Skip to main content

Feature Interview: The Rob Cerio


Author Rob Cerio
Rob Cerio. Author. Screenwriter. Family man. Possible sufferer of multiple personality disorder (Captain Chaos...cough...sputter). He is best known for his Jake Price series (Dimensional Games and Interdimensionally Yours, Jake Price), a science fiction series about a "Dimensional Moderator". Cerio has contributed stories to the steampunk anthologies Dreams of Steam II, Dreams of Steam III, and New Orleans by Gaslight and is a contributing writer for the Sci-fi web series, The Adventures of Keith Flippen. Rob has admitted he is not a fan of the Jayne hat, but I forgive him.
The Usual Unusual Disclaimer: WARNING! Do not read blog near open flame. Do not stick blog in electrical socket. Do not read blog while taking a shower. Do not read blog while playing a harmonica and strumming a guitar. Reading blog while doing any of the above may cause blindness, seizures, outright confusion, and/or death. If any of these medical conditions occur while reading blog, consult a doctor immediately. Unless you die. Because that shit ain’t curable.

 Karma Girl: May I call you Mr. The Rob? Also, why do people call you “The Rob Cerio”? There’s got to be a story behind that.

 Rob Cerio: Well, I have a friend whose kids refer to me as "uncle The" so I guess you can call me that. This whole "The" thing is an example of how letting a joke run for too long can have lasting impact. At one of my first appearances, where I was totally a small fish in a big pond, a group of my friends thought it would be funny and/or humiliating to start screaming "Oh My God! THE Rob Cerio!" and it stuck. Now I can't introduce myself as "Rob Cerio" without at least one person saying "Don't you mean 'THE Rob Cerio'?" I have just come to accept it as part of my brand.

 KG: In 2010, you published a book called Dimensional Games. In 2012 you published the sequel, Interdimensionally Yours, Jake Price. Can you tell us about these books and what influenced you to write them? Booze? Peyote? The redeeming love of a beautiful woman?
Dimensional Games
Rob: The redeeming love of a beautiful woman is ALWAYS a good reason to write a book. Booze and Peyote less so. The Jake Price books are about a 'Dimensional Moderator' Whose job it is to make sure that tourists in alternate universes don't screw them up too badly. My main inspiration was watching a group of LARPers (Live Action Role Playing) at a convention act out a scenario, followed by a bunch of World Of Warcraft gamers having a LAN party. It occurred to me that if there is an alternate dimension where elves and fairies exist, these guys would be the first ones to buy a ticket to get there. It follows that they would interfere with the natives, and screw up those worlds in a pretty comical way. It also follows that the people that sold them the ticket would have a real problem with that. Jake Price is a working class schlub whose job it is to prevent the chaos and ensuing comedy. Sadly he's actually not that great at his job, but it makes for some great comedy.
Interdimensionally Yours, Jake Price
KG: Can we expect more Jake Price in the near future?

 Rob: I'm currently working on a third Jake Price adventure, Jake Price and the Reality Realtors. It's coming along, but entirely too slowly.

 KG: As one of the writers credited to the Sci-Fi serial spoof, The Adventures of Keith Flippen, what would you say is the best part about writing for the show?

 Rob: Keith Flippen is an interesting project. It started as a one-off, 48hr film festival entry, but evolved into the webseries that we're all very proud of. I would say my favorite part of writing for the show is coming up with funny, yet Megalomaniacal dialogue for Queen Calamitous. I get the biggest kick out of watching the actress bring her to life.

 KG: What other works are you known for?

 Rob: I have gained quite the reputation as a steampunk author. I have been published a few times in Dark Oak Press' Dreams of Steam series, and in New Orleans by Gaslight by Black Tome Books. I feel like my steampunk stories resonate with readers because I always base the tales on actual history rather than fantasy. There are such great tales and personalities sitting in the history of New Orleans for example, that it's almost a crime not to use them.

 KG: We’ve come to the part of the interview known to one and all as THE SERIOUS THREE, wherein I ask the interviewee three incredibly significant, undeniably serious questions. You must answer these questions as honestly and as seriously as humanly possible.

