Featured Interview With Garet Christopher
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Hello. My name is Garet Christopher. I am a new author and have published four novels to date. I currently reside in Lake Elsinore, California with my wife and two of our three children. I grew up in Central California and have never lived in any other state. I'd love to move to a colder climate at some point, and I fell in love with the southern part of the United States while visiting when my youngest child was living in South Carolina. I have never seen so much green! But, in the meantime, we enjoy the warm winters and easy access to the beaches and the mountains.
My entertainment likes cover a wide range. I'll read anything from comic books to Shakespeare. I love movies and music and love a good performance, however it's presented. There is so much talent out there, originating from all ages and types of people. Hopefully, I've found a way to add something that people can get into.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My first love for books came via comic books. I remember spending my entire allowance ($2) on comic books every Saturday. I would ride my bike down to the nearest 7-11 and buy as many as I could, then ride home and spend the rest of the day reading. (Just so you know, I read both DC and Marvel.) And then I became interested in books I could get from the school library. I loved Beverly Cleary and the Hardy Boys, then I discovered The Outsiders a short time later and it went on from there. I will usually choose fiction when given the choice. Many of my teachers while growing up said that I seemed to daydream a lot. I'm pretty sure I still do that.
The first book I ever wrote was about eighteen years ago. I couldn't find anything sports-related that my junior-high age son could really get into and so I started to write something for him. I actually never finished it; the pages are still in the garage somewhere, but that was my first attempt. And then about six years ago I came up with the concept of "The Chair". And I've been writing ever since.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As I've started to write, I've opened myself up to more authors. I currently have about thirty novels waiting for me, all from different authors. I want to enjoy different styles, but I think my first favorite was Charles Dickens. His phrasing and word choice is something that amazes me. I love it when a writer can create a poetic feel while describing a place or person. And I also love it when a character says something simple, yet profound. Something that can make you laugh hysterically or immediately sad.
Just as I choose to read fiction, I also choose to write fiction. But the characters are coming from a real place. My inspirations are people that I've known, seen, or watched either in person or through movies or television. I want to create and I want to be creative. That would be the best compliment that anyone could ever give: that they found my work(s) creative and entertaining.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is a sci-fi novel titled "GENE". The first three novels I published are all crime thrillers, but I've always loved science fiction and oddly enough, the idea for GENE came out of a political discussion I was having with my then twenty-two-year-old kid (young adult).
At the time, GENE was an alien that found himself at the forefront of the world's problems and he had all the answers. Through his innocence and extreme knowledge, GENE was going to make everything all right! Well, as I began to write the book, GENE became less comical and more interesting. I created another world, the planet Harmos. I drew characters and spaceships. I researched meanings of interesting names that I could give these Harmonian inhabitants. I based the civilization on the number three, giving them three hearts, three members in each family circle, and three contributing groups that make up the entire society.
So, a space probe is discovered by Leader Akili, one of the three core leaders. And as he meets with the other two core leaders, they become concerned. What if this machinery is a sign of things to come? What if there is an alien civilization that is looking to invade their world? So, they send out a small contingent to track the probe's origin. The trio ends up on Earth and though the initial meeting with a quartet of military soldiers begins peacefully, it quickly becomes aggressive and one of each side is mortally wounded, or so they think. The Harmonian ship escapes before more damage is done and the two decide to return to Harmos, but as time moves on, they deeply regret leaving one of their kind behind. At the time, they had no choice but to flee, but now it seems as though they have no choice but to return. And what if their brother isn't really dead? They watched him get shot several times, but can they really live with themselves knowing that their own sibling could be a prisoner on the alien planet?
My hope is that the writing gives the reader the opportunity to imagine. I look forward to the opportunity to talk to the readers and find out how they envision Harmos, or the core leaders or the main character, GENE. He's one of a kind.