Every time you pick a book and start reading you enter a whole new world of imagination. Mr Fottler sent me to a world of outer space and made me eagerly turn pages as he kept throwing in the surprises till the very last page. I feel absolutely lucky to get a chance to pick on his wonderful brain to get answers to some the questions that I gathered while reading his amazing Sci-fi book CHASING REDEMPTION.
Author's Bio: Since exiting a finance career in a world of cubicles, Bruce Fottler has been busy writing novels. His latest is the suspense thriller: "The Initiative: In Harm's Way (Book One)."
Bruce grew up in the Chicago suburbs and moved to the Boston area as a young teen. While seeking a career-track that mostly put him behind a desk, he dabbled in creative pursuits such as producing, writing, and directing film shorts. However, it was always writing novels that interested him the most because they aren't limited by production budgets, technical capabilities, or tight shooting schedules.
1. How did you end up with pen and ink? I know you started on with writing
short films but what dragged you to novels?
I've always loved to write and direct film
shorts, but those opportunities have become scarce. It's a complex, demanding,
and expensive undertaking. Also, the more I directed, the more I realized that
I had a lot more to learn about the craft (and why people actually go to school
to learn this).
Writing novels is like directing a film
with an unlimited budget. There are no technical limitations, production staff
to manage, location woes, or shooting schedules. It's just my imagination and a
keyboard.
2.
Where do you take inspiration for your characters? (From friends or
family) Who is Ben inspired from?
My stories tend to feature ordinary people
who encounter extraordinary circumstances. Ben is a little different because
he's already an accomplished captain at the outset, but quickly finds himself
embroiled in circumstances that are far bigger than he could have imagined. My
inspiration for unlikely heroes comes from the Bible, which is filled with
people put in situations beyond what they believe they are capable of handling.
Ben is a man of deep religious conviction,
but far from perfect. I wanted to portray someone who is in over his head,
confused, frustrated, and all while trying to do what he thinks is right. There
are times when he doesn't have all the answers, fails to make the correct
decision, and falters. He's only human, not some supernatural Christian
stereotype.
3.
A lot of science and space terminology went into the book. How much time
did you spend in preparing and researching for the book?
I wrote Chasing Redemption on and off since
1991. During that time I had plenty of breaks to brush up on emerging
technologies and think about how they would fit into the future world that I
was creating. I wanted this story to be a techno-thriller set in space, but
without the sensational technologies that we commonly see in sci-fi franchises
like Star Trek or Star Wars. I also tried to give it a familiar feel. Our solar
system is a new ocean and the geopolitical backdrop resembles the cold war era.
4.
There were many points in the story where everything could have gone
well and everything ended happily. What was the inspiration to more nail biting
suspense?
I'm a big fan of things not always being
what they appear. I like to keep the reader guessing, in suspense, and then
throw in some plot twists. My hope is to make the story interesting enough to
keep the pages turning, and keep a reader up for some late nights.
While I'm generally a fan of happy endings,
in real life we don't always get the answers to everything, nor are all the
loose ends neatly tied up at the end. I tend to take this approach with my
stories.
5.
Religion has played a pivotal role to the entire story. Was it hard to
mix science with faith?
The last thing I want to do with my stories
is to get preachy. I don't attempt to pit science against faith, except perhaps
when a it's appropriate for a character to struggle with it. I just tell the
story and let the reader decide for themselves how they feel about it.
6.
Which writers inspire you?
I was very much inspired by Tom Clancy for
Chasing Redemption. In fact, a reader once told me CR was like The Hunt for Red
October in outer space. I'm also a big fan of John Grisham.
However, it's a quote from C.S. Lewis that
I adopted as my writing credo: He once said: “The world does not need more
Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature.”
7.
Piece of advice for aspiring writers?
That's a tough one. There's so much that
has already been said, so I risk being repetitive. But for those who are just
starting out, or are thinking about writing a novel, my advice is to focus on
getting that first draft written. Don't worry about perfection, you can fix
things later. Stop thinking about all the steps afterward (like editing, etc.).
Just write and get it finished, because there's nothing like the feeling of
typing the words “The End.”
8.
How did you decide the title of your novel?
I wanted to choose a title that was germane
to the story, but also one that hasn't been used for other books. After
thinking up and rejecting many titles, I finally came up with “Chasing
Redemption” because that sums up what Ben is attempting.
At the time I settled on this title, I was
shocked that it hadn't yet been used by anyone (at least that I could find at
the time). So I grabbed it fast. A few other books have since popped up with
the same title, but it's always good to have been first.
It is a pleasure getting to know Mr. Fottler and here are the links where you can get to know him socially and his upcoming works:
**This material cannot be copied or used without the author's permission. **
To get your book reviewed you may contact me at:
Email: inextrica.sukriti@gmail.com
Facebook: Sukriti Goyal
Goodreads: Sukriti
Library Thing: My page
