The Clockmaker's Tale and Other Stories by Ian Williams

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ian Williams will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

Sci-Fi is a genre that has no limits. It is as infinite as the human imagination. Within this genre, there are entire galaxies to explore. Or, if you wish, you can shrink down to the size of an atom and have adventures in the quantum world. There is absolutely nowhere you cannot go.

What world-building is required?

Worlds within Sci-Fi are usually based on a set of scientific principles, and since this genre is so often space-based it is also easier to talk about creating entire worlds, rather than just the place a story is set. For starters, these worlds will have Gravity, but how much? They will have weather, but what type? They will also have life, so what could that look like? These are all things required to create an engrossing world for readers to explore. Of course, this is science fiction, so there is obvious room to make these worlds as fantastical as any Fantasy story too.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Pete, the protagonist in the short story Waste Not, has taught me to keep my head when things get tough. I loved writing this character because he is everything I would like to be. He’s hugely brave as he travels across the land he lives, to a destination he can only hope is real. The consequences of being discovered by those who wish him harm are harsh. He is also an optimist, despite his often pessimistic tone. He wants to believe this paradise he has learnt about is real, but he won’t accept it unless he sees it with his own eyes.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

Habits, yes. One of them is that I must have music playing while I write. I imagine lots of other authors do this too. I find it gets my mind ready to focus on whatever story I am working on. It is the best way to block out everyday noises, the kind that will distract easily.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Plotter, 100%! I always have a plot planned out in advance, something that I can stick to and refer to whenever I need it. There is still room for changes, however. I will always remain open to those sparks of creativity that sometimes occur. So many of my stories have followed the pattern of sticking to the plan, then suddenly deviating as an idea came to me. Most of the time it leads to a more entertaining and flowing plot. Sometimes it doesn’t!

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

As I write this, to my right is the water bottle I bought on my recent visit to the picturesque Cornish town of Looe. It is important to stay hydrated while I write. The brain requires lubrication for those gears to turn after all!

Anything new coming up from you? What?

My next project is planned out and ready to go. It will be another short story collection, this time one that follows a fictional British town that is rocked by a shocking event. It is an event that alters the town's timeline, with some disastrous effects.

Do you have a question for our readers?

I would love to ask your readers what it is that they love the most about reading. As an avid reader myself, there are so many things that attract me to a book: the cover, the blurb, the reviews. But none of it matches that unbridled joy I get when deep into a new book. Even the smell of the pages sends my mind aflutter. So, what is that one thing that reading gives your readers that other activities don’t?

In The Clockmaker’s Tale: and other stories, Ian Williams takes us to the near future and beyond. From a moon base where androids conduct experiments on human test subjects, to futuristic tours of the ocean depths that hide a terrible secret; from a society governed by harsh rule of law that is enforced by AI, to a humble clockmaker tempted by the promise of increased productivity through technological augmentation.

Covering issues such as environmental decay, the end of facts and proven truths, our growing waste problem, and humanity’s tendency to divide when we should come together, this collection of six science fiction stories relates as much to our time as it does to the many possible futures.

Read an Excerpt from "From Last Bus to Freedom"

A hail of bullets bounced off the door only an inch from Justin’s left shoulder. He returned fire, leaning out the door and unleashing a barrage of his own. His aim was off, he was ashamed to see. Still, he’d achieved the reprieve he’d intended. The trucks had backed off, albeit for the purpose of regrouping for another attempt.

The next time the trucks tried, Justin was ready. He aimed for the driver of the closest truck, choosing to focus on one target at a time and ignoring the other vehicle beside it. The second he had the driver’s head in his sights, he fired, sending a single bullet through the windscreen and the guy’s right eye.

There was nowhere for the second truck to go when the first pulled across its path. They became stuck together in a death roll, chunks of metal and flames flying off in every direction. Bodies landed on the road and were crushed beneath the churning chaos, their body armour stopping none of the impacts. When the two vehicles had finally come to rest in the middle of the road, they were set ablaze by bursting fuel tanks.

Everyone aboard the bus cheered in enraged delight, only for their celebration to be cut short a moment later.

“Erm, Justin,” Boy said. “You’d better see this?”

Please tell me things aren’t about to get worse already.

“I think things just got worse.” Boy’s timing was impeccable.

About the Author:

Ian Williams is a Science Fiction writer from the UK. He lives in a small town not far from London. Ian had a short career in the UK Court Service but was forced to quit that job when his medical condition worsened. Now, from the comfort of his wheelchair, he writes the stories he has always wanted to read. His writing spans lightyears of space, to near-future Earths; from small changes to society, to entirely new civilisations.

Author Website: http://www.ianwilliamsauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ian-Williams-Author-Page-1552239548176515/
YouTube: https://youtu.be/4tbD-2LVCTE
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iwilliams235
Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091FYYFBZ

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