An interview with Sean Eads co-author of Servants of Stone
By Sarah Elliott
What would you have them do if you knew they couldn’t break? Can they be broken? Where did they come from? Let’s find out more from Sean Eads co-author (with Josh Viola) of Servants of Stone.
Bio (in their own words):
I’ve always had an impulse to tell stories, to invent characters who would cast a shadow, and to write whatever came to my mind regardless of genre and format.
These days I’m a Colorado-based author and reference librarian, and I’m still telling whatever story interests me—I just go wherever my imagination takes me and try to produce the best tale that I can.
I’ve been fortunate enough to see my work appear in many terrific places, both online and in print. Some have paid very well, others wouldn’t get me a hamburger on the McDonald’s Dollar Menu.
All I know is that I am compelled to write, and so I do.
And we’re very glad you do! Let’s find out more about one of your most recent offerings!
Sarah: Servants of Stone! Great title, and the front cover is awesome. I’m a ‘write first, title later’ kind of writer. For you, did the story emerge first, or the title? What other titles were in the running for this story?
Sean: This novel was a pretty unique collaboration between Josh (Viola) and I, in that he already had both the title and the story largely done when he showed it to me. So from my perspective, it wasn’t an issue. For my own stuff, and when Josh and I are working together on an idea from scratch, I think it’s more story first and a title sort of suggests itself later on down the line. But I still love Ray Bradbury’s advice about just writing down possible titles, even if you have no idea what they might be about. An evocative title can really stir creativity.
Sarah: “The town appeared almost overnight, as if summoned from the shadows, complete with a looming stone tower at its heart and a general store that promises to fulfill your deepest desires… for the price of your soul.” I’m hooked already! What influenced this premise? Is this something you’ve always wanted to write, or was it a bolt from the blue?
Sean: The premise and illusion of New Vineland is a mixture of the handy “needful things” idea and the classic fairy tale symbol of the tower. There’s also a dark twist on the old Christian allegory of The Shepherd of Hermas, where in this case the tower and its rocks are emblems of a witch and the dark, nameless god of stone she follows. We loved the image of this early 19th century New England town with a massive stone tower growing out of the middle of it.
Sarah: I know that the co-author, Josh Viola has experience co-authoring a book before. Sean, is this your first time co-authoring? How did you both find this experience? How did you divide up the writing? Was more planning involved?
Sean: Josh and I have worked together on countless projects—novels, short stories, video game scripts, and so on. So we’re old hands when it comes to that. Servants of Stone, as I was noting, is a bit unique in that it was a passion project Josh was far along on already, and asked me to participate in for some rewriting and restructuring. More typically, our partnership involves a long night of walking where we pitch ideas back and forth and work out a plot and characters, to the point where we’ve sort of constructed a verbal first draft between us. Then I’ll go home and type it up, and we proceed from there.
Sarah: As co-authors, did you ever disagree over the writing? How were ‘different points of view’ resolved?
Sean: We’ve got pretty similar beliefs about storytelling overall. Josh is far more conscious about narrative tension and visualization than I am, and will make notes about things I never thought were particularly important. I’m not sure we’ve ever had a disagreement about a significant piece of storytelling or characterization—ever. Most are small things. For example, Josh originally conceived the witch in this story as being the biblical Witch of Endor, which I didn’t think worked, in part because the Witch of Endor isn’t shown to be menacing or evil. So I convinced him to jettison that part of her backstory. But it was hardly a pressing issue one way or the other.
Sarah: The story has quite an ensemble. Who are your favourite characters and why?
Sean: That’s really tough to say. I think I lean toward Pike, the older sailor/soldier who is good hearted and above all just wants to have an adventure. He was fun to write, and I enjoyed developing his friendship with Harold Goodman.
Sarah: Why were you drawn to write within that particular 19th-century time period?
Sean: I personally love the 19th century. It’s so bizarre and incredible on its own, in terms of the various philosophies and beliefs that emerge from it and would go on to have catastrophic consequences for the 20th century. And my Masters degree in English lit largely focused on Romanticism and Victorian-era American/British authors, so I just feel like I have an affinity for the overall time period.
Sarah: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us? What do you have coming up?
Sean: I have a literary fiction novel called Lost Story coming up, which involves Ernest Hemingway and is partly based on real incidents in his life. I’ve also completed a libretto with a musician who is about halfway through writing the songs, some of which he’ll be using for his Masters degree in music composition. Don’t know if any of it will ever see the light of day, but it’s been a fun process.
Exciting stuff! You can read more from
About Servants of Stone:
Evil has a new home—and it’s a place called New Vineland.
The town appeared almost overnight, as if summoned from the shadows, complete with a looming stone tower at its heart and a general store that promises to fulfill your deepest desires… for the price of your soul.
Drawn by a witch’s secret summons, the curious and the desperate are flocking to New Vineland, unaware of the doom that awaits them. But the witch didn’t count on Harold Goodman—an adventurous young Englishman with an unshakable moral compass and a burning desire to uncover the truth behind the tower’s dark power.
Joined by an enigmatic stonemason, a salty old sailor with more wisdom than he lets on, a haunted warhorse with a hero’s heart, and a gifted young girl just awakening to her magic, Harold sets out to challenge the evil that fuels New Vineland.
The battle for the town—and the souls within it—is about to begin.
Review:
“This book hits that perfect sweet spot between literary gothic and dark fantasy. From the eerie opening with a cursed horse and a blood-soaked deal to the creeping weirdness of New Vineland, it kept pulling me in deeper and deeper. Think The Witch meets Shirley Jackson with a dash of Dark Tower vibes. The writing is atmospheric, the characters are complex, and the whole world feels ancient and new at the same time. Also: haunted stone animals? Yes please. Highly recommend if you like your stories moody, mysterious, and just a little bit unsettling in the best way.” — Amazon reviewer
