Welcome everyone to the inaugural installment of my Indie Author Spotlight series. I could not start this without highlighting the incomparable skill of an amazing science fiction author, Frasier Armitage. I’ve come to know and love his work over the years and I can safely say he is a singular talent, impactful author, and great friend. I could fill this space with superlatives, but it’s just simpler to learn about him through his own words.
My note: Frasier is British and I have changed his responses to American spellings where appropriate. It’s not a dis on the original practitioners of our Mother Tongue, it’s to calm the nerves of my spellchecker.
Author’s Name: Frasier Armitage
Website: https://frasierarmitage.com/
Book Title: Time’s Ellipse
Book Genre: Sci-fi
What’s the audience for this book? For adults who enjoy speculative fiction and sci-fi
Where can I get this book? https://frasierarmitage.com/times-ellipse/
What inspired you to write your latest book?
I’ve often found that inspiration is like a wedding cake — it comes in different tiers. I could say the discovery of the Trappist-1 exoplanets in 2017 was the genesis of this idea. Or conversations about the cyclical nature of time. Or the question of whether change is an aspect of human nature. But really, I think the biggest inspiration for Time’s Ellipse — the deepest and densest layer, and the main flavor of the book — comes from the mind-blowing privilege of parenthood. The book is an exploration of what it means to be a child and a parent, and how those roles shape us in different ways. It’s a book that’s rooted in family, masquerading as high concept sci-fi. But a lot of my writing puts on the disguise of being high concept, when really, it’s just a way of me trying to understand the people who fill my heart.
How do you think your book stands out in its genre?
I’ve had some lovely feedback from readers who’ve said that Time’s Ellipse is different to anything else they’ve read. And I think the structure of the book is what leads them to say that. It’s episodic. Not split into chapters, but split into perspectives. Imagine a 9 part limited TV series which was based on the movie Interstellar combined with The Martian Chronicles. Then imagine that show got a novelization. This is how that novelization would probably read!
Can you share a memorable moment or challenge you faced while writing your book?
So, I wrote the book before I became a parent. It took three weeks to draft, and it flowed out of me in a weird kind of fever dream. But then, a couple of years into editing the book, I became a parent myself. And, boy, was there a lot of editing to do! I had to start from scratch. In a lot of ways, it was heartening to see my expectation of parenthood and compare it with the reality — how an ideal measures up to the experience. But in other ways, it was hilarious! I was reading it back and thinking — “ahhhh, I was so naive!” So that was a big turning point for both me and the book.
What do you hope readers take away from your book?
Ideas that they want to talk about. I love getting to the end of a book and having that feeling where I just need to find someone else who’s read it so that I can talk with them about it. That’s what I want my stories to do for others. I want it to resonate with people, but in a way that makes them crave a little bit of conversation.
Who are your biggest literary influences, and how have they shaped your writing?
What a tough question! I love the inventive genius of HG Wells, the bizarre surreality of Philip K. Dick, the provoking lushness of Ursula K. Le Guin, the suspenseful mastery of Blake Crouch, the haunting depth of Ai Jiang, and the exquisite soul of Peng Shepherd. They all write better stuff than me!
What is your approach to world-building in your narratives?
My worlds come from my concepts. I almost never start with the world. It grows from the story idea, and that means I can treat the world like a character, because I can imbue it with aspects of the theme. Take the world of Rememory as an example. The story is a heist set in a world where memory is currency. That meant the world had to be built around an economy of memory. How does that work? What does it look like? Why does it exist? How much is a memory worth? When do you trade? How do you get rich? What do poor people do for work? How do they get paid? How do the rich store their wealth? There’s a whole minefield of a world to navigate. But it all stems from the idea. It’s the only way my imagination works!
How do you balance writing with other responsibilities in your life?
Badly.
What has been your experience with self-publishing, and what advice would you offer to aspiring indie authors?
When I started out on the path of becoming an indie author, it was with the idea I’d be writing stories. It didn’t take long for me to realize that indie authors are so much more than storytellers. They’re marketers, technologists, innovators, social media junkies, cover designers, editors, formatters, website builders, publishers, and all things in between. The sheer number of skills I’ve had to learn just to put books into the world is crazy. So my advice would be: don’t shy away from learning, but also, don’t compromise on your writing time for anything — even the stuff that seems like it’ll sell books. It’s all the other things that indie writers have to do to keep the ship afloat which eventually will sink your writing time. So always, always, always be a writer first, and don’t get lost in the weeds.
Can you describe a character from your book that you feel particularly connected to?
Kirk is a sarcastic idiot of a human who has a terrible sense of humor and eighteen months to live. He’s also a hoot, and it was such a delight to write in the voice of his messed up brain. He says things like — “It’s been said that in space, no one can hear you scream. Not true. I’ve been in space a week, and every day I’ve screamed, and every day, someone has told me to pack it in. What’s more accurate is that: in space, no one who screams is very popular.” I don’t know why I connect with Kirk so much, but I just do!
What are your future writing projects, and how do they build upon your previous work?
How long have you got? I’ve got a few novellas and novels on the go, as well as an audio drama in mind, not counting any collaborations. And that doesn’t include the seven hundred or so ideas I’ve started but have never finished! Later this year, I’m thinking about releasing a short story collection. The stories I’ve written are all set in disconnected universes, but I may or may not have a sneaky plan to join the dots of these stories eventually. I guess we’ll all have to wait and see how it’ll turn out!
What is your book’s blurb?
No solution saves everyone. Only one keeps us human.
The hope of a dying Earth rests on a crew of astronauts. Their mission: find a new home.
But when they touch down on a distant planet, a time-bending anomaly traps them in a situation that no one could’ve predicted, causing them to question the nature of humanity, the snare of destiny, and the shape of time itself.
TIME’S ELLIPSE spans generations, orbiting the lives of the scientists and astronauts involved in this historic mission as they discover that escaping the planet is simpler than evading its legacy.
”A fast-paced, high-stakes space opera that is sure to entertain.” — Ai Jiang, Nebula Award Finalist and Author of LINGHUN and I AM AI.
”So different from anything I’ve ever read . . . Amazing!” — Dawn Ross, Author of STARFIRE DRAGONS
”This is contemplative sci-fi at its best.” — FanFiAddict.com
I can’t thank Frasier enough for being the first on my Indie Author Spotlight series. He has a ton of truly amazing work, and I have often read it with awe, wonder, and he slightest bit of envy. I cannot recommend him higher. Thank you, Frasier!