Author Interview—Christopher M. Geeson

For today’s interview we travel across the pond and talk with a British writer who shares my interests in science fiction, artificial intelligence, and classic SF literature. Christopher M. Geeson’s story “Tyranny Under the Sea” appears in Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne.

Christopher M. Geeson has had several SF stories published, including AI-themed stories in the Flame Tree Press Robots and Artificial Intelligence anthology and The British Fantasy Society Journal—Autumn 2011. His most recent is a story for the collection, Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. Christopher has also had tales published in Atomic Age Cthulhu, Steampunk Cthulhu, Spawn of War and Deathiness, The Great Escape and Anthology: A Circa Works Collection, all of which are available on Amazon. Christopher works as a tour guide in York, and as a workshop leader in schools, libraries and museums in North Yorkshire, delivering creative workshops for children.

Right then. Let’s get to the interview straightaway.

Poseidon’s Scribe: How did you get started writing fiction?

Christopher M. Geeson: As a child, I made up stories for my toys to act out and my favorite lessons at school were when we were asked to write fiction. There was one lesson when the teacher was punishing people who couldn’t be quiet by making them write a ghost story – some punishment! Naturally, I got into trouble that day. I started writing stories in my spare time as a teenager. When I went to college and university to make films, I realized I was more interested in writing the scripts than in the technical aspects of film production. This led to me writing stories in prose again as an adult and joining various courses – when my writing reached the level where I could get it published.

P.S.: Who are some of your influences? What are a few of your favorite books? 

C.M.G.: I love the SF worlds created by Philip K Dick and—more recently—Chris Beckett. They both often take society’s ills to the next level, in a futuristic setting, seen through the eyes of a recognizable flawed human. I’m also a fan of a good fantasy adventure, whether it’s epic in scope like The Lord of the Rings (my favorite book), or on a smaller scale, such as Treasure Island, or The Dark is Rising.

P.S.: You’ve written stories involving AI for the Robots and Artificial Intelligence anthology and The British Fantasy Society Journal. Tell us the premise for these stories and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic about AI.

C.M.G.: I wrote “Punchbag”—which was published in The British Fantasy Society Journal—after getting the inspiration on a car journey. I pulled into a supermarket car park and spent the next hour writing the first draft. It’s a very pessimistic story about how humans will use AI for violence and it’s told from the point of view of the AI, who is the victim. It is ultra-violent, but it reflects what I fear humans are basically like. It’s been out for over a decade but I still think of it as one of my favorite pieces of writing and it’s still very relevant. I’d love to see it reprinted and reaching a bigger audience.

The next AI story I wrote (“The Perfect Reflection,” for the Robots and Artificial Intelligence) anthology is also pessimistic, continuing the theme of violence, and also told from an AI point of view. This time, the AI is an observer of human violence. The big question in the story is whether the AI can intervene or not. I’ve been the victim of a couple of random acts of violence and that has clearly fed into my work. I guess I’m more pessimistic about the future of the human race than I am about AI, but I think it’s all wrapped up in one, as humans keep on inventing ways of being nasty to others.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m dismayed that AI is now being used to make music, art and literature. Although I’ve written stories from the point of view of AI, I have no desire to read a story written by one. I’m sure AI could improve our lives in some way – organization, medicine, information, dangerous physical work – but not by replacing creative people. I think this started a while ago though, when CGI started replacing stuntmen, costumes, model work, and special effects in movies. I doubt anyone can even find Pandora’s Box anymore, never mind put the lid back on it.

P.S.: Is there a common attribute that ties your fiction together (genre, character types, settings, themes) or are you a more eclectic author?

C.M.G.: I love thinking of ideas or playing about with “What ifs?”, so my writing is almost always SF or fantasy, as those are the types of stories I love reading, and the things which inspire me. I want to escape and be taken to other worlds by stories and do the same in my writing. A lot of my published work looks at the violent tendencies of humanity and ends up pretty dark. But I have a couple of unpublished children’s fantasy novels that are about adventure, friendship and unification between races. They’re a lot more optimistic and I’d love them to see the light of day sometime!

