Author Interview Part 2

Posted on October 24, 2015 by flwq1578

By Lance Erlick

Why did you choose science-fiction as a genre to write in?

I grew up with science fiction stories, movies, and TV shows. I’ve found myself drawn to this genre because of the ability to speculate about our many potential futures. I like to explore the future implications of social and technological developments on people, the characters in my head. Science fiction in its broadest sense considers itself the big tent, bringing in traditional science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical time travel, and alternative history, all of which speculate about different worlds and different ways we can relate to each other. I find this to be an exciting place to write.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write because you have a passion for stories. Write because you have characters in your head that you want to share with other. Write because you have stories rattling around that keep you up at night because they need to be told. Write because you want to take the journey with your characters and believe others will want to come along.

Whatever you do, don’t write with the goal of striking it rich. You have a better chance of winning the lottery, though winning it through writing will be far more enjoyable, plus you can share it with your fans without impoverishing yourself. In writing, don’t copy what you believe will be popular if you don’t have passion for the stories themselves. Your readers can tell and you will be frustrated with the result.

Make sure you know where your story is going before you write, otherwise you could end up with a flat, or even circular story that doesn’t go anywhere. Don’t be afraid to experiment and test your boundaries. You are bound to grow from the experience even if that particular story doesn’t sing. An example is writing from the points of view of different genres and people who are on the surface different than you. When you stumble onto writers block, I find it best to frame the problem and move onto something else, letting my subconscious sort out a solution. It might not always work, but I find trying to bulldoze a solution never does. Then edit, edit, edit some more. Your potential readers deserve the best experience you can provide.

Do you have any works in progress you’d like to tell us about?

I’m working on several story ideas right now, more than I have time for. I’ve sketched out another novel in the Regina Shen series that people are asking for. I have two completely different alien stories I want to tell. Then there’s is a time travel story that shoots back into ancient history and a futuristic computer hacking story. That’s the short list.

Author Interview

Posted on October 18, 2015 by flwq1578

By Lance Erlick

Have you been writing for a long time?

I’ve been writing since I was eleven. We moved around a lot while I was growing up, including a stint in a boarding school in Brussels. Stories that I read and wrote seemed to anchor me. Writing has come in spurts with bursts of creativity interspersed with life and other priorities pulling me away. But every time I’ve gotten dragged away, I’ve come back better prepared and with renewed vigor for writing.

What inspired you to start a writing career?

At first, I enjoyed adventure stories and then thrillers and science fiction, in particular Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Ray Bradbury. My first writings were inspired by stories I’d read that I felt I could match. One published story that had great promise but fell flat inspired me to write my first novel. Unfortunately, I soon learned that getting into someone else’s story and writing my own were quite different. My story was even flatter than the one that inspired me. It took many years of practice and development to get to the point I felt confident in my writing. Then I found inspiration in my many interests from history to science and social developments.

Is this your first series? If not, can you tell us about your first series?

Regina Shen is my second series. My first, the Rebel series, actually didn’t start out as a series. I’d written Rebels Divided, now the third book in that series, and one of the main characters bugged me to write her story. That became The Rebel Within, followed by The Rebel Trap. The series takes place after a second civil war divides the United States into a Federal Union that is predominantly female and a warlord controlled Outland in the mountains, since mountain people tend to be a fiercely independent lot. Because of atrocities committed during the war and technology that allows two women to have a child without a father, the Federal Union has gone down the path of ostracizing males.

Annabelle Scott is at odds with the Federal Union because they took her parents when she was little. Raised by an adoptive mother in the political opposition, she is expected to become a cop or a mechanized warrior supporting her regime.

In The Rebel Within, she rebels against being forced to capture escaped boys, including one she fancies. This puts her and her adoptive family at risk. In The Rebel Trap, her military commander gives Annabelle audio implants and video cameras to watch everything she does, which kicks her rebelliousness and risks to a new level. Then, in Rebels Divided, the local governor pledges Annabelle to the local warlord as part of a secret deal and Annabelle has to find common ground with an Outlander she’s sworn to kill. The series deals with the dilemma of following conscience at odds with what she’s told to do.

Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on October 12, 2015 by flwq1578

by Tori Shultz (Litpick Reviewer)

Regina Shen is back in this thrilling new sequel! On the run from Antiquities Agents, Regina is still searching for her sister. In order to find her, she will have to brave the wall separating the higher-ups and the lower class. If she can make it past the wall, she will be able to blend in and find her sister. Will she be able to succeed?

Opinion:

This sequel to Regina Shen: Resilience is just as good as the first, if not better. The book gripped me in the beginning and I never got bored. I was excited to see what would happen to Regina throughout the book.

The cover art, like the last book’s, is amazing. It is simple, yet gripping. The symbol they use on the front cover is also very well-made.

The author does an excellent job at telling this adventurous story, and their description of the post-apocalyptic world that Regina lives in is beautifully executed.

With a great plot that’s sure to keep you entertained, Regina Shen: Vigilance is sure to blow your mind.

5* Regina Shen: Resilience Review

Posted on September 25, 2015 by flwq1578

by D. Donovan (Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)

Regina Shen and her family are outcasts in a world being deluged by rising waters from climate change – but a hurricane is proving to be the least of her problems as The World Federation which has condemned her family discovers that her unique DNA may prove the salvation of humanity itself; and so she goes from an unwanted outcast to a wanted outcast.

Only Regina’s knowledge of the swamps and wetlands created by climate change can keep her from the clutches of a savvy and sly Federation: but, for how long? She now has two problems: locating the family lost to her in the storm, and avoiding the bounty hunters and clutches of the Federation that rules her world.

Under a different hand, Regina Shen: Resilience (the first book in a projected series) could have been more one-dimensional (so many young adult dystopian stories are). Using a different approach, it could have focused on the physical challenges of disaster, on a teen girl’s coming of age, or on a family’s obstacles to survival. But any who expect Regina Shen to be your typical teen disaster story are in for a surprise: it tackles issues of freedom, domination, change in the face of challenge, and a feisty girl whose flexibility and love of learning prove her keys to success.

Regina’s acceptance of her world creates a story that is believable and involving on both a political and a personal level – and that’s a fine line indeed, incorporating elements of past and present events to create an atmosphere of future reality firmly cemented in present-day fact: “…life outside the Richmond Swamps seemed unimaginable. This was the only world I knew, unless you counted the literary world of banned books by ancients such as Charles Dickens, Isaac Asimov, and David Brin.”

In such a future, the fine lines between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are blurred – but Regina stands out firmly as ‘good’, even to strangers who encounter her. In such a world, the elements of survival are intrinsically linked to an ability to present a refreshingly honest face to strangers: “Therese couldn’t help wondering why the injured girl so interested Antiquities, the Federation, and her. Regina was a tough girl, a survivor, not unpleasant in the way other desperate souls became during and after storms. It had been the lack of guile that convinced Therese to help her…”

It’s Regina’s perceptions of the wants, needs, and efforts of those around her (strangers she encounters, who become ‘family’) that drives a story line that is personal as well as political (“Guilt. I’d added burdens on her while she tried to help me stay safe. Already, I thought of the twins as my sisters, though they couldn’t replace Colleen. But more bodies meant more heat signatures for patrols and bounty hunters to find.“). These elements, together, create a story line that is compelling, vivid, realistic, and with far more psychological depth than the usual young adult dystopian read.

In Regina’s world, there’s a lot to gain and a lot to lose. Resilience‘s satisfying conclusion leaves the door open for more Regina stories but provides a logical ending for this particular saga, which makes for both a powerful predecessor to a series and a rewarding stand-alone read.

5* Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on August 21, 2015 by flwq1578

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

The second installment was just as good as the first. Regina is on the run to find her sister. Mo-mere prepared her for life across the wall at university, but things don’t go as planned. Demarco, to save her own career, tries to barter with Regina, saying that if they go with her, she can do more for them than Volpe, and I think Regina was right not to trust her. I know that includes being on the run for the rest of her life, but at least she has Ester by her side. I hope that there’s another installment or so, because I want to know what happens next. If she is able to change the laws of the world and bring these fictional men back, or if she runs into Annabelle (The Rebel Trap Series) on her journey.

