As you know I loved Michael Rubens scifi space opera The Sheriff of Yrnameer. Michael was nice enough to agree to an interview. Below Michael talks about his influences, his writing process and his thoughts around being compared to Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. Many thanks to Michael for taking the time to answer some questions. And the best of all, Michael has begun working on a sequel. Hmm, maybe I can finagle my hands on a preview for the next one…
Tom Dell’Aringa: When I read about your background writing and producing for CNN, the Travel Channel and Oyxgen I was surprised (but happy) that your first novel was a science fiction space opera. The only experience that seems to fit is your work with The Daily Show. What made you choose science fiction?
Micheal Rubens: I grew up reading fantasy and scifi, and I think what attracted me to writing it is the same thing that attracted me to reading it: the normal rules don’t apply, meaning the author has tremendous freedom in terms of world-building, plot, number and distribution of the characters’ eyeballs, etc.
Tom: You seem a complete natural writing for science fiction and space opera in particular. What authors and books do you think influenced The Sherriff of Yrnameer?
Michael: People tend to think of Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett, but I actually consider The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison to be a stronger influence. Cole, the main character of Yrnameer, is somewhat like an incompetent third cousin to Harrison’s great antihero Jim DiGriz.
Tom: It’s inevitable that people are going to compare The Sherriff of Yrnameer with Douglas Adams’ work. Early in the book I almost felt like I was reading one of Adams’ books. To me, it was wonderful and I literally woke up my wife laughing out loud at parts while reading in bed. But there are always going to be fans of his work who will chafe at the similarity in style. How do you feel about those comparisons?
Michael: Yeah, if you write humorous scifi it’s hard to avoid those comparisons — even the flap copy of the hardcover makes them. Those comparisons tend to make me very nervous, because that’s sacred territory for many fans, and I think one can only suffer in comparison to a pioneer like Adams. As I mentioned, the other comparison that I tend to get is with Terry Pratchett, whose work I had never read until I was about halfway finished with writing Yrnameer. Reading Pratchett’s work made me stop writing for about a month — why bother, I thought, who could ever match this guy. Someone called me the next Terry Pratchett. There will never be a next Terry Pratchett or a next Douglas Adams. I’m just hoping that people can enjoy my book for what it is.
That said, if every person who ever bought a Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett book bought my book…..
Tom: In your FAQ you talk about how the book grew out of a pilot you wrote (but never sent out) for television, with branded planets being the logical end to the trend corporate naming for stadiums. It seems that the corporate branding issue is really only the backdrop or milieu for the story of Cole to take place where he attempts to solve his issues with Kenneth, the women in his life and the situation on Yrnameer. Was Cole always the real center of the story or did he evolve more as the pilot grew into a novel?
Michael: To be honest, it’s hard to reconstruct the process by which the story grew — did the setting come first, or the characters, or the story? It’s all sort of blurry by now.
Tom: What was your writing process like? Was the book completed on the side while you worked on other shows?
Michael: I haven’t really had the luxury of being able to write full time, except for some periods when I was between gigs. I try to write a little bit each day — at least a page. When I can, I sprint, and crank out as many pages as possible. Most times, though, it’s a slow, steady marathon.
Tom: One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book were the interesting and likable characters. The cast is large enough to be varied and interesting, yet well crafted enough that they all have their own voices. None of them seem flat or uninteresting. Even Kenneth, who you would have to classify as the villain, is likable and even funny. What do you think the key is to creating and writing good characters?
Michael: First off, thanks for saying that. Second, I’m not sure what the key is — I’m still trying to figure that out. Ask me again in about five books, and I might have a cogent answer.
Tom: In writing for Marooned, I’m constantly trying to strike a balance between telling a larger story and injecting some fun humor. It is a comic after all. Your book is very funny, but there’s also the story of Cole who goes through some key changes and must make some tough decisions throughout the book. There’s no doubt he comes out something of a different person at the end, and he had to make choices that certainly went against his historical character. How important was it to you that the reader see the changes in Cole, and to a lesser extent change in some of the other characters versus having the story be funny and lighthearted?
Michael: I think there has to be an undercurrent of real tension and danger and reality to the situation — otherwise it’s just completely absurd, and you don’t care what happens to the characters one way or the other. And it’s a cliche, but the characters really do have to undergo some sort of change — for better or worse — for a narrative to be successful. Someone said on their blog that they found the book funny and entertaining, but also unexpectedly moving, which really made me happy.
Tom: There are so many different ways authors work around the issue of star travel and long distances. I found your concept of “bending” to be unique and fun which fit the story perfectly. I really enjoyed the descriptions of what happened while they were bending. How important did you think the description and science behind their method of interstellar travel was to the overall story, and how did you end up with the concept of bending?
Michael: I think I was just looking for some solution other than “jumping,” which seems to be the preferred verb for interstellar travel — “We have to make the jump to the Wahoogee system!” Bending seemed as good as anything else, and sort of made sense to someone like me with my infantile grasp of actual physics. Plus it allowed me to make a childish joke, i.e. the motto of the BendBox company is “Get Bent!”
Tom: You mention you hope there will be many more hapless misadventures for Cole. I can only hope this is true. The end of the book clearly seems to indicate there’s plenty more to Cole’s story. Have you begun work on the next story?
Michael: I’ve been lucky enough to have a few other writing projects, but they sort of took me away from the world of Yrnameer for a bit. That said, I have started on the sequel.
Thanks again Michael. If you haven’t read the book yet, head over and get your copy now!
