Interview with Glenn Parris, author of Dragon’s Heir: The Archeologist’s Tale

Author’s Bio:   Physician, Glenn Parris, hails from St. Albans, Queens in New York City.  He was bitten by the writing bug during his rheumatology fellowship when he began writing science fiction, medical fiction, and fantasy. He attended his first SEAK Writers Workshop for physicians in 2010, hosted by Dr. Tess Gerritsen and the late Dr. Michael Palmer. 

Glenn pays homage to his mentors, Octavia Butler, Michael Palmer and the ever-prolific Tess Gerritsen in the pages of his work. (Glenn still blames Tess for inspiring the shenanigans and mayhem in The Renaissance of Aspirin.) The science fiction saga, Dragon’s Heir has garnered wonderful reviews. He’s just finished the sequel manuscript to his Jack Wheaton Mystery Doc series.

DL: What inspired you to write your book? 

GP: I missed the style of science fiction I had come to love from Isaac Azimov, Frank Herbert, Octavia Butler and Larry Niven. So I decided to write my own.

DL: Describe your writing process? Do you use an outline or let it flow organically? 

GP: I usually write an outline, but I realized that was fruitless as my characters rarely follow my outlines. I direct and redirect them by throwing pain and obstacles in their paths like a Greek God, but I really can’t control them.

DL: What do you think makes a good story?

GP:  Plucking a character from his or her ordinary life, and watching him make the decision to do the right thing at personal peril. Of course, there’s nothing better than a great villain to add spice to a story!

DL: Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? 

GP: Operation Time Search, The Foundation trilogy, Dune and The Patternists series.

DL: If you were hosting a dinner party which three authors would be your dream guests? 

GP: Octavia Butler, Frank Herbert and Michael Creighton. 

DL: What are the keys to success in marketing your book(s)?

GP:  I’m still looking for them. I am forever misplacing my keys :-) 

DL: What tips would you give to aspiring writers? 

GP: Write what you want to read. That’s always going to be a great first draft. Then get help from an editor, critique group or writers’ workshop to refine it. Find out what editors want and polish your work but stand your ground for your principles. Remember, if someone wants to fundamentally change your work, tell them to write their own damn story!

DL: How about sharing an excerpt from Dragon’s Heir, Chapter Super Heroes? 

GP: The main protagonist, Vit Na has been captured and imprisoned. Her interrogation follows below.

Dr. Mendez asked the first question on his list. “How do you call yourself?”

“I am Vit Na.”

“For an alien lifeform, you aren’t very different from native animals we know.”

“Well of course not.” She snapped, “We evolved here!”

Suddenly, Vit Na felt stupid. How could I have reacted to such a dangerous question without thinking? There must have been a thousand ways to exploit that opening.

She began again. “This was once our home. Millions of years ago, we were forced to leave this place. This world became...inhospitable to us.”

Mendez forgot the questions on the page in front of him. “How many millions of years ago?”

She answered directly. “Sixty-five.”

Mendez leaned forward in his chair. “Then you mean whatever drove your people out was also what killed off the dinosaurs?”

Vit Na had heard this word before, but did not understand its meaning. “What is a dinosaur?”

Mendez groped the air in desperation. “Big lizards. Reptiles, like snakes and alligators.”

Vit Na floundered for a moment. “I still don’t underst—” She stopped talking when Mendez flipped to a fresh page. Furiously, Mendez drew a crude picture of a stereotypical T. rex then turned the tablet to her.

Vit Na stared at it for a moment before slowly taking the pad first, then the pencil. She sketched over the same picture. When she was done, she held the page to face him, and offered it back to her host.

Mendez’s hands trembled as he took the tablet and stared in disbelief. Vit Na had superimposed a portrait of herself. Mendez’s mouth made several contortions before forming the words, “Oh, my dear God.”

DL: What’s on the horizon for you? 

GP: I’m writing the prequel and sequel to Dragon’s Heir, I’ve written the second in my Mystery Doc series, I’m writing a collection of Vampire shorts, and a historic novel that takes place in the mid to late 1800s. 

DL: Where can readers learn more about you and your book(s)? 

GP: Dragon’s Heir, The Archeologist’s Tale, The Renaissance of Aspirin, Unbitten: A Vampire Dream, can be found on Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, Books A Million and Audible.

·         Website: www.glennparris.com

·         Amazon Author Page: Amazon.com/authorglennparris

·         Facebook: Glenn Parris @glennparris fiction writer

·         Twitter: Dr. Glenn Parris @TheMysteryDoc (I’ll consolidate with @gparris744)

It’s been a pleasure having you here with us today. I know my readers will enjoy getting to know you and your work.