Ask the Author: Christina Engela
Answered Questions (16)
Christina Engela
I'd really like to move to the planet Deanna, the setting of my Quantum series! I'd set myself up in a nice house in Atro City, probably in Wickering, and sit back to watch the adventures (and antics) of my favorite characters - and write about them as if they weren't happening in real life! ;)
Christina Engela
They called her ‘the Hell Queen’ - the epitome of the deep space Corsair – and far more. When she took your ship, it stayed taken.
Christina Engela
That would be Gary Beck and Cindy-Mei Winter - main characters in my Quantum Series ;)
Why? Because I know both of them intimately - both are ultimately made up of parts of myself, including some of their experiences, dreams, schemes and might-have-beens.
Why? Because I know both of them intimately - both are ultimately made up of parts of myself, including some of their experiences, dreams, schemes and might-have-beens.
Christina Engela
Hi Wendy! :)
Oh, there were many! When I was a child I read voraciously!
Top of the list is definitely Terry Pratchett of course - although I only started reading him in my last year of high school! I also found writers like Harry Harrison, Tom Sharpe, Tom Holt and E.C. Tubb inspiring. George Orwell and Tolkien also inspired me, though not in terms of writing style, definitely in terms of how to tell a bigger story behind the vista of the scene playing out in the story.
A hugely underrated writer is a man called James Blish, who I remember best for his adaptations of the original Star Trek TV series, which I also read from cover to cover many times over!
W.E. Johns and his "Biggles" character would be another - I once had the whole series of books and had read every one of them more than once too!
Oh, there were many! When I was a child I read voraciously!
Top of the list is definitely Terry Pratchett of course - although I only started reading him in my last year of high school! I also found writers like Harry Harrison, Tom Sharpe, Tom Holt and E.C. Tubb inspiring. George Orwell and Tolkien also inspired me, though not in terms of writing style, definitely in terms of how to tell a bigger story behind the vista of the scene playing out in the story.
A hugely underrated writer is a man called James Blish, who I remember best for his adaptations of the original Star Trek TV series, which I also read from cover to cover many times over!
W.E. Johns and his "Biggles" character would be another - I once had the whole series of books and had read every one of them more than once too!
Christina Engela
Hello Gil,
Yes, I have! The lead character in "Black Sunrise" and "Dead Man's Hammer" is a trans woman (Cindy-Mei Winter), and she appears in most titles in the Quantum Series ("Black Sunrise", "The Time Saving Agency", "Dead Man's Hammer").
Mei isn't the only trans woman who is a main character in that series - there are others as well, appearing in "Black Sunrise", "The Time Saving Agency", "Dead Man's Hammer" and "Loderunner". Some of the other main characters are not trans, but are trans allies (ie SO's etc) and issues relating to how cisgender and transgender people deal with trans-ness are often addressed.
Thanks for a very interesting and pertinent question! :) I hope you find something you like!
You can find shopping links to all of them on my website landing page:
http://christinaengela.com
Yes, I have! The lead character in "Black Sunrise" and "Dead Man's Hammer" is a trans woman (Cindy-Mei Winter), and she appears in most titles in the Quantum Series ("Black Sunrise", "The Time Saving Agency", "Dead Man's Hammer").
Mei isn't the only trans woman who is a main character in that series - there are others as well, appearing in "Black Sunrise", "The Time Saving Agency", "Dead Man's Hammer" and "Loderunner". Some of the other main characters are not trans, but are trans allies (ie SO's etc) and issues relating to how cisgender and transgender people deal with trans-ness are often addressed.
Thanks for a very interesting and pertinent question! :) I hope you find something you like!
You can find shopping links to all of them on my website landing page:
http://christinaengela.com
Christina Engela
As with most of the creatures in my stories, one day while I was writing Black Sunrise, an Obsidian Crow just wandered onto the set, squawked something at me, and waddled off, stage right. I thought "That's a great idea!" and wrote it down! :)
Christina Engela
When I was at high school an English teacher once said something very similar about my writing – she said that I used terminology and descriptive terms with flair and apparent ease! I guess I could say I’ve always enjoyed reading and watching sci-fi and I’ve always had my own ideas on how things should be done. I have a background in computing, I served in the military, and I love history and research, so yes – I’ve also researched a lot about tech stuff and have a broad sense of how some things might work in a future setting.
