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WORK TITLE: The Book of Ralph
WORK NOTES:
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WEBSITE: http://www.christophersteinsvold.com/
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http://bcexcelsior.com/brooklyn-college-professor-and-first-time-novelist-gets-a-film-option/ * http://medallionpress.com/author/christopher-steinsvold/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:City University of New York Graduate School and University Center, Ph.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Brooklyn College, City University of New York, adjunct professor.
WRITINGS
The Book of Ralph has been optioned for film and television by Landscape Entertainment.
SIDELIGHTS
Brooklyn College adjunct professor of philosophy Christopher Steinsvold’s first book is the science fiction novel The Book of Ralph. It has been optioned for development as either a movie or a television series by Hollywood-based Landscape Entertainment—the company that produced films like Robin Williams’s last film The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, featuring Williams and Mila Kunis, and the yoga-based comedy Down Dog.
Steinsvold had an interest in writing science fiction dating back long before he began his career as a college professor. He “has passion for both philosophy and creative writing, which he developed throughout junior high and high school,” explained Zainab Iqbal, in the introduction to an interview with the author in the Brooklyn College online newspaper the Excelsior. “I always wanted to write a novel,” Steinsvold said in a Writer’s Digest piece, “but felt I needed a story interesting enough to be worth writing.” “After two decades of writing only nonfiction,” Iqbal continued, “he got an idea for a novel which he just couldn’t get away from: a wild story filled with bizarre events, a complete departure from his previous kind of writing. Along with humor and adventure, the novel includes some philosophical content mixed in with the wild storyline—something which Steinsvold is very proud of.” “I love the freshness of it,” the author continued in his Qwillery interview. “When I realized I could explore a number of philosophical ideas I had, I was doubly excited. I tried hard to write something original, and as far as I can tell, I did.”
The Book of Ralph postulates the first contact between humankind and an alien species in 2022. “A message suddenly shows up on the moon, seemingly an advertisement, and humans are not responsible,” Steinsvold explained in an interview in the Qwillery. Humanity finds that confusing because the message reads “Drink Diet Coke.” The government pulls together an investigative team, which includes a national security advisor, the Secretary of Defense, and prominent scientist Markus West, to investigate the phenomenon. They are at a loss for an explanation until a giant can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup lands on the White House lawn. From it comes Ralph—an alien who is well versed in earthly culture, and who quickly becomes a media celebrity. However, Ralph has come to the earth with a purpose in mind—he brings a warning that “evil aliens from the planet Kardash,” stated a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “will arrive on Earth in just three days.” These Kardassians, Ralph explains, regard themselves as gods and will expect the people of the world to treat them as such. In the process of preparing the world for the arrival Ralph and Markus have a number of discussions about philosophy. “Steinsvold takes on a serious task,” opined Michael D. Griffiths in SF Reader, “outlining what such an advanced being would say about how one should live their life. I would say he tackled the issue well and many of the ethics outlined are thought-provoking.”
Critics varied in their reception of Steinsvold’s philosophical science fiction. “I had expected from the premise a multitude of goofy, light-hearted first contact shenanigans with this boisterous and colourful individual from beyond the stars; a proverbial fish-out-of-water comic farce,” admitted a BestFantasyBooks.com reviewer. “Instead, much of the book is spent with various mouthpieces prompting Ralph to patiently educate and elucidate the great philosophical truths of the stars to the infantile minds of humanity.” On the other hand, “apart from the incomplete truths that Ralph is constantly telling,” said a contributor to Our Book Reviews Online, “everything is there for the reader to try to anticipate the plot–but not too far ahead.” “The writing is crisp, the observing eye is keen,” wrote Susan Waggoner in Foreword Reviews, “and the bittersweet ending is simultaneously cinematic, sentimental, and thought-provoking.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, June 13, 2016, review of The Book of Ralph, p. 80.
Writer’s Digest, November-December, 2016, Chuck Sambuchino, review of The Book of Ralph, p. 22.
ONLINE
BestFantasyBooks.com, http://bestfantasybooks.com/ (September 9, 2016), review of The Book of Ralph.
Excelsior, http://bcexcelsior.com/ (May 11, 2016), Zainab Iqbal, “Brooklyn College Professor and First-Time Novelist Gets a Film Option.”
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (August 26, 2016), Susan Waggoner, review of The Book of Ralph.
Medallion Press Web site, http://medallionpress.com/ (March 29, 2017), author profile.
Our Book Reviews Online, http://ourbookreviewsonline.blogspot.com/ (July 19, 2016) review of The Book of Ralph.
