Nature has a very clever way of leveling the playing field. And looking at the earth of 2221, the playing field was definitely leveled. The image before me reminds me of the opening paragraphs of a book I’d read in the early days of the Dark Ages, a book they had called the bible. It described exactly what I was now looking at, the watery depths, a land formless and waste, except maybe for the steel stilts protruding out of the dark waters that became level platforms out of which grew slivers of glass and steel that housed what was left of the human race.
Those born after the last shift have no memories of what was, at least none of their own. In an attempt to keep some memories alive though they have weekly television broadcasts, the best entertainment they could muster so early after the catastrophe. A little preoccupied with survival, these visuals were pieced together from memory and constructed by graphic design geniuses who did so with a sad revelry, lost in the nostalgia of days gone by. We were fortunate enough to remember it all though, having touched the earth, swam in the ocean and climbed the tall cedars and oaks that now lay dead far beneath the surface of the black liquid that nobody dared touch on purpose. Things were much changed.
VP19T was my home. The Vampire Platforms, all 30 of them, were a hundred levels that ran down beneath the surface of the vast ocean in a cylinder that housed rows and rows of cushioned cubicles, each the size of a standard upright coffin, give or take a couple of inches. This is where we slept. We’d learned the practice in the years after the reconstruction, and quite frankly most of us found it a decent enough pleasure.
After the great shift of 2021 we had helped humans rebuild the planet, into what we now had. It was pointless letting them all die out because that would be suicide for us.
When did you first consider yourself as a writer?
January 2013, when I first wrote my “How to buy cheap airline tickets” is when I looked at the book and liked what I saw. Prior to that I only wrote narrations for industrial videos which were technical scripts that did not tell much of a story.
How long does it take to write a book?
Since I am new to writing, it can take a month. I find that I reread the story too many times looking for perfection.
What genre would you place your books into?
So far my books have been either technical non fiction or science fiction which Is my favorite. When I was a kid I loved the science fiction short story where you can be treated to a full story in a few minuets. I found that about a month ago I awoke at 3:00AM after a story played out in my subconscious that was so good that it woke me up. That story outline is setting on my desk in the “to be done” stack.
What is the toughest/best review you have ever had?
My reviews are just now coming in; since this is my first fiction book time will tell.
Would you ever ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your book?
I did have one poor review on one of my technical books that I wanted to ask for a re-review. This book was destined to be for the “brand new photographer”. I know how exhaustive new camera instructions can be as it takes you 20 min to fine out how to put the batteries in; I thought a book that told the new shooter how to take a good picture was in order. The camera instructions tell you so much junk but not how to shoot. I was a photographer for 30 years so I knew how to shoot good pictures and I was passing along techniques to use. However one buyer thought it needed to be a 400 page book on everything photographic. This missed the whole concept on what my book was for, so I upgraded it a little, made sure the write up was specific on targeted reader and went from there.
Do you decide on character traits before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I decide on the plot and how the characters work within the plot. My next book to be released this summer is going to be a classic; it has a great plot and very believable characters. The book is going to be called “Data Corp”. Blood Harvest has some interesting characters that are tasked with handling their current problems. I wrote Blood Harvest with vampires but high moral character where they are more caught up in the flow of a changing time for both vampires and humans.
How do you market promote your books?
Your blog is marketing and I have a website: http://bloodharvest.co where it has a good write up on the story with links to Kindle, CreateSpace Paper, epub and pdf formats. I tried to cover everyone from Amazon Kindle to Nook.
What makes a best seller?
Any story that will engage the reader with believable actors and plot can be a best seller.
Have you ever based characters on people you know or based on events on things that happened to you?
Yes, my very first Kindle book “Challenges of an aircraft photographer”. This book was an autobiography of the challenges I faced when shooting “air to air” photography. This stuff really happened and it was scary at times with unforeseen problems that would pop up, like when the US Parks Department almost confiscated my airplane on one shoot.
Are there any hidden messages or morals contained in your books?
Yes, so far all my books contain a not so hidden moral. I believe that it is our duty to show what the consequences are in this not-so-moralistic world. This is not religious or spiritual.
Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
I hated writing and reading in school. This is something new to my life at age 65 I published my first book. I was and still am a TV kid; it just came out to my town when I was about nine. My whole life has been involved in TV programming and production. Science fiction stories were extremely impressive on my young mind. The one movie I was taken to at a very young age was “Forbidden Planet”, it scared me so much I jumped out of my seat turned away from the screen and burred my head in the seat with fingers in my ears. For a long time I thought my parents were punishing me for something I did by taking me to that movie. Now I watch it when ever it comes on classic movies shows.
Do you or would you ever us a pen name?
Yes, my pen name for my travel books is “Emily Kim”, she is totally factious but her picture is cute.
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