Ask the Author: Eric B. Ruark
Answered Questions (5)
Eric B. Ruark
It all depends on what blocks me. For the most part, I have trouble when my mind has raced ahead of my fingers, so to speak. Once I have the scene completed in my mind, I find it very difficult to stop everything and go through the slow process of taking that completed scene and putting it down on paper (or the computer screen depending upon which media I'm engaged with.) I simply have to force myself.
Eric B. Ruark
I see things. I hear things. Sometimes, I come up with a scene and then develop a story around it. That's what happened with my new book, DO ROBOTS WEEP MAGNETIC TEARS. I envisioned and AI that was found "dead" and could not be rebooted. The only clue to its "death" were tears on his face. To that I added one more clue and that gave rise to the whole novel.
Eric B. Ruark
Develop a thick skin. Only a handful of the chosen will recognize your blood, sweat and tears as labor. To most, your skill, gift, whatever you call it will go completely unrecognized. Don't let it get to you.
Eric B. Ruark
In MURDER BEYOND THE MILKY WAY I played with the concept of an enclosed economic system based on several Christian principal such as "If you don't work, you don't eat" and "with food and raiment therewith be content". For the sequel, I wanted to take my protagonist back to Earth and look at a society that is run by corporations. Governments as we know them have fallen and out of the chaos, the explored galaxy is controlled by 5 corporations. The actual mystery was inspired by Phillip K. Dick's DO ROBOTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP and an old movie I saw where a parrot was killed to keep him from divulging an important clue.
Eric B. Ruark
I am currently working on the sequel to MURDER BEYOND THE MILKY WAY. The working title is DO ROBOTS WEEP MAGNETIC TEARS.
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