D. M. C. Shaw - Teamwork, Imagination, Engineering, Creative Weapons, and Peril

D. M. C. Shaw grew up being enthralled by science fiction action and adventure movies. In fact, for many years he wanted to become the next Stephen Spielberg. He wrote many fantasy and science fiction short stories when he was younger and dreamed of a day when he would see his stories become reality. As our Author of the Day, Shaw tells us all about his book, The Maker War.

First, please give us a short introduction to what The Maker War is about.

The Maker War begins with a simple concept. Imagine that you could print a perfect copy down to the atom of absolutely anything that you wanted. You could create the perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect food. You could even change the air that you breathe, or your personal appearance. Technology like this would completely change the world. It would make money valueless. The Maker War is about a struggle between two groups. The Rippers, who seek to take away, control, and destroy what other people have. And the Maker Corps who use this technology to protect and serve. This book follows the adventures of a group of young Maker Corps cadets.

What inspired you to write about a world where you could 3D print a perfect version of anything that you wanted?

There were two main inspirations. First, my son is a "maker" in the current and classic sense of the word. He's into 3D printing. He's into engineering. So I wanted something that would be inspiring to him. And second, it came from the idea that I had been playing with for years, which is what if magic wasn't fantasy, but became a reality through advanced science. And in a way, the Makers of The Maker War are scientific magicians, able to conjure up anything that they can imagine in a moment.

Tell us more about Zavier Vik. What makes him so special?

Zavier is a young cadet in the Maker Corps and he has a troubled backstory. He experienced personal loss in his life because of what the Rippers did. So he has a strong desire for justice, but he's also a deeply flawed character. He deals with ADHD, anxiety, and depression, to counterbalance his brilliant ideas and innovation. I believe that heroes with flaws are more interesting than perfect heroes.

The superpowers of ADHD, anxiety, and dyslexia play a prominent role in this book. Why did you take this approach?

I personally have dealt with these issues throughout my life. I was diagnosed as "off the charts ADHD". And part of what I wanted to share was that I've learned that this is not a disability but in fact an opportunity. And in a subtle way, I wanted to share a few lessons that I've learned with others, especially kids who are struggling with these issues.

How does your own ADHD influence your writing and your creativity?

I think of it like the energy of a rocket. If that energy is uncontained and all over the place, it's just an explosion. And that's not often going to be useful and can sometimes be dangerous. But if you can take that same amount of energy and channel it in one direction, it becomes powerful like a rocket-propelled up into the sky. So part of my process is choosing something that I'm excited about and then focusing that energy on that one thing. My son and I talk about it regularly and I call it the valuable obsession. And in this instance, my valuable obsession led me to write this story.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I try to be a good husband and a good father. I also have a career that teaches people about productivity and success. And the rest of the time, just keeping all of the crazy ideas that I have from getting too much power because I believe that if I can do just a few things well, then that's how I can succeed with my own ADHD.

What are some of your all-time favorite Sci-Fi movies and why?

That's such a difficult question to answer because I am truly a Sci-Fi geek to my core. I grew up on the classics of Star Wars and Star Trek. And there are elements of those, especially the teamwork parts of things that really inspired me. The idea that each member of Zavier's squad has a different thing to offer is something that I really appreciated growing up. And part of my goal of this book was to create a world where kids would want to pretend that they are a Maker and pretend that they are creating these things much in the same way that I wanted to pretend that I was Luke Skywalker, or Han Solo.

However, for the battle elements in this book, I would say that I was more inspired by recent movies like Pacific Rim, and the Marvel movies such as Iron Man.

Does The Maker War contain an underlying message? What do you hope readers will take from it?

Well the overall tone of this book is designed to be entertaining. I don't feel like I could've gotten excited about it if I didn't feel like there was some message that I was teaching. One of the main themes of this book is the difference between revenge and justice. And you'll see characters in the book who are driven by revenge, and how it distorts their perspective. Where others are driven out of concern for others and a desire to protect and bring justice to those who have done wrong. And of course, the most important message is that even if you think you are flawed and imperfect, in fact, you can do amazing things if you seek to develop your talents and surround yourself with good people who build you up.

Tell us more about the cover and how it came about.

First, I want to give credit to George Sellas, for his brilliant work on this cover. I had come across something he had done for another author, and when I saw it I knew he was the guy that needed to create this. And he and I collaborated quite a bit. We had many, many conversations about what the cover should be. On it, you'll see the five disciplines of the Maker Corps, and how each member of the team represents those disciplines. George and I wanted to make the cover white to represent how clean and "perfect" the world of The Maker War is, as well.

For instance, Zavier is the white or universal discipline of the Engineer, while his friend Kojo is blue, representing the discipline of Logistics. The cover implies how the five team members will work together in the book using their different talents but working together as a team.

What is your favorite line from the book?

That's easy. It's a phrase that's said over and over throughout the book and it represents both the philosophy of a Maker, and what I believe is a philosophy of staying successful in spite of mental challenges and that is, "Stay fluid." It means that to succeed you want to be neither too rigid in your thinking, nor too chaotic, allowing yourself to chase every idea. There's a happy medium in the middle and that's the place where the Makers, and I believe others find their greatest success.

Which one of your characters do you think you would get along with the most? What about the least?

That's a tough question. Every one of the characters represents either a piece of who I am or people who I have known and respected throughout the years. I personally really like Toby because of his selflessness and his desire to protect others. He also has a good sense of humor. I think Texas is probably my most fun character. But because of her energy and aggressiveness, she might get exhausting to be around after a while.

Talk to us about your writing routine. What's a typical writing day for you?

I do best with big blocks of time. So when writing, I try to protect an entire day for no other purpose other than just writing. I personally don't believe in writer's block. I believe the key to writing a book is putting your rear end in the seat and just going for it. However, I do have lots of ideas that come into my head at other random times of the day. So, I capture those ideas, put them in a notepad, and then during that scheduled writing time, I go through the notes and make them a part of my writing.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

If they go to MakerWar.com they can get free downloads of the book cover, the behind the scenes timeline of the Maker World and other goodies. You can also follow me on Facebook, on my DMC Shaw page.