Wednesday, 17 February 2016

Guest post from David Hulegaard




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With encouragement from friends and family, David K. Hulegaard wrote his first novel in 2010, and has cut a swath through Sci-Fi and Fantasy ever since. Lauded for his ability to create complex, meaningful characters, David’s Noble trilogy takes readers on an emotional journey that has garnered comparisons to the works of Philip K. Dick and Stephen King.
David lives in Port Townsend, Washington with his wife Jennie, and their banana-obsessed Welsh Terrier Tobi. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, professional wrestling, and photography.
David dropped in to talk about his new book - Planet of Ice
Learn more about David and his books at www.davidhulegaard.com, and follow him on Twitter to chat.

Constructing a Planet of Ice

When a mysterious message prompts Delta to leave the crew unexpectedly, Max, Kort and K1RB pursue her to a mining colony on Quaris - a distant planet with a seedy reputation. To find Delta, the team must traverse a harsh, unforgiving environment; face certain death at the hands of murderous mercenaries; and uncover the powerful secrets hidden beneath the planet's frozen crust . . .

I consider myself fortunate to count author Tony Healey among my friends. We both entered the literary fray around the same time, and clicked right away. Not only is he a swell guy on a personal level, but he’s also one helluva storyteller, and I enjoy his work immensely.

We’d always wanted to work on a project together, but without fail, something would come up and derail our progress. Finally, in 2015, we teamed up and published two volumes of an innovative new series called Playlist: collections of short stories inspired by our favorite music.

Not long afterward, Tony presented another opportunity for us to collaborate, only this time he raised the stakes. He needed someone to take on the second book of his critically-acclaimed Broken Stars series, and in short order.

I spent a weekend reading Age of Destiny (the incredible first book in the series) cover to cover twice. With a head full of ideas, I plotted an outline of where I saw the story going next, and sent it to Tony for approval. After a few minor changes, he gave me his blessing, and put me to work on Planet of Ice.


Although I was intimidated to take the reins from someone as gifted as Tony, I was equally excited to play in his sandbox. He’d created such an intriguing universe with Age of Destiny, filled with mystery, action, suspense, and very likable characters. Oh, and did I mention aliens and space travel? My inner geek was tingling.

My goal with Planet of Ice was to expand upon the fantastic groundwork Tony laid with Age of Destiny. He established a solid blueprint around Max, the main protagonist, so I wanted to build off that by examining his crew and exploring their team dynamic a bit deeper.

Delta is one such character Tony introduced in Age of Destiny, and I loved her instantly. She’s a real bad ass with a “take no crap” attitude, and joins the team with reluctance during a fight-or-flight situation. Although we learn a bit about her criminal past in the first book, I felt as though we’d only scratched the surface of her character. With that in mind, I developed Planet of Ice around the consequences of her involvement. Ghosts from her past come back to haunt her, and the boundaries of her friendship with Max are tested.

Focusing on Delta was also important to me because I feel as though strong female characters are at a premium in the sci-fi genre, and that’s a shame. But she’s not just strong. She’s fearless, funny, smart, resourceful, and crafty. She’s not a role model by any stretch of the imagination, but when push comes to shove, she’s definitely someone you’d want to have your back.

If you like action-packed sci-fi, The Broken Stars series is right up your alley. But don’t just take my word for it:

“This book has plenty of non-stop action, character development, suspense, and vivid world building.” – 5-star review on Amazon

Begin Max’s adventure across the stars in Age of Destiny.

Continue his journey in Planet of Ice.



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