The
Vanity of Hope looks like a fantastic science fiction adventure. Can you
tell us a little about the main character Thomas Ryder?
Thomas Ryder is the best example
of a medieval man – physically superior to those around him and highly capable.
Outwardly, he appears to have drawn the luckiest “hand.” However, internally he
is tormented by the burning question of where he belongs in the world of nature
and wishes for the peace of his fellow villagers. He was chosen by the alien
pirates for his “self-reliance” score, which includes his physical attributes,
to be resold for his gene pool. However, he was chosen long before for a higher
purpose connected to his internal quest for a peaceful mind.
Although Thomas Ryder is
medieval, his dilemma is that of a thoroughly modern man. A fast-approaching world
of hyper-technology will bring endless wonders, buthe still has to deal with
his inner world – who is he really? What is left of us when everything is
stripped away by pandemic, economic and social irrelevance, genetic
enhancement, and superior technology that acts and thinks more efficiently than
we ever can. Ultimately, Thomas Ryder is a character, who after one-by-one
discarding the core qualities he once thought made him human, seeks salvation
in the one thing that the outside world will never surpass.
How
did you come up with story in The Vanity of Hope?
I can’t say I came up with the
story, rather the story just kept growing the more I fed it with knowledge and
imagination. The Vanity of Hope went through many changes - morphing, twisting
and turning along the way through revelation, or the result of an editor
pointing out flaws in the main character and storyline. The themes of identity,
awareness vs. distraction, simplicity vs. complexity and the inherent wonder in
nature, are issues dear to my heart. I was born with a natural talent for
accumulating “general knowledge” and being an avid watcher of the original Star
Trek as a child, you could say writing science fiction was almost preordained. The
Vanity of Hope is the first book of the Apostle series that has been part of my
life, more or less every day for the last twenty years. Apostle is a cautionary
tale of humanity’s hubris. Somehow, after Covid-19 it’s not so hard to be a naysayer.
At least there’s less ridicule.
How
many books do you have planned for the series?
The
are five books in the Apostle series. Originally, it was to be a trilogy, but
by the time I finished Book One in 2012 it was 110,000 words of plot. I cut the
story 60/40 and went to work on the first part. The more I wrote the more the
story expanded. Worlds had to be built, back-stories invented, and most
challenging and rewarding, the motivations of the characters needed to be
fleshed out and given action and voice. After some valuable suggestions from
various editors, I was able to get the story to where I felt I had “turned the
corner” and had something tangible to work with. Rewrite after rewrite later, I was busy adding
details – a line of dialogue here; an adjective there, right up to publication,
(after the proofread – do not do this).
The bonus
is that Book Two —“The Veins of God,” (the true end of Part One) is already half-written
and the third act unchanged. I have a completely new act two that I’m quite
excited with the possibilities for new story worlds and age-old conflicts. The
original Book two is now going to be Books Three and Four for the same reason
of too much plot. The old Book Three will be Book Five.
The last
line of the Apostle series remains the same after all these years. Having the
entire series plotted helps enormously because I know where it’s all heading.
Fortunately, as the ideas keep coming there’s plenty of room for imagination
and revelation.
What
inspired you when writing The Vanity of Hope?
I believed very deep down that I
had something important to say. After I finally settled on the title, “The
Vanity of Hope,” I thought it might describe my situation. Maybe. Call it
faith, because that’s all you have when there’s no reason or “realistic” hope
that thousands and thousands of hours won’t be in vain. Starting the writing
craft with nothing but a firm command of words then slowly learning how stories
come together is a continual source of inspiration to keep going until I can emulate
what I consider great writing. (Graham Green and John LeCarre.)
The next ten years will be a
golden age for real (true life) science fiction. Artificial intelligence, CRISPR
gene editing, and virtual reality will break-free from the imagination into the
real world and people can see for themselves what we’ve been saying all along.
Hold onto your hats because there’s a hurricane coming.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
I photocopied an interview of
John Grisham in 1994. I dabbled for a while and had 50,000 words together by
2001. Somewhat unusually, I guess, I have just worked on just the one story. In
hindsight, I should have sought professional advice earlier and applied this to
short stories to build up my craftsmanship, but the story just kept calling for
attention. Like most writers, I was a big reader when I was young.
When
writing The Vanity of Hope did anything stand out as particularly
challenging?
Yes, dealing with the sheer
number of ideas and what to do with them. Evaluate, enhance, discard, or
elevate. I wrote the beginning of the Vanity of Hope more times than I care to remember.
A few years ago, the first 3 chapters – maybe 6000 words, were done and I was
suitably convinced of their quality and overall worth to the story. Only to be (rightly)
told by a story editor they added nothing meaningful. Not all was lost. I can use
some of this material for a scene in book two.
Another editor queried the scene
structure of another chapter 1. A quick rewrite and…then I realized I needed to
totally rewrite chapter 3, (now the longest chapter in the book).
There were times when I wondered
if I’d ever get ahead of the story. Friends and colleagues wondered too. Year
after year, I was always “writing.” When I did get finished and told people I’d
put the ebook on Amazon they sort of said, “and,” but when I showed them the
paperback then it was, “Oh you’ve written a book.” It’s all invisible. This
might be the most challenging part of the whole process. A carpenter builds a
house. “Look, see.” I spend hundreds of hours writing (as well as work a day
job), and I get…?
What do you like to do when
not writing?
Learning - watching long-form
interviews on YouTube or something that I’ve downloaded. Good movies, (none of
that superhero rubbish). Casablanca, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Predator.
Recently, The Gentlemen, and the 1960 film, The Apartment.
Documentaries – some good ones
are: The Gene Revolution about CRISPR,”
“The Serengeti Rules, about how nature works,” and “Stuxnet - The Digital
Weapon.”
I am currently
reading: “Stoner” by John Williams and “How Fiction Works” by James Woods.
A few beers at the local.
Where can
readers find out more about your work?
I have a website, www.gwlangdon.com, which is in the
early stages. Not much to see there yet, but will blog updates on Book Two –
The Veins of God – as I progress towards publication in mid-January 2021. I
will also be posting video clips from documentaries and movies. I also have
Pinterst, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube social media, but the website will
be the best place to start from and then fan out. My aim is to be entertaining,
informative and interesting.