Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight - Robert Sawyer
Our next Science Fiction Trading Card Spotlight features Robert J. Sawyer, who is displayed on card number 51 from the Science Fiction Collection. Rob has won the Hugo, Nebula, John W. Campbell Memorial Awards, and Aurora Awards for best novel of the year, and, according to the Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards, has won more awards as an SF/F novelist than anyone else in history. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name. In 2014, he was one of the initial nine inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and in 2016 he was made a member of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the Canadian government. His 23rd novel, Quantum Night, is just out from Ace.
Who is your favorite celebrity and what makes that person special?
Chase Masterson, who played Leeta the Dabo Girl on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. She’s parlayed her celebrity into being an international leader in the fight against bullying online and off, and she’s done amazing work with young people transitioning out of gang life in Los Angeles. She’s my hero.
When I was starting out, print was the only viable format and working with a publisher the only way to sell books. Now so many people are having great success in electronic publishing and many are doing it themselves, without a publisher. It’s very empowering, of course, but also means that there’s more bad science fiction widely available than ever before; of course, there’s great work out there, too, but we’ve never had such a poor signal-to-noise ratio in the industry before.
Did you ever think when you were younger you would be on a trading card?
Never! When I was young, trading cards were all sports figures – here in Canada, collecting hockey-player cards was very popular. It’s an honor that completely surprised me, and absolutely thrilled me.
If you could describe Walter Day in one word, what would that word be and why?
Enthusiast! Yes, he’s much lauded in his own area, but he’s clearly a fan of the work of others, and he brings passion to everything he does.
How early in your life did you know you would be a writer?
When I was twelve, I read my first real science-fiction novel, The Trouble on Titan by Alan E. Nourse. And from that moment on, I knew I wanted to write science fiction myself.
If you did not become a writer, what would you be doing?
A vertebrate paleontologist, preferably studying dinosaurs.
Are you still involved with writing today, and what role do you play?
Absolutely! My 23rd novel, Quantum Night, just came out this year.
What are your favorite type of books and why?
Science nonfiction, particularly in the areas of evolutionary psychology.
What are your favorite hobbies today?
I still use WordStar for DOS as my word processing program. It hasn’t been updated since 1992 – which is 24 years now – but I’m active in the online community that keeps it working well with modern hardware.
How has your involvement in the writing profession been important to you?
It meant I never had to get a real job! I’ve been a full-time self-employed freelance writer since I was 23; I’m 56 now. I can’t imagine a better life.
What does it take to be a professional writer today?
Perseverance; it’s very hard to break into traditional publishing these days, and even once you’re in, it’s very hard to build an audience.
What do you think about electronic books that you can download versus the actual physical hard copy?
I was very much an early adopter of eBook technology; I’ve been doing almost all my reading as eBooks for 15 years now. I love them for the ability to set display options appropriate for me, for the portability, and for the built-in dictionaries.
What authors do you admire today and who did you look up to as a child?
I’m always impressed by the work of Mike Resnick, James Alan Gardner, and Robert Charles Wilson. As a child, I loved Oliver Butterworth’s The Enormous Egg, a science-fiction story about paleontology!
What are your favorite books past and present?
I think the best science-fiction novel I’ve read in recent years is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger; wonderful book. My favorite novel of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
If you can design your own video game, what would it be about and who would be the main character?
A first-person healer; enough with the shooters already!
What are your opinions about today’s generation of video games?
Despite not being a gamer myself, I’ve done development work for Ubisoft and other gaming companies. I think the effects are amazing and the narrative quality is generally first rate.
Do you believe some Video Games are too violent and lead to violence in America today?
Honestly? Yes. Sure, there’s a degree to which catharsis is healthy – but there’s no doubt that desensitization to violence is also a problem.
If you could own one arcade game or pinball game, what would it be and why?
The 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture pinball game, mostly for my fondness for that too-often-bashed movie.
What do you see yourself doing in the next 10 years?
Honestly? Retired, and reading all the wonderful books I’ve bought but haven’t yet read.
To order any of Robert's books and to find out more about Robert, please click the link below
https://www.amazon.com/Robert-J.-Sawyer/e/B000APNCBE/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1474927241&sr=8-2-ent