P.S.: Stories of yours have appeared in Atomic-Age Cthulhu and Steampunk Cthulhu: Mythos Terror in the Age of Steam. What do you find intriguing about the Cthulhu Mythos and how do your stories fit into it?

C.M.G.: I loved that sense of massive cosmic horror and how insignificant humanity was in Lovecraft’s stories. For the steampunk collection, I dived into the American Civil War era – a part of history that’s always fascinated me – and gave it a Mythos twist which shows how futile war is. For the Atomic-Age Cthulhu anthology, I wanted to tap into the paranoia of the McCarthy era, so I stuck a bunch of characters in a nuclear bunker with all their hidden secrets and violent instincts, and let events play out from there, against a Mythos background.

P.S.: If you could visit the fictional world of another author, where would you go and why?

C.M.G.: Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time imagining this sort of thing – and given it a lot more thought than it really justifies! When I was younger, these imaginary journeys were all about adventure and battles, but I’m really the sort of person who would just want a nice quiet visit somewhere, enjoying the sense of wonder. If I went to Middle Earth, I’d want to live in Rivendell or The Shire and spend my time telling stories and creating art and music, far removed from the dangerous world outside.

P.S.: The premise of the anthology Spawn of War and Deathiness sounds intriguing. Tell us about the poem you contributed to that book.

C.M.G.: The premise of my poem, “Motorway Maintenance,” is in its recurring line: “Death drives a black hearse on the motorway” and is about the grim reaper mopping up after road accidents, and meting out justice to those who cause them. I don’t do poetry very often, but I did enjoy playing about with the rules and forms of villanelles for that one.

P.S.: You run creative workshops for children in schools, libraries, and museums. What are these workshops like?

C.M.G.: My main job is as a tour guide in the beautiful historic city of York, and I meet lovely people everyday and tell them stories about York. I have a sideline in running creative activities for children and a big part of that is reusing junk for model-making and art. I love being creative and I want to share that and encourage young people to be creative too, in any way they can, at school or at home – or occasionally also in museums and other heritage sites, where I’ll probably be dressed as a Victorian or a Roman, something like that.

P.S.: Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne contains your story, “Tyranny Under the Sea.” It’s an adventure tale involving Captain Nemo, an underwater city, and a daring escape. How did you come up with the idea for this story?

C.M.G.: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is probably my favorite Verne story, so I knew early on that my submission would be linked to that somehow. I’m also intrigued by the start of Mysterious Island and its Civil War-era setting, because I’ve always been interested in that part of history. (My first published writing was three articles for the American Civil War Society about movies featuring the conflict). From that starting point, it was relatively easy to find clues to Captain Nemo’s views on the war and which side he would aid if he got entangled in it. Things really took off when I got the idea to include 1860s submarines and an underwater city inspired by Fort Sumter, but the key to it all was when I got the idea to tell the story from a slave’s point of view – because that added the emotional heart of the story, as well as the reason for the events which unfold.

P.S.: What is your current work in progress? Would you mind telling us a little about it?

C.M.G.: I’m not a writer who can focus on just one idea at a time because I’m constantly getting ideas and inspiration for different stories and flitting between them. It can take me years from getting an idea, to writing it down, to doing rewrites, to submitting it somewhere and it seeing the light of day. I have a couple of children’s fantasy novels that I need to finish, as well as a couple of short stories that need redrafting. At the moment, I’m going back to one of those children’s fantasy novels and looking at fleshing it out a bit.

Poseidon’s Scribe: What advice can you offer aspiring writers?

Christopher M. Geeson: Well, I think of myself as an aspiring writer, too—I certainly have many aspirations for writing which I haven’t fulfilled yet! But my advice would be to write what you want, not what you think will bring you success or money. Spending time being creative is a reward in itself.

I’ve had a few short stories published and the thing for me which made the difference was going through lots of drafts and listening to constructive feedback. I think my most useful advice would be to find or form a small circle of writers who are at a similar stage and level to you, regardless of genre or style—most of my writing groups have only had one or two of us doing fantasy and SF, but the feedback was still tremendously helpful. Share each other’s work; give and take honest constructive feedback. Keep it professional, rather than close friends or family. Joining a writing course—or several courses—worked for me. I don’t have a writer’s group at the moment but I had small writing circles, like those I’ve mentioned, in the years when I progressed to being a published writer and I found the feedback and contact invaluable.

Poseidon’s Scribe: Thank you, Christopher. I love your suggestion for writers to join or form groups. That’s helped me, too.

Readers interested in Christopher M. Geeson’s work should explore his Amazon page.

20,000 Reasons This is the Perfect Holiday Gift

Still looking for gift ideas for the holidays? You’ve surfed to the right site. If someone on your list is a fan of science fiction, submarines, steampunk, or just plain adventure, I’ve got the perfect gift you can give.

It’s called 20,000 Leagues Remembered. This isn’t the Jules Verne classic (though that would make a fine accompanying gift). This is an anthology of new stories written by today’s authors, all in commemoration of Verne’s masterwork.

Inside, your recipient will find adventure, mystery, exotic locales, danger, excitement, wonder, and some humor. It’s the kind of gift that earns you multiple thanks—once when the gift is received, once after its read, and time after time after it gets re-read. How thoughtful and perceptive of you!

Moreover, it’s easy to get. You can order the ebook or paperback version (or both) from multiple sources, including Amazon, Apple ibooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Fun fact: this year, 2020, marks 150 years since Verne had his undersea adventure novel published. There’s still time for you to get the book in this sesquicentennial year.

Oh, yeah—this could be the perfect gift to give yourself, too!

Suggesting great gift ideas is just one more service provided to you for free by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 6, 2020Permalink

It’s a Party, and You’re Invited!

Just as Jules Verne’s Nautilus traveled all over the world, we’re throwing a world-wide party. It’s on Thursday August 6th, from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT and it’s on Facebook.

We’re doing this to celebrate the launch of the new anthology 20,000 Leagues Remembered. Published on the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne’s masterwork, this book contains new stories by 16 modern authors, all paying tribute to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, that classic proto-steampunk novel of undersea adventure.

At the party, you can meet the editors and the authors of the stories and ask all the questions you want. Best of all, you can win prizes!

You’re invited! Everyone is. Now, of course, you’re wondering how to attend. Just follow these steps:

  1. Create a Facebook account if you don’t already have one.
  2. Send a friend request to me.
  3. If you don’t receive a party invitation within a day or two, send me a message to prompt me.
  4. Once you get the invitation, accept it.
  5. Share info about the party with your friends.
  6. Log into Facebook at the right date and time and join the fun.

(If anyone knows a simpler way to invite the whole world to a Facebook event, let me know in the comments to this blogpost.)

You’ve waited 150 years for this sesquicentennial celebration. It would be a shame to miss it. After all, the bicentennial won’t be until June 2070, and that’s a long time from now.

See you at the party! You’ve been cordially invited by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

Biomimetic Technology

How is Velcro like a burr plant? How is the Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe like a termite mound? How is a tire tread like a tree frog?

These are all examples of engineers solving problems by looking to nature, a process known as biomimetics. After all, animals and plants have evolved over millions of years, and have developed solutions to many problems. Why shouldn’t we learn from them?

Burdock Plant, the inspiration for Velcro

After a hunting trip, Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral observed burrs from the burdock plant sticking to his pant legs. He wondered how the plants did that, and from his investigation came ‘hook and loop fasteners’ or Velcro. 

Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe with cross-section of chimney


Architect Mick Pearce sought a way to cost-effectively cool and heat a building in Zimbabwe, with its widely varying daily temperature cycles. He examined the flues and vents within termite mounds, and used the termites’ passive technique to save 90% of the cooling costs in his design for the Eastgate Centre.

