We’re getting so close to launching this event! Our February story bundle is shaping up to include some amazing stories touching on all different science fiction genres and diving into fascinating neuroscience topics.
And the prizes! Let’s just say it has taken more than a little willpower not to accidentally drop some of the signed editions we’ve received behind the bookshelf and forget about them until June.
We’re excited to bring you another installment of our author Q&A with Robert Lowell Russell. Enjoy and get ready to have your socks knocked clean off by his story this spring.
Q: What made you want to sign on to this Geeky Giving Project?
My father has Alzheimer’s and it has been very difficult to watch his decline. I wanted to do what I could to help advance current research.
Q: Have you ever written anything about the neurosciences before? If yes, tell us a little about that. If no, tell us (or at least hint at) where you looked for inspiration for the story you’re working on?
This was the first story I’ve written about the neurosciences. Much of the inspiration for this story came from an article I read about English farmer Winston Howes who spent nearly two decades growing a forest with a heart-shaped center as a tribute to his late wife.
Q: What’s your favorite story that involves the neurosciences, drawing from all types of genres and media? Why?
I don’t recall how old I was when I first read Daniel Keyes’ “Flowers for Algernon” but I believe I was not yet a teenager. Despite reading Keyes’ story when I was young, the story has stuck with me throughout my life. Despite the bittersweet ending to the story, I’ve always preferred science fiction that shows us becoming something better than we are.
Q: Do you have any personal experience with Barrow Neurological Institute or with any of the diseases or disorders we’re raising money for? If so, would you care to share a little about how that has affected or influenced you?
My father suffers from Alzheimer’s. Watching the man he was slowly disappear has been very difficult and I know others have experienced the same anguish as their own loved ones decline. I am also a registered nurse, and every day I see how devastating the effects of Alzheimer’s disease can be. I want to us to beat this disease and others like it, and if the Barrow Neurological Institute can help with this, more power to ’em.
Q: How would you explain the relationship between science fiction/fantasy and hard science to someone who didn’t know anything about it? For an added challenge, try to do it as a tweet.
A: Science fiction is an imagined projection of our future and I prefer to imagine a future where science has made us better than we are now.
Q: What’s the number one thing a science fiction writer has created that you wish was now a real life thing but isn’t?
A: Well this is a tough question to answer. One side of of me would like to see nano-bots capable of curing any disease, but if I had to pick one thing it would be lightsabers because I’m a huge nerd. I will now battle storm troopers with my toilet paper roll lightsaber as I hum the the Imperial March. Don’t judge me!
About Robert Lowell Russell
Robert Lowell Russell lives with his family in Ohio. He once aspired to be a history professor but found writing about the real world too constraining. Rob has had more than three dozen original stories published and likes to write about all sorts of things, frequently including action and humor in his work. For links to more of Rob’s work please visit http://robertlowellrussell.com/.
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