Gary Raham

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I love reading, writing, hiking, painting, nature journaling, photography, hunting for fossils, and playing tennis. I also tag around with my wife as she explores her various athletic interests, most recently, Masters Track and Field events. Both my wife and I also volunteer as naturalists, introducing a new generation to the wonders of local natural areas.

When and why did you start writing books?

I loved telling stories at an early age. As part of the first television generation, I devoured “cowboy shows” on TV. Learning to write in elementary school, I drew cowboy hats on my capital letters. At home I drew and wrote my own comic book stories, flailing my arms when I created something I particularly liked. (I learned much later that that behavior might put me somewhere on the autism spectrum, but my parents didn’t seem concerned.). Teachers praised my writing, so I was motivated to continue—although one well-meaning English Teacher in high school thought concentrating on science fiction was a mistake. I didn’t. Science fiction fed my wonder lust. Trained as a biologist, I wrote for journals, then wrote science non-fiction for kids. I learned to write science fiction with Ed Bryant’s Denver group of SF writers. After selling a couple of short stories, I worked into writing longer science fiction.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

Like many writers, I held various day jobs to actually make money sufficient to raise a family. I taught biology for a couple of years, but then spent a long career as a graphic artist, writing on the side. When I turned 50 I decided I better try to get serious about this writing thing. I received a contract for my third book about this time, The Deep Time Diaries, a science fact-science fiction hybrid title. With my wife’s support, I began a freelance career as a writer/illustrator.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Choosing favorite characters is a bit like choosing your favorite child: almost impossible. However, I loved Neesha Olifee in The Deep Time Diaries, and Skeets in A Singular prophecy. These are both strong female characters, loosely patterned after my wife, Sharon. Later I concocted Rudy, the hero of my Dead Genius titles. His voice felt natural as well. He might be a distorted version of me, but much more competent and self-assured.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

A Twice-Dead Genius Comporting with Misunderstood Abominations is my third SF novel. My first novel, A Singular Prophecy, took me nearly a decade to complete—partly because I was still working full time as a graphic artist, partly because it was a complex learning experience, partly because “life happens,” as everyone knows. My second book, A Once-Dead Genius in the Kennel of Master Morticue Ambergrand, wrote itself relatively quickly (a year). I knew early on that I had something good going on and I knew where I wanted to go with it. A Twice-Dead Genius started out as a sequel to A Once-Dead Genius, but early on I realized that I could weave characters from my first book into the tale. That process took more effort than I expected and I got much farther into the book before I had that “Eureka moment” where I realized I knew what the ending should be. Thus, this book has been the hardest so far. I tend to write my fiction by the “seat of the pants” method and my non-fiction by developing an overarching outline. I love the surprises of the pants method, but it can cause angst until your subconscious kicks in with narrative solutions. J So, I eventually ended up with a trilogy, but the preferred reading order is: Once-Dead Genius, A Singular Prophecy, and A Twice-Dead Genius.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Again, like picking favorite children and characters, a difficult choice. As a youngster I might have picked The Thousand Year Plan by Isaac Asimov. I also love the non-fiction books of Loren Eiseley, like The Invisible Pyramid. The Canadian writer, Robert Sawyer, seems to share a lot of common interests, so when I read one of his titles I find myself saying, “Gee, I wish I had written that.” I also love Kim Stanley Robinson’s work along with that of the “killer Bs,” Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, David Brin, and Stephen Baxter.

What book are you reading right now?

I’m reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake and Alaska by James A. Michener (preparing to my first trip to that state.) I just finished Planta Sapiens by Paco Calvo with Natalie Lawrence.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

Writers like Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury first punched my “sense of wonder buttons.” I remember being intrigued by Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy and the idea that future history could be designed or imagineered to be better than it might otherwise be. Of course, Hari Seldon, the Psychohistorian protagonist in the series, found that all plans “gang aft agley” at some point. I also enjoy writing and explaining biology, paleontology, and ecology in a way that brings out the personal stories and excitement of scientists who work to unravel nature’s secrets. Science fact often inspires science fiction—and vice versa.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I enjoy hiking and stopping to do some field sketching of plants and landscapes. In recent years I’ve spent a lot of time at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area north of Fort Collins, Colorado. There, during the depression years, one of my favorite non-fiction writers, Loren Eiseley, made a pivotal discovery as a young graduate student: a Folsom point buried in the vertebra of the extinct Bison antiquus. I share Eiseley’s fascination with deep time and the flawed nature of Homo sapiens trying to find his place in an immense universe

Do you have any new books in the works?

I’ve enjoyed living in the future world I created in the Dead Genius books. I wondered what happened to the people and aliens I left behind in my last tale. So, I began writing what I thought were a series of short stories about the humans and aliens who decided to stay Earthbound rather than gallivant off into the cosmos. My writers’ group told me I was writing another novel, and I believe they are right. I’m tentatively calling it The Chronicles of Gaia or perhaps The Citadel—I haven’t quite decided yet. It shares themes with my first books. Foremost among those themes is that we belong to a living tapestry of life 4 billion years in the making that we ignore at our own peril. I also truly believe that diversity, inclusion, and cooperation are keys to not only human survival, but the survival of the planet as well. I’m probably three quarters done with the text and have been working on a new cover painting! I’m hoping 2023 may be its year to appear.