The Voyages of Ralf follows the eponymous character on a series of adventures that he falls into and out of in humorous ways. What was the inspiration for the setup to this fun story?

Although my second published novel, The Voyages of Ralf is actually the first novel I ever completed. A very early version of it, created during my high school years, was based on three sequential short stories. Changes and updates occurred sporadically over the next few years, and then the manuscript lay fallow for decades until I began the final, complete re-write in 2019.

Despite the long interval between conception and delivery, the book retained its three-voyage format, and much of the story line of the original first two voyages. The third voyage was entirely reconceived this millennium. The pandemic provided inspiration to remain hiding in my room and finalize the manuscript during the spring, and into the summer of 2020, no doubt hastening the book’s release.

Ralf is an interesting and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind his character development?

Borne in a gale of adolescent frustration and confusion, Ralf emerged as a non-character, the butt of the Universe’s jokes, a perpetual virgin and neophyte. He is often unsure what to do in the moment, and unclear about who is on his side; this leads to trouble. He has, however, ‘a good heart’, and by taking the side of those he deems on the right side of history, he stumbles through to better days.

The books takes a satirical view on several topics. What were some themes you wanted to explore in this book?

The book is intended to be fun; however, there are strong themes of humanism throughout. The impacts of racism (species-ism?), abuse of authority, malign impacts of abusive personalities, and the struggle for identity formation are revealed through a comedic lens. The idea of the alien mind fascinates this author, and how we deal with those who are different from us is at the heart of the book.

This is volume one in the series. What can readers expect in the upcoming volumes?

The next volume, tentatively titled ‘Love Triangulum’, will explore more of Ralf’s background, explaining what happened to his father, and settling Ralf’s true place in his Universe. Some previously introduced characters will return, but many exotically alien ones will also be introduced. The history of Martiankind has not yet been fully revealed. Also, the central tenets of the Alliance and its religion, Aronism, specifically the exaltation of beauty, were merely glanced upon, and their social impacts will be more fully explored.

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