Over the years, many have asked me why I decided to write science fiction
The first book I wrote was informative about how to cut utility costs in your home using low-cost and, in some cases, free methods. The second book I wrote was a theological book about the translation debate of the English version of the Bible, which caused much confusion about heaven and hell. My third book was my first science fiction novel, Pandemic Dawn.
I have loved science fiction since I was little, and I have quite the book collection, which has many first editions from my favorite science fiction authors. But, of course, I also grew up watching Star Trek, Lost in Space, and other science fiction shows of the 70s and beyond.
As time went on, I read and watched more and more science fiction, including 2001 A Space Odessy, Silent Running, Logan's Run, etc. I began to notice a theme among them and most "entertainment" worldwide. It was becoming more and more explicit.
In my 20s, it did not bother me as much, though it still affected me. As I hit my late 20s and early 30s, I found reading and watching some of the stuff out there more challenging. Gratuitous nudity, extreme vulgarity, and unnecessary sex scenes were all the trends of the late 80s and 90s, only to become worse in the following years.
My desire to write science fiction first came from my love for science fiction and, secondly, from the frustration of all the senseless fodder so often added to modern books and movies.
One of my all-time favorite science fiction books is by H. G. Wells
The Time Machine is one of those books I consider the "perfect story." Nothing more is needed, and nothing to be removed, as it leaves you wanting more. It is arguably one of the best and almost always on the list of most fantastic fiction.
No nudity, gratuitous vulgarity, nothing which would make one reach for the nearest black marker to redact the work.
Science fiction, to me, has always been about the spectacular exploration of the unknown and reading or seeing things unimaginable that astound our imaginations. Plenty of creative writers have accomplished this without surrendering to the fluff and pomp of societal perversion, and I desire to be amongst them.
The Bible is actually one of my inspirations for creative writing. When you read scripture, you will find that there are many things spoken of that are detestable to the morality of humankind. Yet, explicit and abhorrent descriptions are not needed to understand what is being described. This is the approach I took to writing modern scientific subject matter while trying to uphold the techniques of early writers, such as in the Bible and early 19th century greats like H. G. Wells.
I began writing Pandemic Dawn on a website that no longer exists, as a serial, sort of like Amazon Kindle's Vella, where I currently have two series, Willow Creek, a historical fiction taking place in Omaha in 1864, and Life After the Apocalypse: The Pandemic Dawn Chronicles.
After a few weeks of writing Pandemic Dawn as a series in 2008, I received numerous emails and comments asking for it to be a book. So this is how my science fiction novel series began.
I write about the terrible conditions of a fallen world with no law, run by slave traders, gangs, and filled with mindless zombies. This survival setting is perfect for engagingly writing about critical subject matters. In the Pandemic Dawn Series, topics of morality are continuously examined. Doing what is right and good does not consistently achieve the desired outcome. In the real world, good does not always win. It examines the protagonist who fights to do what is right, even at a significant cost to him, even though it may not turn out good.
The Pandemic Dawn Series also examines what happens in a world without the police or government to support or protect them. A world filled with and run by evil people who are only out for themselves and continuously look for weaker people to use and take advantage of. It looks at some of the modern problems we face today, such as slavery, the sex trade industry, starvation, and issues that were once third-world problems becoming everyone's problems.
Although dealing with various sensitive issues, the use of gratuitous sex, violence, sexual situations, or descriptive nudity was all avoided. Nevertheless, an evil and dangerous world image is still painted and understood by the reader.
Some believe that zombies are a stretch too far for me to write about. These notions are too extreme even for a science fiction novel to be believable. But in a time before "The Walking Dead," I wrote about a world filled with them.
The beauty of zombies is an allegorical reference to this type of apocalypse. A creature who lacks the ability to think, mindlessly following the masses trying to kill (change of state) others so they will become like them. Is this not the description of a world gone mad? Are we not currently watching mindless people follow the masses fighting and screaming to cause others to "think" and be like them? Even to the point that it is forced and against their will?
No one would choose to be a zombie. Yet, the choice is made for them and forced upon them. The zombie apocalypse is the perfect allegory for today and quite easily imagined to be accurate because it is.
Take this allegory, the zombie apocalypse, and place regular people in the middle. Now discuss morality and choices one must make, and this is both the world we live in and The Pandemic Dawn Series.
In this setting of evil and chaos, we, as "moral" people, are forced to consider what our true beliefs are. What are our core values and principles? Would we remain moral and make the proper decision, knowing it may get us or someone else killed?
This is The Pandemic Dawn Series
A look at the people in terrible situations trying not only to survive but live.
My upcoming science fiction novel, Losing Dani Strumm, once again offers itself as a work of exploration in the unknown and into ourselves to see if we truly understand what love is and is not.
Dani has faced many trials on Earth growing up. Her mother left when she was only three, and her brother, addicted to drugs, committed suicide when he was a teen. Dani buried herself in school and worked to become an astronaut. She had failed relationships and was stalked by a man she once considered a friend.
Dani dreamed of discovering life in outer space since she was a child. But, an accident leaves her stranded on an unexplored planet, forcing her to abandon the only life she ever knew back on Earth. She never imagined her heart's true desire could only be found amongst the stars and ashes of the life she once knew.
Losing Dani Strumm is another platform I use for self-discovery for the reader's
A personal examination of the meaning of love and understanding emotional abuse is still abuse. It allows conversations and thoughts on important issues in a way that can be explained and expressed and illustrated through the novel's story.
So to answer those who ask me "why" I would write science fiction, the answer is this. I love the style of 19th and early 20th-century science fiction, and I believe I can continue that tradition and use the platform to discuss critical moral issues in a way that can be illustrated through storytelling.
I began writing science fiction in 2008 and will continue to do so as long as I write. If you have never read any of my books, may I suggest you give them a read!
and my upcoming novel, soon to be released, Losing Dani Strumm
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