Get ready to meet the mind behind the myth. We sat down with the brilliantly witty and award-winning author Eugen Bacon to discuss her upcoming novelette, NOVIC—a standalone sequel to Claiming T-Mo that delves into the fascinating “before the story” of an immortal priest.
- If your book were turned into a movie or TV series, who would you want to play the main character and why?
I’m bi demi and have always had the hots for Denzel Washington, but he wouldn’t do for Novic. I can see Morgan Freeman or Samuel L. Jackson as an immortal with a heart, yet feigning not to give a toot. But Michael David Brown has eyes to die for and Taye Diggs is a pure heart attack. We haven’t got to Idris Elba… Feels a bit hot in here, whadya reckon?
- What’s the strangest or funniest research you’ve ever done for a book?
The Australian Federal Police would have a fit hijacking my online search history. For NOVIC, I looked at weird ways to die. But I love researching the sensual to find the right words while drawing upon personal experience: what does a male orgasm feel like? What does a durian fruit taste like? What does a blue jay sound like? I get morbid curiosities, such as the decomposition stages of a dead body.
- What’s the most unusual writing ritual or superstition you have?
I cross myself if a lizard walks in front of me: it brings back luck. And I never sweep the house or empty the bin at night: it steals good luck.
- If you could co-write a book with any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Toni Morrison, a hundred percent. Are you kidding me? If I have to tell you why then you and I are unalike planets. Like totally.
- Share one interesting or quirky fact about yourself that readers may not know.
By Jove! I love Japanese sake.
- If you could have a superpower for a day, what would you choose and how would you use it?
I’d love to say make a wish come true, but I’d most definitely misuse it. I’d love to say read people’s minds—but what a shitty way to find out the truth of things. Immortality? Stuff it—who wants to live forever, as everyone you love perishes around you? Super strength—then what, after beating up the baddies? I’d be so miserable with whichever superpower, I’d just rather be me.
- What’s the most unusual or surprising inspiration for one of your characters or storylines?
I write fuckwits into my stories, as secondary characters, and do things to them. Simply put, don’t mess with me.
- If you could have a dinner party with three fictional characters, who would you invite and why?
Imagine the explosives you would get at a dinner table with Peter Griffin (Family Guy), Blade (Denzel Washington in Blade) and Selene (Kate Beckinsale in Underworld). I’d love to be a fly on the wall.
Eugen Bacon is an African Australian author. She’s a Solstice, British Fantasy and Foreword Indies Award winner, a twice World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award finalist, and a finalist in the Philip K. Dick Award, Ignyte and the Nommo Awards for speculative fiction by Africans. Eugen is an Otherwise Fellow, and was also announced in the honor list for “doing exciting work in gender and speculative fiction.” Danged Black Thing made the Otherwise Award Honor List as a “sharp collection of Afro-Surrealist work.” Visit her at eugenbacon.com.
NOVIC by Eugen Bacon
GENRE: Sci Fi | Dark Fantasy
BOOK PAGE: https://meerkatpress.com/books/novic/
SUMMARY:
Discover the haunting origins of an immortal soul in Novic, a mesmerizing novelette by Eugen Bacon that serves as the “story-before-the-story” of the enigmatic Sayneth priest introduced in her acclaimed debut novel, Claiming T-Mo.
In Claiming T-Mo, Novic emerges as a figure of profound mystery—an immortal with eyes as ancient as Jacob and a visage that whispers of death itself. Novic’s defiance of a matriarchal society’s conventions sets in motion a Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation of his son T-Mo that shapes his destiny along with the three women who love him.
But who is Novic? Where did he come from, and what forces forged his immortal path? This prequel novelette delves into Novic’s past—his trials, his transgressions, and the timeless burden of his existence.
As lyrical as it is dark. Novic is a must-read for fans of Claiming T-Mo and newcomers alike.
BUY LINKS: Meerkat Press | Bookshop.org | Amazon
