Merry Christmas! (Almost)
Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Indie Speculative author, Michael K. Rose, who has just published his second novel,
Chrysopteron
Captain John Hayden, haunted by memories of war and still
grieving the death of his wife, is about to embark on the most important
mission of his career: to discover the fate of the Chrysopteron, one of five generation ships which left the Earth
centuries earlier. The descendants of the Chrysopteron’s
original crew had successfully colonised their planet, but less than a hundred
years later, all contact was lost. Hayden knows that a mysterious new religion
which was formed aboard the ship may have played a role in determining the fate
of the colonists, but there is no way to know what he and his crew will find
when they finally arrive.
In a story that touches on issues of faith and
self-determination, Chrysopteron
explores the fundamental elements that define our species. Even though we may
leave the Earth, we cannot leave behind that which makes us human.
GDT: The big question - what do you get out of it, what made you
want to be a writer?
MKR: Well, I suppose I get the satisfaction of knowing that I am
doing something I truly love—and getting paid for it. I’ve always been
interested in writing, and I remember writing detective stories in the sixth
grade in which all the characters were vegetables—this was before VeggieTales. But I suppose it initially
came from my love of reading. I saw the power that fiction could have, I saw
what it did to me emotionally and intellectually. The opportunity to do that
for another person was one I could not pass up.
GDT: What writers inspire you?
MKR: In science fiction, Arthur C. Clarke is my guy. I also enjoy
Asimov, some of the classics (HG Wells) and, when it comes to current writers,
I find lots of great work coming from Indie and small-press authors. I’m also a
fan of the classics, particularly Henry James and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
GDT: How long have you been writing?
MKR: I’ve only been writing seriously for about two and a half years.
My first published work came out in November of 2011.
GDT: How do you feel your writing skills have developed and changed
since your started writing? What do you believe you've learned from the ongoing
experience?
MKR: More than I can summarize here. The very process of writing is a
learning process. Every scene or character one writes helps one to improve
one’s craft. I think the biggest transition for me, and the one in which I
learned the most, was the move from writing short stories to writing
novel-length works. They are two very different beasts and until this year I
hadn’t written a full novel.
GDT: When it comes to writing, what do you think writing allows
you to say? What do you want to say?
MKR: First and foremost, I want to tell a good story. If I can do
that, I have succeeded. But I also realize that the stories which resonate
beyond the life of the writer are those that tap into the thoughts and desires
of humanity as a whole. I hope Chrysopteron
is a novel which will do that. I’ve put quite a lot of my soul into it and I’m
very proud of how it’s turned out.
GDT: What can you tell us about your new novel, Chrysopteron?
MKR: The story follows several generations of characters, but the
main story, the one that takes place in the novel’s “present day,” follows a
character named John Hayden. He is to lead a mission to discover what happened
to the descendants of a generation ship called the Chrysopteron. There’s a lot in it about religion, self-determination,
right and wrong—all the popular topics.
GDT: What does the future hold for Michael K. Rose?
MKR: I’m currently engaged in the #12NovelsIn12Months Project. As the
title suggests, I’m writing 12 novels in 12 months’ time. I’m currently on the
third month and, despite some setbacks due to illness, it’s going extremely
well. I look forward to continuing to challenge myself as a writer and this project is certainly doing that!
GDT: Thank you very much, Michael, for your time. Merry Christmas!
Chrysopteron is available via the following links:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Barnes @ Noble
About Michael K. Rose
Michael K. Rose is primarily an author of science fiction who
also dabbles in horror, fantasy and paranormal fiction.
His novel Sullivan’s War
has been called "...a sci-fi thriller that definitely delivers!" and
his collection Short Stories has been
praised as "...the purest form of literature, as rich as a bottle of
Montrachet 1978 and as tasty as a generous cut of Wagyu beef."
His newest novel, Chrysopteron,
is already being hailed as a "...gem of a novel..." and "a
masterpiece."
To find out more about author Michael K. Rose visit his:
On an Earth that is not Earth people and societies from our history have
been kidnapped and thrown together for reasons unknown. It could be
natural, it could be by design, the only thing Will Kelly knows for sure
is that he wants to find a way home to 2014 and the son he left behind.
