Prologue: Sit Down

This episode of the Mindframe Podcast is another of our “Sit Downs.” This time, we focus on the space opera action of the show’s Prologue. In these episodes, our host Zach Smith sits down with the author of Mindframe, David Moton, and the producer, Brent Van Tassel. We have a casual, often funny, conversation about the content, themes, characters, and motivations for the characters. Again, the goal is to add some insight to the world of Mindframe, a world that seems fractured and out of order. The goal is also to avoid spoilers that will ruin big surprise moments later in the book.

As a reminder, the first several Sit Down episodes are free to all, but after the show begins its weekly drops, the they become exclusive Patreon benefits. You can find us a patreon.com/themindframepodcast to learn more. We hope you enjoy, and always remember. The Lariat is closing…

Questions we rap about:

-As far as the space life/World Navy stuff, is there any inspiration you can point to? Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Alien, etc.?

-Can you tell us what a Framing Chamber is and who is inside?

-In a previous discussion, you had mentioned Neil Stephenson’s challenge to create positive sci-fi. However, the way the crew travels sounds awful. Is it that idea of suffering to make something better? Like a diamond from coal put under pressure?

-Do they have swords because a projectile weapon might rupture the spaceship?

-Where does the ship get its name from?

-We have a mention of incarcerated people trying to better their lives. Is that just random, or was it all influenced by your time teaching in the prisons?

-Do you sit and map out the different ships and their capabilities or are you basing them on other starships in fiction and just add your own twists?

-An observation and a question: This is a brutal chapter with a lot of death. It reminds me of the opening of 181 Pine in a way with C.O. thinking about family and how their sacrifice might help their family members. Is it fun/interesting to write the death scenes and come up with interesting ways for the characters to die?

- I know you bounced back and forth on whether or not to include this Prologue in Mindframe or cut it out. What made you decide to keep it, and why were you thinking of cutting it?