I'm so excited to bring you a new interview with one of my favorite online acquaintances, fellow writer and alien theorist, Ray Davis. If you haven't heard of him yet, don't worry, you will. His new novel series Anunnaki Awakening is going to be pretty epic. You'll want to check it out, believe me. I'm honored to host him and to have these questions answered so perfectly. Read on and you'll see what I mean:
1. First things first! Can you introduce yourself for those
who may not know you?
First of all, thank you, Kylie, for the opportunity to
introduce myself to your readers. My name is Ray Davis and I'm a writer. I've
done many things in my life to pay the bills. Writing has been the one constant
from a very early age.
By day, I write sales training for a Fortune 500 company. At
night, I write philosophical and motivational content encouraging people to
take a second look at themselves and their world; on the premise there might be
more there than their conditioning has led them to believe. Most recently, I
have been engaged in writing Book 1 of my speculative fiction novel series -
Anunnaki Awakening.
My wife, April, and I live in Kansas City area, but our hearts are always in
Hawaii. We travel there each year and our big goal is to live there one
day. We have two grown kids – a son and a daughter. We’ve got a wedding
coming this November and another one likely in the near future. So, we're on
the verge of being full-fledged empty-nesters.
I'm a “what you see
is what you get” person. I love sports, music, and travel, but my life
experiences have demanded that I look out into the cosmos and within to seek
answers to life's big questions.
2. I'm loving the theme of your book, Anunnaki Awakening. I too have drawn on these beings (as well as others) for inspiration in future novels. Can you tell us more about why you decided to use the Anunnaki in your novels, and how that came about?
Thank you. The answer to this question alone might fill a
book. I didn't set out to write this book. In 2007, I started a website
called The Affirmation Spot. Until about eight months ago, most people in
social media knew me for that endeavor. As I was encouraging people to follow
their dreams, I realized I wasn't pursuing mine - to be a published author with
something important to say.
I'm a life-long science fiction fan - especially Star Trek.
I really enjoyed Gene Roddenberry's positive view of humanity and its future.
I'd seen a string of dystopian science fiction movies - which I enjoy as much
as the next person - but I began to feel as if the genre had gone rather
negative on humanity's prospects. I wanted to write something brighter that
pointed more to our potential than our doom.
I thought this book was going to be about building an interesting story around
my mission of empowerment with The Affirmation Spot. I had already developed my
heroine character - Maria Love - and began writing a book with a tentative
title of The Future Possible.
I was home alone one Saturday in 2009 and turned on a new TV
show I'd heard about. That show was Ancient Aliens. They asked, "What if
it were all true?" I immediately followed with, "What if it were
still true?" What if there was a common sense explanation for why humanity
continues to be led against its best interest? What if there was a reason human
beings have this negative default setting and go about their lives ignoring big
questions and accepting our institution's simple answers?
As I watched, I realized this topic had been sitting in my life's waiting room
for years. I'd always gravitated to shows like Coast to Coast A.M. I'd read the
works of people like Von Daniken and Sitchin. The seed was planted at the age
of six. My father took me to see Von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods in its
original theater run. I was hooked and it all made so much sense to me.
This topic - with its philosophical, religious, and
scientific overtones - demanded my mind share. Within a few days the Inanna
character showed up. She’s the co-heroine in Anunnaki Awakening. She's the
member of the Anunnaki elite who is rebelling against the age-old control of
humanity by her race.
The purpose,
storyline, and tone of the book shifted. It still presents a hopeful vision for
humanity and our future, but we have to clean some old wounds first.
3. Will you be taking the traditional publishing route, or the independent route? And which one would you recommend for 'noobs' like me?
This is actually my first novel too. I considered many options
and have wavered back and forth on this topic. I see benefits to
self-publishing and today it's a great way to break in, prove your audience,
and get picked up by a major publisher. It's also the best way to maintain
control of your work.
Traditional publishing offers the benefits of a backer that
knows the ropes and can help you promote the work. However, you also lose your
artistic control and there is a lot of subject matter - important subject
matter - medium to larger publishers won't support.
I'm fortunate in that
a friend in Hawaii started a publishing company a couple years ago. He's
publishing both serious authors and those who have a story to tell and want to
publish it. He has a mission to help hundreds of thousands of people tell their
story and earn income from it. His name is Larry Czerwonka. He owns the LarryCzerwonka Publishing Company of Hilo, HI. He will be publishing my first book.
4. Could have fooled me! Already a pro. :) Changing the subject a bit, you've posted a lot about aliens and
your belief that we aren't alone (with which I agree wholeheartedly). Can you summarize your theories on this topic?
