Pageonelit.com: Where did
you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life?
Who were your earliest influences and why?
Greg Burke: My parents were a great influence
on my reading, always taking us to libraries, reading themselves,
reading to us, and having encyclopedias at home. I’ve read
hundreds of books spanning all genres over the years, but science
fiction and fantasy novels have my greatest interest and admiration
for the possibilities that might arise and the imagination they
engender. Technical writing was a large part of my work with
Miller Brewing Company, and during that period of reading and
writing, I knew someday a novel would develop. It took seven
years to write Alien Earth from start to finish, but most of
it was done in six months when I finally put all the pieces together.
Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury were my earliest
writing influences.
Pageonelit.com: Why did
you write ALIEN EARTH? Tell us about this book.
Greg Burke: Three reasons:
It was too good an idea to pass up, I finally had some time,
and I felt it would be fun.
The story is about a young nurse from NASA who
wakes up one morning to find that the earth has been invaded.
Moreover, all the stories about aliens from TV and Roswell folklore
are mostly true. Worse, she finds everyone around her is 
affected through
mind control except her. This near future adventure shows that
despite being dealt a bad hand, we must play that hand. She
has to keep looking inside herself and move forward despite numerous
obstacles being placed in front of her. The reader will find
themselves asking themselves “What would I do?” throughout
the book. There is action, plot twists, humor, and oh yes, a
little science fiction. Whether you love sci-fi or not, you
will enjoy this book.
Pageonelit.com: What makes
a good science fiction story?
Greg Burke: It’s the
same thing that makes any story good: characters, plot, and how
the story is told. With science fiction, you have to add believability
to the unknown. A reader will make any leap, if you explain
the reason well enough or help them make the leap. Star Trek
and Star Wars are good examples of how we’ve accepted what
many scientists would term impossible as believable. Thus, many
now deem warp speed, hyperspace, transporters, and the force
as inevitable when they would have thought them ridiculous before
the concepts were presented.
Pageonelit.com: Do you believe
in alien life forms? Do you believe there is life on other planets?
Please explain.
Greg Burke: No and Yes.
While I used a lot of current folklore in my novel, I don’t
feel the UFO conspiracy theories, visitations, cattle mutilations,
and abductions are true. They are fascinating and in parts of
the world like Russia have become part of daily news, but to
me they are just myths and a product of our wonderful imagination.
As for life on other planets, I think we will find microbial
life in our solar system and possibly other life forms in our
galaxy, but not anyone like ourselves. I’d like to think
we aren’t alone, but feel we probably are. Now, if a saucer
lands and bluish-gray aliens with slanted black eyes shake the
President’s hand, then I guess I was wrong.
Pageonelit.com: What's next?
Greg Burke: A sequel to
Alien Earth called Human Earth. I’m also working on a novel
about a near future catastrophe involving a magnetic pole shift
and how the world and numerous characters deal with such a change.
It’s going to be a much more difficult novel technically,
but a lot of fun with rich characters. Stay tuned.
Pageonelit.com: Who are
your favorite writers and why? What was the last book you read?
Greg Burke: Terry Brooks
tops my list, followed by Diane Carey, Arthur C. Clarke, James
Clavell, Tom Clancy, Anne McCaffrey, Michael Crichton, Robin
Cook John Grisham, and Gary Jennings. They are all masters of
telling the story: getting maximum use out the language and weaving
spellbinding original ideas into wonderful and easy to read novels.
I am in awe of their talent and emulate them where I can.
The last book I read was the “Voyage of
the Jerle Shannara Book Two: Antrax”, by Terry Brooks.
Pageonelit.com: Do you have
any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?
Greg Burke: Hiking and
reading are my hobbies and both enhance my writing. Rocky Mountain
National Park is next door and the thousands of miles I’ve
hiked help me think and achieve clarity. Reading gives me ideas
to make the writing even better.
Pageonelit.com: Any advice
for first time or would be writers?
Greg Burke: Yes, stop thinking about
it and write. Tell a meaningful story that engages your
reader’s mind and emotions. Just do it. In the age of
computers, it’s easier than ever. But it’s also hard
work. Proof, reproof, reproof again. You can never edit too
much. I can’t believe how many mistakes still make it through
editing. It’s the writer’s job to make those mistakes
as few as possible.
Pageonelit.com: Is there
a message in your novel?
Greg Burke: Yes, several: Women are
strong and make good leaders, we have to live our lives no matter
what fate throws our way, bad things happen to good people, and
there is humor in every event.
Pageonelit.com: How do you
write a novel?
Greg Burke: I start out
with an outline and general plan for beginning and end, but as
I write, the story takes over and leads me to certain plot twists
and endings that could never have been fully anticipated when
I started. I go with those instincts and like the result a lot
better than the original story line.
