Stargazing and World-Building with KC Sci-Fi Author Jeff Knoblauch
By Mindy McVay
I had the pleasure to sit down over tea and a can of soda with Jeff Knoblauch. Husband, Father, Grandfather, retired Medical Technician and local Cass County Sci-Fi author of The Atlantis Series, Jeff is a self proclaimed fair weather bbq hobbyist who enjoys experimenting with smoked meats. He is also enjoying his newest hobby, astrophotography. He shared a stunning picture he captured recently. It is a breathtaking display of how the universe can feel both infinitely dark and vibrantly alive at the same time.
The Art and Science of Astrophotography
Jeff spends many nights capturing space through his Celestron SE8 and Askar 5 telescopes. “I’ve only been able to capture two really clear pictures of space through my telescopes. There are a lot of variables that make it difficult to get clear pictures and specific techniques to help reduce “fuzziness” by reducing internal electronic and thermal noise created by your camera sensor itself, which makes clearer pictures. The technique is called taking dark frames. Essentially, you take dark “void pictures” by keeping the lens cap on. I couldn’t do that with this picture though, my new laptop sucked up all of my battery before I could take my dark frame pictures.” If you would like to see more of Jeff’s astrophotography, please visit his blog at: JKnoblauch.com. Where he will be sharing his love of space and astrophotography, as well as writing. You can also sign up for his blog by email to hear about his upcoming events at [email protected]
Bringing Space Down to Earth in Local Libraries
Our conversation drifted to our love of the Powell Observatory in Louisburg, Ks. We shared beloved memories there of staring up into the night sky. Jeff is an astrophile, an ASKC member and a supporter of the Powell Observatory. He has invited our readers to come to Powell with him sometime this summer to take a tour of the skies and is currently in early talks with the Cass County Northern Research Center Library in Belton, Mo about speaking to children about space which is aptly timed as the library is expected to receive a generous donation of S.T.E.M. telescopes this summer.
He spoke wistfully about once driving down to Butler, Mo to sneak a longing look through the security fence of the restricted Deep Sky sight outside of the town. The town being an old stomping ground of my own childhood; it was exciting to discover such a fascinating property existed there now. Jeff and I will be contacting the Kansas City’s Astronomical Society soon to see if they would like to be involved in an outreach project between Jeff and the local library. Stay tuned for further updates on Jeff’s future public speaking events. We will make sure to share information as it becomes available!
Building a 65-Mile-Long Spaceship
I asked Jeff how he originally came up with the idea to write the Atlantis series. He said, “It was a thought experiment at first. Most science fiction starts with humans that are already on the ship or have obtained the resources and knowledge to build it. A sixty-five mile long ship takes a lot of resources. I wanted to show the struggle of working together with every nation, the hardships of acquiring materials and resources and the determination to see the building through. I have a quote at the beginning of my first book, “Atlantis Leaving Home.” I think that this quote from Calvin Coolidge truly sums up the struggle and willpower that humans have always gone through and will go through to survive. ”
“Nothing in the World can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
During the interview we discussed the loss of his Star Trek and other Ray Bradbury book collection due to a previous house fire. He shared his love of sci-fi writers like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, and Frederik Pohl. Specifically for their genius world building capabilities to write in such a way that readers are able to travel with them through their worlds. He spoke to his own struggles with data dumping in his first book and what writing skills he learned through world building. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of data dumping it is a complication writers especially in the scifi genre of providing too much technical information at one time to progress the story line.
How to Avoid Data Dumping in Sci-Fi (Writing Tips from the Author)
I asked him how he got around having to share a lot of necessary technical information with the reader without data dumping on them. Jeff chuckled before replying drolly. “I ended up rewriting it and using world building as a mechanism to fix my data dumping problem. I originally wrote it where meetings were held at a consortium conference table to apprise everyone of the work being done on the ship building project, but as I rewrote the book, I pondered about how to fix the problem for months. When I finally figured out how to write it, world building allowed me to build out scenes where I would have these meetings at the space port, factories, and other building sites and explain things in a way that would bring readers along to see the progress of the ship instead of just data dumping progress reports.” I asked Jeff what helps him hone his craft and he said, “When I first started writing I watched a lot of webinars and paid attention to criticisms. Especially, if I hear the criticisms more than once and that is really what guides my writing.
We requested Jeff to impart any sage advice for writers just starting out on their journey to publishing a book. “Just like a lot of things, there are a lot of ways to write and you just need to find what works for you. Maybe you are the kind of person that has to write it all out in an outline first or you could be like me who just starts at the beginning and writes. I don’t think there is a right way or a wrong way to write a book. It just has to work for you. Now, as far as learning more about structure and world building and the parts and pieces that make good writing. That is all helpful to know. For those that tell you that to be good, you have to write every day: I agree with that to a point, but I'm of the opinion that real creativity doesn’t come on a schedule. Sometimes, I’ll just be watching a sci-fi movie and something will inspire me by stuff I see or read. I think you have to always be thinking about writing. Really be aware of writing so that when you are inspired by a sunset, you are prepared for creativity to grab you and write it down. I do find my best writing in a quiet space and I used to do a lot of writing in the middle of the night or early morning when I could hear my thoughts. That’s generally when I can create.”
The Editing Process at Midnight Garden Publishing
We couldn’t resist asking Jeff about his experience with midnight garden publishing’s editorial services and if he would recommend us to other independent authors looking for professional editorial services. Jeff grinned wickedly, “Oh, with Patricia?” He laughed. “….hmmmm I give her… an A-. I really judge an editor by how much they rip up my writing. If I give my writing to someone and they don’t rip it up, then I wonder how good of an editor are they? She did a pretty good job of ripping up my work. Oh yea, I would recommend Midnight Garden Publishing, you guys are a niche company and I'm not really aware of many people doing similar work and I like that you guys are local. Plus, I can’t go to, say, Derek's house in California and ask him for help on my book.”
(Note: Jeff is also a member of Writers in Residence and regularly attends the free writers' groups we host around the Kansas City Metropolitan area!)
What's Next for Jeff Knoblauch?
Jeff’s highly anticipated third book, Journey of Atlantis: Rogue AI Rising, will be hitting local KC bookstores this fall. It will also be available globally in ebook and print on his website and the Midnight Garden Market Store this fall.
Want to hear more? Catch our full audio interview with Jeff on our brand-new podcast, launching this March!
In the meantime, enjoy this exclusive video clip of Jeff reading an excerpt from his first book, Journey of Atlantis: Leaving Home, to a crowd at the Cass County Northern Resource Center Library earlier this month. The Video premiers at 7pm on March 1st, 2026. Come watch it with us and hang out in the comment section with us.
