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By Rob Bedford (2005-12-04)
Q: The Traveler can be seen as many things – a response to the erosion of personal freedoms, a response to the double-talk we receive from the government, a science fiction/fantasy thriller that simply entertains. How would you categorize your own work?
John Twelve Hawks: One of the things that bothers me about contemporary publishing is the way that books are categorized – and, sometimes, "ghettoized" – by the marketplace. I was fortunate to have a publisher that tried to avoid this. Placing books in categories keeps many writers from achieving a much-deserved larger audience.
I was never consciously combining different genres when I wrote The Traveler. I could only write a story that reflected my own personal preoccupations – it wasn’t inspired by other books or films. The spiritual vision of the book, martial arts, political concerns and a feeling of dread all correspond to my actual experiences in life. I would guess that, if the book seems to have many different elements, it’s only a reflection that my somewhat unusual life has led me to see the world differently than other people. I’d guess that a brilliant writer like Philip K. Dick didn’t walk around with "Sci-Fi" tattooed on his arm; he was only writing about the world as he saw it.
That being said, I can acknowledge that The Fourth Realm combines science fiction, fantasy and thriller genres within a dystopian framework. I hope that science fiction fans will think – "hey, this isn’t exactly what I’m used to, but I enjoyed reading it."
Q: How is work coming along on the second book in this sequence?
John Twelve Hawks: During a phone conversation with film producer Kathy Kennedy, she asked me to sum up Book Two and I said – "It’s dark."
Kathy laughed and said that all second movies – and books – presented a darker vision. In The Traveler, I established the world and the characters. Now, I’m going to give them a great many problems.
Q: Your identity and background are almost as intriguing as the story between the pages of The Traveler. In today’s day and age of a wired world, how difficult is it to stay "off the grid?"
John Twelve Hawks: It’s an awkward life, but not a difficult one. I’m lucky to have a variety of friends who help me.
Q: Do you envision a time when you will come off the grid and go public, or at least more public than you have since the publication of The Traveler?
John Twelve Hawks: I have no plans to "go public," though I am considering setting up a website. I have always seen the Internet as an extension of the novel’s fictional world – including the on-line game and the secret websites, which I helped create. But I wouldn’t want to establish a personal site that could be seen as emphasizing ego and/or marketing; I’d like to find a way to give something to the people who read my books.
Q: Many people on message boards and blogs have speculated about your identity. Some say you were published under a different name, others that you are a woman, still others that your identity is a secret is because you are in prison. What is your response to this?
John Twelve Hawks: When a person speculates about my identity, it reveals something about their own background and preferences. If the canvas is blank; the only thing people can see on its surface is themselves. 
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