My next interview is with Science Fiction Writer Brian Schutter, the author of Titanborn.
Tell us about yourself! What would you like readers to know about you?
Brian Schutter: Hello! I’m a scientist turned sci-fi author. I love exploring near future worlds and technologies, infusing them with my real world research experience and the knowledge of subject-matter experts from around the world. I believe that exploring where we will go can help us ask how to act now to write the future we want to see, rather than the one others have tried to write for us.
What are some tropes of fiction in your genre that you love/hate? Why?
Brian Schutter: I love the ‘lancer’ trope where an antagonist or anti-hero protagonist has a continual, personal beef with the protagonist. When done well, this character’s actions and pain can open a conversation on systemic abuses in their world. The most recent sci-fi/fantasy instance I’ve found is Catra in She-Ra. She had me hooked by the end of the first episode.
Alexis: That is a trope that can be very interesting in the right hands! I do think that Catra is one of the most engaging and tragic characters on She-Ra. I always hoped that she and Scorpia would just run away and rule the wastelands together. But she’s never quite able to let go of her rage/love for Adora.
Who is your favorite character in your book? What do you like about them? (or, which character do you hate most and why)
Brian Schutter: In Titanborn, I love and hate Lakshmi the most simultaneously. She was born from some of my favorite characters in comics/games/literature but also from abusive relationships I and close friends of mine have experienced. I love her continuous creative energy and absolutely hate the way she treats everyone. Needless to say, she’s been incredibly divisive among the fans too!
What do you like to do other than read or write? Do you have any interesting hobbies?
Brian Schutter: I love to hike and rock climb. It really helps regulate my anxiety and I’ve made lifelong friends while climbing indoors. I program in my free time and I’m always looking to learn skills that enable me to tell stories in new ways. I’m currently toying with the idea of making a Titanborn simulation game that covers all of the Titan colonization, up to the events of the book!
I cosplayed for the first time with a group at Katsucon 2020, which was an absolute blast, and I’m excited to do more once this pandemic clears. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I’ve dreamed of improving my ability to make amazing costumes for a long time.
Alexis: I love hiking as well! I haven’t done much cosplay, but I do historical reenactment with my family, including Viking and Medieval costumes.
What TV shows/Movies do you like to watch or stream?
Brian Schutter: Ghost in the Shell is an incredibly formative TV series for me. I still watch it, though I’m starting to feel like I’ve outgrown it a bit. Cowboy Bebop on the other hand, still lights up my imagination every time I watch it.
The Venture Brothers has become my mainstay for re-watching when I need something in the background. I love the way it explores superhero/villain archetypes in a mundane setting.
New TV I’m digging are She-Ra (which we are borderline binging through, haha) and the What We Do In The Shadows series.
Alexis: Awesome! I’m obsessed with What We Do in the Shadows, and I enjoy She-Ra as well. I’m watching it with my daughter.
Titanborn by Brian Schutter
Do you like playing video games? What’s your favorite game right now? Has a video game ever influenced you as a writer?
Brian Schutter: I play too many video games. Right now, I’m playing Stardew Valley with my partner (in part to have a virtual dog) and I just picked up Observer which is a surveillance state walking simulator (I love these kinds of games) set in near-future Russia.
What advice do you have for other writers or people just getting started in writing?
Brian Schutter: Talk to your support network and find ways they can help you. Writing is difficult and making writing fiction financially stable takes time and luck. The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is find and ask for help every step of the way. I firmly do not believe in the lone genius writer myth and have yet to find evidence to support it.
Alexis: Agreed! I have some great writing friends and have belonged to a couple of writing groups, and without them I don’t know that I would have kept going. It’s so important to have support.
How do you choose what books you want to read?
Brian Schutter: I’ll read the synopsis and generally I’ll know if I want to read it right then and there. Stories with unique voices and settings grab me very easily. I like to be surprised and to have my biases and viewpoint challenged by what I read. I view reading as a way to travel to new places (especially impossible ones!) and meet people that I otherwise might not get to meet.
Alexis: That’s one of the things I love about science fiction and fantasy—they so often have new and exciting people and other intelligences, and incredible places.
If you write scifi, what technology or innovations or scientific discoveries have inspired your work?
Brian Schutter: Tons of stuff! My favorite technologies right now to work with are any form of mind or body altering modification. This can be electronic implants or genetic modification. - In a more general sense, I like to explore how technology shapes our lives, jobs, and communities. Drones, surveillance tech, and social media all fall into this category.
Science Fiction Writer Brian Schutter, interviewed by Alexis Lantgen at Lunarianpress.com