Interview With Author Gary Blaine Randolph
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an author and storyteller. Over my career I have owned a software company, been a college professor, and developed websites and computer programs. And it seems that I have always been writing, whether for business or pleasure — novels, computer manuals, magazine articles, blogs, textbooks, drama sketches, poems, stories for telling, and more.
I have seven books out. Five are in the Galactic Detective Agency series, a comedic sci-fi mystery series. One is a serious standalone sci fi book called Alien World. The last book comes from my work as a storyteller. It’s called Stories from Celtic Lands: A Storyteller’s Tales and Poems.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest is book five of the Galactic Detective Agency, Murder on the Girsu Express. It is a sci-fi mystery comedy. As the name suggests, it is an homage to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, with a death occurring on an elegant space cruiser. In addition, two of the main characters are a tribute to the Jeeves and Wooster series of books by the great P.G. Wodehouse. It was a blast writing those characters.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
So far I have never experienced writer’s block. If I’m stuck in one part of a story or blog, I turn to writing another part.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many. In no particular order, Terry Pratchett, Rex Stout, P.G. Wodehouse, Caimh McDonnell, C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Barbara Tuckman, David McCullough, Sue Grafton.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on book six of the Galactic Detective Agency, The Cormabite Maneuver. I’m also playing around with a non-sci-fi detective story set in 1930s Chicago. Every detective needs a quirk, and this detective’s quirk is that he is something of an idiot who manages to get by on his charm and with the help of others.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write. Write. Write. G.K. Chesterton said that anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Which means you shouldn’t worry about not starting out as an expert or even not being very good at first. Practice and get better.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Measure twice, cut once. It applies to many aspects of life. Interestingly though, it does not apply to writing at all. In writing, the first thing is to just get something down. If you don’t know the best way to say something, just take a stab at it. You can always improve it in a later draft.
What are you reading now?
The Curse of Braeburn Castle by Karen Baugh Menuhin. I’m a sucker for anything Scottish or Irish, especially with a mystery in the plot.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I just want to keep honing my craft. I want to do more serious sci-fi as well as a non-sic-fi detective mystery. I also have a coming of age story in me that will work its way out someday.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well, it’s hard to beat G.K. Chesterton’s advice of A Practical Guide to Shipbuilding. There are very few books I have read over and over. But I’m sure The Lord of the Rings could be mined over and over.
Author Websites and Profiles
Gary Blaine Randolph Amazon Profile
Gary Blaine Randolph’s Social Media Links