Author Interview: The Cosmic Turkey by Laura Ruth Loomis

Every time we release a book, we’ll post an interview with its author during the month before the book is published. Our next novel, The Cosmic Turkey, comes out on August 4th. Turkey, as we affectionately call it for short—at least until a committee decides otherwise—is a hilarious science fiction novel comparable to Douglas Adams' books. We interviewed author Laura Ruth Loomis, a totally hoopy frood who, like her main character, may or may not have a technology hex.

When did you know that you wanted to be a writer?

I was trying to write stories from the time I learned to read. From “Once upon a time” until the end of the story, I got to live someone else’s life in addition to my own. That’s some amazing magic. I was writing Star Trek fan fiction before I was out of elementary school. My middle school had a creative writing club, and I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Where did you get the inspiration for your book?

I was feeling stuck in my “serious” writing, unmotivated. So I thought back to a time when writing was pure fun. I remembered the creative writing club, and the ridiculous stories I used to write about Janet and her crew. I thought: I could take these characters, drop them into some trouble, and see what happens. And writing was fun again.

Who is your biggest writing inspiration?

That’s a hard question! I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy: Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. Le Guin. But the biggest influence was probably Douglas Adams. His Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series showed that it’s okay to break the usual rules of writing – and even the laws of physics.

Tell us one weird, interesting tidbit about yourself.

I’m distantly related to the Loomis Gang, a 19th-century family of horse thieves in upstate New York. If I ever write a historical novel, they’ll be in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loomis_Gang

How long have you been writing this book?

Are we counting the decades since I created the characters? Even when I started seriously writing the book, it took years because I set it aside a couple of times for other projects along the way. But I always came back to it.

Which character do you identify the most with in your book?

Anyone who knows me can tell you that Janet’s “technology hex” is drawn straight from my life. I can screw up a computer without even touching it – I just have to look at it funny.