Author Interviews Himself About His Book
As a writer of fiction, I often catch myself talking to myself.
No you don't, Andy.
I'm doing it right now!
Whatever you say, man. Can we get a poke bowl? I'm famished.
We can eat after this blog post.
Fine, you're paying though.
Obviously. Anyway, since I talk to myself so often, I thought it might be fitting to interview myself.
About what?
About my novel, The Last Safe Place.
That sounds mildly interesting. Do you want to ask the questions, or should I?
Go for it.
I already know all the answers, though.
Please stop procrastinating.
Alright, here it goes: Q. When did you start writing The Last Safe Place?
Do you have to say "Q" before each question?
It's easier on the reader.
Gotcha. In that case, can you lose the italics and speak in bold?
I'm hungry.
The sooner we finish, the sooner we can eat. Get on with it!
Alright, alright, my first question is...
Q. When did you start writing The Last Safe Place?
A. I started writing the first chapter on March 11th, 2016.
Q. Wow, it took you a long time to finish. Why?
A. I didn't write anything past the first chapter for quite a while. I actually wrote the majority of the manuscript during the summer of 2017 and finished the first draft on September 25th, 2017.
Q. Why did it take over a year for you to release the book?
A. I went through several rounds of revisions (at least five, but I kind of lost track), then I had the manuscript edited by Josiah Schotborgh over the summer of 2018. I also had to format the book for both print and digital formats, design the book cover, and make sure everything looked good before I could even consider releasing the book.
Q. Sounds like a lot of work. You did everything yourself?
A. Almost everything, yes. Some authors choose to publish traditionally—by getting an agent, pitching the book, and signing a publishing deal—but I'm what they call an independently published author.
Q. Why did you choose to publish independently?
A. Many of the authors that I admire (such as Hugh Howey) are self-published or at least started their careers that way. When you go the more traditional route, it could be a year or two before your book hits the market...or it might never hit the market. Call me impatient, but I didn't want to wait that long. Also, traditionally published authors often end up doing most of the promotional work themselves anyway, but for a much smaller cut of the pie. Sure, I didn't get a big cash advance and I don't have a massive marketing engine to help me sell books, but I am in complete control of the process, and I own all the rights to my work.
Q. Cool beans. Now let's dive deeper into The Last Safe Place. What inspired you to write it?
A. It wasn't inspired by one book or movie in particular, but more by a lifetime of consuming science fiction. I've always loved stories that start out small and slowly build into something epic. A good example is The Wayward Pines Trilogy by Blake Crouch. Hugh Howey's Silo series is another. Using revelation after revelation, stories like these leave people wondering and later satisfy that wonder. I wanted to create something of that caliber.
Q. A lot of science fiction—yours included, it seems—revolves around the idea that technology should be feared. Do you fear technology?
A. I fear it to an extent, but I'm also obsessed with futuristic technology and how it will improve and extend the lives of human beings. When you look at recent advances in gene editing, brain-machine interfaces, and artificial intelligence, it's clear that our species is on the cusp of massive change. I've already seen so many technological advances in my relatively short life, and I'm sure I'll get to see many more. Still, I often daydream about what it would be like to go into stasis and wake up in the distant future. It's definitely a cool time to be alive, but I'd love to see what will happen beyond my lifetime.
Q. The Last Safe Place has a lot going on. The main character is a cyborg. His love interest is an alien with an insane back story. The bad guy uses nano-technology for mind control. You included cryo-stasis, artificial superintelligences, and I even caught a hint of zombie action going on. How were you able to blend all these elements into one cohesive story?
A. That's hard to answer. I'll admit that I could have shown more restraint. I'll also admit that I binge-watched The Walking Dead while writing this book. The way I see it, though, The Last Safe Place is an amalgamation of everything I love about science fiction and fantasy. I often worried that there was too much going on (I still do, in fact), but I think the characters were the glue that held everything together.
Q. Can we get lunch now?
A. Stay focused.
Q. Fine. Are you worried that you've chosen a dead medium? I mean, who reads books, anyway?
A. Plenty of people still read books, but I am worried about a future decline in readership. That's why one of my passions in life is encouraging people to keep reading. I think everyone, kids especially, should take a daily break from technology and read a chapter or two. It's really important to expand your worldview, and reading (even reading fiction) can help you do that. I also understand that many people choose not to read, so I'll be recording an audio-book version of The Last Safe Place for Audible as well. (Side note: Audible has a great deal right now where you can get two free audiobooks)
Q. Have you considered pitching your book to movie studios?
A. Absolutely. I would love to see my story on the big screen someday. That would be a dream come true. I imagine the production budget would have to be pretty high, though.
Q. The Last Safe Place is slated as Book 1 of the Arca Saga. How many books do you plan on writing in this series?
A. Three sounds like a good number to me, but I can't make any promises at this point. However, I want to write several short stories that take place in the same universe. The first one, Planet of Origin, is already out.
Q. When will the sequels and short stories be released?
A. As soon as they're done. I know that's furstratingly vague. The best way to stay up to date on my writing is to join my mailing list. Here, I'll whip up a sign-up form...
Q. Anything else you want to say?
A. Yeah, but you won't be happy about it.
Q. Ugh...what is it?
A. I don't really feel like poke for lunch.