GGMMMU ~ Representing Necromancers with an interview is Mimi Sebastion

Mimi Sebastian raised herself on books and the strange and unusual, and an unhealthy dose of comics and movies. When a career as a punk guitarist failed to materialize, she completed her degree in urban planning, spent two years in the Ivory Coast with the Peace Corps, and another three years in Brazil. By day, she debates the merits of transport oriented development, by night she writes about necromancers and pirates. She’s convinced she could live off coffee, ice cream, and comic books, but is sure only one of those is good for her health.

Mimi's a member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter of RWA. A transplant from the beaches of Florida, Mimi now wanders the desert in Phoenix, AZ, and attempts to balance writing with a day career, fantastic family, and household diva: her Amazon parrot.

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Thanks Brenda!! It’s great being here. I brought Ruby, the necromancer from the Necromancer Books along, figuring she could better answer some of the questions. We are both excited to be here.

I am very happy to have you both along for the fun. :-)

What do you envision their greatest characteristic, ability or power to be? Their worst? Mimi: The necromancer’s greatest power, control of the dead, reanimation, is also their worst. It’s a double-edged sword with great potential for abuse. At best, a necromancer can help a lost soul obtain peace or redemption, but at worst, can unleash a posse of zombies to nosh on the population at large.

Would you consider your “monster” to be good or bad? What is their greatest enemy? Do they have any allies? Mimi: Ruby is glaring at me right now. I wrote necromancers to be both good and bad. Their greatest enemy is their power. If they lose control, submit to the temptation for abuse, they will lose themselves and begin a downward spiral into darkness. To better explain, a necromancer’s power is very addictive, almost like a drug, and the more they use it, the more addicted they become until some can’t control themselves and will do awful things just to touch that power again and again.

Ruby: Come to the dark side, Luke.

Mimi: As far as allies, being a necromancer can be lonely. The supernatural community fears them. They assume no one can touch them when they’re dead. Well, they assume wrong.

Name any two creatures that you would love to see go toe to toe in a battle? Mimi: I’ll let Ruby answer this one.

Ruby: I hope that wouldn’t involve me. On my best day, I can’t swat a fly. I’m not that kind of supernatural character, no Buffy here. However, while I may not wear stilettos (how can a woman run in those?), I command undead armies. I once witnessed a demon troll and gargoyle/dragon demon battle it out in the demon lair basement. Pretty awesome, but no contractor in the world could repair that basement. Good thing we’re talking demons though because they could probably summon one of their handy men to fix the damage.

Choose three of the following and tell us what your creature would do with them, make out of them, use them for or what reaction they would have to them: an apple, an gemstone, a silver chain, a fish, a rat, a deer, a toad, a piece of pizza heavily dosed with garlic, a flower, treasure belonging to someone else, fire, a spider, a worm, a ball of string, a microphone and speakers, a wooden club, a mirror, a book, a cemetery, a boat, a moonlight bonfire, a sunny afternoon, a walk through the forest on an overcast day, a wooden stick, a Popsicle, a broom, a tree, a lost person, a baby, a body of water, a cross, a cage, wolfs bane, a rock, a rubber band, a chicken, a rabbit, a cave, rope, or a piece of candy. Ruby: Have you seen a zombie rat? They’re pretty disgusting, but make for a good fright on Halloween. I accidently created three as a kid when I was stuck in a basement. I’m not sure why I became so terrified over three little undead rats, maybe it was the wretched squeaks or the scratching of their little nails. In fact, reanimated animals are always the freakiest. I mean, Pet Sematary, right? Speaking of, next item, I can’t resist cemeteries. The effluviam of death, the souls crying out to me. Give me a cemetery and I’d takeover the world with my zombie horde. (Ruby gives Mimi a quick side-glance.) Okay, no I wouldn’t, but I would eat the pizza heavily dosed with garlic and pay a visit to a nasty vampire who sent one of his minions to suck me dry. Ha. Lot of good that did. I turned him into a zombified vampire.

Which type of monster do you think would make the best love interest for your monster and why? The worst? Ruby: I had a fling with a vampire once. He was pretty normal, I mean, I was hoping for more of a black cape-wearing Bela Lugosi type, but really vampires and necromancers don’t mix well. I have an on again, off again relationship with a demon warrior. He is very hot and doesn’t seem to mind the occasional zombie shuffling around in my basement.

The worst? Can we talk necrophilia? I mean, I raised a revenant and he was a wonderfully, tortured cute surfer dude with blond locks. (Unlike a zombie, a revenant comes alive with its mind and emotion intact and can be powerful and, of course, struggle with an insatiable appetite for flesh.) But no, I did not go there. Nope.

What scares you? Ruby: Zombies. They’re terrifying. I should know.

 

What is your monster most afraid of? What makes it happy? Mimi: Speaking for Ruby, I think she’d be most afraid of losing control of one of her zombies or revenants, especially a revenant. Revenants continually resist the necromancer’s hold over them and will sometimes kill the necromancer who brought them back from the dead.

Ruby: What makes me happy? Hanging out with my best friend, Kara. She’s a witch, but I don’t hold it against her.

What type of candy would you be apt to grab? Give out for Halloween? Mimi and Ruby answer at the same time: Chocolate!

What is your monster’s favorite meal? Mimi: When Ruby is allowed, which is basically never,…souls. One is sufficient. She hates to be a glutton.

What do you think is the most mis-construed idea about necromancers? Ruby clears her throat: That we’re monsters.

Mimi: We know you’re not a monster although you can be quite beastly early in the morning. We’ve found many people equate necromancers with voodoo priests and the voodoo method of bringing the dead back to life; however, a necromancer does not need rituals or spells to raise the dead. The power comes from within, is intertwined with their soul, which is why it can be so dangerous.

What is a least known trait about them? Mimi: Aside from the snark? They can travel to the underworld, curse or hex the living, and extract disease from the dead and inflict them on the living, even remove living souls.

What is your favorite type of monster to write about? Read about? Mimi: The H.P. Lovecraft inspired, ancient civilization monsters, like Cthulhu.

Ruby: I like the monsters in Guillermo del Toro movies, like the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth, or the tooth fairies from Hellboy 2.

Mimi has generously donated a prize for the main giveaway! Thank you Mimi!

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