Interview with Rhett Bruno - Progeny of Vale - Titanborn + review of his short story This Long Vigil

Please welcome a new to me author Rhett Bruno. He's here to talk about his two upcoming novels plus more about this NYC architect/author.

ISBN-13: 9781682300848

Publisher: Diversion Publishing
Release Date: 03/15/2016
Length: 230pp
Pre-Order: B&N/Amazon/Kobo/IndieBound

Overview:
In the thrilling sequel to The Circuit: Executor Rising, Cassius Vale has drawn the Circuit into open war.
After arriving on Ceres Prime, ADIM, ever the loyal companion created by Cassius Vale, is hesitant to help the Ceresians. Their hatred for his Creator will never wane and he starts to understand the danger all of Cassius’ many rivals pose. ADIM must realize the true magnitude of his abilities in order to keep him safe.

ISBN-13: 9780399594793

Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 06/21/2016
Length: 246 pp
Pre-Order It: B&N/Amazon/Kobo

Overview:
In this gritty and innovative science-fiction thriller in the vein of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, turmoil on one of Saturn’s moons rattles Earth’s most powerful citizens—and draws one planet-hopping rogue into a fight he never saw coming.
Malcolm Graves lives by two rules: finish the job, and get paid. After thirty years as a collector, chasing bounties and extinguishing rebellions throughout the solar system, Malcolm does what he’s told, takes what he’s earned, and leaves the questions to someone else—especially when it comes to the affairs of offworlders.

Rhett, Hi. I really liked your short story This Long Vigil.
You also have a novel coming out in March, Progeny of Vale, Circuit trilogy book 2.
Tell us about the trilogy and book two.

Absolutely. The Circuit: Executor Rising was my first full-length science fiction novel. I went through some issues with my initial publisher, but it’s found a great home with Diversion Books and I couldn’t be happier to see the sequel finally coming out. It’s not your everyday space-opera, as I really wanted to tell a story that was focused on the characters and how their lives come together in dramatic fashion. The first book ended on sort of a cliff-hangar, and I think in the second you’ll see each of the four main characters really pushed to their limits as they try to survive on their own. Of course, the slow evolution of the android, ADIM, was my favorite aspect to write.

You also have a Sci-Fi Thriller due out in June with Random House’s digital imprint Hydra, Titanborn.
Tell us about this too please.

Again really excited about this. I had a lot of passion for this story, and I hope this comes through in the struggles of the main character, Malcolm Graves, a planet-hopping bounty hunter. This is my first published work written in first person, and I really wanted this to be a personal story about Malcolm, digging deep into his mind and memories as he deals with a job unlike any other. I wouldn’t say it’s a redemption arc, but he’s not the same brash, careless man he starts as by the end. 

I like the cover for Titanborn.
Are you involved in the cover choice?

Random House has great designers. I was involved in selecting the idea, and then once the first draft was made working with them to perfect it. It was a really easy process and I loved how open they were to input.

Rhett you’re a NYC architect and author.
When and how was the author born?

It’s hard to say, ha. I’ve always been into creative writing, even back as far as middle school. Of course I wouldn’t want to read whatever I wrote then now, it was always a passion of mine. I’d love to be able to write full-time one day, but that isn’t an easy thing to do.

And what exactly is it about Sci-Fi that floats your boat?

Everything. I love it all. From hard Sci-fi, to lasers and the Force. It’s the sense of wonder to it, but it’s also interesting to see how authors extrapolate on real-life situations. Seeing all these potential glimpses into the future… it’s what science fiction is all about.

When you create a new world for a work of fiction how do you keep all your people, places and things straight?

It can be hard. I try to create an outline where I list out all of the pertinent information, but things evolve as I write so it can be hard. Self-editing is the trick. I tend to read through chapters as I go more than I probably should, but it’s necessary for me. Especially in The Circuit where I’m balancing four characters with different views of the universe they inhabit. For Titanborn or This Long Vigil it’s easier to get into the head of the protagonist and stay there. Seeing the world through his/her eyes keeps things consistent.

Rhett I love your website its got a very clean and uncluttered feel.
Did you design it?

Partially! Marilyn Glisci of 4 Direction Design set up the website, and we worked together on the design itself. I always find simple websites to be the best. Easy to navigate and see everything.

So you write fiction, you’re an architect, offer editing services, blog.
Did I miss anything and when do you have time for and what do you like to do for fun?

Haha, nope that’s it. I don’t blog much, but I’ve just started offering developmental editing services in a more professional manner. I’m actually working on one of my first full manuscripts now. It’s hard to find time for it all, but I tend to write in bursts. When I’m really feeling the story or where I’m at in it, the process goes very fast.

On your short stories page you say, “While my focus remains on novel-writing, there’s a special place in my heart for short stories.”
When you first imagine the conception of a piece of fiction do you know right away if it will be a short story or a novel?

Usually, yeah. The idea for Titanborn came from an unpublished short story I wrote, but that was a very different story so it’s hard to compare them. I typically file ideas away into a list where they’d either be short stories or novels.

So Rhett we know you love to write sci-fi.
What do you read?

Mostly scifi, some fantasy. I’ve been on a Star Wars reading kick because of the new movie, but I usually like golden age Scifi. Heinlein, Clarke, Dick, those are some of my favorites. I’m not as fast of a reader as I’d like to be, but I usually read a book every month or two.

Thank you for answering my questions, good luck with the writing!
Will you be attending any author events/signings?

We’ll see! With two books coming out within months of each other, we’re still trying to figure out all of the details.

ASIN:B019LZJ5H8

Publisher: Pervenio Corp.
Release Date: 12/19/2015

Length: 2098 KB/21pp

Free on Kindle-Unlimited

Review of This Long Vigil

Rhett Bruno’s short story The Long Vigil grabs from the first page and doesn’t let go. With the impression of a much longer tale and a definite Space Odyssey flavor he seasons his two characters with clarity and chronicles his backdrops leaving readers with a clear convincing picture and wishing for more pages.

The interstellar ship, Hermes is taking her 999 inhabitants to colonize a new planet. The journey is a long one so all but one human at a time remains in a suspended hibernation. The one awake, the monitor, Orion is due to choose his replacement from the remaining 998 and go back to sleep in just a few hours. He’s never seen earth and has only known the company of the ship’s computer/artificial intelligence, Dan. Armed with the knowledge he’ll never awaken again he has one last request before he goes back to sleep.

 Connect with Rhett - Website - Facebook - Twitter

MEET RHETT:
Rhett Bruno grew up in Hauppauge, New York, and studied at the Syracuse University School of Architecture where he graduated cum laude.
He has been writing since he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic short stories when he was young to show to his parents. When he reached high school he decided to take that a step further and write the “Isinda Trilogy”. After the encouragement of his favorite English teacher he decided to self-publish the “Isinda Trilogy” so that the people closest to him could enjoy his early work.

Today's Gonereading item is:
Bibliophilia - Set of 100 literary postcards

Click HERE for the buy page