J. I. Rogers Author Interview

The Korpes Agenda finds Master-Tech Korpes overworked and leery of both friends and enemies as the tension between Korlune’s military factions reach their breaking point. What were some new ideas you wanted to explore in this book that were different from book one?

The Korpes File gave the Diasporan perspective and offered the reader a glimpse of what it’s like to work for Korlune Military Research & Development. The Korpes Agenda showcases how divided the Korlo are over the issues of equal rights for Diasporan, social Rank, politics, and power. In book one, Clan Destine was on the rise with a part of Korlune’s military, and a Ranking family backing them, but now factions within the organization are jockeying for position and threaten its future. What begins as a quest for justice slides into the mire of revenge and ruin, and everyone touched by it either transforms or shatters.

In The Korpes Agenda, we get to see the vulnerable side of Nash Korpes. Was this a side of him you always imagined he had, or was it a result of his circumstances?

Circumstances with a caveat: I knew the vulnerable side of Nash existed, but it wasn’t until he and the Muse got together and wrote a couple chapters that I got a more dimensional grasp of his psyche. His social anxiety became a problem in his teens (just after he joined KMR&D), add to that a couple of TBIs, loss of his family, and what he went through surviving Junelle… Nash is a poster child for untreated PTSD. By book two, he’s worn thin; work and completing his agenda are all that’s keeping him going… Davis, Royce, Jack, and Bee would be willing to do more, but he’s careful about what information he shares; he keeps them at arm’s length to keep them safe. No one other than him knows all the details. When Tannis gets past his defenses… it costs them both.

The world building in this book is detailed and meticulously developed. Did you have a clear design for this book or did the story develop organically while writing?

Thank you, but if I’m going to be honest, I’d have to claim both. The overarching plot for the series is already scripted and is immutable, as is the technology, the racial divides, the geography, and the elements. I’ve learned to keep everything else flexible as often the characters suggest better ideas than the ones I was running with.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I’m currently working on book three of this series, The Korpes <insert one-word summary here>, and it picks up right where book two left off. Nash is MIA, Korlune teeters on the brink of Civil War, and those who were left to pick up the pieces band together in unexpected ways. There’ll be more of Clan Evora, the Seep, the Collective, Nash of course, as well as a tour of Ankoresh, the country to the South. Due to the ‘Butterfly Effect’, subtle changes I made in book one caused ripples in book two, and have now reached tsunami proportions for book three; this means I have to rewrite most of it. I was hoping to make it available in 2020, but it may be as late as 2021.

I’ll be releasing a character sketchbook in 2020 – available through my Patreon. Other art books will follow.

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Something dark is stirring in Korlune, and there’s only one person who sees it; brilliant, but haunted, Master-Tech Nash Korpes.

Freshly escaped from the clutches of Korlune Military Research and Development he finds safety within the ranks of tech giant Harlo-Fyre. On the surface, the future appears bright, but dangerous forces lurk in the periphery. Nash is plagued by self-doubt, unreliable friends and a punishing work schedule that could tip him over the edge.

As the line between friend and foe blurs and friction between Korlune’s military factions reach boiling point, Nash is forced to act. Will he ever find peace, or will he be distracted just when he needs to focus?