Please welcome Dave Bara to The Qwillery as part of the 2015 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Impulse is published on February 3rd by DAW. Please join The Qwillery in wishing Dave a Happy Publication Day!
TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?
Dave: I started writing as a kid, mostly Star Trek type stuff, then I got more serious in college. I even used a novel project for college credit.
As to why, I'd just say it was always in my blood. My earliest memories are of watching the US space program missions on TV, plus Star Trek, Lost In Space, Outer Limits, etc. It's like I was born to be a writer,
TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Dave: I'm a total pantser. I write a 2-3 page story treatment, but then I just get straight to the writing. I do add bullet points as I go, to flesh things out, but that's about as far as I go, outline-wise.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Dave: Just getting the time. Most of us writers have day jobs, some even have families and kids. I don't know how they do it. I steal time wherever I can get it, when I'm in the groove.
TQ: Who are some of your literary influences? Favorite authors?
Dave: I think like most authors of my generation I was heavily influenced by Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, Dickson, Pohl, Poul Anderson, Joe Haldeman, and Niven & Pournelle.
TQ: Describe Impulse in 140 characters or less.
Dave: It's a character-driven action/adventure story about a young man coming of age under very difficult circumstances. With spaceships. And explosions.
TQ: Tell us something about Impulse that is not in the book description.
Dave: There is a secret war going on behind the scenes, and eventually our characters will figure that out.
TQ: What inspired you to write Impulse? What appealed to you about writing military science fiction?
Dave: I always wanted to do a ship-based series, putting characters out in the unknown with everything on the line. Military SF gave me the structure to frame the conflicts I wanted bring out in both the characters and the universe.
TQ: What sort of research did you do for Impulse?
Dave: I'm a pantser! We don't do research! Lol, I did spend some time on Google though, I have to admit. One funny story is that I had given my characters energy weapons called "coil rifles". Then one day I Googled "COIL" and it turns out it's a real weapon! Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser! Who would've thought?
TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Dave: Peter was easiest because he was in my mind the longest. Dobrina was probably the hardest because I wanted to write a strong woman, but not make her overly masculine. Had some good conversations with my editor, Sheila Gilbert, over her character.
TQ: Which question about Impulse do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!
Dave: What's going to happen between Peter and Dobrina? A - You'll have to read book II to find out!
TQ: Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from Impulse.
Dave: My favorite line is from Captain Zander, Peter's first commander: "It’s no fun putting your life on the line with atheists in space."
TQ: What's next?
Dave: STARBOUND is next up in January of '16! There will be an excerpt published in the DAW mass market edition of IMPULSE that comes out in December. It's fun and it takes all our characters to another level.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Dave: It was great. Thanks for having me.
Dave: I started writing as a kid, mostly Star Trek type stuff, then I got more serious in college. I even used a novel project for college credit.
As to why, I'd just say it was always in my blood. My earliest memories are of watching the US space program missions on TV, plus Star Trek, Lost In Space, Outer Limits, etc. It's like I was born to be a writer,
TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Dave: I'm a total pantser. I write a 2-3 page story treatment, but then I just get straight to the writing. I do add bullet points as I go, to flesh things out, but that's about as far as I go, outline-wise.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Dave: Just getting the time. Most of us writers have day jobs, some even have families and kids. I don't know how they do it. I steal time wherever I can get it, when I'm in the groove.
TQ: Who are some of your literary influences? Favorite authors?
Dave: I think like most authors of my generation I was heavily influenced by Herbert, Asimov, Clarke, Dickson, Pohl, Poul Anderson, Joe Haldeman, and Niven & Pournelle.
TQ: Describe Impulse in 140 characters or less.
Dave: It's a character-driven action/adventure story about a young man coming of age under very difficult circumstances. With spaceships. And explosions.
TQ: Tell us something about Impulse that is not in the book description.
Dave: There is a secret war going on behind the scenes, and eventually our characters will figure that out.
TQ: What inspired you to write Impulse? What appealed to you about writing military science fiction?
Dave: I always wanted to do a ship-based series, putting characters out in the unknown with everything on the line. Military SF gave me the structure to frame the conflicts I wanted bring out in both the characters and the universe.
TQ: What sort of research did you do for Impulse?
Dave: I'm a pantser! We don't do research! Lol, I did spend some time on Google though, I have to admit. One funny story is that I had given my characters energy weapons called "coil rifles". Then one day I Googled "COIL" and it turns out it's a real weapon! Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser! Who would've thought?
TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Dave: Peter was easiest because he was in my mind the longest. Dobrina was probably the hardest because I wanted to write a strong woman, but not make her overly masculine. Had some good conversations with my editor, Sheila Gilbert, over her character.
TQ: Which question about Impulse do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!
Dave: What's going to happen between Peter and Dobrina? A - You'll have to read book II to find out!
TQ: Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from Impulse.
Dave: My favorite line is from Captain Zander, Peter's first commander: "It’s no fun putting your life on the line with atheists in space."
TQ: What's next?
Dave: STARBOUND is next up in January of '16! There will be an excerpt published in the DAW mass market edition of IMPULSE that comes out in December. It's fun and it takes all our characters to another level.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Dave: It was great. Thanks for having me.
Impulse
The Lightship Chronicles 1
DAW, February 3, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages
The Lightship Chronicles 1
DAW, February 3, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages
Lieutenant Peter Cochrane of the Quantar Royal Navy believes he has his future clearly mapped out. It begins with his new assignment as an officer on Her Majesty’s Spaceship Starbound, a Lightship bound for deep space voyages of exploration.
But everything changes when Peter is summoned to the office of his father, Grand Admiral Nathan Cochrane, and given devastating news: the death of a loved one. In a distant solar system, a mysterious and unprovoked attack upon Lightship Impulse resulted in the deaths of Peter’s former girlfriend and many of her shipmates.
Now Peter’s plans are torn asunder as he is transferred to a Unified Space Navy ship under foreign command, en route to an unexpected destination, and surrounded almost entirely by strangers. To top it off, his superiors have given him secret orders that might force him to become a mutineer.
The crisis at hand becomes a gateway to something much more when the ship’s Historian leads Peter and his shipmates into a galaxy of the unknown — of ancient technologies, age-old rivalries, new cultures, and unexpected romance. It’s an overwhelming responsibility for Peter, and one false step could plunge humanity into an apocalyptic interstellar war….
About Dave
Dave Bara has always loved space programs, astronauts, and science fiction. His writing is influenced by Herbert and Asimov, among many others. His Lightship Chronicles series launches a writing career sure to be full of heroic characters and intergalactic adventures. Learn more about Dave by visiting his website: http://davebara.com/
Website ~ Facebook
Twitter @davebaraauthor
Website ~ Facebook
Twitter @davebaraauthor
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