No Wasted Ink is proud to present an original, approachable science fiction and cyberpunk author with so many stories in his head that he can’t hope to publish them all…short of becoming one with the singularity. Please welcome, Thomas Gondolfi.
My name is Thomas Gondolfi, owner of TANSTAAFL Press and author of Toy Wars and the CorpGov Chronicles.
I’m a father of three, consummate gamer (board or role-playing) and loving husband and claim to be a Renaissance man and certified flirt. I was raised as a military brat, I spent the first twenty years of my life moving to a new place every few years giving me a unique perspective on most regions of the United states.
Educated as an electrical engineer and working in high tech for over twenty years, I have also worked as a cook, motel manager, most phases of home construction, volunteer firefighter, and even as the personal caregiver to a quadriplegic.
I’ve been writing fiction for over thirty years and doing it professionally for at least fifteen. Most of my short stories have been commissioned for use in gaming products, such as Babylon 5 Wars and Star Fleet Battles. I’ve honed my abilities through writing well over a million words.
When and why did you begin writing?
I started in high school. I had a friend who took creative writing and threw down the gauntlet that he had written the longest story his teacher had ever received and received nothing but As through his class. I couldn’t let that pass. I wrote two works longer, got consistent As and had the teacher tell me I should write for a living. I continued to write and finish my first novel in high school. As you can imagine it was awful. Along the Paths of Dreams had ever cliché, and mistake a writer can make. But I learned from each dreadful painful scene.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I finally felt I’d made it when I finished Toy Wars and the yet to be published novel Wayward School. I’d already been paid for a number of short works but to me it was a novel that make it work. I didn’t really feel I was an author until I had a number of people who purchased it and gushed over it.
Can you share a little about your current book with us?
The Bleeding Edge – CorpGov Chronicles: Book Three is the culmination of a war that began in Thinking Outside the Box. As a funny side note, I’d intended Thinking Outside the Box to encompass all of the material in both books but as I got close to the end of my outline (about 300 pages) for TOTB I realized that I’d mistakenly summed up an entire war in two outline bullet points. I tried to make it fit anyways but it rang hollow. I knew I would have to do yet another book to make it work. So TOTB ended up being the political lead up to the war and The Bleeding Edge was the war in all it gory.. I mean glory.
What inspired you to write this book?
If we assume Thinking Outside the Box and The Bleeding Edge as a single book, the reason I wrote them as a follow-up to An Eighty Percent Solution was that I could never understand why power blocks around the previous junta would sit still after a successful coup. The Bleeding Edge itself is to show how a badly one-sided conflict can suddenly turn and go the other way as in what happened to Germany in WWII. In our more highly technical society the flip could be so much faster.
Do you have a specific writing style?
My style varies from series to series depending on the needs of the book. Toy Wars is 1st person with a great deal of mentation on the part of the main character. CorpGov Chronicles is third person following a different character (including the bad guys) for each few page segment of the story but maintaining the flow of the story.
How did you come up with the title of this book?
All the titles of the CorpGov Chronicles are corporate catch phrases. In this case it is too appropriate. The Bleeding Edge is the vast amounts of money required by businesses to stay on the forefront of technology. In this case it is more literally referring to the blood spilled in a war of aggression.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I’ve said this many times in my author’s note. I write for entertainment, not to forward a social agenda. I do have many personal/political opinions, many of them very strong. However, I don’t use my writing as a venue for shoving them down others’ throats. You want to talk to me in person about something, I’ll be more than happy to disillusion you that I might have all the answers.
Are experiences in this book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No. I’ve never been part of a coup or been part of a guerrilla organization.
What authors have most influenced your life? What about them do you find inspiring?
The name of my publishing company, TANSTAAFL Press, should be a clue. Robert Heinlein influenced me in a number of ways including the opinions I’ve mentioned earlier. It seems ironic that I wouldn’t forward the messages Heinlein wrote about in my own works but I’ve always believed that people should have the chance to look at their surroundings and choose. Why should I be trying to inflict my will upon anyone else?
If you had to choose, is there a writer would you consider a mentor? Why?
Steve Kay. You’ve likely never heard of him unless you watch Voyager closely (he has two story credits there). He was forced to delay his burgeoning career because of twins. Steve taught me that talent doesn’t equal craft. I always had talent. I needed to learn craft. There is a quote of his I use with new authors… “You don’t know what you are doing until you have written a million words.” It took me many years to learn the truth behind this simple statement but now I can’t emphasis it enough.
Who designed the cover of your book? Why did you select this illustrator?
Two different people you are talking about. Illustrator was Tony Foti an exceptional commercial artist that is easy to work with and reasonably priced. The cover design was yours truly.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
It may be trite but Write. Independent Review. Rewrite. Publish!
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I can’t do any of this without your help and support. I will remain approachable, always. I’m just a person and the moment my head gets too big my wife will pop it with the story of the cooler on the banister (ask me some day for a chuckle).
Thomas Gondolfi
Yelm, WA
Publisher: TANSTAAFL Press
Cover Artist: Tony Foti
The Bleeding Edge
No Wasted Ink 
I am going to have to read his work, I loved the interview. I am such a sci fi fan and always looking for new authors that I haven’t read. I recently found Robert Gryn, his Suns of the End series is fantastic. I highly recommend it! robertgrynbooks.com is his site for his info.