Hello everyone- its that time again for another fantastic author interview, this time with the lovely Lenny!
Here we go…..
Tell us a bit about your book
In Ignato is set in the 30th century, about 800 years from now. It is a tale of space exploration with the underlying theme of a son searching for the truth of his father’s death. The story opens with the culmination of the events that lead up to the MC’s father’s death, 30 years previously
What would say is the genre for your book
Science fiction
Where did the inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from my love of Star Trek, and other classic science fiction shows and books, but predominantly Star Trek.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I love how Latin looks, and how, for some reason, Latin has a sci-fi look to it which is bizarre if you think about how Latin is one of the oldest languages there has been. I wanted a snappy one or two word title that covered the whole theme of the novel, which is the unknown. Whether this is the unknown being that they are on a new ship, going further into space than before, or the unknown of what happened to the MC’s father and his ship. It is a voyage of discovery in all senses. In Ignato means “into the unknown” but the English does not sound like a book-title to me.
How long did it take you to finish writing the book before the first edit? How many drafts were there in total?
I have not finished the book yet. So far it has taken me longer than I intended as I had to put it on hold twice, once to finish my thesis for my first degree, and then because of a job where I had no spare time…what time there was I had to spend sleeping. I may have to put it on hold a couple more times due to exams for my second degree, but I intend to finish it this summer; if all goes according to plan I will edit three to four times.
Are there any characters in the book based on people you know?
There is definitely one – my arch villain has aspects gleaned from a younger sister.
How did you celebrate being published? Did you have a launch party?
I will have a launch party when I publish. It will be a celebration of a dream come true.
Would you care to give us an extract?
Sure, I would love to. Here is an extract from the beginning…
‘Keep her steady!’
‘I cannot, Captain! It’s not answering – we’ve lost power to the helm!’
‘Try it! Everyone, this is your Captain speaking – we are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack – go to your battle stations.’ He stopped for a moment and drew a breath before he went on. ‘Good luck.’ Slowly, he thumbed off the intercom and turned back to his chair. He noticed that the Bridge Crew were looking at him and he nodded. ‘You heard me, we don’t stand a chance.’
At that precise moment, a double salvo shook the ship again. It seemed as though the enemy knew they were unable to return fire, and used every ounce of their power against them.
‘Captain…?’
It seemed the Captain knew what the Helm was trying to say and he turned to her and shook his head. ‘I am not considering surrender at all. That is not an option.’ He turned to the Communications Officer. ‘Send a signal to headquarters!’
‘Aye, Captain.’ His hands moved swiftly over his control panel. ‘I can’t raise them…on any frequency!’ He paused for a moment, listening intently through his ear-receiver. ‘Captain! The alien ship is signalling us!’
‘Answer them – put them on the screen.’ He turned to the screen…at last face to face with their attackers. ‘My name is Captain MacAlpin, of the Starship Venture. We are on a peaceful mission…’
‘You are out of time…in a moment you will be boarded. I am waiting, Captain MacAlpin – give me your unconditional surrender and I will not destroy you.’
The Captain’s voice was quiet when he replied, but everyone on the Bridge heard every word. ‘I will never give you that!’
‘You will all die! You have but one of your earth minutes left…what do you say, Captain?’
Keeping his eyes on the screen, Captain MacAlpin spoke clearly. ‘Computer, begin Auto-Destruct sequence. Everyone, this is the Captain speaking – for the last time. In one minute, this vessel will self-destruct. I am sorry, but you all know our orders. Good luck.’
The explosion lit up space for what seemed an eternity and then all that was left was darkness and silence, and debris hanging on nothingness.
How do you beat writers block? Any tips?
I have never had writer’s block, I am very fortunate that way. When asked to give tips to beat writer’s block I would say walk away from your writing for a bit, go and watch TV or go for a walk, or even write something else. Don’t sit and stare at a blank screen, or a blank page…that will never beat the block.
Do you have any hobbies apart from writing?
I run a Star Trek fan group in Edinburgh, and I collect Star Trek memorabilia, and also collect books of all genres, fiction and non-fiction
When you write, do you consider yourself to be a plotter or a pantser?
I hate the term pantser, but I am not a plotter. It is hard to explain to people how I write but it is not what pantser describes. When I write I am not just writing anything that comes to me, but I am seeing the story unfolding in front of me like a movie. I write what I see and hear
Do you have any advice for fellow writers?
Yes. Don’t listen to advice, and break all the “rules”. Don’t waste time asking questions about how or what you should write; just go for it
If your book became a film- who would you pick to play the main characters?
A difficult question. I would probably need to go back in time to find anyone I would consider good looking enough to play my main characters. A young version of James McAvoy could perhaps play the MC, but I would be hard pushed to find someone enough like Gregory Peck to play the secondary MC, he is kind of inspired by him. I would need to do a lot of research!
Lastly, where can readers find you and your book on the internet?
My book is not available yet, but I have a Facebook page: Lenny Montgomery https://www.facebook.com/lenny.montgomery.author
And my website is: http://lennymontgomeryaut.wixsite.com/lennymontgomery
Many thanks Lenny for your snippet and info! Good luck with the degree and got to love abit of star trek 😛
xx
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