Author Interview: Robert Williscroft

1) What inspired you to write?

I was inspired to write Icicle: A Tensor Matrix following a conversation with Keith Lofstrom, the inventor of the Space Launch Loop (a method for getting into orbit and beyond without using rockets) and ServerSky (an orbital-based Internet concept using billions of small thinsats that work together to function as the backbone for a global internet).

Here is a description of the book:
Braxton Thorpe has discovered a threat to the entire Solar System, but he has a problem: he’s dead.

Frozen at death, he awakens to find himself uploaded into an electronic matrix. Exploring beyond the matrix and the larger GlobalNet, he discovers the Oort, a distributed electronic entity older than humanity, with an unnerving secret: aliens wiped out nearly all life on Earth once, and are coming back to do it again.

The mathematical entity that is Thorpe has to find a way to convince humans of the threat, and in time to do something about it. But how, and what?

If you’ve read Niven’s A World Out of Time or Taylor’s We Are Legion, the opening of Icicle will only seem familiar. Buckle up for a wild ride; you ain’t seen nothing.

Here is a link to the book trailer: https://youtu.be/ZLtkc9wlxzA

2) Are you a reader? What are some of your favorites?

I am an eclectic reader. On the fiction side, I enjoy hard SciFi, technothrillers, and spy novels. Nonfiction, I like science, physics, astronomy, cosmology, space science, planetary science, history, and biographies of famous people.

3) What is your newest work, and what is going to happen in the future?

I just completed the third Mac McDowell Mission, Operation Arctic Sting, about Mac and his team acquiring an abandoned Soviet Alfa sub and driving it through the Arctic ice pack to the U.S. East Coast. Shortly, I will complete the third Oort Chronicle, Federation: To the Stars. This is a continuation of Icicle, described in the first response above.

Following this is the fourth Mac McDowell Mission, Operation White Out that takes place in Antarctic waters, and the third Oort Chronicle, Andromeda: A Rising Tide that follows the characters in Icicle and Federation as they push beyond our galaxy into the wider universe.

4) Do you have advice or tips for Indie Authors?

Stick with it! Don’t give up—ever!

5) What influenced you as a writer?

My writing has had many influences. I have lived a life of personal adventure that has influenced everything I write. My inspiration comes from my eclectic of the world around me. Here is a short bio:

Retired submarine officer, deep-sea and saturation diver, scientist, author, and lifelong adventurer. Spent 22 months underwater, a year in the equatorial Pacific, three years in the Arctic ice pack, and a year at the Geographic South Pole. Degrees in Marine Physics and Meteorology, and a doctorate for developing a system to protect SCUBA divers in contaminated water. A prolific author of non-fiction, Cold War thrillers, and hard science fiction. Lives in Centennial, Colorado, with the girl of his dreams and her two cats.

Social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.williscroft

Parler: https://parler.com/#/user/RGWilliscroft

Gab: https://gab.com/RWilliscroft

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RGWilliscroft

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/argee/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwilliscroft/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/robertwilliscro/_saved/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RWilliscroft

Book Website: https://RobertWilliscroft.com

Personal Website: https://argee.net

Blog: https://thrawnrickle.com/