Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: Whether you’re in the mood for science fiction action or dark fantasy, Nick Snape has you covered! Nick, can you tell us a bit about your serieses?

Nick: Weapons of Choice has 8 books in an action science fiction series with an emotional storyline. Join Finn, Zuri and Corporal Smith (deceased) as they explore new worlds and face hostile alien contact during their desperate search for a pathway home, in this thought-provoking, scifi thriller series. And my humorous but dark science fiction thriller, The Scorching, has this tagline: On a devastated Earth, the Drathken arrive promising to heal the planet. Joshua Nkosi, joker, vlogger and sea-cop and his modded octopus partner find themselves between the Earth’s future and the terrorists looking to break the alien/human accord.

Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?

Nick: I love the Saturday afternoon 1970s/80s American science fiction series and the old black and white Flash Gordon serials. Amazing memories, and that ‘tune in for the next episode’ approach where the storyline is complete, but the overarching nefarious plans are yet to be resolved.

Sabitha: Do you have a playlist for your book? 

Nick: Beat the Devil’s Tattoo by BRMC, and the Welsh artist Ren whose storytelling is superb–especially Hi Ren.

Zilla: If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

Nick: We always have conversations and the internal monologue often adds unexpected plot twists. If I met them, I would ask them to read the ‘mirror’ book I wrote – Bk7 – where clones of my main characters go through emotional and physical hell. And I’d say, “See, it wasn’t so bad.”

Zilla: What book do you tell all your friends to read?

Nick: Tom Lloyd’s The Stormcaller—dark fantasy ratcheted up to eleven—leaves you raw.

Zilla: Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?

Nick: I killed off the two clones of the main ‘love and bullets’ interest. They fell out of love—an emotional disconnect due to the horrors of war, ending with the funeral attended by their originators—powerful stuff.

Zilla: Do you have any suggestions to help people in our community become better writers?  

Nick: First, write, have it read, and listen to those readers, whoever they are. Secondly, write the first line of the next chapter when you finish the previous one—keep the mental momentum going for just one more line.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Nick: A Dragon of the Veil, where artifice dragons arise in a world where magic has been suppressed. First of three, with a soul-eating enemy to follow.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Nick: On all socials and my website is www.nicksnape.com. My books are on Amazon, the newer ones will be on all retailers.