When interviewed, the author tells us his life story, “I’ve actually been writing since elementary school. I always liked writing my own science-fiction stories, though my early work was derivative of TV shows I loved like SPACE: 1999 and the 1970s version of Buck Rogers. When my family moved to Hawaii (my Dad was a Captain in the U.S. Navy), I started making my own movies first with a Super-8 camera and then our family’s VHS camcorder. In high school I wrote, directed, and starred in my very first feature Law of the Ninja, with my siblings as co-stars and the neighborhood kids as background actors.
When I came to Hollywood, I not only continued with my acting career, but also used my writing skills to pen some screenplays, a few of which I was hired to write from an indie producer. CYBER FIGHTER was originally intended as a vehicle for my acting career, but gradually developed into a bigger story which my debut novel tells. It is my very first book that I’ve ever published.
My wife Pamela and I started our own production company Four Scorpio Productions, and we have our own YouTube channel where we began making short films and then developed our own web series sitcom That Darn Girlfriend which is in its third season. It’s a quirky fun parody of classic 1960s/1970s sitcoms, done in that style as well. We’ve built an audience of over 3,500 subscribers. I also share my filmmaking/VFX knowledge with a tutorial series that I produce and host on the channel as well: https://williamjosephhill.com/ and http://fourscorpio.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/fourscorpio.
Thank you for this interview! I’d like to know more about you as a person first. What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love training in martial arts, specifically karate and kickboxing, which are the core arts that I started taking while growing up in Hawaii. Summertime, I love going to the beach and boogie boarding. Southern CA is great for this, though I miss the Hawaiian waves.
When did you start writing?
I started writing in second grade. My teacher had the class do creative writing and I’d start writing my own science fiction adventures which were derived from episodes of Space: 1999. (This was before I saw Star Wars.) So, it took me a while to develop my own voice. At age 11, I got a typewriter for Christmas and that was when I started writing my own movie screenplays. I started my writing life as a screenwriter, first by writing scripts that I produced and acted in myself, and then as a hired writer from indie producers to write their screenplays.
As a published author, what would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?
I’d have to say the process of self-publishing was a major pivoting point. Converting the screenplay for CYBER FIGHTER to a novel, creating the book cover design and artwork, publishing on Amazon; the process was very empowering. I first published at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic shut-down. I produced and performed the audiobook for the novel as well as doing a comic book adaptation during quarantine. After also self-publishing a hardback version, it’s inspired me to write more books for the series.
If you could go anywhere in the world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?
I’ve always wanted to travel to Japan, specifically Okinawa (which is the birthplace of karate) to level-up my martial arts training. I think somewhere in Naha with access to the beach would be great. I’m used to tropical humidity, but would definitely be running the air conditioner!
If you had 4 hours of extra time today, what would you do?
Definitely work on the next CYBER FIGHTER book. I’m still working out the plot and storyline right now. I have several ideas of where the story can go. I’m also penning a short story prequel that takes place in the 1980s, more as a character development exercise, but I will probably publish that as well.
Where would you like to set a story that you haven’t done yet?
I’d really like to write an epic science fiction space opera type adventure. A story that takes place sometime in the distant future where humanity has begun colonizing the cosmos. I loved seeing concept art for torus-shaped space colonies and imagined what it might be like living there.
Back to your present book, CYBER FIGHTER, how did you publish it?
I self-published on Amazon, using the Kindle Create software to format it. That was great for not only the Kindle e-book, but I was also able to format my paperback and hardcover too.
In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?
Thanks to Wikipedia and the Internet, I didn’t have to! Whenever I had a technical question about computer science or military procedures and weapons, I’d Google it to find the answer. The trick is to double-check references to make sure you’re getting accurate information.
Why was writing CYBER FIGHTER so important to you?
The story originated as a feature film project that I was working on as a vehicle for my acting career. Over the years of development, the story evolved into the multi-layered adventure that is in the novel now. Back in 2018, I decided that I could write the novelization first, getting the story out there to build an audience who would want to see the movie. So it’s definitely important as I see the story ultimately as a movie series, and writing the book has brought it into the public eye, instead of hiding in development and turnaround.
Where do you get your best ideas and why do you think that is?
