Interview with Rick Clements
Published 2019-05-22.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
For the past twenty-five years I have been a minion of the publishing world with over a dozen titles to my credit. Now that I have retired from my regular career I have time to have fun with writing. In my previous life I did a lot of research on trends and business opportunities. I believe the free to near-free market is the future of reading. There is a place for industrial publication, but a very large number of people in the world just want to read and discuss. Therefore, the book is just one piece of the reading network.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Watching my grown children squirm when reading one of my books (Dad! You didn't....). Also hearing someone laugh while reading one of my works.
What do your fans mean to you?
Where would I be without you? Oooooooooooo....
What are you working on next?
Book 2 in my series. Book 3 is already completed. I know, sounds stupid, but I was finishing the next book when I realized a great idea to put between the first and now third book.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
Travel, astronomy, testing restaurants around the world, curling, drone flights, and walking everywhere.
What is your writing process?
Germ of an idea, then flesh out the central theme/source of tension, add characters and technologies. Next is just a brain dump on the page. Five to ten pages a day. Once a rough draft is done, then work out twists, turns, and unexpected problems. Five to ten revisions later and I am done.
What do you read for pleasure?
History, logic, technology, mathematics, physics (no I am not making this up), humor, and anything I hear from a radio interview that sounds interesting.
Examples: How to Survive the Titanic (best example of writing efficiency I have ever seen), Into Thin Air (that's how you start a story)
What is your e-reading device of choice?
Kindle
Describe your desk
Ikea, white, one screen, one monster microphone, lots of reference books, and big can of pens.
What's the deal with Natasha?
Natasha is a secondary character in all three books, but she gets the most questions from readers. My wife and I sat down and drafted the "perfect woman" using current standards (smart, pretty, athletic, accomplished, social network better than any other.) For the twist, she refuses to talk, using only non-verbal communications. She is an ongoing pun in the books. The reaction of other characters to her presence makes for a nice mirror to see the faults in our own definitions of perfection. What fun!
I leave it up to the reader to see if they can figure out her real motivations. Don't worry, it will be revealed as the books go on.
When did you first start writing?
A long, long time ago. The first officially published book was a work of statistical analysis for the government in 1980.
What's the story behind your latest book?
The purpose of these novels is to showcase the potential effects of new technologies on our modern world. I use fiction to highlight some of the possibilities. The Love, Destiny, and Murder book highlights several interesting technologies that currently exists, including auto-killing robots, a new generation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber-warfare on currencies, and, yes, sex robots for robotic brothels. A fun thing to do with friends that have read the book is to start of list of other changes these technologies will create in society. Large amounts of coffee and/or alcohol is recommend.
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