Sean Robins — Author Interview Q&A
Science fiction, sentient machines, exploding starships, and other perfectly reasonable career choices
ABOUT — WHO, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, WHAT
Tell us something about your books, including your genre and your characters and/or themes.
I write science fiction: military SF, space opera, alien invasions, androids, sentient warships, collapsing empires, and the occasional person who really should not have been given access to a plasma cannon.
Across my books, I keep coming back to the same things: identity, loyalty, friendship, freedom, found family, and what makes someone human when the person asking the question may technically weigh four hundred kilos and have anti-tank weaponry built into his shoulders.
I like big stakes, but I care much more about the characters caught inside them. Galaxies can explode all day long; if the reader does not care who is standing underneath the explosion, it is just expensive wallpaper. My books are fast, action-heavy, funny, and character-driven, with enough pop-culture references to make a copyright lawyer develop a nervous tic.
Where are you based?
I live in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where I teach English and write books in which starships explode with alarming regularity. One of those activities is generally viewed more favourably by the authorities.
I am Canadian, grew up in Iran, and have lived and worked in several countries, so my relationship with the word “home” has always been slightly more complicated than the navigation system on the Millennium Falcon.
Latest releases and upcoming titles?
My newest major series is I, Anomaly, beginning with I’m a Weapon. It follows Jack, a Series-9 combat android who is ordered to charge an enemy kill box and die thirty-one minutes after he comes online. He says no. The empire takes this very personally.
The series continues with I’m a Rebel, I’m a Pirate, I’m a Monster, I’m a Legend, and the final book in the sequence. I have also been releasing and repackaging some of my completed series and box sets for readers who apparently consider two thousand pages of explosions a reasonable weekend activity. I approve of these people.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a new sentient-warship series, I, Warship. The central character, Mara, is not merely the captain of a warship; she is the warship. That changes the entire point of view. She does not look at a tactical display. She feels the battlefield around her.
The story gives me an excuse to explore artificial intelligence, consciousness, rebellion, friendship, military strategy, and what happens when a very intelligent starship develops opinions about humanity. Spoiler: she has several.
What inspires you to write?
Usually one question. What if?
What if a combat android created to obey simply refused? What if a sentient starship woke up after centuries and discovered the civilization around her had become something she despised? What if the thing everyone calls a weapon starts asking whether it is actually a person?
Once I have the question, the characters tend to make the situation worse. That is basically my business model.
When and why did you get into writing fantasy?
Small correction before the Fantasy Police arrive in black cloaks: I’m primarily a science-fiction writer, not a fantasy writer.
I started writing science fiction when I was fourteen. I had grown up reading speculative fiction and was fascinated by the freedom it gives you. You can take a very human problem, move it five hundred years into the future, give it a railgun, and suddenly people are willing to discuss philosophy.
Fantasy has absolutely influenced me, especially character-driven fantasy and urban fantasy, but science fiction has always been home base.
Who are your favourite fantasy writers / fantasy authors?
Jim Butcher is probably the biggest one for me. The Dresden Files had an enormous influence on the way I think about first-person voice, humour, momentum, and letting personality infect every line of narration.
I also recently had a ridiculous amount of fun with Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils. I like fantasy that has teeth, wit, morally questionable people, and characters who would make a therapist quietly close the notebook and leave through the window.
What is your favourite fantasy series and why?
The Dresden Files.
Harry Dresden is funny without turning the stakes into a joke, the books move, the world keeps expanding, and the character relationships accumulate real history. I also love the fact that Dresden can be competent, brave, exhausted, sarcastic, stupid, noble, and catastrophically bad at self-preservation within roughly the same chapter.
That is much more interesting to me than a flawless Chosen One who walks into Mordor with excellent boundaries and a sensible retirement plan.
What are your favourite fantasy genres?
Urban fantasy first. I like the collision between the familiar and the impossible: normal streets, normal people, and then somebody opens the wrong door and suddenly there is a demon in the laundromat.
I also enjoy darker, character-driven fantasy when the humour survives alongside the violence. I am less interested in fantasy as a catalogue of kingdoms and magical tax regulations. Give me characters, danger, personality, and preferably someone making an inappropriate joke while the world ends.
