Tell us a
little about yourself.
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| Author CW Hawes |
I was
born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota when I was
sixteen, and have lived there ever since. And no, I’m still not used to the
cold — I do, though, very much appreciate warm weather and never take it for
granted. I retired in January of 2015 and have been writing full-time ever
since.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is By Leaps and Bounds (The Rocheport Saga #5). It has a
release date set for January 22, 2016.
The Rocheport Saga began with a single
sentence: “Today I killed a man and a woman.” From that sentence it grew to
over 2200 manuscript pages. As to where the initial sentence came from, I don’t
have a clue!
I think the drivers for the series are my
fascination with The Renaissance Man, my interest in simple living, libertarian
and anarchist thought, and a desire to see a better world: a world where people
truly live by the Golden Rule.
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| Available Now |
I would categorize my book in the genre of Science
Fiction, with a sub-genre of Post-Apocalyptic, and a sub-sub-genre of Cozy
Catastrophe.
Introduce us to your series character.
What is it about this character that appeals to you as a writer?
The main character of The Rocheport Saga is Bill Arthur. The story
is narrated through his journal entries and occasionally those of other
characters in the little band of survivors that Bill leads.
Bill is for the most part quiet and
unassuming. He is a Renaissance Man and an armchair philosopher. Prior to the
cataclysm, he was a nobody. Afterwards, his knowledge catapults him to a
position of leadership. He knows how to survive in the post-apocalyptic world,
where most around him don’t. He is a person who is not dependent upon the
technology that makes up our modern world. He can live without it. Most of us
cannot.
He is also a dreamer. He dreams of a
better world. A world of peace and harmony. One where people live by the Golden
Rule and respect each other, even if they disagree with each other. We are all
brothers and sisters in humanity.
How did the book come to be titled?
My wife actually came up with title, not
liking the one I’d decided on. I liked it and then added a sentence with the
words “by leaps and bounds” so the title would have a tie-in with the novel.
Tell us more about the cover design.
How involved were you with creating the cover?
For all of my book covers, I give the
initial idea to my wife. Sometimes she runs with it as is and sometimes she
modifies it. There is a back and forth process where we end up with something
that pleases her eye as well as mine.
Give us a summary of your book in a tweet.
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| The Rocheport Saga (Book 1) |
Nearly everyone is dead. Can Bill Arthur
save civilization?
How much of your experience is in your series?
Quite a bit, actually. Not that I’ve lived
through an apocalypse and write of firsthand knowledge. However, people I’ve
known often find their way into the series. Incidents, will find their way in.
Experiences such as camping, Boy Scouts, and the Army will make an
appearance.
I believe, regardless of the genre, all
books are a picture of the writer and his or her worldview and life
experiences.
Describe your writing process.
I’m an unabashed pantser. I cannot outline
to save my soul. In fact, I almost despaired of ever writing a novel because of
the unrelenting plotter propaganda that one has to plot out a novel or
somehow he or she is an inferior writer. That a pantser cannot achieve anything
other than a mess for a first draft. All of which is unadulterated hogwash.
Once I learned there is such a thing as
the “plotless” novel and that many writers, yes, even famous ones, are
pantsers, a weight lifted off my shoulders and I started writing.
My process is simple. I take an idea and
just start writing. I usually have no idea where I’m going. I just keep in mind
I have to make my characters suffer. I have to torture them and create angst
and suspense. And I have to bring the story to some sort of conclusion
consistent with the character and his or her problem. The ending may not be “happy”,
nor may it even result in much change. But the story does come to an end.
I write my initial draft in pen or pencil.
Then I type and make edits while I’m typing. Once typed, I read the story two
or three times, checking for flow and consistency. Then ship it off to my beta
readers. When it comes back, I look over their comments, make changes if I
think they’re warranted. Then give the book a final read through and publish
it.
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| Rocheport Saga (Book 2) |
I do a lot of research. Not all of it
enters into the story. I use the research mostly to make sure what I’m writing
is “realistically possible”.
Generally, because I’m a pantser, I don’t
do research beforehand because I don’t know what I’ll need. Very often I’m
writing with one hand and have the other on the computer keyboard looking up
some piece of info.
What are your hobbies, interests outside of writing? Do any of these activities find their way
into your books?
The world is a big place and very
interesting. I have lots of interests and most of them find their way into my
novels in some way, shape, or form.
Cooking and food are in everything I
write. So is tea and often a fountain pen. Philosophy and music usually shows up, as
well.
One love I have is the rigid airship or
zeppelin. Other than my Justinia Wright mystery series, airships make their
appearance in most of my writing. And I am trying to set a mystery on one of
the new Zeppelin NTs for Miss Wright to solve. Don’t want to leave her out of
the fun.
What is the best advice received as an author? What is the harshest criticism? What advice
might you give aspiring authors?
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| Rocheport Saga (Book 3) |
The best advice I’ve ever received and
that I can give to an aspiring author is in Letters to a Young Poet by
Rainer Maria Rilke. Especially the first letter.
The harshest criticism I’ve ever received
was on a well-known sonnet board. I was getting crap that my form wasn’t
perfect (and Shakespeare’s was?), when another poster said there was nothing
untoward in my form. She just wondered why I bothered to write the poem in the
first place. If it hadn’t been for Rilke, I might have melted.
What kinds of books did you read as a child and did the genre you read
most influence your decision to become an author of the kind of books you write
today?
I read widely as a child. Without a doubt,
Poe’s stories, Saki’s “Sredni Vashtar”, and Aiken’s “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” gave
me an enduring fondness for the horror story. Sherlock Holmes and The Thinking
Machine, for the mystery. Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Erik
Frank Russell, and Groff Conklin’s Omnibus of Science Fiction certainly
gave me a taste for sci-fi that shows up today in my post-apocalyptic and
dieselpunk series.
What specific authors influenced how and what you write today?
Authors I seek to emulate are:
Kazuo Ishiguro because of his
focus on character and lack of dependence on plot.
Robert E Howard because of his
effective use of atmosphere, suspense, and action.
H P Lovecraft because of his
effective use of atmosphere and the creeping psychological terror he evoked.
Robert A Heinlein because of his
ability to weave his philosophy into a story and make it part of the whole.
Isaac Asimov because of the
simplicity of his writing.
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| Rocheport Saga (Book 4) |
I read widely. My favorite genres are
mysteries, especially private detective stories, science fiction, sea stories,
and horror/dark fantasy.
Do you have any favorite characters, and if so, what is it about them
that appeals to you?
My favorite characters Sherlock Holmes and
Nero Wolfe. I like their quirkiness and mental prowess.
What is next for you?
Why writing, of course!
CW Hawes can be reached at:
Website:
http://www.cwhawes.com
Twitter:
@cw_hawes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CWHawes1
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