Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I’m a late-20s science teacher, small-time game streamer and writer! I live in Queensland, Australia, with my wife and pets. So far I’ve published two books. The first one (Through the Portal, 2012) I published in high school and you shouldn’t read. The second one (The Asteroid Field) is the first part of my attempt to reboot the original story and do it right. Its only a short novella right now, but I’ll be adding to it with two more stories this year, and then more beyond.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Asteroid Field – like I said, I’m trying to go back to my first attempt and do it properly. The Asteroid Field comprises the first part of the story, where the characters find themselves in a strange new galaxy, and ends with the revelation that they will be taken home, but only if they can survive a six month wait until the portal opens again.
The asteroid field setting came as a consequence from some world-building. I wanted a semi-realistic solution to allow every planet to be habitable. I came up with the idea of an artificial atmosphere emitter which makes the planet Earth-like. The setting this book takes place in is a planet that was destroyed at some point in the past, resulting in an asteroid field encapsulated in a force field, pumped full of air. I didn’t want the characters to be in any doubt that they were in a strange new galaxy, and so this seemed to be a good fit for that.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so? Although if I need to be especially productive I’ll take my laptop to work and write there. Im naturally more productive in that setting, so sometimes I use that for evil I guess?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My biggest influence is Star Wars, obviously. My story isn’t Star Wars with the barcode filed off, or anything, but I’m sure anyone could see the influence. I love how deep and connected the universe is, and Through the Portal is my poor attempt to do something similar.
Otherwise, my biggest influence is actually comic books. The first Marvel Civil War event comic was the first comic I ever read. I knew none of the characters other than spider-man, but I loved it, and over the years collected as many Civil War tie-in comics as I could. I loved reading the same events from many different perspectives. Now, I’m trying to achieve something similar with my books. That’ll be more obvious once I’ve published a few more stories.
What are you working on now?
The next thing in my to-do list is the physical edition of The Asteroid Field. In it, I want to have a preview of the next three stories in the series – Legal Alien, Indistinguishable from Magic, and A Persistent Self. Legal Alien is a direct sequel to the Asteroid Field, and follows the main character’s new lives as literal legal aliens making a home in a new world, populated by aliens (you know, the other kind). Indistinguishable from Magic and A Persistent Self show the story from the antagonists’ perspectives.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ll tell you just as soon as I’ve worked that out.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Dont over-edit. Hire an editor to go over it and fix it up for you, then publish. Take advantage of the freedom of self-publishing to go nuts.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Once, when I’d lost a job or something along those lines, my mum told me that she’d lost out on what she’d wanted too, but every time she’d lost a job she was disappointed at first, but she’d eventually look back on it and be happy with the result. Things had always worked out.
What are you reading now?
I just finished reading the Scott Pilgrim series, am almost finished re-reading the Fellowship of the Ring, and every so often I’ll listen to a bit more of The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates on audio book.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to publish two more stories this year, and then at least one in 2023. And then just keep the series going as long as it wants to. I’ve got other stories I want to write, and I’d love to one day have a short story published in a science fiction magazine like Analog.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I mean I read on a kindle exclusively, so reinterpreting this as, if I could only read 3 or 4 books for the rest of my life…
– Path of Destruction (Darth Bane #1) by Drew Karpyshyn. I always forget how great this book is whenever I read it. Part planet-hopping adventure, part hogwarts-style fantasy school, part war story, its the best star wars story I’ve ever had hit my eyeballs, regardless of medium.
– the martian by Andy Weir. Just hilarious and engrossing like hardly any other book
– World War Z – an oral history of the zombie war by Max Brooks. Super deep and complex in a way, I feel like I could read this over and over and always come away with more understanding. I’ll be forever bitter we got the terrible world war z movie instead of a faithful mocumentary-style adaptation
– Dreadnought by April Daniels. This book just makes me happy. Also insanely jealous that she so effectively created a super hero world. Something I’d like to do but have never figured out.
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