By Grey Lupindo
Grease Coakes has done what most of us only dream about---he’s
published multiple books. That feat
alone is challenging, but Grease has published in two categories, children’s
fiction and adult fiction. His books are
about the Griffin family, who are griffins, and the unusual world they inhabit.
Grease is a
long-time SL resident and news reporter for SL Newser. He’s been on a temporary leave of absence
while he’s been working on his book series and other RL projects. College in Cleveland, which is available
as a Kindle book, came out in late December.
The book is described on Amazon this way: “Glenda Baker, a 19 year old griffin woman,
goes to college as a freshman in a world where there's no humans. She's different as she's colored pink due to
her having a white griffin father and a red griffin mother. ... She
sometimes sees future events. Follow in
Glenda's paw prints and see a different world as she experiences college.“
I met up with Grease in the SL Newser conference
room a few weeks ago, and we talked about his latest book.
Grey Lupindo: So tell
me about this book. What has been the
response?
Grease Coakes: Well, my friend Amehana saw it as a journey
for the young Glenda Baker, who turns into Glenda Griffin later. .... It's
more like a prequel. Ginny Griffin [the character in his first book] was more like a springboard for the furry
alternate universe.
Grey Lupindo: Amazon
mentioned a "mature theme" or words to that effect. What does that involve?
Grease Coakes: I think stories aimed at adults have a wider
audience. I'm walking more in that
direction with Glenda as the main character now.
Grey Lupindo: Does she encounter sex or violence?
Grease Coakes: Yes,
she does. Sexual themes and bloodshed. I can say one character does get it for the
bad things he did and is doing. But the
main villain is forced into a “do or die” situation, so he's not a villain just
to be a villain. He actually has a
reason to do what he does.
Grey Lupindo: It must be really hard to promote an e-book.
You can't have a signing, for example. Or can you?
Grease Coakes: I know Jackson Arthur from Book Island. He knows how to promote through Twitter. And
my friend Amehana Ishtari can help as well. So I'm not alone. I can ask for help. In the mean time I can start on the next
chapter of the series. ^.^
Grey Lupindo: That's great. I'm so impressed that you've written so much.
I'm still one of those "drafts in the drawer" writers. What's
your secret for being able to juggle two lives AND write?
Grease Coakes: I
haven't been in Second Life much lately. But I do have a routine. I do my best to write even on days when I work
in RL. A few hours a day gets it done
over time.
Grey Lupindo: You
mentioned Book Island and Jackson Arthur. Has that been helpful to you as a
writer?
Grease Coakes: Yes, being around writers has been helpful.
The micro fiction meetings and his book biz were always fun to go to. It helped to talk ideas out and hear his ideas
and stories. And I shared my ideas and
plots. Being around like minded people
helped to push me to keep writing and not stop.
Grey Lupindo: I've
been involved in a couple of writers groups due to living in a couple of
different places. One was great. One, not so much.
Grease Coakes: Oh? What set apart the good writing group from the
not so great one?
Grey Lupindo: Motivation
is hard to keep going. The good group
focused much more on challenges...so many pages per day, per month, etc. They had mini-contests to help develop
writing skills.
Grease Coakes: That
sounds like a fun group to be in.
Grey Lupindo: Yes, I miss them. But tell me about your plans for your next
book.
Grease Coakes:
Basically the next one is summer in Cleveland.
It's about the characters having fun and having a summer job. Recurring characters come back, and it shows
the underground rave scene. In RL I went
to clubs. So I'll have fun writing
about electronic dance music before it became mainstream, like it is now.
Grey Lupindo: Neat. What's the conflict in that one? Or is that still a work in progress?
Grease Coakes: There will be a conflict or two.
Grey Lupindo: Will Glenda be the main character?
Grease Coakes: Yes.
She and her roommate get a summer job through a new character, Glenda's
mother. But I can say Glenda sometimes has
the strange curse or gift of seeing future events. Ginny isn't born yet.
Grey Lupindo: So
you're staying in the prequel mode?
Grease Coakes: Yes, eventually the prequels will lead up to
Ginny being born. Well, it's at the
start of the story so I’m not giving anything away. Glenda
gives birth to a perfect hybrid griffin which can fly and is strong. Most of the time griffins are only one or the
other. So at age 15 she legally lets
this married couple in Italy have her son for $150,000.
Grey Lupindo: Why
would she do that?
Grease Coakes: So her
college education is paid for and more.
The reverse could have happened -- she would have been stuck with a child and no
money.
Grey Lupindo: Because
she's so young?
Grease Coakes: Yes, it's either she gives up her child for
adoption or she faces poverty. Her
father is dead so only her mother supports her.
Grey Lupindo: That's a hard decision she has to make. Speaking from a mother's point of view.
Grease Coakes: I'll take your word for it. ^.^ But
I would imagine it would be hard.
Grey Lupindo: It's
impressive that you have developed a character that you can continue to grow.
Grease Coakes: Oh, thank you.
Grey Lupindo: When do you expect this one to be out?
Grease Coakes: Maybe in a few months if I write a few pages every day. But "College in Cleveland" just came
out so don't rush me.
Grease Coakes: *GIGGLES* :)~~~~
Grey Lupindo: LOL. I
can't finish anything, but I expect others to!
Grease Coakes: Haha
Grease Coakes: I have
the stories in my mind. Someone will die in the third book.
Grey Lupindo: Now
that’s a teaser our readers will love! Should
readers know anything about griffins before they read the book?
Grease Coakes: Hmmmm. Something to think about that I read from Wikipedia
is that the griffin's enemy is the horse.
Glenda's rival will be as smart as her and stronger. Glenda can’t just outthink her.
Grey Lupindo: Yes,
the rivals must be strong to make the character better.
Grease Coakes: Sure, if
nothing happened to the character -- if he
or she passed every challenge easily -- not many people would want to read
about him or her.
If you enjoy alternative worlds, fantasy,
and furries, you’ll want to read Grease Coakes’ latest book, College in Cleveland. Find it on Amazon under his RL name, John
Krauss, at http://www.amazon.com/
Grey Lupindo
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