The Starflower by K.A. Kenny
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Step into a vast universe teeming with life, romance, heroism, and treachery as experienced and seen through the eyes of Gayle Zimmon. ‘Zim’, a young woman successful in war but naive to the machinations of the greater universe, returns from combat to confront genetically engineered humans and discover that she was sent to war not to win but to die.
While fighting the Aldrakin, Zim learns of a prophecy foretelling that the “Starflower,” her military call sign, will bloom “in the dark of the darkest night” but never know peace. Not one to accept ancient prophecy, after securing victory, she hopes to rekindle her romance with Mac and return to the peaceful life they left on the frontier.
But she is a major player in a galaxy-spanning intrigue she barely understands. Forces alien and cybernetic hold the stakes and align on both sides. Between dodging assassins, hostile planets, deadly robots, mystical aliens, and ancient relics, she must decide whether to continue running from her prophesied destiny-or try to live up to it.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194978667-the-starflower
Author Interview:
How did you do research for your book?
I feel I’ve been researching my book all my life: wide experiences, meeting characters, reading everything, making contacts to touch base with, e.g., scientists and engineers, SF&F writers, medical techs, officers and enlisted from all the military services.
Which was the hardest character to write? The easiest?
My main character Zim was the hardest. I know and love her very much, so testing and hurting her brought me to tears a few times.
The easiest was probably Abramyan, the character I love to hate.
In your book you make a reference to The Prophecy. How did you come up with this idea?
The Prophecy is central to the plot, as it was in DUNE, but here it is a much more personal and threatening experience. I have a feeling we all live prophetic lives and, like Zim, may wish to escape them.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
My characters live the stories and tell them to me. Without my writing, they cannot live.
There are many sci fi books out there. What makes yours different?
To my mind, SF is about dreaming the impossible dream. If we do that, nothing is beyond us. Much SF today is simplistic, pessimistic, and dystopian, i.e., unworthy of creative minds seeking to fly.
What advice would you give budding writers?
Write. Love and listen to your characters. Listen to your inner child. Writing to the current market and its specific interests will date your work and lose future readers.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you? The scariest? The strangest?
One incident addresses all these questions: funny, scary, strange. After returning from a beach weekend chaperoning teenagers, I was cleaning sand from the car, and my wife who had stayed home was helping. Teen girls can be vixens, and one of them had put a pair of her panties in the glove compartment. When my wife found them, she held them up and asked, “What is this?” My jaw dropped and my mind went blank. My wife shook her head and laughed. “Those girls.” I wish whoever pulled that prank could have seen me. She got me good.
Author bio (in his own words):
I am a husband, father, storyteller, and a Christian. I’m also a writer, an intelligence analyst, and a contrarian. My wife and I live with two large dogs in a mountain chalet in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
I hold a BA and an MA in History from George Mason and George Washington University, respectively. In 40+ years with the CIA, I worked at every level from watch office and tactical operations to sensor development and informing national policy. Re-missioned from intelligence, I’m inclined to write science fiction.
I began storytelling at scout and church camp in my youth, recounting ghost stories or local lore around the campfire. These days, my restive characters want to tell their own stories. We often quarrel. When my wife sides with them, you know who wins.
Website: https://thestarflower.com/
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