Moon Deeds by Palmer Pickering | Author Interview

TITLE : Moon Deeds (Star Children Saga #1)

AUTHOR : Palmer Pickering

GENRE : Science Fantasy

INTENTED AGE GROUP : Adult

Pages: 598

DATE OF PUBLISHING : March 7, 2019

PUBLISHER : Mythology Press (Self Published)

Welcome to my tour stop for Moon Deeds (Star Children Saga #1) by Palmer Pickering, hosted by Escapist Book Tours. I am so grateful to be part of The Escapist Book Tours and for getting the chance to do a Q & A with the author. Make sure to check The Escapist Book Tours out because they do an awesome job of introducing a lot of new titles mainly self pub and indie published SFF books.

If you are interested in checking out the official page for the book tour – CLICK HERE

Content/Trigger Warnings :

Shown on page :

Military combat/killing, PTSD, Alcohol use, Foul language, Violence, Human trafficking, War crimes, Sexism

Alluded to :

=>Rape, Drug use, Drug trafficking

SYNOPSIS

It’s 2090: the last outpost of freedom is the moon, the best defense against technology is magic, and the only hope for humankind rests in the hands of the Star Children.

Twins Cassidy and Torr must save Earth from a ruthless enemy at a time when the only force more powerful than alien technology is magic. Moon Deeds launches the siblings’ journey across the galaxy, where they must learn their power as the Star Children, claim their shamanic heritage, and battle dark forces that threaten humankind.

The Star Children Saga follows Cassidy and Torr as they slowly awaken to their destiny as the twin Star Children, born every millennium to reconnect with the source of all life. They come to discover the sheer enormity of their task: to find our ancestors on a lost planet across the galaxy and save humanity from a spiraling descent into darkness. The powers they must wield to accomplish this task are truly frightening and put at risk everything they love.

Come along with twenty-year-old twins Cassidy and Torr, who inherited deeds to lunar land parcels and want to use them to escape a brutal dictatorship on Earth. But first they must unlock their shaman powers.

A rollicking yet poignant adventure in the not too distant future, when we have colonized the moon and nearly lost Earth to a military dictatorship. Only the shamans remain free, plus the lucky ones who escaped to the moon.

AUTHOR Q &A

1. What was your inspiration for writing Moon Deeds??

The inspiration for one of the major story arcs of the Moon Deeds trilogy was an
actual lunar deed that my brother gave me one Christmas as a gag gift. I actually
own land on the moon, or so my very official-looking deed tells me, lol.

2. What are some of the SFF books that have influenced you as an author?

My biggest influences are Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Dune by Frank Herbert,
and the Farseer/Elderlings series of Robin Hobb. I like very immersive, descriptive,
character-driven stories, with epic story plots and strong, complex magic systems.

3. What was the research process like for The Star Children Saga?

I did a ton of research about colonizing the moon. Most of the moon details are
factual. The only thing not grounded in science is the “gravity bar,” as well as some
space travel methods. For those, I turned to magic.

I also did a lot of research on various mythologies, new age ideas, and religions
regarding the origin of human life. This research was related to the long story arc of
the Star Children, which is the foundation of the epic: that we are descended from an
advanced alien race from another planet.

4. How has your journey of book publishing been?

It’s been a long journey. I started off by trying to get an agent and a traditional
publishing deal. After several years of rejections, I decided to take my fate into my own
hands and self-publish. I have a professional background in publishing, as well as
marketing, so I understood the fundamentals of that business. I also understood that it
takes a lot of time and commitment to do it well. It is a whole job in itself, separate from
the writing process. Fortunately, I enjoy it, especially all the people I’ve met along the
way.

5. Tell us about a funny/weird/cool/most shocking thing you discovered while researching for the series.

An interesting thing I discovered about the moon is that oxygen can be “mined” from
moon soil. Regarding the mythologies, I was surprised at how many legends and
religions across the world, in many isolated ancient cultures, share a lot of very
similar mythologies about advanced beings descending from the stars and
populating the planet. Another cool thing is that we are literally made of star dust.
How cool is that?!

6. How did you come up with the world for this series and the magic?

The Peary Dome camp is modeled after the circular grid of Burning Man, which I
attended several times. The dome itself is a geodesic dome, and was inspired by a
Buckminster Fuller event I attended years ago.

7. Tell us about the most fun and favorite thing you got to write in the book.

I most enjoyed writing the Gabira character. If you listened to the audiobook, my favorite
part of Nina’s narration was how she narrated Gabira. “Daaahlink!”

8. If you were one of the Star Children and were on a mission to save humanity with other Star Children, who would you like to have on your team(please choose authors you want on your team) and your reason for choosing them?

[-Skipping this question.]

9. What do you love the most to write and hate to write in your stories?

I love writing the magic systems, such as Cassidy’s remote viewing and Torr’s lucid
dreaming. The most difficult parts to write were related to human trafficking and sexual
violence. However, I chose to write about those difficult topics because such things are
pervasive in our society and it really bothers me.

10. What are the best things and the worst things about your main characters?

I will answer this in regards to Ridge. I wrote Ridge intentionally to be a gray
character—an anti-hero, if you will. He is a confounding mixture of bravery and
cowardice, and for such a smart guy, he often makes questionable decisions.

11. What do you love the most about space operas and what made you combine scifi and fantasy in your series?

I love both genres. I combined them mostly because the themes I wanted to write about
spanned both science and magic. I like the combination of the two in works like Dune
and Star Wars, and so I know the genre mashup can work if done well.

12. If you couldn’t write in the genre you write in, which genre would you prefer to write in?

I have been toying around with the idea of writing Romance. Mostly because they tend
to be short and formulaic and supposedly make the authors a lot of money, haha.

13. Which genre would be the most challenging for you to write in and why?

I don’t think I’d be very good at Mysteries, and Thrillers scare me.

14. Do you have any writing rituals?

I stare into space for hours at a time, envisioning the scenes in my head, before sitting
down to write major new scenes.

15. Your favorite underhyped books you want more people to read.

I hope people discover more Indie books and support Indie authors. It’s very tough to
compete against the traditional publishing machine and the brick and mortar
booksellers, but there are a lot of phenomenal self-published SFF books out there. Look
at the current and past years of the SPFBO and SPSFC contests to find some good
books to try!!

AUTHORS BIO

Palmer has been writing fiction since she was eight. She received her BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University, with concentrations in Religion and Race Relations. She currently works in Silicon Valley in the gaming industry and high tech. In addition, Palmer holds a certificate in Chinese Acupressure, is a certified solar panel installer, and studied Tibetan Buddhism with the 14th Dalai Lama. She lives and writes in the magical redwood forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, California.

Palmer’s socials :

WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

BOOK QUOTES

Giveaway Information:

Prize: A Paperback Copy of Both Moon Deeds and Light Fighters!
Starts: October 31, 2022 at 12:00am EST
Ends: November 6, 2022 at 11:59pm EST

CLICK HERE