Where Liberty Lies follows Finbarl and Aminatra as they set out to find a new home after the destruction of their hometown, and they discover a new civilization. What was the inspiration that created the fantastic journey these characters go on?

I have a keen interest in history and consider the future as nothing more than unscripted history. Of course, as a fiction writer, I have the privilege of side-stepping that inconvenient fact and making-up the script. But to source my ideas for what tomorrow might look like, there is no better place than yesterday or today. We’re in a pessimistic era (global warming, less cohesive societies, Covid etc), making dystopian fiction a natural canvas to explore many of today’s issues. Finbarl and Aminatra find themselves in a world remaking itself after civilisation’s collapse and that is a joy to construct as a writer, providing nods to classical geo-political relationships of the past while also adding unique characteristics.

There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?

With dystopian fiction you want to have your characters face extraordinary situations: survival is at stake, after all. To highlight a scenario, you need a blend of ordinary and extraordinary characters; those that rise to the occasion and those that fall. You don’t create superheroes but complex figures with flaws as well as strengths, allowing the situation confronting them to test both aspects (It pleased me to see Aminatra’s resilience and fortitude mentioned in the review and I see her role as a mother forging such traits). You hope different personalities create a chemistry, extenuating the drama. As a sequel, some readers will be familiar with the main protagonists, so it was important to develop interesting, fresh characters and scenarios to draw out new sides to their personalities and dig deeper. Finally, despite being set in the distant future, characters still need to be relatable to the reader. 

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

As part of a trilogy, I have the luxury of delving into different aspects of the meaning of liberty for each book. Thankfully, it’s a complex and multi-faceted theme. Book one, Liberty Bound, explored how fear and ignorance impact on our freedom. For Where Liberty Lies it is deceit and delusion. ‘Hope’ is the central facet and inspiration for the characters. This core aspiration affects and drives us all – hope for a better world, a win on the lottery, a chance at love, a gadget to make the housework easier etc. But it leaves us vulnerable to deceit and delusions: the lying politician, impossible odds, a misinterpreted look, or an oversell on that gadget. Finbarl and Aminatra are driven by a hope of freedom. Their world has crumbled but dreams fuel them, largely conjured by a faint knowledge of better times in the past. I wanted to embed deceit and illusions within the landscape, the societies, and the characters they meet, providing an obstacle course for the protagonists, raising question for us in our lives today, while creating a gripping adventure. 

What can readers expect in the third installment of this series, and when will it be out?

I already have a title, The Will of Liberty, and it will explore the vulnerability and durability of liberty. The three books are one journey, broken into self-contained episodes. So, Finbarl and Aminatra will travel further afield, meet new challenges but, hopefully, reach a happy ending! I am still in the planning stage and the day job does not allow for such extravagances as a novel per year, but I will aim for late 2024/early 2025.

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