YAOI INTERVIEW: WITH CHRISTIE GORDON

 
Enter a World of Vampires, Historical and Paranormal - Yaoi Interview
With Christie Gordon.

Conducted by Sandra Scholes

Yaoi, M/M author and artists, Christie Gordon writes in many genres, historical, paranormal, contemporary, vampire and fantasy genres. her characters are handsome, beautiful even, and to yaoi fans known as bishonen for their androgynous and almost feminine features, yet their bodies are muscular and sensual - so much so you will want to reach out and touch them.

As a western romance author, Christie has created several stand alone novels and one series; A Summer Without Rain, The First Full Moon, The Obsession, Secrets, Night Swimming, Behind the Jade Tiger, and series In Life and Blood. Christie has decided to give yaoi and M/M fiction fans a look at what her characters mean to her, her books and what is on the horizon for her in 2016.


JapanReviewer: In The First Full Moon, Adam is still painfully haunted by the death of his family in a house fire, but with his cousin at his side, he feels somehow he can move on and make a life for himself - there are the legends of demons coming out during the full moon, and his journey to accidentally find one gives him his one true love. You made Adam a strong character despite his troubles. How did you go about that, and could you tell our readers more about Adam and his cousin without giving too much away?
CG:In my experience, it's true what they say - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. After saying that, I do such situations do leave their scars and Adam's scars run deep even though living through it resulted in his strength. He's learned that people you love die and it's put a wall up for him. The situation with his cousin was the first indication that his sexuality was open to those of the same sex, but his history of losing the ones he was closest to kept him from acting out on it. His cousin, Maxwell, is really sort of a snot anyhow:)


JapanReviewer: I enjoyed the interplay between the characters. Tell me, do you have plans for doing a sequel?
CG:No, there are no plans for a sequel on that one.


JapanReviewer: It is the cover art that draws the reader in, so when I saw In Life and In Blood Book 1: Hanging in the Balance, I immediately wanted to know more about Julian and Sebastian. Could you tell the readers a small part of their importance in the first in the series?
CG:Sebastian the classic vampire, but with a twist. He's very old, very strong and from Romania. He lived during the Hun wars in what was then called, Dacia. He's very tall, because in that time period the people were a mixture of Goth. He was turned vampire at age 16 by his father and serves him in a secret vampire government of which his father is the "Master". Even with all this behind him, he has scars from the Hun wars that are brought out in his relationship with Julian. Julian is his One, and in this vampire world, it means that he and Julian are mated in destiny and after their courtship, share a special bond that they can never have with anyone else. Julian is young, rash and naive -  only 50 years old, but turned vampire at 18 - and part of a coven that is breaking the laws of the vampire government and a peace treaty between it and a secret human sect of vampire slayers. Sebastian is initially sent to kill Julian and gain entry to the coven, but when they meet, Sebastian finds he cannot slay Julian. He immediately senses that Julian is his one. And so the plot of this series begins with these two, very different individuals. I tried to inject a bit of humor in this one - imagine a thousand plus year old vampire dealing with a guitar-playing, young vampire who understands the world and technology.



JapanReviewer:  When I browsed your website, I couldn't help but look at the Art page, and there I must admit I found a few favourites there; Prince of the Forest, Tristan, Sebastian, and Necalli. I would love to know what creative process you go through to get to the finished piece and how long it takes?
CG:I have been drawing all my life. When I was a kid, it was horses and dogs. Then as I became a teenager, I used to draw portraits of rock stars from magazines with pencil and art paper. There were a few summers when another artist friend of mine and I would go to the local record store and sit on the floor with one of the glossy magazines and draw the guys - they were always pretty and always had long hair. I guess my love of bishounen men started before it even had a name. After my kids grew up and started school, I stumbled upon Deviant Art and found out about digital art - Corel Painter and Wacom tablets. I was hooked. So today, I get inspired from images I like on the web as a reference (for most, but not all) and then draw the character portrait from a vision I have inside my head of maybe someone I want to write about. I also really like fan art, so I try to draw anime characters as if they were real. Since I try to stick to realistic drawings, a piece can take up to 40 hours or more for me. I think get a little too exacting sometimes...My favorite thing to draw is hair, believe it or not! That's like my desert.


