Author of Star Sick.

Today, I am thrilled to be chatting to indie science fantasy author Amy Marie Ayres about her debut novel Star Sick.

Helen: I thoroughly enjoyed reading Star Sick, and loved the nod to the Wizard of Oz. (You can find my review here.) Your cover contains many elements. Could you tell us a little about it?

Amy: I love this cover by Miblart, they were recommended to me by other indie authors, and I still use them. They really understood what I was going for. Luccee really is the center of the story, but reluctantly so, and this image is the part of the story where she really starts to embrace her true nature-I could go on.

Without too many spoilers, the color on her face is the result of her encounter with an alien species in the distant celestial city where she ends up. Her hair was short at the beginning, but has since grown out, showing the passage of time. And she is hiding in the brush watching something- it’s a scene right out of the book.

The images around her represent her world and her relationship to it.

Helen: Miblart did a great job! The cover is very distinctive. Why did you give your book the title Star Sick? Is there a special meaning, or back story about the title?

Amy: I love this question because I have such a fun answer. All the books in this eventual series will have the word Star in the title. So, the other titles I was throwing around for this one will eventually be used. One day someone on twitter said: “replace one of the words in the current title of your WIP with the word sick.” I did that, and they commented and said it would make amazing title and that she would read it. Thus, STAR SICK was born.

Helen: Your books sounds very intriguing, understanding your thoughts behind the cover and title is so interesting. What made you write this particular book?

Amy: When people ask me this question, I try to nail down the exact reason, as to not ramble on and waste their time, but there are just so many reasons.

First, the initial idea for Luccee honestly came out of some unfortunate pre-pandemic depression I wasn’t even fully aware of. I had concluded a few years before that some of my familial relationships were unhealthy and I was carrying some unhealthy baggage as a result.  I started channelling some of that into the writing of this character who I felt was deeply misunderstood. I wasn’t sure how far I would take that, I think I took it to levels beyond even what I was experiencing, for some comedic effect.

 With some therapy, and some improvement to my daily life, I was starting to feel better, but this was ironically just before Covid hit and the lockdowns happened.  The lockdowns terrified me to be honest, as did Covid at the time. But I had this odd feeling of like, I didn’t really miss socializing (at first). I just wanted to keep me, my family, and others safe.

But I started taking a closer look at society during that time, why we do what we do, how we are influenced by each other and the media-it’s all in there. A large part of the premise of the book is that sometimes what people tell us about the world and ourselves isn’t always true, but it’s what they need us to think now so that the status quo can be maintained and there isn’t mass panic-especially in a dystopian world, where people are always grasping for normalcy.

There always seems to be a convenient scapegoat for society’s problems, and Luccee fit the bill. I began to think of how invasive it would be for it to be illegal to want to stay inside and avoid socializing because of your introversion, trauma, neurodiversity, or whatever reason.

 I thought about how some aspects of society are very much predicated on our abilities to socialize and network and expand our circles beyond our comfort zone. I started asking myself questions:  When it is good to do that? When is it not good? I wanted to explore and pick it all apart. But I’ve rambled long enough!

Helen: I think every author can ramble on about their books. I know I can! It is part of the joy of being an author and being so proud of our creations. Tell us about your protagonist in Star Sick and why you wrote them.

Amy: Luccee is the FMC in STAR SICK, like I said she sort of represents who I would be if I ever really went off my rocker and if I was put in a similar position of having to choose between assimilation and freedom. Luccee has a lot to learn about herself, and I hope I accurately depicted that kind of emotional transitional arc of still having to grow as a person even when you fight it tooth and nail.

Helen: If Luccee could answer the question: Why should we read your book? What would she say?

Amy: A true answer would give away the ending, but I’ll just say that Luccee would want people to know all the things she learned about the universe and herself. She would want this book to exist purely because it is an historical account of everything she and her friends went/go through. And people in our time as well as the future beyond her future could stand to learn from their journey.

Helen: What are you working on next?

Amy: So true to form I always have more than one going, they are usually just at different stages.  I am currently writing a prequel to STAR SICK, that I hope will be just a fun little novella teaser for the series. My big fancy project still in the editing stages, is Five Doors. It has some similarities to STAR SICK, but it’s a contemporary/paranormal fantasy novel about a different woman named Marilyn with different problems in a much different world. She’s friends with the devil, but that’s all I’ll say!

