Putting my music under creative commons licensing has opened up some new, creative and interesting venues for my work. However, topping my list of cool people to collaborate with is Leann Marshall, author of the Independent Publisher Award winning science fiction time travel adventure novel “The Starfish People”.

She came across my song “Silk” and used it in her video on YouTube: The Starfish People Book Trailer. Well after checking out the book, being a huge science fiction fan,  I had to ask Leann more about her story behind the story in our interview below. After reading you can go to LeannMarshall.com to follow links to Amazon to order it.

“The Starfish People” is quite a detailed and creative science fiction work where you write about a world where “There are light cars, biometrics, energy signatures, and time travel.” Do you have a scientific background and what got you interested in technology?

My father’s the one with the mathematical, scientific mind; my mother loves people, reading, writing…both of them love music: classical, popular. So I grew up in an environment that both fed my curiosity about the world, and nurtured it through all of those things and more. I used to leaf through Daddy’s Popular Science and marvel at the new inventions and wonder how they would impact our lives one day.

You have to understand that when I was a child in the early fifties the “world” had just managed to pull itself up from a string of wars that had for the most part monopolized technology. All resources had been pooled and given over to help the troops and build and maintain the weapons and vehicles needed, the scramble to produce new and better ones almost frantic. I mean, think of the atom bomb. While those times were dark ones for humanity, technology certainly hadn’t stopped—it had only been revved up and re-routed. Even after the wars were over and life normalized, that same hunger and drive remained, much of it turning instead toward inventing ways to make life easier and more enjoyable. I could describe how life was back then, but you don’t want to hear all that. I just feel fortunate to be able to remember a calmer, more contented time. And yet, now is such an interesting and exciting time to live. Technology moves with such momentum that the products we buy and use every day become obsolete before their batteries even have a chance to die.

The book has a theme of balancing psychological and social growth with technology. What has happened in your life, or what artistic work has influenced you to put so much thought and emotional expression to that theme?

Having given that background to the reason of my fascination for technology, you can understand why I would have to touch upon the psychology of it in my book. We—you and I—ride the wave of all the collective technology of our ancestors almost without a thought. And while we should certainly take advantage of the results of that knowledge, we need to remember the profound accountability that comes along with it. In other words, while our world has evolved so rapidly because of our innate curiosity and unique ability to envision something and then make it real, I sometimes wonder if humankind has evolved enough emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually to be responsible with that knowledge. I suppose those questions have been ingrained in me from memories of films and books showing footage from the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the impact of industry on our environment—well, you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong—I’m the first to marvel at anything new and admire the strides made in medicine, space, robotics, and so on. I’m saying that unchecked technology comes with a price, doesn’t it?

What role would you envision music having in the future world of Sera Muir, the main character in the story? Do people in her world buy CDs, listen to the radio and go to concerts?

Ah, music! Dan, you know there will always be the music. Humankind will always feel the hunger for expression through this outlet. It swirls at the center of every culture. What would the world be without it? What a divine gift it is, after all! And here, as in other areas of life, technology invents inspiration/inspiration invents technology. Solely using my laptop, for example, I’ve created a book trailer for The Starfish People and was fortunate enough to find your excellent site and zero in on your original song, “Silk” which compliments the visuals perfectly.

In Sera’s Muir’s world, things are on a grand scale. On weekends there is “City Fair,” when everyone makes ready for street festivals…best explained through an excerpt of The Starfish People:

(The text below is taken from Chapter 1, page 23)

Darkness in the city falls mottled and red, never winning out over the tall, windowed buildings that ascend like spires of light against it. Muted music and the racket from the crowds rises from the street far below, through misty air filled with the aroma of hot pretzels and kelp dogs and popcorn. The Wheel approaches on its low platform from the east. It is gargantuan, standing at least fifty stories high, and the main hoop housing its mechanics blacks out the lights from buildings behind it as it rolls to a stop on its great, smooth track. This is the last stop to let on more people; when it resumes, it will not stop again to let its occupants off until early morning.

