Jupiter’s Ghost follows a pilot who enters dangerous waters when he joins the crew of a spacefaring whaling ship. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I’ve always love sci-fi and fantasy. Years ago while I was watching the Moby Dick movie I decided to combine the two.  I was fascinated by the obsession of Captain Ahab and how it drove him to destruction.  For the Ishmael character, I picked an alien, a real outsider to humans, to join the crew – this way we get to see it through someone who was brand new to hunting in the Orion Nebula and his reactions.

I also wanted to show a vision of our future where humans still have base emotions, like revenge.

Did the image of Jupiter’s Ghost itself come first, or the legend of the Great Blue?

It was the legend of the Great Blue that came first.  A large Nebula Whale that wrecked whaling spaceships.  The whale is driving the story for Moby Dick and Jupiter’s Ghost.

How did you balance large-scale science fiction spectacle with the older maritime traditions running through the story?

It was tough, because I wanted to work in the traditions to pay homage to the original Moby Dick.  But I had to work hard to blend the two, keeping enough maritime traditions without going overboard (pun intended)…  The more difficult part for me was finding challenges that you couldn’t duplicate in space, for example, in the age of sail – when there’s no wind your just floating in the ocean until the wind picks back up.  But in space your having to think about engines and power system failures instead.

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

I’m working on a YA Sci-fi/fantasy series that I wrote for my teenage niece.  The premise is that my niece gets recruited for an international high school and ends up on a Space station training to become a magical warrior.  The first book should be out this year.

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