Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Rachel: We love a good space opera epic, and with us today to talk about her latest one is T.K. Toppin! T.K., tell us all about it!
T.K.: The book is called Bis Rose:
The guilty must pay, but so will the innocent…
Across the icy, untamed stretches of Neptune’s Kuiper Belt sprawl humanity’s habitat stations, repurposed generation ships and terraformed moons.
From megacity utopias to the Wild West of rundown ghettos, veteran Galactic Judicial Authority (GAJA) retrieval agent, Bis Rose, apprehends nefarious criminals. But when escaped convict Jun Hiro, the heir to the infamous Hiro Syndicate, drops in her lap, her stellar record may be in danger.
Bis follows the clues to capture her prey, but instead finds herself on a quest to prove Jun innocent of murder. An impossible task when an unknown force stalks her at every step.
Rachel: What inspired you to write this book?
T.K.: Bis Rose just sort of popped into my head. I envisioned the opening scene where she emerges from the transport shuttle and struts down the gangplank like she means business, or something like that. Full of attitude and all that “older woman, today’s not the day” vibe. It just went from there, full-on pantser mode.
Rachel: I love an older woman with no damns let to give. Is there a visual image—a painting or a photo—that inspired you?
T.K.: Cowboy Bebop – love that gritty, grungy, urban-ness. The many worlds and space ports in the Star Trek and Star Wars universe from upscale utopian to stark dystopian and everything in between. I also threw in some homegrown images from the present, and then I tried to combine them altogether.
Rachel: Why do you write? What drives you?
T.K.: I’ve always been a creative, starting my journey in the arts where I was a graphic designer for the last 30+ years. Writing was always there, albeit juvenile enough that it simply needs immediate incineration if ever it’s unearthed. To me, writing is another extension of my creative side, another way of expression. Plus, I’ve always been a reader and love being immersed in another world inside the book. I wanted to create something like that, and mostly, create something that I would want to read, again and again, like many of my favourite books.
Rachel: I’ve worn a number of hats too. What’s the secret to editing?
T.K.: I’ve a few processes. First step, once I reach the end, I immediately go back to the beginning and review it. Next step, wait a few days/weeks, and go back at it. Then beta readers. Then, repeating step 1 and 2, again, and again…until it “feels” right. But it’s like any other art, it’s never really right or done.
Rachel: What’s your next writing project?
T.K.: Another, and definitely the final, Jax Marlin novel. I wasn’t going to write about her and her copper again, but…it just sort of happened. I’m hoping for a release by the end of 2025.
Rachel: Tell us where the Night Beats community can find you and find your work!
Night Beats Extended Universe 