Contestant #2 for Kitsune’s 13 lucky tails!
Chuck Pineau!
Kon’ichiwa, Foxy Chuck! Thank you for joining us today! Can you please introduce yourself and tell us what it is that you bring in to this lovely world with your skills?
Thank you for having me! I’m Chuck Pineau. I’m a freelance writer and editor. My main focus is comics, but I have been able to dabble in other mediums as well. I mostly work to help others achieve thier goals, but my personal projects are Welcome to the Void, Belial(which I co-created with my buddy Shaun Barbour) and these audio drama Essence House(which I co-created with the ever cool Eric Cockrell).
On this show we ask about 13 multi part questions and end with links to your creations. Let’s get right in to it! What are the 3 titles you mentioned about, in short, but interesting descriptions?
Ooo, ok! Welcome to the Void is my modern day take on magic. It’s about a dishwasher, Manny, who discovers the dimension known as the Void. In discovering this he finds the connection to the modern day miracles that we see around us and ignore as trickery. Belial is about the original creator of Hell and his uprising to take Hell back from Lucifer and the four Horsemen. Essence House is a drama about an estranged family who’s now demolished home held secrets that are just now coming to light in the strangest way possible
I like them all, but definitely favor that second one! What made you choose to use your writing to entertain the world? What is your favorite genre to write and to read?
It was never a choice for me. Writing, story, they have always been a part of my life, and something that was important to me. Even though I started taking it seriously later in life, I have always written and created story for the enjoyment of others. My favorite genre is always, and probably will always be fantasy. It’s a part of pretty much everything I do, including modern day pieces like Essence House and WttV.
That is the type of answer that gets us excited and ready to go . Awesome! What is your biggest artistic failure, and also your greatest triumph? What did you learn from each?
Oh, wow. That’s a good question. My biggest failure was probably the first Kickstarter I was a part of. We were trying to get a series started and I realized part way through that no one besides my friends and family would support a book written by a complete unknown. I was an absolute nobody. I learned from that that I needed to make a name for myself, be a part of the community and give, not just take, in order for anything to ever happen for me. I believe that we learn more from our failures than our triumphs, but my greatest triumph was, and probably always will be my marriage. I got married shortly after high school to a woman I met on the internet. No one believed that I knew her well enough, or that I was mature enough to make that decision. That was back in 1999. Now it’s 2020, we’re still married,,, we have kids, grandkids, and we’ve moved from one country to another, but we’ve also always supported one another and loved one another. Even through all the time times, it was always worth it. From that I learned to always trust my gut and that I can make anything work if I care and I put my heart into it, and I’m now doing that not only in the rest of my life, but in comics as well.
Now, I can see how much you care and are willing to learn from your mistakes. Wonderful answers and relationship. If you could give one piece of advice to upcoming writers , what would it be?
Never stop learning and be very open to failure. Your ego is absolutely nothing when it comes to the project. It adds nothing, but it takes away a lot. Also, remember that comics are collaborative by nature, so that ego we were talking about, it will make things even more difficult on you, and the project.
Very good to remember. How do you deal with negative people or trolls?
Usually, I ignore them. These online “beefs” are a joke. They do nothing but bring you and your brand and everything you work on down. State your thoughts and then if someone continues, ignore, unfriend, block, silence…these are your friends in situations like that.
It’s something I wish everyone understood and could calmly disagree. Do you feel that you have contributed something positive to the world with your artistic treasures? Show us why you deserve to be seen, by telling us something about your favorite character!
I feel I have, and that’s my aim. I don’t want to be a part of anything negative, if I can help it. Oh, man. I’m not sure my favorite character will help me much. Linc, from Belial, the books namesakes little buddy is my favorite character I’ve created. He’s taken from medieval history and added in to our book. He’s an imp who was turned to stone by an angel because he threw stones and made fun of the angel. Now, he’s a smartassed little bastard who isn’t afraid of anything, makes fun of everyone, and is loyal to no one save for Belial.
Even mischievous evil characters can bring the greatest joy! He’s grreat! Who or what was your greatest inspiration to make your worlds a reality?
You know, I want to say my family, and mention my wife and friends, but there’s one person with whom, if I had not listened to, I wouldn’t be here. Chris Latimour is my partner at Bonfire Press, and has been a dear friend, and pushed new hard to make WttV, and to move forward with publishing and writing.
Have you ever felt like it’s gotten too much ? What helps you overcome negative feelings and feel better?
Oh, goodness, yeah, all the time. Tea and music. They help so much. I’m weird, though. It’s Earl Grey tea, and loud, angry metal music. I feel like the anger just pulls these negativity out and lets me vent in a way that means no one else has to deal with it, and that’s important to me.
Whatever works, I say! Do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about ?
Goodness, yes! Always. As a writer or editor I’ve had something on kickstarter every month of the year for close to 2 years now. Essence House drops its season finale tomorrow, so that’s big, plus I’m doing a short for The Advocator and a short for Cthuhlu invades Oz with my dude, Kyrun Silva. I’ve got edited work happening with Luke Stone and his Hybrids, I’m working on the next Catdad and SuperMom with Rob Gregory, the Seed Sellers graphic novel is coming together with Martha Schwartz. So much happening
All wonderful creators to work with. you’re keeping busy. If you could write a sequel or prequel to ANY IP, what would it be? What do you feel you could offer the fans?[#10]
I’m a HUGE Lost fan. I would love to write a story about Hurley and Ben and their adventures on and off the island after the show ended. I feel like I could offer a little bit of closure, and hopefully show my take on things so people will realize that the ending isn’t near as bad as they hear or think!
Now, a fun question for you! What was the worst story you ever read without easily identifiable information?
Youch. That hits close to home. As a comic reviewer, I’ve read lots. Several come to mind all at once. Really, what it usually comes down to is having a concept, and having all of these cool ideas, but not getting them on the page, so nothing seems to make sense. Also, if you have really cool characters, then they can make a not great story still work, but an amazing story means nothing if the characters within don’t matter, because we have nothing to connect to
Definitely agree with that reply. What is your personal favorite Indy series at the moment ?
Oh, dang, man. There are several. I have a top five. For me it’s Bun, Harland Buck, Broke Down and 4 Dead Bodies, Tart, and Judas Breed
How have you marketed your skills and what has been the most effective so far ?
Mostly it’s word of mouth, but the other way is by standing by the books I’ve been a part of, sharing those works and really cheerleading for the books as well. I can honestly tell you, I may not be the greatest editor in indie comics, but I’m one of the most well known, and that’s why
That is always a good sign, be proud of your work! Now, reach the last and most important question for you to answer…. WHERE can we buy your stuff?
You can go to either www.facebook.com/bonfirepress or www.facebook.com/belialcomic to pick up these sweet books!
Thank you for taking the Kitsune’s 13 question gambit! Could you give the foxies and wolfies your final words before we part ways?
Support what you love, but also, support those you see who are being positive members of your community. The message of positivity and community needs to grow and we can do that together
With that, we wish everyone well and will scurry back next week! Ja ne, friends!
