Brief Bio: Kevin S. Chambers, in addition to writing novels, has a series Daughter of Time (Time Needs an Assassin) currently in post-production that should be available next year. When he’s not writing, on set, he’s at home with his wife and dog, or out playing baseball, fishing.
Talking with Kevin S. Chambers
S&S: Where did the idea for God’s Rogue come from?
Kevin S. Chambers (KC): Back in early 2014 as we were wrapping up filming the first run at Daughter of Time, my current web-series in post production. One of the actresses, I had a thing for. We were going to shoot a new Web-Series together titled God’s Rogue. Well, things never worked out with the actress (She along with my costar in Daughter of Time broke my heart (they aren’t bad people)), so God’s Rogue got put on the back burner.
Fast forward to last February, when I was down in LA meeting with a distribution agent / production company for Daughter of Time. They asked for other ideas I had, we talked about God’s Rogue becoming a movie instead of a series. As I was writing the screenplay, I realized there was too much there. As such, I turned it into a novel.
S&S: Why do you write? / Do you consciously try to work social commentary into your work?
KC: I have so many stories to tell, and all of them, whether it’s a screenplay, novel, short story, all have to do with The Traveler. Or they can all be traced back to The Traveler. I find that time and the idea of the multiverse, are perhaps the best story tellers.
For social commentary, I would say it is conscious. My main characters all share a common desire, the desire for life.The idea that each individual sentient life is sacred, that no one life is above the rest. No one can tell another how to live, and no one can tell you how to live.
S&S: What book/movie got you interested in science fiction?
KC: Stargate the movie got me interested in Stargate, which got me interested more in SciFi. For Novels, well my favorite(s) are the Sword of Truth Series. Anyways, back in high school, I would watch Power Rangers. My senior year was Jungle Fury, well I saw two of the leads were cast in a series titled Legend of the Seeker. I started watching said series, finding out it was based on Sword of Truth. I began reading. I guess you can say Power Rangers brought me to where I am today.
S&S: What do you think is the recurring theme in science fiction right now? (Hope, despair, etc.) Why?
KC: Apocalypse. I just see a lot on the idea of an apocalypse, which you even see in my book, just a bit. Divergent, Walking Dead, Hunger Games and more. However, In God’s Rogue, we see a reset, not a total end of the world.
S&S: What (aside from publishing) was the most difficult part of writing God’s Rogue?
KC: Having a life outside. Having work, baseball, and friends, made it hard. At times all I would want to do is write, spending hours to listen to the muses tell me the story. I’d even wake up in the middle of the night when their characters were excited to tell me what happens next.
S&S: Who is your favorite classic science fiction writer? Who is your favorite contemporary science fiction writer?
KC: Is Terry Goodkind a mix of both? If not I’m still going to use him for both.
S&S: I noticed from your Goodreads profile that there is a certain amount of association with religion. Did this making writing God’s Rogue, a story in which aliens created humanity, challenging in any way?
KC: This reminds me of a question a social science teach asked me at my old college. “How do you as a Christian, and an earth scientist coexist?” I told him “Religion tells us why, science tells us how.” I think there is a lot of good religion does, but it’s not the entire story. There are multiple accounts of the bible being changed. Gnostic Christians were hunted, because they could do various miracles, and believed differently than Paul. The biggest being reincarnation. Going through research, being able to see patterns, I don’t believe the bible and other religious texts tell the entire story. Instead, they offer a simplistic path. I still had a lot of holes when I read the bible, and doing some of my research has filled in the gaps. Yes, I do believe in Ancient Aliens, not quite to the level of extremism in God’s Rogue; but I do. Who knows that may change, as a scientist I have to be open to being wrong. So no it was not too difficult, it expanded my view and my mind.
S&S: Fancast the first 3 characters that pop into your head from your novel for me. Why did you choose those actors? Was it based on looks, attitude, etc.?
KC: A little caveat here, I purposely do not describe skin color as I want my readers to imagine it in their head,along with other features.
Kaden Hunt: Bradley James. He just fits it for me.
Raze Gron: Daniel Radcliff. I don’t know why, the energy, the craziness.
Aria: Abigail Spencer. Think Eragon, and I just watched Timeless.
S&S: Do you already have another novel in the works?
KC: The Travelers Tower is the next novel in the God’s Rogue series, and that’s started. I’ve got several more series planned, but I really enjoy these characters.
S&S: If you could partner with a famous author in your genre for a collaborative work, who would you pick and why?
KC: Terry Goodkind and Christopher Paolini.
Terry and I write and share very similar values (He helped shape my values). I read a quote from him where he says not everyone has the gift to be a writer. To me that reminded me of Wizards First Rule (I believe) where Kahlan and Richard are talking about Wizards and the gift. Kahlan is explaining how Zedd has the gift, and the others have the calling. To me, I believe Mr. Goodkind was also talking about writing, a lot of people of the calling, and can become pretty good writers. But not everyone has the gift. This is another belief I share with him.
Christopher – Eragon was the book that got me reading again, it set me on the path of a nobody becoming somebody. For years I would only read books where it started in a small village, where a kid just happened to be, and great things happened to him.
S&S: How many revisions did you go through with God’s Rogue?
KC: By myself 4, with my editor another 4.
S&S: How difficult was it to find a proof-reader / editor?
KC: I know a pretty good proof-reader, who has worked with me on Daughter of Time for two years. So it wasn’t that difficult. The difficult part was him trying to understand something I wrote, that made complete sense to me. We would spend hours discussing paragraphs as we tried to get the other to see where they were coming from.
S&S: How did it feel when you finally finished God’s Rogue and it was ready for publishing? Relief? Happiness? Wonder what to do with yourself?
KC: Nervousness, because now it’s out there for people to read. I would guess it’s like watching your child go off on their own, will they sink or swim.
God’s Rogue Synopsis
Kaden Hunt has been fighting a hidden war for humanity, alone. A war that changed one night when his oldest friend tried to kill him. Now Kaden the most powerful human in existence has drawn the complete focus of Enki and Shamash the two warring leaders of the Annunaki; the aliens who created humanity. Both are determined to stop Kaden from becoming what he once was, who he once was. For if he becomes the Traveler a more powerful enemy will be freed. – Goodreads
Want a free copy? Kevin is giving some away himself via this link.
Author Contact:
What is your Twitter? https://twitter.com/chamberskevins
What is your Goodreads? https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16028936.Kevin_S_Chambers