A writer of many prize winning short stories and poems, Shaun Allan has written for more years than he would perhaps care to remember. Having once run an online poetry and prose magazine, he has appeared on Sky television to debate, against a major literary agent, the pros and cons of internet publishing as opposed to the more traditional method. Many of his personal experiences and memories are woven into Sin’s point of view and sense of humour although he can’t, at this point, teleport.
Shaun lives with his one partner, two daughters, three cats and four fish!
Dead, dead, dead. Say it enough times and it becomes just another word.
What would you do? Could you kill a killer? Does the death of one appease the deaths of a hundred? What about that hundred against a thousand?
What if you had no choice?
Meet Sin. No, not that sort of sin, but Sin, crazy as a loon (you ask Sister Moon), and proud of it. Sin locks himself away in an asylum and, every so often, gets violent. That’s only so they’ll give him those nice drugs, though. The ones that help him forget.
It’s a pity they don’t work.
Sin, you see, has a serious problem. Well, it’s not so much his problem, as ours – yours, mine and everyone else’s. People die around Sin. He doesn't like it and there's nothing he can do about it. But someone else knows, and Sin has to stop them... and himself...
Flip and catch...
As an extra little bit for you guys, Iv decided to give Shaun my ten Random questions and in turn Shaun has took the time to interview Sin, the character from him book , I hope you enjoy what Shaun and Sin has to say. :
SATIN & SHAUN
1) What was the funniest incident in your life?
Hmmm... keep it clean...
2) If you are a god what would you do to the world?
Kick some mortal ass! I’d stop all these squabbles and make everyone read my book. Either that or make chocolate zero calories. Saying that, in my Four Wotsits of the Doodad story, Death decided to make the world a better place so that they (the Four Horsemen) could be the ones to destroy it rather than us, but it didn’t quite go according to plan...
3) Which super power do you like to have and why?
I would love to be able to fly. I love flying and used to dream of doing so as a child. I’ve taken many flying lessons too. Or power over the elements – Storm has got to be the coolest X-Man (though she’s a woman).
4) If you are given a chance to travel to the past ,where would you go and specifically why?
Hmmm... So much history to choose from. There’s the era of Sherlock Holmes. There’s prehistoric times. I think it would have to be Ancient Egypt (though I’d struggle without a phone signal). I’ve always been interested in the Egyptians and their mythology. One of the best times of my life was being on holiday in Luxor last year and walking through the Valley of the Kings. It was a amazing. So much so, I managed to write 15,000 words of Sin whilst there!
5) How would you react if you are transformed into a fish?
Well, I’m not the world’s best swimmer, so I’d struggle at first! I’d hope I was like Dory, though, as she’s possibly my favourite film character!
6) During your child hood what was your favorite comic character?
I used to LOVE comics. I bought 2000 AD when it first came out (now they’d be worth something if I still had them!) and regularly had the Avengers and the X-Men. I think my favourite of all was Spiderman though.
7) have you ever done anything naughty and what was it?
Christmas is coming, so I don’t want Santa to know...
8) If you are alone in a desert what are your thoughts? Specifically what will be your first thought?
Where do I plug my phone in to charge? Or possibly how do I crack open a coconut when all around me is sand...
9) Have you ever lied to get out of paying for something?
Not to my knowledge... And that’s nothing to do with the fact that Santa might be listening in...
10) Have you laughed so much you wet your self, or have you laughed so much you had a drink come out of your nose?
Not personally, but my partner once laughed whilst drinking some coke in McDonalds. It went everywhere! Saying that, that probably counts as one of the funniest things for question one. Not often you see people snorting coke in McDonalds.
SHAUN & SIN
How’s this for the interview?
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Hi everyone. I'm Shaun Allan and I'm an author from Grimsby in the UK. I've written for most of my life (I couldn't hold a pen in the early days) and have penned a variety of stories, ranging from science fiction to horror to humour to children's. I've also written a paranormal thriller called Sin, and have appeared on Sky TV to discuss traditional versus electronic publishing.
Except, of course, I'm none of those things. I don't really exist. I'm a pigment of Sin's emancipation - as Sin himself would say. I'm not surrounded by girls (in the shape of my partner and daughters) with only our three cats (all male) to back me up - we have fish too but their sex is undecided... although, as I don't exist I suppose I don't have fish...
