I recently had the pleasure of reviewing The Circuit: Executor Rising by Rhett C. Bruno, and you can find my review of that here. I’m pleased that he’s also taken the time to do an interview.
So Rhett, thanks for taking the time to be interviewed. Why don’t you start by telling people a little bit about yourself and why they should read your book? I studied architecture at Syracuse University and have been working as an architect in Westchester County, NY since I graduated. But at night time I write whenever I have time. It has always been a passion of mine that I’ve spent countless hours teaching myself through reading and editing my own work. This is my first attempt at a larger work of Science Fiction. I used to write Fantasy, but as I’ve gotten a little older I’ve found that science fiction is my favorite genre. Why should people read my book? I think that it has a little something for everybody. Political intrigue, action, androids and of course a little bit of romance. And I’d also like to think that the story is held together by four interesting and diverse main characters. It was my first time writing anything which followed the POV of more than two characters and I think the ability to compare all of them and find out how their lives all relate is the heart of the novel. I noticed some familiar themes in The Circuit: Executor Rising, what were your main influences? It’s tough to pinpoint any exact influence. I read as much as I can (Unfortunately I’m a slow reader) and mostly focus on older sci fi novels like Dune, or novels by Timothy Zahn. I’m also very into movies, and am currently studying screenwriting, so that is an equal influence. The original idea for the Circuit came from seeing all those movies and how artificial gravity was just accepted. That was when I thought of a new element in Earth being needed to generate artificial gravity, and thus The Circuit was born. I liked the way you handled the different characters, I found the main ones all interesting but I particularly liked ADIM. Which was your favorite character to write? Balancing the four characters was incredibly difficult. For the first book I actually wrote it in almost the exact order you read, so jumping between all of them was difficult, and it was a miracle that the story came together cleanly while I did that without really favoring any character over another. It’s funny that you pick ADIM because he was, and continues to be, the most difficult character to write, which makes sense considering he is an Android and not human. The most fun character to write actually wound up being Sage. I think her crisis is something we can all relate to, losing faith but not wanting to completely let go. It is something that will carry over into the sequel and really what drives her story. Of every character, she’s the only one that doesn’t really know where she belongs, and is only doing what she’s doing because it helps her forget her past. Do you have the rest of the series meticulously planned out or is it just a general direction? I have the sequel pretty much planned out. There is a rough chapter outline, and since I’m already around 1/3 done I know there will be some changes as I go along, but the ending is planned. I have always planned for the story of these four characters to be contained to a duology. While “The Circuit” series may continue on after that, you will see the exciting conclusion in the next book which I’m hoping to have finished by early next year. Can you give us any hints as to what to expect from the rest of the series? Expect to have many of the answers about how the Circuit came to be, to be answered. And, of course, expect to see exactly what Cassius is planning because of everything he has learned, and if he can pull it off. Executor Rising ended with a long streak of action, so the beginning of the next novel settles down a bit, but it is just the calm before the storm. Now that Cassius has initiated his plan, he is not the type of man to hesitate on carrying it out. Expect plenty of action and a few surprises! Did you have a method for choosing the names? They all sounded strange enough for the setting but a lot seemed to be rooted in the familiar. Honestly, I spent a month coming up with the name for every main character except for ADIM which was always planned. It was kind of just a period of rattling off names until I found one that really fit. I can drive myself crazy over main character names, so I wanted to make sure they sounded memorable. I hope I succeeded in that. How have you found the experience of getting your book to print, has there been anything that’s taken you by surprise? The experience has been pretty smooth, at least once I found a publisher. I was surprised by all the options there are out there for getting your book published. I think it’s amazing. While not all of it may be quality, I think it gives writers tremendous opportunity. “The Circuit” is unique in that I don’t think it falls precisely into any sub-genre of science fiction. It has elements of many, so I think it would have been hard to sell it to any of the big publishers. Of course I would love to have the opportunity to write for one of them, I think small press has been a great place for someone as young as me to start. There is freedom to explore any of my ideas. Where can fans of your book find you? Fans of my book can find/contact me through my website, www.rhettbruno.com, or at the Circuit facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/TheCircuitSeries. They can also follow me @rcbruno44 on twitter. I’d love to hear from any fans! I’d like to thank Rhett for joining me. The Circuit: Executor Rising is available on Amazon in paperback and electronic formats. If you are an author and have a book you’d like reviewed and want to take part in an interview get in touch.
