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Interview with Trevor Sanders!
By: The Myth Master


There is a faint rumbling of thunder in the distance and the room you are in is pitch black. From a shadow in the corner of the room comes a disturbing sound as you realize you have no place to run. There is no escaping an interview from the Myth Master!

Hello all,

This month I’ve decided to maniacally torture the young soul of Trevor Sanders. Let’s get right to business – shall we?

M.M.: Trevor, you major in anthropology; what inspired you to explore that subject?

T.S.: I've always had an interest in that sort of thing to be honest. It is essentially the study of culture, which is of great use to any potential writer. Archaeology is one of the subdivisions of that major, so that is also part of the reason I wanted to get into it. I also enjoy the knowledge such study imparts. I always hated when some writers would just paste a few made up names over, say, Roman culture. I would much rather be able to understand how the culture actually functioned so that I can make up something more unique and interesting. You also get to know the more interesting bits when you dig deeper as well, which is always good for story writing.

M.M.: You also have an interest in becoming an archaeologist. Does that possible dream inspire any of your writings?

T.S.: Indeed it does. I am always finding some new and interesting fact, myth or event that inspires me in some way. Archaeologists tend to know the ancient world more intimately than the average person, which makes using that sort of setting for a story more satisfying to both write and read. My current favorite author, Steven Erikson, is quite skilled with just that. I wanted to do the archaeology thing before I picked up any of his books, but I really enjoy how his own archaeology work has influenced his writing. I consider being both a writer and an archaeologist to be dream jobs.

M.M.: Your piece, Death Comes with the Dawn, had a medieval feel to it, did your studies help in the creation of that story?

T.S.: There is some influence in that respect. My first love, as far as history goes, was the medieval period of Europe. I've done quite a bit of reading on that subject. It also helped that I was into role playing in my high school days. Most of the games I played or ran in were set in that time period. It is rather familiar to me, so I am quite comfortable writing in that sort of setting.

M.M.: There was also the mention of an interest in foreign languages, Zen meditation and mythology. Tell us a little about those interests.

T.S.: My minor is actually foreign languages. Right now I'm beginning to learn Japanese, which is great fun. I also know a smattering of Russian and some Spanish as well. I just have a knack for learning languages and find exploring living cultures very interesting as well. You can learn a lot about a people by delving into their language.

I learned to meditate several years back. The Zen style became my favored practice and that is how I like to start my day. It clears my mind. Sometimes I jokingly call it taking out the mental trash. I also confess to having an interest in the capabilities of the human mind, which lead me to both meditation and learning self-hypnosis.

Mythology is a great thing for any writer to delve deeper into. Myths were the original stories of every culture out there. We could all learn something from reading them, understanding what made them stick around so long and how much they are structurally like modern tales. I've always been fond of reading myths and my bookshelves have quite a few books filled with the myths of the Celts, Germanic peoples and a host of others.

M.M.: You also mentioned that you are creating a comic. Is there anything you would like to mention regarding it?

T.S.: Right now I am working with a good friend of mine who is an excellent comic book artist. We are currently working on a fantasy genre comic based around a group of mercenaries. I write the scripts for it as well as work on the color rendering. We'll be releasing that in the near future on Indyplanet.

M.M.: When you won Member of the Month for The World of Myth, how did that make you feel?

T.S.: Pretty darn good actually. I have only recently tried to get into sending out my stories and it is awesome that people are enjoying them.

M.M.: Had you ever submitted anything to an on-line writing site before?

T.S.: Not before The World of Myth. I've had some success with anthologies and magazines, but I've only been sending stories out for a few months at this point.

M.M.: Knowing that you live in Utah, do your surroundings ever help with the creation of any of your work?

T.S.: Sometimes. There's a lot of variety out this way, which can help in the descriptive elements. I love being in the outdoors and it helps to just experience such places. You notice things when you're up on some distant mountain that you should be putting into stories, such as way the wind sighs through aspens or the sorts of smells you might encounter along a lake shore.

M.M.: Alright Trevor, let us now burrow into the darker places of your mind. What is the scariest thing you ever dreamed of?

T.S.: I had this one dream several years back that actually involved this tumor-like growth spurting out of my body. I don't normally have much tactile sensation in dreams, but that one had way too much. Real fear doesn't involve the usual suspects we see far too often in horror movies and fiction, in truth there are darker things lurking under the surface of such things. The dream itself was scary more because of the ravaging nature of disease and how we are powerless to do much of anything about such things.

M.M.: If you were given the opportunity to have a dark power, what would you choose?

T.S.: The ability to read and influence minds. While that might seem tame to some people, I would disagree. Do you really want to know what someone truly thinks about you? I doubt most of us would enjoy the things we would find. I also have this pet peeve about wasted potential and stupid people, so being able to influence people intrigues me. At the very least I could get them to shut up when I wanted. Funny how the idiots of this world always feel like they're experts on everything.

M.M.: Do you have a favorite horror movie?

T.S.: Silent Hill is a favorite of mine. I don't usually go for the blood-bath types, as I am much more into the suspense and sheer weirdness of some films. I would rather be cast out of my comfort zone and forced to walk strange paths than to just see murder after murder.

M.M.: Have you ever found yourself rooting for the villain in a horror film?

T.S.: I have before, when I can empathize with the villain. To me that is the best sort of villain to have around, one in which you can imagine yourself doing the same thing if you were in his/her/its shoes.

M.M.: What do you feel is the true meaning of fear?

T.S.: Fear, at its very core, is our recognition (or delusion) that we are faced with something we cannot overcome no matter what we do. It is the villain we cannot kill in our dreams, the test we know we're going to fail. Fear is the revelation of our own weaknesses.

M.M.: In your studies of ancient history have you uncovered something that is dark and disturbing?

T.S.: There's a whole lot of that going on. Take for example the Norse culture, and one particular saga that involves a fight between twelve year old boys after a game. One of them gets mad and cleaves the other kid's head in with an axe. There was no law back then, nobody to turn to. Then you can move on to the practice of cannibalism. Several cultures used that one as a terror tactic on their enemies.

M.M.: Anything inspiring you would like to tell our writers/readers?

T.S.: Read a lot. Write more. Never give up on your dreams.

M.M.: Well then, I believe poor Trevor has solved the problem of surviving my perfect pummeling of probing questions; for the time being. Please join me next time when the helpless victim could very well be you. Until then…

Sincerely,
Kevin “Myth Master” Adams



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