For this installment of the Indie Books column, we’re joined by Tricia Barr, the author of “Wynde” and the editor of The FANgirl Blog. She’s writes for Del Rey’s Suvudu website, and is an active part of the geek community, particularly in the realm of “Star Wars.” She and I have shared space in issues of “Star Wars: Insider” and she’s in “Athena’s Daughters” the companion anthology to one I’m editing. She’s even been a guest on the Full of Sith podcast.
She’s a great writer and I’ve heard nothing but good things about her novel (which just won an Independent Publisher Gold Medal), but I wanted her to come by and tell the readers of Big Shiny Robot! about herself and her book in her own words.
So, here’s Tricia:
What’s in a name? For the title of my novel “Wynde,” it’s the surname of the heroine’s father. In a piece for Locus Online, author Kameron Hurley suggested that science fiction and fantasy authors get caught up in being labeled that and forget to tell people what their story is about. My novel has deadly space craft combat and a fearsome invading alien horde. At its heart, though, it’s a story about a girl and her father.
From “Star Wars” to “The Hunger Games,” stories about family have always captivated my imagination. Those core relationships between protagonists like Luke and Katniss and their parents helped focus the journeys of self-discovery they undertook. As the characters discover who they are, we often learn a bit about who we are. For Vespa, her adventure begins with a deadly alien attack days after her graduation from college. Not a reluctant hero, she makes a dramatic choice that saves many lives. The consequences from her choice begin to splinter her life in the subsequent days. Her father, a man who very much wants to protect his daughter, doesn’t always do the right thing, at least in Vespa’s eyes. She and her father fight side by side to thwart the invaders, but the price for victory may be losing each other.
“Star Wars” has been an enormous influence on my life. I loved the X-Wing novels and the movie “Top Gun.” In those stories, teamwork paid off in witty banter and elevated stakes, as it has in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly,” and “The Avengers.” Vespa is the heart of “Wynde,” but it is her friends who help shape her journey and what she will become. As an author, it has been a joy to hear various readers’ reactions; everyone has different favorites, whether it’s Gemini, Vespa’s soldier best friend, or Terraq, her brother with a penchant for mending wounded relationships, or Zephyr, who uses wit and his fists to deflect a traumatic childhood.
Then we have the mysterious visitors who bring an unexpected alliance to Vespa’s homeworld of Prime. Among them is Badge, an ace pilot who pushes himself to the limits of what is humanly possible in order to win. Badge’s adopted brother joins him on the mission to save the Primeans, and there is more than meets the eye where Guardian Nix Moonrider is concerned. With powers of persuasion, mind-reading, and manipulation of the elements, he is a powerful ally in battle but also someone to be feared. He hasn’t arrived just to fight at his brother’s side; he came looking for someone…
Other than that, I’ll leave “Wynde” a bit of a mystery – or rather, a military science fiction novel. Well, it does have that fantastical element and some romance in there, too. Ultimately, “Wynde” is a heroine’s journey in a setting as limitless as my imagination, and one that I hope inspires its readers to dream big.
“Wynde” is available in print and ebook on most major platforms.
Tricia Barr is editor of FANgirl Blog and writes about Star Wars for Random House’s Suvudu.com and Star Wars Insider magazine. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
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