Author S. T. SANCHEZ: Interview with Daniel Sullivan author of The Silver Liner: Takes Flight

Today I'd like to welcome Daniel Sullivan to the blog. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Daniel Sullivan, and I am a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author. In addition to writing, I am an avid motorcyclist and a martial arts instructor (Kendo and Hapkido – 4^th degree black belt). I am also the proud parent of two adult sons, whom I raised as a single parent.

That's impressive, I have a brother who is a 2nd degree black belt. I know it takes a lot of work. What got you into writing?

I’ve always loved coming up with stories and have had story ideas for as long as I can remember. I loved creative writing assignments in school, but the bulk of my work ended up being on world building and adventures for my Dungeons & Dragons games. I actually hand-wrote a fantasy novel based on the game world my friends and I had created, and later, wrote a vampire story, but never made any moves to publish either one.

I was an avid fantasy reader and sci-fi moviegoer, and always would think, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if someone did a story/film about this or that …’ Eventually, I asked myself why I kept waiting for someone else to write my ideas. One of the things that I loved about tabletop RPG was creating and developing the game-world, and I found that years of doing that proved very helpful in creating the world in a story.

I decided to try my hand at actually writing a novel, which ended up being “The Silver Liner: Takes Flight!” I published it in 2015, and now, I have a “Silver Liner” series.

Share a short excerpt from your novel

An excerpt from “The Silver Liner: Takes Flight!”

Oblivious to the activity around her, the doctor ordered another drink. She normally did not have more than one, but this might be her last drink as a free woman for the foreseeable future.

“They will catch you, you know,” Casey said to her as he poured the drink.

“It doesn’t matter; I can’t leave,” she lamented. Picking up the drink and looking at it as she swirled it around, she exhaled a deep sigh. “My passes are all deactivated. I’m out of money, so I cannot even bribe my way onto a ship.”

“Have you tried Father O’Bannon?”

“No. I won’t put him at risk. I’m classified as an interplanetary terrorist now. Involving him will only hurt the only church on this damnable station. You know they’ll close it down at the drop of a hat. I cannot be the cause of that. No, this is the end of the line. Fifty-two years with nothing to show.”

“Ah, lass, but that aint true,” Casey protested, but the doctor shook her head.

“Casey, I’m a penniless, childless old maid,” she lamented. “I had wanted … so much more; a husband, children, a family … but it’s over. There is nothing left for me to do but wait until they finally close in. Hopefully, my last hours of freedom will be interesting.”

“Well don’t look now, Doc,” said the bartender, “but interesting is sitting two stools to your left.”

She looked over and saw a tall man clad head to toe in black leather. The jump suit had a high collar and was form fitting enough for her to tell that he was fairly well built. He wore his hair in a pompadour style, something she would never have recognized had she not seen an old movie from the twentieth century at a museum as a little girl. The man had an air of cool confidence about him and his upper lip was in a perpetual curl resembling a snarl. At his hip was a pulse pistol. When she was a teen, she would have swooned for him. Now, she just looked admiringly.

“Who is he?” she whispered, leaning in close so that “Interesting” would not hear her ask.

“Captain Ken Royce,” replied the bartender softly as he absently cleaned a glass. “He delivers our beer and whiskey.”

Sounds intriguing. Which do you prefer: print books or ebooks?

Print, but due to lack of shelf space, I’ve begun purchasing more e-books.

I feel the same way. I love print, but when I travel e-books are so much more convenient. Daniel, currently, what are you working on?

I’m currently proofing the edited copy of the fifth and final Silver Liner novel. I just finished a fourth draft of a new Sci-Fi book, “The Cyber Secession,” and the second draft of a fantasy novel.

Will you tell us a little bit about your main characters?

The main characters of the Silver Liner books are Captain Kendrick Royce and Doctor Fiona Kinsale, the AI of Royce’s ship – Selene, and an android woman named Lena.

Kendrick Royce is a Rockstar-turned-starship captain, who makes his living transporting goods and passengers. He’s a widow of seven years and has become content just flying his star-liner, the Selene. That all changes when he meets Doctor Fiona Kinsale.

Fiona really drives the series, as it is her flight from government and corporate agents that both brings her aboard Royce’s ship and draws him into her conflicts. The addition of the android Lena to the crew adds another layer, as she is likewise being sought by government agents.

Along the way, he picks up a gunner/martial artist named Kang, a whiz kid engineer named Heather, and a middle-aged priest with a dark past.

They are pursued collectively by government agents, corporate thugs, a renegade captain, and the mafia. The only person who doesn’t have someone actively trying to bring him in for something is Captain Royce, though through his association with the others, he becomes a target of all of these forces himself.

Is this a stand-alone novel or part of a series?

“The Silver Liner: Takes Flight!” is part of a near-future sci-fi series. The fifth and final book in the series will be released in June of this year.

A five book series, that's impressive.Daniel, what is the easiest part of the writing process? What is the hardest?

Coming up with ideas is the easiest. Consistency with science and numbers is the most challenging. I write near-future sci-fi, so I deal with launch windows and changing planetary positions. It would be easier if I wrote about ships with FTL and hyperdrives, but that’s not the world I’ve chosen to create.

Do you have people read your drafts before you publish? How do you select beta readers?

My fiancée and I beta read each other’s work, and I pay an editor – Sheryl Polycar – to edit each book. After this last Silver Liner book, I plan to seek out more beta/proof readers, and to add a second editor.

Who designed the artwork for your cover? Or did you design it yourself?

Ashley Martinez of C.M. Wright’s Author Services has done the covers for all five of my books. I gave her a general idea of what I wanted and she has masterfully translated my ideas into images.

That's great. It can be hard to find someone who can visualize what you want and get it write. What was your biggest challenge when writing? Did you have any writer’s block? If so, how did you work your way through it?

The biggest challenge is sticking to my original ideas as I write. Sometimes, changes are very necessary, as new and/or better ideas come to me, but it’s easy to lose track of your intended direction. RE writer’s block, I just force myself to write everyday and just accept that when going through periods of writer’s block, most of what gets typed will simply be a placeholder for when ideas finally do come. I am often surprised to find that just by writing, the ideas tend to come.

I think writing everyday is important. What was your writing process like?

I come up with an idea and write it down/type it up. It can be as simple as ‘five people on a spaceship are being chased by hitmen and the captain is a rocker with a pompadour a fast ship’ or as detailed as an actual plot synopsis complete with an outline.

Once I have the idea, I usually let it sit for a few days, and then I go back in and add more. Usually, I’m already in the middle of an existing project, but once that project is finished or comes to a stopping point, I then jump into the new idea and start fleshing it out. Eventually, it turns into copious amounts of author notes, and then into a first draft.

Which do you find more challenging inventing the hero or the villain? Why?

Honestly, the hero. I find that creating a compelling hero is more challenging because it’s so easy to simply write a virtuous hero who fights for what’s right. I like my heroes more nuanced. Not all of my heroes want to fight, and not all of them are virtuous. Also, there are so many well-defined hero archetypes that are ingrained into our psyche, so I try to create characters that deviate from these archetypes.

Daniel, any last words?

I thank you for taking the time to interview me!

Thanks for sharing with us today. Before to check out more from Daniel at the links below. Happy Reading!!