Ask the Author: Roderick Vincent
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Roderick Vincent
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Roderick Vincent
Thanks for your question. The cover was a big journey! It was my concept, but it took a while to find an artist who could pull it off. I spent way too much on it. I had to fire the first artist because their company just kept producing these ridiculously cartoonish versions. Then I found someone who did what you see today, but I still wasn't convinced. So I hired someone else to do another cover from a concept I had. I did an online poll on Wattpad and on my publisher's website to see which cover everyone preferred. Hands down, it was the one you see today. If I wouldn't have done that, I probably would have gone for the other one. So the cover was a democratic decision, and I've grown to love it after all.
Roderick Vincent
Hi Melly, thanks for your question. In terms of the writing part of it, I'm hoping to have it done in a year. It's coming along, but I still feel it needs quite a bit of work. I tend to give my writing space, so I can come back to it with more objectivity. I think I have some intriguing plot ideas (beyond the ones I already have written), so it's now about getting them on paper. I still have quite a bit of research to do as well. I'm exploring a new character in this book (Seee's wife). She was dumped from "The Cause", but now I think it makes a lot of sense to give the reader her voice if I can pull it off. I'm intrigued with her, so that's the important part.
The second variable depends if I want to stick with the same publisher. We'll see how it goes before I make any decisions on that front.
Thanks again for your question. I'll be doing a serial of free short stories based on a couple of characters from "The Cause" for my email list in January and February. That should be a lot of fun. Stay tuned.
The second variable depends if I want to stick with the same publisher. We'll see how it goes before I make any decisions on that front.
Thanks again for your question. I'll be doing a serial of free short stories based on a couple of characters from "The Cause" for my email list in January and February. That should be a lot of fun. Stay tuned.
Roderick Vincent
Hi Billy, thanks for your question. It's an interesting one. I think there is zero chance for the breakup of the U.S. in our future. However, I would predict some states might again try succession. In the scenario of a massive economic collapse, where one state is essentially paying for the mistakes of another, the succession question will probably rise again. The most likely candidate would of course be Texas, as Texas itself is a surplus state, has a certain number of petitions signed already, and associate themselves more with the state than the country in a lot of cases. Assuming the popular momentum and political backing to succeed, I would predict resistance from the U.S. government. The question of succession was answered pretty firmly after the Civil War (it won't be tolerated). However, the pressure might cause states to gain more independence in how they manage things, which seems to align more with the Constitution's original intention. Federal dollars nowadays are used to bend the state's will in a lot of cases. I wouldn't be surprised to see that change in the near future. So I see a political solution first. If it ever came down to armed resistance, God forbid, I think the U.S. government would get aggressive unfortunately, and I believe the campaign would begin with vilification through the media before the next unthinkable steps would be taken. Thanks again for your question!
Roderick Vincent
Thanks Holly for your question. You're the very first since I turned this widget on so I appreciate that :-)
Without peeking here http://roderickvincent.wordpress.com/..., as that would be cheating, I'll tell you. The idea really came after my first novel titled, "Blueprints from the Beginning" which is still on the shelf waiting for the sunlight to hit it once again. One of the critiques of this book (which was a valid one) was that it had a slow-moving plot. So I knew for my second book, first and foremost I wanted to write something plot-driven. I was toying with the idea of how to write a pseudo-spy novel that would have more of a literary, dystopian slant. At the time, Greece was having riots and the EU was debating kicking it out of the European Union. Having great concern of the direction the U.S. was heading, I asked myself the question, what if the U.S. was in such a situation where the economy had collapsed, where the government had become even more nefarious. At that time, the Edward Snowden revelations on the NSA hadn't hit, but I was well aware of what was going on in the NSA. Finally, I asked myself what one event could change everything. The answer led me to the plot, where the CIA is infiltrated by the CIA themselves, field operatives being turned to "The Cause" at The Abattoir, a fictional Blackwater type of off-the-grid blackops camp. Whether these Minutemen are patriots or traitors, I hopefully leave for the reader to decide. I hope this helps answer your question a bit. Now I'll peek at what I wrote before :-) Thanks again for your question.
All the best,
Roderick
Without peeking here http://roderickvincent.wordpress.com/..., as that would be cheating, I'll tell you. The idea really came after my first novel titled, "Blueprints from the Beginning" which is still on the shelf waiting for the sunlight to hit it once again. One of the critiques of this book (which was a valid one) was that it had a slow-moving plot. So I knew for my second book, first and foremost I wanted to write something plot-driven. I was toying with the idea of how to write a pseudo-spy novel that would have more of a literary, dystopian slant. At the time, Greece was having riots and the EU was debating kicking it out of the European Union. Having great concern of the direction the U.S. was heading, I asked myself the question, what if the U.S. was in such a situation where the economy had collapsed, where the government had become even more nefarious. At that time, the Edward Snowden revelations on the NSA hadn't hit, but I was well aware of what was going on in the NSA. Finally, I asked myself what one event could change everything. The answer led me to the plot, where the CIA is infiltrated by the CIA themselves, field operatives being turned to "The Cause" at The Abattoir, a fictional Blackwater type of off-the-grid blackops camp. Whether these Minutemen are patriots or traitors, I hopefully leave for the reader to decide. I hope this helps answer your question a bit. Now I'll peek at what I wrote before :-) Thanks again for your question.
All the best,
Roderick
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