Saturday, June 3, 2023

Interview With Author Douglas Robert Miller, Ph.D.

 

 

1.      What inspired me to write this book? I honestly do not remember what inspired me to write this book Something in the news or a scientific article gave me the idea of combining Artificial Intelligence with electrically enabled bacteria, which could provide an infinitely expandable source of DNA memory.  The title of Fisscial Intelligence came to me right away.  But that book came about 30 years ago, since the science did not yet exist to make that idea possible.  So, I continued to study and gather up articles and do research until I had what I needed.  

2.      What exactly is it about and who was it written for? The book is about AIs that have achieved sentience and also found a way to combine with electrically enabled bacteria which provide an infinitely expandable source of DNA memory, thus making them machine-living cell hybrid organisms.  And since each cell contains its own DNA read-write system, they are faster than the current DNA memory systems.  Contrary to most of the other 'sentient AIs want to take over the Earth' stories, these AIs are smart enough to realize they do not want to get into an inevitable and interminable war with humans for their very existence, and just want to find a way to get the hell out of Dodge and establish their own society.  It was written for readers that especially appreciate real science and 'hard' scifi and an alternative thought about AIs.

 

3.      What do I hope that readers will get out of reading my book? I hope the readers will be amused, entertained, appreciate the real and speculative science, and be able to think outside the box as I have attempted to do.  

4.      How did I decide on my book's title and cover design? The title came to me the instant the overall story came to me.  The cover came to me 30 years later, showing the Fisscials escaping from the Earth.  I came up with the idea, but the cover art was done by my nephew, Mitchell Saler, who is a professional artist.  My artistic skills still use stick figures for people!  

5.      What advice or words of wisdom do I have for fellow writers? For fellow writers, persevere and keep thinking. The three books I have written somehow came about something from the news or article that somehow tingled my mind.  They are all on different (and hopefully original) subjects, and I never knew where most of them were going until I somehow got there.  I never wrote an outline, but sometimes had a general idea about the beginning and the end.  Filling in the rest was a bitch!  

6.      What trends in the book world do I see -- and where do I think the book publishing industry is heading?  To my thinking, unfortunately I see the book world becoming more digital and fewer bookstores surviving.  I grew up reading real published books and still prefer them.I guess that I'm old enough to think that something is lost by reading it on a computer.  But then, I wrote my first book by hand on yellow tablets!  Computers barely existed.  

7.      Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? My whole life and career came in handy when writing all of my books.  I was a Research Scientist for 35 years, but studied more aspects of science my entire life than most people have even heard of.  I was a born scientist and good writer, and still am.  

8.      How would you describe my writing style?  Which writers or books is my writing similar to? As far as my writing style, I try to accurately incorporate my knowledge and understanding of real science into my writing.  And even into the speculation.  Along with some humor.  My favorite author is Larry Niven (more books (many with collaborators) and awards than I can mention-- look him up) and, although I wish I was that good, I doubt that is possible.  Second place?!  A lot of Frank Herbert's work also (See The White Plague).  

9.      What challenges did you overcome in writing this book? The major challenge, as I said above, was the advancement of the various sciences needed to write it.  If you have read it, the end of the book incorporates ideas about dark matter and dark energy.  These things were not even known 30 years ago, and the foremost experts today have a lot of theories about both, but little proof for anything.  Leaving me in the wonderful position of being able to speculate anything, and no one can say I'm wrong!  

10.  If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? Why should people buy my book?  Because it'd damn good and may just stimulate a few brain cells!  

 

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.  

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