Science fiction is an all-encompassing genre. By this I mean that you can take any other genre and fold it within the towering walls of SF. This allows a writer to set romance, action, adventure, mystery, horror and fantasy within any setting at any time. Even a brow-furrowing genre like literary fiction can find a home there – take Shelley's Frankenstein for an example. There simply is no other genre as flexible. As a result, one can let one's imagination spin a tale without bounds … that's the beauty of the genre and why I chose it.
What do you find most challenging about the writing process, and how do you deal with it?
Spinning a tale in one's mind sufficiently formed to begin writing is my biggest challenge. I never use an outline, because I'd rather be surprised by the characters and circumstances that evolve during the writing. I enjoy a good tale with surprising twists, and what better way to generate one than not know what will happen next?
When and where do you do your writing?
I usually write in my man cave at home. With doors sealed, surrounded by memorabilia, paintings and sketches, books and clutter, the den reeks of stories yearning to see the light of day.
What have you learned about promoting your books?
Promoting books is the most difficult task for the modern writer. Gone are the days of big book publishers willing to shower you with advances, set up interviews and publicity events, and send you off on pre-paid book signings jaunts around the country. Jessica Fletcher and Rick Castle are the only ones I recall getting that treatment. Small publishers are the rule now, and with that comes the onerous task of marketing and publicity which largely falls on the writer's shoulders. I use social media, local bookstores and newspapers, and book signing events at conferences, and even then the promotions are a challenge.
What are you most proud of as a writer?
Proud is not the feeling that describes success as a writer for me. I enjoy writing when I see the gleam in a reader's eye, when a reader tells me the story affected him/her. It's the joy of communicating a novel idea, sharing a unique vision, walking hand-in-hand with the reader across an alien landscape … when that happens, I'm happy.
If you could have dinner with any writer, living or dead, who would it be and what would you talk about?
Isaac Asimov. The greatest mind in science fiction ever. I'd sit at a dinner table with him, and let him talk about anything. A close friend of his once asked …"What's it like to know everything?" Asimov answered, "Terrifying." I'm far from terrified, but I don't mind getting scared.
Author Bio
After retiring in 2009, Arthur M. Doweyko took up writing fiction. His novel Algorithm garnered a 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award. He has also published a number of short stories, many of which have been selected as Finalists in the Royal Palm Literary Award contest, and two Honorable Mentions in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest.
Arthur was awarded the 2008 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for his contribution to the discovery of Sprycel, a novel anti-cancer drug successfully brought to the marketplace in 2009. He has authored over one hundred publications (papers, abstracts, patents, book chapters) and has been an invited lecturer in a number of drug-discovery and computational venues.
Arthur lives in Florida with the love of his life, Lidia. When he’s not writing, he’s happily wandering the beaches.
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/@aweyken
Website: http://www.arthurmdoweyko.com/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2c4vWlv
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30236739-as-wings-unfurl