InGenre--Interview/book review of Planet Janitor

Couldn't resist this plug. Hope I don't bore you. I hate self-promo on a blog, but sometimes it helps out. Joe Konrath, I am not so there won't be dozens of book listings!

Strangely enough, this spotlight article is almost a year late! The owner/reviewer apologized for the tardiness of the article and review, mentioning unforeseen problems. Alas, it was a welcome New Years gift to my way of thinking since I'd completely forgotten about it. Oh, well, check it out if you'd like.
Real nice combo book review/interview at InGenre:
Space Faring Janitors Have All the Fun
http://ingenre.com/

Space Faring Janitors Have All the Fun

By

Sarah Wallace

– January 6, 2014Posted in: Contributor Content, Indie Horizon

Captain Zachary Crowe and his crew deem themselves custodians of the stars. Their job: to clean up in the wake of natural disasters and human catastrophes on planets throughout the galaxy. Until now… Now they’ve been hired by Orion Industries to travel to a planet far, far away, in order to prepare it for human colonization. When they arrive, they discover a dangerous world. The climate is hostile, as is some of the wildlife. Meanwhile, the crew works to not only survive but to do the job they were hired to do while they wait for the first Orion ships to arrive.
Planet Janitor: Custodian of the Stars is a science fiction novel that includes humor, plenty of action, and a lot of heart. It also compares what a responsible colonizing species would do to that of a destructive conquering species. Someday soon, we will have the technology to travel to other planets. Before that day arrives, we should all begin asking some important questions: Can we colonize without disturbing the natural order of another evolving planet? How can we leave small footprints when we tread among the stars?
Author Chris Stevenson is here with us to answer some of those questions:
S. L. Wallace: Hello, and welcome to InGenre. Do you think humans will have answered some of these big questions before we are capable of traveling to and colonizing other planets?
Chris Stevenson: Thanks for having me! If NASA and the government don’t throw a blanket over our exploratory findings, we should get a pretty big reveal soon about life on other solar system bodies. The Disclosure Project is in full swing as we speak, headed by Dr. Steven Greer (check out YouTube). That’s deep planetary stuff, though. Our own planet and orbital satellite corridors are in need of some serious cleanup before we go gallivanting off into space. We have something on the order of 10,000 pieces of junk just outside our atmosphere that need to be rounded up and contained somehow. Otherwise, it’s a hazard to navigation, coming or going.
Wallace: You describe a lot of future technology in your novel. Did you have to do much research in order to prepare yourself for writing those descriptions? How did you make the technology believable?
Stevenson: By reading a lot of science fiction and spending hours and hours on YouTube videos, digesting science theories, systems, and basic physics. My space prep, flight, and propulsion system is within our technical grasp at the present, or very near future. The nuclear bang pod drive is doable—it’s been proposed to catch huge sails and power craft to the stars. I didn’t use the ion or warp drive for this book. Star Trek or Wars, this ain’t. It’s a gritty space adventure, so I went with what we now have in our tech manuals for relatively short hops, so to speak.
Wallace: If you could travel throughout the galaxy, would you? Why or why not? Where would you like to go? What would you most like to see?
Stevenson: I’d like to head out 39 light years from here via an anti-matter propulsion drive and check out the third, fourth, and fifth planets orbiting Zeta Reticuli 2. I have a message for the greys: Land on the White House lawn and stop mutilating our cattle. I’d go in a heartbeat, yes.
Wallace: Captain Zachary Crowe (Zaz) and his crew each have unique habits and characteristics. How did you come up with your characters, including their flaws and their strengths?
Stevenson: I thought of the most diverse characters I could think of, those who were the most unlikely planetary spacefarers, yet intelligent and competent in their own rights. The giant, the prostitute, the reckless munitions officer, a dumb robot, the cute scientist, the old and insufferable professors, the captain Boy Scout and the matronly navigation officer. Kind of a Journey to the Center of the Earth ensemble, if you remember Vern’s original version. I took some nasty hits for stereotyping, or going over the top. I dunno, they had to be different and recognizable. Diversity, that’s what I was after.
Wallace: You have written both non-fiction and fiction, including novels, short stories, and newspaper articles. Is there a specific genre or type of writing that you prefer over all others?

Stevenson: It would have to be fiction and I might say dystopian. However, I’ve had buckets of success with my three YA titles lately, especially the last two that have gone on to tiny bidding wars, grand prize wins, and film option negotiation. I do love my science, and I just finished a book for young readers, ages 5 to 9, about the wonders of the La Brea Tar pits.
Wallace: I wish you much success with all of your titles. Thank you so much for joining us here today.
Stevenson: My pleasure entirely and thank you whole-heartedly for the wonderful read, comments, editorial help, and the interview.
Contact Links for Readers:
Official Author Website
Blog (Guerrilla Warfare For Writers)
Planet Janitor Website with Artwork
The War Gate, a paranormal thriller on Amazon