I think the key with sci-fi stories is to not give too much tech information to the reader. You have to make this stuff believable without getting wrapped up in explaining for three pages how a reflex furnace or transmatter platform works – the typical reader would get bored and lose interest in the story. The story needs to flow, so as a writer I 'cut the cackle' and work around lengthy explanations and treat the tech as someone might write about a character using a cell phone today. Not quite that simple, but somewhere between the two extremes, and that seems to work.
I think the key with sci-fi stories is to not give too much tech information to the reader. You have to make this stuff believable without getting wrapped up in explaining for three pages how a reflex furnace or transmatter platform works – the typical reader would get bored and lose interest in the story. The story needs to flow, so as a writer I 'cut the cackle' and work around lengthy explanations and treat the tech as someone might write about a character using a cell phone today. Not quite that simple, but somewhere between the two extremes, and that seems to work.
Christina Engela
The Akx is a pretty bad-ass plot device, if I say so myself! :)
It’s over 6000 years old and it’s pretty much invincible because it knows what your fears are and uses them to beat you before you can make a move against it! Then, while you’re lying slumped in a heap of fear, it strikes! As if that isn't bad enough, it seems to draw some kind of satisfaction or enjoyment from the fear it creates, and the kill itself!
I’d say that in many ways this could be understood to mean that our own fears are what hold us back as people. Often it’s not what really happens that beats us, it’s what we fear might happen. The Akx is a euphemism for that weakness in all of us.
We can only make progress in life if we rise to meet these challenges and face our fears, look into the eyes of the abyss, and even though we are afraid, do the best we can.
It’s over 6000 years old and it’s pretty much invincible because it knows what your fears are and uses them to beat you before you can make a move against it! Then, while you’re lying slumped in a heap of fear, it strikes! As if that isn't bad enough, it seems to draw some kind of satisfaction or enjoyment from the fear it creates, and the kill itself!
I’d say that in many ways this could be understood to mean that our own fears are what hold us back as people. Often it’s not what really happens that beats us, it’s what we fear might happen. The Akx is a euphemism for that weakness in all of us.
We can only make progress in life if we rise to meet these challenges and face our fears, look into the eyes of the abyss, and even though we are afraid, do the best we can.
Christina Engela
Bennet is a young crew member, much lower in rank in relation to Lofflin, and he’s also relatively inexperienced. He has formed a close circle of friends on the ship who share various similar interests, and who very likely are aware of his sexuality.
Dellon is not the ‘action man’ type as it were. Lofflin finds him very attractive, both physically as well as in terms of his personality and character. Dellon is shy and reserved. Physically he might be considered of average build, but there is a refinement in terms of certain physical features Lofflin is drawn to. His eyes, his face naturally – but also his long thin fingers and hands.
The last thing I wanted to do was to reinforce the notion straight people have of ‘who’s the boy and who’s the girl’ by making Dellon appear more feminine, but at the same time I am also aware that a lot of fem gay guys get a raw deal from the community. I wanted in this case to show that there are a lot of fem gay guys out there, and that there is nothing wrong with being fem. People should be happy with how they are or want to be. Two people should be allowed to be attracted to each other for who they are, fall in love, and be happy. So Dellon Bennet, while not exactly a ‘fem’, and not an ‘action hero’ – is a bit of a deviation from several stereotypes as well.
Dellon is not the ‘action man’ type as it were. Lofflin finds him very attractive, both physically as well as in terms of his personality and character. Dellon is shy and reserved. Physically he might be considered of average build, but there is a refinement in terms of certain physical features Lofflin is drawn to. His eyes, his face naturally – but also his long thin fingers and hands.