Who are some of your all-time favourite fantasy characters? And why do you think they became your favourites?
Harry Dresden is the obvious one. I like narrators who are competent but imperfect, funny under pressure, and capable of carrying emotional damage without becoming permanently solemn.
More generally, my favourite speculative-fiction characters are the ones with a strong voice: people or non-people who could describe a cup of coffee and somehow make you know exactly who is speaking. Murderbot is a perfect example from science fiction. Voice matters enormously to me. Plot gets you into the room; character is why you stay.
Do you follow any fantasy entertainment outside of books? (Video Games, Boardgames, Comics etc.)
Absolutely. I have been a lifelong consumer of geek culture in quantities that probably require medical supervision.
Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Marvel, science-fiction films, fantasy films, TV series, comics — if there is a spaceship, an android, a wizard, a time machine, or somebody making a terrible command decision, I am interested.
I am less devoted to tabletop gaming than some fantasy fans, but I happily absorb the wider culture. My brain is basically a badly supervised archive of pop culture.
What’s going on in the next few months? Anything on the Horizon?
More books. This answer has remained suspiciously consistent for years.
I’m continuing the I, Anomaly releases, working on I, Warship, doing interviews and podcast appearances, and expanding the audience around the books. I have several future projects circling overhead as well, like mildly threatening fighter craft waiting for clearance to land.
Apparently publishing forty-six novels was not enough evidence that I should occasionally take an afternoon off.
What kind of books did you read that contributed to your upbringing, as far as fantasy and science-fiction?
Science fiction was there very early. I loved the enormous freedom of it: other planets, future societies, time travel, alien civilizations, technology changing what it means to be human.
As I got older, writers such as Stanisław Lem became important to me because he could make science fiction philosophical, absurd, funny, and deeply intelligent at the same time. Later, books and series such as The Dresden Files, Old Man’s War, Murderbot, and the Bobiverse reinforced something I already loved: huge ideas work even better when the characters are allowed to be funny.
Was your upbringing pretty geeky?
By the standards of the time, yes, although I did not have the word “geek” available as a respectable professional diagnosis.
I was the kid interested in science fiction, ideas, imaginary worlds, and stories. I wrote my first science-fiction novel at eighteen, which is either evidence of lifelong commitment or proof that nobody intervened early enough.
Why should anyone read your book?
Because life is short and there are already enough books in which nothing explodes.
More seriously, if you like fast-paced science fiction with strong characters, humour, action, found family, moral questions, and protagonists who save the galaxy while complaining about it, we will probably get along.
I try to make the books fun first. The ideas matter, but I never want the reader to feel as though they accidentally walked into a philosophy lecture because the door said “space battle.”
THE WRITING PROCESS — INSPIRATION, DISCIPLINE, PLANNING, SOFTWARE, EDITING
How has your writing process changed since you first started writing?
It has become much faster and much more iterative.
When I started, writing felt like carving every sentence into stone tablets. Now I draft quickly, revise in layers, get outside feedback, and keep moving between structure, character, pacing, humour, and line-level prose until the book works.
I have also become much less precious about first drafts. A first draft is not a sacred object. It is the shuttlecraft that gets you to the actual ship.
How long does it normally take you to write a fantasy novel, and what proportion of the time is spent doing what?
For a science-fiction novel, I can produce a first draft in a few weeks if the plan is solid and the book has momentum. The rewriting, editing, polishing, continuity checking, and final passes take considerably longer.
A rough breakdown varies from book to book, but drafting is often the fastest stage. Revision is where the real work happens. I may go through the manuscript repeatedly for structure, character logic, dialogue, humour, pacing, continuity, and prose.
Apparently the English language contains more than one draft. I was disappointed too.
What is your favourite part of the writing process?
Dialogue and character voice.
Once I really know a character, scenes start generating their own energy. Two people walk into a room with conflicting goals and suddenly I am mostly taking dictation while trying to stop them from derailing the chapter.
