Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
A1. Steven Radich here from New Zealand { A land down under}. Kiwi boyo, catholic interests, retired high school teacher, father of two sons with three grandchildren currently residing on Earth. Published four times, current effort out of Austin Macauley in London is a Sci Fi epic entitled “Letters From Another Galaxy.” Apart from waiting for the mail, I have been known to breathe, cook, clean my teeth, pass wind, eat, listen to Nordic Jazz, make things out of wood, grow fruit and veggies, dote on my grandchildren, dote on my wife, go fishing, offend everyone with my outlandish views, meditate, hang out with mates.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “Letters from Another Galaxy”?
A2. Being deliberately written from different points of view, the challenge was to stay true to each POV. I attempted this by using a different colour for each POV. I had tried distinctive fonts and asked if the publishers could use either, but received a negative reply.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
A3. I loved the writing of the US “Beat Generation.” I’ve always been intrigued by writers who break the rules of grammar and construction and manage to get away with it. If I recall correctly, Jack Kerouac never used full-stops, and William Burroughs actually tried cutting and pasting as a technique. More recently, I was astonished by Annie Proulx of “Shipping News” who can write a novel in a sentence. Writing for magazines and newspapers habituated me to write in information dense, short, sharp bursts.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
A4. From the olive green tidal estuary that bounded the farm on which I was raised, to the opalescent blue of the South Pacific Ocean on/in which I regularly play, I’m totally enamoured of the all facets of the marine world. With relatives who served in a naval capacity during WW2 and a maternal family where boating and fishing were their main recreational pursuits, perhaps it should come as no surprise. For our indigenous Maori culture, the place that we most feel at home is called our “Turangawaewae”. The ocean is such a place for me. My first published venture was a Guide to Fishing, Boating and Diving in the Bay of Islands, my second, a trans-Tasman murder mystery entitled The Water Treatment. The guide is out of print while the murder mystery remains available on Amazon. Surprise, surprise!
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘Letters from Another Galaxy’?
A5. Producing a SciFi work was on my radar when the Covid lockdown arrived to supply time in abundance. The work is significantly inspired by an enduring interest in the the phenomenon of colonisation – the underlying theme of the novel. I was also regularly offended by the default portrayal of aliens as mindless, demonic, incomprehensible vectors of chaos and carnage. So a story of the colonisation of Earth by rational aliens was born. In the interests of fairness, writing from the points of views of each of the major protagonists seemed apt. I enjoy the irony that it took a virus to bring this work of the imagination to life.
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘Letters from Another Galaxy’?
A6. Aiming to write a thousand words per day, the length of the lock down in NZ saw the bulk of the writing complete.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
A7. It’s widely available. Might I suggest that interested parties Google the title or the name of the author and see where they can get the best deal. It can also be ordered via your local library if that’s a readers preference, or why not try your local bookshop.
It’s available in both ebook and kindle formats was well as a standard printed book with soft cover and hard back options. An audio book version is imminent.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘Letters from Another Galaxy’?
A8. The title is an imaginative reflection of the narrative. The cover image was supplied by the publishers. I so liked the way the transmission of data was represented on a sci fi TV film “Travellers” that I prevailed on the publishers to include a similar data flow to depict the idea of information being transmitted from beyond the stars.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
A9. The rare opportunity the lock-down provided to just write and write meant that recovering characters and elements of the plot was quite manageable. The use of coloured fonts for each POV was a key aid in this regard. I also kept the narrative fresh by writing from the points of views of each of the major protagonists. At each sitting, I’d review/correct the previous chapter in prep for writing the next and I didn’t stop until it was complete. I also write short bites/chapters which keeps the brain sharp and hopefully, is an aid for the busy modern reader. As part of my review process, I had a diligent reader/critique in my wife, a student of the English language in her own right. I also used MSFT Word to read my text back to me.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
A10. A good editor is a critical player in the production of any piece of literature. I employed such an editor before presenting my work to likely publishers.
Buy Letters from Another Galaxy on Amazon
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