Interview: Andrew J. Lucas
Andrew J. Lucas’s story, “The
End of the Line” takes place in the far, distant future where
industrial smelters orbit black holes using the peculiarities of Quantum
Mechanics to create indestructible construction supplies. Something
goes wrong and the lives of two men are ripped apart on a physical,
emotional and atomic level. Then the story really gets going…
Recently, I had the
opportunity to talk with Andrew about his writing career and, in
particular, his participation in the upcoming anthology, Clash of the Titles.
First, how did you get into writing? How did you get started?
I guess I’ve been writing
since 1980. My first serious publication was when I won the Okanagan
College poetry contest in 1986. While I’ve always loved poetry,
especially Al Purdy’s, my real heart’s passion is role-playing games and
science fiction. I’ve written 10 solo books for various RPG publishers
and contributed to dozens of other books. I’ve also written many short
fiction stories, as well as comic scripts. I am most proud of my first
RPG book Northwest Passage, and the short story I had published recently in the anthology A Bleak New World.
What draws you to the Sceince Fiction/Role Playing genre?
I grew up watching Star Trek,
Doctor Who and Thunderbirds like most British-Canadian kids of my era. I
was entranced by visions of the future and subscribed to magazines like
Starlogand Future. I even paid for them myself with my
paper route money, which only endeared them all the more to me. Those
magazines promised a bright, shiny, attractive future, and even though
my fiction leans towards the dystopic, I do love ‘what ifs.’
So, who’s your favorite writer, your role model?
That’s a tough question. There
are so many good writers out there. Among the old masters I’d have to
say that Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov are my favorites. There are
also a couple of contemporary authors whose work really strikes a chord
with me. I can’t get enough of Neil Gaiman and John Scalzi, for
instance.
How did you find out about the anthology, Clash of the Titles?
I think a notification came
across my Facebook feed, possibly in an open call group for science
fiction, fantasy and pulp markets. One of those closed groups that only
published author can join, while it certainly boosted my self-esteem,
I’ve also found some nice markets there.
What made you want to submit to it? Would you do it again?
The whole concept of the anthology was appealing. It reminded me of an anthology by John Scalzi called Rip-Off
which featured well known authors using famous opening lines from
fiction. It’s very interesting to see how an author takes a concept in
very different directions than you might otherwise expect.
How did you come up with your story? What made you choose that title?
My story; “The End of the
Line” was inspired by a non-fiction science article I was writing about
quantum computing for a Chinese science magazine. The whole concept of
quantum mechanics is very intriguing and a little bit scary.
How is your story for the anthology the same and/or different from your other works?
It’s hard to tell from the
writer’s perspective if anything I write is different or unusual. Much
of my work is very different from other pieces I’ve written this is no
exception. I did take a lot of direction from Gil, the editor, and I
think the story evolved and became much stronger from his influence.
A lot has been said
about the workshop process wherein the editor takes a video meeting with
the writers to help offer instant feedback and share the editing
process along the way. How did you find this process; what are your
feelings about it?
I’ve always preferred to use
email and such to discuss edits and story direction, its slower and
gives you time to put revisions into place. That said the workshop
process was rewarding and reminded me a bit of my Canadian lit classes
in College.
What do you think is the most important thing that readers know about Clash of the Titles?
Expect a lot of creativity.
The titles were pretty arbitrary, but, man, were there a lot to choose
from and all the writers went to town on them.
It’s said that the
editor will make an anthology every year. Even if the “I pick the
titles, you write the story” conceit isn’t used again, would you work
with the editor again? Why or why not?
I learnt a lot from the
editor’s feedback, and I am always up to participate in a project that
is interesting. I’d be thrilled to be included in a second anthology no
matter the topic, but the competition is pretty tough and you can never
rest on your laurels. If my next story is good enough it might make the
cut, but I’d expect to be up against some fierce competition.
What do you think is the most important thing for booksellers, libraries and other outlets to know about Clash of the Titles that they don’t know?
Quality and creativity. You give your writers a pure creative challenge and you will get some wondrous results.
Would you recommend the process to other writers; how did you find working with this editor to be compared to others?
Absolutely, but you need to
check your assumptions at the door, and have a thick skin. Your story
may be your baby, but that won’t stop it from being ruthlessly savaged
when the editorial hounds are loosed.
What excites you most about the process, and the anthology in general?
At first the open ended
concept of no theme other than a list of titles to choose from, was very
intriguing. But, that soon paled once the initial ToC was released,
which including authors Alex Shvartsman, David Gerrold and Mike Resnick.
I’ve submitted stories to Alex’s UFO anthologies in the past, David
Gerrold needs no introduction and Mike Resnick wrote a story that
actually brought me to tears. Being published in such illustrious
company was a real draw.
Did your story grow in ways you didn’t expect due to the workshop nature of the process? How?
Well first off the story
nearly doubled in size. If you look at the story you’ll see a pretty
open-ended ending in part one. That’s how I ended the story initially,
but the editor and a couple of my first readers wanted more. I end a lot
of my stories with an ambiguous open-ended finish, where the reader
knows the story has ended but there is a bit more insinuated, allowing
the reader’s imagination takes over. For the most part this is a result
of my writing for RPG character and scenario descriptions, where the
intent is to let the reader flesh out their games with a few gentle
hints and prods. Not everyone likes that style. Many want to know what’s
on the other side of the door, what happens in the black hole and how
the hunters get that bounty to Mars. It was interesting watching the
story morph and grow.
Please describe your favorite experience in working with Clash of the Titles.
I especially enjoyed helping
the editor draw upon some of my RPG connections to build and promote the
anthology. The cover artist is someone whose work I’ve always loved and
I was very happy to get John and Gil together and set up such a
wonderful cover.
What other projects are you working on, besides Clash of the Titles.
I usually have 12-20 projects
on the go, and in various stages of completion at any one time. I’m
especially fond of the books I’ve been writing, or line developing for
Rebel Minis, we have 4 new RPG books coming out this year. There is a
new comic studio ramping up out of Florida called Cornerstone Creative
Studios which has a great number of very creative people involved as
well as 8 of my scripts! There is one project I’m contracted for in 2017
which is very exciting, but also very, very intimidating – my first
novel, and for Ed Greenwood’s new publishing imprint no less.
For other titles by Andrew J. Lucas check out Amazon, or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
You can learn more David M. Hoenig by visiting his website: David M Hoenig, MD-AuthorThis interview with David M. Hoenig, M.D. was originally published at http://davraham.com/blog/?p=474