Last year, Gareth L. Powell kicked off a sci-fi space opera trilogy with his novel Embers Of War. With the middle book, Fleet Of Knives (paperback, Kindle) either out or about to come out (depending on when you read this), and the third book slated for this time next year, I spoke to him via email about what inspired and influenced this second story, how it connects to the first, as well as Ragged Alice, a horror novella that’s coming out this April.