Hounds of Gaia follows an elite bounty hunter who is sent on a mission to transport a serial killer that turns from a simple mission into a life-altering adventure. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

When I first came up with the idea for The Marrower Saga, it was in the form of music. I wanted to write a concept album, inspired largely by The Mars Volta and Coheed & Cambria, that was a police procedural about a serial killer in space. I even wrote a few songs in the process of developing the idea. As time went by, however, my dreams of being a musician faded, and I refocused myself on writing (which is what I went to school for). Over about a decade, I kept coming back to this idea, turning it over in my mind. Eventually, I decided I had to just sit down and put pen to paper. That seemingly simple act forced the idea to evolve even more, as I had to finally ask myself what kind of story I wanted to tell and what themes I wanted to explore. The basic concept remained—there is still very much a serial killer in space underpinning the story—but the vast majority of the concept changed pretty immensely. I found that I had to imbue the concept with a lot more emotional depth to make it a story worth telling in novel format.

Foxhound is a well-developed character that keeps readers guessing as she uncovers more about her past throughout the book. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

Creating Foxhound was an interesting exercise. I didn’t want to create a character that was too much like myself or anyone close to me, but I also needed to inject her characterization with elements of realism. She needed to be confident and self-assured—a function of her career—but she also needed to have some internal conflict, which relates to her larger story and will further unfold as the story continues. She’s a fun character to explore because she’s so task-driven, as her name suggests, but that drive is going to continue to unravel as she has to reckon with who she really is and where she comes from. Her self-assuredness comes less from actual confidence and more from her refusal to self-examine. So forcing her to take a look in the mirror is going to have a pretty big impact on her psyche and how she approaches things. I guess the larger point is that Foxhound is driven by a question we’re all forced to ask (and one that philosophers and artists have pondered for centuries): who (or what) are we, really?

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’ve loved science fiction for most of my life. I remember watching Star Wars on VHS over and over again until the tapes themselves were getting warped. But the thing that I always loved the most about sci-fi stories was the human element. Sure, the spectacle is what drew me in, but starships and aliens only get the story so far. Ultimately, I believe sci-fi serves as a vessel for us to explore elements of humanity, be they positive or negative, world-altering in scope or incredibly personal and private. For my world, I wanted to really latch onto that human element and, in some ways, hold a mirror up to current events and developments. What made the most sense for the story I wanted to tell was to create a universe in which humans are utterly alone—there was no first contact, there are no aliens, etc. What do we do, as a species, when we have nothing to rely on but ourselves? So that’s where it all kind of started.

As I got to the writing, however, the world I was trying to create really bloomed. Again, Star Wars (the original trilogy) served as an inspiration—specifically the grittier locales. I remember very vividly how it felt to watch Luke and Obi-Wan walk into the cantina on Tattooine for the first time. It was inelegant, dirty, old, and full of ne’er-do-wells. I really wanted a lot of my locations to feel like that—not quite an apocalyptic dystopia, but like the stations and ships were always in a state of disrepair and just teetering on the brink of collapse. But arguably, the most important part of the setting emerged as I was writing. I realized that grittiness lacks a certain believability when overdone, so I made it a point to try and inject just enough hope and humanity—which, again, I feel like is a reflection of real life. Even in the worst places, there are still these bastions of hope, however small, where people are really trying to help one another survive (and not just for personal gain).

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

I’m in the process of writing book two right now, and I’m hoping to have it wrapped up well before the end of the year. If I can manage that, I’d expect to see book 2 released in early 2025, barring any unforeseen setbacks. Book two will also have a very different vibe, as it leaves behind the gritty edge of the solar system and centers the story on Earth, which is the center of everything—commerce, religion, society, etc. What I’m most excited about is showing that the glitz and gloss of this part of my universe isn’t really any better or safer—just that the facade is prettier. Things are going to get pretty dark, and I hope my readers are excited to go along for the ride.

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