Flyboy and the Light-Speed Rangers received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Wayne Edward Hanson.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Flyboy and the Light-Speed Rangers, was published July 16, 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
“That morning at breakfast, everyone was mad at me.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Sent on a light-speed mission a crew finds the physical universe gets so squishy at speed, they can change it at will. But they are essentially ordinary people and it goes to their heads
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I woke up one morning surrounded by a dream of emerging from a drop of mercury suspended in space. The drop was our home universe, but it was only one of billions of others, each one of which had its own science, its own rules, and the people are flung from one universe to another.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Physics crossed with surrealism makes a pretty funny story and quantum physics is already about 90% surreal.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
He’s got flaws, thinks he knows everything but I think he’s a sympathetic character because his flaws are so apparent and hey, we’ve all got them.
When did you first decide to become an author?
About age seven. I was on a car trip with parents to Southern California, no A/C in the summer. I wrote in my notebook that “the heat is unbearable,” and my parents cracked up. So I, being seven years old, took a shine to words. If they could make my parents laugh, it was like a superpower!
Is this the first book you’ve written?
No, but its the first Sci-Fi Novel. I mostly write historical fiction, but started writing sci-fi short stories around weird ideas I had.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I was a roofer, a millworker, a farm laborer and a special education teacher. But I had a 25 year career as a tech writer and am now retired, writing my own stuff.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I usually write from 5:30 am until 7:30 am when I’m writing a book, I work every morning. When I’m editing or marketing I sleep in, goof off, watch TV, etc. I love writing and the other stuff, not so much.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
Best part is writing my own ideas without gatekeepers. Worst part is trying to get my books in front of readers.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
There is no such thing as writer’s block! There is sloth, procrastination, distractions, etc. As Roger Ebert once said: “The Muse visits during the process of creation, not before. Don’t wait for her. Start alone.”
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I’ve co-authored two nonfiction books that were published traditionally, but now I think the Indie scene is what’s happening, indie books are making the bestseller lists. I think publish on demand is the start of a new Renaissance of creativity.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
My fingers write smarter than I can think. Sometimes I read something I’ve written a few weeks or months earlier and think ‘did I write this? It’s pretty good!’ And I love writing and reading books, it is a co-creation between writer and reader. You watch a movie, it’s all there. You read a book and you create the scenes in your own mind, sharing them with the author.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
I love Bernard Cornwell’s historical fiction. The Richard Sharpe series of books breathes life into history — I’m there!
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Any of Dave Barry’s books! He makes ordinary life very funny!