Author Interview – Neil Bullock
Today, I am pleased to welcome Science Fantasy author Neil Bullock to talk to us about his metaphysical Primordial series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, Off Track, and you can find my review here.
Helen: Welcome Neil. I’m excited to chat with you about your primordial series, which you have now released two books and working on the third, Nexus. Tell us a little about it.
Neil: My current book is titled Nexus, and it’s the third in my Primordials series. I’m planning on having 9 books split into three trilogies with a time gap between each. Nexus sets out to answer most of the questions posed in book 1 (Off Track) and book 2 (Earth Twelve) while also setting up the next batch of three books. It also provides some background for a few related series I have planned. I’m currently planning for a July or August release for Nexus!
Helen: You have a grand plan, can’t wait to see where your series goes. What can you tell us about your thoughts behind your cover?
Neil: My cover is an abstract view from the Nexus, which is a location in the eponymous book. We’re looking through a doorway from our position behind my main character, Eden Lucas. In front of her is a scene that was described in the epilogue of Earth Twelve.
Helen: I love the idea of looking though a keyhole at a new version of the world. Why did you call the book Nexus?
Neil: Naming books is a horrible thing to have to do! Book titles are so hard! For Off Track, it took me weeks to decide on the name. For Earth Twelve and Nexus, I named them both for locations in the book. Much easier that way. It could also mean a nexus between my various planned stories.
Helen: I agree, I’m always dithering between names and often end up asking my newlsetter subscribers ot vote because I can’t decide! Who is your protagonist and why did you write her/him?
Neil: My protagonist is Eden Lucas, a 30-something woman from Portland, Oregon. I am, of course, not a woman, not in my 30s and not American, so it is perhaps a strange choice. The reason I wrote her is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, at its core. Female protagonists of that type have always been my go-to. The musical Wicked is another. The role of Elphaba speaks to me. Clare Abshire in The Time Traveler’s Wife. Alicia in Justin Cronin’s The Passage trilogy. Naomi and Bobbie in The Expanse. Any number of others. As for why I write Americans, it’s because it feels more “exotic” than writing British. I think I might struggle to imagine British characters going through what my characters go through.
Helen: I know this is one of those questions, but who is your favourite character?
Neil: Probably Megan Young. She joins the cast in Nexus, and she has quite the tragic backstory that I’m looking forward to working with in subsequent books! She also has some unique abilities which were fun to play with while writing Nexus!
Helen: Thank you so much for spending time with me today. Just to finish, who inspired you to write?
Neil: To some extent, it’s just who I am. Whenever I encounter something I enjoy, I want to emulate it in my own way. That could be a film, television show, book, piece of software (I’m a programmer in my other life), whatever. Specifically, I credit Stephen King, Peter Clines, Jeff VanderMeer, James S. A. Corey, Audrey Niffenegger, N.K Jemisin and Justin Cronin. Whenever I read anything by any of them, it’s like a well of inspiration inside me gets refilled. All books fill it a little bit, but those authors are definite favourites.
About the Author
Neil BullockI am a fan of fantasy, science fiction and magic realism, which I tend to combine into my somewhat speculative sci-fi novels. I particularly enjoy the kind of mind-bending stories told by Blake Crouch, N. K. Jemisin, Peter Clines, and Jeff VanderMeer, among others. I love putting normal people in weird situations and seeing how they cope. In my writing, that is. I try not to do it so much in real life.
Purchase Book one, Off Track via Amazon
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback | Audio
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback | Audio
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If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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