Thomas Locke Interview

Today I am delighted to welcome another one of my all-time favourite authors, Thomas Locke aka Davis Bunn! Thomas Locke is a pseudonym for Davis Bunn, an award-winning novelist with worldwide sales of seven million copies in twenty languages. Davis divides his time between Oxford and Florida and holds a lifelong passion for speculative stories. He is the author of Emissary and Merchant of Alyss in 

the Legends of the Realm series, as well as Trial Run and Flash Point in the Fault Lines series. 

Welcome to Interviews & Reviews!

First off, I have to ask - why the pseudonym?

I wanted to use the pseudonym for my Sci-Fi Thrillers and Fantasy books, so that readers wouldn’t be confused.

Makes sense. So what is your latest book about?

At its heart, Fault Lines asks the same question twice. That question is, what would happen if human consciousness could be separated from the physical body?  

A great deal of progress has been made recently in both mapping the brain and in manipulating brain-wave frequencies. In certain cases, people describe being raised out of their bodies during these trials. Their descriptions are very similar to those of near-death experiences. These incidents have become so widespread that they now have a name. They are referred to as voluntary out-of-body experiences, or OBEs.

In my story, this new research takes a giant step forward.  

Out of body experiences can not only be induced at will, but the test subjects maintain conscious control.  They go where they want.  Anywhere.  And at any time.

Two teams have this technology.  One group is made up of scientists who have developed the technique, and see this as an opportunity to expand mankind's horizons. They seek to break the limits of where consciousness can go, and what we as a race can learn.

The second team has stolen the technology, and have just one goal:  To steal the world's most carefully guarded secrets.

What inspired you to write this book?

My first passions as a young reader were fantasy and science fiction.  When I started writing at age twenty-eight, my first mentor was Arthur C Clarke, author of 2001 A Space Odyssey.  Over the past few years I've become increasingly frustrated by the constant negative directions that both fantasy and science fiction were taking.  Distopian fiction, hopelessness, the undead—Do they all have to be tainted by this 

same darkness?  Was there no place any more for the same sort of heroic adventure that so thrilled me as a youngster?  Finally I decided that it was time to stop complaining and do something different.
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Was there anything in particular that you found challenging in writing this book?

A lot of good writing comes down to asking the right questions.  This has never seemed more important to me than with Recruits.  The empty page is open to any number of potential directions—how the characters see their world, what challenges will they face, how do they react, what they strive for...the questions are endless.  But in speculative fiction, even the blank page is redesigned.  All the normal rules governing human existence are thrown open.  What makes a great Sci-Fi story is redesigning reality in a way that resonates with the reader. Helping them see life in a new way, but one they can still recognize within their own normal existence.  It is such a wrenching challenge, and so beautiful when you get it right.
  
Do you have any other books in the works?

I have just today sent off the sequel to Recruits, the novel which was released by Revell last month. This story is entitled Renegades. This is now scheduled for publication in January of next year.

The artist who has been assigned to develop the cover just fell in love with the story, and I have fallen love with his concept.  In many respects I think it is the finest cover I have ever had.  [See cover below]

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

There is nothing that can assist a new writer more, in my opinion, than attending one of the major Christian writers’ conferences.  By ‘major’ I mean one where publishers and agents are in attendance, and you are guaranteed a one-on-one time with them. The days are split in two, with mornings given over to instruction in the chosen field – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screenwriting, etc. The afternoons are all about entering into the commercial realm.  How to create a powerful overview.  How to pitch.  What to expect from your publisher.  

Finally, do you talk to your characters?

No. But in those glorious moments of creative bliss, my characters will sometimes talk to me.

Thank you "Thomas" for stopping by today. If you would like to find out more about Thomas Locke visit www.tlocke.com and don't forget to check out his books below!