Look to the stars. What do you see? A twinkling light, shining from the other side of the galaxy who, just like our own Sun, has a system of planets orbiting it. The night sky is full of stories, full of endless possibilities that us on Earth will never truly understand.

Thanks to authors like Rick Goldman, we can imagine what lies out there in interstellar space through riveting and exciting science-fiction stories. In his latest title, Adventure to Mars, although the adventure may be a little closer to home, an imaginative out-of-this-world thrill-ride is still in store for readers.

We spoke with Rick about his earliest writing experiences, how his creativity has developed and changed since his first publication and what adventures he imagines when looking up at the night sky.

You are an author of multiple works that have been published with Pegasus Publishers, but your passion for writing stems back over forty years. Referenced in your author blurb is an unpublished manuscript from the 1980s – do you have any recollection of what this story was about?

I have a library of ideas that may not have enough traction for a book but can work well into a story that I’m writing. One book I wrote was called The Third Link. It dealt with a person who was abducted by a UFO. Parts of that story were used in Adventure To Mars and two other books that are being published, Layla’s Story and The Green.

They should be out soon from Pegasus.

This latest book, Adventure to Mars, is a thrilling journey through the cosmos, blending a diverse cast of characters with an awe-inspiring flight among the stars. How has your writing changed since you published your first book?

It’s a thrilling story that started out poking fun at The Mars Runner and its modest sales. It turned into a more complex story of my alter ego named Paladin.

My style over the years has been seasoned with experience. All of my books are peppered with some real life experiences that add color and substance to the story.

Most of all, I create adventures that take the reader on several journeys. Many locations are visited, from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of the universe.

I have created many stories of many different people, races, other earthly entities, and some plain down to earth exploits. Some of these tales have more twists than a Chuck Berry concert.

Not only is your passion for creativity long-standing, so is your love for astronomy. Spending time looking up at the night sky, dreaming about endless interstellar adventures, why did you settle on Earth’s closest neighbour as the setting for this new book?

The Galaxy Chasers was pure science fiction taking the reader to several galaxies on its mission to investigate a disturbance in the farthest reaches of the universe.

This book, Adventure to Mars, deals with a person who wanted to actually build The Mars Runner Spacetrain. It deals more with human elements than Mars. In fact, most of it deals with a story on Earth.

The infinite possibilities of outer space should leave room for all storytellers to spread their creative wings, but I wanted to ask about who has inspired you. Which adventures or science-fiction works have impacted your stories?

I met Ray Bradbury in 1991. In the audiobook version of The Mars Runner, I dedicated that to his memory. I’ve read and watched a lot of science fiction over the years. When I write, I try to write original stories. I love throwing new concepts at my readers. Writing fiction is telling a lie however, I do a ton of research to make the lie as believable as possible. I want the reader to escape with me for a trip into the unknown.

We feel safe in saying that your writing journey is far from over – in fact, we have a couple of titles that we’re collaborating on right now! Our question for you: what can you tease to our readers about your upcoming books?

Adventure to Mars would, in my opinion, be coupled with The Mars Runner.

Layla’s Story and The Green, would be a series with Child in Time. When I wrote Child in Time, the femme fatale was a woman named Layla. My proofreader thought that Layla needed a story of her own, so we created Layla’s Story as a prequel to Child in Time.

The Green, was the sequel to Child in Time. That story took members of SOCOM to the depths of Area 51 and the extraterrestrial influence on the world. It reintroduced characters from the two previous books and placed them in a situation where humanity’s existence was a minute away from extermination.

If that doesn’t grab ya…

In conclusion, I blend many elements into a mixer and pour them out in books that provide all the emotions, the delights, the humor, the fear, the loss and the enjoyment of stories that are like a mini-vacation. They are not so long that you lose interest. They are quick getaways that leave you satisfied.

The Rick Goldman Collection is available now.