Ask the Author: Colin Alexander
Answered Questions (8)
Colin Alexander
Hi, Emoto, I am glad you are enjoying Saoirse's adventures in "Complicated" and I hope that continues all the way to the end of the story. The best answer to your question is that I do have a sequel planned. The second half of next year is when I am projecting the release. It is a bit too far ahead to be more precise on the date. I can't say right now whether there would be additional ones after that. I will know a lot more about that when the sequel is done.
Colin Alexander
Hi, Richard, sorry for the delayed response here; I did not see the second question. I actually did want to be an astrophysicist when I was in grade school. It turned out, though, that my strengths are in biochemistry, chemistry, and medicine, so that was the direction I took my career, and I kept the astronomy and physics for fiction. I think that was the best way for it to end up.
Colin Alexander
Hi, Emoto, I am glad to hear that you have enjoyed Leif and his adventures. Based on where your interests lie, I would suggest "Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally." This is science fiction on the hard SF side with action and adventure including settings at Saturn's moon Titan and a distant planet that is in need of a savior. It also has a protagonist in need of redemption, and I hope you will enjoy that character arc.
Colin Alexander
Hi, and thank you for the questions. They are good ones.
I actually do not find the Fermi paradox so much a paradox as an expression of two other key features of the universe. It has taken life a couple of billion years on Earth to evolve to the point of a technological civilization that could be detected by an outside observer. That level of technology has existed for less than 100 years out of those couple of billion. So, many other civilizations could evolve in the universe, but if their rate of evolution is just slightly different than ours, we will never detect each other. This is also connected to the scale of the universe and the distance over which a civilization could be detected. Right now, we are limited (most likely) to our immediate galactic neighborhood, which (as above) makes it unlikely we will detect someone. The other possibility in my mind I explored in the 4th Leif the Lucky book and had Leif refer to it in the 5th book. That is: intelligence could be an adverse indicator for the survival of a species. I'll stop there so as to avoid a spoiler.
In terms of deterministic or probabalistic, I'll go with probabalistic, at least at a quantum level. I always did like Schrodinger's cat.
I actually do not find the Fermi paradox so much a paradox as an expression of two other key features of the universe. It has taken life a couple of billion years on Earth to evolve to the point of a technological civilization that could be detected by an outside observer. That level of technology has existed for less than 100 years out of those couple of billion. So, many other civilizations could evolve in the universe, but if their rate of evolution is just slightly different than ours, we will never detect each other. This is also connected to the scale of the universe and the distance over which a civilization could be detected. Right now, we are limited (most likely) to our immediate galactic neighborhood, which (as above) makes it unlikely we will detect someone. The other possibility in my mind I explored in the 4th Leif the Lucky book and had Leif refer to it in the 5th book. That is: intelligence could be an adverse indicator for the survival of a species. I'll stop there so as to avoid a spoiler.
In terms of deterministic or probabalistic, I'll go with probabalistic, at least at a quantum level. I always did like Schrodinger's cat.
Colin Alexander
Thank you for asking about audiobooks. I am so glad that you enjoyed Starman's Saga. Producing audiobooks for the rest of the series is something I am definitely thinking about. Unfortunately, it is not a project I can take on right away. More of a future project (sigh).
Colin Alexander
No magic, I'm afraid. Just keep writing is probably the best answer, even if it eventually needs a re-write (or trash). Write a different scene, or section, can work. Pull out the heavy bag or go to the dojong if all else fails.
Colin Alexander
Hi, my next book is "Starman's Saga: The Long, Strange Journey of Leif the Lucky." You can see the cover art in my blog post. I am expecting (hoping) that this will be out by Thanksgiving. I'll update in the blog as it gets closer.
Colin Alexander
This is a difficult question because there are so many worlds that authors have brought alive in my imagination. These are ones that occur to me most quickly:
1) Watch the dawn break from the walls of Minas Tirith (Lord of the Rings)
2) Ride a giant worm on Arrakis (Dune)
3) Hunt dragons with Oscar Gordon and Rufo (Glory Road)
4) Stroll the streets of Mayor Amalfi's New York (Cities in Flight series - I think "spindizzy" is the best name ever invented for a star drive)
5) Have a drink with Signy Mallory at Downbelow Station and ask her what she really thinks of Mazian (Union-Alliance universe)
1) Watch the dawn break from the walls of Minas Tirith (Lord of the Rings)
2) Ride a giant worm on Arrakis (Dune)
3) Hunt dragons with Oscar Gordon and Rufo (Glory Road)
4) Stroll the streets of Mayor Amalfi's New York (Cities in Flight series - I think "spindizzy" is the best name ever invented for a star drive)
5) Have a drink with Signy Mallory at Downbelow Station and ask her what she really thinks of Mazian (Union-Alliance universe)
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