Ask the Author: Jan S. Gephardt
Answered Questions (12)
Jan S. Gephardt
"Your visa has been revoked. Report to the nearest airlock."
Jan S. Gephardt
I have an ever growing "To Be Read" tower of print books, in addition to all the things on my e-reader, and sometimes books jump the line. Thus, "my summer reading list" is always a moving target! I enjoy K9 mysteries (I'm sure you're shocked by this), character-driven science fiction (another shocker, if you know my writing), and unusual or humorous takes on contemporary, epic, or multicultural fantasy. A little romance never hurt anyone, but I like to have at least a mystery or an adventure of some sort on the side.
Jan S. Gephardt
What happened to Great-Grandpa's "first family," whom he abandoned during the Civil War?
Jan S. Gephardt
Thank you for your question! I apologize for not seeing it till now! (some of us are slow to grasp things). I published "A Bone to Pick" in the waning months of the pandemic, in Sept. 2021. The really "slow book" was "Bone of Contention," which wasn't published till Sept. 2024! As I (finally) write this, I'm closing in on finishing the first draft of a fourth "XK9 Saga" novel, "Bones for the Children." There are more in the pipeline. I hope I get to write them all!
Jan S. Gephardt
First of all, thank you for your question, and many apologies for being a Goodreads "slowtop" and not seeing it until now! Yes, the XK9s and their partners get the brain link implanted (a simple, in-clinic procedure) after the Choosing ceremony described in the prequel novella "The Other Side of Fear."
All have had a CAP and HUD from early years, and yes. It was part of the concept from the beginning.
All have had a CAP and HUD from early years, and yes. It was part of the concept from the beginning.
Jan S. Gephardt
I regularly vacation on Rana Station, the setting of my XK9 books. It's one of my favorite places. As for other people's books? I'd love to visit The Shire, but not when there's a war on.
Jan S. Gephardt
I'm not getting any younger, and I have So. Many. Stories to tell! If I'm having trouble coming up with how to tackle a particular scene, that's a sign it's time to either journal, make artwork, or take a nap. Or maybe go for a walk. (Sometimes you've got to eat, watch the news, or take a shower, too). Pretty soon I've figured it out. But, "inspired"? I'm always ready to leap back into that fantasy universe and hang out with my characters.
Jan S. Gephardt
I finally get to spend time doing what I've always wanted to spend my time doing, which is create stories. I've always felt a little guilty, as if I was taking away time I should be spending on "more important" (or at least, more urgent) things, but now I can say "No! Deadlines! Gotta write!" and it's legit.
Jan S. Gephardt
I'll let you know if I ever have it. So far, it hasn't been a problem, and I've been writing since I was 4 years old.
Jan S. Gephardt
I've hit the halfway point on a second, pulling-it-all-together draft of "A Bone to Pick," the second novel in the "Bones" Trilogy (and I have begun to outline the third book, "Bone of Contention," where we finally wrap up the mystery of who blew up the spaceship Izgubil.
If all goes as planned/hoped, I'll have a full draft of "ABtP" in editorial hands by the end of summer, and it'll be released next spring.
If all goes as planned/hoped, I'll have a full draft of "ABtP" in editorial hands by the end of summer, and it'll be released next spring.
Jan S. Gephardt
To paraphrase Yoda, there is no aspire. There is only write or do not.
What I mean by that is, if you write, you're a writer. If you persist to the end of a full-blown novel manuscript, then do it again and again, while constantly studying the craft and seeking constructive editorial review, then you might even polish your ability to the point that you can become a published writer.
Publication doesn't make you a writer--you already have to be one. Publication simply makes you a writer with all kinds of fast-moving new deadlines and even more skin in the game than you had before.
What I mean by that is, if you write, you're a writer. If you persist to the end of a full-blown novel manuscript, then do it again and again, while constantly studying the craft and seeking constructive editorial review, then you might even polish your ability to the point that you can become a published writer.
Publication doesn't make you a writer--you already have to be one. Publication simply makes you a writer with all kinds of fast-moving new deadlines and even more skin in the game than you had before.
Jan S. Gephardt
Lots of places. Recent behavioral and intelligence research on dogs was one strong inspiration. And yes, a certain amount of wish-fulfillment: what dog owner hasn't occasionally wished their dog could tell them what it so obviously wanted them to know?
I've long been a science fiction fan, but I'm also a dedicated mystery-lover. I'd been thinking for a long time about blending the two, and one day I was watching a TV show about a real-life police investigation that used a bloodhound to track a suspect from the scene of a murder to his own house. "It's too bad we can't swear in the dog!" the officer said. And I thought, "What if you could?"
Another origin was my research into the effects of microgravity on the human body, and questioning some of the standard tropes of sf from the 1950s and '60s that haven't been seriously questioned since--in spite of a multitude of discoveries since then, and research aided by, among others, the Kelly astronaut twins. If "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids," then where would be a good place to rear healthy future generations of spacefaring humans? My partial answer is Rana Station.
"What's Bred in the Bone" and the rest of the "Bones" Trilogy has roots in the classic science fiction of earlier generations, informed by some of the latest research I could access.
I've long been a science fiction fan, but I'm also a dedicated mystery-lover. I'd been thinking for a long time about blending the two, and one day I was watching a TV show about a real-life police investigation that used a bloodhound to track a suspect from the scene of a murder to his own house. "It's too bad we can't swear in the dog!" the officer said. And I thought, "What if you could?"
Another origin was my research into the effects of microgravity on the human body, and questioning some of the standard tropes of sf from the 1950s and '60s that haven't been seriously questioned since--in spite of a multitude of discoveries since then, and research aided by, among others, the Kelly astronaut twins. If "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids," then where would be a good place to rear healthy future generations of spacefaring humans? My partial answer is Rana Station.
"What's Bred in the Bone" and the rest of the "Bones" Trilogy has roots in the classic science fiction of earlier generations, informed by some of the latest research I could access.
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