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| Chris Kennedy, Author WHEN THE GODS AREN'T GODS JANISSARIES RED TIDE: THE CHINESE INVASION OF SEATTLE OCCUPIED SEATTLE |
Amazon-Top-100-Science-Fiction author Chris
Kennedy describes his books as “not your traditional sci-fi.” Rather, he says,
they are more “speculative fiction with a side of fantasy.” His just-released
novel, WHEN THE GODS AREN’T GODS, is the second story in The Theogony trilogy. Reviewers
tout his action scenes and suspense, which he credits to his “keeping the
action true to life.”
Kennedy has also published the Occupied Seattle duology concerning the invasion of Seattle by the Chinese. He is currently working on the conclusion to The Theogony trilogy, which he plans to release in late summer. In addition to writing, he works a full-time
job, spends time with his family, and tries to manage to get in an occasional round or two of golf.
Don't miss the excerpt from WHEN THE GODS AREN'T GODS immediately following the description of the book at the end of the interview.
Q: How did you
conceive of your “worlds” and “aliens” for your science fiction stories?
Chris Kennedy: Before I
answer that, Joyce, I’d like to thank you for taking the time to interview
me. I greatly appreciate it.
Looking
at the question, I think it’s important to note at the start that the trilogy I
am currently working on is not your traditional sci-fi story. It’s more
speculative fiction than straight sci-fi; I like to think of it as “science
fiction with a side of fantasy.”
The
universe in The Theogony trilogy is built on science (‘what is’) with an
overlay of fantasy (‘what may be.’) As far as the “worlds” go, the star systems
in the books are stars that exist in our galaxy and the actual planets that our
astronomers have found orbiting them. I had to add a few planets that
scientists haven’t found yet, but that is mainly due to the imprecision of the
instruments that we are currently using. I think that when we get out into
space, we will find a lot more planets than we are able to see from Earth.
With
regard to the “aliens,” I started with the premise that Earth’s folklore and
mythology came from somewhere. As we haven’t found historical or fossil data
for many of the creatures in our historical tales, they must have come from
somewhere else…off planet…and they are still out there, just waiting for us to
come find them again. For example, why does every Martian trope depict them as
being short with a big head? There’s probably a reason. Maybe it leaked out
from Roswell or Area 51…
Q: Your newest
book WHEN THE GODS AREN’T GODS was just released and is a continuation of a
previous book JANISSARIES. Why do you write in a series rather than standalone
books?
Chris Kennedy: That’s a great
question, Joyce. Although I’ve always liked series books the best, I know there
are many readers out there that would rather have the whole story in one
standalone book. One of my proofreaders, for example, prefers standalone
stories. When she got to the end of my first book, RED TIDE: THE CHINESE INVASION OF SEATTLE, she called me up to ask, “Where’s the rest?” When she
found out that she’d have to wait for the conclusion in the second book, she
was NOT happy.
The answer, though, is that the story in The Theogony trilogy
was too big for a single book. JANISSARIES was about 105,000 words, WHEN THE GODS AREN’T GODS is over 109,000 and the conclusion, TERRA STANDS ALONE, will
be the biggest one yet. It’s not quite WAR AND PEACE if you put them all
together, but it isn’t too far off, either. One book couldn’t contain them, nor
the books in the series that will follow The Theogony. It required a series.
That
being said, I made a conscious effort to try to make each of The Theogony books
a standalone story, where you can read it and feel that you read “a story,”
even if it is part of a story on a much grander scale. I very much hope that I
succeeded in this area, but will leave it up to the readers to decide if I did
or did not. One Canadian reviewer seemed to think that I did, as he said, “So
many of these trilogies or hexologies leave the reader feeling cheated at the
end of a book, as there is no finish of the book, just a sudden stop. This book
left me feeling good about the story I had read, and willing to wait for the
author to complete the next one.” I hope everyone feels this way, including the
readers that normally aren’t fans of series. I know that I’ve converted my
proofreader; having read WHEN THE GODS AREN’T GODS, she can’t wait to find out
what happens in TERRA STANDS ALONE. Maybe that’s why I always liked series
books the best—it’s the anticipation of looking forward to the next one.
Q: In creating
future worlds, how do you make them credible and believable? Does your
background as a pilot help to create credibility? How important is back story?
Chris Kennedy: I think that
each world and culture has to be developed in its entirety so that the author
knows how members of that civilization are going to react to external stimuli.
What makes sense from their viewpoint may make little or no sense from ours.
The back story is important for developing the consistency necessary to keep
them credible…but it isn’t always something that the reader is going to know
everything about, any more than the characters in the story know about it until
it is revealed. I don’t think that being a pilot helped with that. If anything,
my credibility comes from the hundreds and thousands of science fiction and
fantasy books that I’ve read over my lifetime. My books attempt to recreate the
feelings of wonder and awe that I got from reading the masters that went before
me. I’ve had a couple of reviewers compare me to some of them and it is
humbling. I know I’m not there (yet), but it makes me want to make each book
better than the one that preceded it, so that eventually I AM worthy of that
compliment.