5* for Regina Shen: Resilience

Posted on July 24, 2015 by flwq1578

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

I must say that Lance Erlick is a mastermind. Regina is a survivor. The copious amounts of misfortune she goes through in this book to evade the bounty killers and Antiquities, while trying to find her sister and mom, is admirable. Although, I had to gasp at the fact that this takes place in a time where books don’t exist. I can’t fathom not reading my favorite authors, let alone my new favorite author, Mr, Erlick.

Regina grows so much in this first installment and she is so brilliant and resilient, which makes for the perfect title. She will stop at nothing to know and learn all she can about why things are the way they are. She’s only 15 and I envy her strength and courage.

She is on the run from being captured to be tested on because her DNA is different from everyone else’s, probably because she doesn’t have a donor mother and actually has a…sorry, can’t spoil it for you. You have to read it yourself. Did I mention, there are absolutely no men in this book? Hmmm…Stayed tuned for my take on the next installment.

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Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 3

Posted on July 14, 2015 by flwq1578

By Lance Erlick

What do you do when you’re not in school? Because of “detention” it seems I’m always in school. Mom has chores for my sister and me around the house. We have a water purification system that takes contaminated channel water and makes it drinkable and so we can take quick showers. It needs constant maintenance and pumping. We have a garden, a goat to milk, and two fruit trees to tend. We also have to set and check traps to keep scavengers from taking what little we have while we’re away. When I can, I sneak off to dive salvage at sunken homes of what had been Richmond. Most times I find sites that have already been picked clean, but sometimes I uncover a real find, like finding enough stainless cooking pans to barter for a goat so we would have milk.

Who is your best friend? It’s been hard to keep friends. The girls in my class are two years older, since I’ve advanced to the highest level, grade eleven. They think I’m too smart for my own good and would rather hang around with the more mature girls. I’ve had salvage partners. We would watch each other’s backs while diving. But Antiquities agents seized them during prior storms. The ache of losing friends has been hard. Besides, I have to watch my younger sister, who is three years younger and five years behind in school. In some ways she has become my best friend, but I have to keep so many secrets, like the books I read. It makes it hard to keep friendships.

What do you want to do after you finish school? Mo-Mere has visions of giving me an Aristotelian education as Alexander the Great had so I could make something useful of my life. She has this dream that I will somehow lead people to change the world so Marginals weren’t forced to live on the sinking seaward side of the Great Barrier Wall. As for me, I imagine having more time to salvage the depths, as much in the hope of finding more print books as barter to trade for food. However, each year there is less to find and Antiquities patrols become more of a nuisance.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

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Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 2

Posted on July 13, 2015 by flwq1578

By Lance Erlick

Why is your relationship with your mother so strained? Mom refuses to talk about her work or what she does when we’re away at school. Yet, she brings in enough barter to pay for our schooling. She is also only one of my parents, but she refuses to talk about my other parent. I suspect there is some dark secret. Six months ago, when I stood up to Mom and insisted she tell me, she clammed up. We haven’t spoken much since. There is a gaping hole inside me wanting to know about my past, and wanting my Mom back, but every day she grows more distant and fearful. I can’t imagine what she’s done.

How do you feel about school? School is a waste for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love learning. But in class Mo-Mere is limited to a few official electronic texts she can teach from. With a “photographic memory” that’s more a curse than a blessing, I could memorize all the Federation-approved texts in a day. There aren’t many. Mo-Mere stretches the information out over eleven years, carefully adding her own experiences. What keeps me motivated is detention, which I routinely get. That allows me private time with Mo-Mere. During detention, she shares illegal print books she’s salvaged from private collections beneath the sea in the sunken civilization of Richmond. The Federation could execute her for having these books, or even for salvaging. But I would risk everything for the opportunity to visit Victor Hugo, Isaac Asimov, and other ancient treasures.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 1

Posted on July 12, 2015 by flwq1578

By Lance Erlick

What was it like growing up in the Richmond Swamps? If not for the illegal print books Mo-Mere lets me read, I would describe my life as school, salvage from the depths, and chores at home. But her books make me see my world in the context of how other people live. The Federation calls us Marginals and we live a marginal life in many ways. We live with constant dangers from storms, not enough food, contaminated water, and the Federation’s genetically-enhanced alligators. Yet we are free in ways that those living in the Federation are not. There is no one telling us what to do or how to live. Mom sacrifices so my sister and I can go to school six days a week. I don’t know how she spends her days when we’re away, except we have enough to eat and our very own island with an orange and apple tree. At times I feel like Tom Sawyer, except we have to be vigilant to dangers and work hard to find food and keep our home safe.

