| Greg Sushinsky, the Writer |
| The Wager by Greg Sushinsky FAQ |
 |
Some readers have wanted to know a little of the background
about the science fiction short story, The Wager, how the
author Greg Sushinsky came to write it, how he views the
characters and what plans there are for the future with his
science fiction and the characters featured in The Wager.
What follows touches on the most often asked questions.
Q: Why science fiction? You’ve written a lot in sports, health
and fitness, and although you’ve written other fiction, why did
you decide to write The Wager?
A: I’ve always loved science fiction, and I’ve even written
some before, but not for publication. This story came to me
and that was how it formed in my head. So it seemed very
natural.
Q: Some who’ve read it said it is a timely story. What do you
make of that?
A: I suppose the current world situation is always a backdrop
for however the subconscious is working out ideas, whatever
that wonderfully mysterious process is, but it wasn’t written to
be topical. Actually, things that were going on may have
been the catalyst, but that’s all. Sometimes stuff is way in
your head, deep in your imagination, and it bubbles up.
Q: Was the story easy to write? Did it come out whole?
A: Like a fur ball, do you mean? Coughed up.
Q: Did it just flow from start to finish as you first set it down?
A: Not entirely. Certain sections had to be re-worked to get
it to come out right. The characters and the situation
presented itself, though the story did not materialize whole.
Q: What about your usual writing methods? Does your
writing normally flow easily, or do you have to work to get it
out?
A: It’s always work, even if it seems easy. Easy carries joy
with it. Sometimes, though, you have to grind it out. That’s a
harder joy.
Q: Switching gears, what about the characters, Kasceto and
Jospar? Readers mention these characters as powerful
personalities. How did you arrive at them?
A: They came to me, they were not calculated or thought up,
they were just there, in my mind, doing things and saying
things. I just wrote them down.
Q: Will we hear more from them?
A: Yes, there are other stories which are percolating in
there. Jospar and Kasceto, and others, are doing and
saying things and I want to write that down.
Q: Is there a book coming? A novel?
A: Maybe. There is an idea for a novel which probably grew
out of or alongside The Wager. But first there are a few
stories I’d like to get down.
Q: What about your latest science-fiction story, Cobalt? Is
that finished yet?
A: Yes, it just needs technical work; it hasn’t been put in the
form for pdf. or uploaded or made available. It will be in time.
Q: Is Cobalt part of a series of stories, second after The
Wager?
A: I wrote it after The Wager, but it is more reasonable to
consider it taking place prior to The Wager chronologically.
Q: Was that originally planned that way?
A: No, it was completely organic. Meaning, I wrote The
Wager, then there was this other story that seemed to grow
right out of it that felt like a very natural companion, or
perhaps a sidebar, if a story can be that, to The Wager. It’s
just another story that came into my head that I liked and
wanted to tell.
Q: Will there be more stories featuring Jospar and Kasceto?
A: I am already working on a third one, which I had partially
in mind as I wrote the first two. I had a fragment, it just kind
of expanded. There may be more than that.
Q: Do you work this way often?
A: I once wrote what I thought was a fourteen page short
story, thought I was finished.
Q: Were you?
A: Twelve years and about 1,300 pages later.
Q: You must tell us about that sometime.
A: Do I have to? I get tired just thinking about it.
about the science fiction short story, The Wager, how the
author Greg Sushinsky came to write it, how he views the
characters and what plans there are for the future with his
science fiction and the characters featured in The Wager.
What follows touches on the most often asked questions.
Q: Why science fiction? You’ve written a lot in sports, health
and fitness, and although you’ve written other fiction, why did
you decide to write The Wager?
A: I’ve always loved science fiction, and I’ve even written
some before, but not for publication. This story came to me
and that was how it formed in my head. So it seemed very
natural.
Q: Some who’ve read it said it is a timely story. What do you
make of that?
A: I suppose the current world situation is always a backdrop
for however the subconscious is working out ideas, whatever
that wonderfully mysterious process is, but it wasn’t written to
be topical. Actually, things that were going on may have
been the catalyst, but that’s all. Sometimes stuff is way in
your head, deep in your imagination, and it bubbles up.
Q: Was the story easy to write? Did it come out whole?
A: Like a fur ball, do you mean? Coughed up.
Q: Did it just flow from start to finish as you first set it down?
A: Not entirely. Certain sections had to be re-worked to get
it to come out right. The characters and the situation
presented itself, though the story did not materialize whole.
Q: What about your usual writing methods? Does your
writing normally flow easily, or do you have to work to get it
out?
A: It’s always work, even if it seems easy. Easy carries joy
with it. Sometimes, though, you have to grind it out. That’s a
harder joy.
Q: Switching gears, what about the characters, Kasceto and
Jospar? Readers mention these characters as powerful
personalities. How did you arrive at them?
A: They came to me, they were not calculated or thought up,
they were just there, in my mind, doing things and saying
things. I just wrote them down.
Q: Will we hear more from them?
A: Yes, there are other stories which are percolating in
there. Jospar and Kasceto, and others, are doing and
saying things and I want to write that down.
Q: Is there a book coming? A novel?
A: Maybe. There is an idea for a novel which probably grew
out of or alongside The Wager. But first there are a few
stories I’d like to get down.
Q: What about your latest science-fiction story, Cobalt? Is
that finished yet?
A: Yes, it just needs technical work; it hasn’t been put in the
form for pdf. or uploaded or made available. It will be in time.
Q: Is Cobalt part of a series of stories, second after The
Wager?
A: I wrote it after The Wager, but it is more reasonable to
consider it taking place prior to The Wager chronologically.
Q: Was that originally planned that way?
A: No, it was completely organic. Meaning, I wrote The
Wager, then there was this other story that seemed to grow
right out of it that felt like a very natural companion, or
perhaps a sidebar, if a story can be that, to The Wager. It’s
just another story that came into my head that I liked and
wanted to tell.
Q: Will there be more stories featuring Jospar and Kasceto?
A: I am already working on a third one, which I had partially
in mind as I wrote the first two. I had a fragment, it just kind
of expanded. There may be more than that.
Q: Do you work this way often?
A: I once wrote what I thought was a fourteen page short
story, thought I was finished.
Q: Were you?
A: Twelve years and about 1,300 pages later.
Q: You must tell us about that sometime.
A: Do I have to? I get tired just thinking about it.