Today's Chat with Sarah features Marc Corwin author of The Optical Lasso.
To view the official review, click here.
To view the book on Amazon, click here.
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1. What do you do when you aren't writing?
My wife and I are retired and enjoy traveling all over the USA and the world; however, in the midst of the pandemic, we’ve been grounded and focus on enjoying daily walks with our two dogs, playing basketball on my backyard court, listening to music, cooking, and watching movies. Traveling has shown us people genuinely enjoy socializing with one another all across this great planet. It provides new perspectives on life’s many issues for authors to draw upon in their writing.
Half the royalties earned from the sale of The Optical Lasso will be donated to the Grace Science Foundation to aid in the development of cost-effective cures for the over 7000 known rare diseases currently afflicting an estimated 350 million people worldwide.
2. Tell us about your very first writing experience.
I was in the 4th grade and wrote a short story about how the mountains were made. The basic premise was an angel named Alfred was constipated and fell to earth from the heavens because he had become too bloated to fly. The fall loosened his bowels and the resulting explosion formed the mountains on the Earth. My teacher sent me down to the principal’s office and I was punished for being a little “too creative.” You can’t make stories like this up! It suppressed my desire to allow the public to read about my inner thoughts for quite a long time.
3. What books do you read for pleasure?
I enjoy reading well known science fiction series classics such as Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, and Dune by Frank Herbert. I am reading a more current offering at the moment: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.
4. Let's talk about your book The Optical Lasso. Did you choose science fiction or did it choose you?
It definitely chose me. As a child, I lived next to a drugstore and spent what little money I had reading hundreds of DC and Marvel comic books. This is where my imagination took form. The Optical Lasso was my attempt to introduce something exciting and new to the genre... a ghost planet that has reappeared after a significant absence, capable of periodically reversing its rotation. Oh yeah, and a lasso that travels faster than the speed of light, capable of recording any moment in our past history, to view at the operator’s pleasure. How cool is that? I enjoy setting up characters who state what the reader is thinking, bringing the reader along, only to “loop them” just when they think they’ve got the plot figured out. I want you to occasionally slap your knee and acknowledge “you got me on that one!”
5. The book contains a good mix of seriousness and humor. How do you find the right mix of the two?
To hold the reader’s interest when it comes to science fiction, the plot needs to be serious. I do have an oddball sense of humor (some call it a curse). It is my personal style to allow the reader to laugh a bit before true disaster strikes and all hell breaks loose... a bit of the yin and yang of life. Food connoisseurs will enjoy the background story on matzah birds and their contribution to how matzah ball soup is made!
6. Satan is a character in The Optical Lasso, and there were other biblical elements. Would you say this is a religious book?
The book was intended to inspire readers through the power of faith without an overbearing religious tone that might distract them from the plot lines being developed within the story. Satan is the ultimate enigmatic character; the true master of deception. The reader is continually challenged to draw conclusions regarding the intent of various characters who may or may not be under the devil’s influence. This keeps them on edge and maintains their interest in what may or may not happen next. Satan also provided an interesting contrast to the men and women of science who serve on deep space assignments and how they would react if confronted with the reality the devil actually exists and theology may trump science. When one’s entire belief structure is suddenly flipped on its head in a very desolate location... an interesting dynamic begins to form.
7. What advice would you give to any aspiring authors?
You have to consistently write to get to a finished product. You are God in the world of fiction writing; it’s entirely your creation. Have fun with it, enjoy the process. Record your random thoughts before they slip away. I have pages and pages of notes I review. I love it when I read an old note and exclaim “that’s really good, how did I think of that?” So many people have ideas they love to talk about, but talk is cheap. You have to commit your thoughts to paper. You will continually make changes to your story in rewrites, that’s just part of the process. I picture it like a clay model that one constantly refines until it feels right. Once you really feel your manuscript is right, walk away from it for a period of time to allow your mind to clear. Then read it again. You will see it from a new perspective and make additional improvements that will really polish the product.
8. What's next for you?
I’m currently working on the second book in The Optical Lasso series. It is a true joy to work on. In the classic 1962 movie, The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm, one of the brothers is on his death bed near the end of the movie and all his favorite characters are surrounding him to say goodbye. The reciprocal love they share for each other is on display for all to see. This best describes my attachment to the distinctly different characters in my multiple timeline space opera. It’s wonderful to share time with them once again. A family reunion!
I like to end on some fun questions.
9. What channel does your TV mostly stay on?
The Science Channel, where reality supersedes the wildest thoughts of fantasy. How The Universe Works is my favorite show.
10. What animal would you most want to be and why?
The honey badger; it has no fear of any animal and will fight nonstop until it is the victor or the victim. It is one of the ultimate bad asses in the animal kingdom. Pound for pound, no animal is it’s equal, unless you’re facing off against the goth, my ultimate bad ass creation in The Optical Lasso. The goth are bat-like creatures, four feet tall, with more teeth than body parts. Their accordion style wings expand out to twenty feet in length, with octopus type suction cups on their lower wing construct capable of turning their victims inside out, prior to eating their internal organs while they are still alive. Now that’s a family pet we can all be proud of!
11. Would you rather drown or burn alive?
I would prefer to drown so when I enter Valhalla, I will look presentable to the Valkyries!
12. I always like to ask sci fi authors this: Star Wars or Star Trek?
Hands down, Star Trek. It explored so many aspects of humanity and its continual aspiration to make both mankind and the universe a better place...to go where no man has gone before! The first interracial kiss on American television was allowed by the censors undercover of its sci-fi genre. One of many groundbreaking concepts introduced to the general public through this genre that would not have been allowed otherwise.
