Interview: RH Stavis

By Rachel Pandich

Any fangirl (or fanboy) that has been to a “nerd” convention of any kind knows how testosterone driven they can be. The male to female ratio tends to be 10:1, or at least sometimes it feels that way. That gender gap grows when you look at just the artists, writers and creators at the booths and panels. This is why it was so refreshing when a friend pointed out a writer/creator coming up in the geek culture ranks who is a female. RH Stavis is the author of the novel Daniel’s Veil, a supervisor on Devil’s Due Publishing’s upcoming Spartacus: Blood and Sand mini series, and a few other things that she can’t quite comment on as of yet.

PRG: So I have a very, very important question for you. How was your day?

RH Stavis: Crazy. Meetings and meetings and more meetings.

PRG: It seems like you have a TON going on between Daniel’s Veil, Devil’s Due, and the Xbox games.

RH: Well, I write games for all platforms, plus film work, too. So yeah it’s been nuts. Which is good.

PRG:  What film work have you done?

RH: Working on one now. It’s my own creation, something called Parched. It will be video games and a film, and possibly a comic series. We’re not at the writing stage yet. We’re at concept development. In it the water is all but gone from Earth, and there’s many theories on why, but what the characters discover is so much more than they ever imagined.

PRG: Post apocalyptic?

RH: Yes. But cool and different, unlike anything out there so far.

PRG: Who’s publishing the comic so I can buy it right away?

RH: We’re not there just yet.

PRG: Darn!

RH: Yeah, still in concept

PRG: What other games have/will you work(ed) on?

RH: Unfortunately, I can’t give you titles, because they’re in development now, and contractually….. But I can say that I’m working on some HUGE titles, one of which is for Wii, which I’m psyched about.

PRG: What can you tell us about your work with Devil’s Due?

RH: The Spartacus comic mini-series. It’s based on the upcoming Starz series. I’m technically overseeing this project, but may write one if my schedule allows as well.

PRG: How did you get the gig to oversee this?

RH: Steven S. DeKnight is a friend and someone who knows my comic/ video game abilities and we discussed putting together a really amazing comic, something new and exciting and groundbreaking, much like the show is. And voila, it happened. And now I work with DDP to create an amazing new series for fans.

PRG: Do you get to tell Jimmy Palmiotti, “This sucks, do it again!”

RH: Yes, I tell Jimmy that every day! Just kidding!

PRG: Can you tell me about Daniel’s Veil? Is it more sci-fi, fantasy, mystery or is it an amalgam of the three?

RH: Daniel’s Veil is kind of a mix of the three; it’s one of those books that doesn’t really fit a category. It’s also considered romantic in tone

PRG: Romantic like gothic story telling is romantic, not modern romance novels romantic, correct?

RH: Right, like sci-fi with a bit of a romantic spin. It was my first novel and came out in 2005 and made the Amazon top seller’s ghost list, which was very exciting.

PRG: For those of us not in the know, what is Amazon’s “ghost list?”

RH: The top seller lists are broken into categories of fiction/ nonfiction.  Mine is paranormal, and hence “Ghosts” list.

PRG: Did you have any paranormal experience that might have inspired you to write this novel? Or are you just that good?

RH: Ha! I am fascinated with the paranormal, and definitely believe there’s other things out there. I’ve had some “ghostly” experiences, but I also like to focus on the science of it, too. I think where science and mysticism meet is where we’ll learn the most about our universe and everything in it.

PRG: Can you elaborate on your ghostly experience? If you feel comfortable, of course.

RH: Well I like to go on “ghost hunts” – scientifically based ones. And I’ve been to a few where I felt something, or heard something. One in New Orleans was really interesting. I ended up in an upstairs room of an old house and when I looked at the fireplace, I started to cry and didn’t know why. I couldn’t stop. Later on, I found out that the house was once a brothel, and one of the women had a son who died there, in that room.

PRG: Creepy.

RH: Totally.

PRG: I noticed on your novel, Facebook and Twitter you go by RH Stavis instead of Rachel Stavis. I know that in publishing many females don’t let their names have a gender and put their first initials instead because, statistically,an  books that have an author with a female first name do not sell as well as those with male names or an initial. Is that why you did it?

RH: That used to be the case, but it seems it isn’t anymore. I used the initials because I wrote horror and sci-fi, and just honestly didn’t want anyone to know my gender, so the work wouldn’t be considered “gender specific.” In the beginning, before people knew I was a woman, I’d get many surprised looks – even from editors, who would then say, “I really thought by your writing, you were a man!” That, to me, was the greatest compliment.

PRG: Film, comic books, and gaming are very male centric. Can you give a general idea of what it’s like being a female creator in a testosterone driven field?

RH: Sure. I love it. First of all, I’ve always been a man’s woman, as they say. But, I find that the men in this industry have always always treated me with the utmost respect. Some women say differently, but I can only speak for myself. In my position, in my daily routine, I’ve never had a problem. I do think, though, that it’s also because I am a gamer/comic reader, and it comes across.

PRG: So do you feel that the “tomboyishness” that you have has made it clear to the men you work with that you are just as good as they are?

RH: No, because I’m really not tomboyish, I’m extremely girly. All pink and Hello Kitty. But, I also like to kick ass. So I think just coming in, stating the game plan, taking charge of situations, and simply being the kind of writer/ creator they’re looking for removes any sexist barriers, if there were any to being with.

PRG: God, that’s refreshing

RH: It’s really true.

PRG:  I’ve worked at comic and gaming shops and as long as I have that attitude it was the same for me, but every once in a while you get that one guy that’s like “girls don’t know anything about comics I want to talk to the manager” then I tell them I am the manager. They look embarrassed after that.

RH: Well I’ve had some of that from “Fans,” but sometimes I think they’re just pick up lines. Like, “Is this game about fluffy bunnies?” was my favorite.

PRG:  Hahahaha!

RH: Yeah, lame. “Fluffy bunnies that stab your eyes out and laugh as you bleed.”

PRG: So I guess any form of gender discrimination is in the form of fanboys not knowing how to talk to someone with ovaries.

RH: Even that really doesn’t happen much. My fans are cool. I love them.

If your want to chat with RH Stavis about bunnies that stab out your eyes or any other geeky subject you can follow her on Twitter at RHStavis. To see the press release for Spartacus, click here.

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Rachel Pandich is an uber fangirl with two degrees that currently works in a comic book shop until the economy gets better, or whenever DC brings Bruce Wayne back to life. Whichever happens first.

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