“Collapsing Empire” is the first of those 13 novels to be published, released March 21.
In a Dayton Reads online feature I wrote about John in 2016, he explained, “I start with a high concept idea — a “what-if” — a world of some sort, and some questions about what could go wrong in that world. And then I populate that world with characters.”
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“Collapsing Empire” came to John in much the same way.
"I started thinking about the exploratory and trade routes of past centuries and how they relied on ocean currents, trade winds, and so on," John says. "Then I wondered what would have happened if suddenly those currents and winds didn't work? How would that have changed life on Earth? How might have it have changed history? From there, I imagined applying it to another galaxy, another world."
Indeed, the description for the novel explains that in this world, faster-than-light travel becomes possible with the discovery of The Flow. Humanity rides The Flow, spreading across the universe and establishing new worlds. But then The Flow begins changing course…
“Originally, I thought of this novel as a stand-alone,” John says, “but there will be a sequel, and possibly a third novel in the series.”
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One might think fulfilling the demands of his record-setting contract would be enough, but John says he was approached by Audible, his audio-book publisher, to create a novella that would first be published as an audio book.
“It’s interesting to think about creating a story first for audio,” John says. “I liked the creative challenge.”
That novella, “The Dispatcher,” also started with a what-if in John’s imagination — what if no one could be intentionally killed by murder or in war? The novella is now also available as an ebook and in print.
John will speak about his writing life and projects in the keynote for the summer program of the Antioch Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, on July 8, at 7 p.m. The keynote, and a creative writing craft class on the morning of July 9, are sponsored by the Greene County Public Library. The keynote on July 8 is free and open to the public. Learn more at www.antiochwritersworkshop.com.
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John’s first novel, “Old Man’s War” was published it in 2005, and it was later nominated for a Hugo Award, the top literary award in science fiction. Since then, John’s science fiction has garnered much success, both among critics and readers. He is a New York Times best-seller in fiction, with works translated into more than 20 languages. His novels include six titles in the “Old Man’s War” series, including “The End of All Things” which came out in 2015, and five stand-alone novels, including “Redshirts,” which won the 2013 Hugo for Best Novel, and “Lock In,” which came out in 2014. In 2016, he was a recipient of the Ohio Governor’s Award for Individual Artists.
Learn more about John and read his "Whatever" blog at www.whatever.scalzi.com.
Upcoming Literary Events
· Sunday, June 4, 2 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene — Lisa Jewell will introduce her novel, "I Found You."
· Monday, June 5, 7 p.m., Books & Co. at The Greene — Marc Elsberg will introduce "Blackout," his novel about an intentional nationwide electric grid disruption.
· Monday, June 12, 1-3 p.m., Washington-Centerville Public Library, Centerville Library Lobby, 111 Spring Valley Road — This month's "2nd Monday Authors" program features Lee Roy Young and his book, "Who's the Greatest College Football Program of All Time?" and Chuck Gabringer and his book "Hockey in Dayton." Visit www.wclibrary.info, click on "Programs" in the upper right corner, and then on "2nd Monday Authors" for more details.
· Friday, June 16 marks the deadline for registering for the Full Week Option for the summer program for the Antioch Writers' Workshop at University of Dayton. See www.antiochwritersworkshop.com for details.
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