Author Interview: Cornell Deville

Author Bio:

Cornell DeVille grew up in the Kansas City area, where he lives today with his wife, Rosie, their bichon-poodle Hannah, and a Himalayan Persian cat named Billy. DeVille considers himself an Imagination Director. His writing leads the reader on a journey that allows them to escape the real world and venture into a special realm where anything can happen. In addition to writing, DeVille is a professional musician and a nationally distributed wildlife artist.

Interview:

Q: Tell us a little bit about your book, Lost in the Bayou.

A: Lost in the Bayou is set in the sixties in Louisiana. It’s a hot, muggy day as the story begins, and Robin and her brother Andy are on the veranda of their southern mansion, waiting for their Uncle Conrad to arrive. Their parents’ small plane disappeared a week ago, and the wreckage has never been found. Conrad has been named guardian and executor of the estate.

That evening, Conrad reveals the fact that he’s planning on killing both of them so he can inherit the huge Sherwood fortune. Robin and Andy decide to run away before he can kill them, and their only choice of places to hide is the dark and mysterious bayou. Things get very scary once they get there, and a trip to the Voodoo Swamp reveals something they never expected.

Q: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

A: It was in Mrs. Carmichael’s third grade class. I had written a story called Flipper the Fawn. She told me it was excellent and that I should consider being a writer. I said I would.

Q: What would you say is the hardest part about writing a book?

The hardest part for me is coming up with the original idea that the story revolves around. Once that’s done, the actual writing is fairly easy, especially once the characters start taking over and moving the story the way they want it to go.

Q: What would you say is the best part about writing a book?

A: I think the best part is getting to know the characters. It’s as if you’ve created a new entity that never existed before and you can watch them grow and develop as the story unfolds. And sometimes, you end up loving them so much that you simply have to write a sequel just to spend more time with them.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?
A: I actually have no idea where my inspiration comes from. Perhaps for Lost in the Bayou I was inspired by the spooky Spanish moss I saw hanging from the trees when my family took a vacation in Louisiana back in 1959. Granted, that’s a long time for an idea to percolate inside your head, but that’s the only source for the story that I can think of.

Q: Are there any authors you look up to that influenced your writing?
A: Definitely. As a young reader, I fell in love with the work of Jules Verne. A Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea were two of my favorites. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and the Island Stallion books by Walter Farley were others. I also enjoyed Tolkein. Since then I’ve become a huge fan of Stephen King. I’m also very impressed with the work and the huge success of J K Rowling and Suzanne Collins.

Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
A: I’ll repeat the same thing every other author advises: read. You’ve got to read as much as possible, especially the genre you’re wanting to write in. I’ll add one other piece of advice, and that is to simply stop editing at some point. We have a tendency of wanting to change our writing every time we read it. If we’re not careful, we can edit the voice out of it. Know when it’s time to stop.

Q: Describe your book in 3 words.
A: Definite page turner.

Q: What sort of activities do you enjoy outside of writing?
A: I’m a professional musician and I love to fish.

Q: Say you fell down a rabbit hole and found yourself in a world much like the one in your book. What would be the first thing you’d do?

A: Try to figure out where Uncle Conrad is so I could avoid him and his claw hand.

Other Works by Cornell Deville:

A Tale of Two Hearts
Scary Night Music
Cannibal Island
Star Wishes
Skullhaven

Déjà Vu 

Musa Publishing will release Cannibal Island in March, 2012. It is a turn-of-the-century steampunk adventure and the first installment in The Golden Disk Adventures, a continuing time-travel series.

For more information on Deville and his books, go to:

http://www.lostinthebayou.com./
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4488324.Cornell_DeVille
Or you can find him on Twitter as cornelldeville1 
and on Facebook as Author Cornell DeVille.