Names:

Q: What's the deal with Grover's name?

A: I was trying to think of the dumbest name for a hero I could come up with. Grover seemed the opposite of a name like Conan or Strider. Where they were powerful this name was weak.

Q: So what about Cilla, then?

A:That came from Priscilla. I wanted something to suggest a feminine, soft nature, which the character doesn't have at all.

Q: Where did Heroes, Inc. come from? I see the name everywhere these days. Did you steal it?

A:No. I hadn't heard of the other Heroes, Inc. organizations when I wrote the book. I just thought what would you call a generic organization for heroes. My original title was All Things Perverted.

Q: Villains R Us?

A: Are you serious? You can't figure where I got that one from.

Q: Ragnar is a common name in fantasy as well.

A: Yeah, I see it everywhere as well. I had it as a name for a D & D character. I think I stole it from some book I read. Can't claim originality on that one.

Ideas:

Q: So where did the idea for the series come from?

A: I was a senior in college at the time and when I was walking into class the scene in the chapter A Hero For A Kitten came into my head. I was thinking what would be the stupidest reason someone would act like a hero. Saving a kitten is a cliche, so voila. All day the idea went through my head and I kept adding to it and elaborating on it. I came up with some other cliches about getting the inheritance and the evil sibling. But once I started writing the idea of hero and villain companies came out of nowhere. The book was very easy to write.

Influences:

Q: So what are your influences?

A: I think you can easily pick them out in the book. Dungeons and Dragons obviously influenced the idea of hero and villain companies. The humor was inspired by Monty Python. The dialogue and the swordplay came from the Three Musketeers. And, of course, Lord Of The Rings. I even have some of the characters play a cameo role.

Q: I noticed that Grover is sort of like an anti-Conan or anti-Farhrd.

A: Exactly, and I pay tribute to that in the third book where Grover meets up with both of them. I even do a little homage to the editors of the Conan books when I write what has happened to Grover in between books.

Q: So what's the influence of Cilla? She seems original.

A: Every hero has a sidekick. They always tend to be of the same sex. I thought I would break the trend by making it a woman. Then I thought I would make the women be the most violent and sadistic character.

Q: Ballah seems like a cross between a Hollywood Agent and a Sports Scout.

A: I was actually thinking of Don King and a fight promoter, but you're right. He is like a talent scout and an agent at the same time. The kind of person in old Hollywood who would see you perform and sign you to a long term contract in which you earn little money.

Heroes Elected!:

Q: Why so long between books?

A: I actually wrote the first draft back in 92. Years later, I came across the manuscript and realized it had lots of potential. I did some major revisions and found that it was much stronger than the other two books and thought it should get out there. There was some fan interest as well.

Q: What's with the political tone in the third book?

A: It was influenced by the then current presidential election (between Bush and Clinton). Politics was everywhere and I thought it would be interesting to bring Ragnar back into the picture. I felt I had gotten away from what I liked in the first book, which was all the backstabbing and betrayal. And politics is full of that. And the first book was also a little influenced by what I remembered of the Roman Empire. The political system in the book is a little like that, with a lot borrowed from the American way of doing things.

Q: So there's a message?

A: Yeah, to laugh.