Rachel Thompson

Jack Canon's American Destiny

Monday, June 17, 2013

Author Interview – Richard Flores IV

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life? Without a doubt fatherhood is my proudest accomplishment.  There is something that changes in you when you become a father.  The world looks different.  You see things in your life differently.  Suddenly the brand new car doesn’t seem so important.  Besides there are few accomplishments in life that can continue to give you a feeling of pride and success like being a father can.  Each time my children accomplish something new in their lives, so do I.  It really is the best thing life has to offer.

What is your favorite color? Green.  No reason for it.  It just has always been that way.

What is your favorite food? I love Pizza.  But don’t put pineapple and ham on it.  That isn’t right.  Stick with red sauce and the usual toppings.

What’s your favorite place in the entire world? I’m not a very well-traveled person, so that is very hard for me to pick.  I know some places in the world I am dying to see.  England, Italy, Niagara Falls, and Australia are on the top of my list.  Of places I’ve visited to date, I really enjoy the beauty of Monterey, California and Seattle, Washington.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing? I wish I had some tragic back-story to tell you.  Something about how some life changing moment influenced my writing. Not in the sense that I want a tragedy, but in the sense that my answers to these types of questions are boring.

I was raised in a very open minded family.  There wasn’t much that was “off limits” to discuss.  My Mom and Dad are readers.  So I feel like I have a very open minded view of the world.  I think that allows me to see many possible futures that might come to be, even if I don’t like them.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated? I’ve always had a very active imagination.  Worlds, people, ideas, and concepts come to my mind very often.  But writing as a hobby probably stated in my early years in high school, though I recall writing a little in junior high.  But, in high school I remember writing a short story and reading it to my English class.  It was a science fiction piece, and that really sparked my interest in the idea of writing.  It was well received in class so that peaked my interest even more.  It wasn’t until four years after high school that I wrote anything with the idea to have it published.

When and why did you begin writing? I really began writing with serious intentions in 2003.  That was when I wrote the original manuscript for Dissolution of Peace, though it had no title at the time.  But it wasn’t until late 2010 that I really began to take getting published seriously.   Why the sudden motivation?  I’m not a hundred percent sure.  But ever since writing in 2003, the idea of doing it called to me.  I finally decided that I needed to do it.  It was time I finally realized a dream after having several others not work out.

How long have you been writing? Altogether, I’ve been writing for sixteen years.  But really writing passionately it has only been two years.

When did you first know you could be a writer? The day my first acceptance letter came from Liquid Imagination for the second short story I had ever written and the first flash fiction.  That story, “Death Watch” came in my first year trying to be a “real” writer.  It was a big boost and it made me feel like I could do this.  Later, the fan reception to that story, including a second place finish in the Preditors and Editors readers’ poll, really ignited the flame.

When Earth Navy Captain Christina Serenity is brutally attacked by a traitor, her life is saved by Security Forces Corporal Michael Carlson. On the heels of her recovery, her ship is attacked by terrorists, and she is thrown into a difficult assignment. She must chase after the only clue they have, a Martian ship called the Phobos, and find out what secrets it hides. To make matters worse, someone still wants her dead.

Her ship, E.S.S. Australia embarks on a mission that leads Serenity on journey of discovery, friendship, betrayal, and revenge. She quickly learns the only thing harder to prevent than war, is love.

Now Serenity must trust her protection crew to keep her alive long enough to solve this puzzle while trying to prevent an interplanetary war.

The line has been drawn. Who will cross first?

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Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – PG13 to R (Language)

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