FAQ

Q. What got you interested in writing?

A. I’ve actually always thought of writing as an interesting art form, particularly when it comes to storytelling. I like the challenges and rewards that come with expanding my mind to come up with ideas for entertaining and creative subject matter for a novel, novella, short story, article, etc.

Q. Why did you choose self-publishing over traditional publishing?

A. There are several reasons why I chose self-publishing. The primary reason is that self-publishing allows me to have more control over both the writing process and publishing process. The amount of freedom that presents is appealing to me. It is also appealing to me that I can retain a larger percentage of royalties for any work that I publish. Lastly, I can appreciate the fact that being a self-published author forces me to take on all of the responsibilities that must be fulfilled to transform an idea in my head to a tangible book or e-book or audiobook that people can purchase. I may not necessarily enjoy that entire process, but I like the fact that it will make me much more resourceful after going around the block a few times, so to speak.

Q. Which authors of fiction inspired you to write?

A. Ironically, I’m not a huge fiction novel reader. I had actually been terrible at setting aside the time to read many long form books just for leisure for so long simply because my time has been very preoccupied. However, I have had time over the years to read the works several Authors of fiction the I definitely find inspirational: Octavia Butler, Ralph Ellison, Robert A. Heinlein, Zora Neale Hurston, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Paulo Coelho just to name a few. There are plenty of Authors whose works and styles I am at least familiar with and draw inspiration from. Those include but is not limited to Richard Wright, Isaac Asimov, Walter Mosley, Stephen King, N. K. Jemisin, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Colson Whitehead, Douglas Adams, Ursula K. Le Guin, Joseph Heller, and Andy Weir just to name a few. What I can say with certainty is that I’m working on freeing up more of my time so that I can explore more of the works of these and many more authors.

Q. what strategies did you implement for writing your book?

A. Being that I’m new to this whole process, I started out with the most logical approach (at least in my mind). I wrote a very detailed outline of how I wanted the story to go. The thinking there was that I could use the outline as a guideline to help me avoid writer’s block. I did find that approach helpful since it helped me avoid writer’s block, for the most part. I was able to write, more or less, according to the outline with some divergences throughout. But would I use that approach again? It depends. The major con for me in writing that way was that I felt as if I wrote the book twice, writing a long outline and then writing the actual book on top of that. With that said, if my first book turns out to be great largely because of this method, I’ll definitely use it again when necessary. I feel that as I get better at writing I can trust my instincts more to guide me rather than following an outline that I wrote out. The two approaches that I reference above fall under the “pantsers vs. plotters” debate.

Q. where are you from?

A. I was born in the Bay Area in Northern California, but I grew up in the Los Angeles area.

Q. What will your debut novel be about?

A. My debut novel is a sci-fi novel is actually the first in a series of books. This novel takes place in and near a colony on the Saturn moon, Titan, that represents the absolute cutting edge of human progress in technology. The book follows the lives of four individuals who, over time, either intensifies their hatred of the society that they find themselves in or become disillusioned with the society and institutions that they had come to believe was nearly infallible. The individuals’ paths are told in parallel, but they are not told necessarily in linear fashion with respect to each other. By the end of the novel, their paths will have deeply impacted each other’s lives.

Q. do you plan on strictly being a science-fiction novelist?

A. The beauty of being an Author, particularly an indie Author, is that I have the freedom to choose which direction I want to go. I plan on writing sci-fi novels of various types, of course, but I also plan on writing books in other genres. Some of those genres are psychological thrillers, dark humour absurdist stories, and bizarro fiction. Also, I’m not limiting myself to novels. I also plan on writing novellas, short stories, articles, and possibly even children’s books.

Q. Are you on social media?

A. Yes. I am on Twitter (@MarlinArchie) and Instagram (@iammarchie).

Q.What are you doing in the meantime while editing your debut novel?

A. Currently, I am writing a blog which can be found here on my website. Topics range from deceptively mundane observations that think are interesting to themes related to what happens in my debut novel, such as torture, population control, asexuality, class warfare, dehumanization, etc.