Powers Molinar is a project manager by day and a science fiction fanatic by night. He enjoys writing creative, unpredictable stories with his middle school-aged son and daughter. When not working or writing, Powers is often playing Settlers of Cata, Agricola, Pandemic or some other board game with his kids and their friends. Powers lives with his family in the suburbs outside of Chicago.

 

SIX MINUTES WITH POWERS MOLINAR:

Today LitPick is joined by Powers Molinar for Six Minutes with an Author! Powers is the author of Spartanica, has an MBA and a masters in industrial engineering and is a Taylor Swift fan!

How did you get started writing?

As my kids started reading chapter books, they'd tell me all about the stories with great enthusiasm.  The fervor with which they shared their experiences motivated me to read the same books, which were usually young adult science fiction novels.  As I would read those stories, I'd think about how I would've done things a little differently with a character or situation.  After a while, I pitched an idea to my kids about a story re: middle school brothers that suddenly find themselves on an apocalyptic parallel world. They loved it, so I wrote the book.

Who influenced you?

See the answer to the next question.

Do you have a favorite book/subject/character/setting?

I've always been a science fiction fan from early on with Star Trek and Star Wars, etc.  My "gold standard" for young adult science fiction is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  The creative way he intermingled mythology and present-day characters opened up my imagination in a whole new way.  The books were funny, imaginative, unpredictable, and tremendously entertaining.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be an author?

a) Stop thinking about it and do it!

b) Don't worry about getting your story perfectly correct on the first pass... you won't!  Plan on tweaking much of what you start with based on your own thought processes and feedback from beta readers.

c) Be ready for criticism and don't let it bother you.  Sometimes you learn and improve from it.  Sometimes you just outright ignore it.  It's a necessary part of being an author, so expect it, anticipate it, and grow with it.

Where is your favorite place to write?

I like to write at home and in numerous local libraries.  A regular change of scenery always helps stimulate the creative process.

What else would you like to tell us?

Writing young adult literature isn't just about providing entertainment to teens and pre-teens.  I've seen, first hand, how a hunger for reading often translates into a similar drive for success in school.  My deepest hope is that, through my writing, I can motivate kids to want to read more and, by association, work harder to succeed in school.

Powers, thank you very much for spending six minutes with LitPick! This has been a wonderful interview!

Check out the Spartanica trailer.

Check out the Spartanica Pinterest page.