Today, I am hosting Ingrid Moon, author of THE HANDLER'S GAMBIT and discussing the side quest she ended up embarking on involving quantum mechanics and astrophysics as she wrote the Saxen Saga.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your novel!

I'm a mixed bag of careers, all of which involve writing, producing, education, marketing, and technology. Honestly, I can't get a job because I don't have a career focus. ANYHOO, I'm a GenX lady with a kid and lots of pets and not enough time on my hands.

Enough about me!!! My novel is The Handler's Gambit, a complete overhaul from a book I published in 2011, about a young officer trapped in an evil warlord's fleet, who is trying to get out of his situation and take his assassin ward with him. But of course, not only is this a perilous quest, but once he gets out, the danger really begins.

Signing up for Ingrid's newsletter gets you free copies of LEGACY and AIRLOCK 9! Pick up The Handler's Gambit and pre-order The Warriors Shade today!

Did you have to research anything outside of your regular wheelhouse?

I had to research science, military structures, cryptography, and mostly just how to write well. I'm already a science nerd, so it's really about keeping up with the current stuff. Like I could add quantum concepts into the worldbuilding to make sense of things like the space-jumping trope and having time be universal across an entire galaxy. That, and I wanted the systems the fleets were in to be realistic, and as a result I wrote AstroFiction: A Worldbuilder's Reference for SF & F.

While you were researching, did you find anything particularly fascinating?

Quantum entanglement is pretty nifty. Concepts around entropy are pretty killer. Did you know that the “holographic principle” of black holes sounds fancy, but it's really just how entropy explains the surface area of the event horizon rather than its volume. Who knew!?

Did any of that research make it into the final book? Why or why not?

Yes. I used a lot of the astrophysics details from our own galaxy, such as the bow shock effect of runaway stars like Zeta Ophiuchi. I then extrapolated the idea that if this is space gas being lit up in the bow shock (compressed), it might cause chemical reactions like precipitants that could be mined. I have no idea what the space gases are composed of or what this effect would produce, but I don't have to mention the details of what they mine, just the idea it could happen. Same with quantum entanglement. If the Higgs boson controls the mass of a particle, and you can entangle two particles of indeterminate distance, why couldn't you transfer the “information” of a particle through that Higgs field to regenerate identical mass on the other end? Let's just pretend that in 12,000 years, it might be worked out. I was also learning about identity on the internet, zero-knowledge proof, and the idea that you can transfer information about yourself without giving any of it away. So, I can prove to you that I am over 21 without telling you my birthday, and you can trust that it is true. I tried to work some of that into the “grooving” (hacking) parts of the story, although a lot of that came out (it can be boring to watch people “hack”) and will be in the second book.

What is your research process like when you are trying to find information to help with your writing?

Google, one of my 10,000 science textbooks, ChatGPT is very helpful to get basic concepts, so I know where to start looking (like is there a vocabulary word that ChatGPT spits out that I can go look up more details on?), Wiki is also another good place to start. As a K12 teacher, I did not discourage Wiki for such things... the sources at the bottom of a good page are where I told kids to go start. Anyway, mostly, I find a need for a scientific or technological principle, then research it, and then write about it in the context of my story.

Anything else you want to add?

In addition to AstroFiction, I am in the process of writing BioFiction, which focuses more on the biology of things, which will be more helpful to fantasy writers, I think, and then RoboFiction, which will be more about the tech side of things: AI/ML, Crypto, and things related to engineering in space fiction and probably steam and cyberpunk.

Update 10/10/2024: RoboFiction and BioFiction have released alongside a second edition of AstroFiction. They are currently available on Amazon.

Not only is Ingrid Moon working on her fictional books, but she's also putting together technical manuals, field guides, and reference books to make sure the science in your worldbuilding makes sense. I've already picked up AstroFiction and am eagerly waiting for BioFiction's release!

Other Places You Can Find Ingrid Moon

IngridMoon.com || Facebook || BlueSky || Amazon Page || Goodreads || Campfire

And don't forget to join her newsletter! Ingrid Moon will also be at WonderCon March 29th – 31st, 2024 and at San Diego ComicCon July 24th – 28th, 2024. Contact her if you'd like to have a book signed during these events!

If you want bonus material and an immersive reading experience, THE HANDLER'S GAMBIT is also available on Campfire. Campfire recently released a dedicated mobile app, and I can vouch for the fact that it's one of the best mobile and digital reading experiences out there.

About Ingrid Moon:

How many cats should one person have before they are called a crazy cat lady? How can a person love pigs more than humans (or cats)? And who is that mysterious husband in the back of this photo behind my absolutely gorgeous cat Ikey (RIP)?

I love to write. I love science. I love science fiction and fantasy. I love strange things and mysterious things and far-away things. I also love to read, but it has been more difficult finding time to do that these days.

I am a part-time educator, most-time freelance writer and editor living in Los Angeles, CA. I have a background in corporate and entertainment marketing (B2B and B2C), as well as technical production management. My background has given me many skills in many industries and demonstrates my adaptability and ability to learn and apply concepts quickly. I also love turning those complex concepts and processes around and making them simple for others.

