Author Spotlight: John Spearman

Cliff’s court-martial was driven by a member of a powerful political family in revenge for Cliff catching the son (a junior navy officer) with illegal drugs. The father used his family’s influence to make sure the officers presiding over the court-martial found Cliff guilty of treason and gave him the harshest possible sentence. The incident stripped away any illusions Cliff had that the politically powerful are governed by morality and ethics. He now understands they are in it for themselves, not in service to some greater good. His conversation with James and Miranda after being released about the lack of benefits for many member worlds belonging to the Union of Free Planets is a further eye-opener, but one that he is capable of understanding now.

Building on the previous answer, Cliff focuses on the reality of what the dissolution means in terms of his own lived experience. The break-up means the Union Navy will cease to exist in its current form due to lack of funds. The Union Navy has acted as the “policeman” of interstellar shipping lanes (much as the US Navy does today around the world). He understands the important role the navy has played in protecting interstellar commerce and that its absence will usher in a period of lawlessness in space. With the inevitable reduction in the size of the navy and scope of its mission, he realizes he must look elsewhere to secure his future (besides not wanting to continue with the service that betrayed him). He sees an opportunity where he can continue flying and provide a necessary service—secure transport, safe from the pirates and hijackers who will arise once the Union Navy is no longer patrolling the traffic lanes.

Cliff’s initial thought was to arm a freighter. James, through his contact with the retired CEO and current chairman of a mercenary company, learns that the mercenary company possesses a handful of small warships, corvettes, that it acquired in an earlier merger. The company has no use for them and is considering scrapping them. Cliff decides it would be easier and more effective to create additional cargo capacity in a warship than to weaponize a freighter. He feels that a warship that can carry cargo is more intimidating to potential attackers than an armed freighter. He hopes this provides a measure of deterrence.

The enemy from the past is Dean Halloran, who still holds a grudge against Cliff. Halloran’s animosity goes beyond the rational. He wants to punish Cliff for ruining his son’s Navy career. Halloran felt the discipline of the navy would straighten his boy out. His wife, later, tells him that the boy was already too far gone, primarily due to his father’s enabling of his irresponsible behavior. The Hallorans and their allies are driving the breakup of the Union and will continue to act aggressively in the future. Other future enemies will be the pirate and hijackers Cliff encounters in the shipping lanes, and, somewhat later, the Union itself. The pirates are motivated by financial gain for the most part.

With the Union Navy greatly reduced in size and its mission limited to within its borders, the interstellar shipping lanes are unprotected. Piracy and hijacking explode and Cliff moves quickly, seeing an opportunity to expand his business. Moving beyond his original idea of secure transport of high-value cargo, he sees the need to provide convoy escort services, and buys all the existing corvette ships that still exist.

As far as the broader galaxy, the danger in interstellar shipping causes an economic slowdown. Cliff’s company, Swiftsure, alleviates this to an extent, but they are operating in a purely defensive stance in the beginning. Cliff realizes that to bring things under control, he will need to shift to an offensive position. There are legal complexities that he must overcome.

Sorenson is the driving force behind Cliff’s being released from prison. In the past, he saw Cliff as a bright young officer with a promising future. He felt that they court-martial was a miscarriage of justice and has worked to expose the truth. He has served as a mentor to the younger officer in the past, and continues in this role as Cliff embarks on his new business. Sorenson and his S.O. Miranda are a steadying influence on Cliff and provide him with critical guidance early on. As Swiftsure begins to grow rapidly, Sorenson steps back. He was, after all, retired. Dabbling with Cliff’s business was attractive, but a full-time job is more than he wanted.

There is a definite adjustment to his mindset. As an officer in the Union Navy, if he saw a civilian ship come under attack, he would go to defend it. As a mercenary, he would defend the civilian if the civilian was a customer but would not feel obligated to help them if they were not. His assets are limited and it is all he can do to protect his paying clients. “What’s in it for me?” becomes an important question that was never a consideration when he was in the Union Navy. In this situation, his mistreatment at the hands of the Union government shapes his thinking to an extent. It does not prevent him from acting in an altruistic manner entirely, as we see when he volunteers to help the passenger liner Andromeda.

Cliff’s goals evolve as rapidly as the situation in the galaxy deteriorates. Initially, he seeks only to figure out a way to keep flying. As he discovers that there is greater need for his type of service, he moves quickly to expand his business. This expansion opens up other opportunities, and Cliff decides to shift his company’s position from a strictly defensive role to one where he can take the action to the pirates and hijackers. He begins to realize that he has the only navy other than what remains of the now much smaller Union Navy.

A large cold brew from Dunkin—black and cold, like my heart.

Usually by starting the next one!

Positive reviews from people who enjoyed my writing are extremely gratifying, but even some of the negative reviews are instructive. One thing I wish certain folks would keep in mind is that I have no background in multi-dimensional astrophysics. To paraphrase Dr. Leonard McCoy, “I’m a Latin teacher, not an astrophysicist!”

Not from other books, but I often slip in movie quotes or use names of movie characters for minor characters in the books.

My proudest moment as an author keeps evolving. My first proudest moment was completing my first book and receiving my first positive review. Thank goodness they were able to look past my inexperience and appreciate the story. The next proud moment came when my second series started to sell. I plowed the money back into editing and creating covers for the first series. I submitted some of my books to awards competitions, and won some recognition. That was gratifying. Most recently, my proud moment was signing with AethonBooks and the success my first series with them has enjoyed.

I haven’t considered a crossover but would be open to creating a collaborative work with anther author. Having another creative mind involved would result in an awesome set of ideas.

I think back to the sort of stories I enjoyed reading. I was a voracious reader and can think of many books that influenced me. In particular, I loved the Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey series, and readers who enjoy those books should enjoy my science fiction.

Often!

A review of Surrender Demand is entitled, “John Spearman- one of the best sci-fi writers of all time…” I wouldn’t go that far in describing myself, but I am thrilled that someone thinks so!

The best compliments I have received come from a couple of retired naval officers. They have told me that I have done a good job in depicting shipboard interactions and the roles and responsibilities of command. I never served in the military but admire and respect those who have. This aspect of my writing is one that I consider extremely important and I am grateful that people who would know think it rings true.