I, Robot Tessa follows a female robot whose highly ordered world cracks open when she discovers and becomes the guardian for a man suffering from amnesia. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?

The idea for Tessa came naturally. I was looking to write a third book in The Robot Series, a series of stand-alone novels narrated by the robots themselves. I’d done a robot soldier and a robot alien, and it seemed only appropriate to include a female robot. The title became an easy play on the designation “robotess.” However, that is all the preplanning I do for my robot novels, other than deciding what “environment” they will inhabit. That is, I place the character in the setting and then report what happens from that point on. Jorad, the amnesiac, beaten man, simply appeared (just like Amy, the little girl in I, Robot Soldier). Both came as a complete surprise to me.

What drew you to blending mystery, AI philosophy, and emotional companionship in one story?

Truly, the mystery was unexpected; it simply developed with the story. As for AI philosophy and its relationship to emotional companionship, these are vital and central themes in each novel. I don’t believe it’s been adequately explored in the literature, especially from a robotic perspective. I like to flirt with the idea of consciousness in artificial beings, even though I don’t promote the notion that it exists, only that it mirrors human consciousness so well that it is nigh impossible to tell the difference. My robots are not genuinely capable of love, but you would never know that from their stories.

Which relationship in the book evolved most unexpectedly during writing?

That is a great question, because they all evolved rather unexpectedly. I believe the most complex relationship developed between Molly, the little street kid, known as a crèche kid, and the man Jorad, beaten and left for dead in the storm drain. The characters and the relationship between them develop and transform during the adventures they experience, then more so when both are eventually “cranially augmented.” Sometimes, it’s difficult to determine which one is the guardian of the other.

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

Presumably, the fourth book in the series will be the final installment, though that is not guaranteed. The title will be I, Robot Human, about a man who, due to various incidents, is progressively transformed into a robot. I believe that it will be darker overall than its predecessors. Since I prepare my books according to a rigid timeline, the book will be released on August 10, 2027, with Kindle pre-orders beginning on June 10^th.

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