Hello, everyone! Welcome!
Hi everyone! This is a partial transcript of my interview with Alexa Wayne at Space-Time Magazine (now sadly defunct). While I’ve opened a separate page for guest interviews, I’m sharing this — with a few added Q&As from a recent Writer’s Workshop interview — as a way of sharing who I am as a writer.
Good news! Inherit the Night’s audience has grown to the point where we’d like to invite guest interviews! If you are a writer or author, let us know if you might enjoy answering a few questions for us to post! Just send a brief note via our contact page, and we will get back to you with what we need to build a nice feature post.
Our ultimate goal is to build a “cartel” of like-minded writers. We share a huge audience, and we’d like to find a way to support one another and pool our respective talents!
— Scott Azmus, Author —
Please tell us a little about yourself.
Hi Alexa! Thanks so much for taking the time to conduct these interviews!
I’ve had several jobs over the years. Navy officer. Field geologist. Bookstore owner. AP Physics teacher. Now, when away from my writing desk, I train Alaskan Malamutes, tend my honeybee sanctuary, and enjoy public-outreach astronomy. I went to the University of Colorado (Boulder) and Oregon State University (Corvallis). I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and my wife and I just celebrated our 40th anniversary.
When did you find out you would want to write novels?
Way back when, I shared my first stories as a series of lively talks with high-school friends. This was pre-Star Wars. The internet didn’t exist, so we had to find some way to stay busy and out of trouble! While out to sea as a Navy officer, I often filled long watches with elaborate stories about the “Time Travel Forces.”
I sold my first story (“The Catafalque”) to Charlie Ryan at Aboriginal Science Fiction in 1999. Other stories sold to Space & Time, Galaxy, Little Green Men, and Writers of the Future. Soon after, I was eager for larger narratives with civilizations on collision courses and humanity’s fate in the balance.
Do you have an ideal audience in mind when you write?
I write for people who like science and who have a feeling that there may be an underlying subtext to reality. I’m passionate about words and writing, and I try to improve my skill set every time I sit down at the computer. Reading, even for pure escapism, can enhance our imaginations, boost creativity and heal the deepest wounds. Beyond merely trying to entertain, it’s cool to imagine relating a shared dream or connecting with others across time and distance.
What attracted you to writing science fiction?
I love the heart of science fiction, and (for me) that’s cutting-edge astronomy and physics. I enjoy asking “what if” questions and exploring big ideas to their limits. Mix those ideas with conflict, intense character transformation, and … what a rush!
Underlying all that, I have a deep love for contemporary science. Back in the day, I watched the first Moon landing and idolized the Gemini and Apollo astronauts. When Michael Collins (Apollo 11) wrote Carrying the Fire, I read and reread the paperback until it fell apart in my hands.
NASA was actually a pretty slick operation at the time (Like SpaceX is today!). So I set my sights on becoming an astronaut. While I haven’t yet visited the Moon, I wound up with a solid Navy career and a degree in planetary geology. I have my own observatory where I enjoy observing the heavens with an 18-inch Obsession and a superb Takahashi refractor.
When writing about sci-fi, do you do research? If so, how far do you go with your research?
My stories involve mixing wildly different concepts, so research is always a moving target. Even when I carefully plot each scene, I rarely know what’s coming next until the words spill out on the screen. (Which is part of the thrill!)
I’ll usually outline how a story needs to start but then write with the usual hero’s journey story arc guiding my way. Yet, once a project gains momentum, notes slow the process. When a topic of “flash” interest pops up, I then research on the fly. The trouble is, it’s often all too easy to rush down a “rabbit hole” and spend all day enjoying the learning process!
What is most important to you when writing your novels?
Character development. My characters often endure grueling ordeals while having to square their lives with the idea that there may be an underlying quantum subtext to reality. I spend a lot of time people watching and mentally auditioning ordinary people for potential roles.
Which authors influenced your writing in science-fiction?
