I’m Sci-Fi and Techno thriller Author Frank Hoven (Francis Vanden Hoven, MBA). I am a writer, researcher, and AI futurist.
Frank Hoven enjoys writing YA speculative fiction (time slips) and technothrillers about the art world. A denizen of Toronto, Frank and his wife have travelled to over 80 countries, and their son has joined in the adventures. During daylight hours, Frank also works as an IT and Business Consultant as CEO of Obelisk Software Inc.
Frank draws inspiration from philosophers and authors:
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined.” Henry David Thoreau.
…or something like this:
“Nothing is as real as a dream. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.” – Tom Clancy
Why did I chose to write?
I view writing as a way to explore the world and a way to parse what’s happening. We live through times of titanic shifts between good and evil where technology can end up as our saviour or as our master.
I believe that in writing I am choosing the future that leans to the most beneficial one for humankind while warning about the overlord future no one wants.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to my high school days when I wrote skits and acted in the drama club. Many moons ago, I had fun as a playwright and amateur filmmaker in university all while I toiled away in business school. My dreams took a backseat for while, but I never really stopped writing. When my wife and I began travelling the world and visiting dozens of museums, I started writing full-length action novels set in the context of the art world. Then, as our son grew, I realized how few classic adventure series there were, so I started writing a YA series and here it is, a techno-sci-fi time slip thriller: InsectUs.
Work as an IT consultant got in the way of writing or vice versa, but as I learned about so many different industries that I started weaving my tech research in to spice up my books. I love researching but now know to keep the sexy parts in and leave the extra detail out.
Ah yes, the travel bug has bitten me and my family. Our latest escapade was to the UK followed by a stint in northern Spain. I have other action movies plotting in my head. Perhaps it’s because I’m a huge Ian Flemming and Tom Clancy fan and a film buff who can’t wait for the next Impossible Mission or Jason Bourne movie. I love sci-fi, fantasy and superhero movies too. All in all, I write stories and books because I can’t stop the ideas in my head from becoming full-fledged actions scenes. Do you have a film-book running in your head 24/7? I’ve never been able to shut it off for long. We are creating beings all of us and I encourage anyone who has a creative idea to act on it. (mostly to save the world).
Cheers,
Frank
P.S. Please don’t move the rocks at Stonehenge…
