Angela B. Chrysler: I want to take a moment to welcome Stanislava Kohut, author of Barney’s choice, available on Amazon. Thank you so much for speaking with me, Stanislava. Please take a moment to tell us about your book.
ABC: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Stanislava D. Kohut: I am a huge science fiction geek and the idea of writing a science fiction story with a main male character was something I have been thinking about for a while. Also I am a big alien nut, so to write a story about the encounter of the third kind was simply irresistible.
ABC: Stories always require some form of research. What kind of research did you do for your book?
SDK: I did research about NASA, the space flight, the surface of the moon and the moon landing. It was very interesting to learn about the different “theories” about aliens spotting in space and on the moon. Of course, theories vary and so do the different “descriptions” of the aliens. I made up my own version, as I am not a fan of the big “bug” eye look that some people are stuck on.
ABC: Which scene or chapter was the hardest for you to write?
SDK: The hardest scene was when my main character, Barney, starts to lose control of his space suit and his computer tells him that he is about to run out of oxygen. It was very hard to “push” my favorite character to the edge of his limits and in a way “watch” what would happen and how would he react to those unfortunate circumstances. To get into the mind of a person that was trained for all sorts of extreme events and then he finds himself in one that he wasn’t prepared for was very interesting.
ABC: Please describe your favorite scene or chapter in your book and tell us why it’s your favorite?
SDK: My most favorite scene is right before the ending, when Barney realizes why he became an astronaut and what drove him to become the strong and accomplished man. He was given a choice to change part of his life that has been “haunting” him since he was a young boy. The idea of giving someone an opportunity to “go back” and see if they would or wouldn’t change the path they have chosen on the first place…that is also something that has been very interesting to me from the writer’s, but also the reader’s point of view.
ABC: I once read that every author is simply a compilation of his/her favorite authors. Which authors have done the most to influence your writing and why?
SDK: My most favorite authors of all times are Victor Hugo and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Their imagination, character study and the way they could “paint” the picture of life and make you “feel” everything. Every pebble on the road; the smell of freshly baked bread; to see the look on someone face; it’s something I always aspired to.
Other authors that changed my life are Stephen King, James Patterson and from my old country, it would be Bohumil Hrabal and Karel Capek.
ABC: “Story” has always been the center of all human cultures. We need it. We seek it out. We invent it. What does “story” mean to you?
SDK: I guess story isn’t just to go through a book from the start to finish. Story for me is getting to know the character and care for him or her. To understand their motivations and what drives them. To read about their journey and their ups and downs, to bite my nails when they are in trouble, to laugh when they are happy and to cry with them when they are going through tough times. Story is the character and their journey and what makes them unique and special, what drives them and what choices they make along the way.
ABC: Tells us about your next project.
SDK: It’s my “big” novel that I have been working on for the past 4 years. It’s a science fiction space opera, that I describe as the chic version of Star Wars, mixed with the TV show Firefly. It’s very female oriented and I am very proud of how it came together. The story centers around two girls, one is a galactic soldier and a Captain of a space ship, the other is a ruthless assassin, working as a spy for the President of the Galaxy. They are sisters that have been separated as little girls, when their planet was falling apart due to a natural disaster. This is a first book in a series of four in the Supernova Chronicles and it’s called Reunion.
I am a single child and sibling relationships were always very fascinating to me, naturally. Also writing about sisters that were brought up in completely different settings, influenced by different people and having different responsibilities and lives and then thrown together under the craziest of circumstances, that was a total blast.
ABC: Where can we find you and your book?
SDK: For reading – Amazon for my short stories that I published this year :
http://www.amazon.com/Stanislava-D.-Kohut/e/B00UGX1NCK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1432189996&sr=8-1
I am very active on social media, mostly on Twitter @Stanislava28 and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stanislava.dobnakova .
I also have a very nice blog, that I have been neglecting a bit lately, called the Literary Breadcrumbs :
ABC: Thank you again, so much for speaking with me.
SDK: Thank you so very much, Angela, for having me and for all the cool questions.