I was twelve when one of my aunts gave me copies of Time for the Stars (Heinlein) and Ringworld (Niven). Those authors massively influenced me because I later read everything they wrote. I then followed with Asimov, Bradbury, Card, Clarke, LeGuin, Silverberg, Stephenson, Sturgeon, Vonnegut, Zelazny … too many to name! And I have to credit Star Trek’s many scriptwriters along the way!
After two big sales to Writers of the Future, I enjoyed getting to know Dave Wolverton, Frederick Pohl, and Tim Powers. Algis Budrys, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Kevin J. Anderson also took the time to meet and greet. Oh, and I was once lucky enough to spend time with (on separate convention panels) C.J. Cherryh and Octavia Butler! Everyone’s always been so great and professional about helping new writers!
What were some of your favorite childhood books? Was it all science fiction?
Nonfiction: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy by Simon Mitton
Fiction:
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansen
Curious George by H.A. Rey
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Which of your novels is your favorite and why is it your favorite?
Cross the Sky is my favorite because my kids named each character. It’s also my only novel thus far that sways into the “heist” genre rather in the style of Dewey Gram’s Ocean’s 11. The central character does not see force fields or sealed starship hatches as obstacles, but as invitations. After years of living on a knife’s edge between indentured servitude and starvation, she sets her sights on the richest treasure ship ever lost to the rifts. Unfortunately, Aquila’s cargo also includes a dangerous virus. A virus so potent that alien retribution for its mere existence (never mind its release!) could be an extinction-level event for humanity.
Do you believe in aliens visiting our world? By that, I mean in abduction or close encounters of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th kind?
What a fun question! Have there been UFO sightings? Yes, people have been seeing weird and captivating things in the sky for millennia. This is even true of pilots, astronomers, and astronauts. I’d love, love, love to see a UFO!
Physical effects noted? Maybe, but mostly in our anthropological past. For example, how did Mali’s Dogon people know about Sirius’ white dwarf companion (Sirius B) well before its first telescopic observation? Yes, I know of a lot of arguments against extraterrestrial influences … but the Earth’s been here for 4.6 Billion years. There are countless stars supporting “Goldilocks” zones where water might be found. One of the most vital aspects of all life is curiosity. Add it all up, and I’m sure they’re out there. So, why wouldn’t they visit?
Hynek level 3 (alien or robot presence noted)? I wish!
Level 4 (abduction)? Please, if you’re an extraterrestrial and you’re READING this (via wi-fi in your spaceship) … I’d love to visit you! No kidding! You can even keep one of my kidneys!
Higher levels? Direct communication, human/alien hybrids? I think it more likely that we might one day communicate with aspects of ourselves within alternate realities. Yes, our alternate selves!
What sets you apart from other science-fiction authors?
I have a passion for change and discovery, well-suited to today’s science fiction. I strive to share new worlds, evoke emotion, and entertain with bold science concepts. I try to ensure that each character’s human/alien interactions reveal positive messages of diversity and richness. I often hide Easter eggs so long-time fans can have moments of interactive experience between my different book series.
And I love meeting readers and visiting cool places! Once, after winning a small award that involved free travel, I toured the set of Deep Space Nine. And here’s a favorite memory. Patricia Tallman, who played empath “Lyta Alexander” on Babylon 5, once had me sign a story called “Red Moon” for her. When she said she enjoyed one of my previous stories, I made a mental note to cast her as a LEAD if one of my books ever hit the “big screen.” Way cool!
Do you have any favorite quotes about writing?
“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” —E.L. Doctorow
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” — Anton Chekhov
What music do you listen to when you write?
Zhu, Rüfus du Sol, Bob Moses, Ladytron, Haelos, Late Night Alumni, Hooverphonic, Pink Floyd, Boston, Röyksopp and Parralox.
As for favorite voices? Susanne Sundfør, Helen Marnie, and Colleen D’Agostino.
What’s left on your bucket list?
I used to joke with my AP Physics students that the August 2017 total solar eclipse was the LAST thing on my bucket list and that I was now ready to kick. They only believed that a little, and only because they often seemed to figure that I was about 65 million years old. But seriously? I’d still like to visit Australia and live on the Moon.