Qwillery, http://qwillery.blogspot.com/ (August 29, 2016), “Interview with Christopher Steinsvold, Author of The Book of Ralph.”
SF Reader, http://sfreader.com/ (September 21, 2016), Michael D. Griffiths, review of The Book of Ralph.*
Christopher Steinsvold
Christopher Steinsvold received his PhD in philosophy from the City University of New York Graduate School and University Center. He is currently an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. In his creative writing, he uses his background in philosophy to feed his imagination.
Brooklyn College Professor and First-Time Novelist Gets a Film Option
Zainab Iqbal May 11, 2016 Features Leave a comment 372 Views
By Zainab Iqbal
Published: May 11th, 2016
Are contacts with aliens taking place somewhere in the near future?
Part-time Brooklyn College philosophy professor, Christopher Steinsvold,, has a soon-to-be released novel, and a film/TV option, answering just that.
The Book of Ralph, Steinsvold’s first novel, is set to release in August of 2016. It is science-fiction with a lot of comedy and adventure, and follows an alien named Ralph who “needs Markus’s (a human) help to personally deliver a dark warning to the White House,” according to a Goodreads review.
“It all starts off with an advertisement for Diet Coke suddenly showing up on the moon in the middle of an eclipse. And the catch is that humans are not responsible for it, but the humans don’t know this,” Steinsvold summarized during a recent interview.
A tall, lean, laid-back man, with his intelligence highly evident from the way he stopped for a moment to formulate his answers to my questions, Steinsvold has passion for both philosophy and creative writing, which he developed throughout junior high and high school. After two decades of writing only non-fiction, he got an idea for a novel which he just couldn’t get away from: a wild story filled with bizarre events, a complete departure from his previous kind of writing.
Along with humor and adventure, the novel includes some philosophical content mixed in with the wild storyline—something which Steinsvold is very proud of.
“I want people to enjoy the story, but I also want people to think about it and talk about it—the philosophical aspects of it as well,” he said.
According to International Student, philosophy is seen as a very mysterious and obscure field of study. Steinsvold understands that, which is why his novel is meant to be accessible.
“I’m not looking to write an academic text. I don’t want to write something that only academics would like. So, I wanted to withhold as much academic verbiage as I could,” said Steinsvold. “The truth is, a lot of the ideas are my own ideas [as opposed to formal theories]. They’re things I’ve been thinking about since my 20’s. And it really feels like the novel is a great vehicle for them.”
And it seems like Steinsvold was right, since he now has a contract for a film/TV option, which is when a production company temporarily rents your work while looking into the possibility of making it a movie or TV show.
“It was really a big confidence booster to get a film option and it’s very nice to be able to tell people that. It makes me think I really do have a good story,” he said.
Two people from Landscape Entertainment, a privately held motion picture and film industry in Hollywood, read his novel and loved it. For a man who believes in having rational expectations, this was exciting, unexpected news.
“So, I have a literary agent and most of the time I interact with him through email. And so one day he calls and leaves a message on my phone. I thought something must be wrong [with my book deal] since he never really called me. And so I call him back, and he tells me we’re getting a film/TV option,” recalled Steinsvold.
No matter how good the book is though, there is always a risk of it not translating well onto the big screen. Take a look at the classical children’s novel, The Cat in the Hat, which turned out to make a terrible movie. But fortunately for Steinsvold, he does believe that his novel will translate well to the screen.
Steinsvold learned from reading an interview by Stephen King—a beloved author of many, including Steinsvold—that a novel turning into a TV show is actually better than it becoming a movie, especially if you want it to be completely faithful to the text. The biggest pro of this medium is that that a TV show wouldn’t cram everything in a short amount of time, which for Steinsvold would be ideal.
Like any first-time novelist, Steinsvold has high hopes for The Book of Ralph. In fact, he has even begun writing a sequel.
“Part of me wants to see how well the first book does – that’ll help motivate me to write the second. But if the book completely bombs, then I might be a bit too shattered to write a sequel.”
Steinsvold definitely wants his novel to have an impact, which is why he used humor and adventure to mix in with some seriousness. This is a common technique for many highly successful entertainment media; for example, most late night talk shows use incredible amounts of satire to educate people on the news, and succeed in doing so.
For those wondering when the movie is coming out, the process is in ‘developmental hell’- a technical industry term used by production companies. ‘Developmental hell’ is the process of finding more money from various production companies and trying to get actors/directors involved. According to Steinsvold, finding just one famous person to get involved can really get the ball rolling. The ideal cast? James Spader playing Markus West, the human character, and a cameo with Steinsvold himself.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Interview with Christopher Steinsvold, author of The Book of Ralph
Please welcome Christopher Steinsvold to The Qwillery as part of the 2016 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. The Book of Ralph was published on August 9th by Medallion Press.
