Book Tour Q&A: Nexus Point by K. Pimpinella
Today we're taking part in the book tour organized by Escapist Book Tours for Nexus Point by K. Pimpinella! Continue reading for the book blurb and a Q&A with the author.
About the book
Winner of a 2021 Canada Book Award Quarter Finalists in SPSFC Editor’s Pick, BookLife/Publisher’s Weekly
The year is 2198. Earth has unified under one government, Utopia. War has ravaged the planet, forcing many citizens to immigrate to space stations and colonies. As human life expands into space, the Nexus Point and its abandoned station are discovered along with their time-travel capabilities. Time travel becomes the new luxury vacation, but some citizens go rogue and as history starts to change, the Time Rangers are born; a specialized unit tasked with chasing down the Time Runners. Following family tradition, Kai Sawyer, joins the Rangers. His first mission as a commander; travel to1634 France and defeat a Time Runner trying to jump start the progression of medicine. As Sawyer struggles to save his team and the future of Utopia; he learns of a more sinister plot that might include his father, the Rear Admiral of the Time Rangers. Should the Runners succeed, they will rewrite the future of all mankind.
On to the interview...!
This is one of our standard podcast opening questions, so we’ll include it for written interviews as well! Tell us something great that’s happened recently! :)
I attended my first sci-fi festival as a vendor. The Elmvale Science Fiction and Fantasy Street Festival. I wanted to test the waters on something small before trying a bigger con. It was fun and I definitely want to do more. I’ve got lots of swag now to bring to the next one.
What are you currently reading or what’s up next on your TBR? What made you pick up this book?
Ren Hutchings, ‘Under Fortunate Stars’, because I like to support new authors and she writes time-travel, a mass-market genre that’s dear to my heart. And Michael Mammay’s ‘The Weight of Command’, because he’s never disappointed me with anything he’s written so I usually buy and read his books the day they are released.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start writing?
I’m a paramedic of 21 years, spent a few years in the Canadian military as a Trooper with the Queen’s York Rangers. As a medic, I travelled with Global Medics to Thailand and Cambodia to work with Halo Trust (a landmine clearance organization). I also studied english and space sciences at University. I think all these things help bring to life the world and characters of my books. As for writing, I think I’ve always wanted to write since I knew what a story was. I can’t really remember a time when I’ve not wanted to write. I’ve always been writing, but it wasn’t until Nexus Point that I thought I had something worth moving forward with.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of reading/writing that you can talk to us about?
Well, I’m Canadian, so of course there’s hockey. I’ve been playing since I was about 8 years old. Even played at the varsity level. I also raced canoe/kayaks up to the national level. Now I only participate in those for fun. I also love taking my dogs, Dallas and Tonka on hikes. And then there’s snowboarding and western horseback riding. I even have my riding boots tattooed on my left forearm. The shuttlecraft, Endeavour, is tattooed on my other forearm. People call me the SpaceCowboy… I love everything space and country!
Writing is a hard and lonely affair in the best of circumstances. How do you achieve a good work/life/writing balance?
I don’t find writing a lonely affair. Maybe like Barf (Spaceballs), I’m my own best friend. Writing invigorates me. It makes me happy. It is hard work, at times, but it’s work I enjoy so it doesn’t drag me down in the least. As for work, well, sometimes my job can suck the life out of me, and all I want to do is stare at a wall on my days off, but since it’s shiftwork, I get lots of days off in a row so I spend those days writing. Days that I work my day job, that’s all I do. I barely even answer emails or texts. My husband is also a shift worker, so there are days when we don’t see each other at all. It’s like my house becomes my own little writing retreat.
Who are your favorite current writers and who are your greatest influences?
Overall favourite writers are: Gareth Powell, Michael Mammay, Elizabeth Moon, Isaac Asimov, Jane Austin and Shakespeare. Strange mix, I know. As for who influences me the most, right now … well, I’m afraid to say because I wouldn’t want someone trying to compare me to them because I fall way short of their skill, lol. But if I have to say, Michael Mammay. He writes sci-fi MIL, which is kind of my thing to both read and write right now. And he’s just awesome.
What are your favorite types of stories? Of characters?
I’ve always been partial to ‘fish-out-of-the-water’ stories, which is probably why I love time-travel. I love watching/reading characters in a world they don’t understand. Which is weird, because that’s not where I went with Nexus Point.
Can you give us an elevator pitch for your book?
Justice will prevail when you break the chains that bind you and learn to trust yourself.
By the year 2198, Earth has unified under a central government calling itself Utopia. Kai Sawyer is a Time Ranger Commander, tasked with capturing Time Runners -- people who change history and threaten Utopia's existence.
