Today we're looking at a story that looks upward and outward to all that unknown in space. Did you read James's take on the big black? Share your thoughts below after you enjoy this interview. 

Who was the real villain, ACME or Wile E. Coyote?

The Roadrunner. He was a smart ass.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

A Tomcat because we like the same things.

What’s one location you’d love to go to research for a story?

I’d love to travel in the South Pacific: Australia, the Philippines, etc.

What's your favorite room in your home? Do you plot or write there?

My office is where all the magic happens. (Damn catchphrase)

Do you have a favorite genre to write?

Sci-fi is fun, but it is hard to write. I grew up watching old Trek and wanted to build some of their gadgets.

I write gay drama because when and where I grew up, it was fairly dramatic.

When you write sci-fi, what is your favorite part of dabbling in that genre?

How do they do that? What’s a reasonable way to do something that seems like magic? There have been countless inventions that started out as sci-fi until some bright lad figured out how to do it. Many of those bright lads started in a garage.

What inspired The Big Empty?

Most sci-fi seems to be set on military ships. Good old NCC-1701 was a Constellation class heavy cruiser – heavy metal. What about the merchant sailors? Any space-spanning civilization is going to have them, and they’re going to have adventures, too. The poor crew had the misfortune of running into a cosmic horror, but most of them lived to tell the tale.

So much of space scifi revolves around the local ‘cantina/bar’. Do you think beer or something more… distilled would be the common drink on stations in space? What would be your drink of choice?

If aliens got to know us, they would be horrified that we drank alcohol and enjoyed sodium chloride and capsaicin (salt & pepper) in our foods. Given the chemistry, those substances are probably deadly toxins to some species.

I think they look at us and say, Oh no, no, no! Leave those monkeys alone. They Cray-cray.

I doubt we’ll be sharing drink recipes, but there’s got to be Scotch.

Do you have a favorite line or part of The Big Empty?

No one specific line. The Big Empty’s magic was its ambiance and tone. Interstellar space, with an average density of just a few atoms per cubic meter, really is empty.  Except when it is not, and there are objects that wander for millions of years out there. Humanizing it and putting it in the familiar context of sailors doing their jobs came off better than I thought.

Can you share something of your current or upcoming work with readers?

I’ve got a sports story in the oven called 5 Star. A shy, fairly innocent Five Star quarterback prospect from a hick town shows up at a fictitious university in the South people are familiar with only because they see them on TV getting whipped by the football powerhouses.

From 5 Star:

After meeting about a thousand people and shaking at least that many hands, Hunter accepted an invitation to visit the KA House. It was a big, rambling, old Southern Mansion with a rolling party with plenty of eye candy.

The KAs' reputation was summed up by their nickname, the Knights of Alcohol, and there was plenty of booze going around. To Hunter’s surprise, he shook Mr. 5-star freshman QB Aaron Blake’s hand.

Hunter said, “You threw for four touchdowns against us at Centerville.”

“Did you play?”

Hunter said, “I was out for the year by that game. Given how you torched our secondary, it was probably for the best. I think I spent more time recovering from football than actually playing it.”

Aaron said, “Sometimes it’s like that. It’s good to hear a familiar accent.”

“I noticed you aren’t drinking,” Hunter probed.

Aaron nodded. “Neither are you. There’s a time and place for everything. I’d rather people’s first impression of me not be that of a drunken idiot.”

Hunter grinned, bumped Aaron’s knuckles, and said, “I heard you were smart.”

Aaron beamed and said, “Thanks.”

During the party, Aaron and Hunter hung out together several times. To Hunter’s amazement, he left with Mr. 5-Star’s number in his phone.