Bill DeFoor interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

Honestly, it’s topic specific.  Outside of business specific books and journals during my career, I’d look for things that interested me for whatever reason.  HEARTS IN ATLANTIS is the kind of book that holds my interest.  Enough fiction in the right setting to keep me hooked.

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

We were forced from our home during an ice storm that cut our electricity.  We stayed with my daughter in the suburbs and it hit me in the face: my childhood was completely different from my children and grandchildren’s. So, I started to describe my childhood and I just couldn’t quit writing.  Some friends read what I wrote and encouraged me to make a book out of it (or 4).  Then I looked back on my career of 50+ years in I/T and with all the doom and gloom predicted for the future, I decided to write what it should really look like 112 years into the future.  That began my Sci Fi career and I’ve been writing ever since.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

I love writing.  I HATE EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLISHING!  Too many people, going in too many directions, and lots of scam artists out there.  Trying to find a traditional publishing house was the most frustrating and humiliating experience of my life.

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

Confine your goals to your writing.  Don’t expect to make a living out of it.  To do so is extremely difficult and frustrating!

Tell us about your book/books:

Memoir – covers my childhood of poverty, being sent from family to family, and overcoming obstacles.

Sci Fi – expresses my love for my profession and how it will impact humanity; if platforms and governments don’t screw it up.  I start with an old man in 2017 who’s killed in a car accident.  He’s cryogenically frozen untill 2129, when he’s awakened to teach the most powerful android ever developed: compassion.  Because he has no family in 2129, he bonds with the android and together they begin discovering things based on the android’s capabilities and the man’s curiosity.

 

With an implant, the man and android communicate silently (telepathically).  Then he’s hypnotized, he wonders if the android can do the same thing with technology.  They discover how to telepathically access and recall human memories.  He recalls his after-death experiences which are just amazing.  (Many friends still talk about what I’ve written.)

 

Their two primary discoveries form the basis for 007 spy adventures (beautiful lady spies who all burn hot – men are their targets), taking down Communist China, and they encounter an ancient “religion” called Cho that is an energy universe (like heaven) that can see the future.

 

The books delve into the characters’ values while dodging bullets, knives, kidnappers, and being killed.  Their discoveries continue until the android has human eyes, hearing and a synthetic brain capable of cohabiting with humans (kinda cool).

 

Their discoveries and adventures ultimately lead to creating an environment on Earth, worthy of an alien visitation.  Without the capability of war (Cricket), with all children being taken care of (Fast Start) and androids who can never lie handling most of the complexities of the world (government included), alien beings who have been watching over us for centuries, come for a visit and mankind leaps ahead on multiple fronts.  Space travel and how it’s facilitated are key themes as well.

 

I hope they are all fun reads that create a little introspection and hope for the future.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

Writers and readers are terrific.  They’re generous of their time and helpful, but there are hundreds of ways to “skin the cat”.  The overwhelming majority are just like me: they love to write and hope their product brings some happiness into other’s lives.

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

My books reflect a journey that I take when I sit down to write.  I try to immerse myself in the times and the people/characters of the book.  I never know what’s going to happen next. (I don’t write from an outline, I outline it after the fact).  I hope they take you away from now, and leave you with an optimistic outlook on technology and its future uses.  Most of all, I hope you have fun reading my books.  If that’s not the case, I’ve failed.

Where can people connect with you?

I’ve spend a lot of time and energy, trying to make my website a place where you can get to know me.  There’s a contact page there where I’ve interacted with several people.  I’d hope people sign-up for my email list.  I promise you, I won’t abuse it.  For more information on who I am and what I write, please visit   www.billdefoor.com