RB Interview 11-07

This is an Interview that was released with RB in November of '07.

This interview was done over the phone. Before anyone askes no we are not about to give out the phone number for RB. (This was done in October 07 and was placed in the November Issue).

Unexpected Ramifications: We are very excited to have RB on the line ready to have a little chat with us today. He has consented to giving us this little interview and we are very, very grateful. Hey RB thanks for letting us into the RB’s Universe Group. So what are you up to right now as far as RB’s Universe is concerned?

RB: Wow you guys really jump right into things don’t you? Well RB’s Universe is the project to link all my work. I really can’t (and this is a big problem of mine) stay focused on one item at a time. Thus the reason for all of my different worlds that form my “Multiverse” were made one at a time but usually while I was working on other projects, such as the Ynel being created during the beginning stages of the Urkia Quadrilogy planning. But right now it’s just getting the ideas and stories read for Empire Vol. 2 and getting the ideas for the Novel.

UR: So does this mean that you will be starting in on the novel soon?

RB: Yes and no. I will be starting the novel in November. This is because that is when NaNoWriMo happens (National Novel Writing Month for anyone who doesn’t know) and you have to write fifty thousand words in one month. So the novel will be around that long, and you can look for it in print at the RB’s Universe store of course, and maybe, if I’m lucky, in booksellers nationwide in about spring of ’08 (for the RB’s Universe Store at least).

UR: So you’re planning to write the entire novel on month? That’s intense. Can you let anyone know what the novel is going to be about? Or is that some big secret that the world will only know once they’ve read it?

RB: Well I’m not really into revealing to the world what I am writing about. You know the general setting and where the book is going to take place. What more do you need to know? Well I guess I’ll let you know the Main Characters that will be in the book. It is going to be a character we haven’t met yet. We might meet him in Vol. 2 but I’m not sure yet. His name is Hoban Rantré Imonora. He is the cousin to Emperor Jucal Imonora. Well he served in the Crondorian Conflict as a fighter pilot and then dropped off the map becoming a smuggler or bounty hunter when needed. He bought a ship and found a crew. It will also feature Emperor Jucal Imonora, a first for all stories in the Imonoran Empire. Oh, one other thing I will give you is a quote from the book itself. It's, "The stars call my name. Everyone of them says, 'Come Hoban.'" This is Hoban talking to someone I won't say who right now.

UR: So you will be using this character as your figure head to move the novel forward?

RB: No since no one, except me, knows who he is. So I will probably key the advertising more toward the fact that it is in the Imonoran Empire and Jucal Imonora. I am going this way because we haven’t had an in depth look at his personality but anyone who has read the history knows what type of man he is and who he is.

UR: So what other projects are you working on right now?

RB: Well I’m not working on any RB’s Universe Projects at the moment. I am working on a Firefly/Serenity Fanfic though. What can I say I am a Browncoat through and through and so I’m writing something to show that. I will probably be posting that to the Fanfic boards on the RB’s Universe Forum. You see I made sure they designated that for any fanfic. Yeah that is not of Mal and the BDHs though it is of my own crew on the Killer Bee class transport ship named the Tienen (the Spanish word for “they have”). Which brings us to the title which is… dun dun dun, They Have. Yeah exciting I know. But it Is the main theme of the story.

UR: So since you write Fanfic do you “want” people to write fanfic of your stories and worlds as well?

RB: Yes I am a big supporter of fanfic, not only for people to do but for writers to see. Let’s say someone has an amazing idea but about a piece of copyrighted work. So he writes a Fanfic, the writer of the copyrighted material sees it retools it and talks to the author of the piece and so the author of the fanfic get’s his moment in the sun. This get’s his name out and next thing you know bam. So and so who got his start as a fanfic writer now has written his own book. And a 33.659 Trillion dollar movie has come out based on it. So toy answer the original question yes.

UR: What is your favorite genre to write in?

RB: [chuckles] Oh that’s easy Science Fiction. I love space and space ships and everything else to do with it.

UR: Science Fiction? But then why do you have two out of three worlds as Fantasy?

RB: Well if you think about it Sci-Fi is fantasy but we’re not here to argue that. Well that is because When I was younger I was fascinated, as most children are, with witches and wizards and Middle-Earth and so and so forth. So I made Urkia. Urkia was where I could escape. I went there when I was lonely, hurting or just generally feeling bad. So Urkia was a place where men carried swords fantastic races lived (such as the Asgarth, my favorite) and I could make amazing stories, none of which ever made it into the Urkia Quadrilogy planning phases. Then came The Empire and when I was working on finishing Urkia Book 1 I made Ynel just to get back to a middle-earthy feel.

UR: Will we ever see this Four Book Urkia set?

RB: I have the gist of the four books lain out. I have the basic “sketch” of the first book finish. The only problem left with the first book is going from 500 to 50,000 words and editing of course. But yes I predict in the next four year you will see the Urkia Quadrilogy as a complete set on shelves, at least in the RB’s Universe Store.

UR: Why have you put the older Urkia Quadrilogy on hold for the newer Empire Project?

RB: Well this has to do with a couple questions ago when you asked me what my favorite genre is. I LOVE SCIENCE FICTION. There is no other way to say it. So I have put Science Fiction to the fore front of my writing. Whether that is good for me as an author, who knows and who cares. I love the Empire. It has since become the place where I live in my brain. So it is of course my top priority.

UR: Well RB it has been a pleasure speaking with you. Please be sure to check this out when it posted on the zine.

RB: I will thank you for making the Zine in the first place. I got to tell you it was a real shock when I got your e-mail about the fanzine. Thank You.