Today we are talking with Randy Noble, author of Surviving the Theseus, a new release available on Amazon, of which a review is published on Pacific Book Review.

PBR:  Randy, thank you for taking time to spend with us.

Thank you, Gary. It’s my pleasure.

PBR:  You have an extraordinary talent for bringing elements of future technology into your book.  What do you do, besides writing, enabling you to gain such acumen into science and technology?

Thank you. That’s very nice to hear. My background is in Information Technology, specifically, in software development for the health industry. But, I think it’s more of my interest in Science Fiction (and Horror and Thrillers) that gave me the tools I needed. Books like the Foundation Series, by Asimov, and movies like Minority Report, would be good examples of inspiration for such ideas. Star Trek is another big influence.

PBR:  Which authors do you most enjoy that have influenced your writing style?

Asimov has a very straight forward approach to writing, which I like. I love earlier Stephen King, and some of his new stuff. He’s ridiculously prolific, and I have a lot of respect for him. Koontz is another favorite, mostly because he keeps things fresh, never locked down to one genre.

PBR:  You obviously developed your writing skill over time, what else have your written?

This is my first novel, but I have written a few short stories, all in the horror/thriller arena. Years ago, I wanted to get into the movie industry and I wrote a couple of screenplays, but nothing I would do anything with these days. They would need too much rework that I just have no more interest in. I guess I’ve been writing since I was around 10 or so, but nothing substantial, just short stories. The idea of writing a novel scared me for years, and then, as I wrote more, bigger ideas started coming to me, and the idea for Surviving The Theseus grew. It gestated quite awhile before I really did something about it. I’ve taken a workshop, read books on writing, and then, of course, the writing itself. It’s really a mental process with me for awhile, as it plays out in my head, and I take it from there with the writing. I really don’t stop thinking about the story until I’m done writing it. I have no traditionally published works. All my stuff is in electronic format on Smashwords (and Amazon), and part of the audio version of Surviving The Theseus is on Podiobooks.com (still working on all the episodes for it).

PBR:  In Surviving the Theseus you picked a woman, Regina Valensky to be your protagonist.  In a “tough universe,” on the risk of seeming politically incorrect, let me ask why did you pick a woman for such a strong character and not a “Rambo” or “James Bond” type of male?

It’s really just the way I always pictured the main character. Admittedly, especially with my short stories, I tend to go for a male protagonist, so it was partly the challenge of writing a strong, female character that interested me. And I don’t mean that in any sort of derogatory way to women. I’ve had relationships with strong women, and there are always those times when you are baffled by one another, be it something said or something done, the whole men are from Mars, women are from Venus thing. It’s my hope, even though Regina is a larger than life type character, that I brought some believability to her character.

PBR:  Are any of your characters modeled after people you know, or qualities of your own personality?

I would say there is a trait or more in every character, from someone I’ve known or know. That list also includes characters from other books and even from movies or TV. As an example, for anyone who has watched the TV series Deadwood, I partly based Regina on the Seth Bullock character (played by Timothy Olyphant). I love that character. He was always just on the edge, anything ready to set him off. He was a ticking time bomb, much like Regina.

PBR:  Do you plan on continuing the story in a sequel?

It’s funny. Somebody else who read the book asked the same thing, and I kind of thought things were done, as far as her journey in that story. But, I know where you’re coming from, and Regina does have many more stories to tell. My next direction is taking me to a series of books, but nothing to do with Regina. It’s an idea I’ve had for awhile and it has grown into something bigger than I originally expected, which will require more than one book to tell it. One day, I may come back to Regina.

PBR:  This is a book of fiction, but in real life, what are your personal thoughts about the existence of alien or extraterrestrial life in the universe? 

There is no doubt in my mind that extraterrestrial life exists out there somewhere. Countless stars and galaxies, and a seemingly infinite universe, makes me wonder how anybody can think we are alone.

PBR:  Your use of technology is extraordinary; do you have any patents or inventions to your credit?

None at all. That’s very nice to hear though, and I’m glad I could convey some realism to a fictional story. I tried to make as realistic a world as I could, thinking down to details on how things would work.

PBR:  When will this book become available and where might be the best place for people to find it?

The book is available right now on Amazon, ebook only at this time