I hate bios - it's the only time I have
writer's block - but, in a nutshell, I was:
1) Born in Saudi Arabia
2) Lived there for 12 years
3) Went to school in Hell
er
Houston, Texas for 8 years.
4) Moved to Montreal, Quebec and in doing so, found the glove that
fit my hand.
5) I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
So instead of those dry boring tidbits,
I present the Frequently Asked Questions concerning Lucien Soulban.
You know you've been waiting for it! The following questions come
from the patient folks who frequent my Live Journal as well as some
of the questions I've heard in my lifetime.
Q. Is Lucien Soulban
your real name?
A. Yes, and there's actually more to it than that. The men on my
father's side of the family were named Shukri or Moussa
the
name alternated with each generation or sibling. When I was born,
I was destined to be a Moussa Soulban, but my mom refused. She didn't
want her son growing up with that burden. Moussa, you see, means
Moses (though Moses Soulban would have been a cool name for a writer).
Instead, my mother suggested that my two middle names be Moussa
Shukri, the names of my grandfather and father. They then gave my
grandmother (on my mom's side) the choice for my first name, and
she chose either Lucien or Christopher. They opted for Lucien.
Q. That's an interesting
name. What does it mean?
A. In full, Lucien Moussa Shukri Soulban translates as Light-bringer
(Lucien), Moses (Moussa), Thanks (Shukri), Holy Crosses (Soulban).
So my name literally means Light-Bringer Moses Thanks Holy Crosses.
I figure that'll get me a few brownie points on entering Heaven.
Q. Did you always know
you were going to be a writer? If not, what did you imagine yourself
being 'when you grew up?
A. An artist. I thought I wanted to be an artist who had a flair
for writing. It wasn't until folks pointed out that I was a decent
wordsmith that I changed directions and discovered I was a stronger
author than artist.
Q. How did you break
into professional writing?
A. Hm
in many ways, I feel like I'm still breaking into professional
writing. It started with Ianus Publications. My friend Jean knew
about my writing from a small publication he ran called Mordred.
He gave me my first writing gig on a book called Playground,
a Cyberpunk adventure. After that, I've strived to make positive
steps forward in my career. Playground led to White Wolf and a Wraith
book called Buried Secrets. That led to Montreal by Night,
which in turn begat a series of 25 to 30 books culminating in the
limited series Orpheus. Phil Boulle, who I brought into Montreal
by Night, gave me my first novel contract with Blood In,
Blood Out. Josh Mosqueira, who was another good friend and Montreal
by Night alumni, gave me the opportunity to work on my first
released videogame called Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War. Richard
Dansky, former Wraith developer and a damn good friend, was instrumental
in bringing me into Ubisoft for Rainbow Six: Vegas and for
helping me find my way around the pro-writing circuits.
Q. What are your best and worst memories
about your first paying gig?
A. Actually
I can't say anything negative about the process.
The best memory was finally holding the book in my hand and having
something to show for my imagination. The worst was knowing that
few people would ever see the book. I knew it wasn't a main-stream
release, and that kind of sucked. But that was the worst of it.
Q. What are you most
proud of having accomplished?
A. So many things. The Orpheus limited series was the crowning
achievement of my years writing for White Wolf. As was my novel
Blood In, Blood Out. The Dragonlance novel Alien Sea
is definitely another, given how much I love the series.
Q. What ultimate goal
still eludes you?
A. It hasn't really eluded me so much as I haven't reached there
yet. I would love to write for television and movies, but I really
want to write for super-hero comics. I also definitely want to write
my own novel, but I can squarely point to myself as the reason why
I haven't accomplished that yet.
Q. What's your favorite
game and why?
A. D20 because D&D was my first introduction into roleplaying
and because the system is so open to any style campaign I want to
run. For electronic games, I'd have to say the Morrowind
series because the environment is huge and the possibilities endless.
Q. If you could travel
to any place (all expenses paid) or time (or both) where/when would
you go and why?
A. Tough question. For the where
I want to visit Tokyo and
Hong Kong, because I love mega-cities and the two cultures fascinate
me. I'm enamored with places that are alive and dynamic 24-7. For
the when
likely the 1920s. The world was still exotic and
full of forbidden and mystical promise. There was a sense of adventure
in the deserts of Egypt and the jungles of the Orient. I'm surprised
that I'm not into Pulp, given my enjoyment of that era's perceived
mystique.
Q. If you could meet
anyone (living, dead, or other) who? And why?
