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Virtual Pulp Press

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MAVERICK SCI-FI AUTHOR WALTER KNIGHT

VPP: We've got a treat for you this time: some Q&A from science fiction author Walter Knight, who has 14 books (so far) in his America's Galactic Foreign Legion series published. Hank had put some of his books up on Virtual Pulp Press before realizing this was the same Walter who occasionally commented on the Two-Fisted Blog. Welcome, Walter! Tell us about the AGFL series.

WALTER: America's Galactic Foreign Legion is a 14 book science fiction series using humor to depict a strong America taking humanity and American culture across the galaxy to fight aliens on a distant planet colony. AGFL started out as serious “Starship Troopers” type military science fiction, but soon evolved into something else, something special.

I explore the Americanization of space. What does that mean? In the universe I create, after several wars, America is forced to share a distant planet colony with the Arthropodan Empire. They're spiders. In fact, humanity is alone in a galaxy full of various bug civilizations.

America's Galactic Foreign Legion maintains a fragile truce with the spiders across a DMZ, but our real secret weapon is our culture. The aliens succumb to American culture when we bring in the heavy artillery: satellite TV, fast food, McDonald's, Walmart, the Mafia, drugs, alcohol, casino gambling, sports betting, football, baseball, Nike sports products, skateboards, the Teamsters Union, the internet, gold rushes, immigration, Starbucks coffee, cigarettes, MREs, terrorist insurgency, lawyers, democracy, freedom, American music, and sex. The aliens belatedly try to legislate against the Americanization of their culture, but resistance is futile.

I draw a parallel with the Americanization of third world countries in our real world. For example, you have Kentucky Fried Chicken in Baghdad, and McDonald's hamburgers in Pakistan. Rioters in Egypt complaining about American influence carry iPods, and wear American T-shirts and Nike shoes. Iran and China tried to legislate against American influence by restricting internet use and banning satellite dishes, but it's too late. America has already won. It's just a matter of time before the whole world becomes American.

America's Galactic Foreign Legion has been described as politically incorrect, and I will admit some of my legionnaires have issues, and are a bit shady and unethical. Some will steal anything not nailed down, and the lead character is a compulsive gambler. However, unlike other military humor (M.A.S.H. and Catch-22, for instance), my books have a positive American military spin. If humanity ever crosses the galaxy, it will be on American starships. No one else can do it. Is portraying a strong future America politically incorrect? I don't think so. Some people just can't handle a strong America. Too bad, so sad, for them.

VPP: Pontificate a bit on the state of science fiction, where it came from, how it got to the point it's at now, and where you see it going. Also how your books fit into it, and/or into the military sci-fi niche.

WALTER: Science fiction represents about six percent of book sales. It truly has become a niche market. Many publishers will not even consider Sci/Fi submissions, considering the genre unprofitable. Divide science fiction into speculative fiction and fantasy. I do not consider tales of magic and vampires to be science fiction, and it irritates me to see real science fiction forced to share shelf space with such books.

Science fiction is sub-categorized even further into end-of-the-world stories, zombies, space exploration, and military science fiction. I have created even more of a niche market by leaving the Star Trek type starships behind, and writing about infantry soldiers. The humor aspect leaves America's Galactic Foreign Legion all alone among new science fiction.

I am not happy with the current state of science fiction in books and film. Science fiction has been abandoned to liberals, with their sorry tales about failed ecology, Apocalypse America, U.N.-type galactic governments, evil corporations, politically correct female warriors, and anti-military rhetoric. Someone needs to bring back John Wayne. I suspect that Hollywood and the Big Six New York publishing establishment is biased, and suppresses conservative science fiction. At the very least there is a void that I will gladly fill.

VPP: Oh you suspect that, do you? Personally, I suspect the Al Capone mob sometimes engaged in behavior that could be construed as possibly illegal. How long did you try to get somebody in New York's attention before you got published?

WALTER: My story started out similar to many other writers. I sent my manuscript out to every publisher and agent I could find online, getting back many form rejection letters. To my dismay I found that large publishers did not want unsolicited manuscripts from new authors, and required I submit through an agent. These days you almost need an agent to get an agent. Finally an agent in his rejection letter gave me some sage advice. He advised that I write a sequel. He stated that no matter how well I write, one-hit wonders are unprofitable, and no agent will touch them.

No problem. I wrote a sequel, and confidently sent query letters for both books. Still no takers. Upset and depressed, I stopped submitting queries, but I kept writing. During a two year period I wrote eleven America's Galactic Foreign Legion books. I attached all eleven books to query E-mails, and submitted to small online publishers. My plan was to write until I could no longer be ignored.

Penumbra Publishing, a small online company, expressed interest, E-mailing me back a courtesy edit of my first manuscript. That was quite a change from the form letters of the past. Editor Patricia Morrison expressed concern about my aliens not being realistic. She did not like my alien lawyer wearing glasses and carrying a brief case. Somehow in my queries I forgot to mention AGFL was a parody, and I used humor with the military action. Morrison read the manuscript again, in a different light, and asked about marketing. I insisted a series markets itself better than a one-hit wonder. Morrison kept reading, liked the series, and agreed to publish the entire series. I kept writing. We published 14 books in two years.

