Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am almost certain that I am the only sane man on Earth. I haven’t met all of the others yet, but from the sampling I’ve personally vetted, I fear this made be the case. A truly disturbing number of them haven’t seen the value in building a dark wizard’s tower, or in detailing the intricate mix of technology necessary to summon up a lightning storm when someone gets brave enough to try and sell a vacuum cleaner door-to-door at said dark wizard’s tower.
I am sure however, that the many short stories I have written, and a novella or two, have gone a long way toward helping the sanity impaired recover from their terrible condition. With my newest work, my first full length novel, I hope to finally make a real difference in regards to this terrible condition.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“The Chronicles of Henry Harper” is the result of looking at the science fiction I owned, and realizing there was an unfulfilled perspective. I can be said to specialize in that area. That is to say, in the writing of the unusual or unrepresented perspectives. In this particular case, the perspective was one that boggled my mind a bit, once I realized it was missing.
There were no books about engineers. Not in sci-fi at any rate.
How that came to be I can only guess, I ran into a number of major problems I had to solve to make the perspective work, so I can assume that some of the account for the reason the perspective is nonexistent or rare. However, at the time, I couldn’t even point to those and it totally flummoxed me that one of the most important types of people in all of science fiction could be missing representation.
When I did a little digging, and still couldn’t find such works, I wrote a short story called “The Machinist.” It was quite well received by the writer’s group I was working with at the time, and so when I decided to write a full length novel I decided to expand upon that work. While very little of the original text survived eighteen months of writing and rewriting, many of the basic details from that short story now make up the first chapter of “The Chronicles of Henry Harper.”
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not so sure it’s all that rare, but I prefer to write with pen and paper. I also prefer a double Marker’s Mark & Coke, with exactly three cubes of ice, as the best way to break through writer’s block.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
All of them. I’ve been reading novel length works since I was six, and my personal library contains something in the order of 1500 books. My absolute favorite series is Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time,” but I’ve also been inspired by any number of sci-fi series. The Honor Harrington series, “Ender’s Game,” and Asimov’s “Foundation,” just to name a few. Most recently, “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers has made me reorder my top ten list for the first time in a decade. Her gift for characterization may actually be the strongest I’ve ever seen.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a new book, fantasy this time. It’s tentatively titled “Patchwork Magic,” and only about 30% complete.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read. Read a lot. Then go back to what you just read, and study page-by-page how the good authors achieved the effects they did. How they introduced emotion into a scene, how they balanced action and dialogue, etcetera. It won’t all work for you, but you can begin building your own style from the understanding you achieve.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“All we have to decide, is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
Hey, you asked for the best advice, if you wanted something more specific you should have said so!
What are you reading now?
I’m between books at the moment, due to managing the launch of “The Chronicles of Henry Harper.” The last one I read was the previous mentioned “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
Writing, of course. Then, possibly, building that dark wizard’s tower.
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?
Either some good books on escaping desert islands, or blank notebooks to write in.
Author Websites and Profiles
Jacen Aster Website
Jacen Aster Amazon Profile
Jacen Aster Author Profile on Smashwords
Jacen Aster’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile