Hello, Dave. Welcome to SFFWorld.
Let’s start with your new novel. Can you tell us a bit about Impulse: The Lightship Chronicles?
Db> Impulse is an action/adventure story set about 700 years from now, when mankind is just emerging from a dark age caused by a destructive civil war. There are many factions fighting for control in this new age, and the story focuses on one young man and his adventures on his first interstellar space mission.
Can you give us some insight into your main character, Lieutenant Peter Cochrane? Is he based on anyone in particular?
Db> Peter isn’t based on any one I know, but I like to think of him as an idealized version of some of the many military people I’ve met over the years. He’s very talented at most things he tries, he’s a good athlete, and he has a highly developed sense of intuition about things. This makes him a bit of a risk taker, but they are calculated risks. He doesn’t just go off half-cocked at things. He’s forced by circumstances to grow up sooner than he should have, but he manages to rise to the occasion, most of the time.
The “Historians” were one of the more fascinating groups of characters you introduced in Impulse. Will you be exploring their background in more detail in the future?
Db> Absolutely. I’m currently dabbling in the third book in the series, and we’re going to find out a lot about the Historians and their real agenda in that book. I originally based them on the Jesuit Order, and they have kind of developed into these warrior-priests. But the thing is, they have their own agenda, and we’ll be finding out plenty about that as we go along in the series.
While “Old Earth” is an element utilized in several Space Operas/Military SF stories, your “Old Earth” doesn’t seem quite as broken as the “Old Earth” from other authors. How mapped out is the timeline from our “current time” to the Old Earth as it exists in The Lightship Chronicles?
Db> It’s very mapped out. I wrote a ‘future history’ timeline when I was in college, with plans to write novels in at least three different eras of the timeline. I knew that in the middle I wanted to do a ship-based series, and after my first (unsold) novel, which took place at the end of the timeline, I started in on the events that would encompass Impulse. And Earth is a very interesting place. It’s now controlled by the Historians, and when they saw the civil war coming they set about preserving and refining the advanced technology of the day. Earth is a bit of a mystery, and will likely remain so for a while.
How much holding back did you have to do with Impulse, in terms of only hinting at the older civilizations and Relics?
Db> A bit. The idea is pretty big, and might make for an entire trilogy in and of itself someday. I have a lot of ideas, and we’ll likely go there one day. Though probably not with Peter and his contemporaries.
How many books do you foresee in The Lightship Chronicles?
Db> A minimum of 3, and a maximum probably of 6. After that I would want to jump ahead, Perhaps look at Peter 10 years on, after he’s had his adventures, and is facing other, even bigger problems.
Thank you for those. If we can, let’s look at some wider details. Q: What is with Space you find fascinating?
Db> My parents and teachers asked that all my life. My earliest memories are of watching the Gemini and Apollo space missions on TV, plus Sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Lost in Space, Outer Limits. Simply put, it’s like I was born to write about space.
What sort of research, if any, did you do for Impulse?
Db> I do a bit. I played with some FTL drive concepts, researched the Jesuits a bit, Picked out some stars for my home planets, but mostly it’s just my own world. One interesting thing is what I call ‘reverse research’. I had a term for the energy weapons in the book, ‘coil rifles’ and ‘coil cannons’. One day I decided to Google ‘COIL’, and the hit I got back was ‘Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser’. It’s a real weapon. The military uses it to shoot down missiles. That was an amazing moment.
Can you tell us a bit about the process that led to Impulse being published?
Db> God, it was tortuous! I finished the 1st draft in 2007. It took a year and a half to get my agent, Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky. It went out on submission in Dec. 2009. Got a rewrite request from HarperCollins in 2010, sent that out about a year later. Then we got an offer from them in December, 2012. Then my editor left, so I was orphaned. Then we got an offer from Del Rey UK in April of ’13, so we broke off with HC. And finally, we got an offer from DAW in May or June of ’13. Now, 18 months later… Like I said, tortuous!
Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?
I think authors like Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, Joe Haldeman, and Larry Niven have all influenced me. They were all able to tell large scale stories but they had strong characters. That’s something I find missing in a lot of modern sci-fi, the characters seem to take a back seat to the action.
How did you start writing? Was there a particular book or moment in your life that spurred you on?
Db> The first TV show I watched, the first book I read, that was it for me. It was everything I could get my hands on after that. I started dabbling in writing in high school and college, and it’s been a part of my life ever since.
Have you ever struggled between what you would like to happen to a character and what you considered more sensible to occur? Can you tell us when and what did you do in the end?
Db> There was character, Peter’s first girlfriend, Natalie Decker, who was an integral part of the story and of his maturation in the initial drafts. I fought hard to keep her, but in the end she was reduced to his former girlfriend who dies at the beginning of the book. It’s sad, as I had plans for her, but there was just one too many women in Peter’s life, and I had to choose. Regrettably, she had to go.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
Db> Just making the time. Most of us have day jobs, some have families. It’s just carving out enough time to make a difference. If I can get in 8 hours a week, I’m usually making pretty good progress.
For your own reading, do you prefer – ebooks or traditional paper/hardback books?
Db> Definitely a real book. I stare at a computer screen all week, so the printed page is a welcome relief. My favourite format is actually paperback, or what we call Trade Paperback in the US. Light and easy to handle with nice big letters! Lol.
What kind of books do you read, any favourite authors?
Db> Almost exclusively SF/F. I will occasionally dabble in non-fiction on esoteric subjects like Atlantis, or biography. Right now I’m enjoying Kris Rusch’s Diving series, Jack Campbell, and John Taylor’s autobiography.
What do you do when you’re not writing, any hobbies?
Db> Sports mostly. American football, soccer, especially Man City and the EPL, and I have a very annoying dog that wants constant entertainment. So I’m plenty busy!
What’s next, what are you working on now?
Db> Well the second book in the series, called Starbound, is in with the editors now. I’m dabbling in the third book, Defiant, but that’s not a serious project yet. I have a few other writing projects out there, but they seem to be things that will happen after the Lightship Chronicles.
Many thanks!
Db> You’re welcome, and thank you and SFFWorld!
