CENTER STAGE

We have the pleasure of another Center Stage personality. And please click on the poetry page for some bit of poetry so we can of put our hand in you know. Thanks to all for the response of last week and I think I will make this regular. So if you do have an interesting person do let me know.

This week I am talking to a lady. A lovely lady and an Author as well.

The Empire by Elizabeth Lang
I would like first of all to congratulate Elizabeth for a very brilliant piece. I would like to thank her for giving heart stopping moments. She wove a story of love, naked abuse of power, real evil and outright hypocrites. I would like to thank her for using the novel “The Empire to lay bare our pretensions to civilization and ‘empire building.’ I have never felt so involved in a supposed fantasy as Elizabeth made me feel with the brilliant characterization of Adrian Stannis, Kali MIrren and the very awful Sester. Humanity has great potential for infinite good and absolute evil and in the portrayal of Adrian, the scientist who learned through love to discover his own humanity and almost die in the process of saving humanity, I had an urgent prayer that copies of this book be made available to all those ‘intelligence’ men. The tragedy might be they may not find themselves in time as Sester did. I could not drop the book even as my eyes went heavy, every page held me and tortured me with the hunger to know more so I kept turning the pages and forgot all else. Thank you Ms Lang. Congratulations may your quill continually flow with creativity.

Please tell me a bit about yourself

I'm a Canadian, born in Hong Kong. I've been writing for about 3 years. The Empire is my first published novel, though it's not my first novel-length story. It is my first original one.

In my other life, I'm an IT professional, working mainly in a software development company specializing in insurance.

I've worked on various projects in many places and especially enjoy working overseas, most recently in Taiwan and India.

I find it fascinating learning about different cultures and perspectives in a work and social setting rather than just as a tourist. And, of course, I love sampling the foods of the various regions.
2. You write science fiction, and have now published a very brilliant piece: “The Empire” how do you feel?

Thanks, Biola. I can't lie...it feels great! I hadn't considered publishing The Empire but I had thought of being published eventually, so this was a great opportunity. I really must thank my publishers, IFWG Publishing for taking a chance on The Empire.

I've been enjoying taking care of my little nephew this past week and while a book isn't a baby, it is my creative 'baby,' and it was a wonderful feeling being able to hold it in my hands.
3. Your characters are taken from different species particularly Kali and Adrian. What were you trying to tell us there?

Kali is Tellaran and Adrian is an Earth human. I paired the two of them because Adrian feels very much like an alien among his own people. He isn'tl comfortable in social settings and is more at home with his computers and in the lab. To him, a lot of what goes on around him is 'alien' and he doesn't understand some of the silliness that goes on around him. In that way, he and Kali have something in common.
4. Your novel has handled Romance, War, and institutional murder in the name of the Empire with a very firm and brilliant hand, do you think scientists are also to share in the blame for the inherent diet of violence the world is fed?

In a way, I do think they are partially responsible, and also society as a whole. We pursue science and invention without thinking of the implications of what we are doing. Do we really need another 10 ways to blow each other to oblivion? A lot of our scientific and technological advances have their roots in military research, which, to me, is a sad testament.
5. Why do you use fantasy as your preferred mode of creativity, did you love science when you were young?

I've always loved science fiction and fantasy. My favourite authors were Isaac Asimov, Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Gordon R. Dickson, Piers Anthony and David Eddings. I also love mystery. I like the ability to explore different themes using alternate worlds that mirror aspects of our own.
6. What other genre of creative writing interests you?

I have done some short pieces of humour and a bit of poetry, mainly maudlin stuff. I love mystery but haven't made the foray into mystery writing yet. The closest is a crazy spoof combining film noir and science fiction, which I haven't finished yet.
7. Kali is from another planet and uses psi enabled abilities, can we look forward to a world where good intuition may be more relevant to a peaceful world.

In the book, Kali's world is a much more peaceful society than the ones around them, but they have 'compromised' and joined the fight against the Andromedans. I will be exploring a bit more on the conflict between her world-view, Adrian's, the Empire's and the Rebels in the sequel.
8. Some of these fantasy stories become film ventures, if you get such a proposal, is there something about the book you will write differently, and what kind of effect do you hope to see?

I would love to see The Empire on film, but that would be a fantasy :) In terms of changes...I might work in more visual details to flesh out some of the scenes.


9. Thank you so much for coming on Center Stage.


Thank you very much for having me.