Interview with Gary Walkden, Author of The Memory Engine

What can you tell us about your new release, The Memory Engine?

The Memory Engine is a humorous, science-fiction novel all about exploring past memories through an advanced virtual reality headset. The story follows Evan Turner, a man in his early twenties who doesn’t really excel in any particular area of his life. Evan is forced to use the memory technology in order to solve a mystery and catch a criminal who is terrorizing an online, virtual world. It deals with themes of the perception of objective truth, and memory reliability. It does this in a light-hearted manner that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and hopefully provides the reader with a fun, tech-based, science-fiction adventure!

What or who inspired you to become an author?

Reading, listening or watching fantastically well told stories throughout my life have all contributed to the desire for me to do the same. Drawing, painting, and making music have all been things I’ve enjoyed, but the creative output which I’ve been most successful with is writing. It’s difficult to pinpoint a single point of inspiration which pushed me in this direction, but any piece of media which leaves me thinking about the person behind the creation, is always worthy of mentioning as inspiration.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Passage – Justin Cronin
The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett
Misery – Stephen King
Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask

Larry David, co-creator and writer of Seinfeld – “How do you… what is it… no, how is it that you can… just, how? HOW?”

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Finishing a story! Seriously, I consider the act of writing a novel as a comforting, but demanding slog. I wouldn’t say I particularly enjoy the process perhaps as much as I should. But the satisfaction of completing a short story or novel makes it all worthwhile!

What is a typical day like for you?

I generally try to hit a word count of 2000 per day, although anything past 1500 is generally acceptable in my mind. Being an independent author is often a juggling act between writing, promotion, and working on extra sources of income, and I’m not sure there is a typical day in this line of work! I generally write whenever inspiration hits or I get some spare time. Perhaps I should work on this and commit to a more regular schedule…

What scene from The Memory Engine was your favorite to write?

Like several of my other books (some written under the pen name, ‘Ethan Spier’), the ending of The Memory Engine brings several things together (hopefully in a surprising and satisfying way). The final scenes of my novels are usually the most fun to write since I have a clear picture of what I’m working towards throughout the story leading up to that point. The ending is the pay off!

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

A simple one:- Enjoy what you do.

Gary Walkden is the author of the new book The Memory Engine.

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