 QUESTION #1: Who is Captain Chaos, and what is your affiliation with him? And what about this Captain Kahunah guy?
The Captain, macking on some poor schlub's wife.
Rob: Captain Chaos is a superhero that is apparently stalking me and trying to seduce my wife. I swear, if I'm ever in a room with him at the same time, he is going to get a piece of my mind. It's my understanding that he's based on a character played by the late Dom DeLuise in the Cannonball Run movies, so I may have to find out who's a fan. CaptKahunah is my Twitter handle, (which I took primarily because CaptChaos was taken, that bastard!) and is based on a nickname from college.

 QUESTION #2: Whovian, Browncoat, Trekker, or all of the above?

 Rob: TrekkIE first and foremost, but a dedicated Whovian as well. My Dad took me to my first Trek Convention when I was four, and I've been a fan ever since. I have had several starfleet uniforms over the years, and own one of those super long Tom Baker scarves. I enjoyed Firefly, but I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those ugly Jayne hats.

 QUESTION #3: Where can my loyal readers follow, stalk, bug you for an autographed copy of your book (Facebook, Twitter, various Cons you will be attending, etc.)?

 Rob: I have a special "Stalk me like a Pro" section of my website, www.robcerio.com, but you can find me on twitter @CaptKahunah, my facebook author page "TheRob Cerio" or just friend me. I will be appearing at CoastCon in Biloxi March 5-7, CyPhaCon in Lake Charles April 4-6 and the LA SciFi Costume and Film festival in Baton Rouge April 25-27.

 Thanks for taking the time for this interview. You may resume your harmonica/guitar playing.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Feature Interview: Lauren Scharhag

Lauren Scharhag is the author of such books as Our Miss Engel , Order of the Four Sons series, La Tutayegua , Under Julia , and West Side Girl & Other Poems . She has won the Gerard Manley Hopkins award for poetry. Ms. Scharhag hails from Kansas City where she lives with her husband and three cats, but not a dog named Toto. Because that would just be silly. LAUREN: Yes, especially since I live in Missouri and not Kansas. KARMA GIRL: Before we start, I'm going to give you my usual Unusual Disclaimer: Silent tongue is filled With questions yet to be asked Interview begins Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Lauren.   LAUREN: Thanks for having me. KG: Tell us about yourself. You live in Missouri now, but according to your bio you grew up in Kansas City. What was it like growing up there and have you ever dropped a house on someone's sister? LAUREN: Actually, Kansas City is in Missouri as well as Kansas-- it's the older, original KC. I had a pre
262 comments
Read more

Five Things You Didn't Know Could Happen During a Massage

Everyone likes a good massage. Well, almost everyone. There are some that cringe at the very idea of being naked in a room while a total stranger rubs them down. These people are either crazy or have never had a massage before and don't know what they're missing. There are also the ones that like massage a little too much and should feel free to do to themselves what they erroneously believe they are paying me to do to them. Also, read item number 3 of this blog article I wrote in November of 2012 and follow the instructions therein. But for those of you who are just looking for a nice, perfectly innocent, legal, and in no way rage inducing way to relax, massage is the way to go. That said, there are a few things you should be prepared for before getting that first massage. Things such as... 1. I CAN MAKE YOU FART LIKE A GODDAMN MACHINE GUN I once had a client come in for a deep tissue massage who must have eaten a very big, extremely gassy meal right before climbing ont
25 comments
Read more

"Meet Our Therapist"...Doomtown Style!

My boss has been getting on me to make a bio for  Balance Spa's Facebook page for ages, and I've only just consented to do it. I had been putting it off mostly because doing so would require me to have a picture taken of myself. Having a picture taken of myself would require me to wear makeup. I could go without, but doing so would cause one of the seven seals to be opened therefore heralding the coming apocalypse. I hear a river in China recently turned to blood . I'm not saying I had anything to do with it, but I wouldn't make any long term plans if I were you. For it has been foretold! The bio was written by one of our lovely and talented receptionists, Rayme. For those of you wondering why I hadn't written the thing myself, read a few of my posts. You might notice a pattern. I can't seem to write anything serious without becoming sarcastic or goofy. That's just the way I roll. But I couldn't help tweaking Rayme's version just a bit to fit
Post a Comment
Read more