This week's interview features another brilliant Angry Robot debut author, Ginger Smith, author of the absolutely fantastic sci-fi adventure The Rush's Edge - which is out next month on 10 November!

1. Hey Ginger! You’re in an elevator chatting with your favourite film director and they ask what your book’s about. What’s your single line pitch to get them interested?

Genetically-engineered super soldier Hal has to learn to deal with civilian life and help his crew survive both the discovery of an alien presence on their ship as well as the government seeking to kill them for it.

2. Who’s your protagonist and why did you enjoy writing about them?

My protagonist is Hal Cullen. He’s a vat: a genetically engineered and artificially grown solider who has been programmed for military service since before being born. It’s all he knows. Vats have the ability to “rush”; they can harness the effects of adrenaline to function at the outer fringes of human ability. They are able to think faster and fight harder than the natural born. I liked writing about Hal because of his vat nature and his internal conflict as he struggles to realize that maybe he can become more than his programming.

3. If they had a favorite story to read, what would it be?

Being a vat, Hal was not given a classical education, so he would read for information, not entertainment. He would probably read things about military history, tactics, weapons systems, and ship manuals, like Structural Schematics for J-Class Freighters. Anything to do with specific gaming strategies would also catch his eye because he loves games.

4. Someone enjoyed a sci-fi show and their friend says, “Well, if you loved that, you’ll really love The Rush’s Edge. What could that show be and why will its fans enjoy your novel?”

I think that show might be Killjoys. That was a really fast-paced show with a scrappy, mismatched crew who were pulled into events much larger than themselves. I liked the balance of character development and action, and I think The Rush’s Edge has the same energy.

5. What’s on your current TBR pile that you’re most excited to read and why?

This is both an easy and a hard question to answer because my TBR pile is HUGE! My very next read is The Phlebotomist by Chris Panatier. I’m excited to read it because I’m a sucker for dystopias. Also, he’s an Angry Robot author, and I’ve made it my personal goal to read all the AR novels that were released in 2020. I may not finish until 2021, but it’s good to have goals, right?

Thanks so much Ginger for chatting with us! And for all you readers out there, you can pre-order The Rush's Edge here.