We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brian H. Roberts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brian H., appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Two things, really. I believe creativity is in our DNA—and is intensely personal. It was first expressed some 3.3 million years ago. A hominin contemplated a flake of obsidian in its calloused hand and used it to butcher parts of a fresh prey that was too difficult for its teeth. Perhaps thousands of years later a descendant figured out how to manufacture such flakes by striking two stones together. More millennia passed. Long, single sided knives, heavy scrapers and double-sided spear points appeared.
We’ve been exercising creativity for a very long time. It’s one of the defining traits that makes us human. We express it today in our art, literature, visual arts, clothing, architecture—literally everything we invent and build. It’s so common we hardly perceive it, but creativity infuses everything we do, from figuring how to bridge a chasm, how to raise a building, how to wear a unique combination of clothing, how to fix a flat tire, how to invite others to a gathering. From the grand to the mundane, our lives are imbued with creativity.
My second point is that creativity, by its very nature, is subjective. What we create may appeal to a large number of people, or only to the creator. Me, I write genre fiction—sci-fi thrillers. I have author friends who write mysteries, crime fiction, or historical document thrillers. Others compose literary fiction. Yet others write poetry. We each write to our own aesthetic and our own audience—some to commercial success, some for personal expression and gratification.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I took the scenic route to become an author. When I was in the eighth grade I took a creative writing class—and excelled. But I was drawn to science and chemistry in high school, culminating in a bachelor of science in biology college degree. After graduation I worked briefly as a landscaper, eventually owning my own design and construction firm. After selling the company I took a job with the state department of transportation. I enjoyed civil engineering so much I obtained a professional engineer’s license and worked in that field until I retired in 2018. Along the way, I read. A lot. Mostly genre fiction. By the mid-90s plot lines began to rattle around in my head. I went so far as to work on a storyboard, but never completed it. Raising kids, a divorce, remarriage, remodeling a house, were too much distraction for me. But once retired, I had the time to write. So, I cracked my knuckles and sat down at my keyboard.
As the manuscript neared completion, I evaluated my publishing options. What had once been a tightly controlled industry accessed only through gatekeeper-agents had democratized. Independent authors were finding success publishing their own works. Print-on-demand and ebooks turned the publishing world on its head.
Being retired, the freedom to set my own schedule appealed to me. However, it was up to me to underwrite my novels—paying for editors, book cover designers, marketing, and publicity.
I’m three books in to a planned five book series. My niche, hard science-fiction thrillers, is well-established. My following is small but growing. And to my surprise and deep satisfaction, my fans are fiercely loyal.
I’ve developed a brand I’ll call approachable hard science fiction. My world-building depends on physics as we know it (and a little that isn’t settled yet), set in the near future. I speculate about how current tech and geopolitics play out on the moon and Mars without resorting to the jargon and wonkiness that characterizes most hard science fiction. The story lines use a dash of humor and romance, and lots of suspenseful action (hence the “thriller” appellation).

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My fans, even above the joy I find in the writing process. As I’ve alluded, I’ve harnessed my creative muse since my childhood, and applied it to art, landscape design, problem-solving as a civil engineer, and now my writing. My whole life I’ve looked back on a completed project and enjoyed the satisfaction with the aesthetic and/or elegance of what I’ve done. Today I feel that same pride when I finalize a manuscript. And that gratification is reinforced when my fans share good ratings, reviews, and supportive social media comments. It’s both humbling and exhilarating.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

My monthly newsletter is my favorite venue. Each issue contains a technology article, and a review of other sci-fi author’s books, the majority self-published. The tech articles I tie to elements within my books, giving readers insights into not only the science, but my personal life perspective. I’m an optimist about humanity’s future. Despite the popularity of zombie apocalypse lit, my fans appreciate an upbeat appraisal of where we’re collectively headed. My subscribers are free to reply. When they do, I respond. As much as I appreciate—and frankly need—reviews on Amazon.com and BookBub, there’s no mechanism for a back-and-forth exchange in those venues. So, I enjoy and value the two-way communication my newsletter allows.
My publicist posts daily on my Facebook page. But I make a point to respond to every comment. I suppose at some time follower growth will make that difficult, but I’ve made a deliberate choice to pursue organic growth. My newsletter open and click rates, and the paucity of trolls on my FB page, reinforce that for me this approach is working.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brianhroberts.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brian-H-Roberts-103151931966265
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-h-roberts-792b15212/
• Other: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/brian-h-roberts