Tell us a little bit about your new release, Surrender the Sun.
I’ve really enjoyed researching and writing Surrender the Sun. The starting location is set in the beautiful town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Since I live nearby, I can roam the same streets and imagine what things would look like in the year 2030 during a Maunder Minimum when the average temperature is below zero and the mini ice age takes hold.
So far, the reception is great. The reviews are really promising and I’m encouraged to continue the story of Bishop and Maeve’s quest for survival.
Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
Oh, so many names come to mind. Though currently, since I just finished reading Dark Matter, I’d have to say, Blake Crouch. Since I’m also a big fan of his Wayward Pines series, and I wrote a novella for the Kindle Worlds as well, I’d have to ask about his big ideas. Authors come up with these out of the blue, but he seems to have more of them than most. I’m drawn to ways that end humanity but he has these really involved ideas about how far man actually can go in our universe as we know it. So, I’d ask Blake Crouch where in the world he gets these big ideas? And if he would be willing to share that methodology?
Who is your favorite couple from literature?
Well, I’ve always been a voracious reader. I believe my favorite changes, or I like them for different reasons. I’d say the last most memorable couple that I loved was from All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I’m not sure most readers would pick them out as a couple but they were. They never made love or had any normal semblance of a relationship but they were a couple. They were, Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfennig. I still wish they’d ended up together.
How long would you survive in the world of Surrender the Sun?
Well, I have good instincts though I don’t think I would make it longer than the average American. I’d like to think that I’d survive longer than most but alas, that is just a dream. It’s a harsh world I’ve created.
Which books would we be surprised to find on your shelves?
Well, I read a wide variety of genres. I like to mix in classics that I’ve never heard of along with the top 100s. The oddest book I’d say is the Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. I ran across this after rereading Wizard of Oz. It’s sort of a survival story of Santa Claus and somewhat intense for today’s children. I wouldn’t recommend it as a bedtime story for young toddlers.
What TV show have you binge watched?
Binge watching is the great American pastime lately. I too am guilty of this. I recently finished the Outlander series and now I’m hooked. I seriously want to move to Scotland now and stand around the stone circles hoping to hear a great buzzing. I’d love to go back in time, especially in Scotland.
What scene in Surrender the Sun was your favorite to write?
Oh, I think the scene where Maeve is driving her son to school and she’s barely a year out from her husband’s death and she reminisces with her son Ben for the first time without them succumbing to emotional turmoil. The triumph itself is sad in a way…because they’ve begun to learn to live without him.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
For so many reasons, I live by this.
A.R. Shaw is the author of the new book Surrender the Sun.
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