In case you hadn’t heard (and seriously, how could you have not, at this point, on this website?), Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2—the highly anticipated follow-up to Blood Feud, the critically acclaimed first novel starring the teen Goth monster hunter—was recently published by StarWarp Concepts. (Yes, we also mentioned it quite a bit over there, too.)

So with that in mind, it only seemed natural to have SWC editorial director (and Blood Reign editor) K. C. Winters sit down with Saga of Pandora Zwieback author Steven A. Roman to discuss his latest work and a few other topics….

KC: Okay, let’s get started. What’s your latest book about?

SR: Well, in general, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is about a 16-year-old “Goth” girl coming to terms with her parents’ divorce and some strange supernatural powers she’s been exhibiting, all while trying to survive a possible war between the monster realm and humanity that’s been initiated by a fallen angel. Pan’s story started in the novel Blood Feud, and it continues in the new book, Blood Reign, which takes place about five minutes after the cliffhanger ending of Blood Feud.

KC: Five minutes after?

SR: I got the idea from that James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Its opening scene takes place, like, five minutes after Casino Royale. I thought doing the same thing with Pan in Blood Reign made sense, to get the cliffhanger resolved and keep the story moving. I’m not gonna say what that cliffhanger was; if anyone reading this hasn’t checked out Blood Feud already, I’m not gonna spoil it for them. So go and buy it, already!

KC: They should. And I did notice a sort of cinematic quality in the way you describe settings and action sequences. So, what’s your favorite movie?

SR: Geez, I’ve got a few favorite movies. The Blues Brothers, Phantom of the Paradise, Army of Darkness… I guess the original Star Wars would be my number one, because it came out when I was fifteen—the perfect age to go see a movie about another teen who dreamed of doing bigger things…even though I thought Han Solo was the cooler character. (You know it’s true.) It’s also the movie that was one of my inspirations as a young writer—in fact, a Star Wars-y short story that I wrote for my high school’s magazine won me the “Best Fiction” award that year; I think the prize was $20. [Note: That story, “Again: He Who Stalks,” was the subject of a 2014 post on this very site, and can be found here.]

KC: What’s the last movie you saw?

SR: The Yards, from 2000. It’s a crime drama set in Queens, about corruption in the Metropolitan Transit system; the “yards” are the Sunnyside train yards. The cast was pretty impressive: Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, James Caan, Faye Dunaway, Ellen Bursten, and Charlize Theron, and Steve Lawrence as the borough president. It’s a really slow movie, but very character driven. The ending’s a little too convenient, but otherwise it’s not a bad film. I checked it out because I’m always curious about how Queens is depicted in movies. It’s a hometown thing.

KC: So not everything you’re involved in has to do with horror or comics.

SR: Well, especially as a writer you can’t be locked into reading or watching just one category—it can’t be horror all the time, or comics all the time. That can limit the kind of stories you want to tell. I read Doctor Who novels, too, and the occasional mystery, and books about baseball and other things. The one thing I can’t get into is fantasy—Game of Thrones and that kind of stuff. It’s just never appealed to me.

KC: Which characters in Blood Reign did you find most challenging to work with, and what was it like to write with them? Conversely, do you have any characters that came particularly easily to you?

SR: Well, Pan was always a challenge, right from the start, because I’d never written a teenage girl before and I wasn’t even sure I could do it. It took some trial and error to get her personality right, but a major hurdle was cleared way back in 1998, when my creative partner, a comic artist named Uriel Caton, came up with Pan’s design. (Back then we’d been trying to pitch an early version of Pan to Parachute Press, the company owned by R. L. Stein, of Goosebumps fame.) Having that visual helped me get a handle on who Pan is, and once I’d gotten comfortable with her, the writing became increasingly faster. By the time I was done with the first book, Blood Feud, she’d become the easiest character to write, and that continued into Blood Reign.

