Ask the Author! (Please!)

Use this forum to discuss the April 2020 Book of the month, "Project Tau" by Jude Austin
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Re: Ask the Author! (Please!)

Post by Annanielsen22 »

What was the inspiration for Project Tau? I hope this isn't too common of a question, but I always wonder what the moment was when an author comes up with the first part of what will become a book. Did they come up with the idea for a character before a story, or in what order did the inspiration strike? For me, it's usually a character who a life story forms around.
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Post by Jude Austin »

_priyamvada_ wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 05:00 Hi Judy, so I wanted to ask you about this: what have you learnt from this experience of writing a book? :tiphat:
Hi priyamvada! :tiphat:

Mostly, not to leave 12-13 years between writing Book 1 and Book 2 in a series, like I did with Project Tau and Homecoming :D The difference in style is--well, I had to rewrite a lot of Project Tau and am almost ready to upload the new, super-shiny edition, so it should be less of a jar for people who went from Project Tau to Homecoming ;)

That said, Project Tau isn't my first book by a long shot; it's just the first one that took off ;) IIRC, I think it's the fifth full-length novel I completed. One of the previous four is out of print, and the other three (a sci-fi/fantasy trilogy) have never been published.
anoushka_thakur wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 09:35 Hi Jude! I loved reading Project Tau, I loved the concept. Do you think that whether the clones could ever replace some humans in their jobs? I am eagerly waiting for the next series.
Hi anoushka_thakur! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the next book just as much ;)

The problem with clones replacing humans is that it would cost a lot of money to create, grow and train them. Coming from nothing to adulthood means that there are likely to be a lot of teething problems. It would be far easier, quicker, and cheaper to pay people a proper wage ;) The average cost of creating a clone (at least in the books' universe) is about 100 times what it would cost to set up your own company from scratch, so it's not very cost-effective. That's not counting the fact that a clone who was doing specialized jobs would require just as much training as a regular human, and you wouldn't go to the expense of creating a clone just to set it to work in the supermarket :P

For the record, I also don't buy into the whole "Grow clones so you can harvest their organs for a life-changing operation!" idiocy. If science advances to that point, it's much, much more likely that we'll just clone individual organs (it's also mentioned in-book that this is how GenTech began, and where most of its funding comes from ;) ) After all, there's nothing stopping clones from getting sick themselves, or getting killed in an accident, and then it would all be for nothing ;) That said, if a clone died, I think the medical community would swoop in and harvest everything they could get.
Nelson Chocha wrote: 13 Jun 2020, 10:16 Hey Jude.
I've read your book. it is fascinating. Honestly, it is among the few scientific novel that brought my imagination to its level best. When do we anticipate another book?
Hi Nelson Chocha! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! As you can see from this post, the next book was released a few months ago, and more are planned ;)
Yasmira_M wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 04:58 Maybe this has already been asked but how do you stay inspired and motivated to keep writing and bring your work to life?
Hi Yasmira_M! :tiphat:

There's no real answer to that, except I've never been able to not write. It's like a compulsion in me. The hard part is writing what I'm supposed to be writing; I have a very AU version of Project Tau that I like to play around with, purely because it's a lot of fun. That said, I get occasional days when I lose the vim to write and wonder if anyone actually wants to read what I put out there, but I think that's typical for all authors ;)
Annanielsen22 wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 21:50 What was the inspiration for Project Tau? I hope this isn't too common of a question, but I always wonder what the moment was when an author comes up with the first part of what will become a book. Did they come up with the idea for a character before a story, or in what order did the inspiration strike? For me, it's usually a character who a life story forms around.
Hi Annanielsen22! :tiphat:

It's a pretty popular question ;) So much so that it has its own stickied post. There are a couple of cases in the sequel to Project Tau (Homecoming) where I want to write the backstory of one of the new characters, and more in the sequel, but generally, that's not how I write. I just start writing and see what happens ;)
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Post by anoushka_thakur »

