Interview with Ian Douglas, author of Altered Starscape

 

 

Inside the Book:

Title: Altered Starscape
Author: Ian Douglas

Release Date: October 25, 2016

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Format: Ebook

Galaxies collide in a thrilling new series from bestselling author Ian Douglas, as the last humans in the universe face off against a new threat 2162.

Thirty-eight years after first contact, Lord Commander Grayson St. Clair leads theTellus Ad Astra on an unprecedented expedition to the Galactic Core, carrying more than a million scientists, diplomats, soldiers, and AIs. Despite his reservations about their alien hosts, St. Clair is deeply committed to his people—especially after they're sucked into a black hole and spat out four billion years in the future.Civilizations have risen and fallen. The Andromeda Galaxy is drifting into the Milky Way. And Earth is most certainly a distant memory. All that matters now is survival. But as the ship's Marines search for allies amid ancient ruins and strange new planetary structures, St. Clair must wrap his mind around an enemy capable of harnessing a weapon of incomprehensible power: space itself.

 

Q: Please tell us about Altered Starscape, and what inspired you to write it.

A: Four billion years from now, the galaxy M31 in Andromeda will be colliding with our own Milky Way galaxy, in a maelstrom of stars and (presumably) civilizations. Altered Starscape takes a million 22nd century humans and drops them in the middle of this "altered starscape," where they must explore godlike technologies, separate the good guys from the bad guys, and make difficult decisions about how they will govern themselves in this radically post-human future.

Q: Why do you write?

A: How can I not?

Q: How picky are you with language?

A: I'm quite picky about my words. Dialog, in particular, shapes the characters in the minds of the readers, and characters (as people) don't always speak in the complete, grammatically correct sentences that professional editors prefer.

Q: When you write, do you sometimes feel as though you were being manipulated from afar?

A: No, I’m wearing my tinfoil hat.

Q: What is your worst time as a writer?

A: When I finish writing a book.

Q: Your best?

A: When I finish writing a book.

Q: Is there anything that would stop you from writing?

A: Death. Really. I will write until I can't write any more.

Q: What’s the happiest moment you’ve lived as an author?

A: The first time I hit the New York Times bestseller list.

Q: Is writing an obsession to you?

A: No, it's more of an addiction.

Q: Are the stories you create connected with you in some way?

A: I have loved science and history from very young age. In my youth I was a Navy hospital corpsman (Marine medic) and a laboratory technician, and I employ my Navy experience in all my military writing.

Q: Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Do you agree?

A: I prefer to stay well grounded in reality so that my inherent insanity can show through.

Q: Where is your book available?

A: At any bookstore (if they don't have it in stock, they can order it for you), and at your local library.

Q: Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more about you and your work?

A: My website is whkeith dot com. (There’s a page there which explains why I, William H. Keith, use pen names such as Ian Douglas.)

Meet the Author:

Ian Douglas is one of the pseudonyms for William H. Keith, New York Times bestselling author of the popular military science fiction series The Heritage Trilogy, The Legacy Trilogy, The Inheritance Trilogy, Star Corpsman, and Star Carrier. A former naval corpsman, he lives in Pennsylvania.