During his virtual book tour, William will be giving away two (2) print copies of The Remnant (U.S. only) and one (1) e-book copy of The Remnant (available internationally). To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase you chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too! The deadline to enter is 12AM (EST) February 26.
Bio:
William Michael Davidson lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife
and two daughters. A believer that "good living produces good
writing," Davidson writes early in the morning so he can get outside,
exercise, spend time with people, and experience as much as possible. A writer
of speculative fiction, he enjoys stories that deal with humanity's inherent
need for redemption.
Welcome, William. Please tell us about your current
release.
The Remnant
is about a post-theological world. The government has created a superflu that
wipes out humanity’s VMAT2 Gene, which is, according to some scientists, the
reason people have spiritual experience. The action centers around Colton
Pierce, an extractor for the Center for Theological Control. He apprehends
Aberrants (those who display symptoms of faith) and quarantines them on a
remote Island. The crux of the novel is what happens when Colton’s own son,
Marty, is targeted for extraction. Colton has to decide whether to turn in his
own son or help him flee the government. At this time, he also learns of the
Remnant, an underground militia of Aberrants, who have managed to stay “off the
grid.” They agree to help Colton save his son in exchange for a favor: They
want Colton to help them free the Aberrants who have been quarantined on the
Island.
What inspired you to write this book?
One day I was reading
online about the idea of people’s belief in God being dependent on a gene. If
you look online, this idea of eradicating this gene and controlling peoples’
theistic beliefs has been around for a little while, but for me it just seemed
like a great story. All at once, I knew I had to write a story about this. I
don’t personally believe that a person’s belief in God is dependent on a
biological feature, but I knew it was a great premise for a story. So I ran
with it. Like usual, I had no idea where the story would go. I just followed
where the characters led me.
Excerpt from The
Remnant:
They were
traveling so fast, it seemed like mere seconds before they reached the Artesia
Boulevard exit. Colton backed off and let the Star Runner get some distance
ahead of him. Just as he’d wanted, an officer on the side of the road had put
down a long, collapsible strip of spikes across the center of the road. The
Star Runner tore right through it, puncturing its tires. A moment after, the
officer worked the contraption, and the long mechanical strip folded in and
snapped back to the side of the road like a rubber band so that the Mustang
could pass without shish-kabobbing its tires.
Pleased
that it had worked, Colton narrowed the distance between himself and the Star
Runner, which, now rolling on its rims and shredded tires, was quickly slumping
to a dead stop in the middle of the freeway. When it was clear that the Star
Runner wasn’t going to move another inch, Colton leapt from his vehicle.
“Cover me,”
he told Marek who, getting out of the Mustang, took shelter behind the opened
passenger door.
With his
Shark 41-F drawn, Colton walked past the smell of burned rubber and through a
minefield of tire chunks. The Star Runner’s door suddenly opened, and a
Hispanic man wearing black slacks and a white short-sleeve button-down shirt
stepped out of the vehicle. He was crying uncontrollably. He held his hands up
high in the air and began to plead for something, and Colton seized the
opportunity for a clean shot.
He fired.
The target
looked down at the small silver dart in his chest, as if contemplating it for a
brief second, and then collapsed onto the asphalt.
“Extraction
Complete,” Colton said, radioing in. He looked at his arm computer: 11:29. An
impressive time for such a difficult extraction.
He looked
back at Marek and gave him the thumbs up. Petra, as she had been trained to do,
dashed toward the fallen target to make sure his vitals were stable and he
wasn’t having any adverse effect to the tranquilizer.
Then, as
happened in many extractions, citizens who had been hiding out in their cars
along the perimeter of the road climbed out of their vehicles and began to
applaud. Pretty soon it was nothing but cheers, whoops, clapping, and verbal
accolades running along the 710 North. One burly guy driving a big rig hung out
of the driver’s side of his vehicle and pulled down on the horn: a massive,
celebratory blast.
Colton, out
of duty and public service, smiled, waved hello, and bowed gracefully before
the general public.
As he did
so, he looked in the general direction of CTC Headquarters and wondered what
Ashton Lampson would think when he heard of Colton’s extraction time.
“Not a bad
time, is it, Ashton?” he said, bowing once again to the crowd of bystanders.
“Not bad at all.”
What exciting story are you working on next?
I actually just finished
the sequel to The Remnant. As of now,
it is entitled Mass Exodus. It needs
lots of work and editing, but I’m pretty happy with the first draft.
When did you first consider yourself a writer? I think I knew I wanted to be a writer in the fifth
grade. We had a poetry contest and the winner was going to have his or her poem
read on the radio. I went to class and my name was on the board, and I thought
it was because I was in trouble. Of course, I discovered that I had actually
won the contest. I think from that moment on, I knew it was something I loved
doing.
Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day
like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to
write?
I wish. I also teach
English (which I actually enjoy very much). So for me, I get up very early at
about 5:30 a.m. and grind out my writing before work. I’ve learned that if I
don’t write before the day starts and my responsibilities as a husband and a father
kick in, it won’t happen. So I write early with my coffee while the house is
dark and quiet.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I always have a paperback
book on my lap when I write. If I’m stuck or thinking, I will pick up the book
and just feel it and imagine that one day my story will be complete and
published like the one I’m holding. My wife laughs when she watches me hold the
book and feel its pages, but that’s what I do.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I knew I always wanted to
be a writer and teach English. I had times when I entertained other things, but
I had little doubt as a kid. I knew what I was good at and what I enjoyed.
Anything additional you want to share with the
readers?
Because the topic of
religion and God frightens away a lot of people, and because this book deals
with those issues, I would encourage everyone to try reading it. Whether you
are a Christian, an atheist, an agnostic, or anywhere in between, you might be
surprised what you find.
Links:
Links:
The Remnant is available to order in e-book form at the following sites:
The print format of the book is available at these sites:
2 comments:
Great interview, Lisa. It's always interesting to learn where an author gets their story ideas from. Thanks for being a part of William's tour.
Mason
MC Book Tours
Nice interview. I would concur with William. You do not have to follow a particular religion to enjoy this book. It's also for readers who like dystopian novels or action-packed novels.
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