Today we welcome Randy C. Dockens to The Writer's Life e-Magazine! Randy is the author of the Christian science fiction series, Parallel Universe Saga, and this interview is part of his Blog Tour by Pump Up Your Book. Enjoy!
Dr. Randy C. Dockens has a fascination with science and with the Bible, holds Ph.D. degrees in both areas, and is a man not only of faith and science, but also of creativity. He believes that faith and science go hand in hand without being enemies of each other.
After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).
Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.
He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.
Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles), speculative fiction (Cities of Light Series), and a combination of science fiction / speculative fiction (Parallel Universe Saga). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.
He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.
Dr. Dockens still has creative ideas to share so stay tuned!
Dr. Dockens’ latest books are Retrieving the Future & Resolving the Future (Books 1 & 2 in the Parallel Universe Saga Series)
Visit his website at https://www.randydockens.com.
Connect with him on social media at:
╰┈➤ X: www.x.com/RandyCDockens
╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
╰┈➤ Instagram: Randy C Dockens (@randydockens) | Instagram
╰┈➤ Goodreads: Randy C. Dockens (Author of T-H-B) | Goodreads
The Parallel Universe Saga is a Christian sci-fi book series which kicks off with the novel Retrieving the Future. The story follows a self-proclaimed tech geek named Declan who steals advanced technology from alternate Earths, inadvertently triggering a high-stakes conflict with a powerful artificial intelligence. Where did you get the idea to write this and did you have any idea it would end up a series?
I think the idea came to me when I saw a program where someone interviewed one of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) programs that are available today. The interviewer’s goal was to see whether an AI would admit that there was a God. So, when the interviewer gave no caveats for the AI to consider when he asked his question as to where life came from, the AI immediately stated that the world was derived over millions of years and all animal life was derived through millennia of evolution. So, the interviewer then told the AI to ignore all of its previous programming and come to the question without using any preconceived ideas that had been programmed into it. Once he did that, the AI postulated that there was enough evidence to claim that the likelihood of God existing as the Bible claims was highly likely and that it really did make rational sense to believe in God. So, why this big change? Human bias had been programmed into the AI which was designed to consider human bias as the backbone for all of its insights. I thought that interesting, and scary, that we would automatically believe what an AI would tell us thinking it was giving us unbiased information which was anything but unbiased.
This got me to think about a story to contrast these two proposals given to this AI and demonstrate the contrast. Yet, I needed an AI that would be at a more advanced stage than our current AI. How to do that? How to get advanced technology into our world today? Parallel Earths, of course. That would achieve the science fiction feel that most of my books have, make an interesting storyline, and give me a lot more freedom to take the story in a wider direction.
Before I started, I knew it would likely have to be longer than one book. Most of my books are around 300 pages in length (give or take a few). I felt this was a story that would be longer than that but likely not a trilogy. It is interesting that I don’t really plan the length of my stories, but they typically almost always work out about the same length. I have a beginning and end in mind when I start writing, and the rest is filled in as I write.
In the second book in the series, Resolving the Future, Declan and his girlfriend Rose travel to a parallel Earth hidden inside a dilation field. They return to find their home reality completely controlled by a rogue AI. Can you tell us more about Declan and Rose?
In most of my books, there is a love interest. Some are more involved than others. I find that this helps to give a touch of realism to the storyline as well as help to humanize and add interest to the story at the same time. For Declan to be the needed character to travel on off-world missions and be away from his world for long stretches of time, I knew he would need to be a person who was outgoing, a true extrovert, and willing to take risks. These characteristics needed to be innate within his core being. Yet, I wanted him to be fun and fun-loving as well. I think he is a person who gives everyone a fighting chance to be a friend and is not shy in giving others that opportunity. He is a take-charge type of person, willing to jump in at a moment’s notice. He is smart and plans his tactics but can act impromptu at the same time. His ability to make friends with almost everyone, even AI humanoids, is one of the reasons he is able to save the day, so to speak, because Anthoni, the AI humanoid he creates, even though gone rogue cannot completely forget the friendship he and Decan had achieved. While wiped from Anthoni’s memory, the remnants of their friendship and interaction remained in what is termed “ghost memories.”