The Book of Ralph Launch Party will be held on August 31st at Tender Trap, 66 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11222. You may find more information on Facebook here.
TQ: Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?
Christopher: Sometime in Jr. High, my parents gave me an Apple IIc with a word processor. It was a release to get thoughts out of my head. In High School, I took a typing class and creative writing classes, and my writing output soared. Having others enjoy my thoughts is a deep thrill, and worth suffering through the times they don’t.
TQ: Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?
Christopher: Definitely a pantser, though near the final draft I did do an outline, to get a better mental handle on the story. I recommend this to my fellow pantsers.
TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?
Christopher: Slaughtering the wonderful darlings.
TQ: What has influenced / influences your writing? How does having a background in philosophy affect your writing?
Christopher: Too many influences . . . the news . . . art . . . coffee . . . a conversation overheard on the subway . . . Reddit . . . the list goes on.
Philosophy helps me to think and write clearly, which, for me, is more difficult than it sounds.
TQ: Describe The Book of Ralph in 140 characters or less.
Christopher: An alien’s dangerous plan to save the world.
TQ: Tell us something about The Book of Ralph that is not found in the book description.
Christopher: Though the novel is comedic, it isn’t a farce. It isn’t Duck Soup. It is a story with many bizarre events, yet there are reasons why these events happen, and typically the reasons are revealed later on.
TQ: What inspired you to write The Book of Ralph? What appeals to you about writing Science Fiction and particularly SF that deals with alien contact?
Christopher: I was excited by the initial ideas. A message suddenly shows up on the moon, seemingly an advertisement, and humans are not responsible. I love the freshness of it. When I realized I could explore a number of philosophical ideas I had, I was doubly excited. I tried hard to write something original, and as far as I can tell, I did.
I find Science Fiction attractive because the possibilities are so wide open. Exactly why first contact is attractive is answered in the novel (no spoilers!).
TQ: What sort of research did you do for The Book of Ralph?
Christopher: The most exhaustive type of research I could without leaving my apartment.
TQ: In the The Book of Ralph who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?
Christopher: Ralph was extreme fun. Markus, the narrator, was the most challenging, due to the natural limitations of writing in first person.
TQ: Which question about The Book of Ralph do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!
Christopher: Q: Did you get a film option? A: Yes!
TQ: Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from The Book of Ralph.
Christopher: “We were the frills of the universe gazing upon something unspeakably more central than ourselves.”
TQ: What's next?
Christopher: I recently finished a short story, and have two ideas for novels that I like. But, for now, I’m focusing on promoting The Book of Ralph.
TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.
Christopher: Thank you!
The Book of Ralph
Publishers Weekly. 263.24 (June 13, 2016): p80.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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The Book of Ralph
Christopher Steinsvold. Medallion, $14.99 trade paper (416p) ISBN 978-1-942546-34-4
Steinsvold shows his philosopher roots in this offbeat first-contact story. On Jan. 28, 2022, the anniversary of Claes Oldenburg's birth and one year after the giant message "DRINK DIET COKE" appeared on the surface of the Moon, a vessel in the shape of an enormous can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup lowers itself gently to the White House lawn. Out of this ship emerges an alien who calls himself Ralph. National security adviser Francis Holliday, secretary of defense Samantha Weingaroen, and scientist Markus West are the first to meet him. Despite Ralph's distinctly playful side, he comes bringing a dire message: evil aliens from the planet Kardash will arrive on Earth in just three days, and they will wish to be seen as gods. Lengthy passages feature Ralph relaying his philosophy to Markus while bizarre and violent events unfold. This juxtaposition of imminent doom and intellectual seminar gives the work an odd feel and lessens the impact of both. It also fails to be as humorous as the premise suggests. This somewhat quirky tale contains little of either comedy or action. Agent: Mark Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Aug.)
The Book of Ralph
Chuck Sambuchino
Writer's Digest. 96.8 (November-December 2016): p22.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 F+W Media, Inc.
http://www.writersdigest.com/GeneralMenu/
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Christopher Steinsvold
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(2) The Book of Ralph (science fiction, August, Medallion Press) "When a strange message appears on the moon, it's up to one eccentric extraterrestrial to save the world."
