Interviewed by: Gary Sorkin
December 2010
Today
we are talking with Randy Noble, author of Surviving
the Theseus, a new release available on Amazon, of which a review is
published on Pacific Book Review.
PBR: Randy, thank you for taking time to spend with us.
Thank you,
Gary.
It’s my pleasure.
PBR: You have an extraordinary talent for bringing elements of
future technology into your book. What
do you do, besides writing, enabling you to gain such acumen into science and
technology?
Thank you. That’s very nice to hear. My background is
in Information Technology, specifically, in software development for the health
industry. But, I think it’s more of my interest in Science Fiction (and Horror
and Thrillers) that gave me the tools I needed. Books like the Foundation
Series, by Asimov, and movies like Minority Report, would be good examples of
inspiration for such ideas. Star Trek is another big influence.
PBR: Which authors do you most enjoy that have influenced your
writing style?
Asimov has a very straight forward approach to writing,
which I like. I love earlier Stephen King, and some of his new stuff. He’s
ridiculously prolific, and I have a lot of respect for him. Koontz is another
favorite, mostly because he keeps things fresh, never locked down to one genre.
PBR: You obviously developed your writing skill over time, what
else have your written?
This is my first novel, but I have written a few short
stories, all in the horror/thriller arena. Years ago, I wanted to get into the
movie industry and I wrote a couple of screenplays, but nothing I would do
anything with these days. They would need too much rework that I just have no
more interest in. I guess I’ve been writing since I was around 10 or so, but
nothing substantial, just short stories. The idea of writing a novel scared me
for years, and then, as I wrote more, bigger ideas started coming to me, and
the idea for Surviving The Theseus grew. It gestated quite awhile before I
really did something about it. I’ve taken a workshop, read books on writing,
and then, of course, the writing itself. It’s really a mental process with me
for awhile, as it plays out in my head, and I take it from there with the
writing. I really don’t stop thinking about the story until I’m done writing
it. I have no traditionally published works. All my stuff is in electronic
format on Smashwords (and Amazon), and part of the audio version of Surviving
The Theseus is on Podiobooks.com (still working on all the episodes for it).
PBR: In Surviving the
Theseus you picked a woman, Regina Valensky to be your protagonist. In a “tough universe,” on the risk of seeming
politically incorrect, let me ask why did you pick a woman for such a strong
character and not a “Rambo” or “James Bond” type of male?
It’s really just the way I always pictured the main
character. Admittedly, especially with my short stories, I tend to go for a
male protagonist, so it was partly the challenge of writing a strong, female
character that interested me. And I don’t mean that in any sort of derogatory
way to women. I’ve had relationships with strong women, and there are always
those times when you are baffled by one another, be it something said or
something done, the whole men are from Mars, women are from Venus thing. It’s
my hope, even though
Regina
is a larger than life type character, that I brought some believability to her
character.
PBR: Are any of your characters modeled after people you know, or
qualities of your own personality?
I would say there is a trait or more in every
character, from someone I’ve known or know. That list also includes characters
from other books and even from movies or TV. As an example, for anyone who has
watched the TV series Deadwood, I partly based
Regina on the Seth Bullock character (played
by Timothy Olyphant). I love that character. He was always just on the edge,
anything ready to set him off. He was a ticking time bomb, much like
Regina.
PBR: Do you plan on continuing the story in a sequel?
It’s funny. Somebody else who read the book asked the
same thing, and I kind of thought things were done, as far as her journey in
that story. But, I know where you’re coming from, and
Regina does have many more stories to tell.
My next direction is taking me to a series of books, but nothing to do with
Regina. It’s an idea I’ve
had for awhile and it has grown into something bigger than I originally
expected, which will require more than one book to tell it. One day, I may come
back to
Regina.
PBR: This is a book of fiction, but in real life, what are your
personal thoughts about the existence of alien or extraterrestrial life in the
universe?
There is no doubt in my mind that extraterrestrial life
exists out there somewhere. Countless stars and galaxies, and a seemingly
infinite universe, makes me wonder how anybody can think we are alone.
PBR: Your use of technology is extraordinary; do you have any
patents or inventions to your credit?
None at all. That’s very nice to hear though, and I’m
glad I could convey some realism to a fictional story. I tried to make as
realistic a world as I could, thinking down to details on how things would
work.
PBR: When will this book become available and where might be the
best place for people to find it?
The book is available right now on Amazon, ebook only
at this time: www.amazon.com/Surviving-The-Theseus-ebook
