Hi Andreas,
Thanks for your time. Welcome to this virtual tete a tete .As I was trying to find your author bio for the interview, I could not find any. So, we will start the session with Who is Andreas, not the philosophical way but the materialistic way.
Andreas: Hi Rakhi. Thank you for the interview. Hello everyone. My name is Andreas Laurencius. My parents and grandparents are Chinese but I was born in Indonesia. I spent my childhood and teen years in the city of Medan but I moved to Jakarta to pursue my education in the medical field. I’m not married (yet). I practice as a doctor. I work for several companies and I was asked to build the first Children’s Hospital in Indonesia. We are a small team and we’ve been to Stanford and University Hospitals in the US to gather their support but we are facing a few problems now with the investing team.
Did you chose your profession yourself? Why an inclination towards science?
Andreas: Since high school, my most favorite subjects are physics and mathematics. My dream was to be a scientist. The question was in which field. I decided to study medicine because it deals with human and so far we are the species that causes and faces so many problems. Why the inclination towards science? Medicine borrows a lot not only from chemistry but also from physics. For example, one of the emerging fields of study right now is Quantum Biology where scientists propose quantum physics as an explanation for the origin of life, how enzymes work, transfer of molecules in photosynthesis and cellular respiration, DNA mutation, etc. It also probably is the science behind neural connections that give raise to memory and thinking. In essence, they propose that quantum physics is the one that breaths life into inorganic materials. All and all, we can say that it is our duty as human beings to study the world.
Why did the doctor become a writer?
Andreas: Martin Luther said “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”
Tell the readers about Genesis
Andreas: There hasn’t been any literature that can satisfy us about the mystery of life. God, if there is any, has never even bother telling us. Religious literature that was given to us was always something that was written by different persons. They are all differentThey said that something was supernatural because they didn’t understand what nature (reality) is. My reply to them was “Our great, great grandfather also told us to believe that lightning was God’s wrath”. After years of debates and studies, we found out about the lightning, about the planets, black holes, the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, quantum biology. We can’t possibly go back and refuse to evolve. Humanity, everything we have built will end if we keep doing this. Physics will soon be able to formulate reality, something biology and chemistry can’t do very well. Science is simply the newer literature. Genesis doesn’t aim to create controversies. It aims to enlighten us about the fabric of the universe and what we need to do next. Genesis aims to direct lives to the more correct way.
Why did you make the second chapter practically impossible to get forth, for a general person?
Andreas: The main reason is that the statement “There is no right and wrong” can have bad consequences upon readers who are ‘hot headed’ and do not want to provide an open (or patient) mind, or readers who do not want to think further, and to my surprise, this had included some people of the law who opposed the book right after they read the blurb. What they didn’t realize was that the book actually gives us the definition of right and wrong. Society faces a dilemma when confronted with an event: Is the event right or wrong? What is the right thing to do? People, including the government, Life itself is evil/wrong because it depletes resources. So we should advance science, both social and natural and prevent death and dearth. This is good advice when children ask us “What should I do with my life?”
Did you mean to say that you target a niche audience?
Andreas: No, the book is for everyone, even for the extraterrestrials if they are out there.
Why did you include the Tibetan journey in the book? Didn’t it occur to you that it might seem misplaced?
Andreas: Honestly, it didn’t occur to me. The main character who built the new tower lived in Hong Kong, the leader of the new world lived in Pakistan, they met halfway.
Do you think that there is a chance for the posthumans in future? Post humans or posthumous 😛
Andreas:
This’s a very clever question. Sadly, with the current level of our technology, there’d be very little chance we could survive a virus outbreak like this. Let’s not count on hope, let’s not play the game of chance. Let’s advance science. Our best chance is at the hand of the intelligent being closest to us. Oh yes, if we advance technology, there will be a beautiful posthuman world like that.
How did you balance your profession with your writing?
Andreas: At first, I wrote during my spare time. I scribbled down the plot, the characters, the paragraphs on little notes. I also used a recording app whenever I couldn’t use a pen. But then I decided that I needed to spend more time writing so I quit half of my jobs.
Did you make a background study?
Andreas: I did a lot of background study to the point that I even scrutinized the usage of the simplest words like see, look, peek, gaze, gape, gawk, glimpse, glance.
Who did the editing?
Andreas: I couldn’t afford an editor. I just let several people including a professor of English literature proofread it.
Tell me about your publishing journey
Andreas: My strategy was to get the book published abroad because there weren’t enough people in the country who read English books. I was contacted by a publishing company that offered to publish and market the book for a fee. I found that their policy wasn’t good. This was when I stumbled upon Createspace. This company was owned by Amazon.com and it had been extremely helpful. In my opinion, their policy and service is the best one out there. I have ordered several copies of the book when I was in the US and they looked very good.
What do you think about the future of publishing industry.
Andreas: I think in the future more and more people will choose to be independent in their publishing process. Firstly, there have been already many people who offer editing and cover design service. Secondly, it has proven to be easier to be independent. Thirdly, with the internet at the hand of everybody, with facebook, twitter, blogs, goodreads, we can do book publicity by ourselves.
What are you working on presently?
Andreas: Not another book. I’m trying to realize the memory coding project and in my spare time I try to formulate the equation that can solve a problem in quantum physics.
How can readers learn more about you?
Andreas
Website: www.andreaslaurencius.com (currently work in progress) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreas.laurencius Twitter: @genesisthebook Lnkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreas-laurencius-338551107 Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Andreas-Laurencius/e/B012BDFHL0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Book Links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1515057615
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1515057615
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013CFGQBG
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25944368-genesis
Thank you for your time and all the best for your future ventures.
Andreas : Thank you for reading Genesis and being my friend. I hope everything will be good for you and the family. The whole world’s prayer is with you.
