Richard Hacker is a longtime
resident of Austin, Texas who now writes and lives in Seattle.
His writing has been
recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas and the Pacific Northwest Writers
Association. In addition to his writing, he provides editing services to other
writers and is the editor of an online science fiction and fantasy journal, Del
Sol Review. His three published humorous crime novels ride the sometimes thin
line between fact and fiction in Texas. DIE
BACK, his first fantasy thriller novel, has been published by Del Sol
Press.
When not writing he’s singing
in a vocal jazz ensemble, cooking with a sous vide and a blow torch, or
exploring the Pacific Northwest with his wife and his springer spaniel, Jazz.
Website Link: http://www.richardhacker.com
Twitter Link: @Richard_Hacker
Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/RWHacker
In 272 AD Egypt, an enemy thwarts an attempt by League Inkers, Thomas Shaw
and Nikki Babineaux, to obtain the Alchįmeia, a document holding
alchemical secrets. Sensing his impending
Fixated on the pen, Addison inks into a B-17 bombardier in 1943. The pilot,
whose consciousness has been taken over by someone calling himself Kairos,
gloats over killing Addison’s father and boasts of plans to destroy the League.
As Kairos attempts to wrest Addison’s consciousness, Nikki shocks Addison out
of the Inking. She confesses her knowledge of
the League. When Kairos threatens to steal aviation technology, she she
sends Addison and his partner, Jules, to an Army test of the Wright Flyer in
1908. Believing they have succeeded, they return to find the continuum shifted
and Nikki knowing nothing about the League.
Inking back to his father’s mission in Alexandria, Addison and Jules hope
to get his help in returning the time continuum to its original state. Instead,
Addison’s father gives him the Alchįmeia to hide in a crypt at the Great
Lighthouse on Phalos. On their return to the present a Kairos agent murders
Jules, her consciousness Inked into the past. Addison follows the clues, Inking
into Pizarro in 16th century Peru. He finds Jules in the child bride of the
Inca emperor. His plan to find the technology and save Jules without destroying
the Inca civilization is thwarted by a fleet of Inca airships. Captured, he is
taken to Machu Picchu. With Jules help, they find the stolen schematics, but are
confronted by Kairos. He stabs Addison, forcing Addison’s consciousness back to
the present and traps Jules in the 16th Century. Addison returns to another
altered world. Nikki no longer exists, the world is at war with the Inca, and
Manhattan lay in ruins.
Addison
Inks his father, learning the origins of the League. Thomas urges Addison to
uncover their enemy with the help of his colleague, Maya. Putting suspicion on
another inker, Cameron, she insists he
must be killing Inkers and acquiring Pens. In a final attempt to stop him, they
entrap Cameron, only for Addison to discover Maya is Kairos, his enemy. She kills Cameron, also wounding
Addison. He chases Maya, who intimates that
she holds his mother’s, Rebecca’s, consciousness. Confused he delays, giving
her time to scrawl a name with her pen before shooting her dead.
Inked away when Maya died,
Kairos finds himself, not in his intended host, Hitler, but in a German
infantry soldier POW in the Ardenne during the Battle of the Bulge, WWII.
Hoping to repair the shift in the time continuum, Addison brings the League
Pens together with the fate of the world and everyone he loves at stake. He
awakens to a dissimilar world, but Jules and Nikki exist. And with life there
is always hope.
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We welcome you to My Bookish
Pleasures! Can you tell us how you got started writing fiction?
Thanks for having me. It’s always a pleasure to be with
other lovers of books and reading and writing. I got my start writing fiction
while in the third grade. I started writing short stories which I read to the
class for show and tell. Why I did that, I’m not so sure. My squirrel skeleton
in a shoebox had been a hit, but I think having the class respond to my stories
got me hooked on writing.
Describe your writing process.
Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I’ve done it both ways. My
crime novels, which are light, humorous stories along the lines of Elmore
Leonard’s Get Shorty, were almost
stream of consciousness—at least for the first draft! Dieback is a more complex story combining speculative and
historical fiction, as well as being a fantasy/thriller. With so many details
and twists and turns I had to work from an outline which got adjusted as I
wrote. I also have a meta-structure in mind, which I think most novelist do.
Maybe all not identical, but some key pegs to hang the story on. At the highest
level I’ll know what my inciting incident will be, the first major plot point,
the major reversal, the second major plot point, the climax, and the
denouement. Of course, there’s lots more detail within those primary points.
Technically I tend to use Scrivener for my initial draft and then pull it into
Word for editing and formatting.
I’ve made a point of not having too much structure around my
writing. I know for some writers, they need to write from 7-11 pm Monday through Friday at the desk in the back
room of the apartment while drinking tea, and with a piece of chocolate. And it
works for them. For me, I want—and do—write anywhere, anytime. I do more
writing in the afternoons, but sometimes I write in the mornings. I write on my
sofa, a desk in a back room, a standing desk, various coffee shops, and
airplanes. For myself, I just don’t want to create any barriers. I don’t want
to think ‘I can’t write now because I’m not at my desk’.
Can you tell us about your most
recent release?
Absolutely! Here’s a quick
blurb about Dieback.
Six hundred years after a
fifteenth century scryer gains the alchemical knowledge to create a dark future
in his own image, Addison Shaw inherits a destiny: to fight this ancient war
that threatens all he loves with extinction. Using an alchemical pen, he writes
himself into past lives, leaving his body in the present. Upon completion of
his mission, he must die in order to break the link and return home. While his
enemy, Kairos, plays a three-dimensional chess game across the centuries, with
each ‘Inking’, Addison’s world shifts further into chaos. From ancient Alexandria to modern Tokyo, Addison and his fellow Inker, Jules, fight a time war
against Kairos. After Jules is murdered in the present and her consciousness
trapped in an Inca princess five hundred years in the past, Addison,
alone and close to defeat, realizes that the only way to save his world is to
destroy it.
To save the future he must die in the past, and as often as
possible.
How did you get the idea for
the book?
This might sound odd, but it
started with a fountain pen. I was holding a fountain pen one day and my mind
wandered to the power of words. Human beings have been naming things since the
beginnings of language. It’s how we find our place in the world and in some
cases I think, gives us a sense of control. Or at least the illusion of control.
So, what would happen if a character had a pen filled with alchemical ink that
when he wrote the name and a date for someone living in the past, his
consciousness would be transported into that person? What would he do with that
astounding capability? And as with most technology, what if someone decided to
use the alchemy to acquire power and control time itself? How would the
protagonist fend off this attack on the time continuum and reality as he knows
it? And then I put the fountain pen down, pulled at the laptop, and started
writing.
Of all your characters, which
one is your favorite? Why?
The protagonist, Addison Shaw,
is a complicated guy. He has a deep guilt and sense of responsibility for the
death of girl friend when he rolled their car on a mountain road in a
snowstorm. He carries the scars of that night, emotionally and physically with
a damaged knee requiring him to use a cane to walk. He went from school athlete
to disabled loner. As the story progresses he will face even greater challenges
and will have to find a way to heal himself enough to move forward. He’s also a
bit of a smart ass, a little compulsive, more shy than he’d like you to think,
and willing to act even when he’s terrified.
What was the most challenging
aspect of writing your book?
Keeping everything straight!
The story goes all over the
world, past, present and future. Ancient Alexandria, Egypt; modern Tokyo; WWI
France, sixteenth century England, an altered present Austin and Seattle; WWII
Guadalcanal; and fifteenth century Peru to name a few. As the story unfolds the
time continuum shifts, sometimes with subtle changes and sometimes with radical
shifts in culture and technology. And my characters have to play on this
multi-dimensional playboard. So, I had to be structured to the point of working
from an outline and making notes to myself at the end of each writing session
to keep me oriented.
What projects are you currently
working on?
I’ve got a completed draft of the
follow-on to Dieback—no title yet—and
am hoping to publish in the Spring of 2019. I’m currently writing the third
installment to the series as well, and that would hopefully come out either
late 2019 or early 2020. I also have a
science fiction novel I’m probably going to self-publish just for fun. It’s
called The Bifurcation of Dungsten Crease.
There’s no publication date set yet for that one.
What advice would you offer to
new or aspiring fiction authors?
Be persistent. When you’re writing a novel, edit, edit,
edit. When you’re looking for an agent, pitch, pitch, pitch. When you’re
marketing your book, sell, sell, sell. And of course, the nature of the beast
is you have to do all of those things at the same time!
Be open to critique. Early on, I think it’s difficult for
authors to hear critique because it feels so personal. I’ve just poured my
heart onto the page and you’re telling me my protagonist is one-dimensional?
Don’t take critique personally. Take a step back from it and see what truth
there is for you.
Continually hone your craft by going to conferences and
workshops, working with other writers
Write, write, write. Write what you love to write Write what
jazzes you. I think it leads to better writing and it’s a lot more fun.
Thanks so much for allowing me to spend some time with you.
For fun, go check out the trailer for the book. https://youtu.be/qesyHscyzNM And I’d
love to hear from you. Visit my website, www.richardhacker.com
and drop me a line.
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