Don’t you just love to read what authors say about their own books and writing?  Today we get a private look into the mind of author Casandra Davis whose book Dremiks is one of the Top Five Finalists for the Kindle Book Review’s The Best Indie Books of 2012.  Dremiks is nominated in the SCI-FI genre.

The Interview Questions No One Ever Asks about Dremiks, by Cassandra Davis

Q:  Did you ever consider publishing “Dremiks” under a more gender-neutral name?

A:  I absolutely did.  I agonized for months over what pen-name to use. My first name (Amy) and my last name (Davis) are incredibly common and I was afraid they’d get lost in a Google search for authors.  I considered using A.C. Davis specifically because I was afraid male readers of science-fiction wouldn’t take my book seriously.  I honestly don’t know if this is still the case.

Q:  What made you think your book was good enough to be published?

A:  Extreme hubris.  Seriously, I struggled with doubt.  I was terrified to let family members read it. What if your own Mom tells you “Your book sucks”?  I wasn’t sure my ego could withstand a blow like that.  Turned out, she didn’t think it sucked but she did take extreme umbrage with my inability to consistently use commas.

Q:  Isn’t Maggie O’Connell just a cooler version of you?

A:  Ha—NO!  It’s true that I gave Maggie a few of my own traits, but Captain Hill and Doctor Ruger are far more like me than Maggie could ever be.

Q:  Why are all of the characters in “Dremiks” fundamentally flawed in one way or another?

A:  I think there are two answers to this question.  The first, and most obvious, is that we humans are all imperfect beings struggling with our foibles. If authors write truly personable characters, people who readers can relate to, then they must make those characters possess flaws and undesirable traits.  The second answer is that I’m a broken person myself and I just wrote what I knew.

Q:  Looking back, what do you wish you’d done differently when writing this book?

A:  I think I failed with Lt. Tony Price’s characterization.  Tony was written with one concept in mind: That a man can be a complete ass during his life and yet redeem his entire miserable existence with a single act of loyalty and heroism.  From talking with readers and reading reviews, I apparently didn’t make Tony unlikeable enough.  My husband even liked Tony better than Maggie!

Q:  Do you have any other confessions about your writing process?

A:  Oh, so many.  First, I admit that more than a few scenes of “Dremiks” were scribbled in school notebooks while I was supposed to be taking lecture notes. At least I did something productive with my time!  Secondly, the end of “Dremiks”, the last three chapter’s worth, were written and finalized well before the middle third of the book.  I wrote the beginning and the end and then had to go back and figure out how the story got from Earth to Dremiks.

Q:  Did you receive inspiration from particular shows, books, or music?

A:  I watched the mini-series introduction of Battlestar Galactica with a great deal of dread.  Maggie O’Connell had already lived in my head, and on paper, for years by the time Ron Moore re-imagined Starbuck into the virago played by Katee Sackhoff .  I realized immediately that anyone who read my book would think Maggie was just another Starbuck, and there would be no way I could convince them that Maggie had come first.  Oh well! BSG did convince me that there was a market for science fiction that appealed to both women and men and that was character based rather than action-focused. I also listened to hours and hours of Bear McCreary’s amazing BSG soundtrack while finishing the book and doing the edits.

Q:  What are the chances that the sequel to “Dremiks” will be out by Christmas, as you originally promised?

A:  Oh, about the same as the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth between now and Christmas.  Sorry!