Robert Morrell Jr. discusses how his family history and journeys around South Carolina helped inspire his latest story,”A Family Matter.” Read it in our [July/August issue, on sale now!]
Asimov’s Editor: What is the story behind this piece?
Robert Morrell Jr.: Last year I went to the Isle of Palms near Charleston. Along the way, I stopped to visit various relatives across South Carolina. A cousin had recently moved into the Francis Marion National Forest, her house actually bordering on federally protected swamp land. She showed me where her son had shot a charging feral hog (and told me about the neighbor who grills all such kills in the area). Then she took me on an ATV ride to a pitcher plant field, passing by an abandoned trailer that looked like it had fallen from the sky.
AE: Wow, so you had the setting. What sparked the story?
RMJ: Well, after visiting the old places, and reminiscing with relatives, I felt the urge to lean into family history. I wrote the first paragraph thinking of my father, who always regretted getting out of fighter pilot school just as the Korean War ended. What if? That led to genetic identification of remains, which got me to my own DNA report, with its surprises, and the swamp explanation of state multi-racial statistics. I added a little something extra, and we were off! My cousin, hearing what I was up to, pointed to Hell Hole and its beauty pageant. Then she sent me a link to a local TV story about a hunter that got lost there for a night. The story wrote itself after that. It was all I could do to hang on.
AE: Do you particularly relate to any of the characters in this story?
RMJ: All the characters of this story are people I have known, which may surprise those who believe the country has been homogenized by mass media. In my experience, the deeper you go into rural areas, the more the old stereotypes come alive, for better or worse. You could meet all the characters in “A Family Matter” just by driving north on 41 from Charleston. You would have to go down some dirt roads to find them, though.
AE: What made you think of Asimov’s for this story?
RMJ: I’ve enjoyed Asimov’s for many years, and one thing I believe it does well are stories where new technologies affect us in ways we did not expect. At its core, “A Family Matter” is about genetic testing. Across the world, people are getting DNA ancestry reports and learning about their past in ways the old-style DAR genealogists never could (or would!). But how do we process the surprises without some kind of reference? What does it mean when you find family history you never knew about? How do you think about connections to cultures that were forgotten or hidden? Sometimes, we need Science Fiction to go a step further, giving us perspective on the nearer new thing.
AE: Who or what are your greatest influences and inspirations?
RMJ: I listen to a lot of podcasts, mostly history and science. Science Fiction related, I really enjoy “Hugos There” (nominated for a Hugo this year), and got to guest host for its December 2023 episode. Another podcast that has given me a whole fresh spin on Science Fiction is “Hugo Girl!”, (which “won” a Hugo last year). It is a fun and forgiving look at Science Fiction through a feminist lens. There are scenes in “A Family Matter” where I imagined the Hugo Girls reading over my shoulder, and I think the story is better for it.
You could meet all the characters in “A Family Matter” just by driving north on 41 from Charleston. You would have to go down some dirt roads to find them, though.
AE: Are there any themes that you find yourself returning to throughout your writing? If yes, what and why?
RMJ: Yes. I usually write one remove from “earth-shaking events” and involve characters not normally considered heroes. They are not the hyper-competent astronaut making first contact, or the genius scientist making an important discovery. They are everyday people finding their daily lives being altered in big or little ways by a larger story. Their actions may have significant effects on the world, but their focus is on the personal: family, friends, and home. I think this comes from my hospital career, which was behind the scenes from the doctors and nurses (first in microbiology, then in oncology research computing). I don’t begrudge the hero their story, but think there are things to see away from the spotlight.
AE: What is your process?
RMJ: Having been a chess player and computer programmer, you would think I plan everything out, but I do the opposite. I start without knowing, and sometime intentionally write myself into corners. Then I wake up at four in the morning and the solution is there, fully formed. It’s a magical experience, and I enjoy it so much that it’s a letdown when I finally understand the whole story. After that it is all just typing.
AE: What other projects are you currently working on?
RMJ: I am six chapters into my fourth novel, a space opera. The one I most recently finished, a first contact novel, has the same humor and tone as “A Family Matter”, and is under consideration at Angry Robot. (I view the first two as practice novels and are safely hidden away.) My current habit is to write a chapter, then do a short piece. I used to skydive, and am helping an old BASE jumper (BASE# 37!) edit his autobiography. There is a prequel story to the space opera novel in the works which involves BASE jumping and some stories about my late brother, who was also an early BASE jumper. (I myself only jumped out of airplanes; the way God intended.)
AE: What Science Fiction prediction would you like to see come true?
RMJ: First contact, without a doubt. I am worried it is going to happen right after I die. If so, I will demand a refund.
AE: What are you reading right now?
RMJ: Dangerously Funny by David Bianculli, about the Smothers Brothers: history is just true Science Fiction. Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow: I could not resist the idea of a forensic accountant.
AE: What in the story did you leave out?
RMJ: I am so glad you asked that! It has been bothering me since I finished the story. Most people, when they think of swamps, picture massive ancient trees. Sadly, Hell Hole and the entire Francis Marion National Forest are not like that anymore. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo levelled the Forest. Today all the trees are uniformly thirty-five years old, mostly pines. Tall, but not behemoths. Any house built since then is on stilts. Lyle would have sprained his ankle jumping out that window. How Great Granny’s house survived and never got to code, I left unsaid.
AE: How can our readers follow you and your writing?
RMJ: @Wallet55 on Bluesky, Mastodon and “Twitter” in descending order of frequency. Warning: there are a lot of cat photos. Squeaky, the cat in “A Family Matter” is there, but don’t tell him I changed his gender. He is sensitive about that since we took him to the vet.
From Earth to the Stars 