At first sales were slow. In January 2010 I sold a few paperbacks online and seven Amazon kindle books. I had never even heard of Kindle, and laughed off those first E-book sales. By June 2010 I had three books published, but sales remained slow, a few paperbacks every few days. Then when I got back from vacation in July my publisher advised me I sold 100 Kindle books, and wanted to know what I was doing. Nothing special, just blogging and a few Craig's List adds. The next month I sold 400 Kindle books. Now I knew all about Kindle E-books. My January 2011, with six AGFL books published, I was selling 2300+ books per month. Yes, dreams do come true. Sales have decreased since, but I am still selling about a thousand books per month.

Now is an historic time to be an author or a publisher because of the E-book revolution created by Amazon and their Kindle E-books. New authors like me, small publishers, and self-published authors have equal access to markets via Amazon as do the Big Six New York established publishers. We might even have an advantage because the Big Six has a vested interest in paper books, and has been slow to compete in the E-book market. My paperbacks are POD (print on demand). Those paperbacks are beautiful, but are only a small part of my business model.

It appears I was in the right place at the right time. Kindle ownership from 2009 to 2012 has increased from three to twenty million, and Amazon has gone global. It is an unexpected bonus that AGFL sales in the UK are brisk, in spite of a some 'Euro-trash' jokes I threw in.

VPP: Well good for Penumbra Publishing and Ms. Morrison. What kind of interaction have you had with your readers?

WALTER: I am getting E-mails from soldiers and vets who love my books. Because America's Galactic Foreign Legion is a parody, I was worried I might offend. However, soldiers identify with the military humor.

I have a scene where legionnaires are fighting a bush war on an asteroid when a spaceship crashes nearby, and construction workers put up a mobile MacDonald's. American soldiers are treated to complementary meals, and participate in a MacDonald's commercial for galactic TV.

A veteran of Korea identified with that scene, telling me that Burger King has restaurants set up for the military in Korea, and to this day back home in America he will not go in a Burger King. Many of the scenes I write are inspired by real events and world news. The world is a tragic and funny place.

Reader reviews on Amazon Kindle reflect a wide range of opinion. A college professor from Columbia and a priest from Ohio hate America's Galactic Foreign Legion. Another fellow said he would rather read a toilet paper wrapper. However, most love my books, and find them humorous and refreshingly politically incorrect.

On this issue of political correctness, any time you write about the military, you are going to upset someone, so I decided to write for myself, not others. The positive reviews indicate I made the 'right' choice. I have no intention to be the 'Andrew Dice Clay' of science fiction. As I said before I do not consider my humor to be politically incorrect, and do not engage in racist or anti-gay humor. However, if you are a humorless liberal democrat, you might want to avoid America's Galactic Foreign Legion.

World famous science fiction writer Piers Anthony gave America's Galactic Foreign Legion a favorable review, saying of my first book, “It's wild, improbable, but great adventure.” Piers is a bit of a liberal, but writes science fiction humor, and loved the parody. He is a tireless advocate for new writers.

VPP: The MacDonalds scene sounds like a classic. And that's a nice kudo to get from Piers Anthony. Are you going to continue with the AGFL series or start something else now?

WALTER: I am currently eleven chapters into writing AGFL (Book 15) Lieutenant Columbus. I might write AGFL forever. AGFL-15 is about America using a time machine to save and restore the health of Christopher Columbus as a reward from America for discovering America. Of course, Columbus joins America's Galactic Foreign Legion. This book is a way to tweak the liberal politically correct crowd that hates Christopher Columbus for discovering America.

My ultimate goal is for America's Galactic Foreign Legion to come to a theater near you.

I also wrote Vampire in the Outfield about a minor league baseball player who finds he can hit and play better after being bitten by a vampire. Of course, he still has a problem with day games.

VPP: That fascist pig Columbus! If only Karl Marx had discovered the New World first...

What are your favorite books and authors?

WALTER: World War & Colonization 10 book series by Harry Turtledove, about aliens attacking Earth during WWII. These books inspired me to write a series.

Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard about American resistance fighters battling aliens. This book and the movie is continuously being dumped on, probably because of its patriotic themes.

Mission Earth 10 book series by L. Ron Hubbard. The off the hook humor of this series inspired me to attempt the same.

Ender's Game by Orsen Scott Card. No need to explain.

Guns Up by Johnnie M. Clark is about an infantry machine gunner in Vietnam. It captures the chaos, fatigue, and suddenness of jungle combat.

Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich. The movie 21 was based on this book. This book teaches you how to count cards at a blackjack table, and is very entertaining.

VPP: Many Thanks, Walter, for taking the time to have this dialog!

Walter has even more details and goodies on his website.