Book Tour Q&A: Eclipse by Herman Steuernage
- Fiction Fans
- Sep 10, 2023
- 9 min read
Today we're taking part in the book tour organized by Escapist Book Company for Eclipse by Herman Steuernagel! Continue reading for the book blurb and a Q&A with the author.
About the book
When lies crumble, two lives and an entire civilization teeter on the brink of destruction... Django had everything he ever wanted... now he’s lost it all.
When Django uncovered an unexpected truth, he didn’t know it would end the lives of nearly everyone he cares about. Left only with his sister, his best friend and an uncle who has some unhinged ideas about what might exist outside of the space station Eclipse, he must follow the truth where it leads – even if it leaves him with nothing.
Mikka can’t escape her dubious past… and now must answer for past sins.
Mikka thought she had left her life as a notorious space pirate behind to care for her ailing mother, but the past comes knocking after her ship, the Redemption, answers a cryptic distress call.
Forced to face a deal she made with the devil years ago, Mikka has no choice but to step back into her old life and make another hesitant pact... with an eccentric pirate.
Django and Mikka’s paths collide as they embark on a journey that will shape the fate of a civilization built on half-truths and the backs of others. Rumors of civil war circulate through the Syndicate’s orbital empire, catching both Django and Mikka in the crossfire -- where the stakes are far higher than they realize.
Neither is prepared. Neither is willing. But they will no longer be able to ignore the truth.
Perfect for fans of Red Rising, Star Trek and Firefly, ECLIPSE is filled with unwilling heroes, a hidden world, likeable characters, space pirates, a path of discovery and a road to redemption.
On to the interview...!
Thank you so much for joining us for this Q&A! We’ll start off with one of our standard podcast opening questions–tell us something great that’s happened recently.
Thank you for having me!
Something good is that I’ve finished off Book 2 & 3 of my Fractured Orbit series, and they are both in various stages of editing. Chimera, which is book 2 of the series will be going out to Advance Readers this week!
What are you currently reading or what’s up next on your TBR? What made you pick up this book?
I’ve currently got two books on the go.
The first is called Invasion by Starr Z. Davies. It’s the fourth book in her Powers Legacy series. I’ve read the entire series this year, and it’s one I haven’t been able to put down.
It’s a dystopian fantasy series, set in the far future, where humans have developed powers in the aftermath of an apocalyptic disaster. I’ve read previous works by Davies, and couldn’t wait to pick this one up. The series has been one of my favourite reads of the year.
She’s built an incredible dystopian world, and I’m absolutely in love with this story.
The second is Iron Gold by Pierce Brown. The fourth in the Red Rising series. It feels weird to say, but the first three books were some of my favourite all time reads, and I just never got around to continuing with the series. With the recent release of Lightbringer I decided it was time to get back into it. I’m halfway through the audiobook now, and so far I’m not disappointed with that decision.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start writing?
I’ve always loved story as long as I can remember. The first story I can remember writing was in grade two, about an owl who lost his hoot. Ever since then I’ve loved creating. However, it was only fairly recently that I’d found the discipline to sit down and write a novel. I’d start, get a few chapters in, and never finish.
A few years ago I ran a half marathon with a few buddies of mine. I had just switched jobs and had a bit more free time on my hands, so it was a good way to fill that time. Keep in mind I have never been athletic. I cycle a bit now, but I was always the kid who got picked last in gym class. After I’d done the run I had people coming up to me congratulating me on ticking an item off my ‘bucket list’. To which my thought was “It wasn’t really on my bucket list, I just kind of did it”. And then I decided, maybe it was time to cross off something that was actually on my bucket list, so I got to work writing my first novel.
That was almost four years ago now, and I have 7 novels that are published, and two more are on the way this fall.
Who are your favorite current writers and who are your greatest influences?
My current favorite writers include V.E. Schwab, Brandon Sanderson, Pierce Brown, Blake Crouch and Andy Weir.
As for influences
I grew up on Star Trek The Next Generation, and even though that’s not a writer, I need to mention that as part of my influences and interest in Science Fiction.
When I was a teenager, I was given a copy of Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, and the world of fantasy opened up to me as well. Then I discovered The Wheel of Time and my world was changed.
Eclipse has elements of both Red Rising by Pierce Brown, and Wool by Hugh Howey. There is some influence from the show Arcane that works its way into the series as well.
How much do you plan when you write? What’s your writing process like?
I am a pantser turned plotter - kind of.
All of those great story ideas that I mentioned that never went anywhere, fell apart because I had a great idea for the beginning of a story, but no idea how to end it.
My first novel, Lies the Guardians Tell, I sat down and wrote with no outline. However, at the time I was learning a lot about the writing process, about craft, and about story structure, so kind of without realizing it, I had developed a bit of a story arc in my head. Which worked out okay for that book.