JudasFm wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 23:56
_priyamvada_ wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 05:00 Hi Judy, so I wanted to ask you about this: what have you learnt from this experience of writing a book? :tiphat:
Hi priyamvada! :tiphat:

Mostly, not to leave 12-13 years between writing Book 1 and Book 2 in a series, like I did with Project Tau and Homecoming :D The difference in style is--well, I had to rewrite a lot of Project Tau and am almost ready to upload the new, super-shiny edition, so it should be less of a jar for people who went from Project Tau to Homecoming ;)

That said, Project Tau isn't my first book by a long shot; it's just the first one that took off ;) IIRC, I think it's the fifth full-length novel I completed. One of the previous four is out of print, and the other three (a sci-fi/fantasy trilogy) have never been published.
anoushka_thakur wrote: 11 Jun 2020, 09:35 Hi Jude! I loved reading Project Tau, I loved the concept. Do you think that whether the clones could ever replace some humans in their jobs? I am eagerly waiting for the next series.
Hi anoushka_thakur! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the next book just as much ;)

The problem with clones replacing humans is that it would cost a lot of money to create, grow and train them. Coming from nothing to adulthood means that there are likely to be a lot of teething problems. It would be far easier, quicker, and cheaper to pay people a proper wage ;) The average cost of creating a clone (at least in the books' universe) is about 100 times what it would cost to set up your own company from scratch, so it's not very cost-effective. That's not counting the fact that a clone who was doing specialized jobs would require just as much training as a regular human, and you wouldn't go to the expense of creating a clone just to set it to work in the supermarket :P

For the record, I also don't buy into the whole "Grow clones so you can harvest their organs for a life-changing operation!" idiocy. If science advances to that point, it's much, much more likely that we'll just clone individual organs (it's also mentioned in-book that this is how GenTech began, and where most of its funding comes from ;) ) After all, there's nothing stopping clones from getting sick themselves, or getting killed in an accident, and then it would all be for nothing ;) That said, if a clone died, I think the medical community would swoop in and harvest everything they could get.
Nelson Chocha wrote: 13 Jun 2020, 10:16 Hey Jude.
I've read your book. it is fascinating. Honestly, it is among the few scientific novel that brought my imagination to its level best. When do we anticipate another book?
Hi Nelson Chocha! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! As you can see from this post, the next book was released a few months ago, and more are planned ;)
Yasmira_M wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 04:58 Maybe this has already been asked but how do you stay inspired and motivated to keep writing and bring your work to life?
Hi Yasmira_M! :tiphat:

There's no real answer to that, except I've never been able to not write. It's like a compulsion in me. The hard part is writing what I'm supposed to be writing; I have a very AU version of Project Tau that I like to play around with, purely because it's a lot of fun. That said, I get occasional days when I lose the vim to write and wonder if anyone actually wants to read what I put out there, but I think that's typical for all authors ;)
Annanielsen22 wrote: 14 Jun 2020, 21:50 What was the inspiration for Project Tau? I hope this isn't too common of a question, but I always wonder what the moment was when an author comes up with the first part of what will become a book. Did they come up with the idea for a character before a story, or in what order did the inspiration strike? For me, it's usually a character who a life story forms around.
Hi Annanielsen22! :tiphat:

It's a pretty popular question ;) So much so that it has its own stickied post. There are a couple of cases in the sequel to Project Tau (Homecoming) where I want to write the backstory of one of the new characters, and more in the sequel, but generally, that's not how I write. I just start writing and see what happens ;)
Woah that went to the next level. I do agree with the points you mentioned. With some humor added, those points did blow my mind away as they do make sense. But I do believe in places where people have the money and the time and the place a scenario can obviously be seen, but probably when this technology is properly transformed.
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Post by Jude Austin »

anoushka_thakur wrote: 15 Jun 2020, 00:50 But I do believe in places where people have the money and the time and the place a scenario can obviously be seen, but probably when this technology is properly transformed.
Have you been peeking at my series notes? :P

Yes, people with enough money will be able to commission their own clone for whatever purpose they like (they certainly do in the books) but the average person isn't going to be in a position to do that. To take an in-book example, Tau cost GenTech five billion dollars. Granted, he was a very high-quality clone, and the strength would also drive the price up, but they're going to want to sell him to someone who can pay a lot more than that, otherwise it's not worth the time and money invested in creating and training him.