JapanReviewer: Now for the fun questions, do the people you know, or the ones you see in general life take shape to be included in one of your novels or stories?
CG:In a loose way, yes. Sometimes I don't realize it until after the story is written and a friend reads it and tells me. I sometimes weave in to take experiences and stories of my friends and use them. For instance, the house where Logan lives in Secrets is very much like the house my ex-husband grew up in. Also from that same book, the idea of having Christian's father's death be a secret (hence, the name of the book), is a true story of a friend and business partner of my sister's. I don't want to give too much away here. I always insert myself somewhere in the story as well - in the first In Life and Blood book I show up as a waitress and server Julian and Sebastian some red wine:)


JapanReviewer: What are your favourite anime/manga characters, and, if I may, extend that to other yaoi characters?
CG:My favorite anime characters are Vincent Law from Ergo Proxy (he was actually my inspiration for Necalli in the First Full Moon), Edward Elric and Roy Mustang (yes, together) from Fullmetal Alchemist, Athrun and Kira (together) from Gundam Seed, Erin and Levi from Attack on Titan, Light Yagami and L from Death Note, and yeah, I can go on and on. My favorite yaoi titles and couples are probably all of them. I love yaoi. There is not one I can say that I don't like.



JapanReviewer: As a writer, does inspiration strike you to write, or, like most of us, does inspiration happen at the most awkward or unlikely times?
CG:When inspiration really comes for me, it’s usually when I’m running or watching an anime. I get ideas for stories from both animes and the music I listen to when I run. I’m not sure if that’s unlikely or not;) As far as writing, my life is so busy I need to be able to sit down and write or draw when I have the time – not just when I’m inspired, which can be really tough.


JapanReviewer: Did you ever draw on paper or canvas when you were younger, or were you one of the newer artists who learned using Corel Painter X on a Wacom tablet, or have you done both?
CG:I learned on paper and canvas as a kid. We didn’t have computer back then! Now I prefer digital art, but I still like to whip out the pencils or work with charcoal on occasion. Sometimes it feels good to get your hands dirty.


JapanReviewer: On DeviantArt you create your own artwork for book covers. I browsed through the gallery and found plenty appealing. Do you get any outrageous commissions?
CG:I did get one commission that was something I just couldn’t relate to. As a result, I couldn’t finish it. In order to draw, for me, there has to be some inspiration in it and I have to relate to it. Commissions, I find, are really hard. It's much easier to just draw what you want and not what you've been told or hired to do. Then of course I'm always worried it's not good enough;)


JapanReviewer: Which handsome bishie guy/guys inspired you to become a writer of M/M fiction and why?
CG:My first Yaoi fan fiction was centered around Edward Elric and Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist. I’ve also done a fan art drawing of Ed. So I have to say they were my inspiration for it all. My first book, A Summer without Rain, also takes place in the 1920s – another inspiration from FMA.


JapanReviewer: What do you do to unwind after a hard week writing your latest novel/story or drawing your newest piece of hot yaoi art?
CG:I honestly wish I had a hard week of writing and drawing…What usually happens is I use art and writing to unwind from my hard week working my day job (I’m an engineer/marketer) and raising my two sons. Otherwise, I run, hike and do yoga. I’m sort of fitness nut. I’m actually hiking the Grand Canyon in September and going North rim to South rim the first day (25 miles), then hiking back the next day (20 mile). Don’t know how I got talked into that one…but I’m training for it now.

It was great to hear from you, Christie, and we look forward to having you again at some point in the year when we can find out more of your art and writing. For now, here are a few links for those of us who can't wait:

Christie Gordon's Website: http://christiegordon.com/
Twitter: @christiegordon
DeviantArt: Lestat2007.deviantart.com