I also love the moment when a complicated plot mechanism finally locks into place. There is a very specific writer’s joy in realizing that the ridiculous thing you set up eight chapters ago can now detonate exactly on schedule.
Have your previous vocations influenced your writing?
Definitely. I have spent years teaching English and employability skills, and teaching trains you to pay attention to communication: what people say, what they mean, what they fail to say, and the extraordinary lengths humans will go to avoid answering a simple question.
Living and working in different countries has probably influenced me even more. It gives you a larger supply of voices, habits, cultural assumptions, misunderstandings, and ways of seeing the world. Writers are professional scavengers. We collect everything.
Do you involve other people in your writing, as collaborators or editors? How do you make this work?
Yes. Editors and beta readers are essential.
I write the book, but I absolutely want intelligent people telling me where it slows down, where something is unclear, where a character behaves strangely, or where I have become too impressed with my own joke.
The trick is learning the difference between feedback and orders. If three good readers stumble in the same place, there is almost certainly a problem. Their proposed solution may or may not be right, but the problem is real. The author still has to make the final call; otherwise the novel eventually becomes a committee-designed starship, and we all know how those end.
Do you do a lot of research for each book? If so how do you conduct your research?
Yes, especially when the story involves military systems, space combat, artificial intelligence, weapons, physics, medicine, history, or anything else readers can correctly tell me I got wrong.
I usually begin broadly, then drill into the specific problem the scene needs. For space combat, for example, I look at acceleration, relative velocity, missile interception, point defence, heat, sensors, electronic warfare, ammunition, and the geometry of an engagement.
The goal is not to dump research on the reader. The goal is to know enough that the scene feels intelligent and the characters do not defeat physics through the power of friendship.
How do you overcome blank writing spells?
I don’t have one😊
A number of fantasy/sci-fi authors have been known to use art, music, exercise, alcohol and even drugs as a way to find inspiration to enter the zone! Do you use any tools to enter into your creative headspace?
Music and walking, yes. Drugs, no. Alcohol is also a fairly poor developmental editor.
Walking is especially useful because it gives the conscious brain something simple to do while the rest of the machinery quietly works on the story. Music can help me lock into the emotional temperature of a scene.
Mostly, though, the “zone” comes from momentum. Once I know the characters, the problem, and what the scene wants, I can disappear into it very quickly. No ceremonial candles, no absinthe, no need to summon Stephen King through a pentagram.
PUBLISHING — FORMATTING, COVER DESIGN, FORMATS, MARKETING
Describe the road you took to publishing your first novel? And how that has changed.
The first road was much slower, more uncertain, and full of the usual questions: Is the book ready? How do I format it? How do I find readers? What does any of this button do?
Over time, publishing became a system rather than a mysterious ritual. I learned covers, blurbs, editing, formatting, advertising, release schedules, read-through, pricing, box sets, audiobooks, and the long-term value of a catalogue.
My early self was launching a shuttlecraft and hoping it reached orbit. Now I am operating a small fleet. There are still explosions, but at least some are scheduled.
Will your next book be traditional or indie published?
Indie.
Independent publishing gives me control over release schedules, covers, pricing, advertising, series strategy, and the speed at which I can get books to readers. Speed matters to me because I write quickly and I have the patience of a caffeinated Ferengi when a finished book is sitting on my computer.
Would you recommend self-publishing to aspiring authors, or would you suggest a more traditional path?
I would recommend understanding both before choosing either.
Self-publishing can be fantastic if you are comfortable being both author and publisher. You control almost everything, which is wonderful until you remember that “everything” includes editing, covers, formatting, marketing, advertising, metadata, pricing, and occasionally staring at a dashboard at two in the morning like it contains the location of the Holy Grail.
Traditional publishing can provide infrastructure, distribution, professional support, and validation, but it is slower and you surrender more control.
Neither path is automatically superior. Choose the business model that fits the writer you actually are, not the romantic version of publishing you saw in a movie.
What sort of input do you give to formatting, cover design, marketing?
A lot.
I treat the cover, title, blurb, formatting, series branding, and marketing as part of the product. Readers cannot fall in love with the masterpiece hidden behind packaging that looks as though it was designed during a power failure.
I work closely on covers and promotional ideas, watch what converts, compare results, and change things when the data says I should. Creative ego is useful while writing the novel. It is considerably less useful when the advertisement has been losing money for three weeks.
INSPIRE
Advice on making an impact in today’s busy Sci-Fi and Fantasy markets.
Have a clear identity.
Readers should be able to look at your cover, title, blurb, and first page and understand what kind of experience you are offering. Then actually deliver that experience.
Write the best book you can, package it professionally, build a catalogue, learn the business, and be patient enough to improve. Do not try to sound exactly like whatever is currently selling. Trends move faster than books do.
And give readers something recognisably yours. In my case, that is fast science fiction, strong character voice, action, humour, and people trying to save civilization while civilization behaves like it has opted out of the process.
Must Read Fantasy novels?
The Dresden Files if urban fantasy counts — and it absolutely does unless a committee has changed the rules while I was asleep.
I would also put Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils on the list for readers who like dark fantasy, sharp character work, violence, and humour.
I am primarily a science-fiction reader, so I would rather give two genuine recommendations than pretend I have personally audited the entire fantasy canon from Tolkien to Tuesday.
Must read non-fantasy novels?
For science fiction: Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, the Murderbot books by Martha Wells, and Stanisław Lem when you want science fiction that makes your brain do additional paperwork.
Outside speculative fiction, I think every writer benefits from reading widely. Crime, history, literary fiction, memoir — every genre teaches you a different trick. Writers who only read their own genre eventually start recycling the furniture.
Do you read digital, paperback or hardback or do you listen to audiobooks?
All of them, but audiobooks have become a major part of my reading.
They let me read while walking, travelling, or doing things that would otherwise cruelly prevent me from holding a book in front of my face. I still enjoy print and digital books, but audiobooks are essentially a technological loophole that allows me to add extra reading hours to the day.
What are the best experiences in your writing career?
Readers.
Sales are wonderful, charts are wonderful, royalty reports can be extremely persuasive documents, but the best moments are still when someone writes to say a character mattered to them, made them laugh during a bad period, or kept them reading until three in the morning despite having made several responsible plans for the next day.
Seeing the catalogue grow has also been deeply satisfying. Forty-six novels sounds faintly absurd when I say it aloud. Apparently I have been left unsupervised for some time.
What are some encouraging words you’d give to another author/writer?
Finish things.
Do not spend ten years preparing to become a writer. Write the book. Finish it. Learn from it. Write the next one. Your first book does not need to contain every good idea you will ever have.
Get professional help where it matters, especially editing and covers. Listen to intelligent criticism without handing strangers the steering wheel. Learn the business if you intend to make this a business.
And remember that almost everybody feels fraudulent at some point. The cure is generally to keep doing the work until the evidence becomes inconvenient.
GET IN TOUCH
Social Channels?
Facebook: facebook.com/seanrobins.77
Instagram: https://instagram.com/seanrobins300
Website?
https://seanrobins73.wixsite.com/website
Book links?
The easiest starting point is my website, which links readers to my books and series.
Amazon Author Page: search for “Sean Robins” on Amazon to see the current catalogue in your local store. https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B07PS1116K
My current series to look for is I, Anomaly, beginning with I’m a Weapon.
LAST
Any final words for the readers? (Anything, open platform)
Thank you for reading. Genuinely.
There are millions of books competing for your time, along with streaming services, games, social media, work, children, pets, and the apparently unstoppable human need to watch one more video before bed. Every time somebody chooses one of my books out of all of that noise, I am grateful.
I write science fiction because I love the genre. I love spaceships, impossible ideas, artificial intelligence, alien worlds, sarcastic characters, terrible odds, and the ridiculous optimism involved in imagining that humanity will still be around centuries from now causing new problems.
If one of my books makes you stay up too late, laugh at an inappropriate moment, or care about a machine that insists it definitely does not have feelings, then I have done my job.
And if civilization is eventually overthrown by sentient warships, I would like the historical record to show that I was merely doing research.
