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Exclusive Interview: “Halo: Empty Throne” Author Jeremy Patenaude

 

When he was the lead writer for 343 Industries, Jeremy Patenaude helped shaped the science fiction space opera saga told by the Halo video games, while also writing Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, co-writing Halo Mythos, and penning the short story “Sacrifice” that was included in a now unavailable special edition of Troy Denning’s novel Halo: Shadows Of Reach.

But while he may not work for 343 anymore (and 343 is Halo Studios now), he’s still contributing to the Halo saga with the new novel Halo: Empty Throne (paperback, Kindle, audiobook).

In the following email interview, Patenaude talks about what inspired and influence this sci-fi story, as well as where it fits into the Halo-verse.

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Books

Exclusive Interview: “Hoodwinked” Author John Mahaffey

 

Given that he was a professional golfer, you might expect author John Mahaffey to write stories about things happening on golf courses: romances, murders, alien invasions in which the aliens are small, round, and easily dispatched by someone swinging a nine iron correctly…

But while golf does play a (small) role in the novels in his Nemesis Series, these books are actually cybercrime thrillers.

In the following email interview, Mahaffey talks about the newest installment, Hoodwinked (paperback, Kindle), and how it links (get it?) to the previous books in The Nemesis Series.

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Books

Exclusive Interview: “I Got Abducted By Aliens And Now I’m Trapped In A Rom-Com” Author Kimberly Lemming

 

It’s amazing some of the things people have done out of spite. Like how Lamborghini started making sports cars to piss off the owner of Ferrari. Or how Sony made the PlayStation after Nintendo backed out of a deal for them to make CD-Rom drives for a Nintendo game console.

Well, it looks like there’s another one for the list: Kimberly Lemming’s science fiction / romantic comedy novel I Got Abducted By Aliens And Now I’m Trapped In A Rom-Com (paperback, Kindle, audiobook).

And yes, as she explains in the following email interview, the title is part of the spite process.

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Exclusive Interview: “But Not Too Bold” Author Hache Pueyo

 

In her first novella, Bem Mal Me Quer, author Hache Pueyo conjured a fable-like story that has “elements of different genres, like fantasy, mystery, and romance, and a light touch of horror.”

With Bem now being released in English as But Not Too Bold (hardcover, Kindle), I spoke to Pueyo about what inspired and influenced this story, including why the main character is the way she is.

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“Post Trauma” Hands-On Preview

 

When Capcom and Konami released their respective remakes of their classic survival horror games Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 2, they not only updated the graphics, but the movement and camera controls as well, replacing the fixed position cameras and tank controls for a third-person, player-controlled approach. Which seemed to work out, given how some people — myself included — really appreciated these updated versions.

So it was rather surprising when, last week, I got the opportunity to play the upcoming survival horror game Post Trauma, and was told by producer Paul Wilson that it has controls and cameras similar to the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, not the remakes. And that it was done intentionally.

What follows are my impressions of my time with this game… and its controls.

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Exclusive Interview: “One Message Remains” Author Premee Mohamed

 

For her second collection of stories, One Message Remains (paperback, Kindle), author Premee Mohamed presents four novellas and novelettes that are all set in the same secondary world.

In the following email interview, Mohamed explains how this collection of dark fantasy tales came together, as well as her thoughts on visiting this fictional realm again.

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Exclusive Interview: “Casual” Author Koji A. Dae

Koji A. Dae Casual

 

Having a kid, especially your first, can be stressful for anyone.

But imagine if you lived in a somewhat dystopian future, and had anxiety, and were then told you couldn’t legally use the very thing that makes your life that helps you manage said anxiety because you’re having a baby…and the kid was coming under somewhat stressful circumstances.

Such is the condition under which we find Valya, the main character in author Koji A. Dae’s dark science fiction novel Casual (paperback, Kindle).

In the following email interview, Dae explains what inspired and influenced this rather personal sci-fi story.

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PC Video Games

“Blue Prince” Hands-On Preview

 

We’ve all read books, seen movies, and watched episodes of Scooby-Doo in which someone must spend the night in a haunted house so that they can inherit said house from their sadistic dead relative.

But in the upcoming first-person puzzle game Blue Prince — which will be out on PC this spring — the house isn’t haunted, but its constantly changing configuration makes things difficult for its hopeful new owner.

Or so I found out when I recently had a chance to play this intellectually challenging game.

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Books

Exclusive Interview: “Hammajang Luck” Author Makana Yamamoto

 

You know what I hate? When you finally get released from prison, but the person waiting for you is the one who double-crossed you. And it’s not like you can avoid them, since you’re on a space station. In the future. Where are you going to go? McDonalds!?!

But as so often the case, annoying situations in real life make for interesting ones in fiction. Which is why I wanted to do the following email interview with author Makana Yamamoto about their noir sci-fi crime story / cyberpunk lesbian space heist novel Hammajang Luck (paperback, Kindle, audiobook).

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