Note to my readers: These books were written by a Christian author for the general. It's possible there may be a few elements in them that are objectionable to you.
Welcome, Nick. Tell
us how much of yourself you write into your characters.
A lot. I get this question a lot, too, and I think that’s
probably the best way to answer it. I’ve actually never been very good at
“characters,” as I tend to be moved more toward plot and leave the characters
struggling without me. However, I’ve been specifically on building more
believable characters with my most recent books, and to do that I’ve been inserting
a little bit of my personality into each of them. I’m not sure I’ve nailed it
each time, but it’s fun trying to explore the particular aspects of “me” that
gets into each of them.
What is the quirkiest
thing you have ever done?
Hmm, wow. I don’t know. Probably more things than I’ll ever
admit, though I’m not sure if the question wants me to include “stupidest”
things as well… Once story my writer friend Will Flora likes to tell is about
the time (in college, obviously) some friends of mine and I tried to hang a
poker table from our dorm ceiling on a pulley system that elegantly descended
when we wanted to play.
It didn’t… work.
When did you first
discover that you were a writer?
I hesitantly gave myself that label only after I finished my
first book, The Golden Crystal. It
wasn’t any good, hadn’t been edited (or rewritten), and generally lacked focus.
I had a hard time believing that something like that could make me a writer.
But I eventually came around to the idea, as I kept blogging
and teaching anyone who would listen that “you’re a writer if you write.” That
was a good enough definition to give to them, so I realized it needed to be a
good enough definition for me as well, or it was a double standard.
Tell us the range of
the kinds of books you enjoy reading.
I’m picky, but mostly because I know I only have a limited
amount of time to read (I thought having a kid would allow me to read while
changing diapers, feeding bottles, and while they slept. I was… wrong.). My
favorite authors are James Rollins (shoutout Jim!), Matthew Reilly, Dan Brown,
and Jeremy Robinson, as I like that particular blend of history/science
fiction, worldwide adventure, and lots of nonstop action.
That said, I’ve been broadening my horizons quite a bit
these last few months as I’ve been writing more sci-fi and techno thrillers, so
I’ve been reading things like Leviathan
Wakes, the Avagadro Corp thrillers, and some other related books that pop
up as recommendations at Amazon.
How do you keep your
sanity in our run, run, run world?
Margin is extremely important to me, and even though I’m
never going to be perfect at keeping a good balance, I’ve gotten a lot better
after I’ve started focusing and scheduling it. Seriously – scheduling things
like fun, hanging out, and date night sounds like a no-brainer, but so many
people just wait for “time.”
I’ll give you a hint: no one has time. You make time. If
it’s important, make the time. People ask me all the time how I have time to
write. My answer? No one does. I just chose to add it to my schedule late at
night and sometimes early in the morning, and I’ve given up some other things I
could be doing instead. There’s really no “magic secret” to it!
How do you choose
your characters’ names?
Good question! I am terrible with names. Often I use the
first name that comes to mind, but sometimes that comes back to bite me. After
I finished The Depths and my editor sent it back, she told me the last thing
she wanted to change was “all the ‘J’ names.” I had named 90% of my characters
a name that started with ‘J.’ She gave me a few alternate ideas (Jason became
Mark, Jesse became Reese), and I used Scrivener’s built-in name generator to
come up with the rest.
What is the
accomplishment that you are most proud of?
I wrote a symphony when I was 17 – I don’t talk about it
much because “writing symphonies as a child” rarely comes up in conversation.
If you were an
animal, which one would you be, and why?
Probably a tortoise or a sea turtle. Since Finding Nemo is an accurate portrayal of
the life of sea turtles, it seems like they have a pretty chill life. Tortoises
are just awesome, and I can’t imagine being disappointed if my job was to “have
to walk around slowly and sleep and eat a lot” my entire life.
What is your favorite
food?
Contrary to my answer above, it’s not grass or flowers. I
like steak – medium-rare ribeye with a side of fully-loaded baked potato. And
bacon. And carbohydrates.
What is the problem
with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?
Finishing the book. When I started The Golden Crystal, I got stuck in the middle and had no idea what
to do to finish it. I took a multi-month hiatus and read as many books on
outlining and planning a novel as I could find. I re-outlined the entire book,
and tried to get as granular as possible using Dwight Swain’s “scenes and
sequels” method (see Techniques of the
Selling Writer), then tried again.
It wasn’t easy, but it was possible. I finished the first
book and haven’t stopped since!
Tell us about the
featured book.
Amazon Publishing called me out the blue and asked me to
write a book in A.G. Riddle’s Atlantis Origins world for the launch of his
Kindle Worlds world. He’d had a lot of success with the three-book series, and
I was flattered he’d recommended me, so I said yes.
…the catch was that I had to finish the thing in a month. I
hadn’t even finished reading Riddle’s second and third books, and I had to
write, edit, and design the entire book. Long story short, I finished it and
was extremely happy with how it turned out.
It’s been described as “Jurassic Park
in space,” which is certainly flattering but hard to live up to. I think it’s
fun to read, it’s short, and Kindle Worlds has it priced at $1.99, so it’s easy
to get started!
Please give us the
first page of the book.
Here’s the first chapter:
The look on the man's face told her everything she needed to
know. His eyebrows were creased in a dark, brooding sort of way, and his eyes
were glassy. Aware, yet distant all at once, as if he'd just been given a death
sentence.
And a death sentence, at least for their research funding,
might be exactly what they would receive upon their arrival back home.
“What?” she asked him. “You were in the meeting, and you
heard the results.”
“The results?” He shot back. “The results were almost unanimous.
Except for a few of those dreadfully incompetent volunteers, we decided this
was far too risky.”
“Those ‘incompetent’ volunteers are the reason we’re allowed
out here in the first place,” Isis said. She
knew she had stretched the truth a little, but she was content with her
response. She also knew Mercer couldn’t disagree.
His jaw tensed, then relaxed, an ongoing cycle of
teeth-clenching and unclenching that told Isis
everything she needed to know.
He knows I’m right, but he still doesn’t like it.
“I still don’t like it,” Mercer said. His voice had dropped
now to a conversational level.
She nodded. “I don’t either, Mercer. You of all people
should know that. How long have we been doing this?”
The question was meant as rhetorical, but Mercer seemed to
be searching for an answer. “In local years?”
She waited.
“Twenty years since I signed on. Same as you.”
A thousand years, at least, on their home world.
“Twenty years. And during those twenty years, how often have
I been inclined to do something rash?”
She turned to the wall panel next to her and spoke a
command. A voice echoed in response through speakers hidden in the walls and
ceiling of the massive hallway. “Janus is currently in his quarters. Would you
like me to alert him?” Mercer raised an eyebrow.
“No, thank you.” Isis
turned back to Mercer. “You should discuss this with him. He’ll be at dinner,
but I’d suggest bringing it up after, when you can catch him alone. You don’t
want a repeat of this morning.”
Mercer nodded, then turned abruptly and began walking toward
his room. Isis watched him for a moment, the
broad-shouldered man receding around the slight bend in the hallway.
The hallway, stretching around the massive arc at the center
of the ship, housed everything from the crew and scientists’ quarters to the
research labs, medical facilities, and engineering and maintenance rooms. It
was a giant circle, joining itself back at the front of the vessel at the
bridge and main flight deck.
Rax and Galene would be there now, prepping the ship for its
return voyage and setting the proper coordinates. Much of the flight was
completely automated, thanks to the centralized intelligence of the ship's
computer. Takeoff, flight prep, and landing, however, were usually considered
good times to "check in" on control status, systems, and any
troubleshooting needs the computer would display.
It was always surprising to Isis
how little time they all spent in their rooms. They were certainly communal
creatures, evidenced by the fact that almost all research was conducted in the
multipurpose labs, meals were consumed in the the dining hallreas, and the
preferred style of recreation among the team was an intellectual team game of
some sort.
Isis and Janus were different, though. She’d known Janus
longer than she’d known the rest of their small team, and his reputation for
being a reclusive genius was not altogether untrue. He was much kinder than
she’d originally expected, and he wasn’t one to shy away from interaction, but
she felt he was happiest alone in his room, his own thoughts and the computer’s
AI his only companionship.
She reached her room and the door immediately slid open,
aware of her presence. The lights faded on, gently aligning themselves to her
programmed preferences for this time of the day.
The computer spoke with the same soft voice they were all
familiar with. “Isis , would you like a preview
of tonight’s scheduled activities?”
She shook her head.
The computer read the movement and processed her nonverbal
cues. The lights dimmed slightly, and the wall at the corner of the room
swiveled inward and revealed her casual wardrobe.
The small closet featured only two options: a casual, two
piece outfit of a single gray color, and the field-ready version she was
wearing now, with a hardened exterior and light, stretched fabric bottoms. This
set was the clothing choice the crew wore most of the time, as it was more
versatile for the myriad of tasks a scientist or engineer would need to perform
during their working hours.
When she finished, she sat down on the bed in the center of
the room.
“I am sensing unusual levels of stress,” the computer said.
“A combination of 37 local minutes of REM sleep and three units of Beramin
should be enough to —”
“Thank you, but I’m fine,” she said. As someone who usually
preferred solitude, it was always surprising to Isis
when she felt herself longing for someone to talk with. It might be her nature
to seek solace, but it was her species’ nature to seek camaraderie. This
internal struggle was one she’d considered her entire life — what were the
peculiar genetics that allowed an organism the complexity to battle with
itself? To allow one to feel loneliness even in the midst of knowing that being
alone was what made it truly happy?
The gene sequences that governed her own unique character
began to spill into her mind. She’d memorized the general traits that
differentiated her from everyone else long ago, a sort of homage to her passion
for genetics.
But quickly the comforting, itemized data turned into a
barrage of unwarranted, unexpected emotion.
The confrontation with Mercer, Janus’ quiet retreat to his
room, the reaction from the volunteers, all of it. Isis
had her own feelings on the matter, but it wasn’t her place to inject her own
opinion into the mix. They looked to her for…
For what?
Janus was the team lead and the one most capable of making
decisions. But even he turned to her, his second-in-command, for the difficult
decisions.
They trusted her.
But did she trust herself?
How can readers find
you on the Internet?
I’m easy to find – thankfully, “Nick Thacker” isn’t a common
name. Google can get you most places, but I have a personal site (three free
books available to download!) at nickthacker.com, a writing/self-publishing
blog at writehacked.com, and an Amazon.com author page as well.
Thank you, Nick, for sharing your work with us.
Readers, here’s a link to the books. By using it when you order, you help support this blog.
Nick said: I’ll not only give away The Atlantis Deception, but I’ll give away The Depths,
The Golden Crystal, and The Enigma Strain in ebook format. I can also offer The
Depths and The Golden Crystal in professional audiobook format.
Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)
Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.
The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.
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4 comments:
My son would enjoy reading this book! I'd love to win it for a gift for him. He is an avid reader. sm wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com
PS I'm from Oceanside, CA sm wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com
A different kind of read for me.
Mary P
QLD AUSTRALIA
dee from ne wants to read this - -“Jurassic Park in space,”
sounds like a fun read!
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