Tree Frog Toe Pad inspiring tire tread

Automotive designers wanted tires that adhered to wet roads. They noted how tree frogs stick to smooth wet leaves, and even to wet glass because their toe pads squeeze water away through fine grooves. Tire treads have a similar design, channeling rainwater away for better adhesion to the road surface.

Characters in several of my stories use biomimicry, too.

In “The Steam Elephant,” (The Gallery of Curiosities, Issue #3) my sequel to Jules Verne’s two-part novel, The Steam House, the engineer known as Banks constructed a mechanical elephant around a traction steam engine. Verne likely chose an elephant to allow room for the boiler, and as a form that did not require railroad tracks.

My story, “A Clouded Affair,” in the anthology Avast, Ye Airships! includes a working, steam-powered ornithopter. These aircraft imitate birds by flapping their wings. Although useful in bird-sized machines, they never proved as practical as fixed or rotating wings in full scale. Even so, prior to the invention of the airplane, some designers tried to mimic birds in this way.

Along similar lines, my story “Instability” in the anthology Dark Luminous Wings is about a monk trying to fly by imitating flying creatures. Based on legend, my tale has Brother Eilmer of Malmesbury Abbey constructing a pair of wings similar to those of jackdaws. He soon finds this impossible to build in practice, so chooses to model his wings on those of bats instead.

Are you trying to solve a problem? If so, perhaps nature has already solved it for you. Look to plants and animals for inspiration. After all, biomimetics worked for—

                                                Poseidon’s Scribe

February 3, 2019Permalink

8 Science Fiction Predictions for 2019

You’ve been wondering where the genre of Science Fiction will be going in 2019, haven’t you? I knew it. You’ve landed at the right blog post.

Author with CRISTAL Ball

How do I know the future, you ask? Do I have a crystal ball? No. That would be irrational and silly. I have a CRISTAL ball, a Computerized Recursive and Iterative Stabilizing Trend ALgorithm, which I packaged in a spherical shape for optimized computing speed.

Diagnostic checks are complete and the presets are accurate, so I’ll set parameters for 2019 and access the graphical interface. Let me gaze into my CRISTAL ball…

  • In 2019, you’ll see more science fiction books written by authors from previously underrepresented groups (women, people of color, LGBTQ, etc.) and these books will explore concepts of belonging and isolation, as well as bending our current notions of gender and race.
  • The superhero theme in movies will peak and begin a gradual decline. It’s been an amazing ride, but I believe the market has saturated and audiences are getting tired.
  • Very few, if any, best-selling scifi books will feature faster-than-light drive. Most authors have accepted Einstein’s speed of light limit. FTL now seems hokey to readers.
  • Having already peaked, the steampunk and alternate history genres will continue to wane in books and movies, though they may retain strength in the video gaming world. This genre trend in books is troubling to me, since I enjoy writing steampunk and other alternative history.
  • We’ll see more Solarpunk, and the Punk Family will grow by a few more. I think there’s a great deal of uncharted territory in the solarpunk genre and a general hunger for it among readers. Most new ‘punks’ added in 2019 will be future-based, rather than alternative histories.
  • There will be fewer dystopian young adult books, and there will be an upsurge in YA depicting a positive (though not utopian) future. I think dystopias have run their course for the time being, and readers are ready for less bleak outlooks.
  • Overall, as a genre, science fiction will do well in the visual media of movies, video games, and graphic novels, but not in traditional book form. Plenty of authors enjoy writing scifi, but readers will turn away from this genre in greater numbers. This is another prediction I find personally disappointing.
  • The trend toward series novels will remain strong. Once modern readers make an emotional investment in a set of characters and their fictional world, they want to know what happens after the first novel, and after the next.

At the end of 2019, I intend to run a blog post confirming the accuracy of my CRISTAL ball. In the meantime, you can tell everyone you’ve glimpsed the future, as predicted by —

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 30, 2018Permalink

What Hath Smashwords Wrought?