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WRITES FROM: Brooklyn, N.Y. PRE-RALPH: I wrote fiction intensively in my teens, won a creative writing award in high school, but then stopped in college. I hadn't written fiction for two decades before this novel. I always wanted to write a novel, but felt I needed a story interesting enough to be worth writing. TIME FRAME: It took about a year for the first draft, and a second year for [revisions]. ENTER THE AGENT: My agent is Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. He was the 42nd (and last) agent I queried. WHAT I LEARNED: You must take a break at some point from the writing, let it sit, and then come back to it [with an enhanced perspective]. Eventually I did take a break, but I should have done it sooner. I was too enthusiastic and didn't want to lose momentum, but this was a mistake. WHAT I DID RIGHT: I waited until I had an idea for a novel that I completely loved, and then wrote it. My enthusiasm is what helped me get through the whole process--including finding an agent. NEXT UP: I have an idea for a sequel, and another novel, and recently finished a short story.
The Book of Ralph
Reviewed by Susan Waggoner
August 26, 2016
Christopher Steinvold merges science fiction and social satire in this quirky and highly entertaining look at first contact in the not-too-distant future. When Earth looks up one night and sees, “Coca-Cola” scrolled across the full moon in bright red letters, that company is immediately suspected of polluting the view. The accusations are proved groundless, and just as the matter is starting to fade from the public mind, a giant Campbell’s soup can appears over the White House, then lands gracefully on the lawn. Inside is Ralph, an endearing alien with a soft spot for humanity and a dire warning which he insists on delivering to the president in person: in two days, Earth will be invaded by forces from the evil planet Kardash. Resistance is futile, and the only choices are annihilation or joining the aliens in their destruction. The book is as much commentary on contemporary society as it is apocalyptic science-fiction.
Ralph, well-versed in American culture, emerges from his soup-can capsule to the Rocky theme song, fist pumping, waving a gigantic American flag, and wearing a NASCAR suit studded with brand names and logos. Despite the threat of imminent extinction, humans remain true to type. Crowds groove on Ralph as an ubercelebrity. Inside the White House, advisors scramble to preserve their own sinecures while storm clouds gather, wonder what trick of language will allow them to avoid saying “Kardashian invasion,” and, never letting a crisis go to waste, seize the opportunity to have sex in the Lincoln Bedroom. The writing is crisp, the observing eye is keen, and the bittersweet ending is simultaneously cinematic, sentimental, and thought-provoking.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Ralph, by Christopher Steinsvold
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Medallion Press
Published: 2016
Review Posted: 9/21/2016
Reviewer Rating:
Reader Rating: Not Rated
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Ralph, by Christopher Steinsvold
Book Review by Michael D. Griffiths
Have you read this book? Rate It!
Ralph, by Christopher Steinsvold is an Alien invasion science fiction novel with a very strong dose of comedy thrown in. Besides the comic aspect, due to the author having a PHD in Philosophy, there is also a good deal of processing the human thread of existence going on.
Markus is called in on a one of the biggest worldwide investigations ever when somehow DRINK DIET COKE is written on the moon in giant letters. They cannot discover the cause, but Markus gets a name for himself, which means he becomes one of three individuals present when a friendly Alien named Ralph shows up, on the White House lawn, in a giant Campbell's soup can like an Andy Warhol vision of otherworldly invasions.
Ralph oscillates between being sweet, odd, and funny to slowly enlightening the earthlings to grander universal concepts of thought. However, things take a darker turn when the humans are told that an evil race of aliens is going to be invading their planet in three days.
I would like to tell you more, but there is a serious amount of suspense built through this book and I would hate to ruin the surprise, let's just say the invading force is as insane as they are dangerous.
I enjoyed the thought processing aspect of this novel. Steinsvold takes on a serious task outlining what such an advanced being would say about how one should live their life. I would say he tackled the issue well and many of the ethics outlined are thought provoking.
Downsides with this one might be that it focuses on different things than people are used to. If you want some summer blockbuster alien invasion, this might not be for you. Although it does have those scenes in here. This is more of a Douglas Adams trip. The author took his time with this and filled out the whole picture, which is needed, but also stretches out the novel a bit.
A great thought provoking and funny book, which are two things I enjoy seeing in a novel. Very original. I have been seeing good things from Medallion Press this year. They are finding better and better novels. I hope both Medallion and Steinsvold keep up their superb work.
The Book of Ralph - Christopher Steinsvold
An odd book, one quite divergent from my usual reading tastes. The quirky premise made me smile, and while I’ve not read many first contact scenarios, it seemed an intriguing twist. I half expected a wise-cracking sassy pop—culture sponge like Roger from American Dad, and was only half-correct in my approximations.
