About Author

George Ander

George Ander
  • Genre:

    Action & Adventure LGBT Science Fiction Teen & Young Adult
  • Country: Germany
  • Books: 1
  • Born: 20 September 1989
  • Member Since: Dec 2021
  • Profile Views: 8,859
  • Followers: 63
  • VISIT AUTHOR: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon,
BIOGRAPHY

George Ander was born in 1989 in Darmstadt (the city of science), central Germany. With a love for exploring different cultures, he soon visited every continent on the planet. While at home, he found another passion in acting for a theater group at the local university and a few short film projects. These experiences brought him closer to creating his own characters and stories. And on a journey to the back-country of Morocco, the strange alien-looking writings of the local Berber people caught his eye. With his mind awash with ideas, a year of intense research in physics, history, and philosophy, followed. Combined with his past experiences, he crafted the world and characters of his first novel, To Those We Found.

George Ander's Books

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Book
To Those We Found: A First Contact Science Fiction Thriller from the Alien Perspective
$3.99 kindle Free with KUeBook,
To Those We Found: A First Contact Science Fiction Thriller from the Alien Perspectiveby George AnderThriller Science Fiction Teen & Young Adult

George Ander Interview On 25, May 2022

"Author of To Those We Found, George Ander writes dystopian sci-fi with young adult themes. As a kid, he hated writing but always had a passion for the stories, characters, and worlds of movies and video games. He crafted his first novel, To Those We Found with a year of intense research in physics, history, and philosophy. Apart from writing, he loves exploring different cultures."
Where did you spend most of your childhood? Did you always want to be an author?

I never thought I'd write a book one day. As I kid I hated writing and did even like reading. But I always had a passion for the stories, characters and worlds of movies and video games. Only when the first Hunger Hames movie launched I've also picked up the books because I couldn't wait for the rest of the movies to come out. I just needed to know what was going to happen next. That's when my world changed completely. And when I started writing, I was constantly coming back to the books for inspiration.

What inspired your first original story? Did you share the tale with anyone?

Besides movies, I also developed a strong interest in acting so I joined a drama group at a local university. During my time there I've played Hathorn in The Crucible and Brick in The Cat On The Hot Tin Roof. Experiences that would forever stick with me and now nourish my writing. Characters and their motivations, expressions and choreography.

When I was not acting however I spend a lot of time and money travelling. And on a trip to the desert country of Morocco, I was intrigued by the culture of the local tribes (Amazigh aka. Berber). Especially their language (Tamazyght).

In this otherworldly remote location, with street signs showing these strange geometrical symbols and markings, I felt like I was on another planet. And so I was inspired to write my first book.

What draws you to the genre of Science Fiction?

Growing up as a huge Star Wars nerd I was always drawn to everything science fiction. And in my mind, it's perhaps the most diverse and malleable genre out there. A vast open space to communicate big philosophical ideas, ethics, possible leaps in science and technology but also the peril that comes with it. But, it's also a place for big emotions and characters to develop and overcome their demons.

Who all are a part of your family and how do they give you stories and ideas to work on?

My Mother and sister support me as much as it's humanly possible with what I do. Most of my story ideas come from real-life situations. Places I've travelled, people I worked with, people who hurt me, and people I've hurt. It's a cliche but true nonetheless, so I'll pop this quote by Niko Kovac "Life writes the best stories."

What according to you are the key ingredients of a successful book?

Depending on how you define a successful author I'd say it's two main things. Finish the book, including rewrites and, countless edits, all that jazz. And when you've published the thing, enjoy the stories the few readers tell about it. Because let's face it, 90% of all authors won't sell more than a hundred books. So embrace and engage with the few readers you will like your book enough to have a chat about it.

Who inspired the character of the purple-skinned alien, Taman Yedder?

Music always played a huge role in my life and as I started developing my characters I found myself looking deeper into the lives and history of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. In the early days of my writing endeavour, I was playing the song Loving The Alien in my head. And naturally, I was picturing a purple alien version of David Bowie while writing the character Taman Yedder. However, personality-wise, there is a whole lot of me in it.

Who is your target audience? What are some things you wish your readers would take away from your books?

While writing, I always had a strong idea of who this book is for. Young progressive, open-minded people (not excluding older people per se) with a strong interest in dystopian sci-fi. Big ideas, concepts, philosophy, and the people trying to find their place in a harsh technologically advanced world. That's why my main character is a repressed homosexual purple alien, struggling to confront his inner truth, in an oppressive totalitarian world. A strange alien culture bent on wiping out any sexual deviation, among other human(alien)-rights abuses.

Now, this may sound rather dismal but the key thing I want the reader to take away is hope. That no matter how dark things get, nothing can take away your truth.

What are some of the references you use while writing your books?

A year before I sat down to write To Those We Found I researched everything I needed to build this new world. Everything from astrophysics, engineering, biology, psychology, religion and history. I wanted to make absolutely sure that the world of the book feels as real as it possibly can. Great characters will carry the story for sure, but if the world isn't there, you just have actors on a stage.

What is the most ideal ambience for you to write in?

During my writing session I tried to fully immerse myself in the world. I always kept a collection of images that I gathered during my research phase on my laptop. The thing is old and just fast enough to run the programs I need to write. So once everything was booted up and ready to go, I'd take my usual spot on the couch usually with a cup of green tea, put my earphones on and write. I tried a lot of those hours-long ambience sounds on Youtube. But my go-to writing soundtrack became that of Blade Runner and the video game Homeworld.

I had a stiff regiment. I wrote every day after work, and on weekends. Even if absolutely didn't want to. My rule was to write every single day even if it was just one line or one word.

What were some misconceptions you had about the book and publishing industry before you became a published author?

From the start, I pretty much knew that no traditional publisher would pick me up. So my goal was to self-publish straight to Amazon. And at first, I thought with the right marketing and the right audience the book would sell great. Alas, I quickly realised the intense multitude of barriers in my way. Unforgiving sales algorithms, brutal competition, and astronomical ad prices. In a way, self-publishing is just like traditional publishing. It's not about talent or unique ideas, it's all dumb luck.

What are your top 5 writing and marketing tips?

The best writing advice I can give is to never go back and change things, especially when writing the first draft. Finish the damn thing first, then start to edit. Keep the story flowing.

My marketing advice is to go to the real experts who have the experience. Obviously, I know nothing.

What is the toughest criticism you've ever received as an author and how did you take it?

The worst comment so far came from a middle-aged lady who put the book down after two chapters. She called my book boring and nonsensical.

But it didn't bother me at all, cause I knew people like her are simply not my audience. It's that simple. However, if readers start to comment on things like grammar, typos, flow, plot holes and such, you should be worried! Cause it's no longer about taste, but quality.

Can you tell us about your current projects? When can the readers expect your next book in print?

After my book went live on Amazon in December 2021 I haven't written a single word. Except for social media and marketing stuff. But recently I've started putting together ideas and concepts for another book. A direct sequel to this one. There were tons of things I couldn't fit into my first book so I'm looking forward to exploring them in the next.

I will need to run a Kickstarter with this one however since editors and marketing are super costly.

How did you come to know about AllAuthor and what are your thoughts on this website?

What can I say, they have been a constant beacon of hope in this publishing/marketing quagmire.

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