As many of you know, I am a bookseller in a mid sized city in Texas. The store I work in is the only bookstore in town. As a result, I see many GLBT people come in and browse the very small GLBT section I am allowed to carry.
Some months ago, I saw a shy young man looking over the section and trying very hard not to be noticed. I walked over and struck up a conversation with him, suggesting several books. Over the next few weeks he would come in just to talk about books and about gay life in general. We struck up a great friendship. He is 16, and living at home with his Jehovah’s Witness parents. For a long time, he struggled with trying to reconcile his sexuality and his religion. However, in the months that I have known him, I have seen him grow more confident and proud of whom he is, no matter what adversity he has faced at home. It makes me very proud to know him. His 17th birthday is coming up, and I wanted to do something very special for him. As we talk about books so much, and there are so many authors he has yet to be exposed to, I emailed Perry Moore, author of ‘Hero’ to see if he would sign a book for my friend. Not only did he agree, but offered to do a Q&A for this blog.
Although the characters in 'Hero' are originals, was there inspiration from existing comic book characters? If there was, can you match the inspiration to the character?
WHAT AN INTERESTING QUESTION—YOU GET RIGHT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER. ALL THE OLDER HEROES IN THE LEAGUE ARE EXACTLY WHO YOU THINK THEY’RE BASED UPON.
TRANSVISION VAMP CAME FROM A ONE-HIT WONDER ALTERNA-BAND
I GUESS YOU COULD SAY A LITTLE BIT OF GORAN CAME FROM MY LONGTIME CHILDHOOD CRUSH ON COLOSSUS.
BUT EVERYONE ON THOM’S TEAM, ALL THE PRIMARY CHARACTERS ARE BASED ON REAL PEOPLE.
FOR INSTANCE, HAL IS MY DAD (a decorated Vietnam Vet who was so damaged internally by that war without anyone to speak to about it (sort of like me, we were both seeking to find our places in the universe, but for very different reasons)), MUCH MORE THAN HE IS BATMAN OR CAPTAIN AMERICA.
I DID THINK WOLVERINE—THE MOST BORING, OVERUSED CHARACTER IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE—DESERVED A GOOD SMACKDOWN FOR KILLING NORTHSTAR IN HIS BOOK (DURING A MONTH WHERE MARVEL KILLED NORTHSTAR AT LEAST THREE TIMES IN ONE MONTH.). SO I HAD DARK HERO KICK SNAGGLETOOTH (THE LAMEST VERSION OF WOLVERINE YOU CAN IMAGINE) ON THE BUS DURING THE FIRST ACTION SCENE OF THE BOOK.
SCARLETT IS 100% BASED ON THE VOICE OF MY BEST FRIEND OF THIRTY YEARS, BRETTA ZIMMER LEWIS, OF VIRGINIA BEACH VIRGINIA.
In talking to other people who have read 'Hero' there is a lot of affinity for Ruth. Why do you think this character is so popular with your readers?
RUTH IS AN AMALGAM OF A FEW OF THE OLDER SOUTHERN FEMALE RELATIVES. THE BEST PARTS COME FROM MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, MAMMAW, (FROM HILLSBOROUGH, NC), AND MY GODMOTHER, JUANITA.THESE WERE STRONG-ASS WOMEN WHO DID NOT MINCE WORDS. THEY HAD PASTS THAT MADE THEM THE STRONG WOMEN THAT I GREW UP KNOWING AND LOVING. LOVING THIS BREED OF SOUTHERN WOMEN WAS ALWAYS…INTERESTING. OH, THE THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS.
I HOPE I CAPTURED EVEN A HINT OF THE GREATNESS THAT WAS THESE OLDER WOMEN.
HER MOVIE EQUIVALENT WOULD BE GENA ROWLANDS IN “GLORIA.” ‘CEPT FOR SHE WASN’T SOUTHERN, WHICH IS A PART OF ME, AND THEREFORE AN INEXTRICABLE PART OF RUTH.
