Author Interview with Steve Rzasa

I'm very excited to welcome back Christian Scifi/Speculative author Steve Rzasa. Steve visited last year to talk about his debut book, The Word Reclaimed, and its sequel, The Word Unleashed. Steve has a third book out now, Broken Sight, which he's here to tell us about, and also about what else is going on in his life. Be sure to leave a comment because Steve is giving away a signed copy of his book.

Steve, I know I asked this question in our first interview, but it's been awhile. Will you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born and raised in South Jersey, and have loved to read from an early age—adventure, history, and especially science-fiction. My wife and I live in Wyoming with our two grade school-age boys, where she teaches and I am a librarian. Prior to working at a library I was a reporter/editor for eight years in Maine and in Wyoming.

What have you been up to since you last visited?
Since last spring I finished writing Broken Sight, my new novel, in December 2010 and just last week finished a fantasy/steampunk novel, tentatively titled The Bitter Crosswinds (more about that at the close of the interview!) When I’m not busy preparing new books for library circulation or writing the newsletter, I’m helping folks find the books they need. In my “spare time” I write, draw, watch movies and play video games, play LEGOs and soccer with my boys, and cook dinner with my wife when we’ve got a minute.

Tell us about your new book?
Broken Sight is the tale of Lt. Cdr. Brian Gaudette and the crew of his new rescue starship as they respond to a distress call from a remote planet. Little do they realize they're being plunged into a race against evil forces that could result in a powerful weapon falling into enemy hands. It takes place two years after my previous two novels, The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press 2009) and The Word Unleashed (Marcher Lord Press 2010.)

 What inspired this story?
I always enjoyed writing about Brian Gaudette, the main character of my 2009 short story Rescued. He was a character I wanted to revisit in detail, and to give a shot at a grander adventure. Well, he got it. My purpose was also to explore the world of the Face of the Deep series after the restoration of religous freedom, to see how things had changed.

Is there an underlying theme?
Themes are not my strong suit, but if I had to pick two, it would be faithfulness and teamwork.

What's your favorite scene/character?
Charlotte Ruby Bell. Ex-pirate, former pirate-hunter, and all around crude individual. She's ill-tempered, rude, but also one very good starship commander and someone who can bully her crew into getting results. She can be cunning and smart. Just an all around fun individual to write.

What do you hope reader take away from reading your book?
I hope they can experience this adventure with a sense of wonder, and not worry too much about the details of sci-fi that sometimes bog down the casual reader. And if they come away from this tale realizing that there is a one true God who cares for them and is in control of all things, even better.

How did you get started as a writer?
 I wrote ever since I was little, and even then science-fiction was always on the brain. Somewhere in our house I have a story I wrote for fourth grade about two space explorers on an adventure -- I think they were based on LEGO guys I built. From there I expanded into writing a novel in high school and working for the school newspaper, and penned some short stories in college. There's still a stack of notebooks with fragments of stories and ideas stashed in a drawer in our back room. And after college I self-published a short novel called This Stirring Strife, a space opera that can still be obtained used on Amazon, I think.

Finally, I worked on the project that became The Word Reclaimed and The Word Unleashed -- a single, large novel called Commissioned -- for about six years until I finished it in February 2009. A few months later I was blessed to have Marcher Lord Press publisher Jeff Gerke agree to publish the story as two books.

Do you have any particular method to your writing, any quirks that help you along in the creative process.
I’ve found that listening to music inspires my writing, especially when working on an action scene. The particular song can make a big difference in helping straighten out the flow of action in that scene—for example, if it’s a dramatic scene I don’t want lighthearted music playing. I also am compelled to draw characters, starships and settings to help visualize. Oh, and I’m a huge sucker for maps.

Have you always loved science fiction?
Sci-fi is definitely the genre with which I’ve had the strongest relationship—can’t tell you how many evenings during my high school years were spent watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Me too!) And I went to see the re-released Star Wars in the 1990s when I was recovering from a fever. So that tells you my level of obsession. As for literature, I devoured books by Michael P. Kube-McDowell, Kathy Tyers, Chris Walley,

I think it's very exciting to see Christian fiction broadening into new genres. What are your thoughts on this and where do you see things headed in the future?
I'm encouraged by the raft of new Christian speculative fiction authors who have appeared in recent years, and by the creation of new small publishing houses dedicated to the genre. No longer do writers have to fret that their somewhat odd or out of the ordinary tales of space opera, fantasy or the supernatural have to remain unpublished because they're too weird. We have several publishers who like weird. The genres available to Christian readers will hopefully continue to grow and the selection and quality of writing keep getting better.

What's up next?
Well, I just this week finished a fantasy/steampunk novel called The Bitter Crosswinds and started in on the prologue for the sequel. Not sure when or if those will be published, but I've got more stories to tell. I'm also putting notes down for an alternate history/alien invasion -- hopefully sooner than later! Anyone who's interested can keep tabs at my website, www.steverzasa.com, or find me on Facebook. My books are available at www.marcherlordpress.com and Amazon.com.

Purchase from Marcher Lord
Purchase from Amazon

Steve Rzasa was born and raised in South Jersey, and fell in love with books—especially science fiction novels and historical volumes—at an early age. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University’s College of Communications in 2000, and then spent seven years as a reporter and assistant editor at weekly newspapers in Maine. Steve moved to Wyoming in 2007 to become the editor of a weekly newspaper there, and now works at the local library. He and his wife Carrie have two boys and live in Buffalo, Wyoming