The Same Six Questions - John Blackport

Hi there! Today's guest on The Same Six Questions is John Blackport. Take it away, John!

Thanks, Andy! I'm a New England attorney who likes to keep his professional identities separate from one another. I have three kids, including two 1-year-old twins. My hobbies include history, math and gaming.

The Same Six Questions

1. Have you published a book yet?

Yes, I've published Raingun.

Here's the blurb:

Rick Rivoire is flush with money, women, and prospects. He protects his country as one of the Rainguns, an elite regiment of spellcasting cavalry.

But national policy drifts ominously into slavery and religious persecution, sparking rebellion. Joining the rebels could land Rick on a prison ship, in slave-irons--or atop the same gallows where he watched his father hang.

The alternative looks no brighter. The status quo imperils Rick’s hard-won self-respect. Supporting tyranny would doom his dream to emulate the valiant swordswoman who braved a den of monsters to rescue the lonely, terrified nine-year-old boy he once was.

Rick can’t stay above the fray forever. He must either defend a government whose actions disgust him--or risk everything he has.

This story unfolds in a world of bloodthirsty pirates, brave musketeers, and vile monsters. Its target audience is anyone who has ever wrestled with questions of whether, and how, to risk opposing the actions of their country.

Half of this e-book's royalties will go to the Scleroderma Research Foundation. The book is dedicated to my late brother-in-law Perry, and I'd like the book's revenue to help fight the disease that killed him.

If Raingun has a target audience, I guess it's for anyone who's ever loved their country, and taken pride in it, but also been disappointed by their country's actions--and wondered what exactly to do about it. America's wars of the past ten years polarized the public, provided an inspiration for a story set in a fantasy world. I think a lot of this polarization comes from the tendency of human beings misusing Occam's Razor--preferring easy answers over the hard ones. It's always tempting to believe that the world is very simple, and that all of its evil comes from one place. When it comes to the interaction of religion, politics and money, I feel that the world truly is as complicated as it appears. There is no single source of evil (or all good, either). I thought at first that a fantasy setting would put me a great disadvantage in addressing this--a lot of readers like their fantasy enemies to be monolithic Dark Lords that are simply pure malevolence--but that preference isn't as strong as it used to be.


2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Oh, I think I always wanted that. Well, I must have been at least eight. Before that I wanted to be a veterinarian.


3. What was your first lengthy piece of fiction (say, >1000 words)? What was it about? When did you write it? Do you still have it?

My first lengthy piece of fiction was inspired by Battlestar Galactica. It involved me shooting evil robots with lasers mounted on my sled while speeding down the hill in my backyard.


4. When was your first indication, "I can do this (write)"?

Hmmm . . . I'm not sure that's happened yet!


5. If you could meet one of your characters in real life, which would it be?

I'd like to meet Colonel Altiro, the commanding officer of the hero --- and cajole him into teaching me magic.


6. It's a dark and stormy night...you're alone in the house...there's a knock at the door...you open it, look out, and proceed to scream like a little girl. What's on the doorstep?

Hmm . . . I think it's those nanite spider minng robots, methodically breaking up all the planet's solid matter to re-make into copies of themselves with the same mission.

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Thanks for sharing with us today, John! For more of John and his writing, be sure to check out his Web site, Facebook page, and check out a sample of the book at Kindleboards.

Come back on on Monday when my guest will be Robin Reed! Have a great weekend!