I’d like to introduce a fellow Creativia Author. Please welcome Scott Michael Decker:
So, tell us about your newest release:
Organo-Topia, a Cyberdick Novella
What is the story about?
A dystopian society with plunging birthrates relies heavily on clone production to keep itself functioning, all the while oppressing those clones mercilessly. Nanochines are turned loose in a murderous rampage, and Detective Maris Peterson is determined to find out why. The detective digs deep into the steamy world of reproduction, where sperm and ovum are collected from unwilling donors, fetuses are conceived in Petrie dishes, and children are grown to viability in factories by the thousands.
Wow, that sounds like a really great storyline. Who is the main character?
A surly detective with a sharp mind and sharper tongue, disliked by adversaries and colleagues alike.
What inspired this tale?
Oddly enough, I had every intention of writing a 90k-word science fiction novel, but then the detective took over and wrote the story the way he wanted it written, so I ended up with a 43k-word novella. I started out with the scene of a researcher getting eaten by nanochines from the soles up, introduced the childlessness, and it took off from there.
How did the story come to you?
It didn’t come to me at all. Detective Peterson dragged it out of me, took me in the back room and showed me the instruments in his autoclave. I’ll admit; I faint at the thought of blood. He didn’t even have to use the instruments.
Did you have to research for this novel and if so, why?
I researched the names of characters and places, relying primarily on the Baltics. It’s a theme some readers may pick up on in many of my novels. My next novel, Bawdy Double, has Russian, Ukraine, and Chinese names. For Edifice Abandoned, I chose Bantu names and Zimbabwe placenames.
Do you relate to your character?
Not at all. He’s full of snark and vinegar. He’s a jucking ferk.
Is your protagonist anything like you personally?
Pessimistic as hell, at least on the inside.
What made you write this character; what made them important to you or made you want to tell their story?
Persecution comes on many levels, and sometimes, we don’t know we’re persecuted. The corporate takeover of society is one kind of persecution, where enslavement to the profit margin frequently goes unrecognized. Maris Peterson’s persecution by corporate fascism remains unrecognized amidst the multitude of persecutory forces at work in this dystopia.
Is there anything specific you want readers to know about this piece of work?
At one point, I say “Urzula Ezergailis didn’t mince words—she ground them through her teeth.” Somewhat synonymous with what I did throughout the novel. I put every sentence through the shredder until the damn thing leapt in agony off the page.
When will the novel be available for purchase?
Available now, released March 10, 2016.
If yes, do you have a link available for buying it?
http://amzn.to/1UigYbj
Okay, let’s learn more about you, as a writer. Who is Scott Michael Decker?
Yeah, when I find out, I’ll let you know. The Buddhist in me swears I’m empty inside. Scott Michael Decker, MSW, an author by avocation, has written twenty-plus novels in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, dabbling among the sub-genres of space opera, biopunk, spy-fi, and sword and sorcery. His biggest fantasy is wishing he were published. He also has a BS degree from MSU (a BullShit degree from Making Stuff Up). He can often be heard humming, “Scott is a social work novelist, who never had time for a life” (apologies to Billy Joel). He lives and dreams happily with his wife near Sacramento, California.
What inspired you to start writing?
Funny, that. A friend saw I was writing a journal and told me he’d always wanted to write a book. He described its plot to me over a cup of coffee, and I asked him if I could give it a try. A month after he gave me permission, I was still writing. Two years later I was still writing. Three hundred fifty thousand words and ten years later, I had a four-book series. No intention to write a novel. None whatsoever.
What is your favorite book you have written and why?
That’s a tough question. And it’s not a fair question, either. I hate taking sides, because they’re all my favorites. Some of them are a little more favored that others, it’s true. Some are toss-offs, written purely for the hell of it, dashed off in a blizzard of writing with no particular goal or agenda, popped out with nary a glance back. Others are labors of love, the lives of characters lived out through the magic of the written word. No, I can’t say I have a “favorite,” a single work whose thematic elements reach deep into my soul long after I’ve laid them out on the page. The reason I don’t have a favorite is that I’m still searching for it, still striving to write it, still exploring the inner domains in my quest to reach that core inside where I connect with the universe.
When you are not writing, what do you do to recharge?
Lay around and mope about. I’m the quintessential non-writer. When I’m writing, I love every word going onto the page. When I’m not writing, it all stinks and I despair that I’ll ever write again. I’ve been lucky nothing of mine has found its way into the fireplace.
Are you an Indie Author or are you part of a publishing house?
I’m an Indie Author with Creativia Publishing. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Creativia is not your typical publishing house located on Madison Ave, piles of slush spilling out of editors’ offices, encyclopedias of rejection letters filling its basement. Creativia is an independent publisher with cadres of authors from around the globe who write in genres as diverse as those in the New York Public Library or the ancient library at Alexandria.
Do you read books within the genres you write?
Of course. My ultimate goal is to write what I love to read.
Besides being an author, do you have a second job?
Professional busybody, otherwise known as a social worker. See that MSW after my name? Some guy came up to me and asked me what it meant. When I told him Masters in Social Work, he said, “Oh, well, I’m in sanitation, and to me it stands for ‘Municipal Solid Waste.'” I told him I spread that around too.
What do you enjoy most about being an author?
The total immersion into other worlds and other times, the past history of future worlds. A cousin of mine wrote a high school essay comparing Huckleberry Finn and Walden, and came to the conclusion that they weren’t an escape from life, but an escape TO life. Writing takes me into those other lives.
Below are other books by Scott Michael Decker:
A fun interview! Enjoyed it. Your book sounds like a fun read. Somewhere in this misty world it seems I heard about Legends of Lemuria. I’ll have to check on that one too.