The ‘Softie in question: Sam Landstrom

Job title: Senior Content Publishing Lead on Silverlight, Phone, and Windows Presentation.

Working at Microsoft is as much a lifestyle as it is a career. Among other things, we provide a unique commute service called the Connector – some 55 private buses that make sure employees get to and from work without having to touch a gas pedal or jockey for a city bus seat.

Yes, the Connector has Wi-Fi. Yes, it has convenient pick-ups throughout the Greater Seattle-area. And, yes, it’s even good for the environment (with some 200,000 less car trips, employees reduce overall carbon emissions by a cool 5.5 tons per year).

But what would you do if you could replace your commute with a smooth, stress-free ride? Would you catch up on your sleep? Call mom? Or, how about write a sci-fi novel?

One ‘Softie did just that and we tracked him down to get the inside scoop.
 
Sam, did you come up with the idea to write a book while commuting or did the Connector give you the opportunity to write an existing idea?
I’m a programmer and writer here at Microsoft, so I’d been kicking around the idea for the book before the Connector started [in 2007]. I already had a private blog where I was building up a future sci-fi world and developing certain aspects of a fictional society. But I wasn’t finding a whole lot of time to work on the book.
When the Connector came along, I thought: I’m all over that. Lo and behold, I had time to write. I put on my headphones, and the result is my novel, MetaGame.

And how was the book received?
It did better than I could have hoped. Kindle was good to me. I got lots of downloads, lots of reviews on Amazon and was picked up by Amazon Encore—their new publishing division. Amazon’s going to fly me and some of the other Encore authors out to BookExpo in New York next month. And, MetaGame has even been optioned as a possible TV series on the new 3D cable channel 3net.

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