Hi, Alex! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m an American science fiction author living in Georgia, and I have too many hobbies and too many careers. I love to write about food, music and starship battles, but my interests range pretty widely. I have a habit of jamming them into my manuscripts.

When did you first discover your love for writing?

When I was a little kid, I obsessed over Shel Silverstein’s books A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends. My dad also had a book of poems he’d written, and my grandmother regularly wrote articles for Christian bulletins and magazines. I started writing these Shel Silverstein knockoffs on my family’s 8086 computer in an early version of WordPerfect.

Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!

The first book I remember reading is either Half Magic or A Cricket in Times Square. I think that my steady diet of mid-century American lit in high school made me think, “I could do this. These people aren’t such hot stuff.” The book I can’t stop thinking about is probably The Kite Runner. The change in the landscape from childhood to adulthood really struck me, because it made geopolitical issues personal and intimate.

Your new novel, August Kitko and the Mechas from Space, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Music, mayhem, love and mechas

What can readers expect?

See above answer.

But also, I love using pop culture as a poetic lens to interrogate bigger issues. You can expect heavy feelings, lots of jokes, and a lot of heart.

Where did the inspiration for August Kitko and the Mechas from Space come from?

My publisher wanted another “robot friend” story after my Salvagers books, but those automata were all pet-level intelligence. They were just happy to be there. The publisher’s request clearly called for an intelligent friendship, and I was worried about the power dynamic of treating a sentient friend like a servant. My agent said, “Giant robots don’t have to listen to anyone,” and I was off to the races.

At the same time, the world started to collapse, and I felt powerless. I take actions to make things better, but that’s just soldiering on, putting drops in the ocean. I had to find a way to define my own meaning within the boundaries of my life. I started writing that into the characters.

Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?

The scale of power is daunting here. Basically every one of these mechas, the Vanguards, are walking Death Stars. Tons of planets and stations have been wiped out. The antagonist is in possession of all of our secrets and unlimited weapons.

Coming up with a scenario where you care about these two tiny humans in that galactic fracas was tough. How would they not die instantly? Do they even matter?

Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved writing Ardent Violet, because I made them free in many ways I am not. It was tremendously empowering to write a character whom I actively wished to be. People have attacked authors for doing that in the past, especially women. If you’re queer, write that trans power fantasy. Just fucking go for it. It’s magical.

What helps to motivate you when it comes to writing?

A day job is the process of leasing your dreams to someone who will crush them up before snorting them for a brief high. I have to do my day job to survive, but writing is the only honest work I’ve ever had.

What do you love about the sci-fi genre?

I can break the rules to create a great story, as long as I’m consistent about it. The shape of these breaks creates a unique setting, and will often carry a message of its own.

What’s next for you?

Got to write the next two books! I can’t imagine just leaving this series with one.

Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?

Yes! I just started The Book Eaters, which has that sort of modern dark fairy tale feel, and Under Fortunate Stars, a great time-travel space opera.

Will you be picking up August Kitko and the Mechas from Space? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Alex White, Author of ‘August Kitko and the Mechas from Space’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below what you will be checking out!

Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In Sky Hawkins’s family, leading your first heist is a major milestone–even more so than learning to talk, walk, or do long division. It’s a chance to gain power and acceptance within your family, and within society. But stealing your first treasure can be complicated, especially when you’re a wyvern–a human capable of turning into a dragon. Embarking on a life of crime is never easy, and Sky discovers secrets about her mother, who recently went missing, the real reason her boyfriend broke up with her, and a valuable jewel that could restore her family’s wealth and rank in their community.

Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child. Replete with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

Realm of Ruins by Hannah West
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Weaving together her imaginative world of gritty fairytale magic with snippets from Beauty and the Beast and other classic stories, Hannah West’s dark and dangerous adventure is a gripping, immersive companion to her acclaimed debut, Kingdom of Ash and Briars. This richly packaged edition includes an illustrated family tree, detailed map, and embossed jacket with shimmering metallic effects.

Burning Ashes by James Bennett
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In the vein of Kevin Hearne, Burning Ashes is the third book in the Ben Garston series, a contemporary fantasy tale of dragons and ancient magic hidden within our own world.

Of Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Year One returns with a new tale of terror and magic in a brand new world. They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.

Chasing Graves by Ben Galley
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Meet Caltro Basalt. He’s a master locksmith, a selfish bastard, and as of his first night in Araxes, stone cold dead. They call it the City of Countless Souls, the colossal jewel of the Arctian Empire, and all it takes to rule it is to own more ghosts than any other. For in Araxes, the dead do not rest in peace in the afterlife, but live on as slaves for the rich.

A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy by Alex White
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Valiant by Merrie Destefano
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world. Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another. And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target.

Evermore by Sara Holland
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Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

Strange Days by Constantine Singer
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Alex Mata doesn’t want to worry about rumors of alien incursions – he’d rather just skate and tag and play guitar. But when he comes home to find an alien has murdered his parents, he’s forced to confront a new reality: Aliens are real, his parents are dead, and nobody will believe him if he says what he saw. On the run, Alex finds himself led to the compound of tech guru Jeffrey Sabazios, the only public figure who stands firm in his belief that aliens are coming.

Splendor and Spark by Mary Taranta
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In this exciting follow-up to Shimmer and Burn, Faris has given up love to save her sister’s life and the dying kingdom of Avinea, but will her sacrifices be enough to overcome the poisoned magic and villains surrounding her on all sides?

