1. What is it that you do ?
My name is Ted Anthony Roberts, and I consider myself a Swashbuckling Author. A lot of folks today are actually unaware of what that word really means; that is: ‘Swashbuckling!’ Well, it could be termed Historical Fiction, but it’s actually more than that. It’s a world filled with adventure, sword-play, of jousting knights, of Sherwood Forest bandits, of Dragon fights, action scenes of heroic proportions, of Musketeers crossing blades, of Pirates boarding unsuspecting Galleons, and of dandies fighting duels at the drop of a hat. Of course, I am hoping to be one of the few who are trying to bring this ‘genre’ to the forefront of book storytelling once again. And, so far, I’ve three books published in an attempt to do so: “The Adventures of Monsieur de La Donaree the Musketeer;” “Captain Skull: From the Memoirs of Sir Charles of Riley;” and “Sword Against the Robe.”
2. Where are you located?
I’m in Houston, Texas.
3. What got you interested in starting out in this business?
I was captured into the vast world of swashbuckling as far back as 1979 when I watched, late at night, ‘The Three Musketeers’ from 1948, with Gene Kelly as d’Artagnan. I was about 8 years old at the time – and that world instantly pulled me in! And, since that time, I discovered other Swashbucklers of interest: Pirates, Knights, Vikings, etc … By 1987, after watching The Three Musketeers with Kelly around or over a dozen times, I was ready to read the novel by Alexandre Dumas. Then, after reading this amazing book seven times, I was ready to write my own book. I did so; and, had the first draft for my first book by late 1987 or early 1988.
4. When did you start selling?
Even though I had the first draft for my first book done by around 1988, the actual book itself wasn’t published until early 2010. The reason for this delay was for several reasons. First of all, after my first draft, I typed this ‘short’ book on an old typewriter (by the early 1990’s) and sent it off to a publisher in Houston. They were very kind, and knew that I was young (probably about 19 or 20 years old), and told me that the story was too thin, and that I needed to add in more substance before it could be ready for publishing. I was a bit disappointed, so I stopped on the effort for a while. I then took creative writing in college in 1994. By the end of the course, the teacher stopped everybody from leaving and made an announcement, and said: “I just wanted to let everybody know that Ted is going to be a published author.” Of all the students, I was the only one of whom she spoke. This gave me some more courage to re-work my first novel. Another thing that I took to heart, that this writing teacher said to us, was that the first 20 years of writing was going to be the hardest to do. And, she was right! In fact, after working and reworking my first book for about that space of time, and expanding it to over 300 pages of text, I knew I was ready to publish.
5. What is your local faire or home faire?
Several times I’ve visited the Renaissance Faire out in Montgomery, Texas. That’s where I bought my Robin Hood leather cap! Also, I got to see some great entertainment. I Loved the jousting knights! But, by far, my favorite show was put on by Don Juan and Miguel – swashbuckling and comic swordplay! I think, somewhere, there’s an old camcorder recording in our house, taken back in the early to mid 90’s, where I captured their show … However, that’s not my most memorable moment in connection with the Renaissance Faire. One of my day jobs in the early 2000’s was working in the copy and print center at Office Depot, and one of my customers happened to have been Shakespeare. And, I know that a lot of folks know of whom I mean! Very nice guy! I had helped him, on more than one occasion, to print up his marketing materials for the faire. I was very sad to learn, not too much longer afterwards, that he had passed away.
6. Do you travel? And, if so, how far will you go?
In connection with my book writing, I’ve only traveled to do a few book signings over the years. However, they were all within the district and outskirts of Houston, Texas.
7. What advice do you have to give others that are just starting out in this business?
Don’t give up! If writing is your dream, then, by all means, don’t let discouragements get in the way. If they did for me, I wouldn’t still be writing today – over 30 years! Take constructive criticisms, consider them, and allow them to further develop your craft.
8. How do you handle thefts or copying of your works?
I haven’t had to deal with that just yet; but, in all honesty, my main concern is that people read my writings; so, it’s not really a problem. But, that’s just them ‘reading’ it for free. Again, I have no problems with that – I even gave away over 1,000 free copies of my first two novels (Kindle versions, of course!) just a few years ago. However, in consideration of stealing my works by saying that they were written by another author, I think that may be hard to do, considering that my name has been attached to my work, and has been available on the market for many years, and that many people do associate my books with my name.
9. What is your favorite food at faire?
Their famous turkey legs! At least, over in Montgomery, Texas, they are specially made. But, I really did also enjoy the quail on a stick.
