Official Interview: C S Colvin

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Official Interview: C S Colvin

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Good afternoon! It's time for another chat with Sarah. Today I had the pleasure of talking with C S Colvin author of Hippocrates and the Hobgoblin.

To view the official review by @Camille Turner, click here.

To view the book on Amazon, click here.

To view it on the OBC bookshelves, click here.

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1. From your author bio, it looks like you're an ER doctor. Tell us about the good and bad of that.

Emergency Medicine is challenging for sure. I chose it because it allowed me to take care of those patients that society easily forgets, and at times due to lack of financial means, they have nowhere else to go. I get to be there at the worst moments in someone's life, hopefully with the opportunity to help them through it. I manage gunshot wounds, stabbings, heart attacks, strokes, etc. Horrible things, but with science and training we can often reverse the otherwise inevitable outcome. Mental illness at times is overwhelming for ER's across the country. There are no easy solutions, but we try to help everyone we can. It's hard for me to manage suicides in the ER because it is so preventable. It didn't need to happen, but the person saw no other way out. The other heart wrenching aspect of the ER is losing an infant or child. It's very difficult to inform a parent that their child is gone. Those images and experiences stay with you forever.

2. How your life in the ER inspire you to write? Was there another inspiration?

I see a lot of injustice and prejudice in society through the ER. People are people, and when you strip away the masks we have all learned to wear, you realize we all want the same things. We all value the same things, and in the end, no one ever worries about items, or wealth, or fame. They worry that they didn't do enough with the life they had. They worry about leaving their loved ones behind. They worry that their loved ones may not understand how much they meant to them. That simple essence of being human, the desire to love and be loved, inspired me to write about the transitions we all go through at some point whether in this world or the next. I wanted to write about mental illness, and help people understand that those patients, the Vagus in my book, have a beautiful aspect to them often marred by what we see in their actions and behavior. I felt if I could help people understand the human experience within the backdrop of an epic fantasy, it may help bring awareness and acceptance. I had a moment one day with a young boy whose father committed suicide with a gunshot wound to the head. When I entered the family room to let them know the news, the boy came to me crying, knowing that his father was gone, and asked me if his father was going to Hell. The family was Catholic, and they believed the man was meant for eternal damnation. I told the boy, myself holding back tears, "No, son. I don't believe God punishes those who suffer." That's where it began. People who don't understand mental illness assume "it's all in their head" as if it were something they have control over. Mental illness is a disease like diabetes and hypertension. People who suffer from mental illness don't deserve the stigma they receive or a concept of eternal torment. That's what set up the basic structure of my universe.

3. Let's move right on to your book, Hippocrates and the Hobgoblin. Tell us a little about the world of Mürindür.

Mürindür is the middle ground of the afterlife. It's an intermediary realm in one's experience of existence. Souls arrive in the Dunes of Transitio and based on their conditions upon entering the new world they either arrive as Welfalon or Vagus. Welfalon are recovered by the Queen of the realm, Serena, and then ushered off to the Redemptio Keep. Here they learn their purpose, and have eternity to grow and improve to ultimately be accepted into the Endüerduul (paradise) by serving the Lux. Vagus are those that suffered from mental illness or took their lives, and they arrive in the Dunes confused, delirious. They are disoriented enough to stumble in the desert only to be found by the Caedere and Leterum. Leterum then tortures and converts the Vagus into Caedere as he builds his army. The Undüavalle is their final destination when they die, and there they face Leterum's brother, Acrom, for an eternity of damnation. This sets up a very unfair punishment for those that suffer on Earth, and Creed finds this abhorrent, and ultimately this leads to him finding a way to alter their destiny.

4. The reviewer states that the descriptions of Mürindür were beautiful. What was this world based on?

I based this world on the mountainous regions of the U.S. I spent time at Ft. Drum with the 10th Mountain Division in upstate New York, and many trips to Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana. One of my favorite parks is Estes Park in Colorado which I used for the highlands of Mürindür. Mürindür is actually broken down into highlands, middle plains, and lowlands. The middle plains and the lowlands are more crucial in the second book. I named the River Ebon after the Black River near Ft. Drum.

