Have you ever dreamed that your work would be compared to the likes of Mary Shelley or Ray Bradbury? Well, Rachel A Rosen doesn’t have to dream anymore. Her climate fantasy novel has been declared just as depressing as some of the greatest science fiction authors of all time. Check out this amazing description of Cascade on the Tor blog.
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: Today we have William Long with us, author of the science fiction novel Children of the Black. William, can you start us off by giving a summary of your book?
William: Children of the Black is a fast-paced SciFi/Action thriller set in a universe recovering from a millennia-spanning war between interstellar superpowers. Claude, a former soldier, and Vision, an eleven-year-old orphan with psionic abilities, have been shaped by this conflict and now struggle to keep the lights on in their modest apartment. It is only when shadows offer much-needed credits in exchange for information on a lost superweapon that Claude and Vision begin to realize that some things are more important than money.
Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?
William: I first wrote this tale in a series of notebooks while I was bored in class. It was an escape that I fell in love with but ultimately placed on the back burner for decades while I tried my hand at filmmaking. But a few years ago, I had a stroke and was forced to come out of work and face several significant changes in my life. That brought me back to my love of writing, and the first story I wanted to revisit in novel form was this one.
Sabitha: If you’re a filmmaker, do you have a “fan-cast” – do you have actors you’d cast as your main characters?
William: I’m not sure I have a full-fan cast involved, but there are some very interesting thoughts I’ve had about the characters and who I want to play them. For Claude, I built him around Harrison Ford circa 1986, but I see Alexander Dreymon (from The Last Kingdom) in that role. With Vision, I think Mckenna Grace would knock it out of the park, and I’ve always seen Aisha Tyler as my villain, Miranda.
Sabitha: How did you choose the title?
William: The original title for the story was Silver, but when I decided to turn it into a novel, I just felt like that title brought to mind images of shirtless men in the moonlight with the eyes of wolves, which is very far from what my story is. So, I decided to name it after humanity’s position in the novel’s universe. They are all children lost in the darkness of space, without parents to guide them or a map to lead them home, hence Children of the Black.
Sabitha: When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?
William: As ideal readers go, I wrote the book to appeal to anyone who likes rich characters, detailed worlds, and pulse-quickening set pieces. If I’m honest, I wrote this book with the idea that it might be someone’s first foray into science fiction, whether they have read consistently since childhood or were inspired because they just saw the new Dune film. So, if you’re reading this interview, you are my ideal reader.
Sabitha: That’s a lovely sentiment! What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?
William: I wrote this book to be entertaining above all other considerations, but if there’s one thing I’d want anyone to take from my novel, it’s that life is messy. It’s brutal, and it’s hard. There’s far more gray than either black or white. Navigating through it changes us all, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Sabitha: 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?
William: You can find my book here, or on Amazon. I’m on Twitter and Instagram.
In which Rachel hijacks Rohan’s Fiction to Sink Your Teeth Into column!
“[Naomi] opted for red kibble from a scarred kiosk with adhesive from generations of nightclub flyers caking its sides. It came in a brown pressed-shred container that fit in her left palm with a plastic spatula like a flattened spoon to eat with. The first bite filled her mouth with cumin and her mind with dust-covered memory. For a moment, she was in her bunk on Tio Kriztec’s ship, huddled over the white ceramic bowl she had loved then and forgotten for years, eating quietly while the others sang in the galley” (Nemesis Games, Chapter 9)
“The meal was the heavily spiced and deep-fried balls of bean paste that Belters called red kibble “(Persepolis Rising, Chapter 26).
Red kibble is featured prominently in James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series, particularly Nemesis Games and Persepolis Rising, where Naomi Nagata enjoys it in stark contrast to her crewmates on the Rocinante. It’s a dish favoured by the Belters, the downtrodden civilization raised and adapted to living in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They frequently must make do with the limited ingredients available, adding interest through spice and texture.
Many Expanse fans have tried their hand at recreating the recipe, which was also featured on the show. I had to give it a try!
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: Today we’ll talk to Nichol DeCastra about her first novel, An Icy Road to a Warm Heart. Nichol, lovely to have you here! Can you introduce us to your book?
