Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #13 April 2015 | Page 23

Drake. He’s the one
with a hidden past, the
one in a position of authority, and he’s the one
for whom life is about
to get even more interesting and dangerous as
the series evolves. Because of his hidden past,
he’s very in control,
guarded, careful not to
reveal too much about
himself… and then Leesa turns up. I enjoyed
exploring his reaction
to her and the threat
she represents. I also envy his analytical mind, which
comes to the fore when the ship is impounded by port
authorities, bringing a touch of Sherlock Holmes to
his character. Wouldn’t it be lovely to make connections and piece situations together with such clarity?

What did you learn about writing by writing
this book?
The importance of patience and revisiting your work
after a ‘fallow’ period. In all honesty this is nothing
new – all writers know the wisdom of setting your
work aside for a while and coming back to it with
fresh eyes, but it isn’t something I’ve always put into
practice. I did here, and Pelquin’s Comet is the most
revised text I’ve yet written.

When will the other two books come out?
Good question. I’ve started volume 2 but have had to
set it aside for now while I concentrate on something
else. The plan is to return to it shortly and I’d hope
to have the book out by next year, with volume 3 in
2017, but we’ll see.

You’ve mentioned that there is a nod to Firefly here, which in itself was a nod to Blakes 7.
What is it about the ensemble cast in a small
vessel playing fast and loose with the law that
inspired you?

A group of rogues operating at the very edge of legality and a little beyond but possessing their own moral
code that we can all recognise… The situation offers
such opportunity for drama. The simple introduction of a stranger is enough to disrupt the established
dynamic. Throw in a quest, a threat or two, a mystery
or three, and a twist or four, and away we go. What’s
not to love?

Why did you choose to have a banker as one of
your main characters?
I did so for a number of reasons; in part because it
seemed such a perverse notion but also entirely logical. If a financial institution is about to entrust a
large sum of money to strangers, they would want
safeguards, a representative on the mission. It also
gave me the perfect opportunity to play around with
a situation that’s always intrigued me, that of a closeknit group having an outsider forced upon them. All
sorts of dynamics come into play as a result – the resentment of Nate towards the banker, the uneasy clash
of authority between Drake and Pelquin among them.
Besides, I can’t think offhand of an SF adventure
series that’s featured a banker as the central character
before…

How much input did you have into the cover
art?
In some senses quite a bit, in others not a lot. To
explain, I trust Jim Burns and have worked with him
before. At outset I sent Jim a couple of snippets from
the text that described the ship, Pelquin’s Comet, and
left the rest to him. Not sure what I would have done
had I hated what he came up with, but fortunately I absolutely loved it. Jim really delivered. To be honest,
it never occurred to me that he wouldn’t.

It felt like you’d had a great deal of fun writing
this, what did you enjoy the most about writing
this book?
I did have a lot of fun, you’re right. I loved creating
the different societies – from the hi-tech fast-paced

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