ORION: Heavenfall follows a group of superpowered humans created to protect humanity from extraordinary threats who become the center of a conspiracy that could destroy everything they have built. What challenges did you encounter while developing the history, institutions, and political relationships that shape ORION’s world?

The biggest challenge was making ORION feel like an institution rather than a team name. Institutions have budgets, oversight, chains of command, and people who answer to other people, and those types of things needed to be reflected, even if in passing. Making little nods to things like biennium budget pressures for top secret programs, infrastructure failure modes that worry Gerhard Sieger—ORION’s director—should they ever come to pass, individuals with hidden agendas within the organization who smile in Sieger’s face.

Getting ORION’s history on the page without stopping the story to explain things was hard. I wanted readers to feel the weight of decades of decisions through how the world reacts to ORION, and through what some characters question about the organization (and what some have decided not to question). This world has been in my head for over thirty years, so the real work was deciding what to leave out. There’s 75,000 words on the cutting room floor. Some of that were historical recounts of what led to the world’s present-day circumstances in Heavenfall.

Another challenge was giving the political and institutional relationships depth beyond “Faction A vs Faction B.” It’s not just ORION vs the world, it’s ORION vs the UN with Sieger’s friendship/mentorship with Kellie Hollis hanging in the balance. It’s not just ORION vs the United States, it’s Sieger vs President Ross—ex-political rivals who pursued oversight of ORION, with Sieger winning out. Adding to the strained relationship between the US and ORION is “Two Suns,” a global catastrophe caused by ORION, and the origins of The Bastion research facility. Laying an intimate groundwork for these deeper relationships was important because it allowed for the devolving political and institutional situation in the book to have greater stakes once things escalate dramatically in the story.

How do you approach exploring the moral complications that arise when individuals believe they’re acting for the greater good but operate within institutions that may have hidden agendas?

I make sure everyone has a well-rationalized reason (even if it is twisted) for why they act, even those who tow the corporate line. I let them jump through the hoops and perform all the mental gymnastics to justify their behaviors. Even better, I may give them an absolute reason that makes their moral compass beyond reproach, like a divine charge from God or the pursuit of absolute power for the greater good of the cosmos. This greater good is usually something that the heroes can’t, or won’t, understand, which just amplifies how necessary the character’s (villain’s) quest is and why they are morally obligated to do what they’re doing. For example, the “misguided” heroes don’t understand why Kross wants to eliminate all parahumans (superpowered beings), and that strengthens the necessity and righteousness of his divine charge.

I try not to write anyone who believes they’re the villain (although, there will be some who simply are that in the ORION books!). Everyone in Heavenfall can defend what they’re doing, and most of them are right in some way, shape, or form. I think that’s what makes institutional betrayal so pervasive and ultimately what makes it hurt: it looks like reasonable people making compromises and cutting the ethical corners they promised were temporary or only needed for “this reason or that one.” X-Men and Watchmen showed me that the best superhero stories are about what power costs the people who carry it. So, I let my characters be wrong and have mixed emotions about what they do and what happens to them…and then make there be consequences.

How do grief, vengeance, ambition, and redemption influence the choices your characters make throughout the novel?

It drives them, motivates them. But in reality, these emotions make each character feel like they are in the driver seat, when they’re really the ones being driven. Angelino Bianchi believes he’s avenging those who have suffered at the hands of ORION and carries a noble crusade against them, when he’s really trying to live up to failed expectations and avenge a childhood that was stolen from him.

The other thing is that none of these emotions sit alone. Many characters are carrying more than one of them at a time and they’re getting pulled in different directions because of it. When they’re stretched like this, they make irrational choices or emotional ones that cause more issues. Cynder, for example, is still haunted by a brother he lost, and his grief shapes how he reacts under stress and causes him to center himself instead of the team. Having characters make decisions with cascading consequences is a fun aspect of having such a large ensemble cast. I challenged myself to write many of the grief/vengeance/ambition-stricken characters as if they are the one in the spotlight—like a superhero team-based comic book, which the ORION series is meant to emulate.

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?

It is! ORION: Heavenfall is Book One of this arc and my debut novel. Book Two, ORION: The Cyber Storm, is planned for Late 2027 / Early 2028. Readers who finished Heavenfall already have a first look, because Chapter 1 of Book Two is included as a sneak peek!

In The Cyber Storm, you’ll get deeper insight into Strident as she learns the truth surrounding her parents’ fates (a life event that fuels her ambitious nature). ORION, the UN, and more are on the hunt for her and a rogue team of parahumans, while a dark mastermind enacts a plot to infect and control the world, with emerging nations as ground zero. The globetrotting adventure will be a contrast to the confined, ticking clock nature of Heavenfall, and will explore topics such as socioeconomic inequity, corruption, and greed. The stakes remain high, and action-packed, as always. And, of course, the greater galactic threat seen in Heavenfall inches closer.

Prior to Book Two’s release, readers can expect prequels and side stories to come throughout next year. First Contact is a novella targeting the first half of 2027 and a companion story, Two Suns, in the second half of 2027.

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