Author Interview with OLIVER LEA

1. Hi Oli tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to write?

I’m Oli, originally from North Wales and now living on the south coast of England. My imagination has always been my preferred playground, and I first started writing as away to realise or validate the worlds and stories in my mind. In my early twenties this worked itself out as collaborative storytelling – or “play by post” roleplay as it’s usually known – and it was at the end of a particularly successful project that I decided to teach

myself the skills to rework it into a novel. I produced 3 novels that way (by consolidating group projects) before finally tackling a full-length novel by myself.

2. What appeals to you most about the sci-fi genre?

Although I’m not married to a particular genre, I think sci-fi in particular presents opportunities for ordinary, non-superheroic or magical characters to encounter and prevail over extraordinary situations and threats, which is by far and away my favourite kind of story.

3. Tell us a little bit about your SPSFC entry and the challenges you’ve faced putting it all together?

Riebeckite was published in September 2021 after a short spell of submission to agents. Of the seven novels I’ve written it was only the third book I’d ever submitted for traditional publishing, but it was also the first where I felt that the reason it was being rejected was not the quality of the story or writing. (I couldn’t say the same of my earlier work!)

It is unashamedly a book built around all of the elements I personally like to see in any novel, which involved combining several strands in a way I wasn’t sure I’d get away with. But I genuinely feel that, after much work and re-working, it’s come together well.

4. Why should readers buy your book?

A reader should give Riebeckite a try if they’ve ever yearned for hard sci-fi which also delivers fully formed, relatable characters, relationships and setting – things which can be lacking in even the best commercial and classic HSF. These are the two main strands I wanted to combine with this book: a compelling and exciting science fiction adventure and a tale of friendship against the odds. I’d also love to reach readers who have maybe been put off reading science fiction (especially hard sci-fi) because they found it too dry or aloof. To such readers, I always recommend two titles: Project Hail Mary and Riebeckite!

5. What type of characters do you like to write the most and how much of yourself do you put into them?

If any of me ends up in my characters (and inevitably it does), it’s not deliberate. My favourite character to both read and write about is an ordinary person – someone who could be any of is – who must adapt their own everyday aptitudes and abilities to overcome and extraordinary situation. Because I grew up with a single mother and most of my role models have been women, it’s most natural for me to cast women into the role of the hero. Naturally, I have to be careful not to fall into the traps common to male authors writing female protagonists, but the high proportion of my readers who are women suggests I must be doing alright!

6. For any wannabe writers out there what’s the most useful thing you’ve learned?

Strike a balance between confidence and self-examination. Always believe that you are capable of awesome writing, but don’t be too quick to assume that the first book you finish (or even the first three books) represents the author you will eventually become.

I’ve seen a lot of indie authors who clearly have a formative talent, but who were too quick to publish something that just wasn’t ready. I myself have spend quite a bit of effort trying to remove self-published works from the internet that I thought were awesome at the time, but I’ve since realised were only the beginning of the journey. I’m still fond of each one of them - they were important stepping stones and made me the writer I am now - but I regret that the temptation to just hit the publish button was so easy to give in to. Read lots and lots of book of all kinds, and work relentlessly on honing your craft, and one day you’ll write something that will just make you think, ‘Wow...this is amazing...and I’m the guy who wrote it.’

7. What writing tricks do you utilise to hit your deadlines and keep your stories on track?

I’m a nerd for a good spreadsheet and chart. I always have a line graph with a blue line showing where my word count should be by any given date, and an orange line showing my actual cumulative word count. My motivation then is to not let the orange plane crash into the blue mountain! (Full disclosure: it sometimes does.)

8. Are you a plotter or a pantser (make it up as you go)?

I’m a hardcore plotter. So much so, that the document I write my first draft in is also the same document I write my sequential notes in. I usually plot out the whole novel in note form, and the overwrite the notes with the first draft text. This does make it complicated to track my word count, however: if I write 1500 words in a day, I've probably overwritten 200 words of notes, so numerically my document has only grown by 1300 words!

9. What plans do you have for the future? A new series or perhaps a dip into other genres?

I’m writing the sequel to Riebeckite right now. On top of that, I’m plotting out a cool Event Horizon-esque ghost-ship-in-space type story, as well as a fantasy series inspired by some of the D&D campaigns I’ve been involved in combined with the DOOM franchise And, in the background, I’ve got a conceptual literary piece which tells the story of three ordinary men who utilise escape into fantasy as a coping mechanism. This is the “novel I have to write before I die” and may or may not have any commercial value at all. Perhaps I’m the only person who’ll like it! I don’t have to write it soon, but I do have to write it eventually.

10. What do you want to get out of the SPSFC competition?

One thing and one thing only: to support, rub shoulders with and discover other indie sci-fi authors. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe Riebeckite is a strong contender. But with 300 books on the starting line and the inherently broad and subjective nature of reader tastes, I’m keeping my expectations realistic. When indie sci-fi gets great publicity like this, everyone’s a winner.

11. What’s better, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Star Wars?

No offense to Harry, but I’ve personally never been much of a YA reader. Choosing between LotR and Star Wars is tough. Both are storytelling masterpieces. However, I think I’m going to go with Star Wars, because Han Solo represents the kind of 80s action hero I’ve always adored – the kind who doesn’t need to always need to look slick and cool and will bang their head on a doorframe from time to time. Give me a hero who screams and runs from a group of storm troopers over a superhero three-point-landing any day.

I am @orleaauthor on Instagram and Twitter, and my website is orlea.co.uk.