I don't know if it was Star Trek from the age of three or
something I was just predisposed to know. I've never doubted for a moment that
our universe is bursting with life. To me that's a given.
It's a topic we, as
species, must become more adult about. It’s treated in juvenile ways belying
its critical importance. All of our institutions are so Earth-centric. We may
have discovered the Sun doesn't go around the Earth, but our mindset still is
that everything else does.
I've never understood why religious and scientific people seem so threatened by
this concept. Aliens don't preclude God, but God doesn't preclude aliens
either. Why must it be one or the other?
As for the scientific point of view, there seems to be this overwhelming
disposition towards denial rather than acceptance on this topic. There’s more
effort at ridicule than research. Large segments of mainstream science simply
will not even follow the scientific method related to evidence on extraterrestrials
and UFOs. I find that puzzling.
I've talked to numerous scientifically minded people online
that LOVE science fiction and thinking about alien life in that context, but
run screaming when you try to have a serious conversation about its reality. I
can only chalk that kind of behavior by intelligent people up to fear and
conditioning. They don't want someone to put the proverbial "tin foil
hat" on their heads. So, the topic goes largely without discussion.
In Anunnaki Awakening, I play heavily on these themes. One must ask why this is
the conditioning? Why are human beings - inquisitive as we are - not eager and
ready to embrace other life in this universe? When you watch the pattern of
media and other "official" comment on this topic, it's almost
universally ridiculed. People in our culture are very conscious about
being cool. It’s a very powerful societal control mechanism. If it's clearly
delineated as uncool, people stay away.
I see extraterrestrial life to be a VERY sober and important subject for our
planet and our species. My question is how can civilization that relies on
internal combustion engine definitively conclude interstellar space travel
impossible? They can't, but they are.
Then there's the separate - but possibly related - issue of
UFOs. I've had several sightings in my life that defy explanation. Both the
object's appearance and behavior were extraordinarily bizarre. Two of my
sightings felt very personal and happened within a few weeks of each other in
1991. I've described these in various places online.
The third happened during a red-eye flight from New York to Chicago in December
2007. While over Lake Michigan, a bright, undefined light rose rapidly from
below right in the middle of commercial flight pattern with at least three
other planes besides ours waiting to land in Chicago. Two objects, easily
identified as fighters, appeared to be in pursuit of the object. The first
object was faster, more maneuverable, and eventually shot straight up leaving
the two fighters in the dust. The big question for me, if this was just some
kind of experimental aircraft, is why the military would be conducting such
maneuvers late at night in the midst of several commercial jets?
- Do I think we’ve been
visited by extraterrestrial beings? Absolutely.
- Do I think it's been going on throughout our history? Yes.
- Do I think all UFOS are aliens? No. I think there’s a mix of causes that may
include life forms that inhabit this planet without our knowledge.
- Do I think there are
millions of civilizations out in that vast darkness? Yes. Many of them are
probably wondering if they’re all alone too. They’re going about the daily life
of their civilizations thinking they, too, are the center of everything.
- Do I think our
governments are aware of this phenomenon? Some governments, I believe, know
more than others. It probably depends on what you mean by "the
government.” I posit some possibilities in the novel.
5. Well said! And, last but not least, what can we
expect from you in the future?
I’m so appreciative, Kylie, for your kind interview request.
I’m honored to have a chance to share ideas with your readers.
I've already begun Book 2 in the Anunnaki Awakening series.
I've set my personal goal to become a full-time author living and working in
Hawaii in the next few years. Book 3 is outlined, but I enjoy letting the story
come to me rather than mapping it all out ahead of time. It will probably
change.
After this series, I may return to a novel I started in 2004
titled Weather Wars. I stopped writing it when Hurricane Katrina too closely
mirrored an event I'd written just weeks before in that book.
I'm hoping Anunnaki
Awakening will catch on with readers. My beta readers are giving me great
feedback about how the story is pulling them in. I'd like to see it become a
hit and be turned into a movie. I figure if vampires and child witches can hit
it big, why not aliens?
I definitely see that being a good possibility! And I definitely know the feeling! I truly hope it happens. It's awesome to know there are other people out there on the same page as me about this stuff, and maybe even on the same mission ;)
If you're on the same page too, please follow Ray on Twitter and like his Facebook page. He posts great thought-provoking stuff, and is a really nice guy. And you'll want to be up to date with the latest on his books, which are coming soon! He's also founded a great site for writers (and everyone) with tons of positive affirmations and more, if you want to check it out too. I'm truly excited about everything he's doing, and I can't wait to see him take the world by storm. :)
Be the lightning,
}i{
