Just for Fun Friday: In Conversation with Author S.D. Miller

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Just for Fun Friday: In Conversation with Author S.D. Miller

Weaving thought-provoking themes into captivating narratives, Miller seeks to challenge norms and ignite imaginations with his storytelling. His novels balance action and social commentary to craft gripping stories that invite readers to explore technology, power, and resistance.

In Conversation With S.D. Miller

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with author S.D. Miller. Thanks for dropping by. Can I offer you anything to drink?

Brought my own bottle, thanks.

What are we drinking?

Forty Creek. Cheers.

That’s a good whiskey choice. Cheers.
It’s nice to talk to a fellow Canadian. Did you grow up in Nova Scotia?

I did, yeah. In Upper Kennetcook, a community kinda between Winsor and Truro. But I’ve lived abroad for the majority of my adult life. I recently moved back to NS three years ago and bought a home near Liverpool.

What got you into writing?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, but had done so for essays for school and stuff. I was a perfectionist. I would complete essays two weeks before they were due in university then let them sit, come back and edit, then rinse/repeat. I learned to be a ruthless editior of my work early on. Especially for my philosophy classes, where the wording had to be so precise.

But as a creative outlet it was very recently. Since graduating from MSVU back in 2002, I went into teaching pretty quickly. I’d always found lesson planning to be a satisfying creative outlet. But in 2019, I became an administrator and no longer needed to plan lessons. I started searching for another creative outlet. Writing came pretty naturally.

What authors influenced you?

How long you got? Ha ha. It’s an interesting question, because I’m tempted to list my favourite authors, but those aren’t necessarily the most direct influences, are they? I’ll start by listing two:

1. Robert Heinlein: I love Starship Troopers! I first read it in a Sci/fi literature course at Mount Saint Vincent, and couldn’t believe how good it was. I had already seen the movie and didn’t like it. At the time I didn’t understand the satire of the film and just thought it was a dumb space shooter. But the book grabbed me. From there I read Stranger in a Strange Land and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. What I always love about his writing, and what I attempt to emulate in my own, is his blend of fun—sometimes pulpy—action with serious philiosophy.

2. Gart Whitta: I follow a company called Kinda Funny, they do podcasts and shows on video game news and pop culture content. A really great group, and sometimes Gary Whitta will guest host. He has been a video game writer since the 90s and is also a successful screenwriter. He wrote the Book of Eli and was a co-writer on Rogue One.
During the pandemic Hollywood dried up a bit, so he used the time to write a book called Gundog. Of course, I bought it and gave it a read. I really enjoyed the story. It was pretty straight-forward: alien invasion + human resistance with giant mechs. It was a lot of fun. But what I truly appreciated was the way he wrote it. It was like reading a movie. One of the things that always held me back from writing was that I feared my prose would not be flowery enough. That it would be too direct. But reading Gundog, I realized this is how I want to write! I had an avatar of Gary in my head telling me, “Stop trying to be so damn clever and just write your story!”

I started writing Nekonikon Punk the next day.

What was the first book you remember reading that enthralled you?

The Brother’s War, by Jeff Grubb. I was a big Magic: The Gathering player back in the late 90s, early aughts. I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down. I still remember many of the main characters and cool scenes. There is a section where due to time dialation a group of enemies is able to advance centuries in what is only weeks for the heroes. I’ve used that same premise to explain the threat of AGI compared to humans. Imagine trying to win a chess match against an opponent who gets thirty moves to your one.

Did you plan on Nekonikon Punk being a series?

Yeah, pretty early on I knew it was going to be either a very long book or a two-to-three book series. I had the whole arc in my head and knew where it needed to go. But the more I wrote, the further that end point receeded into the distance. By the end of Ctrl+Break, I knew there were two more books. I just finished Ctrl+Alt, and the climax became what I thought would be the end of act II. So, I have plenty to cover in Book 3, but I’m confident that it will wrap up as a triliogy.

Who does your cover art?

A friend my wife went to high school with. His name is Neal Cervantes. He doesn’t have an IG account anymore and he wants me to just credit his name in the front matter of the book, so that’s what I do. He’s a very talented artist, as well as a great and humble guy. I like him a lot, and would promote him as far and wide as I could if that’s what he wanted.

What music do you like to listen to and do you have any favorite bands/artists?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love The Smashing Pumpkins to my core, especially their first six albums. After Machina, I moved overseas and kinda fell out of the music scene. So much of my music tastes are of the 90s and early aughts.

One thing you’ll notice in the Nekonikon Punk series is that each chapter has a song pairing—kind of like a wine pairing list. There is a QR code in the front of the book that links to my Spotify playlist. I started it by wanting to literally put the “punk” in cyberpunk, but it became a very useful writing tool. Because I only get to write seriously one day per week, listening to the song I paired with the chapter was like a shortcut to get me back in the headspace I was when I wrote it seven days ago.

Many great bands has come out of the Maritimes. Which ones are your favorites and which ones do you wish never made it out?

I don’t begrude any bands their success, even if I don’t personally like them. I was never a big Sloan fan, but I’m happy for them—and Money City Maniacs is a great tune!

I am a huge fan of Old Man Luedecke, esepcially the album Proof of Love. Every song on that one is fire.

The one I’m very happy for is Joel Plaskett. Back in 1996 and 1997 I attended the Canadian Music Conservatory’s summer camp called Summer Rock. It was a two week day camp where they would take teenagers and give them lessons and group them in bands.

Each band had a coach and we would play a show at the end of the camp. Most of the coaches were from the conservatory, but a few were local volunteers. At the time, Joel Plaskett was in a band called Thrush Hermit and they were fairly successful. They even got a track on Kevin Smith’s Mallrats. Anyway, Joel volunteered to teach kids rock music and my group was lucky enough to have him as our coach.

I was bad guitar player and even worse song writer, but he was patient and supportive. We wrote a song together that our band performed at the end of the camp. Solid dude, and I wish him nothing but great success.

Are you ready for the lightning round?
Sure.
Ever been told you look like someone and is so, who?
Samwise Gamgee with a beard.
Magnetic Hill*. Worth the hype?
Nope.
Ever witness a tidal bore?
I grew up pretty close to the Minas basin, so yeah…I’ve seen a few.
Favorite city?
Chaing Mai was the greatest city I’ve ever been to. I stayed there a week and knew I could have moved there. That was twenty years ago; have no idea if it holds up today.
Move beautiful place you have stood?
The top of Bing Shan (Ice Mountain) over 5000m in the Himalayas after a 3-day horse ride from Songpan, China.
Scariest animal you have eencountered?
A bull chasing me out of a barn. Just made it!

*In case you are curious: Magnetic Hill, NB.

This has been a pleasure. Thanks for chatting. Any links you want to share?

Thank you, it’s been fun. I look forward to returning the favor. For more of my writing, check out my blog: https://www.thistoo.ca/
For more information on my work, check out my website: https://www.sdmiller.ca/

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Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/