It's a bit of a catch-22 from a business perspective: any individual who would spend billions of money on something that they know won't offer a good return (or any return) on their investment isn't the kind of person who would have made billions to start with. I think clones would be bought by syndicates and companies at first, and then, as cloning becomes more and more successful, the price will gradually decrease and more and more people will be able to afford them. Right now (again, talking book-universe) they're very, very rare, so people are paying for that as well ;)
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Post by anoushka_thakur »

JudasFm wrote: 15 Jun 2020, 01:08
anoushka_thakur wrote: 15 Jun 2020, 00:50 But I do believe in places where people have the money and the time and the place a scenario can obviously be seen, but probably when this technology is properly transformed.
Have you been peeking at my series notes? :P

Yes, people with enough money will be able to commission their own clone for whatever purpose they like (they certainly do in the books) but the average person isn't going to be in a position to do that. To take an in-book example, Tau cost GenTech five billion dollars. Granted, he was a very high-quality clone, and the strength would also drive the price up, but they're going to want to sell him to someone who can pay a lot more than that, otherwise it's not worth the time and money invested in creating and training him.

It's a bit of a catch-22 from a business perspective: any individual who would spend billions of money on something that they know won't offer a good return (or any return) on their investment isn't the kind of person who would have made billions to start with. I think clones would be bought by syndicates and companies at first, and then, as cloning becomes more and more successful, the price will gradually decrease and more and more people will be able to afford them. Right now (again, talking book-universe) they're very, very rare, so people are paying for that as well ;)
Again a very strong argument you have presented Jude, but just look at all those possibilities. Agreed that Tau costed 5 billion dollars, but people who run their own business will definitely be able to pay of for their services. Take Elon Musk for an example :p. Apart from that I think the maintenance cost is also a hefty price ?
People who can will definitely pay for it ;)
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Post by Jude Austin »

anoushka_thakur wrote: 16 Jun 2020, 00:42 Again a very strong argument you have presented Jude, but just look at all those possibilities. Agreed that Tau costed 5 billion dollars, but people who run their own business will definitely be able to pay of for their services. Take Elon Musk for an example :p. Apart from that I think the maintenance cost is also a hefty price ?
People who can will definitely pay for it ;)
Oh, I'm not suggesting otherwise ;) I'm just saying that ROI plays a big part and several billion dollars isn't the kind of money most people can throw away on a whim, so a Project certainly wouldn't be an impulse buy. (Granted, there are MUCH cheaper Projects available; Tau and Kata are like the Rolls-Royce of Projects :D)

For example, Tau was created as a laborer/miner. Okay, say you have a small copper mine that has an annual turnover of 1 million dollars. A 5 billion dollar Project isn't a good investment, as it would take a long, long time before you even made back the cost of purchase, much less realized a profit. On the other hand, if you have a mine with a 1 billion dollar turnover, plugging several years' worth of profit into a Project like Tau suddenly becomes much more sensible :P

Maintenance costs would depend on the owner. Clones are considered animals, so anything in the way of housing would be acceptable. Most people would balk at taking a Project into their house, as - from their POV - an animal that size could do a substantial amount of damage. Most likely, they'd be chained up outside with some kind of shelter, but some owners might allow them a longer chain and more freedom of movement than others. Food would basically be leftovers (the nutrijelly Kata and Tau are fed is like the equivalent of space food; it's available to the public, but not widely so, and most people would just feed the Project whatever they were having, plus whatever they didn't want).

