After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).
Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.
He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.
Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles), speculative fiction (Cities of Light Series), and a combination of science fiction / speculative fiction (Parallel Universe Saga). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.
He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.
Dr. Dockens still has creative ideas to share so stay tuned!
Dr. Dockens’ latest books are Retrieving the Future & Resolving the Future (Books 1 & 2 in the Parallel Universe Saga Series)
Visit his website at https://www.randydockens.com.
Connect with him on social media at:
╰┈➤ X: www.x.com/RandyCDockens
╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
╰┈➤ Instagram: Randy C Dockens (@randydockens) | Instagram
╰┈➤ Goodreads: Randy C. Dockens (Author of T-H-B) | Goodreads
How did you choose the title for your books? Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come later?
The titles came after I thought about what I wanted the story to be about but before I started writing. The title of the first book, Retrieving the Future, I think fits the storyline of the book as the main character, Declan, is traveling to parallel Earths to gain advanced technology he can bring back to his Earth so his company can reverse engineer it and market that specific technology. This brings some kind of advanced technology forward before its time. Therefore, it is like he is retrieving a future for his world. The cover design shows several Earths in a line getting smaller and smaller to represent there are many Earths for Declan to choose to visit.
In the second book, Resolving the Future, Declan and his girlfriend, Rose, travel to a parallel Earth to discover why their company sends Declan on these missions. Therefore, it is as if he is resolving the reason for the future he is helping to create for his world. This cover is like the first, but with specific differences. It shows a man and women entering a portal with several Earths again shown that can be visited. Yet, these are more out of focus to represent the time dilation field they will need to pass through.
Tell us about the cover design process. Did you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
The way my covers work is that I typically have an idea for how the cover should look and my cover designer will make it look better than my original idea. This can take several back-and-forth conversations via email before we completely gel on the winning cover design. I will find pictures that she can use on the cover. She may use those or find others that better enhances the ideas I had for the cover. She adds finesse to the cover art and often produces a cover that is similar to what I first imagined, but usually much better in both design and color.
Who is your cover designer and how did you find him/her?
My cover designer is Suzanne Lawing. She also formats the book’s interior as well. My publisher is the one who introduced me to her. She is quite talented and typically gets on board with my vision for the book cover fairly quickly. There have been times that it has taken several back-and-forth messaging for us to gel creatively, but that is how a creative process works. From more than two dozen books she has helped design, I can count on one hand when there was significant frustration in getting her to envision my design ideas. She typically is on board almost from the get-go. She has a great eye for getting the vision to be even better than my first thoughts about the cover’s design. She takes my ideas and then makes them “pop.”
What has been the readers’ response to your covers?
To be honest, I haven’t received a lot of feedback from readers but the few who have commented said the covers were very intriguing. I have received more feedback from those who have helped me market my books in some way. They stated that the covers were very striking and notable.
What tips would you give to authors who are looking for a cover designer?
You need a designer who can get on board with your vision but still not yield to everything you say. The back-and-forth conversations between you and the designer is what makes your cover design come to life and become something bigger and better than you had at first envisioned.
Anything else you’d like to say about your books?
I would like to say that I think my covers are eye-catching and interest people so they will at least take an initial notice of my work. While the genre may not be for them, I think it at least piques their interest.
Most of my books have a science fiction feel to them and I think my covers reveal that aspect about them. While the stories themselves go from dystopian, to speculative, to science fiction, I do think the covers give that vibe to them and in some way complement the plot of the story itself.
