Is it wrong to be geeked about being interviewed for a school paper? If it is, then I don’t want to be right! After asking for and receiving permission, I’ve decided to post our back-and-forth here. Enjoy!
Maddie: Why do you choose to write science fiction?
Dave: It was less of a choice, and more of an interest that I have always had, as far back as I can remember. I’ve read science fiction and fantasy (short version: genre) fiction since I graduated from reading the Hardy Boys a long time ago. Since then, there have been stories in my mind that I want to get down on paper. I write what I like to read.
Dave: That depends entirely on your definition of “esteem”. I think that it has struggled a bit in popularity in the same way that I struggled back in high school. It’s not well liked by everyone, takes small facets of society, science, and personality, and blows it out of proportion to see how it works. That can make people nervous… it’s easier to make small talk with the action novel / star athlete. Genre fiction is entertaining, but it doesn’t shy away from addressing serious topics.
Dave: I certainly do. Everybody needs an escape, and I don’t want TV or movies to be my only options. If I can exercise my brain muscle (did I really just say that?) AND escape to a high-tech land where interplanetary travel is the norm? Win!
Dave: I’m not a competitive person by nature. Other genres can offer most of the same benefits that genre fiction can, but they can’t offer them in a way that will snag a genre fiction reader. It all boils down to what you like.
Dave: In the same ways that other fiction does, with the added bonus of shaping what our future toys might look like.
Dave: Anything written by Isaac Asimov. The man invented the term “Robotics”.
Dave: I feel the urge to plug, so here it goes. I have both a fantasy novel and an urban fantasy/horror novella available for purchase. Where and how can be found at my website: