Space-Time Interviewed Eric Johannsen
IDENTIFICATION OF HUMANOID: Eric Johannsen
When I reflect over the last half-century, I realize how blessed I am to have experienced many things. I grew up in Del Mar, a sleepy beach-side town in southern California where I developed a passion for baseball, volleyball, Dungeons & Dragons, the guy who taught me played with Gary Gygax, computer programming, and most of all, understanding the nature of things.
That last passion drove me to study physics at the University of California, San Diego including a year abroad in Germany. After graduating, I weighed years of additional study and years-long research projects against the magic that is computer programming, where your imagination can conjure up beneficial things in a few hours, and so opted for a career in software development.
[image error]Author Eric Johannsen
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Walking that path, I learned to bridge the gap between programmers and people who needed software built. Perhaps it’s my interest in human nature, or my skill as a storyteller, I kept playing D&D through the years, almost always the DM.
Along the way, I learned to SCUBA and to fly airplanes. I hold a commercial pilot’s license and trained as a search-and-rescue pilot in Civil Air Patrol before joining the Army Reserve as a Psychological Operations Specialist, which you may incorrectly hear called Psyops—the right term is PSYOP.
Computers have evolved in the decades I’ve been manipulating the 1s and 0s, and my career moved to machine learning and AI. I became profoundly aware of how the exponential growth of technology has already radically reshaped our society and, more importantly, how much change still awaits.
[image error]The Gods: Origins: Ji-min by Eric Johannsen
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More people need to understand the coming transformation so more of us can have an intelligent voice in guiding it. For that reason, I began writing science fiction – near-future sci-fi that’s entertaining but also paints an accurate picture of how our world is changing.
SEARCH: ENQUIRY: AUTHOR INTERROGATION
ALEXA WAYNE (AW): When did you find out you would want to write novels?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: I’ve always been a storyteller, from creating a comic strip for my elementary school newsletter to creating my Dungeons & Dragons or Traveler worlds. When I began serious work with machine learning, I recognized how the geometric increase in computing would profoundly transform the world. That story begs to become real, and so I did.
AW: You mentioned your work, all set in science-fiction or cyborg settings, would you let our readers know why you are attracted to that genre?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: Stories must entertain, but great stories also have more profound meaning to our lives. I write near-future sci-fi because I want to help people imagine what our next few decades might be like soon. The more collective brainpower works to shape our future, the more it would turn out to our liking.
AW: When writing about sci-fi, do you do research and if so, how far do you go with your research?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: If you read about human tech in my stories, it’s plausible in the next few decades. Non-human tech doesn’t violate our understanding of the laws of physics. If I don’t already understand something, I research it in detail and confirm with experts.
AW: What is most important to you when writing your novels?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: My stories must captivate the reader and draw them in. If they fail that goal, none of the other reasons I have for writing matter.
AW: Which authors influenced your writing in science-fiction?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: I love Dennis Taylor’s writing, especially the Bobiverse trilogy. His style makes it hard to put the book down, and the stories are well thought out.
[image error]The Gods We Make – Book 1 – by Eric Johannsen
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Besides, what’s not to like about a near-infinite number of Bobs? Asimov and Clarke were my childhood favorites, and I still enjoy re-reading those novels. Also, of course, there’s Frank Herbert’s Dune.
AW: Which of your novels is your favorite and why is it your favorite?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: A character named Ji-min appears in the second novel of my The Gods series. I felt the need to understand her, so I wrote a short story that became a novella, appropriately titled Ji-min.
Her story is so gripping that I still tear up when reading certain passages. If you didn’t know the novella ties into the sci-fi books, you would think it’s a dystopian survival story with a touch of mysticism. When you understand the greater context, you understand the “mysticism” is something else entirely…
AW: Do you believe in alien visiting our world, by that I mean in abduction or close encounters of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th kind?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: I don’t put much faith in tales of farmers abducted and probed somewhere out in the countryside. A species capable of crossing the stars would have sensors and scanners able to gather all the information they need without the messy lingering memories. Alternatively, you know, they could check the Internet to learn everything we know about our physiology and psychology.
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I do put faith in accounts of Navy pilots, including video, and other highly-trained aviators around the world with more to lose than to gain by making UFO claims.
Without a doubt, there are unidentified flying objects. Are they extraterrestrial? There isn’t evidence one way or the other, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they are.
AW: What made you decide to be self-published?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: When my first novel was through the first draft, I went to Comic-Con. Rather than camp out for Hall H, I attended the many professional seminars on world building, character development, and finding a market for your work.
I realized I could dedicate myself to finding an agent then hoping for a publisher, or I could take my fate into my own hands. Publishers can still be tremendously helpful, but they’re not what they once were. Their competition is growing and their margins shrinking, so the prospects of an upcoming author with a traditional publisher aren’t stellar.
[image error]The Gods We Seek – Book 2 – by Eric Johannsen
AW: What sets you apart from other science-fiction and cyborg authors?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: I know technology and physics exceptionally well. If I write it, it could happen. There’s no “tech-babble” in my work. I weave these plausible futures into a fast-paced, action-oriented tale of adventure and intrigue, entertaining the reader while sharing new possibilities.
AW: What can readers look forward to from Eric Johannsen in 2019?
ERIC JOHANNSEN: The Gods We Find, due out mid-year, concludes a three-novel story arc. The Gods We Are, due out late 2019 or early 2020, resolves the more significant conflict of the first three books.
The future is a product of our imagination, determination, and compassion. Let’s make it a good one!
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