First Saturday Sci-Fi - Jan 18

Happy New Year!! 2018 already! Where does the time go? This month we're talking with Amy Caudill about her new book VIRTUAL.... Amy admits that she is a dreamer. From when she first learned to read she loved to immerse herself in fantastical worlds where anything imaginable could come true. Her own adventures have been mostly tame compared to those of her characters, but she draws inspiration from her background and an assortment of jobs for her writing. She grew up in the foothills of Tennessee, in the shadows of the Great Smoky Mountains, which will always be the home of her heart. As an adult, she moved with her husband to Cincinnati, Ohio where they raised two children. She spent time working as a delivery person, a daycare teacher, a factory worker, a knife salesman and a greenhouse specialist, before joining the healthcare profession. She has seventeen years under her belt working with the public as an optician. She also has studied fencing and kenpo ju-jitsu, which have come in handy drafting action scenes.She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in Creative Writing and English in the spring of 2016. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, one cat, and one dog.

Tell us about your favorite work… what makes it special?

I have been a fan of science fiction since I was a child. I fell in love with the genre while reading the works of Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, and was both amazed and enthralled about the possibilities they presented. The universe is truly vast, and science fiction serves to open our minds to the limitless possibilities.

What do you think makes for good Sci-Fi?

To me science fiction should be more than a chronicle of events from the future or another planet; it should have what any good story in any other genre needs-a compelling plot and characters that draw the reader in. Naturally, if this “world” happens to be say, full of aliens, it is even more important the author takes time to consider every detail of the characters, settings, and situations to make the story believable for the audience.

Do you think your books can help shape the future and if so how?

I believe some science fiction can help shape the future by simply allowing the audience to dream about what could be. Someone very wise said that if we can dream it, we can do it, and I honestly believe that in time, man will be able to achieve just about anything we could ever imagine in a science fiction book.

That being said, my own work to-date is not set in the very distant future. Since I originally began writing Virtual several years ago, science has come very close to duplicating the technology presented in my story. I feel that perhaps with the next couple of decades or possibly even sooner, my story will no longer be considered science fiction but only fiction.

Do you have inside jokes or true events hidden in your writing?

I won’t say I have any true events in my book, just plausible ones. I made use of some of my own experiences and research to develop certain of the scenes. As far as any inside jokes, not really, except for some which are only funny in my own head.

Which do you prefer… model your characters after people you know or just make them up?

My characters without a doubt have been influenced by the people and situations around me, though I have tried very hard to not copy or emulate any particular person in developing them! I will say that a lot of Amanda/Leslie’s characteristics are based on my own experiences, though of course none of the events are real.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to take away?

My main character, Amanda, is thrust into situations where she has no choice but to fight for her life and those of others, and finds in doing so that the“virtual” character she plays in a game actually utilizes her own unrealized strengths. If there is a message to my readers, it is that we are all more capable and stronger than we might believe ourselves to be.

What is your favorite review?

My favorite review is the very first I received on my book on the Amazon website. To me, that was validation that my work had an impact on someone out there, perhaps touched their life.

What comes next?

I am currently working on the next book in my Virtual saga, though I haven’t set a release date yet. I have tentatively planned to turn this series into a trilogy. I am also working on an anthology of paranormal short stories.

Where can we learn more?

My book is currently available for on Amazon as a Kindle e-book, at the link here: https://goo.gl/jphMpW

Also please visit my blog and website at http://www.amycaudill.net

I am on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/50275498-amy-caudill

and Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmyCaudill10