Thank you for visiting SpecFicPick. Today we are pleased to present an interview with Cassandra Davis, author of the science fiction novel Dremiks.
She started scribbling stories in her school notebooks when she was 13 years old. Since that time, she's won essay contests, worked as a sports reporter, and written political speeches.
The daughter and granddaughter of published authors, Mrs. Davis has always had a vivid imagination to balance out her snide outlook on life. She is a life-long science fiction and fantasy reader. Married to a game producer and the mother of two young boys, Cassandra spends her days surrounded by fantastical thoughts, "what ifs", and their inevitably humorous outcomes.
Michael K. Rose: What role do you believe speculative fiction plays in society?
Cassandra Davis: As an author of speculative fiction, I have the ability to examine human motivations and emotions without the prejudicial surroundings of our current world. I always try to ask "Would this character react this way because the trait he or she is portraying is an inherently human one, or because of his/her surroundings?" I love this ability to focus on the people (or aliens) in my worlds. World creation is exciting and fun, but, for me at least, it pales in comparison to the characters that inhabit the lands of my imagination. I feel that good speculative fiction should leave the reader asking what our role is in society and how our actions shape the future (or the past if you're reading time travel fiction).
MKR: How did you come up with the idea for Dremiks?
CD: "Dremiks" was a one-word prompt written on a slip of paper handed out by my 7th grade English teacher. She told us to write a short story incorporating that word but gave us no other guidance. Being a very geeky and nerdy young lady, I immediately decided that Dremiks was the name of an alien planet. The story has, thankfully, progressed far beyond those sad little 7th grade efforts, but the name hasn't changed.
MKR: What was your biggest challenge in writing it?
CD: My greatest challenge when writing Dremiks was finishing it. My husband always quips that I have a fear of completion. In this case, I believe he was entirely correct. I was terrified that I would finish the book, give it to a friend or family member to read and discover that I actually sucked at writing. A worse fear was that the writing would be ok but that the story-line would just be boring. Apparently neither of those is true, but I cannot truthfully say I'm completely over my fear of rejection.
MKR: What are you working on now?
CD: I thought when I made the final edits for Dremiks and sent it out into the world that the characters would finally move out of my head and leave me in peace. Unfortunately, the exact opposite has been true. There are over a dozen ancillary individuals in Dremiks that are begging to have their stories told--and I'm excited to say that there are fans of the book who want to read those stories. So, I have three sequels to Dremiks planned. I also have a historical fantasy series planned out in my head and a rough first draft of the first book of that series. Those books will deal with immortal beings that serve as protectors of humanity against demons and other minions of Satan.
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