A. Martin Luther King, Jr. No doubt. I deeply respect what the man
did and who he was, especially looking back on those days with an
understanding of where we are in the world now. Why is it we only
realize we need men and women of such stature after they're murdered
(not counting Nelson Mandela, of course, who is a giant of our age)?
Q. What's your favorite
curse word? How often do you use it?
A. Holy shit
and mostly around my friends.
Q. What sound or noise
do you like? What sound or noise do you hate?
A. I love the sound of rainfall against the roof of my house or
against the window. The one I hate is the buzz of my alarm clock
it isn't the waking up that bothers me, but the jarring drone that
sets my nerves on edge. I prefer the clock radio.
Q. If you could attempt
any job other than your own, what would you like to do and why?
A. Archeology
I love exploring ancient ruins and dead places.
I love feeling like I'm touching history
one degree of separation
between me and someone who lived and died centuries ago. Frankly,
Indiana Jones is my fantasy life.
Q. What job would you
absolutely hate doing?
A. Anything with a set schedule like 9 to 5 jobs. I prefer setting
my own schedule and working at different times of the day. I would
certainly hate something involving numbers, like accounting.
Q. Did you become a gamer
for the fame, the money, or the sex?
A. Trick question! As gamer, you get none of the above. The fame
is fleeting and of narrow scope, the money is only when a company
remembers to pay you and the sex is something I would hope has nothing
to do with my work.
Q. Has writing helped
you to connect with others of like mind, or isolated you to the
point where you befriend appliances?
A. Writing is normally a solitary process. If anything has helped
me connect with others of like mind, it's the internet and the conventions
I attend. Still, I have good friends and people I love, who provide
me with the social interaction I need. And because my writing is
also sometimes based on my hobbies, I can discuss both at the same
time with my friends.
Q. What's the best campaign
you ever played?
A. A Villains & Vigilantes game run by friends when I
attended Bishop's University. It was my first experience playing
superheroes, and it was fun.
Q. Does the phrase "Wand
of Wonder" still evoke shudders, or have you re-defined it
to have erotic meanings?
A. I haven't fiddled with my Wand of Wonder in ages.
Q. In your professional
opinion, would the Where is Waldo series be improved more by the
addition of vampires, werewolves or chthonic entities?
A. Yes
it would be cool to play "Who Ate Waldo's Spleen"
or "Who Devoured Waldo's Sanity."
Q. What drew you to the
horror genre?
A. Frankly, it was always a natural fit. I had a dark imagination
as a kid and I imagined dark and nasty things.
Q. How tall would you
be if you never cut your fingernails?
A. About that much taller than I was before.
Q. What are the top five
things you like to put in your mouth?
A. Sigh
that one only gets answered in person.
Q. Do you have any special
rituals or superstitious things that you do to get yourself psyched
up to write?
A. I take a nap. No seriously. I take a nap or wake up from sleep
and try writing immediately while I'm still in that half-way state
between conscious and subconscious. Some of my more interesting
ideas have emerged from that state. Of course, weird crap comes
from there too.
Q. What's your current
desktop?
A. A picture of my sister Gracie, my aunt Gilda and me at the beach
when I was seven or eight years old.
Q. What is your favorite
'8Os cartoon?
A. Transformers!
Q. Who did you want to
be when you grew up?
A. Well
me, of course. And possibly Evel Knieval, the motorcycle
daredevil.
Q. What is your absolute most favorite
horror character (victim or monster) ever?
A. Oooo
good question. Ripley from Alien/Aliens. She
was my first exposure to a real female heroine. And of course Aliens
are still cool critters.
Q. Do you agree with
this statement? "In order to be a writer, you have to be at
least a little crazy."
A. Not entirely. I simply think you should have something to say
or a story to tell. I think the "crazy writer" shtick
is just to build the myth of the writer himself.
Q. What is the airspeed
velocity of a swallow?
A. Well
I guess it depends on what I'm swallowing. Some foods
have more friction than others.
Q. What the hell took
you so long :-)
A. To do this website? I'm easily distra -- oooooo penny!
Q. What English word
do you hate the most but still keep using all the time, and why?
A. "Dark" when it doesn't pertain to a state of light.
Dark has become this empty qualifier for ambiance, and yet sometimes
it's the only thing that works.
Q. What kind of music
do you listen to when you write?
A. Low-key movie scores. There are no lyrics to distract me and
they can be moody as hell. Thin Red Line by Hans Zimmer,
The Seventh Sign by Jack Nitzsche and Peter Gabriel's Passion
are three of my favorite horror albums.