Fast forward to the second book in that series, Secrets of the Sphere, and I was just completely winging it. As a result I ended up tossing 30,000 words because I had written myself into a situation that wasn’t interesting and didn’t work. For an 80,000 word novel, that was heart breaking.
So now, I like to have a rough outline in place going into a book. I don’t often stick to it … my characters have their own ideas.
In Eclipse, the end point was clear, I had to get my characters to a certain point. The intent of the book is really to set the stage for the rest of the series, and opening up the world, in particular for the main character Django.
For the next installments however, I started with an end point in mind, and only a vague idea of how I was going to get there. But I develop beats along the way. Even if I’m not sticking to the initial plan, I like to know the next few steps so that my characters have a destination.
That was a really long way of saying, each book has a different process!
How much of yourself do you write into your stories?
I think if I were put into any of the situations I put my characters into I’d curl up into a ball and wish it would all go away. That wouldn’t make for a very interesting story. But there are bits of me in some of my characters. Other characters are the complete opposite of what I would be.
In Eclipse, I’d say that there is some of past me in Django, the hopeless romantic who fell in love with his best friend. He’s loyal and trusting, but also a bit whiney and naive. He also acts before he thinks sometimes, which lands him in hot water.
Then there’s Eventide, who’s driven, and wants to go on adventure. She’s not satisfied with the world she’s in, and will work hard to make her situation better.
What comes first to you when you’re writing, the world, the characters, or the storyline?
Again it depends on the book, but for Eclipse it was definitely the world. The concept really came to me as a result of the billionaire space race, and thinking that the Earth is truly the only habitable world that there is out there. Even though right now there is this romantic idea of colonizing Mars, in reality, space is miserable, and would be extremely tough to live in given our current technology. There’s no water, no food, there isn’t even there. No billionaire is realistically going to want to live out there for a very long time.
But it would be far more likely that they’d kick us off the planet, and force us to harvest the resources of the solar system to send back to them. They can enjoy the habitable world, and make us live out in the harsh conditions of outer space.
A lot of my books are “what if” scenarios, and I think that’s common in science fiction. From there the characters and the storyline kind of present themselves. I try to let my characters drive the story. Each of them has wants, needs, and things standing in their way. When I think of the whole of this series, there is a plot that I’ve laid out, but it’s really driven by the desires of the main characters.
They say to never judge a book by its cover, but a cover is still a marketing tool that helps sell books. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of your book?
I hired Covers by Christian to design my cover. He’s an incredible artist and has done the covers for all of the books in this series. I gave him some details about the series, but I essentially told him that he was the expert and I trusted what direction he wanted to take it. He did not disappoint. I absolutely love these covers!
Can you give us an elevator pitch for your book?
Eclipse is a dystopian space adventure. In the near future humanity has been kicked off of Earth and forced to live in space stations orbiting the Earth, or colonies that have been set up throughout the solar system. Through a variety of circumstances, our main characters are set on a path to bring the Empire down and bring the people back home.
If you could choose one worldbuilding detail (a place, ability, or creature, for example) from your book to exist in the real world, what would it be and why?
Most of the technology that exists in the world of Eclipse, is feasible with our current understanding, though some of it would still require some break throughs, and some major funding.
But if I had to choose one that we had access to, it would be space flight. In Eclipse there’s no faster than light travel, so everything stays in our solar system. The drives they use still surpass our current abilities, but are feasible through either nuclear or ion propulsion. We would learn so much about our solar system if we were able to travel through it at a faster rate than our current technology allows.
In your opinion, what kind of reader would like this book?
The book is a blend of dystopian science fiction and space opera. It’s meant that lovers of either of those genres will have a good time reading it. I’ve tried to keep the science relatively realistic (there are a few exceptions), but not to bog down the plot. I’ve had readers of fantasy say they’ve loved the book as well. I’ve had readers compare the book to Red Rising, The 100, Firefly and Star Trek.
Is there anything you can tell us about any current projects you’re working on?
I started writing Eclipse with the intention of it being a trilogy. However, while I was writing book 2 I realized there was a lot more story than could be contained in three books, so I had to divide the second part into two. So I’m currently working on finishing the Fractured Orbit series. Books 2 & 3 are coming out this fall, Books 4 & 5 are planned for release sometime next year.
I have two other works that are in various stages of planning and drafting. Both are in the Fantasy genre. I haven’t released any details about those yet, but I hope that I’ll have more details about them sometime in 2024.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to leave for our readers?
You’re welcome, and thank you so much for having me! Thank you to anyone who does pick up Eclipse and its sequels. This has been such an incredible journey, and I am thrilled that people pick up my works and enjoy them.
And finally, where can you be found on the internet if our readers want to hear more from you?
You can find my on my website, www.hermansteuernagel.com, Instagram @hermansteuernagel, Facebook & TikTok @hermansteuernagelwrites
I also have just started a podcast called The Greatest Podcast in the Multiverse where I interview sci-fi and fantasy authors, which can be found on YouTube and all major podcast apps.
