Teresa Geering is the author of The Eye of Erasmus, a story of finding love in different times….literally. Please enjoy the following interview with Teresa.
THE EYE OF ERASMUS QUESTIONS
Can you please explain the significance of the title?
This may sound very naïve Mandy but when I began writing, I had no idea Erasmus was a philosopher. The name just popped in unexpectedly as I was writing.
The Eye of Erasmus (watching me work?) just seemed to fit the bill.
The character names are quite unusual, in a good way. How did you come up with these names?
Truthfully speaking I have no idea. It was as if someone was helping me write the story – perhaps their story – and making suggestions for the names. I was extremely pleased with them though.
The main character Erasmus travels through time for love and he goes through changes to his personality. Did you specifically use this as an avenue to highlight how love can change someone?
Not specifically – no – but love changes our attitudes in all so many ways. The hardest man/woman can mellow with a love interest 🙂
Shasta takes care of Hesper like he is her own which showed her caring nature. Would you think this is a positive or negative trait to possess?
I would like to think we all have some positive traits within us somewhere Mandy. Whether we show it to humans or even animals!
Hesper is known to have some mood swings – was this used as a way to show how children adapt to certain situations, behave around certain people and generally show his character as a child instead of a man?
Aha… I think Hesper’s attitude and mood swings fitted in with his forthcoming actions within the book. (Best not say too much here)
I love the character of Merlin. Why did you choose him to be a cat?
Actually I can blame that on my cat who regularly lays beside me as I write. His real name is Lossy but friends persisted in calling him Merlin as he is mostly black. I do try to incorporate animals, birds etc into my books where possible. As a Wicca I love all things to do with nature
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Liana is a soothsayer. Why did you decide to include the character of Liana in this story?
Well Shasta is clairvoyant and psychic. The story takes us at times to the market place and in times of old there was always a soothsayer there casting teeth. (Similar occurrences in “The Ides of March” come to mind.)
Who is your favourite character in The Eye of Erasmus and why?
Easy peasy. I would say Erasmus himself, as he is based on a couple of colleagues I work with. Erasmus is them to a ‘T’ in all respects.
What age bracket would you say is your target audience?
Initially Mandy it was aimed at young adults but so far it’s only been read by adults. References were made to the Harry Potter books and it seems to have spanned all age groups with good reviews.
Will we be seeing any of the characters from The Eye of Erasmus in any future works?
Absolutely …. I’m working on the fourth book now and I have several ideas for the other characters up my large sleeve. 🙂
I can so relate to Teresa’s comment re the name Erasmus just popped in to my work. I wrote about my journey as a mother of a son who had sustained traumatic brain injury with the intention of giving a copy to my son and also to expell some of the darkness in my life. After my neighbour read the draft of “You’re A Dick Mummy”she convinced me to publish.
So it was back to the drawing board to reposition my words to thus make “You’re A Dick, Mummy” appropriate to a wider audience. Sentences and subjects popped into my head, so insistent and prolific at times that I simply added these without even questioning whether they were appropriate or not at this point in time….and they worked. I wonder how many writers have this experience and how successful it is for them.
May 2011 be just as successful if not more so for you than 2010.
Thank you for your comment, Ann. I love that reading author interviews can create such feelings amongst other authors, even just knowing you are not going through things alone. I hope you have a wonderful 2011.