Being unreal can be confusing sometimes.
So. I'm Shaun, and I'd be pleased to meet you if there was any chance of escaping the confines of Sin's imagination. Going by some aspects of him, though, I wouldn't like to say that isn't actually possible.
Hi. Oh, I said that. Well. I'm here to interview Sin, lunatic extraordinaire - or, as he would have us believe, non-lunatic ordinaire. Why would one interview a madman? Well, it worked for Clarisse when she met with the goodly Mr. Lecter. And, as Sin protests that he's not actually crazy, I may get some more sense. We shall see.
SA: Hello Sin.
Sin: Hi Shaun. How are you?
SA: I'm fine thank you. It's a little dark in here, but I don't mind.
Sin: I'm sorry about that. I'd like to brighten it up in there, but the gloom in the hospital kind of invades my head.
SA: A little like I'm doing?
Sin: *laughs* Not quite. You're a welcome deviation. Connors is the only one who invades my head.
SA: Thanks, I think. Although the hospital is glaringly white. I wouldn't have thought the term 'gloom' suits?
Sin: Well, you'd think so, but in a building where no one is particularly happy, even the blinding walls can feel dark.
SA: Well. Yes... Let's lighten the mood a little, shall we?
Sin: Unlike the inside of my head?
SA: Indeed. So. You're crazy?
Sin: Hey, don't waste your time, OK? I'd prefer it if you'd get right to the point!
SA: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so blunt.
Sin: Don't worry. I've been called much worse in here. In answer to your question, yes, I'm crazy. Except when I'm not.
SA: When you're not? You switch it on and off?
Sin: After a fashion, I suppose you could say I do. I'm crazy as a loon... when i want to be.
SA: So, from that, do I assume you're not really?
Sin: You can indeedy. My wibble doesn't wobble. I act up so they'll come and give me the drugs. Little pricks giving little pricks.
SA: Why would you do that? I can't see why anyone would want to actually volunteer to be locked up in an asylum.
Sin: Maybe I'm crazy to do it then?
SA: *I shrug my shoulders. Maybe he has more in common with a certain cannibal than I thought*
Sin: You do realise, as you're a conjuration of my consciousness, I can hear your thoughts?
SA: Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. You just seem to be... contradictory.
Sin: I'll take that as a compliment, thank you.
SA: You're welcome. Why, then, did you deliberately put yourself in here?
Sin: I needed it all to stop. I couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was being haunted.
SA: 'It'?
Sin: Yes, 'it'. The deaths. The screams. I couldn't think of how else I could end it other than locking myself away somewhere where they'd pump me full of drugs to take it all away.
SA: What deaths? What screams?
Sin: Shaun, people die around me. I don't like it and I can't help it, but they do.
SA: They die?
Sin: Yes. They die. So I need a healthy dose of oblivion to keep me out of it, so it stops.
SA: Does Dr. Connors know this?
Sin: No. He thinks I'm just paranoid. I'm hardly going to tell him that, am I? He'll think I'm...
SA: Crazy?
Sin: Exactly. Which I'm not.
SA: How's it going with that plan then? Is it working?
Sin: Actually, no. I can still hear their screams and I can still feel their deaths.
SA: Hmmm... What are you going to do about that?
Sin: I'm going to do the only thing I can. I'm going to kill myself.
SA: Suicide? So, people die around you and you want to commit suicide, but you're not crazy.
Sin: That's right.
SA: OK... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that. How are you planning on doing that? After all, this is an asylum. I assume you're not even allowed shoelaces?
Sin: That's the best bit.
SA: Killing yourself has a 'best bit'?
Sin: It does indeed.
SA: So, tell me. How will you do it.
Sin: Teleportation.
I think you'll agree that that's my cue to take my leave of Sin's senses, as he's clearly done so himself. I must admit, though, that he seems at least as sane as I. Perhaps that's his composure, though. He doesn't look like Doc Brown for a start. He looks like you or I.
He looks ordinary.
They do say it's always the quiet ones.
And there we have it, I hope you all enjoyed that and id like to thank Shaun and Sin for being here today.!If you would like to find out more about the two of them then please click the links below.
Such a cool book!
ReplyDeleteThey do say it's always the quiet ones.
ReplyDeleteMuwahahahahahaha