“Ripping!” I say out loud to no one, admiring the thousands of multicolored lights that emanate from the edges of the glass hoop moving slowly inside the main hoop. In spite of my mood I am mesmerized by the Wheel, although I have never ridden it. I lean over the balcony railing, watching the lines of people entering the Wheel from three different levels to disperse within the glass hoop. It takes several minutes for the throng to board. When the Wheel reaches maximum capacity, those still on the street cheer and wave to those inside.

Finally, the Wheel resumes its motion, and the crowd below roars a tremendous send-off. As it moves alongside my building, I can see the people on all the levels inside the glass wheel as it rolls slowly in the opposite direction within the main wheel. People rise from below me, hundreds of them, as though standing inside a huge Ferris wheel with glass floors instead of cars. They come level with my balcony, then descend again down the other side. They are partying, some dancing to the Wheel’s own music, which overwhelms that on the street. I recognize “Echo” by Black Frenzy—it is fast and pulsating, like a thunderous heartbeat. I see people crowded together, laughing and shouting to be heard above the din. Others linger at the glass, looking out at the city, at me watching them, drinks in their hands. Most of them wear illuminated clothing and DermGlo, and neon Doosas that make their hair seem to dance with light that casts an eerie glow over their excited faces. Some wear only chromatophoric skins over their own, and they are like walking light shows with flashes of color playing over them. As the Wheel rolls slowly by, I feel the wash of wind from its wake in my face, hear the whooshing grind of its workings. It is like a huge, kaleidoscopic creature pulsating with life, leaving me behind. Somewhere inside, swallowed up by the thundering giant, I think as I watch it move away, are Thomas and Neeta—together. And I can’t feel anything at all.

(© 2007 by Leann Marshall)

What is your next book about? What particular artistic works (film, book, music, etc.) have you seen, heard or read after writing “The Starfish People” that inspired new writing approaches or subject matter for your next novel?

My next book is a genre-defying slipstream novel with broad appeal (so says my savvy editor, Marg Gilks)–part mystery, part supernatural thriller with a smattering of backwoods folklore. Readers enjoy a good love story, especially when it’s an otherworldly adventure driven by appealing characters with whom they can identify—even if some of those characters are dead. Think The Sixth Sense and Ghost; audiences who enjoyed those movies would be likely readers for this novel. It transports fans of speculative and mainstream fiction alike through to an exciting and poignant climax.

Now, to answer your question—my loyalties do not lie with one genre. In fact, I don’t think about genre at all when I’m brainstorming for a new project. That way my imagination is not confined in any particular way. When I write, the story just unfolds the way it’s supposed to—the way my characters eventually tell me it happened. Yes, I “hear” my characters. Sounds crazy, but if I don’t hear them, no one else will. This particular book–I was inspired by one of my own stories begun years ago and never finished. I happened upon it one day and thought is sounded interesting, decided to expand it and see what happened.

A side note: The Starfish People was inspired by two separate articles from the Charlotte Observer: one about the ability of starfish to regenerate a lost arm, the other about a homeless man who wrote poetry and died fairly young.
Essentially, I believe that no matter the genre, readers are engaged by tight plotting that keeps them guessing, and eagerly follow characters drawn with insight and compassion. This next book I hope to have published by the end of this year.

Who is the best undiscovered and independent science fiction novelist that everyone should read? What is his or her best book?

Guess I have to admit here that my reading selection is not limited to any specific genre, either. I enjoy any book that allows me to transcend my own world for a little while—a good story (light or dark) through the eyes of interesting characters (good or evil.) I just finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, and am presently reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroble, both on my Kindle—another technological wonder, by the way, controversy notwithstanding.

So it’s difficult for me to answer this question satisfactorily. There is such a surge of fantastic, up and coming writers of all genres at present, independent and otherwise–that it’s hard to keep up!

I really want to thank you, Dan, for this opportunity to talk about The Starfish People. It’s great to find others with common skills and interests and even uncommon ones, and see how they mesh to create something unique. Your music added a compelling dimension to my book trailer and I’m grateful—first, for your imaginative spirit; and secondly, for your kind permission to use your special music it in that way. I hope the future brings you wondrous things.

You are welcome Leann, and thank you for persevering in putting your vivid imagination into words!

Thanks for reading, to get more updates on multimedia projects like this, and my royalty free music, please sign up for my mailing list!

Peace,

Dan-O