 |
| E A Lake, Author WWIV: IN THE BEGINNING |
E A Lake likes to write dystopian fiction
because it is “so much fun.” He started the WWIV series with IN THE BEGINNING
to set the stage. Lake strives for believability and “regular, normal, everyday
people,” and writes purely for entertainment.
E A Lake is his pen name, and the E and A
are just "random vowels." He wants us to refer to him as Lake. He is a father and
grandfather, and when he's not writing he's working as a CFO at a small creative company. His mother says his books disturb her, which he takes as praise. Lake is just finishing his next book in the WWIV series, Kids at War.
Q: Why did you
choose to write about dystopia, rather than utopia?
E A Lake: Dystopia is so
much fun! It’s all about subtraction; removing from people all the nice things
they depend on so much every day. It makes me smile now just thinking of it.
Also, it gives me a chance to show the recreation of our humanity, after I’ve used
most of the book destroying the same.
Q: Why are you
writing a series rather than standalone books? How will your first book, WWIV: IN THE BEGINNING, set the stage for the books that follow?
E A Lake: The more I
considered a single book in this unique situation, the more “what if…”
questions popped into my mind. I didn’t want to create a massive, all-inclusive
novel with everything, so I came up with individual books for the series.
My
first novel tells the reader what has happened. Actually, it shows you the effects
of what has happened. No one knows what actually caused our power, phones, and
cars to stop working. That answer may come at a later time (maybe Book Six or
Seven).
Q: How do you
write to appeal to readers “between 13 and 113”?
E A Lake: Very carefully. First of all, I try to
eliminate all graphic violence. Bad things will happen in these books. But I
can cover the bad elements in short vague passages, and still get the idea
across. Next, I keep the mild profanity to a minimum. We all know that these
will be trying times, but not everyone in the novel has to talk like a Marine Grunt.
Finally, it’s the cast of characters I assemble. Teen boys and girls, twenty
and thirty-somethings, older folks, and maybe an innocent child or baby thrown
in here and there (just for fun). Something for everyone really.
Q: How
important is credibility or believability to your works? What do you do to pull
readers into your make-believe world of the future?
E A Lake: Believability
is my number one goal. I constantly tell people I never want the reader to
suspend their beliefs. I research certain aspects of my writings to the maximum
degree. Cars won’t run? Okay, all cars or just some cars? What’s the exact year
break-off where they started using computers? Things like that.
I
try to paint the complete picture of our new landscape, post event. But I use a
very broad brush to attempt to engage the reader’s imagination as much as
possible. I take everyday events, that we now take for granted, and make them
as painstakingly difficult as possible. Remember, you’ll now have to go looking
for food and fresh water.
Q: What makes
your characters interesting? Why will readers engage with them?
E A Lake: Great
question, and I have a great answer for this. My characters are interesting
because they are regular, normal every day people. They’re your neighbor, the
guy who mows your lawn when you’re on vacation. The woman who bakes cookies for
the church bazaar. The minister from the local church. A 14-year-old girl, just
trying to get from one dysfunctional parent’s house to another’s. The kid who’s
the quarterback on the varsity football team. Just a bunch of regular people.
In other words – you, me, your mom, your dad – everyone you know and love. This
makes it really easy for the reader to identify and relate to at least one
character in each of my books.
Q: Is the
concept of “villains vs heroes” or “antagonist vs protagonist” relevant to your
books? If so, do you need a villain to have a hero? Or can events create
heroes? What makes an interesting villain and hero?
E A Lake: I believe that
when you present the citizens of the world a new dark dreary dystopian setting,
they really don’t need villains. Come on, these people are going to struggle
against nature to survive now. They’ll have their hands full.
But
as long as they’re struggling, why not throw in a few villains. Just to keep
things interesting. That way, every time you think you’ll be able to catch your
breath and maybe get started back towards normal, turn the page. More trouble
awaits our hero.
Events
against incredible natural odds will make our heroes/protagonists shine. Events
against the already bad natural odds, and villains to boot, will make our
heroes human once again.
Q: Do your characters lead you to write
about them? Or do you keep them in their place by sticking to an outline?
E A Lake: The first step to every manuscript I
create is to throw down a general outline. It’s nothing formal or complicated.
This outline serves as a guide as I move into the actual writing process. Next,
I create each character in detail. Name, height, weight, hair color, eye color,
personality, birthdate, parent’s names, hometown, education, etc…
I
refer to my outline as I write to make sure I get all the major scenes covered.
And I try to highlight (in the outline) two or three main ideas I want to get
across in each chapter. But it’s my characters that run the show. They take me
to some of the wildest places I could ever imagine. I find it funny how these
characters take over the novel and it seems like I’m just along for the ride.