Animals are my jam. Space is my other jam. It’s like having a jar of strawberry and a jar of raspberry. Sometimes, it’s hard to decide which one will go best with peanut butter and my digestive system that day.

If you are an author and want to be featured in this series, please contact me.

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Today, I am hosting Liz Sauco, author of Lost Blades and talking about the many, many rabbit holes she jumped into.

Thanks for being here, Liz. Can you start off by telling me a little bit about yourself and your novel?

I'm Liz! I'm a novelist who writes high fantasy with science fiction and urban fantasy elements. Which is what Blades of the Goddess is. The first book in the series is Lost Blades—a thief on the run from crimes he both did and did not commit and a ninja trying to help his country break free from the Empire get pulled into an ancient battle between magic, life, and a force that seeks to end existence itself.

I think I know more than a few people who need to put that book on the top of the TBR pile. There's a lot going on in the novel, did you have to research anything outside of your regular wheelhouse?

Oh yes, tons of things. How to create and take care of saltwater reef aquariums. Types of wood used in coffins (specifically: yellow woods). What exactly is poison on a chemical level? Steam trains. High-speed trains. Boilers. How to draw blood. I get easily distracted by questions that I feel my characters should know but I don't, and some of my characters are smarter than me, so I feel pressure to make sure I'm presenting them correctly.

I feel that; writing smarter characters can be so frustrating. Out of all the things you researched, which fact or tidbit did you find most interesting?

I was trying to figure out how much of a hassle it would be to bring a coffin on a bus. There's a bus company—I think it's in Canada, I did this research a few years back—that specifically doesn't allow “ninja weapons” on their buses (but stowing the coffin would be fine). It made me laugh.

I am tempted to research this further myself, but afraid of the consequences of knowing. Did any of that research make it into the final book?

I spent about a week researching the saltwater reef aquariums, only to put a couple of references to it in the books (a number of characters look at the aquarium, but don't know much about fish, so that research doesn't get used a lot). But every other month I have a check-in with “Ander's fish tank” in my newsletter where I do use some of that research, so it's not entirely wasted!

That's an ingenious way to make sure no research goes to waste! If anyone is interested in this, I'll have Liz's newsletter linked so you, too, can learn all about saltwater reef aquariums.

For the bus situation, a coffin is transported on a bus in one of the books—so the research was useful for that. There was a katana in the coffin, but what the bus employees don't know won't hurt them.

I think I am going to think twice about getting on a bus if I notice anyone carrying a coffin. What is your research process like?

Usually, I try to think if I know someone who would know the answer first. I know a woodworker, so I asked him the coffin question.

Oh gosh, what a conversation starter. Did he know the answer?

He told me I should look it up online. But also said pine is common. I was hoping for a more extravagant wood. Alas, I just called it “pale yellow wood” in the manuscript, as my character wouldn't know one wood from another. His girlfriend is one of my beta readers, so they are used to me asking all kind of stuff. He's also always happy to talk about wood, it was just that coffins aren't something he normally deals with. I have problems where I feel like I have to know things that are really not going to be relevant to the story.

I totally relate to that. The father of one of my characters is a woodworker, and so I also have a folder of research dedicated to wood and time wasted researching it.

The worst for me was the saltwater reef aquarium. I put my writing on hold for two weeks while I researched it.

Too relatable. So what do you do when your friends don't know the answer or you are short on friends who might know?

If they don't know the answer, they can usually point me in the right direction. Otherwise, I google and try to ensure I'm not getting my info from weird fringe groups or common misconceptions. I'll try to find multiple sources that agree with each other.

That is a sound approach. Just don't spend too much time gathering those multiple sources! Thanks so much for agreeing to this, it's been an absolute delight!

If you want to find out more about Liz or the Blades of the Goddess series, make sure to check out her website. The next book in the series, Broken Blades is releasing in a few days and you can pre-order it today on her store or pick it up at your favorite retailer. Personally, I suggest you grab Lost Blades on Campfire so that you can get all the lore and worldbuilding goodies.

About Liz:

I’ve always loved stories. The more fantastical, the better. Unicorns were an early favorite of mine; I must have watched The Last Unicorn a thousand times as a child, driving my parents to near insanity. I journeyed with Bilbo and Frodo to their respective mountains, flew with the dragonriders of Pern, rode with the Heralds of Valdemar (and desperately wanted a Companion. Or a dragon. Any talking animal friend, really). I devoured every book I could get my hands on – trips to Barnes and Noble were hotly anticipated.

Anime (thanks, Toonami!) and video games were other favorites. I watched Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Gundam Wing, played Zelda and Mario. Some of my earliest memories are of watching my parents play A Link to the Past and Mario 64. A Link to the Past was the first game I ever finished. I found myself endlessly fascinated with how the Zelda games fit together. Mythology also grabbed me, made me think of how other cultures viewed the world.

And then I made up stories for myself when I ran out of media to consume.

Other Places You Can Find Liz Sauco: Website | Discord | Facebook | Campfire

And don't forget to sign up for her newsletter so you can learn more about saltwater reef aquariums!

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