Helen: Intriguing! Let’s move onto your writing process. How do you fit writing into your normal day?

Amy: For me, the only way this was possible was by moving my writing beyond a hobby and doing my best to exist within the writing sphere daily. So, I work in the publishing industry, I have groups of writing friends and critique partners, I consistently market myself and network in the industry, etc. But of course, like anything else since the birth of my daughter I tend to give her all the time and attention I used to give my writing. Schedules and calendars keep me honest! NaNoWriMo ensures that I make myself write a good chunk at least two months out of the year.

Helen: It can be tough to juggle so many responsibilities and fit in writing as well. When you do get a chance to write, do you prefer silence when you are writing or do you have a favorite playlist?

Amy: I find music incredibly inspiring. I tend to like to listen to anything that feels cinematically immersive, where my mind can paint pictures of what is happening in the song either musically or lyrically. It can happen with my favourites or even a random Spotify song I’ve never heard before.

Singer/Songwriters (especially rock and folk) are fantastic storytellers. When I started writing Five Doors, I almost exclusively listened to the album Once I was an Eagle by Laura Marling. If you’ve never heard of her, I highly recommend going back through her discography, there’s something for everybody.

You know who is incredibly inspiring is Twenty One Pilots, lyrically they are just all over the place, but I love it and the music itself does lend itself to sci-fi. They tell stories too.

Funny enough, Steve Miller (of Steve Miller Band) is an incredible storyteller, so was Elliott Smith. You can listen to those guys, they have incredibly different vibes of course, but you can sort of build a universe within the music. Those are just two random examples.

I recommend listening to a song called Beg, Steal, or Borrow by Ray LaMontagne it’s a great example of what I’m talking about. Songs that move you emotionally-happy or sad, I really think they get those neurons firing.

Helen: Writer’s can take inspiration from almost anywhere! Have you had any trouble with writer’s block and any tips to overcome it?

Amy: I hope I don’t come across as a jerk saying this, but I’m one of those people who doesn’t believe in writer’s block. I believe in the things that cause it: grief, self-doubt, or even happy times when we are just too busy with our wonderful lives to write (it happens!)

The way that we overcome it by whittling down to our reasoning to what is holding us back. Because each time we experience “writer’s block”- it could be for a different reason, so we get frustrated because our previous methods to overcome it stop working.

I think I would recommend to anyone who frequently experiences writers block to have a separate journal just for pouring out some angst that isn’t tied to our writing. I suggest writing a few pages before you attempt your current project again, and getting down to the bones of why you feel stuck, that often helps get us unstuck. I also have some great suggestions here.

Helen: Thank you for sharing such great advice. Do you have to do much research when you are writing a book?

Amy: The research for STAR SICK sort of did itself, as the news and internet were in our faces every day. I find I do tend to do a lot of research for this universe from daily hot button topics to broken societal ills, to even specific things about our planets and universe and space travel. For this type of book even memes are great research. People channel a lot of hostility toward society into memes these days.

Helen: Thank you so much for spending time with me today, it’s been great chatting with you. Just to finish, do you have any advice for new or aspiring writers?

Amy: You have an amazing, fun skill/craft, so don’t waste it or throw it away when people doubt you.  Find some writing friends, they will help carry you through to the next stage beyond “new writer”. But also know you won’t be “good at this” for a long time. The process takes decades to perfect, and years to even get close to slightly better, so you need to embrace that now.

Know that the first few things you write are not going to land at all, and they will be terribly written. But keep at it and you’ll get better. Also, the people with the most confidence are usually faking, so don’t be intimidated by them. And yes, doll, you do need an editor. It’ll be the best money you ever spent.

About the Author

Amy Marie Ayres

Amy is an author who writes a variety of genres including comic dark romance, women’s fiction, speculative dystopian science fiction, and magical realism based on Irish folklore. She has a background in poetry and was previously an academic. Amy has experience with voice acting, theater, podcasts, and comedy writing. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, stepson, daughter, and cat. Amy’s debut novel Star Sick, a humorous science fiction novel with talking robot dogs, is now available on Amazon.

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Purchase Star Sick via Amazon:

Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback

Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback

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If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.

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