T.K. Boomer lives in Sherwood
Park, Alberta, with his wife. In 2012 he began the awkward and painful
transition between being a mainstream fiction writer and becoming a science
fiction geek. Remnants of his literary past can been read in his novel, “ A Walk
in the Thai Sun” written under the name G.J.C. McKitrick. The future will be
revealed in the publication of “Planet Song”, first book in the Fahr Trilogy,
probably in late 2015. Other aspects of the transition, like video game
obsession and playing “Mr. Dressup” at SF conventions are proving to be more
difficult.
Hal J. Friesen: What made
you transition from mainstream into science fiction?
T.K. Boomer: When I originally wrote and
tried to place “A Walk in the Thai Sun” I ran into the problem of having
written a book that was hard to market. It didn’t fit easily into any of the
established genres and was rejected for that reason. I wasn’t really
writing for a mainstream audience but the nature of the book put it in that
very broad category. I’m not a good enough writer to compete with the
likes of Margaret Atwood or Barbara Kingsolver so that was the other reason the
book was initially rejected. I resolved, at the time, to not write
another book unless it would fit easily within an accepted genre. When I
got the original idea for “Planet Song” it was science fiction. I did the
research and decided that I could write in that genre. However it’s
quite different from writing mainstream fiction and there was a lot to learn.
HJF: In your story you hint that the
Internet has been replaced by something else in the far future. What are your
thoughts on what that might be, and what form it might take?
TKB: My biggest fear is that we won’t
move forward but rather retreat. I think the Internet is far too dependant on
very complicated and vulnerable infrastructures. One bad solar storm could make
a huge mess of it so my guess will be some kind of less vulnerable
infrastructure. I think we have more interconnectivity now than we will have in
the future. I also think that governments are going to move towards more
control and less freedom.
HJF: Do you read paper or e-books, and which do you prefer? What about Siberius?
HJF: Do you read paper or e-books, and which do you prefer? What about Siberius?
TKB: I read both but I think that
within ten years most reading will be on e-readers. It’s simply a matter of
economics and convenience. However if I’m right about the Internet it could
cause a resurgence in paper books down the road. As for Siberius, he’s a throw
back. Notice how he was looking for physical books in the library?
HJF: Do you think libraries will
become sentient in the future, and is that a good or bad thing?
TKB: They will but I don’t think
sentient in the human sense of the word. The trick will be not to build in a
survival instinct into our machines. We should not be trying to create a
human-like mind in our machines for that reason. If we do then we’re asking to
be out completed by them.
HJF: Who has
inspired you as a writer?
Inspiration
is a funny thing. I guess I gravitate to writers who use language in unique ways.
It’s part of the reason that I still read a lot of mainstream fiction, because
I’m more interested in writing technique than I am in tropes. Margaret Atwood
is a favourite as is Anne Tyler and Iain M Banks and William Gibson.
Check out T.K. Boomer’s story “Five Hundred Years” in Between the Shelves, available now on Amazon and Createspace! And be sure to join us TONIGHT (May 6) from 7-9PM
for the official launch party in the Centennial room of the Stanley A. Milner
Library downtown.
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