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

Zilla: Not only is Joseph Picard a very cool person, he also writes awesome cyberpunk that challenges what we think it means to be human. Today he’s telling us about his novel Daughter of Erebus: Sparrow. So, Joseph, can you introduce us to your book?

Joseph: No good deed goes unpunished.

Before he was defeated, Erebus killed millions.

But it’s okay; he left a synthetic daughter, Sarah, with all the best intentions. She just needs to deal with the legacy of being made of the same nanotech that ripped through two and a half cities.

She’s doing her best. A job, dear friends, and a synthetic lizard covering her tracks as she secretly volunteers at the hospital using her controversial abilities.

Her already shaky public opinion takes a sharp turn for the worse when a new entity emerges with deadly intent. Sarah finds herself as the prime suspect and is forced into drastic measures to keep ahead of the law while she hunts the true culprit.

Taking to the skies in a small new body, Sarah is driven to save her friends and her city from the Spark, whose very body – and rage – is made of any electrical charge it can absorb.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Joseph: The protagonist, Sarah Amanda Hartford, was left with a lot of unresolved questions at the end of Echoes of Erebus, so she’s getting her own series! She has doubts about the validity of her synthetic existence, (She’s made entirely out of nanotech, which carries a lot of baggage in a world that’s suffered millions of deaths at the hands of her creator), and the validity of her emotions. She hadn’t counted on the quietly growing emotions of one of her best friends, through, and that’s just going to complicate things further.

But of course it can’t even be as easy as a chat over coffee. Another entity, based entirely on electrical charge and signals, fled for its freedom, and sought relief to its pain. In the process, it killed a more than a few people. (Unintentionally?) But the disturbance has the government looking to Sarah, since she’s a known factor made of dangerous tech. And she’s gotta run. Away from the life she’s built, and her loved-ones. But running’s not enough this time. A less obvious body? A smaller one that can blend in, and maybe fly…?

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

Joseph: “Nananananana don’t be shy, GO ON AN KEES DE GURL!”

Zilla: And if your characters met you, what would they say to you?

Joseph: “Why don’t you write out sex scenes? I mean, we’re gettin it on OFFSCREEN?! Break out the lube, ya prude!”

Zilla: Why do you write?

Joseph: The characters have things they need to get done. It’s not my idea. Blame them.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project? 

Joseph: The next 2 books will round out the “Daughter of Erebus” series, and end a lot of things from across all my books… but after that? Who knows?

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?

Joseph: Sparrow is here in the US, and here for my fellow Canucks. And www.ozero.ca is my main site. I’m on FB (joseph.n.picard) and Discord (ozeroakajosephpicaed) a lot. And my email’s joe@ozero.ca.