YOU KNOW THE ONLY SCENE I WROTE OUT OF SEQUENCE EVEN IN THE OUTLINING PROCESS, I ALWAYS RESISTED THE URGE TO WRITE AN ENTIRE SCENE OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER BECAUSE I WANTED THE BOOK TO HAVE A LIFE OF ITS OWN, TO WRITE IN ORDER THAT THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR ACTIONS WOULD BE GIVEN VOICES AND THEREFORE THEY WOULD TAKE OVER AND AT THAT POINT I WAS JUST CHANNELING THEIR ACTIONS BY MOVING MY FINGERS ACROSS THE COMPUTER.
THE MINUTE THEY TOOK OVER THE STORY, HERO TRULY CAME TO LIFE. THANK GOD, FOR LETTING ME CHANNEL THESE INCREDIBLE CHARACTERS.
BUT I COULDN’T HELP IT WITH RUTH. THE MORE I THOUGHT ABOUT HER, THE MORE I HAD TO HOLD BACK… UNTIL ONE NIGHT. WE WERE CASTING THE KIDS FOR MAYBE THE THIRD TIME IN LONDON WITH NARNIA DIRECTOR ANDREW ADAMSON, CASTING DIRECTORS PIPPA HALL AND GAIL STEVENS, AND PRODUCER MARK JOHNSON. WE RARELY HAD A MOMENT TO OURSELVES. IT WAS WORKSHOPPING WITH THE CHILD ACTORS ALL DAY LONG UNTI WE HAD OUR FINAL FOUR, AND I REMEMBER WE WERE GIVEN SOMETHING LIKE TWO HOURS BEFORE OUR DINNER WITH TILDA SWINTON, TO CONFIRM SHE’D BE PLAYING THE WHITE WITCH. WELL, I WAS EBULLIENT BECAUSE I’D BEEN PUSHING FOR TILDA FOR TWO YEARS, AND I FELT, WOW, ANDREW’S FINALLY GOING TO SEAL THE DEAL.
OUT OF THAT HAPPINESS, I GUESS I FELT CONFIDENT, SO I STARTED WRITING IN THE HOTEL ROOM. THE SCENE I WROTE? WHERE THOM CONFRONTS RUTH AFTER THEIR FIRST PROBATIONARY TEAM MEETING. THE ONE WHERE HE ASKS IF SHE CAN SEE HIS FUTURE, THE ONE WHERE SHE PATS HIM ON THE HEAD…BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HE HAS SUCH A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF HIM.
SO I DON’T KNOW WHY SHE’S SO POPULAR WITH READERS. MAYBE BECAUSE I MYSELF LOVED HER SO MUCH. ALTHOUGH I LOVED THE REST OF THEM, TOO, SO I DON’T REALLY KNOW.
MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE SINCE SHE’S A FORESEER, SHE’S THE ONE WE ALL WISH WE KNEW IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO COULD HAVE SAID, “HEY, ALL THIS ANGST YOU’RE GOING THROUGH IS SUCH BULLSHIT, GET OVER IT. BECAUSE IF YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING THROUGH NOW IS HARD, THEN YOU’RE REALLY IN FOR IT, BECAUSE LIFE IS ABOUT TO GET A WHOLE LOT MORE COMPLICATED. EVERYTHING THAT YOU’RE DOING NOW, WELL, YOU BETTER STOP BITCHING ABOUT IT AND START DOING SOMETHING ABOUT THE THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF AND LIVING THE LIFE YOU WANT TO LIVE, BECAUSE YOUR TIME ON THIS EARTH IS SO BRIEF WHEN YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT. MAYBE THAT’S THE KEY.
