Interview with Author Louis K. Lowy

1)     
Congratulations on the release of your book, To
Dream. Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind this incredible novel.

Thank you, Anthony! It’s a long and unusual
story. The genesis for the novel came from a long forgotten short story that I
had written two decades ago. I was going through my virtual folders and
rediscovered it about the time I had finished up my second novel. Ripe to start
a new one, I became fascinated with key aspects of the three page story and
decided to build upon them. Once that train of thought was set in motion, I was
left with nine questions that needed to be answered in order for my proposed storyline
to work. I printed and mounted the nine questions on a storyboard and worked on
each one until I had plausible answers (though they were flexible, depending on
how things developed as I got more and more into the story). That process took
two to three months. Another interesting thing, Niyati Bopari, one of the main
characters in To Dream, first made a
brief appearance as a child in my previous book, Pedal—a contemporary women’s novel. Of course, at the time I never
realized she was going to play a pivotal role in my next book.

2) What was it about the science fiction genre that drew you in?

I loved science fiction from the day I was
born. First on TV, then in comic books and finally in books. Like To Dream, what draws me in is the human
element behind the technology. How do we, as people, keep our humanity in the
rapidly changing universe? I love Ray Bradbury because he seems to always be
dealing with this, no matter what or where his stories take place.

3) This is the third book you have written. Tell us a little bit about the
writing process you went through when writing this and how it differed from
your previous experiences.

This one was one of the toughest because of
the structure. As you mentioned in your review, it bounces back and forth from
the present to the future and from one planet to another. It also dealt with
four interlocking stories that had to connect in the end. Keeping up with all
of that was a Herculean task for me. In the beginning it was brutal, but
because I had taken a lot of time up front to solidify my plot, I knew where I
was heading and used those time shifts to my advantage. I could construct them
in a way that would create the proper impact at the right time.

4) Which character did you enjoy writing the most? Which was the most complex?

Those are great questions. Honestly, I enjoy
all of my characters, even the morally corrupt ones. Honestly, there is no one
that I enjoyed the most—though I can say that my favorites were Niyati Bopari,
J-1, Norma Mardeen, and Rebeka Takáts, because of their complexities—which
leads in to your next question.

           There
are two who I think were the most complex—Niyati Bopari and J-1. Niyati because
of the extraordinary measures she takes to deal with the death of her son. J-1
because he’s forced to face something he hasn’t been equipped to do—his
humanity.

5) When writing, what is the most compelling part to you: character development
or developing the plot?

Both. The type of stories I write depend on
both. Each one supports and enhances the other. A lot of this has to do with my
influences—people like James Joyce, Stan Lee, the aforementioned Ray Bradbury,
Charles Dickens, Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien
to name a few.

6) What has the marketing process of this book been like for you?

Like all of them, challenging. I’m
fortunate to be with IFWG Publishing. They’re a small, but supportive press.
Still, as most authors know, the business of writing can sometimes be a lot
more difficult than the actual writing. On the other hand, it’s a joy when that
process leads to someone like you, who is so generous with your time and
support of people like me.

7) What social media site has been the most helpful when promoting your books?

I tend to center my attention on Facebook,
twitter, and my website, but I also love Goodreads Instagram, and Pinterest.

8) What are your future plans? Any books in the works?

You bet! I’ve finished a fantasy novel about
a gambler on the brink of death who gets the chance to save his soul, a horror
book that takes place in the late Victorian era, and I’m currently working on a
crime novel.