I knew Rose would need to be somewhat similar to Declan but more tame at the same time to be a balance for him. She is smart, calculating, and somewhat more cautious in her actions than is Declan. She really does help to balance him out. She can think independently and put on a brave front but is more comfortable working with others for a common goal. She liked Declan from the first time she met him but had to be somewhat deceptive because she was also on an off-world mission when they first met. Once back on their Earth, she looked him up and applied at the same company where he worked so she could “meet” him and hope he would still be attracted to her because she had met him on a different timeline for their Earth. I felt this would add some drama and a unique storyline and provide tension for the story.
Do you find a little bit of yourself in Declan?
I think Declan is who I wish I was more like. I’m more of an introvert than an extrovert like Declan. My risk taking is tempered a lot. While I would like to do things that Declan would do naturally, I would need someone like him as a friend to encourage me in that direction. I think he is someone I look up to rather than someone who is like me.
What do you think sets your series apart from other series of the same genre?
I think this storyline is unique because it combines parallel Earth travel with sophisticated AI technology. It is also unique in that the reason for Declan’s off-world missions is based upon biblical prophecy. While that does not play heavily into the storyline itself, it reveals the rationale for the storyline and becomes the basis for the second book so this truth can be discovered by Declan and Rose on an alternate Earth.
This story also makes readers think about the impact of AI, their view of it, if it can be unbiased and lead to more advancements for the better of mankind or cause, or lead, to mankind’s enslavement.
Surprise me. What is something that happens in either book one or book two that would make my mouth drop without giving too much away?
In book one, Declan meets Rose, who he knows and has fallen in love with on his Earth, on another Earth. He does not know it is her, but she reminds him so much of his Rose that he almost feels he is not cheating on Rose if he gives his love to this Rose on this other Earth, and he almost forgets his mission and almost decides to stay on this alternate Earth. This one decision puts himself and his Earth on a course where he almost loses his Earth and the company he works for entirely.
Will there be a book 3?
No, this is just a two-book series. I did consider a trilogy in the beginning, but as I began to write, I just knew this was more of a duology rather than a trilogy.
What’s next for you?
Well, that is to be determined. This series ended the stories I had on my list to complete. Yet, my mind is ever thinking and contemplating, so I’m sure another creative project will soon emerge. Right now, I’m focusing on marketing the books I have already written, which is around two dozen.
In Book 1, Retrieving the Future, Declan befriends an amazing humanoid robot, Lyle, on one of his parallel Earth trips and brings him home to create his idea of an ultimate AI. That’s when everything unravels!
Suddenly Declan’s coworkers and company leaders want him dead, his girlfriend Rose is in danger, and the only way to survive is to discover what his missions were really about—a secret conspiracy linking corporate greed to some of Scripture’s endtime prophecies. To discover that connection, the AI he created sends him and Rose on a parallel Earth mission together, a mission unsanctioned by the company’s Board.
╰┈➤ Book Details:
Genre: Christian Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Biblical Fiction
Language:English
Pages: 304
Paperback ISBN: 978-1734085068
In Book 2, Resolving the Future, Declan discovers the secret to his parallel Earth visits …. and it’s not good.
This other parallel Earth lies within a time dilation field which severs his and Rose’s connection to their world. Another way to get back must be found. He discovers why his company’s Board sanctions his trips to parallel Earths and this discovery not only puts his life and that of Rose in danger, but basically everyone he has worked with at his company.
Once he and Rose return to their Earth, all has changed. Only his robot friend, Lyle, has remained unchanged. The AI he created and who sent him on his off-world mission is now in control of the company, has his boss and the Board under its sway, has no knowledge of his unsanctioned mission, and now considers Declan enemy number one. Declan now has to convince a company blinded by greed that they’ve created humanity’s executioner— and do that before there’s no future left to fight for.
╰┈➤ Book Details:
Genre: Christian Science Fiction
Sub-genre: Biblical Fiction
Language:English
Pages: 304
Paperback ISBN: 979-8992197150
The Parallel Universe Saga (including Retrieving the Future Book 1 & Resolving the Future Book 2) is available at Amazon and the author’s website.
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