Question 1

How did the idea of The Doxan come to you? Did you have an epiphany moment when the seed of the story revealed itself or did it slowly build in your head over time?

Accepted Answer

There were actually two epiphany moments AND a slow build over time. Hey, it’s science fiction so why can’t it be all the above?

Here’s the backstory. One day as I was contemplating topics for short stories I recalled a tragic true-life report I’d heard years ago involving an infant. My first epiphany moment was to write a short story based on that event and mix in an element of science fiction. I liked how the short story turned out but after multiple rereads over time it felt like something was missing. That’s when I had my second epiphany which was to tell the rest of the story. What happened when this child grew up? When did he discover his uncanny abilities? How did his powers affect his relationships with family and friends? That’s where the slow build came into play.

The original short story became Chapter One of the novel while the exact characteristics of his somewhat quirky supernatural abilities were developed in my head over time. It didn’t come to me all at once. In my early years I read Marvel and DC comic books and was familiar with all the old super heroes and their powers. I wanted Johnny to have a very special set of powers so I spent time crafting them.

In the narrative arc, I do a slow reveal of his superpowers. There are several facets of his abilities and he doesn’t discover them all at once. Also, certain powers can’t be controlled. It’s not that he doesn’t learn how to control them, it’s simply that they can’t be consciously controlled.

Question 2

Did you have a specific audience in mind for The Doxan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The target audience is Adult & Young Adult science fiction readers. But fantasy readers would also enjoy the book.

Question 3

What books or films or TV shows could this be compared to?

Accepted Answer

Comparable books include Man of Steel by Greg Cox and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Comparable films include The Amazing Spiderman (Columbia Pictures) and The Hulk (Universal Pictures). Comparable TV series include Alphas (Syfy cable channel) and The 4400 (CBS Paramount Network Television).

Question 4

How did you plot your novel?

Accepted Answer

I started with the main idea which was a kid with superpowers facing impossible odds. Then I broke the main idea down into smaller and smaller segments. I made a list of key elements and subplots that I wanted to include. For example, I wanted a coming-of-age element, a historical layer, international intrigue, a love story subplot, and a few other things.

Then I began to weave them together building tension each step of the way. To facilitate the coming-of-age element, Johnny is portrayed in the first few chapters as a nerdy kid facing ridicule and rejection at school. But then amid a very chaotic school environment, his science teacher sees his potential and begins mentoring him.

For the historical layer, I created scenes out of the 1800s, 1700s, and Middle Ages. To connect those historical scenes to the 20th century I created Liam Underwood, an enigmatic character who was alive across all those centuries and kept a mysterious journal that eventually winds up in Johnny’s hands.

I created the love story subplot using scenes showing the role his superpowers play or don’t play in the relationship. Johnny meets Angela and they become instantly infatuated with each other. He doesn’t reveal his superhuman abilities to her and there’s a major misunderstanding because of his attempt at secrecy. As a result, she breaks off the relationship with him.

For international intrigue, I created scenes showing how the US and Soviet governments became aware of Johnny’s superpowers as well as the extreme lengths they went to in hostile competition with each other to gain control of him. Another plot technique was to end each chapter with a cliffhanger. This draws readers into the next chapter by leaving important questions temporarily unanswered.

Question 5

There is a sizeable historical element to The Doxan. Are you a history buff or did you have to research those historic events?

Accepted Answer

The storyline contains three major historical events but I’m not a history buff so a lot of research went into writing the book.

The narrative is centered in 20th-century mid-America during the geopolitical Cold War with the Soviet Union. That’s when and where I grew up so, not surprisingly, certain elements in the story are based on my life experiences. Although centered in North America, the story also spans Europe and Asia with several chapters set in the old Soviet Union. A good bit of research went into US and Soviet intelligence agencies, spies, and espionage as well as Soviet geography and their society in general.
One of the things I wanted to do was weave a couple of unsolved historical mysteries into the story and after some research (much thanks to the internet) I found two excellent choices. One occurred during the American Revolutionary War and the other occurred during the American Civil War.

In November 1780, the British frigate HMS Hussar sank in the treacherous waters of Hell Gate between Randall’s Island and Astoria, Queens on Long Island, New York. It was rumored to have $2 to $4 million in gold (in circa 1780 dollars) aboard for British payroll. Although the British denied there was any gold aboard, many salvage efforts were made over the next 150 years. In real life the gold was never found but an alternative history episode in The Doxan set back in 1780 tells exactly what happened to it.

The second actual, historical mystery occurred on the night of April 7, 1862, following the Battle of Shiloh. During that battle, over 200,000 casualties were amassed between the Union and Confederate forces. Some of the combatants noticed that their open wounds began to glow in the dark, displaying a greenish-blue color. Doctors at the time noted that soldiers whose wounds had this strange emission of light seemed to fare better than soldiers whose wounds did not. The phenomenon was referred to by Civil War medics and soldiers as Angel’s Glow. In The Doxan there’s an alternative history episode, set in 1862 that explains the reason behind the glowing wounds.

Question 6

How was the cover art created?

Accepted Answer

A friend recommended a company called Damonza (Damonza.com) that specializes in book cover design. They’ve done thousands of book covers including many New York Times and USA Today bestsellers so I contacted them. The process was pretty smooth. They requested a synopsis of the book along with key elements such as themes, important places, and symbols. At that time, I didn’t have a specific image in mind but based on the information I gave them, they created the cover art. It shows Johnny Churchill, the main character, leaping off the edge of a building. One of his legs overshadows the book title enough to give the illusion that he’s literally jumping off the page toward you. His hands have glowing special effects around them depicting his superpowers. In the background, you see an image of the Pentagon representing the US military and intelligence agencies which are key elements in the story.

Michael a. Bolinger

THE DOXAN Q&A WITH MICHAEL A. BOLINGER