J.C. Smith

I was born in 1958 and am a United States Air Force veteran. I worked at AT&T for 34 years and now live near Dallas, Texas with my family and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. My first book, “Benevolence,” is part of “The Chronicles of Trappist-1” series. I enjoy reading and American football.

“Welcome Jim! We're excited to have you here today. Let's start with a question about your writing preferences. How much research do you do for your books?”

Thank you for having me! Research for a SciFi book is pretty much a “have to do”. You want to use real world technology (Radio telescope interferometry, CO2 reactor converter) as well as plausible future technology (fusion pellet drive, Miguel Alcubierre warp drive, etc.) so that not everything is magic. But, a little bit of “Fucking magic” works too.

Regarding “The Chronicles of Trappist-1”, the series is based on a real star system, discovered in 2017. Three of the planets are in the “Goldilocks” zone for human life, and “E” is an eyeball planet. There are artists’ renderings of “E”, but I came up with my own conceptual map, based on those renderings:

(See below.)

“Oh wow! I love that. I haven’t read a lot of scifi but I get why research would be important. What is your favorite genre to write and why?”

I’ve only ever written Science Fiction. It is what most illuminates my thoughts when writing. I can “see it”. The characters jump in my brain and I’m off and writing. No other genre has done that to me.

“That’s awesome. Can you describe yourself in one word?”

Dad

“What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?”

The most surprising thing is that the story just comes to me. For the most part, my writing is just a stream of consciousness flowing out.

“And does writing energize or exhaust you?”

Energises me!

“Me too. Sometimes. Depending on the day and what I'm writing. How do you handle writer's block?”

I just walk away and come back to it at another time. So far I’ve not experienced a lot of that.

“Lucky you! Favourite 90s or early 00s song?”

By far it would be “Candle in the wind” by Elton John. (Although most of my favourites come from the ‘70s)

“I could listen to the 70s for hours. Music was a huge part of my household growing up. Next, you're on death row. What's your last meal?"

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“Never tried it. How do you prioritize your tasks?”

I get all my “have-to’s” out of the way so I can then do my “wanna do’s” (“Honey-do’s” always take priority!)

“Love it! 😂 What inspired you to write?”

I’ve always wanted to write, but it was never a priority when I was raising a family and working. When I retired, I started my writing, late in 2023. “Benevolence” is a bucket list accomplishment!

“Wow! Congratulations on accomplishing it. What is your favourite motivational phrase?”

If you ain’t the lead dog, the view never changes!

“Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers?”

Just write, write, write. Stop your damned scrolling and just write!

“Thank you, Jim, for sharing your insights and experiences with us today. It has been a pleasure talking to you! If you’d like to check out Jim’s work, simply click on the books displayed below. And if you want to stay updated on his journey, you can follow him through the social media links provided.”

Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to be here and discuss my writing journey.