Roger Floyd is a retired research virologist who is now a science fiction author of short stories and novels. He harnesses a fascination with outer space and space travel to bring readers on a journey with his characters to other planets and the stars beyond. In his debut novel, Explorer: Part I of the Anthanian Imperative Trilogy (August 2024), a team of explorers from a dying planet investigate their civilization’s best chance for survival. Look for Roger on his website RogerFloyd.com. Explorer is available in most bookstores, through IngramSpark, and from Amazon.
What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Explorer?
I think the most important takeaway for readers of Explorer is the fact that space travel isn’t going to be as simple and easy as all the popular fiction stories make it out to be. We see TV, movies, books, comics, etc, all the time which make it so easy to just get on a spaceship and travel to all sorts of places in the galaxy. Or even out of it. While these stories are fun and enjoyable, they’re somewhat misleading. It won’t be that easy. There’s a certain naivety in that concept, a certain laissez-faire attitude that can’t be brushed aside in real life. We’ve already seen some of the most unfortunate results of that attitude: Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Columbia, Challenger. Yet in the popular media, characters travel thousands of light years in a short amount of time in comfort and ease. I suggest we modify our expectations of space travel somewhat and realize it won’t be as wonderful as we make it out. We humans are highly sophisticated in terms of understanding our world and the environment around us, certainly, but we still have a lot to learn about other worlds, even just the ones close by. I, personally, would love to be among the first to land on Mars, but it still will be a very dangerous journey.
What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Since this was my first large scale work, and in fiction (I’d only written scientific articles before), I had to learn how to write in a completely different way. I’d never done fiction at all. I started by getting subscriptions to writing magazines. I picked up books on writing, especially writing sci-fi, and I began attending meetings and conferences. I’d read mostly nonfiction in my early years, but I’d read some fiction, and I thought I knew enough to at least get started. So I did. But the challenges of fiction still made it necessary for me to delve into the process of writing in a big way.
Tell us a little about a few of your main characters and why you chose them to carry the story.
At first, the two main characters, Lilea and Jad, were simply two names out of ten that I developed when I was laying out the main story of the book. My first thought was to not use any one person as a main character and tell the story from the POV of each of the different characters. But I soon realize that concept wouldn’t work—too many characters for the reader to keep track of. I settled on Lilea because she was the youngest on the team, and the one with the least amount of space experience, and the least amount of training. What better person to watch grow as the story unfolds? Jad, on the other hand, was highly experienced and well trained, both in space flight and in his chosen field. Growth for him would be much more difficult. An interesting juxtaposition.
How did the book come together?
The main story idea came about over a period of several years. I was living in Cincinnati at the time, and the autumns in Cincinnati are spectacular. While watching the leaves fall one year, I wondered what a visitor from another world would think if he (she?) landed on Earth at that time. Would they think the trees are dying? From that basic concept I developed the story that became Explorer. Of course, I had to develop a good reason for them to visit Earth, and from that work back to their homeworld and make up all the details that went along with it. I started the book in 1998, and got a first draft of 248,000 words finished around 2003. Wow. Way too big. I began cutting and revising and cutting and revising for years, and never really finished it until 2023 when I declared it finished and copyrighted it. Done. (In the meantime, I wrote the second and third books of the trilogy.) Probably the most difficult aspect of writing was learning how to cut. Cut–cut–cut. I kept telling myself, “Everything I cut always makes the book better, even if I’m cutting out some things I like.”
What was the most difficult aspect of world building for Explorer?
The most difficult aspect of world building was not only developing the characters’ homeworld of Anthanos, but finding out what Earth looked like around 15,000 years ago when the story takes place. Research was essential more for the second point than the first. I did a lot of Google research, but much of what I needed wasn’t online. Living in Cincinnati, I went over to the library at the University of Cincinnati and found several books on Earth around the time of the Pleistocene Era, the time of the Ice Ages.
What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Getting the first books from the printer.
Was it always your plan to write a trilogy? If not, at what point did you realize you needed more than one book to tell your story?
I didn’t start out to write a trilogy. That developed after I finished the basic story for Explorer and realized I wanted to continue the story. That developed into Traveler (part 2) and later into Warrior (part 3).
You began your fiction writing career later in life. What did your mature self bring to the writing table that your younger self never could have?
Probably a life of research which required absolute attention to detail and a commitment to finding out everything I could about a research project.
Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you started your writing/publishing career today?
Writing the second and third books of the trilogy went more quickly than Explorer. The second took about five years, the third about three. I suspect I learned a lot about writing just by writing novels.
Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
I have an affinity for both creating and editing. Research comes naturally, having done it for years.
What does a typical writing session look like for you? Do you have any writing rituals or something you absolutely need in order to write?
I tend to write in the afternoon and evening. I’m not one of those who gets up at 3:30 am and writes just because it’s quiet or I’m rested or the kids are asleep. Generally, I like quiet when writing, or if I play music, it’s classical music. Rituals? No. Just sit down and boot up the computer.
What writing projects are you working on now?
Right now, I’m finishing the second in the trilogy, Traveler, working with the artist to get the cover and interior art done, and formatting the manuscript to get it ready for the printer. All very enjoyable.
Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
Yes. Buy the book! It’s available in most bookstores (highly recommended), through IngramSpark (also recommended), and from Amazon.
KL Wagoner loves creating worlds of fantasy and science fiction. Her current work in progress is The Last Bonekeeper fantasy trilogy and short stories in the same universe. A member of SouthWest Writers since 2006, Kat has worked as the organization’s secretary, newsletter editor, website manager, and author interview coordinator. Kat is also a veteran, a martial art student, and a grandmother. Visit her at klwagoner.com.