That said, there would have to be some kind of common sense in place, as nobody would want a Project with hypothermia/dehydration/food poisoning either, but basically a Project wouldn't cost much more to keep than a large dog. I also think that GenTech would throw in any extra services (vaccinations and restraints/crates etc along with other, non-genetic options) at no extra cost.
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Post by anoushka_thakur »

JudasFm wrote: 16 Jun 2020, 02:49
anoushka_thakur wrote: 16 Jun 2020, 00:42 Again a very strong argument you have presented Jude, but just look at all those possibilities. Agreed that Tau costed 5 billion dollars, but people who run their own business will definitely be able to pay of for their services. Take Elon Musk for an example :p. Apart from that I think the maintenance cost is also a hefty price ?
People who can will definitely pay for it ;)
Oh, I'm not suggesting otherwise ;) I'm just saying that ROI plays a big part and several billion dollars isn't the kind of money most people can throw away on a whim, so a Project certainly wouldn't be an impulse buy. (Granted, there are MUCH cheaper Projects available; Tau and Kata are like the Rolls-Royce of Projects :D)

For example, Tau was created as a laborer/miner. Okay, say you have a small copper mine that has an annual turnover of 1 million dollars. A 5 billion dollar Project isn't a good investment, as it would take a long, long time before you even made back the cost of purchase, much less realized a profit. On the other hand, if you have a mine with a 1 billion dollar turnover, plugging several years' worth of profit into a Project like Tau suddenly becomes much more sensible :P

Maintenance costs would depend on the owner. Clones are considered animals, so anything in the way of housing would be acceptable. Most people would balk at taking a Project into their house, as - from their POV - an animal that size could do a substantial amount of damage. Most likely, they'd be chained up outside with some kind of shelter, but some owners might allow them a longer chain and more freedom of movement than others. Food would basically be leftovers (the nutrijelly Kata and Tau are fed is like the equivalent of space food; it's available to the public, but not widely so, and most people would just feed the Project whatever they were having, plus whatever they didn't want).

That said, there would have to be some kind of common sense in place, as nobody would want a Project with hypothermia/dehydration/food poisoning either, but basically a Project wouldn't cost much more to keep than a large dog. I also think that GenTech would throw in any extra services (vaccinations and restraints/crates etc along with other, non-genetic options) at no extra cost.
Mind ====Blown
I didn't consider these points. You are right !
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Post by Meenashiva »

Hi Jude, I know you're writing the series regarding the Project Tau. And I am already excited for it. But I would like to ask you is that, are you ever going to write any other book based on other scientific feature? Congrats on being BOTM
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Post by aruntr2001 »

Hi Jude,

I am very much impressed with your story and it is a very rare occurrence for me to find a Sci-Fi based book so inspiring.
My question here is, I knew for sure your first thoughts about before you were ready to pen down this story was that you would have decided to convey some strong message to the world of readers who reads your story. Was that achieved once you finished this to you still have much more to say which you have planned to do in the sequel of this book?
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Post by Jude Austin »

Meenashiva wrote: 20 Jun 2020, 15:27 Hi Jude, I know you're writing the series regarding the Project Tau. And I am already excited for it. But I would like to ask you is that, are you ever going to write any other book based on other scientific feature? Congrats on being BOTM
Hi Meenashiva! :tiphat:

Thank you so much!

I'm not sure what you mean by "other scientific feature." I don't have a scientific background, and even if I did, novels full of technical explanations tend to turn a lot of readers off ;)

If you mean something like AI or robots, then the answer is a huge, resounding no :D There are no robots or 'smart' computers in the Projects series and never will be (there's a very good, in-universe explanation for this that does not involve the same old human vs. machine cliche. Suffice it to say that everyone regards technology as something to be used as a tool and for fun, but no more than that. The meta explanation is that I hate stories featuring robots/AI with a passion :P )

If you're asking about books outside the Projects universe, I'm working on another series, but that's more along the lines of comic fantasy than sci-fi realism ;)
Thea Frederick wrote: 20 Jun 2020, 22:13 How did you know you wanted to be an author?
Hi again!