Nichol: The first book I ever published is called An Icy Road to a Warm Heart. The book is about a young woman named Dominique Miller, who is fleeing her abusive ex over the holidays and runs into a trucker, Edgar Himura, who offers to drive her to her family’s house. Along the way, they fall in love.
Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?
Nichol: The ending scene of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where the heroine is helped by a trucker, honestly inspired me.
Sabitha: We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?
Nichol: Somewhere between a pantser and plotter. I am mainly the former, but occasionally I will make notes about what I want to happen in the future.
Sabitha: What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?
Nichol: That there is hope in escaping an abusive relationship and finding love again.
Sabitha: That’s a lovely message. Thank you for sharing your interview. Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
Nichol: You can buy the book on Amazon. You can find me at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and my website.
This month’s suggestion is Strunk & White’s Elements of Style as a paranormal romance. It comes from no one. No one asked for this. Tweet us and if Rachel likes your suggestion, she’ll make on in a future issue. Please do this as her ideas keep getting more demented.
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: We have Ben Winter with us, author of the cyber-thriller Latent State. Tell us about your book!
Ben: Latent State takes place in the near future of Neo-London where drugs have made Virtual Reality feel like real life and the populace are hopelessly addicted. Within this crumbling cyberpunk dystopia, a couple of junkie brothers stumble on hidden tech that leaves one catatonic and the other, Daryl, suffering from episodes where time comes to a standstill. Now, to save his brother, Daryl must uncover the mystery of what’s happening to him, all the while battling his drug problems and the shadowy forces that are hunting him.
Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?
Ben: The initial idea for Latent State was quite abstract. At the time I was watching a lot of superhero movies and was getting bored by them. I liked the idea of a main character with special abilities but the normal fantasies seemed too easy. It got me thinking about the downsides. What if someone could stop time? What would it mean? To my mind, it would be incredibly perilous; the air would be frozen and everything would be like stone. Those dangerous scenarios created lots of fascinating plot points, and everything else soon fell into place, including the cyberpunk dystopia, and the characters’ addictions to drugs and technology.
Sabitha: That’s a fascinating concept, and I bet there’s some great worldbuilding in the book. How did you choose the title?
Ben: I wish I’d known the title before starting as finding something that said everything I wanted was a challenge. The goal was for it to evoke the main themes: time manipulation, dystopia, control, and cyberpunk. Perhaps I set my expectations too high! In any case, I recall spending hours pouring over a thesaurus searching for synonyms. Then it finally came to me one night in the moments before sleep. I hastily made a note and couldn’t remember what it was until I checked my phone the following morning.
Sabitha: That is so relatable—finding the perfect title is a huge deal. We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?
Ben: I broke every rule when writing Latent State. One of the biggest being I didn’t get feedback until I was more or less done. That was tough and lonely, but after many false starts I learned that unless people know about writing, they tend not to give helpful feedback, and all that does is ruin your motivation. I found the right kind of feedback later and had to change some parts, but I’m still grateful for the focus I achieved writing this way.
Sabitha: What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?
Ben: Latent State is set in a dystopia populated with flawed humans, but most of the characters are still hopeful for better and battle against the odds to achieve it. That’s the sort of mentality I think everyone can benefit from; the idea that no matter how bad things are, or how far you are from your goal, there’s always the chance to strive for better.
Sabitha: This book sounds very cool—we’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
Ben: Latent State is out now on Amazon , and you can also sign-up at my website or follow me on Twitter for updates.
by Zilla N.
We were given an Advance Reader Copy of The Devil You Know (Hotel Heat Book 1) by Nicole Northwood in return for an honest review.
The Devil You Know is a romance, a steamy, smolderingly hot romance, the kind of book you’re grateful has an art cover so no one wonders why you’re smiling to yourself as you read it in public. It’s a very, very good romance. But it’s more than that.
Cam, the Prince of Lust, demon from Hell, is funny. He’s got a wry, self depreciating humour that makes me want to quote half his lines in my group chats to make my friends laugh. (I restrain myself to no more than a third of his lines.) And he’s got stuff going on in his life besides love, or maybe the love is a catalyst for the rest of his life. Lucifer wants him back in the unchanging world of Hell. Demon hunters want him off Earth or dead, preferably the first one. God isn’t impressed with him. Cam’s not only choosing between being with Giselle vs not being with Giselle. He’s choosing between the security of an eternally static existence and the pain and joy of growth.