At the beginning of the first book, why were you afraid of Antiquities agents? Both Mom and Mo-Mere, my teacher, tell me to avoid agents at all cost. Contrary to the implication that Antiquities preserves the past, it is their job to destroy any evidence from before the Federation. Even our calendar begins three hundred years ago with the Federation as year zero. We fear the agents because during storms, their agents kidnap girls from the swamps to work on Federation farms and in factories and mines as slaves.

How do you imagine life on the other side of the Great Barrier Wall? We are told that life on the other side of the Wall is better than the swamps because they don’t have as much to worry about storms stealing their land. They have food, and they don’t have vicious gators. But I wonder since so much of what they tell us is lies, whether this also is a myth. They have a caste system. They take our girls as slaves. That doesn’t sound like a place where I would want to live.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Yet Another 5* Regina Shen Review

Posted on July 11, 2015 by flwq1578

by Dawn (Goodreads Reviewer)

Although the future world that Lance Erlick has created is interesting, it’s a terrible world for the Marginals, or the people living in the swamp outside the wall surrounding the rest of the world. It’s survival of the fittest in the swamp.

Resilience starts with a hurricane and the action never stops. Regina Shen survives the hurricane, bounty hunters, salvagers, the Department of Antiquities, alligators, and more. She’s smart, resourceful, and lucky.

Other characters in the story are as complex as “real” people. It’s difficult to know who can be trusted. Regina feels like she can’t even trust her mother. And the Chief Inspector of Antiquities, DeMarco, has made it her mission to find Regina. But even she is full of surprises.

Lance Erlick’s writing flows well and his descriptions are great. I felt like I was there in that hurricane with Reina or hiding in a cellar with rats and bugs (it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it).

I definitely recommend Resilience.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Regina Shen Review

Posted on July 11, 2015 by flwq1578

by Thomas Weaver

A dystopia that isn’t the result of some huge cataclysm or alien invasion… That alone would be enough to make this novel stand out from the crowd. Also, unlike the other novels by this author I’d read, this one is in past tense, which I prefer. (Present tense feels artificial to me. It’s just a matter of personal taste.)

After reading The Rebel Within, I said I wanted to know a lot more about the setting and backstory, not because the author failed to give enough information for that story but because was so interesting.

The Regina Shen novels take place in the same setting (?) as the Rebel stories, but two or three centuries later. Although it is not as prevalent, the author continues to explore the idea that, if a segment of the population is labeled “the oppressors” and removed, that doesn’t stop oppression, only who is doing it. The fact that Mr. Erlick manages to do that without ever getting preachy is impressive (and much appreciated by this reader).

Some of the themes of those other novels are in this one, too: the protagonist has a younger sister whom she tries to protect, she has a difficult relationship with her mother (and her mother keeps secrets from her)…

This is YA science fiction, but don’t let that give you the wrong impression. This is not a “It’s the end of the world, but at least the cutest kid at school thinks I’m cute” sort of story. Regina Shen and her family (and neighbors and friends) face a very realistic struggle to survive in a harsh environment and against dangerous antagonists, and Regina herself is trying to find out what her mother is hiding and why those government women are after her, and the plot is gritty without being “grimdark.”

If I had to come up with one thing from this first novel to complain about, it would be this: These characters know a lot about surviving in swamp country, so why don’t they know that cattails are edible? (That’s a very minor quibble, isn’t it? Certainly nothing that should interfere with anyone’s enjoyment of the story.)

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Another 5* Regina Shen Review

Posted on July 10, 2015 by flwq1578

By Tia (Goodreads Reviewer)

Intelligent and Interesting

This is a wonderful story about survival in the most dire circumstances. A huge storm wreaks havoc on an already outcast population. The authority who rejected them to begin with then captures the young as slaves. The authority discovers that their fertility is failing and one girl possesses the key to save them. However, she fights to stay free even with so little to survive on. She’s smart, savvy, has endurance and survival skills. This is a great well written and thought out book. It’s hard to put down.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.