There's never been a time when I haven't been writing; when I was very young (read: as soon as I learned to write) I was always writing short stories in notebooks and on wads of Post-It notes. So, for me, it wasn't a case of deciding I wanted to be an author so much as never having been anything else. I completed my first novel when I was 18, and had won writing contests and sold short stories and poems to magazines (admittedly children's magazines, but still!) from the age of 12, so I've always been in the writing world. (That said, I did make a LOT of newbie mistakes when trying to break into it professionally) ;)
aruntr2001 wrote: 24 Jun 2020, 00:53 Hi Jude,

I am very much impressed with your story and it is a very rare occurrence for me to find a Sci-Fi based book so inspiring.
My question here is, I knew for sure your first thoughts about before you were ready to pen down this story was that you would have decided to convey some strong message to the world of readers who reads your story. Was that achieved once you finished this to you still have much more to say which you have planned to do in the sequel of this book?
Hi aruntr2001! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it!

Honestly, my job as an author is to entertain, not to preach. While I do deal with topical issues, they arise more as a result of the plot than a reason for it. For example, the sequel deals with the psychological fallout Kalin suffers as a result of GenTech, but I didn't write the book because I wanted to get some message across about mental health. I wrote the book purely because I wanted to know what would happen to Kalin and Tau after their escape, and because other people also seemed to want to know what would happen to them.

What happens to Kalin includes crippling feelings of guilt for his actions in GenTech, and severe psychological trauma from being imprisoned, dehumanized and tortured in almost every way possible, so that's what happens in the sequel. His ability to trust (never his strongest suit) has also been shattered to pieces, so he has to learn to not just trust other people again, but to admit when he's in over his head and to sit back and let people older and wiser than him take control of the situation, because they have the experience and authority to get things done and be listened to. (We also learn that he graduated high school early. Coupled with the dates given in the sequel and Project Tau, it was only 1 month after his 17th birthday when Kalin actually went to GenTech, so he's still very young ;) He turns 19 during the sequel) ;)

So, honestly, I'll keep writing as many stories as I can think of. If people learn something or take something away from them, that's great, but it means more to me that they actually enjoy them :)
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Post by aruntr2001 »

JudasFm wrote: 24 Jun 2020, 01:29
aruntr2001 wrote: 24 Jun 2020, 00:53 Hi Jude,

I am very much impressed with your story and it is a very rare occurrence for me to find a Sci-Fi based book so inspiring.
My question here is, I knew for sure your first thoughts about before you were ready to pen down this story was that you would have decided to convey some strong message to the world of readers who reads your story. Was that achieved once you finished this to you still have much more to say which you have planned to do in the sequel of this book?
Hi aruntr2001! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it!

Honestly, my job as an author is to entertain, not to preach. While I do deal with topical issues, they arise more as a result of the plot than a reason for it. For example, the sequel deals with the psychological fallout Kalin suffers as a result of GenTech, but I didn't write the book because I wanted to get some message across about mental health. I wrote the book purely because I wanted to know what would happen to Kalin and Tau after their escape, and because other people also seemed to want to know what would happen to them.

What happens to Kalin includes crippling feelings of guilt for his actions in GenTech, and severe psychological trauma from being imprisoned, dehumanized and tortured in almost every way possible, so that's what happens in the sequel. His ability to trust (never his strongest suit) has also been shattered to pieces, so he has to learn to not just trust other people again, but to admit when he's in over his head and to sit back and let people older and wiser than him take control of the situation, because they have the experience and authority to get things done and be listened to. (We also learn that he graduated high school early. Coupled with the dates given in the sequel and Project Tau, it was only 1 month after his 17th birthday when Kalin actually went to GenTech, so he's still very young ;) He turns 19 during the sequel) ;)