Ralph is an extra-terrestrial glowing tentacle thing that makes a grand entrance on the lawn of the White House in a giant Warhol soup can. He’s scoured the internet, prefers Helium to Oxygen, and has a handful of days to prepare us for an invasion of Bad Guys™ who are called, no shit, The Kardashians (Cardassians). The book went somewhat downhill from there.
The Book of Ralph, while entertaining at times, was quite disappointing. I had expected from the premise a multitude of goofy, light-hearted first contact shenanigans with this boisterous and colourful individual from beyond the stars; a proverbial fish-out-of-water comic farce. Instead, much of the book is spent with various mouthpieces prompting Ralph to patiently educate and elucidate the great philosophical truths of the stars to the infantile minds of humanity.
Ralph seemed to be intended to be endearing, but more often came off as proselytizing Atheistic benevolence and humility, goading and scaffolding this supreme wisdom in small morsels as to not overwhelm the fragile minds of his human dialogue companions. His child-like wonder at snowflakes and puppies notwithstanding, Ralph was, well, not particularly much fun. Very little of the rest of the cast had much to offer beyond the wooden and well-trodden, and while I wanted to enjoy the book it fell flat and dull and was rather wearisome by tale’s end.
The writing itself is very straight-forward, the dialogue all too contemporary for my liking (the author’s inclusion of modern colloquialisms like ‘ragetard’ a special odium) and nods to ‘doxxing’, social media, and less than subtle ‘modern progressive’ virtue signalling ruined what should have been a cavalier romp. Had it borne the weight of some ruthlessly stoic tome from the outset I’d have weathered the elucidation and exploration of sombre themes and the ramifications of adopting a particular personal philosophy; in Ralph it was the author’s view alone, and the deliberate contrasts against anything else conveyed a distasteful morass of hypocrisy and naïve optimism masquerading as The Way Things Should Be Because It’s Best For Everyone.
The book itself felt incredibly short, at 350 odd pages, broken down into ridiculously small chapters. Far too much was made of Ralph’s arrival and the myriad genuflections to Ralph’s inter-galactic wisdom. The arrival of the antagonist species was a welcome relief, but ended all too swiftly with little substance in between. In the hands of a different reader there is probably something to enjoy here, but it was frustratingly shallow and could have carried a stronger philosophical or moral weight if it actually explored further the themes that it briefly touched upon – the lack of substance ultimately eroding what good-will the levity of the early chapters might have constructed.
For a book about an alien rocking up to Earth in a Warhol-inspired soup can (not to mention some other artist guy famed, but criminally under-rated by the world apparently, for making really big things) it was far less amusing, endearing, or entertaining than it should have been. This is perhaps a misunderstanding and poor appraisal on my part of ‘mainstream’ literature, but this seems like holiday trash reading – little substance, an interesting premise that is unfulfilling in practice, and a book that I would not buy for myself and would not normally have read save for the hook of a quirky idea that was de-railed in favour of quasi-cosmic pulpit lectures.
If nothing else it was worth my time to read to re-enforce what I appreciate and what I dislike in literature. Exploring other genres and styles is always precarious; on this occasion this ‘Sci-Fi’ book felt more like a dropped pie than an engaging interstellar romp.
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
The Book of Ralph by Christopher Steinsvold
Review by The Mole
"Drink Diet Coke" - an advert seemingly from the Coca-Cola company appears on the moon in letters so large that it's readable from the Earth. There's a backlash against the company that results in near riots and Marcus West is asked by the American government to establish if the company is really responsible. The conclusion is that they aren't but it's a conclusion no-one wants to accept until a giant can of Campbell's soup lands on the White House lawn.
And Ralph appears from inside the can of soup to deliver a stark warning to the people of Earth but no-one, apart from Marcus, can take him seriously.
The story starts by grabbing the reader's attention - any book should if it's going to succeed - but rather than slow down after achieving that it keeps the pace going and at times I wondered how the author was going to conclude the tale within the pages in my hand. But he does and he does it without rushing the plot or introducing plot "get out" holes. Apart from the incomplete truths that Ralph is constantly telling, everything is there for the reader to try to anticipate the plot - but not too far ahead.
Steinsvold holds a PhD in philosophy and that's what we get given by Ralph. Ralph comes from an older and more intelligent world where they "know" all the philosophical answers which he starts to share. You will probably, like me, doubt the over simplifications that Ralph comes out with but remember that this is a work of fiction so don't get hung up on what you don't agree with just enjoy the story - there's a lot to enjoy.
While it's most certainly SciFi it does contain a lot of sexual references so it may not really be a book for the young SciFi fans.
Publisher - Medallion Press
Genre - YA/Adult SciFi