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2009-05-19: MilSciFi.com interviews ANDY REMIC,
contributor to the military science fiction anthology, So It Begins, book two in the Defending
the Future series.
MilSciFi: "Welcome back.
Please tell us a little something about your story."
Remic: "The story JUNKED
revolves a hardcore combat squad, Combat K, comprising Keenan, Pippa and Franco
(the mad one) on a hectic action-filled mission. This is the premise:
Once believed extinct, the junks appeared on
Galhari, a quiet fringe planet, with devastating suddenness … in a flood of
millions. The planet was taken in hours, and from that foothold the junks began
a galaxy-wide conquest which had, in all honesty, gone bad for Quad-Gal
Military. Recently, a series of freak coincidences led to military intelligence
uncovering a source of the junk's expertise: a psychic general, capable of
reading minds across the Four Galaxies and uncovering QGM's secret plans. Named
Zenab, the general was also rumoured to have invented a Nano-Bomb, a
microscopic detonation device which could put QGM out of the game for good.
Zenab was making it possible for the junks to extend their diseased and toxic
empire, and had set up camp in his Nano-Bomb Factory on the planet of Ryzor.
Now, it was Combat K's mission to take him out… before millions more died.
MilSciFi: "Is this part of a
large series or universe?"
Remic: "Yes, there are
three novels in the same universe and containing the same core characters; WAR
MACHINE and BIOHELL are currently out, published by Solaris Books, and HARDCORE
is out January 2010, again by Solaris."
MilSciFi: "What inspired you
to write this story?"
Remic: "There are
elements of Apocalypse Now in there; I was always a fan of the original Conrad
text Heart of Darkness, and then the subsequent twisted movie concept, and I
suppose I wanted to do my own 'journey up the river' high-octane black-comedy
combat adventure."
MilSciFi: "Does science and
technology play an important role in this story (or in your work in general),
or is it secondary to the story telling and characterization?"
Remic: "Characterisation
is always my core, and then I work outwards with story and technology last,
although tech will still always be intrinsic to events. I think without good
and original characterisation you have little chance of the reader empathising,
and thus wanting to read."
MilSciFi: "Do you have plans
to expand upon, or write other works based on this story?"
Remic: "The Combat K
books are an ongoing series, so yes, there's every chance JUNKED will find its
way into a full novel at some time. It's certainly a starting point, a
springboard if you like, for larger galaxy-wide action to unfurl."
MilSciFi: "Most authors we
encounter write novellas/novels, do you find it a challenge to write short
stories?"
Remic: "No. I see short
stories as scenes in a galaxy-wide tapestry made from drug-strands which can be
sucked, for fun."
MilSciFi: "Since time is of
the essence for getting a reader up to speed in a short story, do you have a
strategy, or preferred method for doing this?"
Remic: "Kick off with
action straight away. It works for me :)"
MilSciFi: "Do you have any
other projects in the works?"
Remic: "As well as the
Combat K novels, I'm contracted to write a fantasy trilogy for Harper Collins
(the new Angry Robot imprint). It is based around the premise of traditional
fantasy merged with clockwork vampire technology. The first book KELL'S LEGEND
is out September 2009."
MilSciFi: "Do you have any
upcoming author events?"
Remic: "Fantasycon, Nottingham, UK, September 2009, plus
book signings across London, England, around the same time."
MilSciFi: "Thank you for joining us."
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