10. What would you say (nicely) to a faire manager or owner?
Please don’t ever stop having the Renaissance Faire! It’s one of only a few ways, nowadays, of keeping Swashbuckling still alive! Thank you for what you do!
11. What is your set up for your booth?
Honestly, I haven’t sold my Swashbuckling books at the Renaissance Faire before, but I’m certainly willing to try! Maybe if I got a good discount on a table … hint, hint!
12. What makes you so interested in historical time periods?
Things so far away, and so long ago, seem almost dream-like, enchanting, adventurous. Perhaps, if I lived in any Swashbuckling time period, it may seem hum-drum, like everyday life for us sometimes feel; but, since I haven’t lived in any of those historic periods, they do seem very fascinating! Besides, people just dressed better once upon a time! And, the Renaissance Faire gives everybody a good excuse to dress that way again!
13. How often do you write?
Certainly not as often as I’d like! If I could write at a steady pace, I’d have more books done by now than I do. However, that doesn’t mean that my efforts have only been poured into just three books (the amount that I now have published in the Swashbuckling genre). I’ve actually have about a dozen unfinished book projects – one of which is about halfway done. But, between working and having kids, well…
14. Describe your first or best experience at the Renaissance Faire.
As I’ve said earlier, I really liked the show put on by Don Juan and Miguel. However, they were the funniest when they made a man (who had a large Tom Selleck mustache!) put on a woman’s wig and dress to play the damsel in distress. During their duel over the ‘lady,’ Miguel supposedly wounded Don Juan on the hand. Then Juan presented his wounded hand for the lady to kiss and make better. While the audience roared with laughter, the lady with the big mustache didn’t exactly know how to handle that situation, and was grinning widely from ear to ear. Finally, he/she took the hand, turned their back to the audience, and pretended to kiss it. After which, Juan tore the hand away quickly, clutching it with the other hand; then, either Juan or Miguel screamed out: “Wow! She’s an animal!”
15. How do you promote your books?
Currently, I am self-published, so I have to market these by myself. I really don’t have much time to do so, but I try and keep in touch with folks via my Facebook pages, where I have my main author page (Facebook.com/tedanthonyroberts), and a few business Facebook pages attached, such as: ‘Swashbuckling Stories by Ted Anthony Roberts’ (Facebook.com/swashauthor), and The Swashbuckling Press (Facebook.com/swashbucklingpress). Now, the first Facebook business page (i.e. swashauthor) is easily explained as to being a side page to exclusively discuss my past, current and future book projects, but as far as The Swashbuckling Press is concerned, that’s a project that was initially launched back in 2005 (though, the concept is as old as the late 1980’s) which is actually a website (www.Swashbucklingpress.webs.com) which features many pages on Swashbuckling History and entertainment. Not only so, but this is my own self-publishing company name for my books.
16. How did you find out about us?
Facebook connections and networking, of course.
17. In five years (or less) my goal is to:
Have a few more swashbuckling novels published; but, more importantly, to have expanded my reading audience to a much larger degree.
18. At faire, what garb/attire is your usual to go?
I’ve wanted to come as a Musketeer, but I never could afford the costume that I wanted to buy, for the cheaper one’s just look too cheap! However, I would like to say just a couple of words about my nephew, Brennen Bustamento. He’s actually the cover model for my second novel: ‘Captain Skull.’ That’s not saying he’s portraying the captain in that shot, but is portraying the main character of the story who tells about the captain. Anyways, I was pleased to know that he had visited the Faire in Montgomery, Texas, once or twice, and had dressed as the leading character in my book – Sir Chares of Riley.
19. How many different Faires do you attend?
I’ve only been to the one in Montgomery, Texas. But, if I travel in future, I wouldn’t mind attending others.
20. Website addresses:
www.TedAnthonyRoberts.webs.com
www.SwashbucklingPress.webs.com
www.Facebook.com
/tedanthonyroberts http:// http://www.facebook.com/tedanthonyroberts
/swashauthor http://www.facebook.com/swashauthor
/swashbucklingpress http://www.facebook.com/swashbucklingpress
A/N – Ted was originally featured on my older blog site, and this is to make sure he gets featured again. I actually knew the Shakespeare that he speaks of as he was part of our earlier shows here in Massachusetts. I posted one of the older photos that I have. Small world huh? That’s why I love these shows. They somehow connect all of us.
Stay tuned for next week! – Gia