I HAD A HUNCH SHE’D STEAL ALL HER SCENES, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL THE BOOK CAME OUT AND PEOPLE STARTED TO WRITE ME. I ALWAYS LIKED HOW SHE TELLS THE TRUTH. SHE MAY WITHHOLD SOME THINGS SHE SEES (LIKE THE DAY OF HER ULTIMATE FATE), BUT SHE NEVER LIES. NO ONE LIKES TO BE LIED TO.
For years now, there have been people trying to censor what kids can read in libraries, schools and bookstores across the country. Most of the time, it is 'concerned' citizens trying to pull LGBT books off the shelves. Yet, 'Hero' has been embraced by school systems and libraries. To what do you attribute this acceptance?
I WROTE IT FOR EVERYONE. I TRIED TO TAKE EVERY Cliché I’D EVER SEEN ABOUT THE MULTIPLE – SOMETIMES WELL MEANING – PORTRAYALS OF GAY CHARACTERS IN MEDIA. BUT I AIMED FOR SOMETHING SO MUCH HIGHER.
A CHARACTER THAT LEARNS TO BE A HERO, HE HAS REAL STRUGGLES THAT ARE UNIVERSAL (WANTING ACCEPTANCE FROM A HARD FATHER, LOVE FROM A MOTHER WHO’S LEFT THEM, AND A CRUSH ON TWO GUYS (UBERMAN AT FIRST, THEN GORAN), WHOM HE THINKS COULD NEVER POSSIBLY LOVE HIM BACK. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GENDER OF THE CHARACTERS HE LIKES. THOM IS A YOUNG ADULT STRUGGLING TO FIND HIS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE. EVERYONE RELATES TO THAT. IS HIS STORY MORE COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT HE LIKES GUYS MORE THAN GIRLS? SURE, BUT THAT’S HARDLY THE BEGINNING AND END OF HIS STORY.
HONESTLY, I SET OUT TO WRITE A STORY THAT DIDN’T EXIST – AND IT WAS A STORY THAT SO DESPERATELY NEEDED TO BE TOLD.
SO HERO QUITE FRANKLY BURNED A HOLE RIGHT OUT OF ME.
IN SCHOOL, WE ALWAYS READ STORIES ABOUT CHARACTERS WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM US. AND THE POINT I WANTED TO MAKE WAS THAT WHETHER YOU’RE BLACK, WHITE, GAY, STRAIGHT, OLD, YOUNG, BIG OR SMALL, ONCE YOU EMBRACE THAT WHICH MAKES YOU DIFFERENT CAN EMPOWER YOU IN WAYS YOU’VE NEVER IMAGINED. AS THOM EMBRACES WHO HE IS, THE MORE POWERFUL HE BECOMES AS A HERO.
ESSENTIALLY, THOM IS NOT DEFINED BY HIS SEXUALITY, AND I THINK THAT’S THE KEY TO THE BOOK’S POWER, AND WHY TEACHERS AND PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF GAY PEOPLE WRITE TO ME – IN ADDITION TO THE YOUNG ADULTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR OWN SEXUALITY AND THANKING ME FOR GIVING THEM A COMPANION THAT SAYS, HEY, IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY – I THINK THAT’S WHY PEOPLE DIG IT.
Do you still read comics? What do you read?
ANYTHING BY ALLAN HEINBERG. HE’S ONE OF MY COMIC BOOK HEROES BECAUSE OF WHAT HE DID WITH YOUNG AVENGERS. HE TOOK A POTENTIALLY LAME IDEA AND NOT ONLY MADE IT WORK—HE LEFT US WANTING MORE. ALWAYS.
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE HIS NEXT MAXI-SERIES WITH THE YOUNG AVENGERS. THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE FEW COMICS I WOULD CONSIDER DOING IN BETWEEN ALAN’S PRIMARY STINTS WITH THE BOOK (IF HE ASKS ME TO* *hint, hint, wink, nudge…Allan, call me!)
I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT GAIL SIMONE’S WORK, ESPECIALLY WITH SECRET SIX.
