Science-Fiction
Date Published: Sept. 20, 2022
Publisher: Nonlinear Publishing
Narrator: Veronica Pace
Run Time: 11 hours, 44 minutes
“Smart, riveting and next gen.” (Pamela Wirth, CEO and author
of Saving My Son)
“…a provocative science fiction novel featuring the union of two
unrivaled, intelligent technologies.” (Foreword-Clarion Reviews)
Dr. Keira Stetson has two passions: ethical artificial
intelligence—AI with a conscience—and creating technology that
improves children’s lives. Trapped in an earthquake-flattened building
with a half-dozen panicked five-year-olds, she fears the worst. When
billionaire Roy Brandt leverages his mysterious nanite technology to rescue
them, she’s both grateful and intrigued.
Impressed by his prototype technology but alarmed at its potential for
exploitation, Keira merges her company with Brandt’s. The merger gives
Keira access to much-needed funds for the development of her own tech, and
access to Brandt’s powerful minuscule robots. In turn, she and her AI
assistant, Elly, embed Keira’s trademark Moral Operating System in
Brandt’s nanite SmartDust to rein in its power.
But Brandt’s technology has been kept secret for a reason. Though
he’s adamant about using the Dust to improve life, not destroy it,
corporate raiders and the military have other ideas. They want to weaponize
Brandt’s nanites. Suddenly, everything Keira has worked for is in
jeopardy. Exposed to the worst humanity has to offer, she and Elly must
fight to use this newfound tech for good and keep it out of the wrong
hands…before it’s too late.
All proceeds from sales of Moral Code will go to PreventChildAbuse.org and
Thorn.org.
Author Interview – Lois Melbourne, author of Moral Code
What do you do when a new idea jumps out at you while you’re still working on a book? Do you chase the squirrel (aka “UP syndrome”) or do you finish your current project first?
I’m obsessive about capturing ideas. Thankfully, my Notes app is shared across my laptop, phone and ipad. I’ll record character, conflict, dialog, concept, and mood ideas continually. If I write it down, I can leave it tucked away and get back to my project at hand. If I don’t record it, I worry about losing it and spend far too many brain cycles working through it.
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic?
I outline at a very high level. I don’t write linearly. When a concept or dialog strikes me, I write that chapter or scene. When I encounter the need for foreshadowing, it often comes with the exact place in the store it belongs. I’ll jump to that portion of the outline and jot bullet points to include. Many times, I reach a word count goal across five or six chapters. This process works for me.
What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
Anne Lamott’s “bird by bird” has been helpful many times. “Poem Crazy” by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, pulls me out of distraction and into writing. I’ve sat down for a calendar blocked time for writing and not been in the mood. I open “Poem Crazy”, read a couple pages at random and I’m ready to write. I’m not even writing poetry. It just gets me excited about words and their usage.
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing sci fi.
Science Fiction can have so many layers of the ‘what-if’. I enjoy the exploration of society’s issues if we leverage technology to change the game. This lets me expose undesirable behaviors without being preachy. Designing possible technology without the constraints of a budget is liberating.
What have you found to be most challenging about writing in sci fi?
Writing near future sci-fi means extrapolating realistic tech but exaggerating current capabilities to excite the reader. Repeatedly we thought I’d stretched the doable, only to read a month later that MIT unveiled a demonstration of something similar. Those moments launched more than one rewrite.
Have you been able to incorporate your previous experience in your jobs/education in your writing?
My first draft of “Moral Code” was described as too much like business writing. I blogged about careers, technology, and culture in my previous life. I retrained my brain for fiction writing. However, being a software executive made writing about artificial intelligence much easier. I spent my career translating tech to businesspeople and business needs to technical needs. It was always storytelling. This helped making technology in sci-fi consumable, even for the non-sci-fi fan.
Describe the book in 10 words or less for people who are just learning about it.
Her ethical AI will fight to protect kids, every kid.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
If we wonder why we have so many messed up adults, we should look at their childhood. So much of the cycle of abuse could be broken by protecting kids from abuse by adults and other bullies. Safety and the confidence that can build in under that umbrella are very powerful.
Do you have any odd (writing) habits?
My desk is for business and editing. My creative writing is best done in a big comfortable chair, preferably outside.
What has been the toughest criticism you have received as an author? What has been the best compliment?
The best compliment came for a professional editor. She said that if the book was published, she wanted to use elements of it in her courses to illustrate the art of foreshadowing. That made my heart sing. I worked hard on the foreshadowing.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Write private reviews on the material you read, then consider those attributes in your own writing. Study the craft of writing by investing in your education. There are so many blogs, podcasts, courses, and books that have helped improve my writing.
What is your favorite line from your book?
“We’re inventors. We live for grandiose and presumptuous leaps of faith all the time, don’t we?”
What is your take on book boyfriends? Do they actually exist? Or do they set the bar for “real life men” impossibly high?
No one wants to admit their boyfriend leaves the bathroom door open when you’re right in the next room or doesn’t wash their bath towels for a month. It’s redundant to bring these habits into a book, you just have to say “boyfriend”. We get it.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you deal with it?
I’ve been stuck on a project but could always jump to writing something else like a blog post, a character or location description, possibly even a poem, to kick in the creative juices. If I can’t write prose or dialog, I’ll at least bullet point ideas, moods, or details I want to include. I don’t have blank page syndrome.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Formula One is my only sports obsession. I’m fascinated with the strategy, the technology, and the careers of those involved. I love gardening flowers and ornamentals, not vegetables. Kayaking, Pilates and walking my dogs are my chosen Zen modes.
About the Author
“Moral Code” is not the first collaboration for Lois and Ross
Melbourne. Side-by-side, they grew their software business to a global
award-winning organization, as CEO and Chief Technology Officer,
respectively. Now Lois’ storytelling brings to life Ross’ deep
understanding of the possibilities within artificial intelligence and
robotics. Parenting and marriage have been the easy part of this
equation.
Lois is now writing books, having published two children’s books
about exploring careers. “Moral Code” is her first but not her
last novel. Ross’ current work includes artificial intelligence and
robotics.
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