Author David Lee Summers promoting his new book,
The Solar Sea, published through LBF Books, an
imprint of Lachesis Publishing.
I recently sat down with David Lee Summers, author of The Pirates of Sufiro, Children of the Old Stars, and Heirs of the New Earth. I spoke with him a little about writing, life, and his newest title, The Solar Sea.
~Tell us a little about yourself--where are you from, married, children, etc?
DLS: I was born and raised in California, but moved to New Mexico for college in 1984. My education is in physics and astronomy and I've spent much of the last 20 years working at observatories. I've been married to Kumie Wise since 1990. She is wonderful and supportive. Her belief in me as a writer has kept me going even when I've been tempted to give up. We have two daughters, Myranda and Verity.
~ Are you a reader as well? What genres do you like to read? Do you write in the same genres?
DLS: My first love was science fiction – people like Harlan Ellison, Norman Spinrad, David Gerrold, and Jerome Bixby. I sought out their works and that really sparked my love of reading. Nowadays, I read all across genre lines. I read mainstream works, poetry, horror, westerns, and even a little romance now and then. I think reading widely and across many genres has helped me to become a better writer.
~ What first sparked that urge to write? When did you know this is what you wanted to do as a career?
DLS: I was a Star Trek fan. Early on, I discovered a book by David Gerrold called The Trouble with Tribbles. The book tells the story of how he wrote and sold the episode of the same name to Star Trek's producers. It's the first time I really remember being aware of writing as a career and I started to think seriously about writing my own stories as a result. The next big spark came in high school. I had the opportunity to meet Ray Bradbury and I told him that I had been writing a few things. He looked me in the eye and told me, "Submit your story now!" I've been fortunate enough to correspond a little with Mr. Bradbury over the years and I've seen him two times since then. A real delight was soon after I sold my story "The Slayers" to Realms of Fantasy, I received a fan letter from Ray Bradbury praising the story.
~ How do you organize yourself? How do you approach the process of writing?
DLS: If I'm working on a novel, the process is a little longer and usually involves some time outlining. I don't really outline in a formal way. Instead, I write ideas that have come to mind on Post-it notes and lay them out on the floor or on a table and start organizing. I shuffle them around until I'm happy, throwing out the ones that aren't necessary and adding ones that are needed. Then I draft the whole thing into a simple structural outline. I usually don't end up following it religiously, but I do use it as a roadmap. In this case, I treat each of the scenes – each of the moments written on a Post-it note – like I treat a short story. I visualize it then I sit down to write.
~ Do your characters come first or does the story?
DLS: Generally speaking, characters come first for me. In the same way that it's difficult to write a story that hasn't happened, it's hard to write a story when you don't care about the people who are living it. Also if I know the characters well, it's easier to know what they'll do in a given set of circumstances. In a way, my characters are like good friends. I try to know them well before I start writing.
That said, every now and again, the plot has come to my mind before the characters. Even in that case, I find myself asking who the people are living that story. Why are they in that set of circumstances and sometimes the story does change depending on my answers to the questions.
~ Who do you write for as you create that story--to please an audience? To please yourself? A little of both?
DLS: Mostly I write to please myself. My attention span is limited enough that if a story doesn't please me, I'm not going to stick with it. That said, the potential audience for a story or novel tends to be in the back of my mind. I do ask myself if the audience is going to believe or be entertained by the course of actions taken by my characters. So, while my impressions of the audience don't drive the story or dictate what I write, they do provide something of a litmus test.
Every now and again, I've been fortunate enough for an editor to suggest a story theme for an anthology or a magazine. If the theme grabs me and I think I can write a story that will entertain me based on that theme, I will write it. If the theme doesn't grab me sufficiently, I usually pass on the idea.
~ How do you deal with rough patches, aka the dreaded writer's block?
DLS: Because of the way I work, I don't tend to suffer writer's block in the usual way, where you sit down in front of the computer and no words come. Usually I know enough about what I'm going to write before I sit down that the words come pretty easily. However, I do occasionally get patches where I get stuck. If that happens, I usually get up, take a walk, wash the dishes or do something quiet that will allow me to think and fill in the blanks or decide how the story will change as a result of the character's actions.
~ What kind of stories fascinate you? What do you like to write the most?
DLS: Regardless of genre, I like stories where compelling characters are engaged in solid action that in turn pulls me along from scene to scene, but also give me something to think about. Perhaps the story explores a moral issue, takes me to a place I've never been before or perhaps there's a complex mystery to untangle. Superb examples of fiction I enjoy are the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O'Brien, the novel Red Thunder by John Varley, and the St. Germain novels of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. My goal is to give my readers an experience that is both fun and thoughtful with characters they will like spending time with.
~ Tell us about your latest novel?
DLS: In spite of being my latest novel, The Solar Sea is actually the first idea I ever had for a novel. It tells the story of a group of men and women who travel to Saturn aboard a solar sail spacecraft seeking a powerful new source of energy. Along the way, they stop off to explore Mars and Jupiter where they uncover an even deeper mystery.
One of the important themes of the book is that no matter how much you study something from afar, and no matter how much you think you understand it, there can still be surprises. Also, the book provides a bridge from how we get from the contemporary world to the world of my novels.
If you'd like to know more about David, you can also friend him at his Facebook page or through his MySpace account. The Solar Sea and all of David's books are available through LBF Books, Amazon.com, and all online booksellers.
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