Pamela Stewart Author

*drum roll please* 

My brand new book is coming out on November 15!

But first, let me give you a little background:

I’m an old-school science fiction fan. 

Back in the ’70s, I wasn’t even alive then… yes, I was. 

Anyways, I would watch shows like Star Wars and Buck Rogers and Battlestar Galactica. And I couldn’t get enough of it. Honestly, it was amazing to have these alternative worlds. 

I lean heavily towards the space opera genre, like Star Wars, because it has a whole element of fantasy.

The science fiction renaissance

I feel like there’s a renaissance of science fiction, with movies like Alita, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the popularity of Firefly, there’s just so much going on.

Even in the literary world, books with a sci-fi theme are gaining popularity. 

Brandon Sanderson’s new book called Skyward, which focuses on a girl who is trying to learn how to fly a spaceship. There’s Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman, which is amazing. And of course, there is the Illuminae Files book *fangirl noise* ugh, to die for.  

I mean, the characters, the drama–I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading Illuminae.

But right now, these stories are just a few of my inspirations for delving into the space opera field. I’ve written other books, three full novels, and three novellas, in my near-future fantasy “The Ionia Chronicles,” starting with Frozen Hearts. 

The series has androids and teenagers, and adventure, and saving the world, and getting powers. Everything I’ve always loved about books: but now, I’m venturing into space.

How I got the idea for Conscript: 

With all of these thoughts thrown into my head, I mixed well, adding a little heat, took some time, and I came up with the idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. 

Massive segue, I love Harry Potter. Okay? I love Harry Potter. I was at the release parties for the last two books, I’ve seen all the movies.  

I loved the magic and world-building. JK just really did a lot for us but what I love most are the characters and their interactions. She made every character feel like a real person. With Harry, Hermoine, Ron, people still argue about what they meant when they said something, or they should have said this. Or they were mad at Snape for what he had said or done and how his past informed his future. 

I feel like JK’s characters are the most significant selling points for me. They were funny, engaging, and I wanted to be able to create characters that had the same real feeling.

Now I don’t know if I’ve quite achieved that, but in my book Conscript which is coming out soon. One of my goals is to have a Harry Potter in space, to have a trio of friends who learn how to trust each other, and to learn how to be in the Star Defenders which they are conscripted into. 

Writing Conscript

There are very different personalities. I had read up on the Meyer-Briggs Personality Test. I really love that stuff. 

I’m very introverted. You can’t tell from these videos, but I’m a very introverted person. But when it comes to writing and books, I can talk all day.

I’m an INFP. I looked at characters such as Harry, Hermoine, and Ron. I searched online, and I found out they all had very different Meyer-Briggs personalities that had been done by people. 

Then I observed others, like Star Wars and different movies that had the three main characters who had very different personalities. And I started to see some patterns. And from that, my characters began to grow. 

Now, I took my way, and I didn’t copy anyone’s specific character trait or anything, but I think the personality tests are templates.

You know, a character like Buffy or Harry will have the same Meyers-Briggs or very similar. And so what I would take from that is leadership qualities or willing to sacrifice themselves. So I built that into my main character, Vega Volante.

Dax, who’s kind of a slow-talking, very relaxed and super friendly guy, I borrowed a lot from Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ron from Harry Potter. He’s very much my Ron character. But he has his way of looking at things that are unique. 

I have Amelie, which is one of my favorite characters. She has a lot of Hermione traits, Willow; I would have to say she has a lot of Willow in her as well. Maybe even C3PO. 

But yet, she’s had some genetic modifications, and I’m not going to go any further into that. You’ll have to read the book to find out. But I’m excited for this to come out soon.

I’ve been working on it since December of 2018, and doing edits and making it perfect, and finding the fantastic cover. Perhaps I will flash it up here right now. If not, I’m showing you my bookshelf.

Free swag??

I have a prequel to Conscript, called Planetstrong, that is available right now. You can sign up for my newsletter and get a free copy of it and give it a test run and see if you like this kind of sci-fi fantasy.

With super-strong female characters, adventure, romance–a little bit of romance. It’s a slow burn romance but there’s some romance in there, there’s a mystery, and there’s lots of space adventure. And as the series goes on, there’s going to be conflicts with different aliens and all sorts of shenanigans going on. 

If you want a taste before Conscript comes out, the free prequel, Planetborn, is available now.