October 27, 2022 - Papa Charlie
If you know me, you know Sean Charles Silva is not my real name. When I started writing and dreamed of getting published one day, the idea of writing under a pen name never occurred to me. Then, when the time drew closer to making all this public, the thought did occur to me—and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
In truth, my real name means very little to me. It of course comes from my father whose name comes from his father and I only ever met him once. I was raised by my mom and my stepfather, Rick. They married when I was just shy of six. I don’t think I remember life before Rick as he was of course there well before the marriage, and that puts me right around the age where cognition begins to stick. He is the reason I play hockey, love the lake, and am able to gut and renovate the interior and exterior of a house (though not without his help/guidance or my constant questions). He has supported me endlessly and taught me a good deal of what I know.
That brings me to his parents, Charlie and Georgette—my step-grandparents, but you might as well remove the “step”. In my memory, they were my grandparents the moment I met them. Their biological grandchildren came after us, and they never treated any of us any differently. There was no divide. We were all grandchildren, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. The “step” was just a technicality, and they were a big reason why.
Sadly, my grandfather died of leukemia when I was in 8th grade. It was my first real experience with loss. I was devastated; we all were. He was taken from us way too soon. Yet once the sadness passed, it was hard not to look back with anything but fondness. We all have vivid memories of him saying his patented “Well Hello!” as he made his way down the stairs of his lake house carrying a glass jug full of pink lemonade.
Another thing we all remember about him is that he never threw anything away. Longevity meant something to him, and it means something to me too.
Papa Charlie, as we called him, has no direct male descendants carrying his name. He has one biological grandson—through his daughter, and five granddaughters. Though it is possible one of his granddaughters will keep the Silva name and their children will carry it too—it feels more likely that no more of his direct descendants will carry it.
This is no great tragedy, it happens—and his outstanding legacy will live on regardless. A name is just a name after all, but a name can of course still mean something—which is why I chose to honor him with my pen name. This way, if I ever find any level of success as a writer, his name can live on.
October 26, 2022 - Hello
Hi, I’m Sean. I live on the seacoast in New Hampshire with my wonderful fiancé. By day, I work in sales and marketing for an IT company. By night, I write. I started writing when I was fourteen or so, and in 2008 I graduated from Emerson College with a degree in Writing, Literature and Publishing. The years since have been busy—working full time, moving our life from Boston to NH and heavily renovating our new home, being a devoted dog dad, and a whole lot more. Through all of it, I always found the time to write—and I always will.
I completed my first major project about five years ago, a sci-fi/fantasy novel called One Hundred Million Faces. I remember how excited I was, the sense of accomplishment I felt after bouncing from unfinished manuscript to unfinished manuscript. The story just flowed from me, and my passion for the characters and the world I created carried me to the finish line.
Sadly, my enthusiasm did not survive a sixteen-hour flight to Thailand. It was then that I began to dive into my first real edits—and boy did it need them. The structure was there, but as any writer can tell you, your first pass rarely survives your own criticism. So, I dug in my heels and began rewrites. I don’t think a single line was untouched. I probably wrote the same book three or four times over. Then I let a friend read it (thanks Megan) and went through another round of rewrites inspired by her critiques and suggestions.
At this point I was ready to get it out there. Unfortunately, publishers weren’t. I think about ten passed on it, which was a bummer but no real surprise considering it was an unsolicited manuscript from an unpublished author. It was what I expected since penning my first query letter. Agents were no easier to come by given my lack of presence in the publishing world and no shorter published works or essays to reference. So, it just sat there for a couple of years while I moved onto my next project (which is going well!).
Yet I got to a point where I could not let it sit anymore. I love this project and believe in it enough to get it out there—and my future projects can only benefit from having it visible. Therefore, I have decided to move forward and self-publish. It’s not the path any writer dreams of taking, but it’s better than letting my work sit unread, as if it didn’t exist in the first place.
I’ve always been an introvert and a private person, so the thought of getting my work out there is pretty terrifying, which has motivated me to do it right. I have dedicated a section of this site to One Hundred Million Faces, with a synopsis, character profiles (along with sketches by the insanely talented Sam Robichaud), location summaries, and in the coming weeks I will be posting the first chapter in its entirety.
Release is planned for Fall 2023, and an exact date and pre-order link will be posted shortly. Also, check out my blog for an explanation on my pen name, and keep checking back for updates. I have never been much of a blogger, but I have a lot of thoughts about why I write and how I write and my love of the sci-fi genre.
I can’t thank you enough for your time, I genuinely love this book and cannot wait to share it with you.
