Can you say Spotlight Sci-fi Saturday three times fast?!
Today's featured author, Scott Spotson has written a science fiction novel titled, Life II. This is an Adult/YA crossover, time travel novel.
Scott Spotson is a novelist who excels in imagining scenes of intrigue and adventure within ordinary lives while daydreaming, then pulls together various plots to create a compelling story. He likes to invent "what if?" scenarios, for example, what if I could go back to my university days, and what would I do differently? What if I could switch bodies with friends I am jealous of, like the guy who sold his software for millions of dollars and does whatever he pleases? What if I had the power to create clones of myself to do my bidding? Scott then likes to mentally insert himself into these situations, then plot a way to "get out" back to reality. This is how "Life II" and "Seeking Dr. Magic" were born, within weeks of each other.Scott can be found on:
WEBSITE / GOODREADS / FACEBOOK / TWITTER
Welcome to the Spotlight Scott! It's great to have you here! Science Fiction novels are always favorites of mine and I can't wait to hear a bit about yours. Can tell us your main inspiration behind this novel?
The main inspiration behind this novel was a single “what-if” question I had been formulating for years, without the goal of converting into a novel. “What if I could go back into my past, would I take that choice, and if I did, what day in my past would I return to, and what would I change?”
I set up this protagonist, Max Thorning, to answer all these questions for me. From there, I just developed hypothetical scenarios and let him answer the questions for me. These may not be the choices I personally would make. But these are the choices this character would make. Max Thorning is not at all like me. The only thing we would have in common is dedication to a university education. For example, I have no older sister myself, and my parents never seriously contemplated divorce. I've never even lived in Vancouver!
Was self-publishing your first choice? What would you say was the most nerve wracking part of the process?
Being completely new to the writing and publishing world, I of course remembered the past decades of authors trying to seek a publisher. While a fellow author recommended Createspace and self-publishing, I faithfully followed the paradigm of “seeking” publisher approval, and sent about five query letters, having chosen carefully the publishers that were most likely to accept my book. None of them were big publishing houses, but all were standard publishing companies that had several successful general fiction books, took all the risk of publishing, and did not charge the author anything. Naturally, none of them were interested in my book. I then knew it was time to self-publish. Now that I've gone through the process, I think it is never worth it for a first-time author to send materials to the big publishing houses unless you prove yourself that you can attract large volumes of sales or a dedicated fan base. In a way, I think self-publishing, now that it can be done allowing one-by-one ordering by readers, and doesn't seem to cost the writer much, actually helps the big publishers by “weeding out” the success of the books. It also helps the writers too, by allowing them their “day in the sun” at comparable quality and excellent on-line marketing platforms that weren't available even five years ago.
As a self-published author, did you choose to edit your novel yourself? What was the biggest change you made to the story and/or characters?
I certainly could not edit my own work alone! I'm not that confident. I did hire someone who is a professional editor, to edit my work. The editor told me my stories were great, and while he edited minor mistakes, he said there weren't any serious problems with the story lines. He said I was easy to edit since I wrote well. Actually, I have just recently decided to send in another of my books, “Seeking Dr. Magic,” to another editor, three months after publication, as this editor has written several books of her own and was successful. I decided to do so because some readers felt they could not identify with the main character, Detective Hetfield, as they thought he appeared to be too arrogant. I didn't feel that way when I wrote the story, but I'm always listening to readers, so I made that decision. I'm still awaiting that new version, but I expect it will be only better! (Not to worry, the bulk of the story will be the same, just focusing more on the main character!)
Do you have any unusual writing habits that aide your process and/or character development?
My best ideas seem to come when my mind has been instructed not to focus on immediate tasks, and instead to await the end of a fitness routine, such as swimming, jogging, or cycling for extended periods of time. I work out every day at work too, so practically every day I can brainstorm. When I get several jumbled ideas at once, and the exercise is over, I excitedly jot them down in a beautifully designed journal I always buy from time to time. The types of journals I buy always have hard covers with intricate patterns on the front and back, so they always look good lying on my desk!
Is there one passage or scene from Life II that you are most fond of?
Is there one passage or scene from Life II that you are most fond of?
There are so many scenes in Life II that I just love for the element of surprise and poignancy, and it's hard to pick just one, but I'll try. There are some even better ones, but they would give away some of the plot. This one hopefully doesn't give away too much as I think it is implied by the basic story. This one is where Max goes back to his past and after some time adjusting to his “new” timeline, decides to meet his future wife, Abby. Here, she has no idea that they've been married in a previous life. He has introduced himself to Abby, although in a pretty clumsy way, and now it is a few hours later, as they are on a “first date” in a fancy restaurant:
It felt like good times again. Anything was possible.
“It’s good to see you again,” Max lovingly addressed her.
In a feminine manner, Abby rested her head on her hand. “Thank you.”
Max leaned in her direction, “I loved you.”
Abby’s eyes widened considerably. She gulped.
[Several minutes later - portions edited out for brevity]
Abby shook her hands rapidly in front of her as she attempted to organize her thoughts. “Okay! I’m trying to understand…” She sighed.
“I’m still trying to understand why you’re here.”
Max knew what to say. “Abby, do you believe in fate?”
Abby looked thunderstruck. “Fate?”
“Fate.”
“Do you mean love at first sight?”
Max nodded tentatively at first, then enthusiastically. “Yes. That’s part of it too.”
Abby had a puzzled look on her face. “Can you explain?”
Readers! You can purchase Life II, as well as Scott's other works on
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