The bad guy in Blood Reign, a fallen angel named Zaqiel, is a little harder, because I keep trying to avoid having him fall into stereotypical villain tropes—you know, the maniacal laugh, referring to himself in the third person, that kind of stuff—but every now and then it slips in. I guess that’s my comic book upbringing as a reader—you can’t help but pick up those sorts of elements along the way. I try to balance it out by exploring the relationship that Zaqiel had with Pan’s mentor, Annie.

KC: That’s the monster hunter Pan met in the first book, Blood Feud.

SR: Sebastienne Mazarin, yeah. Annie’s this 400-year-old shape-shifter who hunts monsters, and two hundred years ago she and Zaqiel were an item. But after he made plans to conquer the world and raised an army of monsters, she killed him and cut off his head. He’s a little pissed off about that. And he and Annie have some scenes together in Blood Reign where he gets to…express that displeasure.

KC: Vocally, or physically?

SR: A little of both—I mean, it is an adventure story—but Annie gives as good as she gets. She’s not the type who takes crap from monsters or psychotic ex-boyfriends, and she keeps promising Zaqiel that, one way or another, she’s gonna see him dead. Again.

KC: And will she make good on that promise?

SR: What, like I’m gonna tell you? (laughs) You’ll have to wait for the next book, Blood & Iron, to find out. That’s when the whole “vampire war” storyline comes to a close—including what happens between Annie and Zaqiel.

KC: All right. Now, you mentioned your “comic book upbringing.” What first inspired you to become a writer? Was it comic books?

SR: Absolutely. Stan Lee was my first writing influence, especially his Spider-Man stories. I never really got into Batman or Superman when I started reading comics, but Spider-Man…I don’t know. I could just understand Peter Parker better than the guy who could move planets with his bare hands! Maybe because Peter was a nerdy teen and I was a nerdy kid, or maybe because we’re both from Queens and I liked that connection. But yeah, Stan was the one who inspired me to get into writing, and when I stumble into using villain tropes…well, I learned from the master!

KC: Is there a favorite place you have to write?

SR: There’s a reading room at the main branch of the New York Public Library, in Manhattan. I go there whenever I either start a writing project, or get stuck with trying to find the right words to write. Or I’ll wander over to Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, down by the East River, and sit under a tree with my notebook.

KC: What’s your cure for writer’s block?

SR: Other than just getting up and walking away from the computer? That’s really my cure. I grab my notebook and go somewhere to write longhand—usually to that room in the public library. Or go and wash dishes, or take a walk—whatever it takes to get my mind off the writing for a while.

KC: What’s your cure for procrastination?

SR: God, I wish I knew of one; I haven’t found it yet. I mean, I’ve been meaning to look, but I always seem to keep putting it off…

KC: Funny. What one project do you daydream about accomplishing as a writer—your magnum opus?

SR: I think I’m already writing it, with The Saga of Pandora Zwieback. Pan is probably the most three-dimensional character I’ve ever written, and I really enjoy working on her stories. And based on the reactions I’ve gotten from readers, they’re enjoying my work, too. I’m grateful there are folks out there who like reading about this attitudinal Queens Goth chick who’s dealing with all these monsters, but who’s really more concerned about untangling all the complications in her life.

And I think they’ll be pleased with the direction Pan’s story is taking in Blood Reign—there’s even more depth to her character, and the challenges she faces this time really push her to the limits, both physically and emotionally. For all the “big budget” set pieces and action scenes and supernatural overtones, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is really all about this teenaged girl trying to figure out her place in the world. Hopefully her fans will continue to come along for the ride!

Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2 is now on sale and can be ordered in print and digital formats from brick-and-mortar and online retailers. Visit the Blood Reign product page at the StarWarp Concepts website for sales links and a downloadable free sample chapter.

Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is still available and also can be ordered in print and digital formats from brick-and-mortar and online retailers. Visit the Blood Feud product page at the StarWarp Concepts website for sales links and a downloadable free sample chapter.