Meet Sean Hayden; the man is Quackers

I’m not one for long intro’s. I want to introduce someone who is not only a talented author,  an editor, a family man, and a friend, but he is also completely quackers…..as I discovered during our interview (although I suspected it for a while). Sean’s new novel, ORIGINS, is the first of the Demonkin series and is due out on Feb. 15th. Here you’ll find out more about him :

Your debut novel, Origins, is about to be released. I’ve read it and it’s excellent. It’s quirky, clever, and funny. Where did you get the idea?

Believe it or not, the idea was born from reading so many vampire novels and watching television shows and movies with my 9yo daughter. She’s just as enamored of the concept of vampires as I am. The idea came to me when she asked, “Daddy, do these vampires get hurt by bullets?” That question sparked the idea. There are so many different legends, myths, weaknesses, and powers surrounding vampires that I figured could be explained away through my book. I wanted to explain why one vampire could be killed by a stake through the heart, and why one you had to dispatch with silver.

How long did it take to write the first draft? How long did you mess about with it after you finished the first draft? When did you decide, ‘that’s enough’ and submit it to your publisher?

That’s the funny part. It actually only took me a few months to write Origins. It was my first attempt ant writing anything let alone an 80,000 word novel. Once it was done, I closed it and started looking for agents and then publishers. It never occurred to me to change it anyway or edit it myself. To this day, I can’t seem to edit my own works. I write, run spellcheck, and submit.

You always seem to be upbeat and cheerful. What ticks you off?

Honestly, not much. (I’ve tried, folks, and it’s true). I’ve had some hard lessons taught to me through my life, and I learned those hard lessons the hard way. I knew then that I could let those things change me and make me a dour person, or I could shrug them off, learn from them, and grow. To this day, nothing that anybody could do or say to me would anger me. When other people I care about are hurt in any way, that’s when you have to watch out for me.

Family and friends are often our biggest critics. What do your family think of Origins?

I lost my father to cancer almost ten years ago. It is my biggest regret that I never got to share any of this with him. I would have loved to let my father read my book. I did get to share it with my mother, and I’ll admit, I didn’t think she would like it when I gave it to her. She was positively in love with not only the book, but with the fact that I wrote it. She couldn’t have been more proud. My brothers were the only other ones in my family who read it, and they didn’t have one negative thing to say about it.  I think they were a little shocked that their baby brother was that creative.

You’re a family man and you also have a full time job. Time only goes so far. In order to get Origins written, what did you have to sacrifice?

Believe it or not, not much. I have a laptop computer, and it was written sitting next to my children. They were my biggest supporters through the whole thing. They sat in wonder as the words flew from my fingertips and smiled the whole time. If they hadn’t been there and been so supportive, I probably would have had to have sacrificed time with them. In which case, Origins wouldn’t have been written.

Who would you most like to meet and why?

Oh, an easy question! That’s so easy. Ozzy Friggin Osbourne! I’ve always wanted to meet the Prince of Darkness. We could get a couple of bats…hang out…talk about the impact of reverse recorded embedded messages in the music of the eighties and nineties. That would be a blast. If I had to say anybody else, I would like to meet Justin Bieber’s parents about sixteen years ago, just so I could caution them against having unprotected sexual intercourse and the ramifications on future society. Maybe that would stop the madness.

Is there anything you would change about Origins if you could? Anything you wish you could add or take out?

The only thing I could think of changing is when I wrote it. I wish I had started this whole ride years ago. I could be like ten books into the series by now.

What makes you laugh?

I’m one of those sick puppies who can find the humor in any situation. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Too soon?” I have. Many times. Yup, sick, twisted, and warped. That’s me.

How long have you been acquiring editor at Echelon Press? Describe what you do?

Since October of 2010. It’s been quite a ride. What do I do? Edit, um edit after that, do a little light editing after that, and then edit some more before I go to bed. Not only do I fully edit manuscripts, but every manuscript that gets edited by others makes its way across my desk. I get to go over those one final time before they go to the president for formatting and production. On top of that, I coordinate and read all new submissions. If they interest me I pass them on to the President for a final yay or nay. I also get to assign editors for all new authors that get signed with Echelon Press, keep everything coordinated and on deadline. I try to keep everything organized and coordinated. It’s probably the best job in the world.