Amid all the holiday rush, you meant to buy three of my books as gifts (or for yourself), but somehow forgot. Good news! That same $12 you were going to spend now buys four (4) books, or even more.  

Smashwords is holding an End of Year Sale, but they’re letting it run over one day into 2019. All the books in my What Man Hath Wrought series are 25% off.  

For $2.99, you can get After the Martians, Ripper’s Ring, Time’s Deformèd Hand, The Cometeers, To Be First/Wheels of Heaven, Rallying Cry/Last Vessel of Atlantis, A Tale More True, Against All Gods, Leonardo’s Lion, or Alexander’s Odyssey.

For just $2.24, you can get The Six Hundred Dollar Man, A Steampunk Carol, Within Victorian Mists, or The Wind-Sphere Ship.

These stories explore the theme of people dealing with new technology, a problem to which we all relate. I put my characters and technologies in historical settings, so these are all alternate history stories or secret histories.

Take advantage of Smashwords’ End of Year Sale, and enjoy some books by—

                                                            Poseidon’s Scribe

December 26, 2018Permalink

Veterans Day and WW I Centennial

Happy Veterans Day! This day also marks 100 years since the end of World War I. On this centennial, it’s appropriate to reflect on that pivotal war, its improbable beginning, its gigantic scope, its horrible casualty numbers, and its historical impact.

As it happens, I’ve written two stories that fictionalize aspects of that war.

In “Rallying Cry” (packaged with the story “Last Vessel of Atlantis”), two surviving veterans of World War I, residing in a nursing home, relate their experiences of that war to a young man and their stories change his life. The veterans, both Frenchmen who later moved to America, had served in a secret outfit called the Jules Verne Regiment, which employed futuristic weapons from Jules Verne’s novels.

My story “After the Martians” describes an alternate World War I that takes place following the attempted Martian invasion of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The combatants fight this war with the technology the Martians left behind: tripod fighting machines, heat rays, and propeller-less flying vehicles.

After you honor Veterans Day and reflect on the WW I Centennial, consider purchasing and reading these stories by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

November 11, 2018Permalink

Your Own Steam Elephant

The Gallery of Curiosities, issue #3, Summer 2018

I’m delighted The Gallery of Curiosities has chosen to reprint my story, “The Steam Elephant” in their Summer 2018 Issue (#3). It gave me a chance to re-read the story, and recall the fun I had writing it.

Verne’s steam elephant on its way through India

“The Steam Elephant” is my sequel to Jules Verne’s novel The Steam House. In Verne’s tale,  a British inventor constructed a steam-powered mechanical elephant (and two wheeled carriages towed behind it) on commission from an Indian rajah. This rajah died before taking possession, so ownership remained with the inventor. He took a group of British friends, a Frenchman, and several servants, on a series of adventures in the wilds of India.

My steampunk sequel picks up eleven years later. Although the original steam elephant met its end in Verne’s novel, the engineer constructed a second one in my tale. He modeled this new elephant after the African species. The group of friends gathered again, this time to go lion hunting in Africa, but found themselves drawn into the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.

Verne’s story predated automobiles and appeared long before Recreational Vehicle motorhomes, when people only knew about steam locomotives on rails. I’m sure it fascinated his readers to imagine taking their home with them while travelling. Today, millions of people do just that…but they’re restricted to travelling on roads. Verne’s elephant walked anywhere, even through shallow rivers.

Star Wars’ All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT)

As an engineer, I loved the idea of a quadrapod, animatronic, bio-inspired walking vehicle powered by steam. This lay well beyond the technology of the Nineteenth Century, and we’re only at the early stages of such mechanisms today. That’s why the AT-AT ground assault combat vehicles of Star Wars seem so cool. By the way, the AT-AT designers also drew inspiration from a pachyderm.

