Ask the Author: Brian Burt
Answered Questions (10)
Brian Burt
I think that would be fine, John. I'd just recommend you post a message in the Green Group Authors section ( https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group... ) asking for readers / critiquers. Other authors have done similar things in the past. Good luck!
Brian Burt
No, no luck yet. I must have posted in the wrong area or format. I've had good luck in the past, but the process may have changed; guess I need to do more digging in the Librarians Group posts to figure out what I did wrong. ;-)
Brian Burt
I think I'd have to go with Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan from Lois McMaster Bujold's classic Barrayar series. They're both such strong, independent characters who act courageously to protect the people they love and the beliefs they cherish. They respect each other's differences and leverage them when times are toughest. They simply accept the fact that they are joined in an equal partnership and never begrudge the other for acting on his or her own. They're loving, passionate, an unbeatable team. Nothing is sexier than a strong man and a strong woman who aren't at all threatened by each other's strength!
Brian Burt
Climate change is one of the central drivers of my first two novels, absolutely. The Aquarius Rising trilogy focuses on a future Earth where global warming, and an attempt to geo-engineer a solution that goes horribly wrong, have dramatically altered the biosphere. Humanity has been forced to take drastic action to adapt to the "new normal" environments. At one extreme, genetically altered human-dolphin hybrids now thrive in reef-cities built on the ruins of drowned coastal human cities beneath the waves. Other hybrid species have staked their claim to different ecological niches, human scientists cling to the arid wastelands and strive to restore the land to health, and the competition between all of these groups generates tension that ultimately leads to conflict.
So Aquarius Rising explores the aftermath of climate change, in a world where we failed to take action until it was far too late, and then our desperate attempts to "fix" things made the situation worse. I sincerely hope that we as a species are smart enough to avoid this worst-case scenario in the real world!
So Aquarius Rising explores the aftermath of climate change, in a world where we failed to take action until it was far too late, and then our desperate attempts to "fix" things made the situation worse. I sincerely hope that we as a species are smart enough to avoid this worst-case scenario in the real world!
Brian Burt
I have three sons, ages 8 to 18, who provide much-needed distraction if I'm beating my creative head against the wall. After some goofing with the lads, the block usually crumbles!
Brian Burt
Playing god. You get to craft your own world, bring characters into existence to populate that world, and guide their paths as you see fit. It's an incredible buzz! Of course, with great power comes great responsibility: if you betray the spirit of your characters, they'll come back to haunt you!
Brian Burt
Just keep writing. No matter how many rejection slips you collect, no matter how tired you are when you sit down in front of that keyboard, no matter now uninspired you feel on any given night, just keep writing. If you do - and if you enjoy that process, most of the time - you'll wind up telling stories that fulfill you and entertain others.
Brian Burt
I just finished Book 2 of my "Aquarius Rising" trilogy, entitled "Blood Tide." I'm now preparing the research notes, character sketches, and plot ideas for Book 3, "The Price of Eden."
Brian Burt
Many years ago, I had a chance to take a consulting assignment in Dublin, Ireland. That was one of the best experiences of my life: Ireland is a beautiful, magical place with a great appreciation for the arts. Something about that atmosphere inspired me to finally listen to the muse who had been whispering in my ear since childhood, and I began writing speculative fiction.
Brian Burt
I've always had a passion for nature and a concern for our environment, what we're unwittingly (or sometimes wittingly ;-) doing to it. I wrote a short story years ago called "Neptune's Children" inspired by this passion; it was based on the premise, "what if humankind tweaked our genetics to allow us to populate the oceans?" More than two-thirds of our planet is ocean, so - in a world beset by human overpopulation - this seemed to make a kind of sense. The short story didn't work very well. The idea just refused to fit into a piece of short fiction. I decided to take a stab at developing it into a novel... and now it's expanded into a trilogy. Go figure!
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