Kai must lead his team on a dangerous mission to 17th century France, but as the mission unravels, Kai fears he's a pawn in his fathers plans. As the truth surfaces, will Kai have the courage to defy his father? And if he does, will he be strong enough to succeed?
In your opinion, what kind of reader would like this book?
Anyone looking for escapism. The tagline on my website is … ‘Where you can’t go in reality, you can go on the page’. I don’t try to write deep, inspiring, life-changing books. I want readers to take a break from reality and go on an adventure. If they learn something, that’s great. My protagonist learns about himself, grows and develops, so if a reader gets inspired by how and why he goes through this, all the better.
What would you like readers to take away from this book?
At some point in your life you have to stop trying to live up to others expectations of you. Trust yourself, and you do you.
How much do you plan when you write? What’s your writing process like?
I typically have everything planned out in my head, but when it comes to writing I’m a bit of a pantser. If I try to follow a well laid-out plan, I tend to deviate and then those plans all go out the window. That said, I always have the end in mind when I start so I won’t go all crazy like ‘Lost’. Good show, but it went a little off the rails. As of now, I have each book planned out in the series, and the end of the series is set in stone, but I don’t have any time-line or notes written about how or when things will happen. I find that as long as I know where the finish line is, I don’t need a map to get there.
Do you usually write to background noise, music, etc. or do you prefer silence?
I write in silence. I used to listen to music, but I found the lyrics of whatever I was listening to bled into my work.
What do you think characterizes your writing style?
Fast paced. Get in. Get out. Move on. But to paraphrase Ferris Bueller, ‘sometimes, you have to stop and look around once in awhile or life will pass you by’. So I like to stop and describe the roses once in awhile.
How much of yourself do you write into your stories?
In a literal sense, the opening chapter of Nexus Point is actually based on the true story of my best friend and I breaking into the museum at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, while we were attending NASA’s Adult Space Academy trainning. But the true story doesn’t end in violence. Unless you count me knocking myself on my ass after taking a ‘flash’ photograph of the solar panel in a dark room. If security guards were watching on their TV screens, they probably fell out of their chairs laughing. My friend did, but that’s okay, because he fell off the Enterprise full sized, mock shuttle and I laughed at him. Other than that, there’s probably a little bit of me in each of the characters. As for Sawyer, the protagonist, I know what it’s like to be live under other peoples expectations of you.
They say to never judge a book by its cover and maybe that’s true in the philosophical sense, but it certainly happens with books. Can you tell us about the idea behind the cover of your book?
All I can say is that I wanted it clean and simple. The people at Friesen Press did the rest. They sent me options and I chose. But I do have something unique about my cover in that I put my developemental editor’s name on it. After all the work he put into that book, he deserved more credit than just a small note on a page that most readers don’t even look at. I don’t think people realize how much work editors do, and they never get credit.
One of our favorite things is sharing quotes from what we’re reading that really resonate with us. Do you have a favorite quote from your book that you can share with us? What about this quote in particular makes it your favorite?
Actually, my favourite quote is from Lt. Hawk. In the middle of an arguement with another team member he yells … ‘Shove it up your prison pocket, Perry!’ It just makes me laugh. Other than that, I love the line from the opening chapter where Sawyer is touching the Hubble telescope… ‘When he closed his eyes, he no longer stood in the closed museum, but was floating in space looking out into the cosmos. He was looking deep into the history of the universe like Hubble had done over a century ago. Space and time; that’s what this panel represented. The ultimate mysteries of humankind.’ I think I like this passage because it’s kind of how I feel about space. And it’s kind of how I felt when I touched a panel from Space Lab at the museum.
Is there anything you can tell us about any current projects you’re working on?
I just finished my third draft with my developmental editor, for book #2 of the Time Ranger series, ‘Burning Man’. This means it’s almost ready to go! I do way more drafts than that, but I only send it to my dev editor after a few rounds. After the 4th round with him, it’s usually good to go. I’m also working on a stand alone novel that has nothing to do with time-travel. Of course it’s sci-fi, but it’s more about humans and aliens exploring a new galaxy together. Kind of like, Mass Effect Andromeda type thing.
And finally, where can you be found on the internet if our readers want to hear more from you?
Mainly on twitter, @k_pimpinella I have Instagram and facebook, but I’m not as active on those. All links are on my website www.kpimpinella.com
Where to buy the book:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08VFBZWXM/
Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Nexus-Point-Audiobook/B097WVSHNY
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Nexus-Point-K-Pimpinella/9781525595479