Verne described the elephant as being a ‘traction engine,’ a steam engine that pulls loads on roads or smooth ground. This term doesn’t find much use today, since internal combustion gasoline engines supplanted steam for tractors and other off-road vehicles.

Still, imagine owning such an elephant. Within its iron flanks, there’d be the water reservoir, fuel storage, firebox, boiler, and cylinders common to locomotives. Also, you’d find the massive gears and linkages necessary to move the four giant legs in a stable pattern.

Seated in your well insulated howdah on top, you’d rotate the trunk down to pump in water from a river. Then you’d swivel the trunk up, start the engine, sound a blast from its trumpeting whistle, and watch steam and smoke belch from the trunk. When you pushed a lever, your elephant would plod forward on its ponderous legs over any type of flat ground or shallow water. Roads? Where we’re clomping, we don’t need roads.

Perhaps after ten minutes of sweating through that, you’d retreat to one of the towed carriages and let someone else drive the elephant while you sipped wine and played whist.

I’ll take two of those, please. In a way, I did. I wrote about one in another story, Rallying Cry.”

Too bad you can’t buy your own steam-powered, mechanical elephant vehicle. You could try to build one for several thousand dollars. Or, the next best thing, you could lay down just $3.00 and get a copy of The Gallery of Curiosities magazine, issue #3, and read “The Steam Elephant” by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

What? My Books are Half Price?

The folks at Smashwords are nice, but they’ve gone too far now. They’ve priced my entire What Man Hath Wrought series at half price for the entire month of July.

I’ve checked, and it’s true. You can get After the Martians, Ripper’s Ring, Time’s Deformèd Hand, The Cometeers, To Be First and Wheels of Heaven, Rallying Cry and Last Vessel of Atlantis, A Tale More True, Against All Gods, Leonardo’s Lion, and Alexander’s Odyssey for a measly $2 each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, there’s more. You can grab The Six Hundred Dollar Man, A Steampunk Carol, Within Victorian Mists, and The Wind-Sphere Ship for just $1.50 each.

 

 

 

 

Wait a minute [grabs calculator], that means you can get the entire collection (all 14 books—that’s 16 stories) for $26. I guess my financial misfortune is your summer reading opportunity.

This time, there’s no need for coupon numbers or passwords or promo codes. None of that. Just go to Smashwords and you’ll see the slashed-in-half prices are already marked. Simply click on my books and load ‘em in your shopping cart.

The What Man Hath Wrought series features relatable characters grappling with new technology in a historical setting. These alternate history stories explore what might have been. They’ll make you think about how you struggle with new gadgets today.

The Smashwords ½-price sale runs through July 31, but you know what a procrastinator you are. You’d better buy the books now before you’re caught up in summer’s many distractions.

What an inexpensive way to immerse yourself in the remarkable and adventurous world of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

My Books, Now Half Price

Yes, the rumors are true. This is Read an Ebook Week, and all of my books listed on Smashwords are half price!

Hard to believe, but it’s a fact. Read an Ebook Week runs from today until March 11. My entire series, called “What Man Hath Wrought,” might as well be called What Man Half Wrought” since the titles that were $3.99 are now $2.00 and the ones that were $2.99 are just $1.50.

You read that correctly. Get The Wind-Sphere Ship, Within Victorian Mists, A Steampunk Carol, and The Six Hundred Dollar Man for just $1.50 each.

 

 

 

 

Get Alexander’s Odyssey, Leonardo’s Lion, Against All Gods, A Tale More True, Rallying Cry/Last Vessel of Atlantis, To be First/Wheels of Heaven, The Cometeers, Time’s Deformèd Hand, Ripper’s Ring, and After the Martians for only $2.00 each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the books are listed at full price at Smashwords, when you click on any of them, you’ll be urged to enter code RAE50 at checkout to get the half-price discount.

If I’ve totaled correctly, you can get the whole set, the entire series of 14 books (16 stories), for just $27. What a great way to sample the adventurous imagination of—

Poseidon’s Scribe