Dariel's Fridays with Friends Feature: Interview with Garry Rogers

Hi, Everyone. If you haven't already, meet my new friend and author, Garry Rogers and take a look at his new release, "Corr Syl the Warrior."  Free today at Amazon!! Read on to find out how you can get your free copy :-)


Corr Syl the Warrior Cover
Description: The adventure takes place on an Earth on which intelligence evolved long
before humans appeared. Conflict flares between humans and the ancient multi-species
Tsaeb civilization. The Tsaeb send a young warrior
named Corr Syl to investigate recommend a response.
Summary: Since its formation 40 million years ago,
the Tsaeb civilization has survived giant meteorites
and advancing ice sheets. But the greatest danger is
always from new species. Now, a militant new species
is trying to expand its territory into Tsaeb lands.
When the species sends an armed patrol into the small
Wycliff District, the District Council sends a young
Tsaeb warrior named Corr Syl to investigate and
recommend a response. Corr soon learns that spies
have infiltrated his district, and already many lives are
at risk. He catches a glimpse of something truly evil,
and with no time to spare, must choose between a safe
response that might fail, and a sure response that
might start a war.
Synopsis: Tensions are rising between humans and the
ancient multi-species Tsaeb civilization. When an
armed human patrol crosses the border into a small
neighboring Tsaeb district, the district council asks a
young Tsaeb warrior named Corr Syl to investigate and prepare a response plan.
To this point in his life, Corr Syl's only responsibility has been to meet the requirements of
his warrior training. Things are changing, however, for Corr has developed an interest in
the beautiful but aloof Rhya Bright. Pressure from his warrior mentor forces Corr to
accept the council's request. He quickly learns that spies have infiltrated his district, and
he realizes that many lives are at risk. He catches a glimpse of something truly evil, and
with no time to spare, recommends a plan that will end the immediate dangers, but that
might start a war.
Rhya helps Corr develop the plan and the two become very close. The Tsaeb apply the plan and attain local victory. Spies carry news of the victory to Aaron Li, a great but secret
enemy of the Tsaeb, and Li orders an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Corr.
In the aftermath of the Tsaeb victory, Rhya makes an important discovery. The Tsaeb
realize that by adding Rhya's discovery to Corr's plan, they might be able to make lasting
piece with the human species by integrating it with Tsaeb society. They invite Corr and
Rhya to the Tsaeb Continental Center to develop a global plan. The news unleashes Aaron
Li's long prepared plan for a coordinated global attack on the Tsaeb. Li sends a special
force to assassinate Corr and Rhya.
The Tsaeb quickly win the war. Corr and Rhya survive, but they separate as Rhya goes to
the Continental Center to help plan the human integration. No one knows that she is
traveling with an agent of a force even more secret and deadly than Aaron Li. is Corr
returns to his home district, makes a harsh personal decision, and finds that his aversion
to responsibility has ended. He decides to join Rhya.
Free at Amazon today!!

Print copy - Createspace

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Garry grew up on a farm in the Midwest. He has a PhD in Physical Geography and he taught at
Columbia University in New York, and at UCLA.
Dr. Rogers has one surviving son, one daughter, and three left-behind cats. One son died after
a long battle with diabetes. Garry owns a farm in central Arizona that he manages for wildlife.
The farm is home to many species of amphibians, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, fish,
mammals, and reptiles.
Corr Syl the Warrior is a science fiction adventure for young
readers. It uses science, possible science, and experience to define
its characters and the conflicts that drive its plot. Garry says the
story is speculative science delivered with a soft coating.
The novel is the story of a young Tsaeb warrior facing the new
demands of adult responsibility amidst the confusion of sexual
attraction and the danger of war. The story takes place on an
Earth on which intelligence evolved long before humans appeared.
It tells of the conflict between the peaceful but powerful Tsaeb
civilization and a new species, the ambitious Danog.
Interview
Q. Is your new novel available now?
A. Yes. The eBook for Kindle is available on Amazon.

Q. What is your book’s genre?
A. It is EcoFiction for young readers.

Q: Tell our audience what EcoFiction is.
A: It is Science Fiction with an ecology or nature conservation theme.

Q: Garry, tell us what Corr Syl the Warrior is about.
A: "The setting is an Earth on which intelligence evolved long before humans appeared. The
story follows a young warrior named Corr Syl into a conflict between humans and the ancient
multi-species Tsaeb civilization. Corr is forced to take responsibility for making decisions that
could have global consequences."