So, honestly, I'll keep writing as many stories as I can think of. If people learn something or take something away from them, that's great, but it means more to me that they actually enjoy them :)
Thanks, Jude. That's a great way to go. I can't wait to get my hands on your next book. Keep rocking.
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Post by Brianna_MC_griffin97 »

Where did the inspirations of all the characters' names come from? Did you just make up the name Kalin Taylor, or is the name from an actual person? I was wondering where the names came from because some of them sound like real names.
Thank you. I really enjoyed this book.
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Post by Jude Austin »

Brianna_MC_griffin97 wrote: 24 Jun 2020, 19:48 Where did the inspirations of all the characters' names come from? Did you just make up the name Kalin Taylor, or is the name from an actual person? I was wondering where the names came from because some of them sound like real names.
Thank you. I really enjoyed this book.
Hi Brianna_MC_griffin97! :tiphat:

Thank you so much! I'm happy you enjoyed it :D

Naming characters after real people is a gigantic minefield for authors; if they're famous, they can take offense, and if they're people you know personally, then they can take even more offense ;) If I knew someone called Dennison, for example, he/she would probably take exception to the way that character is portrayed in Project Tau. So no, I didn't use any names from actual people.

That said, the names weren't picked entirely at random.

TAU

Well, the book explains how Tau came by his name (in fact, how all Projects tend to be named):

"Tau is the Greek T, isn't it? Twentieth letter of the Roman alphabet and nineteenth of the Greek. And logic dictates you start at the beginning and work through, and I'm guessing you used the Roman alphabet since nobody I've seen here seems to have Hellenic origins. Tau is number twenty, isn't he?"

Renfield stared at Kata for a long time, then slowly nodded once. "Project Tau is number twenty, yes.[...]Projects X through Gamma didn't live very long[...]Delta through Lambda had about the same mental processes as a vegetable, Mu through Rho were a little better but suffered from various forms of learning disorders, albeit with less and less severity. We trained a few of them and shipped them out, but we didn't make a whole lot of money on them. Project Sigma was similar to Tau in terms of ability, only it died in an accident and Project Tau is the latest in a long line of Projects."


I was torn between Sigma and Tau as names, though, which is why Sigma actually has the honor of being the first truly rational Project, and Tau the second :P In the end, I wanted something that would convey the naivety of someone who was so inexperienced and isolated, and Tau seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Despite having the mental and physical age of a young adult, the character needed a name that would also convey the innocence and lack of experience that comes with being isolated for your whole life (all six months of it, at the start of the book) and Sigma sounded a bit too cool :D

KALIN/KATA

Kalin's was a case of reverse engineering. I wanted to use the name Kata and have it taken from his real name. Taylor was easy to come up with, but a guy's name starting with KA was much harder. In the end, I had Karl or Kalin, and Karl didn't fit the character, so he became Kalin. In the Japanese version, he's renamed Caleb Tyler, as this is the only way to keep the Ka-Ta name intact ;) So Kata became Kalin Taylor. His middle name's Jason, if you were wondering :D

RENFIELD

Some sharp-eyed readers have spotted the fact that Renfield shares his name with Dracula's thrall. They're absolutely right: I needed a name for the supporting protagonist, and I was watching Nosferatu at the time ;) Initially, it was just as a placeholder name, but I ended up liking it so much that it stuck.

CHATTON

Is the name of a village ;)

DENNISON

I'm not sure either. He was just there as Dennison right from the start. I do know his first name, but - as mentioned in this post - it helps to dehumanize him a bit if it's not mentioned :P

MASON

Again, he just fell into place. Like Taylor, though, it's a common surname, so it works.

I'll leave the names of new characters in the sequels for now, unless anyone wants to ask about those too ;)
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Post by Priyanka2304 »

Hey Jude, it was a fun read! Are you planning to write another piece and when can we expect the book to be out? Science fiction like this has always been my favorite.
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