Siege of Stone by Terry Goodkind
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The ramifications of Shroud of Eternity extend throughout all of the Old World as familiar allies, dangerous magic, and creatures created by twisted sorcery all work at cross purposes to either save or destroy Ildakar in Terry Goodkind’s Seige of Stone

What fantasy and sci-fi books are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post December Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

If you feel like getting whisked away into an incredible fantasy world, try Kristina Perez’s Sweet Black Waves or Sara Wolf’s Bring Me Their Hearts. There’s also The Mermaid by Christina Henry or if you’re after something a little darker, Peril In The Old Country will be perfect for you!

Or if science fiction is more you thing, A Big Ship At The Edge of the Universe by Alex White or Adrift by Rob Boffard may be more your speed!

Read on to discover our picks and tell us in the comments below if you’re excited for any of these titles!

A Big Ship At The Edge of The Universe by Alex White
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Boots Elsworth was a famous treasure hunter in another life. She makes her meager living faking salvage legends and selling them to the highest bidder, but this time she might have stumbled on something real–the story of the Harrow, a famous warship, capable of untold destruction. Nilah Brio is the top driver in the Pan Galactic Racing Federation and the darling of the racing world–until she witnesses the murder of a fellow racer. Framed for the murder and on the hunt to clear her name, Nilah only has one lead: the killer also hunts a woman named Boots. On the wrong side of the law, the two women board a smuggler’s ship that will take them on a quest for fame, for riches, and for justice.

Adrift by Rob Boffard
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

They are embarking on a tour around Sigma Station – a remote mining facility and luxury hotel with stunning views of the Horsehead Nebula. During the course of the trip, a mysterious ship with devastating advanced technology attacks the Station. Their pilot’s quick evasive action means that the tour group escape with their lives – but as the dust settles, they realize they may be the only survivors . . . Adrift in outer space, out of contact with civilization, and on a vastly under-equipped ship, these passengers are out of their depth. Their chances of getting home are close to none, and with the threat of another attack looming they must act soon – or risk perishing in the endless void of space.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh, Melissa De La Cruz, Julie Kagawa, and more
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Star-crossed lovers, meddling immortals, feigned identities, battles of wits, and dire warnings. These are the stuff of fairy tale, myth, and folklore that have drawn us in for centuries. Fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

Sweet Black Waves by Kristina Perez
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Two proud kingdoms stand on opposite shores, with only a bloody history between them. Inspired by the star-crossed tale of Tristan and Eseult, this is the story of the legend’s true heroine: Branwen. For fans of Graceling and The Mists of Avalon, this is the first book of a lush fantasy trilogy about warring countries, family secrets, and forbidden romance.

Lancelot by Giles Kristian
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Set in a 5th century Britain besieged by invading bands of Saxons and Franks, Irish and Picts, Giles Kristian’s epic new novel tells – through the warrior’s own words – the story of Lancelot, that most celebrated of all King Arthur’s knights. It is a story ready to be re-imagined for our times.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Set in a dangerous near future world, The Book of M tells the captivating story of a group of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary catastrophe who risk everything to save the ones they love. It is a sweeping debut that illuminates the power that memories have not only on the heart, but on the world itself.

Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

Zera is a Heartless – the immortal, unageing soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly. Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a Prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum; if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy her heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles.

The Mermaid by Christina Henry
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

From the author of Lost Boy comes a historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea for love and later finds herself in P.T. Barnum’s American Museum as the real Fiji mermaid. However, leaving the museum may be harder than leaving the sea ever was.

The Completionist by Siobhan Adcock
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A young Marine, Carter Quinn, comes home from war to his fractured family, in a near-future America in which water is artificially engineered and technology is startlingly embedded in people’s everyday lives. At the same time, a fertility crisis has terrifying implications for women, including Carter’s two beloved sisters, Fred and Gardner. Fred, accomplished but impetuous, the eldest sibling, is naturally pregnant—a rare and miraculous event that puts her independence in jeopardy. And Gardner, the idealistic younger sister who lived for her job as a Nurse Completionist, has mysteriously vanished, after months of disturbing behaviour.

Peril In The Old Country by Sam Hooker
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

What terror lurks in the shadows of the Old Country? Well, there are the goblins, of course. Then there are the bloodthirsty cannibals from nearby Carpathia, secret societies plotting in whispers, and murder victims found drained of their blood, to name a few. That’s to say nothing of the multitude of government ministries, any one of which might haul one off for “questioning” in the middle of the night. The Old Country is saturated with doom, and Sloot is scarcely able to keep from drowning in it. Each passing moment is certain to be his last, though never did fate seem so grim as the day he was asked to correct the worst report ever written.

The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon

She believed in the mission with all her heart. But that was sixty million years ago. How do you stage a mutiny when you’re only awake one day in a million? How do you conspire when your tiny handful of potential allies changes with each shift? How do you engage an enemy that never sleeps, that sees through your eyes and hears through your ears and relentlessly, honestly, only wants what best for you? Sunday Ahzmundin is about to find out.

Check out what other books are coming out this month on our Goodreads list!

What book are you most excited to read this month? Tell us in the comments below!

(P.S – The Nerd Daily occasionally makes profit from the links included in this post, however, all earnings go back into running giveaways for our followers!)

The post June Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.