About the BookJon Graeme and Harry Sale are unlikely friends. Harry is a world-class programmer, but his abrasive personality alienates co-workers. In contrast, Jon is a handsome and easy-going technical writer, the low man on the IT totem pole.
Sharing a love of nature, the men set out together, planning to go their separate ways--Jon on a hike and Harry, fly fishing. Three days later, Jon arrives at the rendezvous point, but his friend is nowhere in sight. When Jon finds Harry unconscious on the floor of a cave, Harry claims to have been lying there the entire time. But he is neither cold nor hungry. What Jon doesn't know is that Harry fell into an underground cavern, where he came into contact with an alien quantum computer.
Back at work, Harry jettisons his regular tasks and concentrates exclusively on inventing new operating language to access the alien system. In the process he crashes his office's Super Computer and is fired. Jon convinces the company to give Harry a second chance, arguing that the system he has invented will make them millions.
Jon has no idea what havoc Harry is about to unleash.
Author Interview
1) Who is your favorite character?
My favorite character in The Infinity Program is Harry Sale, the brilliant but quirky programmer. He can be kind and thoughtful, but he can also be an irascible curmudgeon.
2) Why is he/she your favorite?
I like Harry best because he was the biggest challenge to create. I also liked him because as I got deeper into his character, he became a vehicle to express a secret wish of my own—to be as direct and honest as possible at all times at the expense of diplomacy. I could never be like Harry in real life, but for awhile it was a lot of fun to put on a mask and pretend.
3) How did you come to create him/her?
Harry Sale is really a composite of many different programmers I have known. For example, a programmer I knew loved to tinker with old cars. One morning at work, the night after they installed new carpets, he walked into the office with motor oil all over his shoes. That incident found its way into The Infinity Program. Another programmer could be unbelievably cranky. When I started off in technical writing, he would often hand me my head on a platter. But afterwards, he would feel guilty about it and bend over backwards to be helpful. That too found its way into Harry Sale’s character. Yet another programmer I knew would often work around the clock for several days running. This characteristic was added to the mix. Harry also has something of the author’s own personality as a component. Like Harry, I tend to be literal-minded (though not as much as Harry!). I also tend to be overly abstract at times.
4) When did he/she first enter your mind?
Harry appeared relatively late in my conception. I had imagined the characters of Jon Graeme and Lettie Olson, as well as the quantum computer with the nanotechnology module. But somehow I could not pull the ideas together until the character of Harry Sale occurred to me.
5) Where was he/she given life in the creative process?
I tried to give life to Harry as I went along, building his character in stages. His first scene in the book—where he risks his life to save a kitten—was especially important since it shows him to be a very unusual kind of guy. It also establishes him as a man who will risk anything to do what he thinks is right.
6) What do like the most about him/her and what do you dislike the most about him/her?
I like Harry’s compassionate nature. He’s a kind person, a Good Samaritan who will always go the extra mile when someone needs help. Harry’s worst trait, which I don’t like but am sometimes guilty of myself, is his self-absorption. He is so caught up with the events of his own inner life that he misses out on love and friendship.
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The Infinity Program can be purchased at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
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Prices/Formats: $5.95 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Pages: 250
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Release: April 1, 2014
Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 9781603819336
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About the AuthorRichard H. Hardy was born in Glasgow, Scotland, during a week of relentless bombing raids just before the close of World War II. The day he was born an incendiary bomb fell on the church across the street from where he lived, so he is fond of saying that he entered the world with a big adrenaline rush.
His family later moved to England and then on to America.
After college Richard bounced through a series of temporary jobs as he traveled around the country, wanting nothing more than to write fiction. A job driving a library van allowed him free time to write several short stories and work on a novel.
He and his wife moved to New Hampshire, where he took an entry level job at a software company. He was soon promoted to the technical writing department and ended up producing over 500,000 words of online documentation. After a few years he was promoted to the programming department and ended up as the Senior EDI Programmer, creating EDI maps and writing UNIX scripts and troubleshooting on AIX systems throughout the U.S. and Canada.
After he retired, he started writing fiction again. The Infinity Program is his first published novel.
Links to connect with Richard:
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Blog
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Thanks for inviting Richard to stop by and share some interesting tidbits about Harry! :)
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