Q. What gave you the idea for this book?
A. One day, as I finished exercising, I was mulling over a blog
post about the decline of native animals when I realized that a
pattern in the ceiling texture looked just like an angry rabbit
with a very large tail. Peculiar. I thought about how a rabbit
might have so large a tail, and a new world began to crystalize.

Q. Do you mean you saw the plot for the novel?
A. Not exactly. Lying there thinking about the rabbit's tail, I decided that a rabbit might grow
a large tail if it were intelligent and had learned to control its genetics and chemistry. I
wondered why rabbits weren’t intelligent, and I remembered that science does not yet
understand the origin or mechanisms of intelligence. What would happen if all animals were
intelligent? Over the half billion years that large complex animals have existed, natural
selection would have taken intelligence much farther than it has in the young human species.
Even with limited intelligence, humans are learning to control genetics. Older and smarter
species would have mastered genetics long ago. Then I thought about how humans are
damaging the planet, and, I realized it was unlikely that Earth would have survived half a
billion years of intelligent life. Then I imagined how it might, and I conceived the multispecies Tsaeb civilization to which Corr Syl belongs, and the EcoFiction theme that could drive
a story.

Q: The Tsaeb sound brilliant. Are they cold intellects, do they have normal emotions?
A: Tsaeb desire friendship, truth, and beauty just as we do. Perhaps it is a bit strange, but
most of them consider a knack for humour a most desirable talent. Many strive to improve
their comedic abilities. They do have one powerful trait that is rare among humans; they have
a compulsion created by millions of years of natural selection that drives them to try to
understand their surroundings and the full consequences of their actions. This appears in
their intense concern for maintaining healthy ecosystems.

Q. You mean Tsaeb have evolved instincts?
A. Yes. In the same way that humans are born with built-in tendencies such as fear of snakes
and spiders, the Tsaeb are instinctively protective of their environment.

Q. Is this why you label your book EcoFiction?
A. Yes.
About Writing

Q. Garry, this is your first novel. Do you plan to write others?
A. Yes. I have started the sequel to Corr Syl the Warrior that I will probably title Corr Syl the
Terrible.

Q. Starting and writing a novel can be difficult. Tell us about your method.
A. I have not developed a method. For Corr Syl, I had a theme and a backstory for the setting
and the conflict. I began the story with an action scene, and let the plot take shape as I wrote.

Q. What is your greatest writing challenge?
A. Characters. I must work harder to give my characters their own theme and backstory, and
then let them interact as the plot develops.
Other Books

Q: Have you written other books?
A: Yes, academic works quite unlike the novel.

Q: What are they about?
A: Two are about historical landscape changes, and one is about Arizona wildlife.

Q: Are these books available?
A: Yes. The University of Utah Press published the first two, and I published the third. They
are available on Amazon.

Q: Have you written other books?
A: Yes. I am making final edits on a book about the weed invasion of the western U. S., and I
am working on a second volume about Arizona wildlife.

Q: Does your new novel have any connection with your other books?
A: Yes. Natural landscapes are deteriorating and wildlife species are disappearing. Many
things that people do are causing the changes. My previous books warn that problems are
developing, but I wrote them for an academic audience and they have had small circulation. I
wrote Corr Syl the Warrior to reach more people.
Personal

Q. What was your best moment as a writer?
A. Two so far. One was when a very difficult article that required two years of fieldwork and
intensive quantitative analysis was accepted without revisions by the Journal of Arid
Environments (volume 17, pages 319-326). The other was when the Professional Writers of
Prescott gave my first short story a first place award in their 2011 writing contest.

Q. Do you get writer’s block?
A. No. I have several projects underway. Switching from one to another renews enthusiasm.

Q. Do you have a special workspace?
A. I have a home office, and I take my laptop along when I travel.

Q. What do you do when you are not writing or reading?
A. I follow an exercise routine that includes yoga, resistance training, and aerobics. I camp
with my children, and I work on maintaining a friendly place for wildlife. I like to photograph
wildlife, read, and go to movies.

CONNECT WITH GARRY ROGERS
Website: GarryRogers.com
Corr Syl the Warrior
Twitter
Facebook
Amazon
LinkedIn
GoodReads
Corr Syl Press Kit

Comments

Unknown said…
Very nice Dariel. Thank you!
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