Tevun-Krus #47 - Galactic Empire

Spotlight Author: Amy_DuBoff

Join us for this month's Spotlight Author—on Amy_DuBoff, author of the Cadicle series of books!

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If you had to describe yourself in one word, what words wouldn't you use?

Loud, shallow, irresponsible

What did you want your nickname at school to be?

Well, Amy actually *is* my nickname. My given name is Amanda.

When you were a young padawan, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An astrophysicist! Or an aerospace engineer. Basically, I wanted to do whatever would get me closer to outer space. Then I realized that words came far easier to me than numbers, so I shifted my focus to writing about space instead :-).

What's your favourite quote?

"The highest happiness of man is to have probed what is knowable and quietly to revere what is unknowable." ―Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Other than writing, what hobbies do you have?

I love to travel, so much of my free time is spent planning my next adventure with my husband. Also, though not really a hobby, I can be a total Netflix junky—I'll binge-watch anything sci-fi, fantasy, or drama. I'm always up for some good tabletop gaming, and I enjoy story-driven video games.

As your crew casts your lifeless body into the core of the nearest star, list three pieces of music likely to be rattling the bulkheads.

Anything by Two Steps from Hell
"Arrival to Earth" from the Transformers soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky
First movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5

Who is your all-time-favourite author? How much—if at all—have they influenced your writing style?

Frank Herbert's "Dune" had the most profound impact on me. You can see definitely influences in my Cadicle series, and I included a few direct nods as an homage to how that work shaped me as an author.

Of everything you have written, what is your favourite?

The fifth volume in the Cadicle series, "Crossroads of Fate", is the nearest and dearest to me of the seven books, though the series as a whole will always be my baby. On a less serious side, I'm rather fond of my new comedic space opera novella, "Brewing Trouble", which is in the first installment of the Pew! Pew! anthology. I'll have a sequel novella in the upcoming Pew! Pew! Volume 3.

...and what is your fans' favourite?

Going purely on Amazon ratings, the seventh and final book in the Cadicle series is the fan favorite. I do feel that book is my best writing to date.

We know some of the big authors—Orson Scott Card and Tolkien, for example—incorporate their religious beliefs into their work. Are you religious? If so, do you incorporate those beliefs into your work?

I'm not religious, but I do have some political messaging in my writing. At its core, I believe that all good science fiction should be making some form of commentary and provoke thought.

How much does real-life experience influence your writing?

Quite a bit. I began working on the Cadicle series when I was 10 or 11 years old, but I frankly wasn't ready to finish the series as a teenager. I needed to grow up and experience adult relationships before I was equipped to tell the story I wanted to tell. I believe I take something from each of my experiences, and those things work their way into my writing in one way or another.