Q: Why do
readers care about your characters?
Chris Kennedy: I can’t say why every reader cares about
the characters, but I know of at least a couple. First, I hope they care
because they can see themselves in the place of the heroes. While some may be
slightly larger than life, they are normal people trying to make the best they
can out of bad situations, and they have personalities which readers can relate
to and pull for. The other reason
is that there is a liberal use of “red shirts” throughout the books, where
people have signed up to use their names as characters. These people, as well
as their friends and relatives, are pulling for their favorite red shirt to
make it out alive…or at least to have them die gloriously.
Q: Does the
concept of “hero” versus “villain” apply to your books? If so, do you believe
you need a villain to have a hero?
Chris Kennedy: Although there
are enemies in my books, the stories have not revolved around the traditional
“hero” versus “a villain.” The books do, however, periodically allow the reader
to experience passing events through the eyes of the enemies, so that the
reader understands that they do have a plan that the hero has to overcome. I
don’t think that you have to have an individual villain, per se, but I think
that it’s important to at least show scenes from the enemy’s perspective as a
foil to better appreciate the hero’s actions. Without knowing the evil, you
cannot appreciate the good.
Q: Reviewers appreciate
the action scenes and suspense in your books. How do you create action and
suspense?
Chris Kennedy: I try to
create action and suspense by keeping the action true to life. Like the GAME OF
THRONES books, by now my readers know that some of the characters in the book
are going to die. Not all the enemies are storm troopers; enemies in my books
have a distressing ability to shoot/claw/stab effectively that mirrors real
life. There are also many times where several battles are happening simultaneously,
and suspense builds as the scene is shifted through a number of different
characters’ perspectives.
Q: Do you write
your books strictly to entertain readers, or do you try to deliver a message or
educate them?
Chris Kennedy: The books are written
to entertain, because I know that people’s entertainment time and money are
limited. When I read, I want to enjoy what I am reading. I have never enjoyed
being preached at, so I won’t do it to anyone else. I don’t have any soap boxes
to stand on; I am just trying to craft stories that people will enjoy reading. There
may be some educational nuggets scattered throughout it, but the focus is on
the story.
Q: You set your
earlier books in Seattle. How helpful is setting your story in a familiar city
or place like Seattle?
Chris Kennedy: I think that
it is very important, because it taps into the reader’s connection with the location.
For the American readers, the story doesn’t take place in a far off land, it
takes place in a spot that they are emotionally invested in; the Chinese are invading the U.S.! To arms! To arms! The readers from other
countries are able to connect as well, wondering when the Chinese will topple
famous landmarks like the Space Needle. Seattle is a major iconic city that
conjures up pictures in people’s minds, pictures that the readers are then able
to connect with.
Q: What’s next?
Chris Kennedy: Next up is the
conclusion to the trilogy, TERRA STANDS ALONE, which will be available later this
summer. It already has 70,000+ words into it and will be larger than its
predecessors. After that, I have several other books planned. Let’s face it,
Joyce, it’s a big galaxy out there and civilization is struggling to hang on in
many places. All of them could use a hero right about now.
Q: Tell us
about Chris Kennedy. What do you like to do when you’re not writing or working?
Chris Kennedy: Working a full
time job and still finding time to write take up a lot of my time. When I’m not
doing one of those things, I try to spend quality time with my family, whether
that is doing something with my kids or having a quiet meal out to connect with
my wife. They are truly the center of my life. If I can sneak in a round or two
of golf here and there, too, that’s just icing on the cake!
About Chris
Kennedy
An Amazon Top
100 Science Fiction author, Chris Kennedy is a former aviator with over 3,000
hours flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Navy,
including many missions supporting U.S. Special Forces. He has also been an
elementary school principal and has enjoyed 18 seasons as a softball coach.
Chris is currently working as an Instructional Systems Designer for the Navy.
Chris has published two series. The first, the Occupied Seattle duology, contains RED TIDE: THE CHINESE INVASION OF SEATTLE and OCCUPIED SEATTLE the conclusion of the series. Both books are currently available. He is currently working on his latest series, The Theogony trilogy, of which JANISSARIES and WHEN THE GODS AREN'T GODS have both been released. The conclusion to the trilogy, “Terra Stands Alone,” will be released later this summer.
Chris has published two series. The first, the Occupied Seattle duology, contains RED TIDE: THE CHINESE INVASION OF SEATTLE and OCCUPIED SEATTLE the conclusion of the series. Both books are currently available. He is currently working on his latest series, The Theogony trilogy, of which JANISSARIES and WHEN THE GODS AREN'T GODS have both been released. The conclusion to the trilogy, “Terra Stands Alone,” will be released later this summer.
Lieutenant
Commander Shawn ‘Calvin’ Hobbs and his special forces platoon just returned
from a three-month mission to the stars. The technology they brought back will
help, but it won’t be enough to hold off the alien menace headed their way.
