Featured Interview With J.B. Rockwell
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
J.B. Rockwell is a New Englander, which is important to note because it means she’s (a) hard headed, (b) frequently stubborn, and (c) prone to fits of snarky sarcasticness. As a kid she subsisted on a steady diet of fairy tales, folklore, mythology augmented by generous helpings of science fiction and fantasy. As a quasi-adult she dreamed of being the next Indiana Jones and even pursued (and earned!) a degree in anthropology. Unfortunately, those dreams of being an archaeologist didn’t quite work out. Through a series of twists and turns (involving cats, a marriage, and a SCUBA certification, amongst other things) she ended up working in IT for the U.S. Coast Guard and now writes the types of books she used to read. Not a bad ending for an Indiana Jones wannabe…
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always been fascinated by books. Most of my memories from my wee tyke days are of my parents reading to me and I remember being fascinated, no matter what the story. I began devouring books on my own as soon as I learned to read and haven’t stopped since. Although I never set out to be a writer (that always seemed an impossible thing, like competing in the Olympics) I eventually got to the point around 5 or 6 years ago where I essentially said, ‘Why not. Let’s see if I can write a book.’ The rest, as they say, is history.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love speculative fiction in all it’s forms (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all the sub-genres and miss-mashes in between). It’s probably no surprise, then, that my favorite authors write in this genre: C.J. Cherryh, Neal Asher, Elizabeth Bear, and N.K. Jemisin, just to name a few. Obviously their works and the works of others have inspired me–how could they not–but I’ve also got a fantastic group of writer friends of lesser renown who have produced amazing stories, and as an observer of people, and things, and life in general, you tend to find inspiration just about everywhere you look.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book is the third in the SERENGETI series published by Severed Press. HECATE, as it’s called, is actually a prequel to SERENGETI (the first book in the series) and was actually somewhere inspired by reader requests. Books 1 and 2 of the SERENGETI series star Serengeti herself: a sentient AI warship struggling to protect her crew. A lot of my readers wanted to know more about her captain, Henricksen, so voila! A prequel starring Captain Henricksen himself. HECATE releases in the latter part of June 2017. Here’s the back cover blurb to let you know what it’s all about:
Black Ops—the intelligence arm of the Meridian Alliance Fleet. Black Ops came calling with an offer Henricksen couldn’t refuse: a ship—an entire squadron of ships, actually—and crew to command. A chance to get back to the stars.
Too bad he didn’t ask more questions before accepting the assignment. Too bad no one told him just how hinky this particular skunkworks project was.
They call the ship the RV-N: Reconnaissance Vessel – Non-combat, Raven for short. A stealth ship—fast, and maneuverable, and brutal as hell. On the surface, Henricksen’s assignment seems simple: train his crew, run the RV-Ns through their paces, get the ships certified for mission operations and job done. But an accident in training reveals a fatal design flaw in the Raven, and when an undercover operative steals classified information from a Black Ops facility, the Fleet Brass cancels the tests completely, rushing the faulty ships and their half-trained crew into live operations. On a mission to recover the Fleet’s lost secrets.
Out of time and out of options, Henricksen has no choice but to launch his squadron. But a ghost from his past makes him question everything—the ships, their AI, the entirety of this mission, right down to the secrets he and his crew are supposed to recover.
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