Christian Baker combines
the genres of thriller and science fiction to bring us THE BLEAK DOOR—“a scifi
thriller with elements of horror, love, and fundamental humanity,” according to
a reviewer. Written to both deliver a deep message and to entertain, the author
says “science fiction is just an excuse to deal with a very tangible and real
subject in a different way.”
When
he’s not writing, Baker enjoys exploring new subjects—particularly those
dealing with human nature. And he values his loved ones most of all.
TBM: One of your reviewers claimed, “The
fusion of real and surreal kept me glued to the page.” When writing THE BLEAK
DOOR—or any science fiction—how important is “reality” or “credibility” to
telling the story? How do you create that sense of reality?
Christian Baker: From my point of view, credibility in what
is written makes the difference between the reader just reading a story and
really experiencing it. This is key. I like my readers being immersed in and
gripped by it, being oblivious of the hours going by, of the world surrounding
them. In my view, this is only achieved when the situations and the characters
are natural, like ourselves, like our life. Thus, author and readers are bonded
by the mind and emotions. It is a very special experience.
TBM: Why did you choose science fiction as
your genre? What first attracted you to it?
Christian Baker: I am very fond of literature as a whole.
Perhaps science fiction awakens that fascination and the search for the new,
the mysterious, the unknown, which all of us have deep down. In THE BLEAK DOOR
in particular, the science fiction approach allows touching on very strong
issues in us and our society far more subtly than a conventional story might
have posed. But, ultimately, and upon finishing reading the book, the sense of
reality it puts across is so clear and tangible that it transcends the genre.
TBM: You describe THE BLEAK DOOR as a
“science fiction thriller?” How did you make it a “thriller”?
Christian Baker: Since my early youth, I saw myself by and
large as a reader being forced to make a decision between two types of books.
Those with excellent content aimed at the intellectual readership and those
that are fast-paced and emotion-charged, but leaving a void in readers when
finishing them. When I undertook this fascination endeavor I strongly set my
mind on putting together the purest essence of both universes so that the
reader could be engrossed in the franticness of a thrilling story and, at the
same time, feel his/her intellectual side is intact. The fusion of the science
fiction and the thriller genres set the proper framework to envelope the hidden
intrinsic message with the background of a fast and dramatic story.
TBM: Would you say that THE BLEAK DOOR is
more “thriller” or “SciFi?” Would readers who enjoy thrillers like it even if
they’re not SciFi fans?
Christian Baker: I think it strikes a balance. In the case
of THE BLEAK DOOR, science fiction is just an excuse to deal with a very
tangible and real subject in a different way. If the typical thrillers' reader
allows science fiction as the author's license so that he can approach tangible
and real issues, not linked to fantasy at all, he might be pleasantly
surprised.
TBM: Did you write THE BLEAK DOOR to deliver
a message and/or for the readers’ entertainment? Reviewers, for example, said
“Behind the apparent fiction the story presents very basic questions of our
existence and humanity” and “thought-provoking.”
Christian Baker: I wrote the story seeking both things
equally intensively. I wanted the reader to be shaken by a deep message and, in
turn, even when exhaustion led him to drowsily close his eyes, he would be
unable to put down the book. The experience had to be intense in both senses.
TBM: How did you come up with the title THE
BLEAK DOOR? Why is it significant?
Christian Baker: I wanted a title that wasn’t evident just
as I wanted the reader to immerse himself in the story without realizing what
was coming. THE BLEAK DOORshows us a threshold hidden by a door. It doesn't
allow us to fully grasp whether it is convenient for us to go through it or
not. It is part of the discovery we will have to live through as we begin to
understand and experience things along the story.
TBM: How do you create characters that are
“well drawn and create a real emotional connection with the reader”?
Christian Baker: The story has several characters, which at
some point get linked to us from different aspects of our inner selves. They
are somehow a mirror of us. And, as we progress in the story and become part of
what they happen to face, we gradually rediscover ourselves. The real and
emotional connection is just a natural consequence of feeling protagonists, not
just readers.
TBM: How important is the concept of
“villain” to THE BLEAK DOOR? What makes a memorable villain? Do you need a
villain to have a hero?
Christian Baker: I think that the villain in a way embodies
the challenge we have to face. We might state that when the villain is simple
and predictable, our challenge isminor. In THE BLEAK DOOR the challenge we have
to face will be immense. The process we are involved in is more significant
than the outcome itself.
TBM: What’s next?
Christian Baker: First and foremost to enjoy the present,
and how positively and beautifully readers are welcoming the book. I believe
books have a life of their own. They are like our children, given birth by
their parents and then they spread their own wings. I feel that THE BLEAK DOOR
is in that trajectory and my wish is that it reaches many, many people with its
message. Then, the readers will wink an eye at me, another message will be
given birth to and we, once again, will renew that mutual understanding that
will bring us together in another story, other emotions, a new learning
process.
TBM: Tell us about Christian Baker. What do
you like to do when you’re not writing?
Christian Baker: I am knowledge-hungry, eager to dive
headfirst into new subjects and go all out for new experiences. Human nature
fascinates me, and so do its challenges - those that aim at a more fair world
with happier, inwardly fulfilled people.
And,
above all, enjoy my loved ones, and appreciate what having them next to me each
day means.
CHRISTIAN BAKER - THE BLEAK DOOR – A
science fiction thriller novel