Category: Character Interview

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Author Interview Character Interview Dronefall My Books new release Nightstare Q+A

Answering Questions Nobody Asked About Dronefall Four

 The release of the fourth book of the six-book Dronefall series is fast approaching. Finally. Whether you’re new to Dronefall, a longstanding reader who’s been with me from book one, or a casual bystander who might have stumbled across this post by accident, I want to treat you to a quick self-interview to answer the questions that may or may not be going through your mind right now.

So, let’s start with a couple of basic things for the newbies here.

What inspired Dronefall?

I’d done a lot of novel-writing prior to starting the Dronefall series, but I hadn’t ever ventured into dystopia before. Neither had I delved too deep into fiction with more explicitly Christian content. I was in a place in my life and growing awareness of the world around me that made me think it was high time. And looking back over the years I’ve been working on the project, I can’t help but think I was right.

I actually wrote a whole three-part series here on Stardrift Nights telling the story of how I got inspired to take on Dronefall. If you’re interested in a more in-depth answer to this question, definitely check that out. (part one, part two, part three)

Who is Halcyon Slavic?

Halcyon Slavic is my main character. A young twenty-something left to her won devices by a society that has isolated and estranged her for reasons she doesn’t know for certain. In the beginning of Dronefall she finally drops out of mainstream society entirely to live with her Christian friend in a rough part of the city who happens to be a drone-sniper.

Everybody has their own reasons for making a lifestyle out of shooting down the city’s surveillance drones. The deeper Halcyon gets into the netherworld of hackers and trackers and sharp-shooting thrill-seekers in cyberpunk Budapest, the more she realizes something is up. Things are not what they appear, some somebody somewhere behind all those flying cameras seems to have a problem with her. If you want to learn more, check out this two-part interview I did with her. (part one, part two)

And now, we get to questions about book four, Nightstare. Firstly…

What took you so long?

Boy, I don’t really know. There won’t be another gap this long between books in the series, I promise. I really wouldn’t do that to you after you’ve read Nightstare. That would be terrible.

I think part of the reason this book took me so long is because I had a major growth spurt as a writer while I was working on it. I’m probably still too close to the project to see it, but I bet some of my readers are going to notice there’s something stronger about book four, whether or not they can put their finger on just what it is. I hope it makes for better reading.

What did you learn while writing Nightstare?

A ton. I’m getting deep into all my characters at this point in the series. I’ve been studying all I can about character-driven storytelling and learning to plot in a much tighter but more holistic way than I ever have before. I’ve learned to love the second act. That’s a giant leap in my development.

I actually feel really confident about my pacing and character arcs, now. I think I can guarantee the second half of the series will be even better than the first half. Things really start to pick up in Nightstare.

What makes Nightstare so momentous?

Book four is huge in the scheme of things. A lot blows up in this book. (Figuratively and literally.) Things are starting to tie together, even as things fall apart for the characters. We’ve officially hit the big midpoint of the series, and from here, everything is just going to escalate. I’m really excited for it.

This would be a really smart time to catch up on the series, if you’re not up to date yet. The first three books are all available on Amazon, and all ebooks are temporarily 99c each. They’re also available in paperback and on Kindle Unlimited, if you’ve got a subscription for that.

So, keep an eye out for updates. We’re getting really close to liftoff, here. 

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Character Interview Dronefall My Books

Halcyon Speaks Part Two


Welcome to part two of our interview with Halcyon Slavic, the main character of my most recent novel “Dronefall.” In this interview we will get a glimpse of the story-world through her eyes. So, with no further introduction, we’ll get back into it.
Exactly what is the role and function of the drone surveillance in your city?

Budapest has an enormous system of surveillance drones that persistently combs the city with cameras and tracking technology that lets them gather information from people’s phones and wearable devices. There’s a huge grid system that crisscrosses over most of the city, and I think that’s entirely owned by the police. Supposedly this massive amount of data-gathering is keeping a lot of crime off the streets that would otherwise be there. But of course, only a small percentage of the data relates to any crime whatsoever. All this information is always readily available to government officials, the police, and anybody who knows how to hack in and get it.   

And how does the public feel about this?

I don’t really think they think much of anything about it on a day-to-day basis. Most people will scoff at you for raising an eyebrow about it. They argue that the system has saved—however many lives, it varies by who you talk to. They say it’s all actually very secure, and if you are bothered by police watching you, you must have something to hide.

Honestly, I think it bothers more people than are openly saying so. Nobody wants to look paranoid. You can get a lot of harassment if somebody says you’re afraid of the government. It looks pretty backward to some people.

You grew up in an Advocates for Education and Social Development school. Who is AESD, and what was your experience like?

