Please join me in giving a warm welcome to our new member, Cary Caffrey. Thanks for the great interview. I now must have a sarcasm bot!
:)
Please tell us a little about yourself
That's always the toughest question--there's so little to tell! Like all of you (I hope) I'm a huge Science Fiction fan. How huge? Well, If I'd ever learned to sew I'd be one of those crazy Cos-Players you see at Science-Fiction/Fantasy conventions. But alas, I never did learn the fabulous art of costume creation.
We’d love to hear more about your book, (fill in here please)
The Girls From Alcyone is an adventure story--it's the story of two girls who are taken away from their homes and families when they're very young, to be raised by a corporation who has purchased their life-contracts (a sort of form of indentured servitude). This corporation is also tinkering and poking around with their genetics and training them with some rather nasty purposes in mind.
On their own, far from home, and with no one else to care for them, the girls are forced to rely heavily on each other. At it's core, it's a story of friendship, loyalty, and love (but with a whole lot of feisty action).
Would you like to share any upcoming projects (and links)
I'm currently writing the second book in the Alcyone series, as well as working on a screenplay I've had bouncing around in my head (think Bound meets The Thing meets Alien -- a complicated love-triangle, a remote, hostile setting...and monsters!).
What do you like about writing SFR?
Well, I love a good science-fiction adventure, but all too often that genre is lacking in one particular area, and that'sRomance! I'm often frustrated by the SF/Adventure genre. Too often, the action and scifi elements take over everything, sacrificing (or shying away from) more complex character development. Action is wonderful and all, but without real characters at the core, action on it's own rings very hollow to me.
Writing TGfA was in direct response to what I felt I wasn't getting enough of as a reader. I wanted more 'character reveals', if that makes sense, and I wanted the characters to actually have relationships, on top of all the action. I wanted to fully explore those relationships too. I think that's why I've always loved BtVS (Buff the Vampire Slayer). That series is a great example of mixing fun and action, with interesting characters and relationships that you actually care about. Joss Whedon is a God when it comes to character.
What do you find challenging about it?
Finding the right balance. I like a brisk pace. But I also like finding those moments where characters can take a breath, relax and share something more personal--even something as simple as cup of tea together. But even that cup of tea must drive the plot forward (I'm a very impatient reader).
What is your favorite SF book or movie?
That's easy. And my answer won't be that original. It's a toss up between Blade Runner and Alien for movies. Both are absolute classics. I own the Blade Runner 'briefcase' edition of the blu-ray release. It's awesome.
For books, that's easy too. I still think Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is the best Science-Fiction book ever written. It was first published back in '73 and it's hitting a whole new generation of readers today, now that it's been released as an eBook. Unfortunately, people reading the eBook are NOT reading the best edition. What's out now is a sort of 'director's cut,' and it's not nearly as good as the original version edited by Ben Bova. (Sorry Joe).
For SFR fans, this is a MUST READ! Don't be fooled by the title. The book may be, to some extent, about war, but there's a wonderful (and tragic) romantic element in the book. Just read it! But try to find an old paperback copy.
If you could have a robot that did one chore/task and only one, what
would you choose?
I think I would like a 'Sarcasm Bot'; a machine that would stand beside me and say everything that I want to say, even though I know I shouldn't.
What SFR book would you most like to be stranded in and with whom?
Woot! I want to be stranded on Omicron Ceti III (This Side of Paradise, Star Trek: TOS). Okay, it's not a book, but it's my fantasy! lol. That's the planet where everyone gets infected by spores that make them sit back, relax, have a really good time. Hey, if Spock can fall in love, then you know it's romantic.
But of course, like in the episode, Captain Kirk would arrive and 'rescue' us from our terrible fate of perpetual happiness and love (where's the Prime Directive when you need it?). Silly Kirk.
Favorite mode of fictional travel?
Who wouldn't want their own Millennium Falcon! (except, then your friends would always be asking you to help them move).
Brief Bio: Cary Caffrey |ˈkarē; ˈke(ə)rē|: A voracious reader of 1960's pulp Science-Fiction, self-confessed Trekkie, and HUGE BtVS fan.
Back of Book Summary: Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations.
Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret—a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.
But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.
Thank you so much for this! I really look forward to the SFR blogs.
