1--What is the title of your latest release?
SPACE COWBOY
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Something is alive on Aletha 3, something that shouldn’t exist, and it’s up to 16-year-old cowhand Travis McClure to stop it before it kills again.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve been a volcano fiend since before I could read. It just seemed natural to set this novel on a planet that is covered with dormant cinder cones and lava fields. (If you’ve ever been to Idaho’s Craters of the Moon State park, you will get the idea)
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely. Basically, he is me when I was sixteen – except I was stuck on Earth!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Stubborn. Resilient. Questioning.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I had to do quite a bit of research into genetic manipulation and retro-engineering extinct lifeforms from existing genes. And, surprisingly, I learned a lot about my relationship with my own dad and with my kids.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
Both. I start every session by editing what I wrote the night before to get back into the story, then once the project is complete, I go over it from start to finish.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Pizza. And chunky peanut butter. But not together,
9--Describe your writing space/office!
Crowded. Our computer is in our front room, so between the TV, the dogs, cats, kids and grandkids, chaos is in full reign. Not coincidently, this is why I wake up every night at 3:00 AM to write.
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are so many, but if I had to pick one it’s CJ Cherryh.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
Dune. I’ve read a lot of books that influenced me, but that one opened up the way I looked at society and the interplay of politics, personality and self-fulfilling prophecy.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
Space Cowboy was originally published in the UK, and it had been so long since I had submitted it that when my wife told me I had a call from London I was stunned. (And a little bit nervous!) This time around, my agent, Tim Travaglini, called me to let me know it was under consideration by WordFire Press. Yes, once again, I was stunned and nervous!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Science Fiction. And Fantasy. And History. And…
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Star Wars – A New Hope. It really was the mythology of my generation.
15--What is your favorite season?
Winter
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
My birthday is right in the middle of our calving season, (I live and work on a cattle ranch in Montana) so I am usually too tired to even blow out the candles on my cake!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The latest version of Dune is excellent; I just wish the second half would hurry up and hit theaters. Also, although I was a little disappointed by the ending, I loved WandaVision.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Chinese
19--What do you do when you have free time?
Cross-country skiing in the winter, fossil hunting in the summer. Oh, and playing music. And reading. I never seem to have time to read half the books I want to.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
Nothing currently in the pipeline, but I’m working on a novel that combines alien, vampires, human refugees and Ancient Egyptian gods all fighting over a tidally locked world in orbit around a red dwarf star. Yeah, writing is a bit like juggling chainsaws!
Something deadly has awakened on the remote planet Aletha III, a nightmare creature that shouldn’t exist, and no one except teenage cowboy Travis McClure believes it is real.
Bored with his life on the terraforming project, herding cattle and doing homework, Travis longs for adventure but gets more than he bargains for when he is attacked by the creature.
Now it’s kill or be killed as Travis is forced to defend himself and the other terraformers against a threat they don’t believe in. Armed only with his dad’s old rifle he heads into the wilderness to track down the beast before it kills again. It’s a deadly game and survival is the only prize.
Young Adult Science Fiction [WordFire Press, On Sale: March 21, 2023, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9781680573961 / ]
Justin Stanchfield's short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines ranging from kid's stories in Cricket, Cicada and Boys' Life, to mainstream science fiction and fantasy in Interzone, Asimov's and other publications, including several reprints in the Years' Best SF volumes. He has written several young adult novels including Timewalker and Space Cowboy from Usborne Books. He lives with his wife and two children not far from the Continental divide in southwest Montana.
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