I never know where or when my best ideas will hit me. A lot of times, I get inspired by stories I’ve read or movies/TV shows I’ve seen, and that’s where a new plot angle or idea will hit me. As a kid, I would take these ideas and do something that was an obvious knock-off, and so the challenge now is to be sure to find a way to make it my own. I think the reason that movies and TV are an influence is because it goes back to my origins as a filmmaker. I love cinema and definitely visualize things that way. I love novel writing as it lets me get into my characters’ heads and explore what they’re thinking about; something you can’t do in a screenplay.
Any final words?
You know, even though I’ve mentioned being inspired by cinema a lot growing up, I was also a voracious reader from childhood. I always loved reading books. I remember in elementary school reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlotte’s Web, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Those books really stuck with me, especially the world-building of C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl. I think that if you want to become a writer, a love of reading really helps.
Thank you for the interview!
William Joseph Hill’s book CYBER FIGHTER, with its big screen adaptation underway, is a sci-fi/martial arts/action-adventure story that will engage readers in this action-packed “page turner.”
Said the author Mr. Hill, “I’m hoping that my CYBER FIGHTER readers have fun with the story and have a few good laughs, along with being thrilled by the action sequences I have in the story. I’d also like them to think about the scientific possibilities that the story explores. As we spend more and more of our lives online, the idea that you could learn skills via Virtual Reality is becoming less science fiction and closer to actuality.”
Cyber Fighter is the story of a clumsy temp Brian Baldwin who takes a job at defense contractor Kirkman Enterprises, where he volunteers to test their latest software program on himself by getting black belt fighting skills downloaded directly to his brain via a Virtual Reality immersive experience, turning him into a human weapon.
When Brian discovers that the eccentric main programmer Humbert Cloogey has sold him off to the Army for induction, he makes his escape, assisted by his only ally Dr. Kate Rand, a neuroscientist who works for the company, but who has some secrets herself.
Simultaneously as Brian is undergoing the experiment, a Triad crime boss and part-time cloning engineer Lau Xiaoming, operating out of North Korea, hacks into the U.S. server hosting the software, planting a Trojan program into Brian’s brain that holds the secret to “Project Starfish”, his plan for world domination.
Brian finds himself pursued by not only the U.S. Army, and FBI, but also by Xiaoming and his minions, all looking to grab him for their own exploits.
The core of my story is Brian’s journey, going from a middle-aged man who gave up on his dreams, to suddenly finding himself empowered with skills he never thought he’d ever achieve. Almost overnight he acquires a superhero status. But he discovers that he apparently hasn’t achieved any more control over his life than before. In fact, his life seems pretty much out of control now.
Plans for a CYBER FIGHTER feature length movie from William Hill lie ahead. He said, “I am also developing CYBER FIGHTER into a feature film. Part of that process includes doing a short film version for a proof-of-concept for my vision of the full feature. I am hoping to produce and shoot the short film this summer and have it go to festivals. I also did a comic book adaptation of that short film version that is also for sale on Amazon. Learn more at this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZL6X6W6
“Cyber Fighter is a fun and engaging read…Multiple strands and characters -as well as many pop culture and martial arts references…”
“Cyber Fighter takes you on a wild ride that is funny and a wonderful escape from all that is currently going on in the world. “
“The Matrix on steroids!!!”
“For fans of Sci-Fi, a-la Monty Python”
“A great read for the Martial Artist”
“It’s Matrix meets Die Hard, and definitely keeps the action going”
Book Information:
Release Date: Updated February 2022; originally Published November 21, 2019.
Publisher: Independent
Number of pages: Hard Cover/206 pages/ASIN: B09QP6QPG8 ISBN-13: 979-8727262665, Paperback/284 pages/ASIN: 1082737933-ISBN-10: 9781082737930-ISBN-13:19781082737930Kindle e-book/286 pages. Kindle — ASIN: B081SJRMJ1
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081SJRMJ1
Audio version Links: Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/cyber-fighter-unabridged/id1531248640?uo=4&mt=3; Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Cyber-Fighter-Audiobook/B08DJBL4WX
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/CyberFighterMovie Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyberfightermov Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamjosephhill/
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