The last thing I wanted to do was to reinforce the notion straight people have of ‘who’s the boy and who’s the girl’ by making Dellon appear more feminine, but at the same time I am also aware that a lot of fem gay guys get a raw deal from the community. I wanted in this case to show that there are a lot of fem gay guys out there, and that there is nothing wrong with being fem. People should be happy with how they are or want to be. Two people should be allowed to be attracted to each other for who they are, fall in love, and be happy. So Dellon Bennet, while not exactly a ‘fem’, and not an ‘action hero’ – is a bit of a deviation from several stereotypes as well.
Christina Engela
Hi Wendy! :)
Commander Joe Lofflin is an experienced officer in the Imperial Space Fleet, he’s popular with most of the crew, he’s got friends among the other senior officers on the ship – and as the second in command on the ship, he’s in his element. Several things happen in Demonspawn to catapult Lofflin to the center of attention - namely the untimely death of Captain Blaine, and their ship being stranded in deep space, purportedly without a hope of rescue.
I dislike it when I see LGBT people being stereotyped – or gay men being objectified and misrepresented as being ‘weak’ or ‘feminine’ just because they’re gay. Yes, there are lots of different ‘stations’ on the sexuality and gender spectrum – and I have created a lot of other characters along the LGBT spectrum in my stories – but in this particular case I wanted Lofflin to portray a masculine male whose sexuality happened to be just another facet to his character. Lofflin is just another guy doing the same kind of job done by plenty of other guys. In short, I wanted Lofflin to be a heroic gay action man, because there are so few such examples in modern media, literature and fiction!
My goal was to portray a character that most masculine people could identify with easily, while providing insight on what such a character would feel, think or do in certain circumstances. As a story teller, I wanted to add more emotional depth to the character – because nobody, not even an ‘action hero’, is as two-dimensional as all that.
Lofflin isn’t a kid. He’s an older man with experience in life as well as having been a soldier. He’s used to giving orders and running the ship and acting as a liaison between the crew and their captain. He’s also single and lonely, and very much aware that in a military environment it’s not so easy to form romantic bonds with others in the same crew, least of all openly.
Commander Joe Lofflin is an experienced officer in the Imperial Space Fleet, he’s popular with most of the crew, he’s got friends among the other senior officers on the ship – and as the second in command on the ship, he’s in his element. Several things happen in Demonspawn to catapult Lofflin to the center of attention - namely the untimely death of Captain Blaine, and their ship being stranded in deep space, purportedly without a hope of rescue.
I dislike it when I see LGBT people being stereotyped – or gay men being objectified and misrepresented as being ‘weak’ or ‘feminine’ just because they’re gay. Yes, there are lots of different ‘stations’ on the sexuality and gender spectrum – and I have created a lot of other characters along the LGBT spectrum in my stories – but in this particular case I wanted Lofflin to portray a masculine male whose sexuality happened to be just another facet to his character. Lofflin is just another guy doing the same kind of job done by plenty of other guys. In short, I wanted Lofflin to be a heroic gay action man, because there are so few such examples in modern media, literature and fiction!
My goal was to portray a character that most masculine people could identify with easily, while providing insight on what such a character would feel, think or do in certain circumstances. As a story teller, I wanted to add more emotional depth to the character – because nobody, not even an ‘action hero’, is as two-dimensional as all that.
Lofflin isn’t a kid. He’s an older man with experience in life as well as having been a soldier. He’s used to giving orders and running the ship and acting as a liaison between the crew and their captain. He’s also single and lonely, and very much aware that in a military environment it’s not so easy to form romantic bonds with others in the same crew, least of all openly.
Christina Engela
Being able to create a perfect world.
Christina Engela
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Christina Engela
Real life inspires me - you can't get crazier than real life. Things happen around us every day that you sit and think "Wait - what?" You just can't make shit like that up.
Christina Engela
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Christina Engela
Just keep on keeping on - sooner or later you will find the right setting for you stories, the right characters who will be like friends you know in real life, the right situations to put them in, and where your stories will carry them - and the reader - off to.
Christina Engela
I don't believe in writer's block. Writing is like talking with your fingers in the sand - who runs out of things to say?
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