Giselle has her own demons to fight (pun absolutely intended) but to avoid more spoilers, I’ll only say that I love her, and she is not an afterthought in someone else’s story. She is on her own journey, and she’s found herself in the liminal space of the Hedonism Hotel, deciding which destination her travels will take her to next.
Last but not least, Lucifer keeps a cat named Satin, and I love her with my whole heart. If she’s not in a future Hotel Heat book, I’m throwing my Kindle out the window.
If you’re looking for a story with love, and self discovery, and the occasional appearance from a distractingly attractive Prince of Wrath, The Devil You Know is the book you’ve been waiting for.
Find it here.
It’s here! The time has finally come to share the cover for The Sad Bastard Cookbook with you! Designed by the inimitable Rachel A Rosen, we hope you love it as much as we do.
The e-book will be free for everyone, because we believe that coping strategies should be as widely accessible as we can make them. But our newsletter subscribers will get access a month before everyone else does, plus sneak peaks of recipes. Sign up here.
Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Sabitha: Laura Quinn is here! She’s written a sweeping historical novel about family and love set in the time of World War One. Laura, can you introduce us to your book?
Laura: Titanic meets Boardwalk Empire in this historical fiction set against the picturesque shore town of Cape May, NJ, at the onset of World War One. Siblings Danny and Shannon Culligan are trapped under the thumb of their alcoholic father. Danny’s been in love with his childhood sweetheart, Jennie Martin- a wealthy cottager from Philadelphia- for as long as he can remember while her cousin, Hugh, is smitten with his sister.
As the foursome struggles to surmount the class differences between them, the nation is plunged into the Great War, changing all of their lives forever. Danny is drafted into the Army and Hugh enlists in the Navy- defending the home front as a lieutenant at Cape May Section Base Number 9. While Jennie works tirelessly on the Liberty Loans campaign in Philadelphia, Shannon finds herself ensnared in a rum ring operation as the temperance movement ebbs closer to its goal of Prohibition.
A sweeping saga of betrayal, lies, and loss on all sides, Thicker Than Water, marries the historically accurate world building of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s The Orphan Collector with the emotional resonance of Renee Rosen’s works.
Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?
Laura: I grew up going “down the shore” every summer during childhood, and have a deep love of the area. The idea for Thicker Than Water came to me shortly after becoming a parent myself. My oldest was a terrible sleeper, and the story of one of the pairings (Danny and Jennie) was one I’d tell myself in my head while rocking him at night.
Sabitha: That’s a lovely story! What was your favourite thing to write in the book?
Laura: I love being able to give readers a peek into yesteryear. The Christmas scenes (at John Wanamaker’s Department store) are particularly endearing to me.
Sabitha: What advice would you give to someone who’s writing or querying?
Laura: Get it down. Whether handwritten in a notebook, typed up on a laptop, or texted from your phone when you can’t sleep. Tell your story. Be authentic and don’t hold back.
Sabitha: What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?
Laura: The idea that people aren’t their parents. Change is possible, as is love, if you’re able to open your heart and let it in.
Sabitha: That’s a really lovely sentiment. In your novel, which character do you relate to the most and why?
Laura: Shannon shares my snark and guarded nature. I’m an #ACoA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) myself, so portraying her and Danny’s home environment accurately was very important to me.
Sabitha: Thank you so much for sharing a story that comes from such a deeply personal place. It sounds like a great read! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?
Laura: It is available in both eBook and paperback at a variety of bookstores. Those visiting Cape May can find it in stores at Exit Zero and Ferry Park. You can find me on my website, Instagram, Facebook (either my author page or my private fan group), Pinterest, and Goodreads.
Ever have one of those days? You know you need to cook dinner, but you can’t stop thinking. About the climate apocalypse. About the friend you lost in middle school. About the Eldritch abomination at the bottom of the ocean that neither speaks nor sleeps, only waits. The Sad Bastard Cookbook might help you — at least with dinner.
Want early access? Sign up to beta test our recipes, or to get a free advance e-book. Plus, stay tuned for Wednesday when we reveal the full cover. Because sometimes one of those days turns into one of those lifetimes. And even sad bastards have to eat.