You have a duck (3 in fact) as a pet. (I told you he’s quackers) Why? I find it amusing. Do you really take them for walks?

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Tractor Supply Co? Ya, If you ever see one, don’t take your kids into one around Easter. I took my kids into one and right next to the register, they had a huge metal tub full of cute, fuzzy, yellow ducklings. Each was for the low, low price of $2.94. Such a deal right? Ya, my kids thought so too. We got two of them, took them home, and watch them grow into big friggin white Aflac ducks that love to poop everywhere, eat everything, and attack everyone but me. Apparently they saw me as a father figure.

Well then tragedy struck. We live on a lake that is just chock full of these huge turtles. Apparently these turtles are very hungry. One night, they decided to feast upon one of my ducks. See, Pekin ducks can’t fly. The turtle pulled one of the peepers under, drowned it, and then him and all his little turtle friends feasted on one of my ducks. The remaining peeper was devastated. Now, if he goes down to the lake, I have to walk him down there and stand guard while he does his duckly duties. At night, he has a crate. As soon as the sun goes down he starts quacking at the door. I open it and he walks in the house like he owns the place, hops in his crate, and watches TV with us until we go to bed.

In Origins, I like the fact it’s not a regular vampire novel and I loved your kick-ass main character. Who did you base her on or is she purely a figment of your imagination?

Purely a figment of my imagination. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t drop a little of my personality in her character. She’s sarcastic, and keeps going even when she gets the shit kicked out of her.

Are you excited about book signings? Will you do a tour?

I won’t lie. Hell yes. If anybody reads my book and is excited about meeting me, I’m excited about meeting them. It’s one of the main reasons I wrote a book. Every time somebody reads my book, loves it, and gives me feedback about it, I glow a little inside. The fact that I WROTE A NOVEL THAT PEOPLE ENJOY, just thrills me to no ends. I can’t even describe how much I enjoy it.

What else is in the works? Will there be a sequel to Origins?

The sequel to Origins is complete. It too is under contract with Echelon Press and should be available sometime around May of this year. Wanna know the title? It’s called Deceptions. I’m starting to work on the idea of the third one, but I have a couple of other projects I’m working on first. I have a YA novel I’m almost finished with called Soul Seekers. It’s about a boy who sells his soul for his greatest wish. I’m also working on a new project for Echelon that encourages young children to read. It’s a short story series of six stories and of the steampunk genre. I’m actually co-authoring the series with my eleven year old son, Connor. It’s called The Magnificent Steam Carnival of Professor Pelusian Minus, and is probably the most fun I’ve had writing anything, ever.

Sean Hayden works in South Florida as a Fiber-optic Engineer for a cable communications company.

Born in the Suburbs of Chicago he relocated to Florida as a child, where he grew up and attended school at a small Catholic elementary and high school.   It was there, in literature class, he fell in love with books.  Vampires especially fascinated him as well as the realm of possibilities of the urban fantasy genre.  This fascination gave birth to his first novel, Origins. The sequel, Deceptions is under contract and will be out later this year!

He lives at home with his wife, children, and a plethora of pets.

A taste of ORIGINS:

Ashlyn Thorn was born different.  She was born with all the characteristics of a vampire, but in a world where vampires, elves, and werewolves work, play, and die side by side with normal humans, everyone knows vampires aren’t born, they’re made.  The only thing she ever wanted is to know her true Origins.  Ashlyn’s tale takes her on a quest to find out what makes her different and to find out the truth, but with every question she gets answered, she uncovers more uncertainties.  To make things worse she makes enemies of the most powerful vampires of the city who consider her powers to dangerous to let go unchecked.  She is saved by the government only to be trained and used to serve their purposes, and Ashlyn finds herself torn between two worlds.  She can either be a monster, or help fight the monsters.