5. Creed is a physician who opts to continue to be reborn on earth to improve mankind rather than moving on to paradise. Do you see yourself in this character?

There's a part of me in many characters, and some of the people I've admired and respected in my life. The Luxatio (dislocated in Latin) are dislocated, fragmented pieces of light (the Lux), and they choose to bring elements of the light back to Earth for their fellow man. I describe their purpose as those rare people we know of in history that had significant influence over pivotal moments in history. Think MLK or Churchill perhaps. Influencers that helped provide hope in times when humanity needed it most, and yet they were human and fallible. I think of people who sacrifice their happiness at times to help others. Paramedics, firefighters, police officers, doctors, nurses, military members... they all give up their family time, weekends, nights, holidays only to serve their fellow man. Many end up with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and broken marriages all because of what we live with in our witnessed events. We all see terrible things, but do what we can to mitigate the fallout. I do see myself in the character. When I modeled Creed, I based him off my younger self (Ojin is based off my older self), and in fact Creed's dynamic with Celeste mirrors my early relationship with my wife. I struggled with a great deal of personal loss when I lost my friends in high-school and college, some of whom died in front of me, and then my intern year following medical school. I lost a friend and classmate in medical school, and then both of my grandmothers all within a few months. My wife met me at this time, and over time through her patience, love, and support I ultimately found my way back to happiness. It also left me with a valid philosophical question... how much suffering can one human mind take?

6. The reviewer also mentions that there are action-filled battle scenes. Did you pull from your experience as an army vet for these?

Many of the battle scenes come from my years of martial arts (karate and Jiu Jitsu), and yes certain strategies used in battle from the military. I enjoy studying the history of war, but I did not serve in a combative role with the Army. I was a doc in the Army, and spent most of my time caring for soldiers in clinics and hospitals. The description of the wounds and attacks are from the casualties I've managed in the ER. I was also one of the many doctors who cared for the victims of the Nov. 5th, 2009 Ft. Hood attack. I also initially took care of the man who launched the attacks. In that chaos, you get a sense of multiple casualties and everyone working so diligently to save everyone we could. It was also surreal to resuscitate the victims while also trying to stabilize the assailant. That chaos and intensity helps me imagine these battles.

7. It looks like this is meant to be a series. When is the next book due out and can you give us a brief synopsis?

I'm currently halfway done with the second book (little over 70K words currently), and hopefully I will have it out before Christmas 2020 (maybe sooner :)). It's outlined, and I'm just working through the chapters. There will be two trilogies. The first set of books will involve following Creed's arc to its conclusion, and then the second trilogy will be the life of his son as he matures and comes to terms with his purpose. This currently published book is the first in the series, and the second book in progress moves much faster than the first with a great deal more conflict. The second book starts five years after the first book ends. Creed's son is five, and they are attacked on Earth, and pulled back to Mürindür. The Highlands have fallen, and only a few spots remain in resistance. Serena has fallen into a deep depression, and no longer wields her power or control over the realm. Leterum, unopposed, is searching for something which you will learn about throughout the book, and this relic, once pieced together, will help raise Acrom from his imprisonment to ultimately bring down the cosmos with Leterum. The main characters race against Leterum to find the pieces, hoping to stop Acrom's rise to power. Multiple plot twists help pull the origin stories of the main characters together.

8. What's your favorite part of writing?

Taking the emotion from what I see everyday, and safely exploring those experiences within the confines of my imagination.

How about a few fun questions.

9. What's your favorite color?


Hah! Green.

10. Mountains or beach?

Always the Mountains. My heart may be in Texas, but my soul belongs in Colorado.

11. Do you prefer to drive or ride?

Drive. Most likely has something to do with a sense of safety in control.

12. Tell us your favorite memory.

My favorite memory, was standing with my brother near the altar of my wedding many years ago, waiting for my wife to come down the aisle. I looked at the sunset over the lake before me, and reflected on my life up to that point. I remember thinking, "Thank you God for second chances."
A book is a dream you hold in your hands.
—Neil Gaiman
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tcudoc90
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Post by tcudoc90 »

Great interview!! Thanks for sharing and being so open.
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