Not much to report due to the start of the new academic year and all the chaos that brings. I'm off to Snowdonia with all of Yr9 this weekend for mountaineering, climbing and first aid training. And if all that's not enough, I'm now Chairman of Quantock Orienteers. It's a good job that Fraternity is off with a developmental editor right now!
In my interview today, I am talking to D. Scott Johnson, author of the Gemini Gambit and Dragon's Ark.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The first draft of the third book in my series, Gemini Gambit: Child of the Fall, was a complete disaster. My editor and I tore it down to the foundations and, with her help, I built it back up almost from scratch. I'm really glad I did, though. It's a much better story now.
What's your series about?
Gemini Gambit is set twenty years in the future. We now have fully immersive artificial reality, sophisticated artificial intelligences, and even self-driving cars. The series follows Kimberly Trayne, a former cyber-thief as she deals with her deadly past, her quirky friends, and an AI that shouldn't exist.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
It depends on where I am in the writing process. When plotting and planning, I write whenever I've got some free time. When drafting, I'll stick my laptop in its bag and head down to the local pub. They're usually empty when I'm there (~ 3:30 pm), and a single beer is good to get things rolling.
What are you working on at the minute?
The very early stages of Book 4 of Gemini Gambit! As currently plotted, the series is scheduled to have at least six books. I look back on the days of groaning about 800 word essays in school and just smile.
Oh, yes. I'm still amused when pupils struggle to get a few hundred words written in a week.
What draws you to writing science fiction?
I love the wonder of it, the scale. I also love how it allows you to explore the human condition by exaggerating, eliminating, or distorting any part of what makes us, well, us. And you get to include cool special effects!
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Good luck with the Alfas - beautiful cars but a nightmare to maintain!
D. Scott Johnson has been an IT professional since 1988, and currently works as a software developer. Aside from writing, he also mucks around with the ridiculous world of hi-fi audio, and just barely keeps his two classic Alfa Romeos on the road. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, daughter, and however many pets they have managed to sneak into the house at any one time.
This post first appeared on Alasdair Shaw - Science Fiction, Physics And Archa, please read the originial post: here
