David Wardrop, Author of Long Walk Home

Book cover for "Long Walk Home"

Today we are interviewing David Wardrop about his speculative fiction novel "Long Walk Home."

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am thirty and live in Glasgow, Scotland. Consider myself an active citizen scientist and spent a lot of time doing volunteer work with various groups and organizations.

Describe the plot of your new book in a few sentences.
It is the end of the world (of sorts) the planet has run out of petroleum and while things are going crazy the main character decides to journey from the city to his parents house, hence the title Long Walk Home. 

Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
I think teens and young adults mostly.

What inspired you to write a novel about a guy who decides to take a long walk to his parents’ house during the apocalypse?
Think right from the start I knew I wanted this novel to be light hearted and also it looks at how the end of the world is not the end of the world and that things still go on amidst massive upheaval and change. 

Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
Not influencing but probably responsible for me being a writer is Philip K. Dick. This writer was my introduction to science fiction and I have read the majority of his works, a truly incredible mind the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Man in the High Castle Ubik and Valis to name a few.

Author David Wardrop

How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
Ebooks are a good chance for debut writers to make their work available. It really is printing for the masses, essentially writing by the people for the people.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
Time restraints, be it the outside world, or time spent reading other works.

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
It is not writers block as such but a lack of focus. It is hard to sit down and write and write and write.

Do you write with a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper? Why do you use this tool?
I have a notepad and use it for taking notes like a list of characters or a more detailed plot outline but all the novel and short story writing is done on computer.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
A number of things, the one I like the most is the UK under a dictatorship but the twist is it would be a Green Party dictatorship with the environment put first.

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
The main purpose of the novel is to make people look on the lighter side of things.
 
An excerpt from "Long Walk Home":

She said, “It is the end of days.” And then she started crying. It was so weird to see the boss cry but what was even weirder than that was when she jumped out the window seconds later.

I stood there a couple of minutes, maybe five I don’t know, before I fully registered what had happened. 

One minute she was standing there saying it was the end of days, whatever the chocolate fudge that meant, the next she dived out the window.

Another thing that was weird was that she could actually lift her feet off the ground in order to leap out the window.

My boss, Mrs Danton, is, was, a pretty heavy set woman but she leaped out the window like a gold medallist athlete.

More Information
Visit the "Long Walk Home" Lulu page
Find "Long Walk Home" on Smashwords
Check out David Wardrop's other work, "After"

Gregory Lloyd, Author of The Sword of Agrippa

Today we are interviewing author Gregory Lloyd about his speculative fiction novel, "The Sword of Agrippa."

Describe the plot of your book in a few sentences. 
 As a scientist takes on the world’s oligarchs as he searched for dark energy his dreams take him back into the life of a young Roman engineer who is transformed by a visit to the Great Library of Alexandria. Science and shamanism, future and past collide in this debut indie novel.

Who (age, gender, etc) do you think would most appreciate this book?
 18+

What inspirations contributed to this book? 
A series of vivid dreams which began in 2004, which drove me to read various texts from the world’s mystery schools, religions and cultures.  Beneath the veneer of culture, everything seemed the same.  The path led me to a strange, awe-inspiring sense of entanglement which I wanted to express as the story took shape in my mind.

Who was your favorite character to write?
 Marcus Agrippa, an unsung hero to western civilization.

How long have you been writing?
 For perhaps 30 years between college, grad school and my professional career.  I write a blog on cloud computing, for example.  I started the novel a few years ago as the dreams became overpowering.  They eased as I started writing and underwent hypnosis related to mental blocks.

What is your favorite book?
 I have many.  The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho is up there with The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.

What genre do you read most frequently? 
Spirituality and Dreaming followed by news feeds on science and innovation.

How do you think you've evolved as a writer since when you first started?
 I’ve been writing technical materials for years, especially related to the evolution of information technology.  Shifting to novel writing was a big leap for me.

Are there any aspects (e.g. character building, world building) of your writing that you've been practicing?
Yoga.  I’ve been obsessed with modernization and the march of progress since a very young age.

As a writer, one would assume English was your favorite class in school. If that was not the case, what was and why? 
At Reed College I took a course called The Systematic Studies of Religion and another on Quantitative Analysis. They had a significant impact on how I understood the world.

How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
 I think it’s amazing.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years? 
Finish my novel by end of 2014.  After that I’ll let the underground river take me where it may.

What is the most impactful experience you have had with a fan? 
Deep, meaningful discussions on where science and spirituality are going and how both are critically important to the age we are entering. A mutual sense of keeping ourselves open to the unknown.

Have your family and friends been supportive of your writing? 
Yes, especially since I launched the Kickstarter campaign end of May.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like (e.g. editing)?
 Not yet. :)

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
 Yes.  As the Roman warship approached Alexandria in 48BC I kept writing on and on about the trip to get there. Endless details about stops, messages, the changing color of the water as we passed the Nile delta, etc.  I was afraid to go further. I went under hypnosis.  It released a torrent of emotions. Ultimately, hypnosis helped me to achieve clarity and conceptualize the rest of the story.  There are some very devastating events to unfold there as the novel takes shape.  They were not easy to think about at the time. Deeply personal and troubling events.

Do you write with a computer, typewriter, or pen and paper? Why do you use this tool?
 I’m hooked on the PC and MSFT Word.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
 Perhaps a print edition.  I have no other book simmering beneath the surface. This is it.

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
 It is my best effort to connect large groups of people who might otherwise feel disconnected.  We are all entangled with each other.

More Information
Buy the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Agrippa-Science-Mysticism-Innovation-ebook/dp/B00LCOTMCU