Although they returned alive, they returned without finding any new allies or
help in building the fleet necessary to ensure the Earth’s survival.
They’ve got to
go back.
What do you do
when myths become reality, and nothing you have ever been taught about history
turns out to be true? How do you find the truth when everything you know turns
out to be a lie? What is there left to believe in, when even the gods aren’t
gods?
Excerpt from WHEN THE GODS AREN’T GODS
Seacon Towers Apartments, London, January 12, 2020
Master Chief O’Leary kicked in the door of the East End apartment and was greeted by a hail of bullets that hit him in the chest, despite his invisibility. “Damn it!” he grunted, as the impact of 12 bullets drove him back into the opposite wall. While the terrorists focused on O’Leary, other members of the platoon crashed through the back windows of the 4th floor apartment, taking the terrorists by surprise. The fight was over in less than a minute, the terrorists dead and Ryan with an expanding bruise on his chest. Although the suit stopped the bullets, as advertised, it did nothing to absorb the impact. Someone else gets to kick in the door next time, he vowed.
Ryan
surveyed the dead. No prisoners were taken, but then again, the terrorists
hadn’t given them the chance...and the soldiers hadn’t really wanted to take
any in the first place. The terrorists had nothing they needed, and to have to
go through the motions of a trial was just...inconvenient. Besides, the
terrorists shot first, and to come back to London when they were already wanted
there was just stupid. Ryan shrugged. Just another example of Darwin’s rule of
natural selection; they were obviously too stupid to live.
Scattered
among the remains of the bomb making materials, he found the jihadi bomb maker
Samantha Lewthwaite, the notorious ‘White Widow’ that terror agencies in the
U.S., U.K. and Kenya had been looking for since the Nairobi shopping mall
terror attack in 2013 that killed more than 70 people. A key member of
Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants, her career as a terrorist was over, courtesy of
three laser blasts to her chest. Good riddance, he thought.
Sirens
wailed as the local police made their appearance. Ryan looked at his watch. If
the shuttle wasn’t late coming down, they could still make it back to Moon Base
Alpha in time for Happy Hour at the new bar that had just opened.
Life
was good.
The war with
China was over and Lieutenant Shawn ‘Calvin’ Hobbs just wanted his life to go
back to normal. The hero of the war, he had a small ream of paperwork to fill
out, a deployment with his Navy F-18 squadron to prepare for, and a new
girlfriend to spend some quality time with. Life was good.
Until the aliens
showed up.
They had a ship
and needed to get to their home planet, but didn't have a crew. They had seen
Calvin’s unit in action during the war, though, and knew it was the right one
for the job. There was just one small problem—a second race of aliens was
coming, which would end all life on Earth. Calvin’s platoon might want to do
something about that, too. Having already won a terrestrial war with 30 troops,
winning an interstellar war with nothing but a 3,000 year old cruiser should be
easy, right?
“Janissaries”
initiates “The Theogony,” a trilogy that takes Lieutenant Hobbs and his Special
Forces platoon to the stars where they will learn that there’s much more to
Earth's history than is written in the history books!
We thought the
war against China would be fought in Asia, not Seattle. We were wrong.
Analysts have
long forecast that China would go to war to reintegrate the province of Taiwan.
It isn't a matter of "if;" it's a matter of "when." For
decades, the only thing that has restrained China from taking Taiwan by force
of arms is the American promise to defend it, even if that meant World War III.
To date, China has not been ready to go that far. But what if China figured out
a way to put the United States on the sidelines of their fight to regain
Taiwan?
Drawn from
today's headlines, "Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle" is set
in a not-too-distant future where China decides to invade Seattle to use American
citizens as high-stakes chips in a game of nuclear blackmail. Will the United
States get Seattle back?
Written by a
former aviator with over 3,000 hours flying attack and reconnaissance aircraft
for the United States Navy, including many missions supporting U.S. Special
Forces, Red Tide is a look at one possible future that isn't as improbable as
you might think. Events in it are not only possible, they're already happening.
Could China attack the United States to get back Taiwan?
Yes.
The Chinese Have
Captured Seattle!
In 1949, the
government of the Republic of China fled to the island of Taiwan. For nearly 70
years, the People's Republic of China has wanted to take the island back and
unite the nation under one flag, the Communist flag. Their desire was thwarted
by U.S. support for Taiwan, until the Chinese conceived and executed the
perfect plan to keep the U.S. out of the war for Taiwan, an invasion of
Seattle!
Yesterday, China
captured the cities of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, in a Pearl Harbor-like
surprise attack. The Chinese also captured six American nuclear warheads and
are not afraid to use them on American soil, if necessary to keep the United
States
out of the war in the Pacific. Without U.S. aid, the fall of Taiwan
seems imminent, and now even Seattle seems lost to the Chinese.
America's hopes
are riding on a shot-down F-18 pilot, a retired Navy SEAL, and a platoon of
Army Rangers. If that's all America has going for it, all hope seems lost!
Links
Twitter
address: @ChrisKennedy110
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