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On The Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, science fiction author Geoffreyjen Edwards shares the creative work that goes into the creation of The Ido Chronicles.
Written by Geoffreyjen Edwards
My name is Geoffreyjen Edwards. After having had a successful career as a research scientist, retired as of 2019, I am now developing a second career as a writer. I am also a fashion designer, with three collections completed, and I develop immersive media events that involve both fashion and my writing projects.
The Ido Chronicles
My writing projects are ambitious. I am in the process of developing a 15-book science fiction saga, called The Ido Chronicles, for which I have secured a publisher. Plenum: The First Book of Deo, was the first volume to be published, earlier this year. Two others are in the final stages of preparation for release later this year and early in 2023, and the rest are lined up on a publication schedule of similar frequency.
I have noticed that visionary ideas, when done well, garner a following – other people want to be involved, which, I believe, explains some of my success in getting other people to sign on for my project (e.g. collaborators for the immersive media projects as well as editors and publishers). I am also working on historical fiction dealing with the Second World War, a science-fiction thriller, and a literary novel.
A Passion For Writing
My writing overall is informed by several passions. As a research scientist, I worked in a broad range of disciplines. My Ph.D was in astrophysics, and in my first position I was hired to do remote sensing for forestry, agriculture and mining. I eventually drifted into the study of park spaces, and began to look at how people understand these from a cognitive perspective. From there I developed collaborations with artists and designers, and with the performing arts, and this led to work addressing the needs of people with disability.
I also wrote papers in philosophy, artificial intelligence, and developed research in smart garments and intelligent environments. I won a prestigious Research Chair, and supervised large teams working in cross-disciplinary projects. My writing reflects this eclectic background.
Writing Science Fiction
My science fiction uses a broad canvas to develop a future history that raises questions such as what it is to be human and our relationship to technologies that not only enable but change us. At the same time, my novels are focused on the stories of individuals struggling to grow and evolve against that background. They include romantic entanglements across many sexual orientations, political intrigues, coming-of-age stories, family squabbles and feuds, rebellions, mysteries, the fallout from ambition, the committing of crimes, redemption, etc.
I am prolific as a writer but that does not mean I do things hastily. My novels generally go through several substantive revisions before I consider them ready to be published.
Immersive Media
Never one to do things small, I also have been developing immersive media events that promote both my books and my fashions. The first of these, called “Plenum a la Mode” was held at the end of April this year. It featured the use of augmented reality based on specially designed belts that situated scenes from the novel – a belt depicting a lunar surface, a nebula, the surface of a sun and a set of fractal patterns, and was streamed live on youtube.
A few years ago I also developed a short opera based on one of the books from the Ido Chronicles, a mixed physical and virtual reality production which was performed a number of times for different audiences. Both projects built on my background in the sciences as well as drawing upon funding from relevant grants. I also draw illustrations for my books. I am not, however, a professional, but I have been told my drawings do give a sense of the books.
Story Inspiration
It is hard for me to pinpoint my sources of inspiration. In a way I want my stories to engender a sense of the wholeness of the world, while at the same time acknowledging the presence of real obstacles. Writers such as Ursula Le Guin functioned in such a space, as did Olaf Stapledon and Cordwainer Smith.
I am less interested in dystopia than in utopia, or in the transitions zones that lead from the one to the other. I love a good mystery or even a war story, but what I write is more a way of situating those stories into the larger framework. I suspect this will never be popular, but it is what I do. I am also an eclectic writer, in the sense that I don’t confine myself to a single genre. That probably comes from my life choices – it’s hard to confine someone who undertook research in such a broad range of disciplines.
My historical fiction came from my science fiction. The latter deals with the nuanced nature of good and evil, and I wanted to look at a situation in our world, rather than an imaginary future one, where good and evil seemed cut and dried. So I have been working on some books dealing with the rescuers and the collaborators in the Second World War.
My science fiction also explores themes related to religion, and I stumbled onto descriptions of Zoroastrianism that inspired me, so I have been developing a sci-fi thriller in relation to that. And my science fiction also deals with gender fluidity, and so I have been working on a literary novel about that subject as well.
Writer’s Life
As can be seen, I am hard to fit into a single box. I am someone constantly seeking to find new ground, new ideas, new projects. I rather hope my enthusiasm is contagious. If I can inspire others to break free of expectations, then I feel I have made a valuable contribution to the state of the world.
Find more from Geoffreyjen Edwards now:
Website: www.geoffreyjenedwards.com
Publisher: untimelybooks.com
First book: Plenum: The First Book of Deo
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