IndieView with Rob Rowntree, author of Unbound Brothers

 

Something my youngest son used to say when he was two – ‘Alan my brother, me love my brother’ made me think the line would work well for a disabled character. You can see a version of that running through the novel as a motif.

Rob Rowntree – 18 August 2013

The Back Flap

Starship pilot Alan Abrams crippled his younger brother Jimmy in a childhood scuffle, and spent his entire life trying to make up for it. But when humanity turns away from the stars, his career evaporates and he can no longer afford his brother’s care.

Then Alan gets a mysterious offer to join an interstellar expedition searching for a long-lost starship. The paycheck will support his brother forever. The downside? An untrustworthy, fractious team. An evasive, domineering backer. And a murder attempt before Alan even
takes the offer.

Alan finds himself piloting a ship attacked by a hostile universe outside, and inside filled with sabotage, deceit, and murder.

For centuries, humanity sought intelligent life among the stars. Alan’s expedition finds it. Unfortunately.

About the book

What is the book about?

The novel is about Alan Abrams, a redundant Deepship pilot and his struggle to overcome an all consuming  guilt; the search for a legendary, missing starship, the Joshua Peterson. Conspiracies abound and the fate of the lost starship lies deep in the void between galactic arms, and what Alan and the crew find there brings danger, fear and death.  It’s a darkly twisted tale about redemption and Xenophobia.

When did you start writing the book?

The first draft was finished back in 2010. The final draft wasn’t ready until the end of 2012.

How long did it take you to write it?

The first draft took around a year and half to complete, writing in my spare time between my job and home, kids etc.

Where did you get the idea from?

Something my youngest son used to say when he was two – ‘Alan my brother, me love my brother’ made me think the line would work well for a disabled character. You can see a version of that running through the novel as a motif. Xenophobia has also always interested me.  So I began looking for a plot that I could use to explore what drove fears ‘of the other’ and why people could be drawn into irrational behavior because of them.   Other things fascinate me; the Fermi Paradox, the idea that if sophisticated civilizations grew and thrived in the universe, then they should have shown up by now, and the recent thoughts on the benefits of keeping our own civilization quieter.

The other thing that I wanted to do was see if I could apply the writing techniques used in thrillers and mystery novels to an SF novel.  

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Are you kidding?  The short answer is yes.  I think there’s a wall in writing, rather like the wall marathon runners talk about, but for me it’s early in the process, say around 30 to 35 thousand words in. You’ve written loads and still there’s loads to go.  You have to mentally knuckle-down, that was my first hurdle. Once over that though, there’s the middle of the novel and sure enough that’s where I struggled the most. All the players are in motion and there’s a tendency to want to get to the meat at the end.   I’ve learnt as others no doubt have that you have to grind it out and pace it correctly.

What came easily?

The beginning and the ending. I already had the final chapter down. And my characters came pretty easily too.  I didn’t think too much about them and they assumed their own personas quickly.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

All fictitious.  But the names of some of the starships are borrowed from my friends in my critiquing group.  I hope they don’t mind.  I’ve had no lawsuits yet.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

I grew up reading Clarke and Niven, later Bear, Brin and Benford.  Later still, I discovered Jack McDevitt and became very impressed by his skill at making SF accessible to non genre readers.  I have talked to McDevitt on a number of occasions and always come away feeling invigorated. Have they influenced me?  This is where I’m meant to talk about a writer’s voice and how he or she must find it, right?  The truth is that we are all influenced by our favorite writers, and we can’t get away from it. So, if you read Unbound Brothers you might see some stylistic similarities to other SF writers, but overriding that there’s my darker vision of the universe and what awaits us.  I hope it’s worked.

Do you have a target reader?

Well, obviously the Science Fiction reading community, but I’d like to think it would appeal to a wider audience. It’s action packed, adventurous, there’s mystery and horror.  It’s a mixed bag.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

Yes.  I try to write every day.  Normally at night, after my family are tucked away in bed.  It’s important to set a routine and stick to it no matter what. The more words you write the better you become.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

This is an interesting question. Unbound Brothers was written by the seat of my pants, not literally, but you get the idea. Ideas flying in from all angles, mixing and changing the plot as I went, but always aiming for that final chapter that I’d already written. It was late night madness and totally consuming.  For my next novel, I’m writing a background history for the world I’m creating and doing a single line chapter outline.  That will still leave room for my wild additional thoughts.  To be honest, I think there’s no one-size-fits-all here.  Each writer will find what suits them best and go with that.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

Editing is god.  I write a chapter in rough. Tart it up and give it an edit then move on to the next and so on. Once the novel is complete it will be edited another four or five times.

Did you hire a professional editor?

I haven’t done so on this book. What I did do though was join an invitation only critiquing group, which at the time had some pro-authors in it. They kicked my novel to death and it’s all the better for it. I would advise any new writers to get as much feedback as they can from people that aren’t afraid to tell them something’s wrong. It’s painful, but works and it’s the industry standard.

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

No. But when I’m editing I have been known to listen to Yes.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Only one. And they weren’t able to take it. I must say here that the process of finding an agent is daunting and I decided to go another route. I started attending conventions and mixing with writers and publishers. That opened some doors.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

At one convention, I met a publisher for an imprint of Harper Collins.  I was only 3 chapters into writing Unbound Brothers, but he agreed to look at it. I didn’t hear anything for several months and then he contacted me to ask for the rest of it.  It took another four months but eventually I delivered the book. Seven months went by and they kept taking the book to the editorial meetings but eventually declined to take it as it didn’t fit the line they wanted to produce.  Another publisher bumped it because they felt it was too like a book they already had from an established writer. And so it went. The first publisher has left me with an open invitation for my next book, which I’m working towards now. Rather than let Unbound Brothers fester in a drawer I decided I’d give self publishing a go and see what happened.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Luckily, my wife is a graphic designer and we sat down and thrashed out my ideas. She told me I hadn’t got a clue, J so, yeah a professional designed my cover.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I’m trying various avenues, joining forums, blogging, FaceBook and seeking out reviewers, taking out adverts. So, yeah, winging it seems fair.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

For what it’s worth… Don’t give up. Develop a hard skin, you are going to get rejected. If you can’t take rejection don’t become a writer. Set goals and try to achieve them. Find like-minded writers of about the same level and interact with them. Listen to your editors.  I know that sounds like a list but it’s all true.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a port called Birkendhead. It’s on the banks of the river Mersy opposite Liverpool, England. It was rough and ready, but perhaps explains why I joined the Merchant Navy at 17.

Where do you live now?

Now I live in the heart of England in Sherwood Forest.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I don’t take the world too seriously and I’ve been known to argue and drink alcohol, not necessarily in that order. Oh, and although I’m English, I played American Football as a tight end for several years. Nothing special, just a small team.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on my second novel, Refugium. It’s not a sequel to Unbound Brothers but does have some thematic similarities and I’m planning the next one; Dust, Pebbles, Stars.

End of Interview:

For more from Rob, visit his website and like the novel’s page on Facebook.

Get your copy of Unbound Brothers from Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.