AESD is an international machine that has more or less monopolized school systems in the west. They’re kind of their own government—though their funded by the actual governments of all the countries that they work in. I don’t even know how they started, but they were set up to reshape civilization according to a brilliant agenda that’s going to save us all from ourselves.

I’m starting to suspect one of their main goals is to extinguish Christianity in the next generation, but I know better than to say that. It would get me laughed off—loudly.

Just going on my experience though, the notion isn’t particularly laughable. I wouldn’t say the quality of my education was particularly good, but one thing they certainly did was start teaching children to be revolted by religion—and one religion in particular—at an early age. They used a lot of films and VR in teaching. And a lot of shock factor. 

How would you describe attitudes toward Christianity among educators, students and the general public?

AESD teachers set themselves up as champions of acceptance. If you suggest that they have something against Christianity they will quickly deny it. And then they’ll go on to tell you what an oppressive, hateful, superstitious old religion it is and why it’s responsible for all society’s ills. To them, the thought of any rational moral person believing the bible is inconceivable.

Students are an odd lot. It’s hard to put them all in the same category. Most of them just follow along. They’ll believe or pretend to believe whatever they have to to get good marks and graduate. It’s a wonder any of them have opinions of their own by then. There’s so much opinion-sculpting that goes on in school. Some are just rebelling against their Christian parents—others might just be rebelling against their anti-Christian teachers. That’s how I started out.

There are still real Christians among the general public. But they tend to be bullied into silence by the rest. It’s definitely popular to have no respect at all for it. I’ve heard of a lot of people getting treated badly for voicing certain convictions, and when they reach out for more decent people to stop the unfairness, they are often met with silence. Decent people don’t want to look like they affirm Christianity.  

What do you think it would take to change people’s minds about Christianity?

I have no idea. I don’t even know if it’s possible. They’d rather blatantly lie to themselves than consider it. At this point, all I want is to get away from them. They hate the one thing that’s important to me—the one thing that gives me hope and peace. I don’t know what we could ever do for them, now.

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Character Interview Dronefall My Books

Halcyon Speaks

The next two blog posts will be a two-part interview with none other than the main character of the Dronefall series, Halcyon Slavic. Today’s post focuses mainly on Halcyon herself, giving you a chance to meet her if you haven’t yet, and learn more about her if you have read Dronefall.

Tell us three things about yourself.
1) The first time I jumped off a train, I was seventeen. My technique was so bad, it was a miracle I didn’t break anything. 2) My favorite book of the Bible is probably Revelation. 3) I like to feed pigeons, and it makes me unreasonably resentful when people try to enforce rules against it.

Did you have friends growing up?
They would draw names at random and herd us into new “socialization groups” every week at school. This clever strategy almost destroyed any opportunity to make any friends at all, especially as we got older and slower at connecting. I hardly remember the names of any of the kids I grew up with.

Have you ever played any sports?
I played chess. Not that I was particularly good at that, either.

Can you play any musical instruments?
A rather plunky bit of piano. Music wasn’t emphasized in our educational programs, and I didn’t have the drive to become good. I can sing some, but I have kind of a rough voice.

What was your strongest school subject?
I did well in science, especially chemistry. Biology disappointed me, because we never actually got to dissect anything. I didn’t love math, but I could make it work.

Tell us three things you’re good at and three things you don’t do well.
I’m kind of good at criticizing myself—but then again, I don’t think I try hard enough. Anyway, I think I’m pretty good at holding my ground once I’ve got something figured out. I’m good at resisting peer pressure. I also have a knack for avoiding people I don’t like.
I’m kind of bad at finalizing things. I get overwhelmed with options and possibilities. I can kind of ruin my resolve by looking at situations from too many perspectives—which kind of cancels out my ground-holding skills sometimes. I can’t talk very well. I think that part of my brain must be slow. And I also can’t do anything with my own hair. My braids are terrible, and I end up with a frizzy, knotted mess if I try anything new.

Who’s your best friend?
Reveille Jacobs. She introduced me to train jumping and drone-tracking and Jesus Christ. In other words, she ruined my chances to live a normal life. I appreciated that. I might be stuck in mundanity without her influence.

Describe your relationship with God.
It’s there. Sometimes I question it, but it doesn’t disappear. It’s a quiet relationship. Nothing’s dramatic. Everything grows slowly. I get impatient sometimes, but I don’t know what more I’m expecting, when I think about it. He’s never asked me to do anything crazy, and I find that a little disconcerting, maybe.
Stay tuned for part two, in which Halcyon discusses her upbringing, her culture, and the powers under the surface of 2040’s Budapest.

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