Today I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with author Eric Wicklund.
Eric is an IT Consultant living in Austin, Texas with his beautiful wife and daughter.
He got hooked on books at a very early age and by twelve, had read every Jack London book he could find. The first Science Fiction book he read was "Decision at Doona" by Anne McAffrey. Eric's favorite author of all time is Ray Bradbury, though he has many favorites. While living in the San Francisco Bay area, he discovered a wonderful used book store named "A Change of Hobbit." It was one of those magical places that would feature in a Charles deLint story. It even featured a friendly cat that liked to be petted while you sat on the floor to read. These days, Eric reads a lot of Military Scifi, Steampunk, and Cyberpunk, and anything related to nanotechnology. Neil Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" triggered a major paradigm shift in his thinking.
Eric served in the US Navy, as an Operations Specialist aboard several surface warships. His first view of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge was on a radar scope where he could watch the cars driving over it. Though he has retired from the Navy, he still keeps up with all the latest naval and aviation technological developments.
Eric's primary writing influences are Ray Bradbury, Gordon R. Dickson, Robert Sheckley, Keith Laumer, C.S. Forester, Jerry Pournelle, David Weber, and John Ringo. He thinks as you read his works you can see a little bit of all of them in there.
What kind of stories do you write?
I like to write about high technology and how it is used in a futuristic society. Even more so, how has society changed because of this technology. I think science fiction should attempt to make a guess at how people might live in the future. All of us instinctively know not to place metal in a microwave, but would a Victorian age person know this? I want my futures to be wonderful and fascinating and strange as a Victorian age person would perceive our own. It’s not only world-building that I like. I want humor and laughs in my adventure. As I reader, I want it all, so as a writer, that’s what I want to deliver.
Can you describe your writing why?
Rampant, unfettered imagination. I’m always thinking “what if?” This is happening every second of my day. No matter what I’m doing, alternative ideas and interpretations spew forth, not like a faucet, but like Niagara Falls. All those ideas need to go somewhere, so the printed page it is.
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
From The Huralon Incident.
“A lucky shot,” grated McCray.
“Standby,” said Xiang, looking worried. “More data coming in. Critical hits on the hyper control runs. Secondaries are down too.” She looked up, the shock plain on her face. “Captain, we cannot enter hyperspace!”
“That’s not possible,” growled McCray, feeling the same shock. He gestured in the air and a screen opened with the harried face of Chief Engineer, Commander Guillermo Parsamayan. “Gui, what the hell happened?”
Gui looked frustrated. “A one-in-a-million shot, sir. Shrapnel from the strike slipped through a gap in the armor and hit both the hyperdrive control runs. This is supposed to be impossible.”
“How long to fix it?”
“I need a couple days at least.”
McCray felt his face sag. “Two days? You gotta be joking.”
Gui shook his head. “No way around it, sir. I got the nanoprinters making parts now, but hypercontrol junctions are complicated pieces of kit. Hyper capability is down for now.”
“Keep me informed, Commander.” McCray ground his teeth in frustration. How could a piddling little pirate do this to his ship and from such a long range? What would those assholes in the admiralty say to this? Whatever the reason, the choices on action had become far simpler now. “Helm! Roll ship and come port to 2-8-5.”
The maneuver neatly unmasked three of Springbok’s lasers. She had four lasers to the Brazil’s two, but while Brazil could only fire one laser in a stern chase, Springbok’s cleverly designed geometry meant she could return fire with three in the same stern chase. At the helm, Raj replied to his order as McCray turned to Lieutenant-Commander Piper. “Guns, you have a targeting solution?”
Piper grinned ferally. “Locked and ready, sir.”
“Fire!”
Tell us about your latest project
My next project is the second book in The Springbok Chronicles. The working title is: The Madrid Solution. A running theme in the book is scientists who try to do one thing, sometimes make accidental and huge discoveries. Also in the second book’s time of war, ESS Springbok may finally fulfill her mission as a merchant raider. However, I always demand humor in my work. Thus the following scene:
Far from being truly asleep, the two marines worked in a virtual reality that looked very much like a standard assault shuttle’s cockpit. That way, Tran could see Candless reaching under her butt.
“Sure,” said Candless. “I’ll just pull a tractor beam out my ass.”
“That must explain why it’s so…”
“Say it, and you’ll clean the bilges for a month!”
“...Perfectly formed?”
“Nice recovery.”
Tran launched again and the grapple bounced off. “Damn! This one’s tough.”
“Let me give it a go,” said Candless. The flexibility of VR proved it’s worth as the controls for the grapple suddenly appeared within reach before her. She manipulated the sighting reticule with her eyes, the onboard computer interpreting her desires via Iris. She fired, and the grapple finally found purchase in a groove and stuck there.
“Ooh rah!” crowed Candless.
“Whatever. Lucky shot.”
The cable suddenly went taught and yanked hard on the heavy shuttle. Inertial balancers reacted perfectly to the sudden motion, and the marines hardly felt the shuttle beginning to spin, though the view of the stars veered wildly.
“Stabilizing,” said Tran. The shuttle’s dark paddles increased their frequency, responding to Tran’s joystick inputs. Fightin’ Franny’s spin slowed and thereby slowed the rotation of the lifeboat. “That did it. Lifeboat is now stable.”
“See that shot?” said Candless. “That’s why I’m the top dog in this outfit.”
“If you’re top dog, does that mean you’re a…”
“Bilges, Tran. Think about it.”
“...Shining example of officerhood?”
“Nice recovery.”
