Thomas Hraynyk: Writing Is My Escape

Thomas Hraynyk is Canadian-born from Oshawa, Ontario. At forty-three, he is accomplishing a long dream of publishing his first novel. Through many obstacles over the past five years, he has persevered and worked hard to get to this point. His story goes far beyond that and is pretty darn inspiring, so you should check out his website for the rest of it. 

Tell us a bit about your most recent work.

A.M.P.D. Artificial Military Prosthetics Division Book 1, and Book 2 The Phantom Limb releases this coming March. It is a series that follows a handful of soldiers who end up with weaponized prosthetics. I have also just published a short story on Kindle called Hearts on the Apex: The Afterburn. This is a story about a young race car driver with all the skill and potential to be great. However, life happens, and everything changes, and he decides to disappear.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

I have experienced a lot of loss and hardship in my life, and my writing is my escape. It is also the way I strive to motivate and encourage others to never give up. Even though my novels are science fiction, the message is in the characters and backstories. Soldiers with weaponized prosthetics have to cope and deal with loss and PTSD, while trying to protect the world. It also looks at the debate of choice and orders.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

I had this Idea for A.M.P.D. years ago, and one day, after losing my job, my fiance looked at me and said, "Why don't you write that story you keep talking about all the time?" So I started writing it on my cell phone. Years later, after life and living, she passed away tragically. She died in my arms, and after a year of grieving, I said to myself, "I need to do this." I need to get this finished and published. So I made the decision to learn and do whatever it took to get it done.