In the Orbit of Sirens follows the remnants of the human race who are facing extinction and a deadly enemy. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling story?

This story had been cooking for a long time for me. When I was in third grade, I drew a comic book called Space Explorers that featured my friends and I going on various missions across the galaxy. It was fun and filled with lovely grammatical errors and copyright infringements that come with a child’s writings. I got a little older, and I tried my hand at making a new comic book in high school. I called it Star Siren, which featured a more cohesive story, but ultimately never got finished. After 10 years of working in the film industry on VFX heavy action scenes, I decided it was time to try again. I had a more extensive knowledge base and a matured outlook of the world, I was finally ready to tell a story of my own. So the short answer? I wrote this book to make that 3rd-grade version of myself happy.

Eliana and Denton are intriguing and well-developed characters. What were some driving ideals behind their character development?

Eliana and Denton are very dear to me. I wanted to show a contrast between two world outlooks. We have Eliana, a brilliant researcher, and doctor, who had options based on her skills and connections but is driven to help humanity any way she can. She fixes People. Then there’s Denton, a guy who had almost no options in life who grew up under domes doing whatever his ancestors before him had done because that’s all that’s available. He fixes Machines. The two ultimately come together after being stripped down to their core fundamentals. When humanity has its back to the wall, it will take them both to keep the human race from going extinct.

Denton is also based on me in some ways, but not all. I don’t know a thing about fixing machines (besides what I researched to write the book), but I know what it’s like to leave your home behind to go somewhere new and strange. I grew up in Chicago and moved to Los Angeles when I was twenty-three to pursue my career in the film industry. Denton moves from Ganymede to Kamaria and deals with some similar feelings that I had once. Write what you know, they say.

What were some themes you wanted to focus on in this book?

One of the main themes I focused on in this novel is “What comes after loss.” If you look back, everyone loses something and copes with it in different ways. To keep it spoiler-free—Eliana loses her family. Denton loses his path. Roelin loses his soul, and Nhymn loses her purpose. There’s a journey in a loss that defines who we really are.

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

I am currently in the beta reading stages of the sequel to In the Orbit of Sirens (title currently unannounced) and finishing the outline to the end of the Song of Kamaria trilogy. I hope to release Book 2 sometime early to mid next year, with the trilogy completing sometime after depending on the writing process. Dare I say the end of next year or early 2022? When it is ready, I will have more concrete answers.

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