Today we have a bonus interview with Maggie Lynn Heron-Heidel about her novel Destiny in the Shadows Series: War Machine (Book One)
What was the most surprising thing you found out while researching this book?
When I began researching the combat styles of swordsmanship for War Machine, I began joining groups on the topic and was astonished on how many differing opinions there were on double bladed swordsmanship styles! Some believe that it’s possible to fight in that style while others insist it is pure fantasy, especially in samurai lore. I am very grateful to all of the people who helped me research the topic, advising me to give my main protagonist a katana and a wakizashi as opposed to double katanas. It made it way more realistic.
Why did you choose this setting?
I created the world in which War Machine is set to echo our own and the many misgivings we’re facing in this time. Between nuclear war, our environment changing, and how humanity’s tendencies are shifting with technology, I wanted to emphasize the things that worry me the most about our current times so that people would think about these topics.
What’s unique about your world?
I wanted to create a certain horror within the reader about slavery and human trafficking. It’s such an under-discussed topic and is even romanticized by certain genres. So, I created a world where the elite tolerate and exploit human slavery, with no basis on a person’s gender or race, only their profitability as a human.
How real do you think the science is in your book?
I think all of the science in War Machine is coming into fruition now. I wrote the book two years ago, and already the technology I invented in my mind is starting to show up in reality. Microchips, bionics and different kinds of laser weapons are now very much a reality; a very disturbing one in many senses. Much of what we use for convenience now has the profound ability to limit what we hold most dear, such as our own personal freedoms.
What did you include that you wish was real today?
I invented medicines that could heal wounds instantaneously with no side effects, and without the harmful chemicals many pharmaceuticals these days are made with. I wish that technology were available to our emergency rooms and military hospitals today.
Anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Another perspective that influences my books is my background in filmmaking and acting. Being a filmmaker and screenwriter with my company, Whatsit Productions Films and TV, I try to bring a cinematic quality to all the scenes of my books. Much like Hollywood is constantly trying to excite new audiences with every film, I always visualize the action sequences in my novels and try to bring a new and different perspective to the narrative of the story. I.e.; I ask myself how I can make the experience for the reader different from any other action novel they have read.
Links:
- Website: http://maggielynnheronheidel.wordpress.com
- Amazon author link: www.amazon.com/Maggie-Lynn-Heron-Heidel/e/B072B9B8ND
- Goodreads author link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16643651
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/maggielynnhh
- Facebook www.facebook.com/maggielynnhh