The Engineer’s Mechanic follows a talented young mechanic with the skills to push machines and droids past their original capabilities who joins a group fighting for freedom from the city’s control organization. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I was fed up with all the gloomy sci-fi stuff out there – the dystopian cold and depressing stories. So, I thought, why not try something more upbeat? It turns out, making a happy/fun sci-fi adventure is way trickier than it seems, and I found myself struggling to drive away from the very content that inspired me to write in the first place. The future always looks so bleak, so I decided to make sure my sci-fi would at least have some place where the people are happy and living sustainable lives. Even if that comes with a cost.

Originally, I had this wild idea for a video game with racing, fighting and espionage. Picture a mix of F1 racing (but using jets!), battlebots and adventure inspired by the likes of Mega Man and Assassins Creed. I thought it would be interesting to have a game such as Grand Theft Auto, wherein you can choose your path from the three and build up your character with a specialty. It turned out that writing out the lore was the easiest way to bring that world to life. One day, with no prior writing experience, I just sat down and typed out the story in my head. Before I knew it, I was nearing the climax of my first saga, and I had typed almost 90,000 words.

I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?

I started off inspired by cool solarpunk arcologies, you know, those futuristic eco-cities. But creating a utopia poses a problem – it becomes very hard to develop an antagonist that makes sense, or develop any kind of drama that couldn’t be solved by the very technology that makes the utopia what it is. That’s when I looked around and saw the real-world issues of impending catastrophic climate disasters and corporate control of the political system. Thus, MetiCities were born. Domed havens that shield their citizens from the harsh environment, whilst leaving those on the outside out in the cold (an ironic expression considering global temperature on earth in the story has skyrocketed).

The story kind of turned into more of a cyberpunk vibe, like Akira (one of our favorites), but with cities that are clean and eco-friendly. This is something I haven’t seen in any of the sci-fi I have consumed, and it helped to fulfill my original need to create something ‘familiar, yet different’. I always knew I wanted to switch POV to a female character; so when I met Kori and showed her the work in progress, and she loved the story, I knew it made perfect sense for her to join me in the writing of it. Her influence can be seen woven throughout the book, in hours of discussion and research, and not just the parts she personally wrote. Having someone to bounce ideas off and to contribute to the story, made the effort so much more enjoyable and much easier.

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

• What happens when we create a completely sustainable environment, and humans have their basic needs met? Do we continue to advance, or do we become lazy with technology taking over our labor? What happens to societal structure if money no longer holds the power it does today? When markets are planned and people are free to explore their personal indulgences without hindrance.
• What happens to rural areas with a populace of minorities in the event of these changes? When these ‘sanctuary cities’ pop up, how do those on the outskirts survive? The Jardinera are a fictional race in our book that represent them and explore the effects of marginalization by the powerful.
• The environment was a major topic of importance for us to incorporate into the book. We wanted to show a realistic world that could very well await us if action isn’t taken, and the runaway effects of climate change continue to build.

When will book 2 be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?

We’re aiming to release book two within the next year and are working diligently now to develop the story and keep the excitement alive. It will pick up right where book one left off, answering some questions that remain a mystery and continuing to deliver the mix of adventure, comedy and thrills to prepare our readers for the third installment.

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