea.weebly.com/

7. (And just for Juli's curiosity: What are you reading now?)

I just finished The Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka and X-Files: Trust No One Anthology. I just started a Lovecraftian mystery titled Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory this morning. I am a scifi/fantasy nerd all the way!

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Editor's Note: If you enjoyed this story, you might be interested in reading the whole anthology, Ain't Superstitious, with many more great stories. It's available on Amazon and Smashwords.

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