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by Stephen R. Lang
 While amongst the
variety of artists and writers within the gay community of Wilton
Manors, you will find one of the hardest working individuals. This man
goes by E. Robert Dunn and lives locally here in
Ft.
Lauderdale.
Mr. Dunn has written two previous books within the Echelon’s
End series:
Last Generation
and Sidereal
Quest.
I was assured that each book does stand on it’s own and that there is a
Preface and Prologue in each book, and that
Planetfall
is no different. When I asked him what his inspiration was for this
series was he said that, when he was young he grew up watching Irwin
Allen and Gerry Anderson science fiction/adventure television shows.
Even though one book was his primary goal, through the editing process,
had enough material for more than just one manuscript. The series
Echelon’s End
is the offshoot of another manuscript he had written,
Prophecyquest: The Legacy of Thoth but could not seem to bring any attention to it. Some
claimed that it was “too fantasy” so he shopped around. He later used
some of the elements from
Prophecyquest
and created a more science-based storyline inspired by such television
shows as “Land of the Giants” and “Space: 1999.” Mr. Dunn has promised
that there is a 4th book on the way and has been submitted to
for consideration to Haworth Press, Inc. and that the 5th is
in production right now.
When asked about specifics within
Planetfall,
he assured me that there is a Glossary in the back for definitions of
all the techno-babble and gives extra descriptions to Sci-Fi
representations. It also contains illustrated graphs of the main
spacecraft to which the story centers around.
*The book really gets
going when they arrive in Sheey, a “same gender orientated society.”
Most of us have pondered what that would be like—hypothetically.
How real did you make it and after writing this, what would be the major
Pros and Cons of a society like that?
I tried to make the
reality of having a same-gender majority society as real as I could in a
post-Utopian, war-occupied situation. In my creation, approximately
seventy-percent of the majority is non-reproductive, while
thirty-percent is. With the population living between one hundred and
fifty to two hundred in years, the birth to death ratio isn’t the same
as it is presently – therefore, the need to have mass births is
diminished for population control; especially with the absence of war,
pandemics, famine, and the like that usually cull populations. Also,
with such a societal philosophy based on self-awareness and
unconditional love vs. selfishness and procreation citizens are more
communal in their thoughts rather than individual. I’ve created a
polychromatic civilization based on the ancient ways of Minoan,
Atlantian, and Lumarian cultures.
*Tauron are a
saurian race that is bent on the extermination of humankind. Help me,
how would I visualize them?
Physically, imagine an upright wingless dragon. Psychologically,
they abhor all that is mammalian and are obsessed with territorial
control. Take the psychology of today here on Earth between peoples of
different races, creeds, nations, sexual orientations and place that
mindset into a sentient lizard – you’ve got a Tauron.
*The crew is given
two choices: fight overwhelming odds and die, or be on the run
forever. What gave you the inspiration for this? Nazi Germany? What
would you do in their situation?
My inspiration was
the same that helped me survive my childhood. Being an openly gay
adolescent in the 1970s in Western Pennsylvania, I was harassed daily.
There was not a day that did not go by that I was not in a fight or some
kind of verbal altercation. I could either succumb to suicide or press
on. I had what it took to overcome the overwhelming bigotry and
ignorance that surrounded me; and press on to become all that I was told
I could never or ever would be.
Originally, the series
Echelon’s End was marketed in the cyber book world,
but changed once it went to paper. Even though this can be considered a
Gay Sci-Fi book, they have always been marketed to the mainstream
Science Fiction market with two predominate gay male characters. Even
though the series is still more of a Grass Roots marketing tract, the
word of mouth is very helpful. His publisher, Haworth Press, Inc., has
used such channels as: catalogs, mailings, and emails to promote Book
3. E. Robert Dunn says that there is a large gay component in the
Science Fiction genre, yet little-to-no representation.
Echelon’s End
appeals to the gay segment of this community. Surprisingly enough, the
Sci-Fi Channel has told him “…it’s very edgy, but still too ahead of its
time for the mass market.” He disagrees and is open to interviews and
promotional readings/signings from any and all Sci-Fi Groups, book
clubs, and magazines, et al. He has many events scheduled, one of which
being a signing at Border’s Books & Music June 18th at
4pm
as part of the “Writer’s Pride” for local Gay Pride.
When asked whether or not, due to the homosexual content, it
was harder to get published, he said that,
Having homosexual
content did not help, that’s for sure. Once again, the science fiction
genre is the only genre that has not handled the subject of
homosexuality in a mainstream way. Try to name one Sci-Fi character in
either a movie or TV show – don’t count Dr. Zachary Smith from “Lost In
Space”, even HE had a fiancée and a stalking green girlfriend. Right.
There isn’t one. So creating a mainstream story (not erotic) was a
strike against me.
Mr. Dunn would like to thank his Editor Greg Herren, who helped him get
Echelon’s End: PlanetFall into the publisher of Haworth Press and
is forever grateful for that acknowledgement. Both he and the staff at
Haworth helped in the creative process of fine-tuning PlanetFall.
He suggests to all aspiring gay writers to find a book published in your
genre that has gay content and contact that publisher.
Mr. Dunn credits his creative inspiration to two high school
mentors: Robert Myers—his English-Drama instructor, and Charlene
Naglich—his music teacher. He would love to thank his parents who both
gave him the extraordinary gifts of wonder and adventure and the desire
to look beyond what is apparent. Collectively, they all gave him the
inspiration to document his life.
Every life is worth reading about—Robert
Myers.
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