Sector 10 follows a tech-conglomerate that inadvertently causes Earth to time travel into an alternate reality where humanity may not survive. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Sector 10 is the prequel to Cloud 9 and both novels are set in the Cloud Series and the world it creates with cloud computing as its theme. Virtual reality is the main inspiration for creating an alternate reality. But other emerging science like horticultural LED lighting in greenhouses or verticle farms, different artificial light recipes, and other photobiology agriculture inspired the idea of an outbreak. A classic science fiction trope is the entire idea of an alien invasion and also deadly contagions wreaking havoc on the world. Sector 10 combines these ideas into a new form of physics that brings about an outbreak of radiation seeping over from a parallel universe. Quantum computing and advanced physics are making things like teleportation more real, of not just our bodies, but our consciousness.

I found the science in the novel to be well developed. What kind of research did you do to make sure you got it all right?

The science in Sector 10 was all about breaking boundaries of what constitutes reality and making the Earth a melting-pot for not only natural evolution but also genetic modification. Whether that be the eugenics and plastic surgery that made these Greys possible, or Yhemlen living among dinosaurs, and let’s not forget humans were suffering at the hands of the Cloud gone haywire. I wanted to integrate the Cloud and the physics of space travel together. As you may know, computers in deep space are prone to problems related to radiation but in Sector 10 we find that the inverse is more true and that the Cloud helps navigation through alternate reality and time. The main idea of it all – we live in a simulation. And because of it, the Cloud is directing our manipulation of reality and atomic physics that is the basis of the science we know. Also, photobiology was a big inspiration for how parallel universes were being accessed via light and highlighting special relativity. But if we run with the idea of humanity as part of a simulation, what came about in my research most was how to give order to seemingly chaotic processes.

The science inserted in the fiction, I felt, was well balanced. How did you manage to keep it grounded while still providing the fantastic edge science fiction stories usually provide?

Characterization was key. I want readers to feel an emotional response to the people of the novel and make their own assumptions or conclusions about what the story is presenting. The danger present in the Cloud malfunction was that it was being integral to the world stage. Ellis Island in New York was where people came to make a new life in America. Similarly, the Cloud is the mechanism that is allowing Ellis Bartram and his crew of scientists to make upload their minds via total immersion, and also giving an avenue for radiation to leak through. The urban setting of Washington, D.C. was also a vital addition to the science in that classified information, the such that’s available at our nation’s capital, needed to be publicized, but was being withheld by powers who were intent on solving a mysterious event. In all, science was affecting everyone because of its reach and influence and is something that our world of computing could attest to.

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

The sequel to Cloud 9 and Sector 10 will be titled, Recon 8, and in the beginning, will be set in the year 2111, so a couple of years after Cloud 9. Solar punk will be a major influence in Recon 8 and will both brighten and provide nuance to the technology and provide “green” movement vibes that will make a return in this novel as an anchor of society. That book should be published by 2025, but to know the plot and see what else happens, we’ll have to wait.

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