Q: Are your
books purely for entertainment? Or do you write to educate or deliver a message
or two?
E A Lake: Pure and
simple entertainment. Even though I write of doom and gloom, and end of days –
I’m not like that in real life. These are just stories that I’ve thought or
dreamt up about a situation that could happen one day. But I’m sure we all hope
and pray it never occurs.
The
only “so called” message I deliver is simple. The events in my novels crush humanity
and each of our own humanity’s. But that’s not the end of the story. Read and
watch how resilient we really can be. Humanity may sink for a while, but I truly
believe it will rebound as time moves forward.
Q: What’s next?
E A Lake: Immediately, I
am putting the finishing touches on book two of the WWIV series – Kids at War. But
don’t worry; it’s not about children becoming soldiers. The theme deals more
with our younger generation and the problems they will find in this new
dystopia.
After
that, I need to really tighten up book one of The Smith Chronicles entitled Golden
5. Books one and two of that series are written, but they’re still in rough
form. These are longer tales, with recurring characters. I hope to have the
first of that series out by late fall 2014.
Q: Tell us
something about e a lake. What does the “e a” stand for? What do you like to do
when you’re not writing?
E A Lake: When I was
younger, I ran a marathon. I spend most fall weekend days sitting in a tree,
watching deer walk by (my son thinks I’m hunting with him, ha!). I have three
grown children and three young grandchildren. My mother has read two of my
manuscripts and told me they disturbed her – and she meant that as a
compliment.
The
‘e’ and the ‘a’ in my pen name mean absolutely nothing. They are simply two
random vowels. I want people in the writing community to call me lake.
Like
many indie authors, I work a regular fulltime job. During the week I’m a CFO
for a small creative company. On weekends I work on my honey-do list, and play
Dad and Grandpa as much as possible.
About E A Lake
E A Lake: I write dystopian. It's dark, yet fun to play with. WWIV - In The Beginning is my debut novel. Trying to get this junk in my head, down on pages. Those pages become chapters. The chapters become a manuscript. The manuscript becomes a novel. Sounds easy enough.
I am an author and my pen name is e a lake. The e and the a mean nothing. So please just call me lake.
Not everything in dystopian writing has to be dark and dreary. I try to create post -apocalyptic situations that will challenge the reader to really believe that the events in my novels could happen.
The best part of my genre? Who needs antagonists when the landscape surrounding my protagonist is so bad. You just have to love this stuff.
My favorites are the usual list of suspects. Orwell, Bradbury, Stephen King, Vince Flynn, and James Patterson.
I'm not all that scary. Father to three, grandfather to two (three in April 2014). Just a regular guy.
What will we do when suddenly our power, our
phones, and our cars don't work? What will we do when we realize our government
is missing and we have no protection; no police, no national guard? What will
we do when our food runs out or spoils, and fresh water becomes scarce? What
will we do when we realize we are completely and undeniably on our own? What
could possibly happen next?
What happens when IT happens?
Follow an ordinary man, Bill Carlson, through the first 30 days of the ensuing uncertainty. From his once quiet, now violent, St. Paul suburb; to the empty, and yet deadly, county roads of west central Wisconsin.
With limited knowledge of prepping, Bill must rely on neighbors for help. Why did he never pay attention to his “crazy doomsday” neighbor Scott? Now that the world, at least his world, is dark, Bill has so many questions. How can he possibly survive in this dark dystopian world?
Bill goes in search of his family, and finds so much more. Friendly people in small towns, other villages that allow no strangers, people searching for help, and people looking to take anything you might have – via any means.
Will Bill find his family, some 300 miles away? Will the power come back on after mysteriously going out? Will he be able to help others in times of need, much less himself?
WWIV has begun, and we’re only In The Beginning.
What happens when IT happens?
Follow an ordinary man, Bill Carlson, through the first 30 days of the ensuing uncertainty. From his once quiet, now violent, St. Paul suburb; to the empty, and yet deadly, county roads of west central Wisconsin.
With limited knowledge of prepping, Bill must rely on neighbors for help. Why did he never pay attention to his “crazy doomsday” neighbor Scott? Now that the world, at least his world, is dark, Bill has so many questions. How can he possibly survive in this dark dystopian world?
Bill goes in search of his family, and finds so much more. Friendly people in small towns, other villages that allow no strangers, people searching for help, and people looking to take anything you might have – via any means.
Will Bill find his family, some 300 miles away? Will the power come back on after mysteriously going out? Will he be able to help others in times of need, much less himself?
WWIV has begun, and we’re only In The Beginning.
Links
Twitter
(handle) - @ealake5
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete