Podcast Episode 14: The Adventures of Alex Detail and His Author

Darren CampoIn episode 14, the last episode of 2010, The Genre Traveler chats with author (and TV producer) Darren Campo about his books in the Alex Detail series. Along the way we discuss the virtues of Pluto, colonizing Venus, utopian vs. dystopian science fiction, how working in television can help you write a novel, adding plausibility to your science fiction, the role (and importance) of collaboration in traditional publishing, the rise of the non-trilogy series and good writing habits. Darren also makes some good suggestions about books you might want to read for inspiration.

To help defray the cost of hosting the podcast, archived episodes greater than four months old will be made available for sale at $0.99 per episode.

Duration: 30:44
File Size: 35.2 MB

You can listen to a snippet here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDnQDyXKJpY

Mentioned in this Episode:

Hayden Planetarium Hayden Planetarium
Central Park West and 79th Street
New York, NY 10024-5192
(212) 769-5100

Pluto
First discovered in 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaough, Pluto was once considered the furthest planet from the sun. In 2006, the planet was demoted to “dwarf planet.”

Venus
Venus is the second planet from the sun and it’s bright spot in our sky is called both the Evening Star and the Morning Star.

Clones and Cloning

Total Recall Total Recall
This 1990 film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was inspired by Philip K. Dick’s short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.” For this and other science fiction works that inspired films, check out Reel future. The Stories that inspired 16 classic science fiction movies. I read it in August of 2004 and promise you’ll find in illuminating.

Utopian vs. Dystopian Science Fiction
I wrote this short post about this topic in my Examiner.com column as the Long Beach Speculative Fiction Examiner.

The Dragonlance Chronicles The Dragonlance Chronicles series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Hyperion by Dan Simmons Hyperion by Dan Simmons
The Hero with a Thousand Faces The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell
This concept was mentioned in Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

The Shannara Series by Terry Brooks

For more information about Darren Campo:

For previous episodes go here.

   

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About the author

As The Genre Traveler, Carma Spence loves to view the world through Genre-Coloured glasses. In other words, she sees the world through a lens of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, where trash cans can be Daleks in disguise and neighborhood forests can harbor faeries and sprites. Magic realism is real! Or at least you can choose to see the world that way to add to the fun and awe of life.