I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with author David Allan Hamilton...
Q: Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
DAH: No, I don’t think so. Everything weird I do alone, I also do
with others. Knitting, reading, writing, watching Youtube...
Q: What is your favorite quote and why?
DAH: My favorite quote is from the songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen. “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Hemingway said something similar so perhaps the two of them influenced each other, but what I like about this quote is that it suggests through our own imperfections we are made perfect.
Q: Who is your favorite author and why?
DAH: This is a difficult question to answer because I don’t have just one favorite. I have several. I really like Ernest Buckler for instance. He shows me the beauty of words and the importance of art in storytelling. I like Michael Ondaatje too, for his attention to historical detail and scene descriptions. I enjoy reading Clive Cussler for his plotting and adventure. And I also like Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut and Ted Dekker. Lots to choose from!
Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of
good writing?
DAH: Three things stand out for me as the most important elements of good writing. The first is: strong characters. I want to like or at least sympathize with a protagonist. I want my opposition to have redeeming qualities too, not just evil ones. And I want the other characters to have their own interesting traits.
DAH: Three things stand out for me as the most important elements of good writing. The first is: strong characters. I want to like or at least sympathize with a protagonist. I want my opposition to have redeeming qualities too, not just evil ones. And I want the other characters to have their own interesting traits.
The second is a strong plot. I think we all want to see a
story with plotting that compels us to keep reading, with twists and turns and
all kinds of other surprises. Without good plotting, there can be no tension
and therefore, no story.
The third thing is pacing. This is a subtle element in a
story but we all know what happens when the pacing is off even if we don’t
recognize why. Whenever the story falls flat and gets boring, or if it races,
or if it drags at all, then you know there’s a problem with pacing. There are
ways, as a writer, to ensure the pacing is always perfect. And that’s through
effective plotting and writing in sections.
Q: Where did you get the idea for this book?
DAH: The idea for The Crying of Ross 128 came to me from a news article in March 2017. At that time, the scientists at the Mount Arecibo array in Puerto Rico detected a strange signal from space. At first, they tested it against any known signal or potential origins, but couldn’t find anything. So they believed they had indeed heard a signal from the dwarf star system Ross 128.
It turns out, they were wrong. The signal was from Earth.
But that fired up my imagination and so my story premise for The Crying of Ross
128 was: Suppose a signal from Ross 128 was detected on Earth, and it turned
out to be alien?
**********************
by David Allan Hamilton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Science Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
America has
splintered into various independent republics after a brutal civil war. Against
this backdrop, space exploration is on the cusp of new technological
breakthroughs. Jim Atteberry, a mid-30s English professor at City College in
San Francisco, spends his free time listening for alien signals on the amateur
radio astronomy bands. His life as a single parent to his precocious daughter is
turned upside-down when he hears an intelligent cry for help from the Ross 128
system and realizes we are not alone. This signal unleashes a chain of events
pitting Jim and his brilliant, mysterious colleague Kate against a power-hungry
scientist with his own secret agenda. Jim must learn the truth about the
signal, the strange disappearance of his wife Janet, and the meaning of true
love before it’s too late in this first contact thriller.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
"How
long does it take a subspace signal to travel from Ross 128 to Earth?" he
asked.
The
machine responded verbally. “Twenty-two minutes, 13.4 seconds with current
subspace technology.”
Atteberry
recorded the time on his notepad, then looked at the screen. “Is there any
history of alien signals coming from Ross 128?”
“Negative.
Although in 2017, unknown signals from that system were received at the
University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. They were later dismissed as Terran
satellites.”
Ghost
signals. That happened sometimes due to the multitude of satellites orbiting
Earth back then, and now around the moon and Mars. Signals would bounce and
echo off them all the time, like ripples in a pond bouncing off rocks and
plants.
“Speculate
as to the origin of this signal if it’s a ghost.”
“Ready.”
“Proceed.”
“If
the signal is a ghost, it is most likely an artifact of the Second American
Civil War circa 2070. The Northern Democratic States and the Confederate States
often used ghost signals as decoys to confuse enemy communications.”
So
that’s it, Atteberry thought, he’s been chasing old civil war ghosts. Yet the
question of subspace remained, and, as far as he knew, neither side in the
civil war used the emerging FTL technology. It wasn’t sufficiently developed
until after the new republics separated.
“What
is the likelihood that these Ross 128 signals are satellite ghosts?”
“0.02
percent.”
“What’s
the probability the true source is the Ross 128 system itself?”
“74.8
percent.”
Atteberry
leaned forward on his workbench and realized the results were inconclusive.
“What’s the probability that these signals are naturally occurring... a pulsar
or a quasar for example?”
“Zero
percent. The signals are artificially produced with slight variations in
pattern frequency, suggesting unknown transmission methodology.”
“Human?”
“Improbable.
There are no known humans in the Ross 128 space.”
Atteberry
feared asking the next question; he swallowed hard. “Alien?”
“99.8
percent probable.”
Buy Links:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
David Allan Hamilton is a
teacher, writer, and multipotentialite. He is a graduate of Laurentian
University (BSc. Applied Physics) and The University of Western Ontario (MSc.
Geophysics). He lives in Ottawa where he facilitates writing workshops and
teaches. When not writing, David enjoys riding his bike long distances,
painting, and knitting.
Author Links:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
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ReplyDeleteGood Morning! Thank you for the book description and the opportunity to learn about another great book. My family enjoys hearing about books they will enjoy and I enjoy surprising them with the books they love. I appreciate the giveaway as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! Ever wonder how the US might enter into a second civil war? It's all here, and that's just the backdrop to hearing a cry for help from deep space...
ReplyDeleteGreat post and thanks for the awesome giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Victoria!
DeleteWhat book would you like to see a sequel to? Congrats on the release. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read a sequel to Ray Bradbury's short story "All Summer in a Day." I suspect there's a reason he never wrote one... the first was complete.
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