How a slow-burning idea of a lonely cabin in the woods became a sci-fi novel with David Arnold
Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3997wTw
Interview Timeline
David Arnold spent many years as a freelance musician before turning to writing. He has completed his fourth novel, a post-apocalyptic survival novel. We spoke about the novel, what makes sci-fi, and the process of writing. The Electric Kingdom (Viking Books, 2021)
0:29 – David talks about why he wrote this novel.
3:15 – David talks about the book’s connection with his son’s birth.
4:36 – David talks about the details of the book.
7:05 – David talks about the undefinable nature of his book where it may or may not have fantastic elements.
9:11 – David and I discuss Andrei Tarkovsky.
11:22 – David talks about the research he did for the book.
15:14 – David talks about the settings of his books.
16:48 – David talks about having been a Nashville musician and loving Christopher Nolan movies.
20:54 – David talks about the plague in his book and Covid. He also talks about health issues he had to deal with while writing the book.
24:07 – David talks about reflecting life experiences in his writing.
26:04 – David talks about the musical feel of the book.
28:04 – David talks about writing songs.
29:31 – David talks about the book being categorized as being for young adults.
34:00 – David talks about the editing of his book.
36:09 – David talks about his writing process.
38:22 – David talks about reading his own work out loud.
39:54 – David talks about editing his work and creating and editing his music.
42:47 – David talks about how his writing has changed over time.
44:32 – David talks about his enjoyment of writing.
47:11 – David talks about the jobs he has had including pre-school teacher.
48:53 – David talks about how his writing was impacted by picture books.
50:55 – David talks about the size of the book’s draft.
53:36 – David talks about being obsessed with Jurassic Park.
56:57 – David talks about how his book was published.
57:51 – David can be found at davidarnoldbooks.com and on instagram @iamdavidarnold.
Links of interest
https://amzn.to/3997wTw
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624806/the-electric-kingdom-by-david-arnold/
http://davidarnoldbooks.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iamdavidarnold/
Contact Information
For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.