February's Interview - J. D. Richards
Q. Your
book begins with Earth having been invaded, in fact colonised by an
alien civilisation. So first things first, who are the aliens and
where did they come from?
The alien race who first colonized Earth are the Siltekans.
Throughout the book we learn Earth was being watched, and after The
Great War (presumably WWIII) the Siltekans decided the timing was
right to swoop in and take control. Earth became one of their many
colonies, though because of its beauty was known throughout the
universe as their Blue Jewel.
After a generation of colonization, it is clear to the human rebels
that the sun is setting on the Siltekan’s empire, but rising for
the Devisus. The Devisus are another alien race whose home planet is
closer to Earth than Silteka, and naturally the Devisus want to
ensure control of Earth doesn’t fall to any other galactic nation
but themselves.
The story of The Blue Jewel is set against this classic
Thucydides Trap backdrop, but focuses on the plight of the human
rebels. Can the rebels succeed in pushing out the Siltekans? What are
they to think of the Devisus? Will Earth ever be free?
Q. So
we have human culture becoming overwhelmed by dominant alien
cultures. Did you draw from any particular period of
history for this theme?
Yes, absolutely! History buffs will notice the familiarities to the
time period just before the Spanish-American War with the brimming
conflict between the Spanish and the Americans, but the story is told
from the perspective of the Cuban rebels (the rebels being the
Earthlings in my novel).
Q. I
notice your wife has done all the illustrations for this novel. How
did that come about? Was it a case of her bringing your
visualisations to life or did the visual ideas come from her? I guess
I’m asking if it was your story influencing her drawings or if the
drawings also influenced the story.
My wife Corina created the illustrations after I had completed the
first draft of the novel. I love collaborating with my Sweetheart!
She has such a gift for bringing out the beauty of her subjects with
whatever she creates, and the chapter heading artwork of The Blue Jewel is no exception. One of the themes of the novel is the
subtle beauty of humanity, and I feel her illustrations capture the
tone of my writing. It really wouldn’t be the same book without the
artwork.
Q. This
is your first novel. How long did it take to write?
I started The Blue Jewel as a National Novel Writing Month
(NaNoWriMo) project in 2017. I completed my goal of 50k words in
November of that year, but didn’t reach the end of the story until
New Year’s Eve (~80k words at the time). Editing took the lion’s
share of the time until “done”. The final draft of The Blue
Jewel wasn’t ready until early 2019 - all of 2018 was spent
working with beta readers and a fantastic line editor, trudging
through many drafts, a bit of wallowing, and finally the polish and
illustration incorporation.
Q.
There is an element of journey and travel in the novel. Both
physically and mentally. Without giving too much away, where is your
character headed and why?
The main character Cal is not the typical sci-fi hero. He faces some
serious Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms from his
childhood and suffers from extreme anxiety. Early in the novel he is
separated from his family and the comfortable life he was accustomed
to vanishes. Cal is forced to fight back and overcome his personal
trauma to save his family, and over the course of his journey across
the Sonoran Desert (Southwest United States - Arizona area) grows
into the hero the book deserves.
It was important for me to capture what I find beautiful with
humanity, and having a humble hero allowed for some tender moments in
the book.
Q. Do
you have a particular favourite road movie or book?
I seem to gravitate to this genre of “road” movies or books, but
the one I can’t stop thinking about even years after first reading
is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert
Pirsig. I love the narrative, and the character transformations, and
the fresh moments of self-discovery. It just feels so human, and
looking back was a big source of inspiration for The Blue Jewel.
Q. What
early memories do you have of becoming a fan of science fiction?
I remember wearing out our VHS copy of Star Wars: A New Hope as a kid
from watching it so much. That was a sad day when it wouldn’t play
anymore. At night as a kid I would sneak out of my room and convince
my mom to let me watch Star Trek: The Next Generation with her after
bedtime. I loved the stories, the exploration, and the bravery too. I
always admired the heroes.
Q.
Lastly, as a real life aerospace engineer, what can you tell us about
your job? Are there any fictional sci-fi engineers whose brain’s
you’d like to pick?
I think the biggest difference between engineers in movies and books
vs. real life is the aspect of teamwork. Nothing complex is ever
created by one individual - real life stuff takes scores of people
working together as a team. The idea that one person could design the
Death Star, or keep the Enterprise running, or build an Iron Man suit
is just baloney.
That said, I’d geek out to spend an afternoon with Geordi La Forge
from Star Trek. Even though he never had the solution at the
beginning of the episode, Geordi never gave up and kept learning and
experimenting and discovering until he had the problem whipped 50
minutes later. I admire his grit.
Q.
Okay, just one extra question. Your book is available on the kindle.
Do you have any plans to release it in paperback?
Not at this time. I think we would try for an audio book before we
self-published paperback simply due to the costs of printing and
other logistics. Digital formats are so easy to make an initial
investment and then forever after capitalize without spending
additional money - paperback just seems like too much of a gamble for
our little book.
You never know what the future will bring. Thanks very much for
the interview J.D.
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