J. Dalton interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

I have always been a voracious reader and can easily finish a book in a day or two.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

Except for work, I had never written anything in my life other than a note on a Christmas card or a sympathy card to someone whose family member had died.  It never crossed my mind to be an author!

I had been feeling tired and basically run-down for several months, and even my co-workers had asked if I was alright. Like any man, I ignored all the warning signs.

In August of 2016, I had to go in for my yearly physical (required for the company’s insurance policy), and of course, the Doctor had a blood draw done.  The next day, the Dr.’s office called and wanted me to come back in and have another blood test done.  The Dr. was concerned that there was a possibility that the previous test had been processed incorrectly.  I went back, had the blood drawn, and the next day, the Dr. called and wanted me to go see a specialist.  She thought I might have Leukemia because my white blood cell count was off the chart.  The next day, (who gets an appointment with an oncologist in one day?  That spooked me!) I had a bone marrow biopsy and was diagnosed with CML Leukemia (Chronic Myelocytic Leukemia).  My world had just turned upside down!  I stopped back into work and told my boss about it and that I needed to take the sick time I had built up, in order to fight this.

Over the next few weeks as I got sick from the high dose of chemo pills, I did a lot of thinking about what my legacy to my children and grandchildren would be.  I didn’t want them to just remember me from pictures and stories told while drinking at holidays, so I decided to write a story for them that they could have, and re-read to their children, and their children’s children, and tell them about the crazy old man that started all this silliness.

So, at the ripe old age of 64, I stepped off the edge of sanity, and wrote my first book, “The Gates to the Galaxies!”, & discovered that I actually like telling stories. 

I’m a newbie to writing & really didn’t know how to do research on historical things and, quite frankly, I didn’t want to take the time I wasn’t sure I had.

Writing Sci-fi allowed me to create a setting that existed in my mind.  I could create an entire world, species, concepts that existed not in fact, but inside my head.  It also allowed me to change the things that I thought were wrong with conventional sci-fi stories, like the over use of “Warp speed”.  In my book, they use folded space technology to travel through a galaxy and a “Gate” to go from one galaxy to another.  I introduce several other unconventional concepts in each of the books in the series.

I always liked the thought of “what else is out there”, but the original “Star Trek” got me hooked, despite the corniness and limited production qualities.  It was just fun for a young kid with a questioning mind.  The later versions became too politically preachy for me to really get into them.

The story arc throughout the series is always about good triumphing over evil.  There are many different species that live and work together always for the good of each other.  Looking back, I think that as I was writing, and especially in the second book, “A Return to the Gates” where I introduce a new adversary, (the Ones and the Master and his twin brother), subconsciously I was thinking, good was going to conquer evil. (Leukemia).

I want people to open their minds to possibilities.  Not just about space and time, but about the world around us.  Just because it hasn’t been done yet, doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.

I would love it if you would go to my Amazon author’s page and check out all my books.

https://www.amazon.com/J-Dalton/e/B08NF7NB3P/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

For me, telling stories is the easy part.  I have very vivid dreams about my stories where the characters speak in their own voices and accents, and the scenes play out in full color.  When I wake, I remember them completely and simply write the chapter or two as if I was watching a movie.

Marketing them as an indie is what is hard for me.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Write it.  You can’t become an author unless you actually write it.

Also, read!  A LOT!  Learn how other authors build a scene and conversations.

Don’t be afraid to fail.  That’s how you learn what not to do in your next attempt.

Tell us about your book/books:

I currently have seven books out there, but the first four books I combined into one that is titled “The Saga of the Ones!”  It tells the story of Captain Chen and the crew of the Gibraltar as they travel throughout the galaxies and time by using the Gates to the Galaxies.  When you travel through the Gates, they scan the ship and all of it’s contents, then break everything down to the atomic level, change it into pure energy and then they send that to another gate in the galaxies where it is all reassembled back to the original form.  The process takes thousands of years in some cases.  Since the universe is constantly expanding, the gates know where every planet and star will be at every moment in time and so, they can have the travelers arrive wherever and whenever they choose.  That said, the Captain and his crew discover an ancient race living in a Dyson Sphere in another galaxy. The bad news is that a group of scientists have already discovered the sphere and the race of vampire-like humanoids that capture humans and use them as blood slaves. One human onboard the Gibraltar can save the Ones from this situation when it’s discovered that his DNA is a perfect match to repair theirs that was damaged by faulty genetic manipulation.

The worse news is that they woke the former military leader called the Master from centuries of cryo-sleep, and he has a plan.  A plan to eliminate the human race.

 

The next two books (The Tale of Mordratha!, and The Rise of the Rakshesha!) tells the tale of eight-year old Wisper Grant who, after an explosion in a mine on Gliese 581d (a large planet orbiting a red dwarf sun in the constellation Libra, just 20 light years from Earth), is exposed to ancient spores and is transformed into the Queen of the Rakshesha, the eaters of man. The characters from the Tale are drawn into the story so that the stories always flows from one book to the next.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

I can’t say enough about the writing/reading community, as I found several beta readers and some fantastic editors that shared the same Leukemia diagnosis I had and taught me a lot about proper structure and punctuation, (which I still struggle with). I also have met some others that have helped me improve my writing skill.  

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

It is always my hope that my stories make the reader think about what I wrote.  You don’t need to agree with me, but if I made you think that the impossible is possible, then I have succeeded.  I just want people to read my words and react. 

Where can people connect with you?

They can contact me on Twitter @JDaltonAuthor.