Let's talk about 'The List.' It's an incredible resource. As I read it, I became aware of many LBGT characters out there that I had never heard of (admittedly, I only read DC Comics, so I am at a handicap). It's widely reported that Northstar's death at the hands of Wolverine prompted the creation of the list. Looking on comics now, has there been any progression in the treatment and/or visibility of LGBT characters in your opinion?
I THINK THINGS HAVE FORTUNATELY GOTTEN BETTER, INCREMENTALLY. I MODELED THE LIST AFTER GAIL SIMONE’S, WOMEN IN REFRIGERATORS PIECE. YOU KNOW, I REALLY COMPILED THAT LIST ONLY AS A COMPANION PIECE TO THE BOOK. I THOUGHT IT WOULD STOKE SOME INTEREST IN THE BOOK. UNFORTUNATELY, SOME COMIC FANS WOULD ONLY READ THE LIST AND, GOD BLESS COMIC BOOK FANS, THEY’D LOVE TO NITPICK THE ERRORS. BUT I WROTE IT TO INVITE THAT VERY DISCUSSION.
I PROBABLY JUST SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT AT TWO CHARACTERS:
NORTHSTAR AND FREEDOM RING. IF YOU HAVEN’T, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR A LOOK UP “FREEDOM RING.” THEN YOU’LL UNDERSTAND WHY I WROTE THAT LIST.
Ok, I don't quite know how to put this into the form of a question, so I am just going to write this out and you let me know if you have a response. Looking over the characters on The List who have been killed off: I wonder how many of them were actually killed because of their sexual orientation. I mean, some of them were probably killed off just to service the plot, or as collateral damage. If we are going to have a larger LGBT presence in comics, then it stands to reason some of these characters are going to be maimed, killed, banished to another dimension, de-powered or something. I think the retconning of sexual orientation is deplorable, and so is the gratuitous killing because of sexual orientation, but I do think that we should have LGBT villians, heroes who suffer and death. It further integrates the LGBT experience into comics. Of course it would help if some of the gay characters got laid and/or had relationships too.
I HAVE A LONG E-MAIL EXCHANGE WITH ROBERT KIRKMAN WHERE I WROTE HIM – WE’D BEEN WRITING BACK AND FORTH WHILE I WAS DOING NARNIA, BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED TO PRODUCE THE WALKING DEAD (I DIDN’T GET TO). AFTER READING MY E-MAILS HE WROTE BACK AND ADMITTED THAT THE WHOLE FREEDOM RING THING WAS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST MISTAKE HE’D MADE. AND THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THAT WHEN THERE ARE ONLY FIVE OPENLY GAY MALE CHARACTERS IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, AND YOU KILL ONE (WITH A BUNCH OF SPIKES, ONE THROUGH HIS ANUS), YOU HAVE JUST KILLED 20% OF THAT WORLD’S GAY CHARACTERS. AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BACK OF THE BUS CHARACTERS.
I LOVE APOLLO AND MIDNIGHTER, BUT THEY’RE MEMBERS OF A TEAM. SAME WITH RICTOR AND SHATTERSTAR, AND THE BOYFRIENDS IN YOUNG AVENGERS.
I WOULD LOVE TO DO IN COMICS WHAT I DID I YOUNG ADULT FICTION: CREATE THE FIRST PROTAGONIST WHO IS GAY, OUT, MALE, EMPOWERED, AND UNAFRAID—HE DOESN’T SIT IN THE BACK OF THE BUS, AND HE DOESN’T NEED TO BE SAVED BY A STRAIGHT CHARACTER IN CASE OF ATTACK (SEE TERRY BERG IN GREEN LANTERN FOR MORE ON THAT ONE.)
BUT MY PRIMARY GOAL WAS TO DELIGHT AND INSPIRE AND HAVE EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FELT A LITTLE DIFFERENT BELIEVE HE OR SHE COULD BE A HERO.
BECAUSE THERE IS A HERO IN ALL OF US. BELIEVE!
Talk about your writing process a little. Do you write everyday? Is there a routine?
WHEN I DON”T HAVE TO WORK ON SOMETHING ELSE, I HAVE SACRED “WRITING HOURS”EVERY MORNING, USUALLY STARTING AT SEVEN AM AND GOING AS LONG AS I CAN BEFORE THE RESPONSIBLITIES OF THE REAL WORLD INTRUDE.
Have we seen the last of Thom Creed? Sequels?
OH BOY, THE SEQUEL IS GOING TO BE BIG. I MAPPED IT OUT BEFORE I WROTE MY LAST NOVEL. IT WILL BE BIG. THE SEQUEL WILL TEST THOM AND GORAN AND THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IN WAYS YOU CAN’T IMAGINE. AND YOU’LL CONTINUE TO LEARN SO MUCH MORE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS. AND IT’S FULL OF SURPRISES GALORE! SOME OF WHICH – AND I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO GIVE ANY AWAY – WILL REALLY PLEASE THE FANS.
IT’S A WHOPPER OF A SEQUEL. THINGS GET BUMPED UP TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL. BUT THE BASIC CHARACTER-DRIVEN APPROACH IS STILL THE SAME.
Are you working on anything new? Can you tell me about it?
MY NEW BOOK, AN EPIC NOVEL I JUST TURNED IN TO MY WONDERFUL PUBLISHERS AT HYPERION. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. THERE WILL BE AT LEAST FOUR BOOKS IN THAT SERIES, WHEN YOU READ IT YOU’LL UNDERSTAND WHY. AND IT’S SO CINEMATIC, AND YET PERSONAL. IF I LEARNED ANYTHING FROM MY WORKING WITH YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AND WITH MOVIES, IT’S THIS: NEVER TALK DOWN TO THE AUDIENCE, DOESN’T MATTER WHAT AGE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT.
NEVER. TALK. DOWN. TO. ANYONE. YOU WOULDN’T WANT ANYONE TO TALK TO YOU.
(Note: Mr. Moore gave me a little more info on the book, but asked me not to go into it just yet. I can say that from the tidbits he shared, it sounds like a very good read)
How has it been working with Stan Lee?
SIMPLY A DREAM. WHEN HE CALLED FOR THE FIRST TIME, I DIDN’T EVEN BELIEVE IT WAS REALLY HIM. BUT IT WAS. THE STAN LEE! AND I ASKED HIM TO COME TO THE GREAT LGBT PANEL AT COMICON IN SAN DIEGO….AND HE CAME! THE CROWD CHEERED, APPLAUDED, CRIED. SUCH AN AMAZING AFFIRMATION.
NOW WE JUST NEED A NETWORK… OR A STUDIO… TO BELIEVE IN HERO THE SAME WAY WE DO.
OR BETTER YET A STAR, LIKE SOME I’D ALWAYS ENVISIONED.
GEORGE CLOONEY (THE PERFECT HAL, HELL, HE EVEN PLAYED BATMAN ONCE…), PLEASE WRITE IN OR CALL. YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!
SAME WITH BRAD PITT, WHO WAS MY IDEAL FOR UBERMAN! YOU GUYS HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
USE THOSE POWERS. PLEASE! HELP!
THAT MUCH I’VE LEARNED, TOO. IT TOOK FIFTY YEARS FOR HOLLYWOOD TO TAKE NARNIA SERIOUSLY. WHAT KIND OF SHOT DO I HAVE WITHOUT TALENT LIKE STAN LEE OR GEORGE CLOONEY OR BRAD PITT.
PLEASE, ALL FANS, LET’S GET TOGETHER AND LOBBY TO GET THEM INVOLVED.
YOU CAN WRITE ME—IN FACT, PLEASE WRITE ME, I WILL MOST DEFINITELY RESPOND – AT perrymoorestories.com
