A Conversation With Richard Cox

[robert_allen]

Born in Odessa, Texas, in 1970, author Richard Cox spent much of his childhood in the Lone Star State. His father was in the oil business, so the family traveled quite a bit. When he was 11 years old he starting writing short stories, although he didn't tell anyone what he was doing. He didn't know anyone who was a working writer and said it didn't occur to him until high school that one might actually make a living writing fiction. So he headed off to Texas A&M University, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. But he never stopped writing fiction in his spare time. During college he began writing a novel called The Dead Men, which was the forerunner to his first published novel, Rift (Ballantine).

A fantasy football player, Richard met his agent through a recommendation from a fellow online player. That agent eventually sold Rift to Ballantine. The book had a two year delay in being published due to shakeups at Random House, so while he was waiting for Rift to be released, he started work on his next novel, The God Particle (Del Rey), a gripping SF thriller which explores the intersection between god, science and the universe. Kirkus calls The God Particle (Del Rey), "A gripper of a yarn, swatting around really big ideas."

Richard lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he is part of the web team at Hilti, Inc. He writes in the evenings and on weekends. When he's not working or writing, you might find him playing basketball or golf or reading. He spoke with us about his road to the publication of his first novel, and his interest in the ongoing debate between religion and science in today's society. He also gives some great advice for aspiring writers.


Regards
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