Q. Who is your favorite
author?
A. When I was younger, I loved Alan Dean Foster and E.E. Doc Smith.
Now, my favorite author is actually non-fiction based
William
Dalrymple. He's written several travel books with amazing insight
into the history and societies of India (The Age of Kali
and City of Djinns) as well as the Middle East (From the
Holy Mountain) and Asia (In Xanadu). As for fiction,
believe it or not
I enjoy Michael Crichton. I really like
how he takes an idea and runs with it. It's the same reason I derive
enjoyment from someone like Clive Cussler
a high sense of
adventure even though his writing style differs sharply from mine.
But then, hey
both men are horribly successful, so who am
I to belittle what they do.
Q. What are some of your
favorite books?
A. Non-fiction, actually
history books dealing with WWII or
the 1900s, or books that deal with a segment of a city's history.
I'm researching whatever I can find on Berlin and the Nazi regime
I love books about the siege of Stalingrad and I loved Devil
in the White City about the serial killer operating during
the Columbian World Fair in Chicago. I also enjoyed Gangs of
New York.
Q. And fiction books?
A. Hm
that's more difficult. I liked the Alienist,
and I enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (though there
were aspects of that book that drove me nuts). I also loved The
Stand, Salem's Lot and Weaveworld
I guess you could
say that even with my horror, I love books that have a sense of
the epic. It's why apocalyptic stories fascinate me. The only authors
to ever have strayed from that and still written stories I truly
liked were the masters, King, Barker, Clegg and Straub. Oh
and I highly recommend Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham.
It's the first book in a trilogy that involves near-future tech
and alternate WWII history. I highly recommend it.
Q. When you're writing,
do you start at the beginning and push through to the end, or do
you jump around from part to part and then write the various pieces
together?
A. While I occasionally jump chapters and sections to write down
an idea/dialog I'm afraid of losing, I prefer to push through a
book from beginning to end. That way, I build a tempo and pace.
Q. What are your favorite
video games?
A. Sandbox-style games
the ones that let me explore a world
and not feel hampered by artificial boundaries. In that vein, Morrowind
is the true God of full world exploration.
Q. What vice is a sure-fire
bribe for you (Reese's peanut butter cups, Irish whiskey, etc etc)?
A. Actually
the prospect of a good conversation over cake
or coffee at a restaurant or café is always appealing. That
and being flirted with are nebulous, but certain bribes nonetheless.
Q. What is your favorite
word?
A. Deadline
because I have a contract, and thus work to do.
Q. What is your least
favorite word?
A. Deadline, if I'm close to the date but nowhere close to completion.
Q. What turns you on?
A. Sharing stories and experiences.
Q. What turns you off?
A. Egotism
I hate people who are full of themselves.
Q. If Heaven exists,
what would you like to hear God say to you when you arrive at the
Pearly Gates?
A. Did you have a good time?
Q. What's your favorite
drug (manmade, natural, or otherwise)?
A. Natural
chocolate.
Q. What's your natural
high?
A. Finishing a project and sending it off on time.
Q. How many times have
you had to write a biography?
A. Ugh. At least 15 times.
Q. Do you like hot or
cold?
A. Hot outside, cold inside.
Q. What's your favorite
interruption?
A. Going out and spending time with friends.
Q. How do you keep your
concentration on a long drive?
A. I listen to comedy albums
they keep me laughing and awake.
Q. What's your least
favorite interruption?
A. Being interrupted by anything when I'm focused on writing.
Q. Have you ever intentionally
hurt someone simply because you could?
A. No. Absolutely not. I abhor cruelty to others just to make one's
self feel better.
Q. Have you ever deliberately
harmed an animal NOT in self defense?
A. Never
I don't even kill spiders in my house.
Q. Have you ever truly
blushed at a compliment that you actually did deserve?
A. All the time. Not that I deserve compliments all the time, simply
that those I receive make me feel awkward.
Q. Have you ever cried
alone simply because it hurt inside and you didn't know what else
to do?
A. I've wanted to, but never have reached that point.
Q. Do you accept that
you are loved, unconditionally, by at least one person?
A. Yup, and they know I love them equally.
Q. Do you know and does
it matter that you exist?
A. It matters to me, and I hope it matters to some of my friends.
But that's the thing about life and afterlife
you'll always
exist and the reasons for your existence will always matter.
Q. Was answering
that last question difficult?
A. Not at all. My parents raised me with a strong sense of self.
Nobody has shaken that self-faith (I have questioned my writing,
but never questioned whether or not I matter).
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