New Member Gareth Torrence

Please join me in welcoming our newest member, Gareth Torrence. :-)

A Little About Me:

Well, I guess I should start by saying I've never been good at these questions. Anyway, I'm a recently married man who is addicted to Science Fiction and Fantasy. I've been short stories since I was about 6 years old, all of them set in one of three galaxies I created. I also love video games, to be honest, and draw a lot of inspiration from them when writing.

My general day consists of getting up, going to work, writing during my lunch break, going home, watching tv with my wife, writing and then going to sleep. Except on weekends when I actually do something outside of the home/office.

Something About My Book:

I'm currently working on a series, rather than one book, but obviously I am starting with just one. The series follows four different groups of people in the galaxy, spread over 700 years. Each book deals with a different part of humanities struggle to do two things: 1) Find their place in the galaxy, and 2) survive against the corrupting forces of the Undying. Each book will also detail the thoughts, feelings and emotional attachments of the characters.

To start with, I am writing a short story (which I will publish on Smashwords when finished) that acts as a prequel to the first book I am writting. The short story follows the main character on his first mission as part of a group called the Order of Terra, leading in to his role in book and the events that transpire. Below is a brief summary of the actually book:
**
Abel is a soldier in the Order of Terra, a group dedicated to taking away the power of the Asuri Empire, which is currently merging with the Kersian Collective. The Order feels that the Empire is taking away the rights, lives and power of humanity and putting the power in the hands of xenos. Waging a war against the Empire, Abel is drawn into a web of mystery and gunfire. He and his team gain a young recruit named Alice who appears to be a Psyker, who knows more about what is happening than she lets on. He takes her under his wing as he fights against the Empire in a battle that will bring humanity to the brink of destruction.
**
Would you like to share any upcoming projects?

Currently any and all information about my projects, including any novel updates, or world building information I share, can be found at gtorrance.blogspot.com.

What do you like about writing SFR?

I enjoy being able to watch as my characters grow and change in the world around them, and how they interact with one another. The addition of, in my case, military science fantasy into the mix gives an even broader scope in which they can develop.

What do you find challenging about it?

To be honest, I think working out plausible ways for events to happen. There are only so many mass-genocide weapons or orbital space stations that one can take when reading sciene fiction in general, so you need to have something different, and the challenge is waiting until that something comes into your head and the story builds around it.

What is your favorite SF book or movie?

Just one? That's difficult because I actually don't watch things like Star Trek... I loved Firefly and Battlestar Galactica, and although it wasn't very good, I like Space:Above and Beyond when I was a kid. Star Wars is another thing I like... As for books, I love the Mass Effect books, because I love the world and the story the game creators made.

If you could have a robot that did one chore/task and only one, what would you choose?

I would have one that could pick up any mess that accumulated around me, such as cigarette ash, dust or incense.

Favorite mode of fictional travel?

Airships. I love airships. You could put an X-Wing, the Enterprise, Galactica and Serenity in front of me and I would still choose the Highwind from Final Fantasy VII. I just love them. For example, if you ever played Final Fantasy 9, I adore that game just because of the scene when entering Lindblum and you see a city full of airships. But FF7 and 8 did it best with the steampunk/science fiction airships the Highwind and the Ragnarok. If I could, I would take the dragon-clawed Ragnarok to work and back every day just for the sake of being in it.