Interview with Kerry Nietz

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CFBR: I have heard so much about your novel A Star Curiously Singing, and all the reviews I've read seem to agree, it is a wonderful read. What is the hook?

Thank, John! A Star Curiously Singing is a speculative Christian novel with a decidedly cyberpunk feel. It takes place in a future hundreds of years from now, where much of the world is living under sharia law.

It is dualistic society, where average people live on the streets in near-squalor and the powerful ride above them in cable car-like conveyances. This latter group is shrouded in high tech, to the point of needing specialized human “debuggers” to handle their machines for them.

That’s where my protagonist comes in. Sandfly is a debugger who’s summoned to solve the mystery of why a bot malfunctioned. The extenuating circumstances? The bot has been on an interstellar voyage in an experimental ship. Something about the trip made it malfunction. So the story is a sci-fi mystery of sorts.


CFBR: Your stories are complex. How do you keep all the details straight? What is your writing method?

They probably aren’t as complex as they seem. Or maybe they just don’t seem that complex to me. Not sure.

Regardless, I write mostly from the seat of my pants. To start, I usually have only a few defining images in my head, a general idea of where I want the story to go, and maybe some snippets of conversations and facts I think are relevant--just a page or so of notes, really. And I set out from there.

As for keeping the details straight, that’s what editing passes are for. After the manuscript is complete, I let it sit for a couple weeks. Then I’ll go back and read it like a reader, making notes and corrections as I go. Asking questions of myself, looking for plot holes, or places where things might be inconsistent. I tend to second guess a lot. I want the book to be as polished as it can be before a reader gets it.

CFBR: The book deals heavily with Muslim beliefs; Tell us a little of how Islam and Christianity play a part in the story.

Christianity plays only a small role in A Star Curiously Singing, mainly because it has been extinguished as a belief system in my version of the future. The only tendrils that remain are those that support the dominate belief system.

Before writing the book I read lots of books that dealt with sharia (Islamic) law and its effect on societies. I’d also read a number of books written by those who had escaped from Muslim cultures. Another book that affected me was Mark Steyn’s America Alone, because it was all about population statistics, and how Muslim cultures are outgrowing westernized cultures at a terrific rate.

So then it came down to: What would a Muslim future look like? And ultimately: What future do I fear for my children?

CFBR: What an intriguing idea-- envisioning a future in which Islamic rule actually comes to be. I'm sure it's sobering. So, tell us, how do you develop characters for such a concept?

I don’t have any real method. My characters just show up on the scene ready to fill their roles. I usually know the important characters before I start, and what their defining characteristics are. Otherwise, characters are created as needed. My books don’t have a huge cast, though.

CFBR: Will there be a sequel?

Believe it or not, there already is a sequel! The sequel to A Star Curiously Singing came out just six months after the first book. It is entitled The Superlative Stream, and so far it has gained a fair share of positive reviews on its own, for which I’m eternally grateful. I think the only sub-four star review TSS has gotten on Amazon so far was from an atheist I offended. Imagine that.

I’m currently plugging away at the third book in the series. It has no title yet.

CFBR: Woops. I'll have to do better research. Okay. Let's move on to more of a "craft" question. As an author, what does your life look like when the writing is done and it is time to tell people about your books.

I do lots of interviews and try to connect with as many people as possible. I send out books to reviewers and enter contests. Since Marcher Lord Press is an independent publisher much of that is harder than it would be at larger publishing houses. For instance, by necessity the cost for review and giveaway copies usually comes straight out of the author’s pocket. And it isn’t like we have large advances to work from. (Our advance at Marcher Lord is $10, actually. )

That said, most of us are doing this because we love Christian speculative fiction and want to see it grow as a genre. We’re total believers in Jeff’s vision. Plus we have unique and interesting stories that wouldn’t find covers anywhere else. It has been a fun and rewarding ride so far.

If you want the full story on how Marcher Lord Press works, you can go here: http://www.marcherlordpress.com/publishing_model.html

CFBR: Well, that's all I have for questions. Thanks for taking the time to share your creativity with us. Kerry. We hope you stop by again.

You’re more than welcome. My website is www.kerrynietz.com and there are sample chapters of my books available at www.marcherlordpress.com, Please check them out! God Bless.