Hello! Welcome to The Screaming Damnation, ship of Captain Jorsen! This is the brief Q&A for C.M Herndon’s latest novel: Desire the Stars.
Q: Just to clear a few things up, DtS is slated as a “new trilogy” set in the same universe as the Defiant Trilogy. Do the trilogies need to be read in order?
A: No, they do not need to be read in order. You can read the Defiant Trilogy before or after. DtS is designed to be it’s own standalone series. If you are interested in character connections, there are characters from the previous trilogy mentioned and shown. The Main Character himself is seen in the final Defiant Novel, Havoc. They can be read in any order.
Q: So it’s a new series in the same universe. Tell us a bit about the Ektos Universe.
A: Right, so the Ektos Universe is the name of the universe both trilogies are set in. There are dozens of planets, thousands of cultures, and plenty of badass characters to keep you company.
Q: Speaking of badass characters, tell us a bit about the main characters in this story and the places.
A: Actually, a lot of the “places” of the first book is on ship. The Screaming Damnation has a big role to play. It’s not just a ship, it’s a safe place, a home for the crew. Similar to the way Captain Mal in Firefly looks at Serenity, I think this crew shares that opinion of this ship. We do, however, see a brief glance at the planet Achmos, a mostly desert planet with fierce natives. They take a brief trip onto a couple of other planets. As for the characters, Captain Jorsen is the best warrior on his planet. He let’s that go to his head sometimes, but he’s damn good at what he does and Shera, while a bit naïve, is equally as fierce. She has a stubborn recklessness that gets her into a lot of trouble but lucky for her she usually has the skills to get herself out of the trouble. When she doesn’t, that’s where she finds Jorsen.
Q: So what separates the Desire the Stars Trilogy from the Defiant Trilogy?
A: A whole lot actually! Defiant was a very dynamic story, showing many points of view from different planets. Faelan had a certain carefree charisma because she was a criminal who fell in love with a prince. Her only goal was to keep that. She and Virion started a war and had to live without, trying to hold onto each other and the family and home that was important to them. It was very broad but at the same time, it was very much about them. While Desire the Stars is also about the couple, I think it’s a little more centered on the couple as a whole. Their issues are more defined in who they are as people. They have obligations, they have expectations, and they have two different races to contend with. Jorsen has a specific set of laws he has to abide by and Shera’s goals don’t align with that. They have to overcome the fact that she can’t just walk away from her family and that he can’t leave his people. For the two of them, their battles are with personal enemies. Faelan and Virion were fighting for a whole planet. While it may seem less broad that way, I think Jorsen and Shera really get to touch on issues in today’s society with bi-racial couples not always feeling welcomed or being acknowledged. Even Shera herself has to come to terms with the fact that Jorsen’s own race is different than hers.
Q: Different how?
A: Let’s just say his race has a few biological differences.
Q: Will we be seeing more of these races in the other two books?
A: Absolutely. In book two we will be visiting Victere and learning more about how they operate. Especially since Jorsen doesn’t exactly play by the rules. We’ll also be visiting Achmos and learning more about Shera’s culture.
Q: What defining qualities can you tell us about each culture?
A: Without giving away major plot points… Victere is a heavily militarized culture that places value on being able to give and take commands. Achmos is a free culture that places value on family and welfare.
Q: I’m sensing this might create some tension between the characters?
A: Tension. Sexual tension. D, all of the above.
Q: Is there anything else you can touch base on?
A: Read it. If you like your characters with a little sass and a little badass, you’ve come to the right place. Read it, love it, share it.
Check out Desire the Stars below!
Thanks for reading!
Author C.M.Herndon 