Ask the Author: Patrick Scalisi
Answered Questions (9)
Patrick Scalisi
I feel like society is so fractured right now that I'd like to escape into the utopian world of Star Trek: one where humanity has come together to eliminate wealth inequalities, disease, and war.
Plus, I'm afraid of needles, so medical technology led by hyposprays is my dream.
Plus, I'm afraid of needles, so medical technology led by hyposprays is my dream.
Patrick Scalisi
The answer that immediately comes to mind is George and Anne Edwards in Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow. Anne's explanation of marriage should resonate with anyone who's been in a long-term relationship.
"I have been married at least four times, to four different men. They've all been named George Edwards but, believe me, the man who is waiting for me down the hall is a whole lot different animal from the boy I married, back before there was dirt. Oh, there are continuities. He has always been fun and he has never been able to budget his time properly and - well, the rest is none of your business."
"But people change," he said quietly.
"Precisely. People change. Cultures change. Empires rise and fall. Shit. Geology changes! Every ten years or so, George and I have faced the fact that we have changed and we've had to decide if it makes sense to create a new marriage between these two new people."
"I have been married at least four times, to four different men. They've all been named George Edwards but, believe me, the man who is waiting for me down the hall is a whole lot different animal from the boy I married, back before there was dirt. Oh, there are continuities. He has always been fun and he has never been able to budget his time properly and - well, the rest is none of your business."
"But people change," he said quietly.
"Precisely. People change. Cultures change. Empires rise and fall. Shit. Geology changes! Every ten years or so, George and I have faced the fact that we have changed and we've had to decide if it makes sense to create a new marriage between these two new people."
Patrick Scalisi
That's an interesting question! In all of the time that I was doing worldbuilding for The Horse Thieves I never gave much thought to the existence of actual horses. I suppose they're out there somewhere, perhaps living in some horsey utopia where they don't have to put up with pesky human riders.
Patrick Scalisi
With the exception of San Francisco / Sausalito, I really wanted to keep both the locations and the time periods in The Horse Thieves ambiguous. While I imagined a alternate American West where the internal combustion engine had developed far ahead of its time, I also wanted to stay away from saying that it was a specific year.
Patrick Scalisi
Ideas for stories can come from anywhere. In the case of The Horse Thieves and Other Tales of the New West, it was a line from the Bon Jovi song, "Dead or Alive": "I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride..." The image of this cowboy in a muscle car came to mind, and that was the seed of the idea. Some people have asked, Why cars? Why not motorcycles (which are more akin to horses)? I can't answer that; all I know is that the image was of a cowboy in a car, and that's how I crafted the story.
Patrick Scalisi
I'm currently working on an entry-level sci-fi novel for younger readers. I'm almost done with the first draft. I also have two short stories that I'm actively marketing and plans for a potential non-fiction book in my future.
Patrick Scalisi
My answer is two-fold: (1.) Write as often as you can and get into a schedule of writing every day. There are plenty of wanna-be writers out there who are working on stories or novels and never finish them. Get the work done -- there is no silver bullet to becoming a writer. (2.) Read. Read things in the genre you like to write. Read things outside of your comfort zone. Pay attention to language, to characterization. This is the best education a writer can get.
Patrick Scalisi
For a little part of each day, I can sit around without any pants on and explore my imagination. Seriously, you can't find a better job than that!
Patrick Scalisi
The best thing is try to get into a schedule of writing every day, preferably at the same time. Some days you'll stare at the blinking cursor of death for your allotted writing period; on others you'll crank out 1,000 words. The trick is to keep at it.
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