To be honest, I was pretty shocked even to realise that I’d conceived a science fiction book. 

Spaulding Taylor – 25 February 2021

The Back Flap

A post-apocalyptic Earth under alien rule.

A lone wolf assassin with a chip on his shoulder.

Can he find his way through a maze of deceit to victory?

Aiden has always felt like an outsider. After the rebel operative is captured and imprisoned by the world’s galactic overlords, he awaits execution. Then a mole working for the occupying regime alerts him to a plot that could destroy the entire resistance… Engineering a daring escape, Aiden’s growing feud with the new rebel leader leaves him out in the cold – and smouldering with resentment. Faced with deceit and betrayals on every side, he recruits a group of overlooked outcasts and stakes everything on one last mission.

Can the restless, reckless Aiden take a stand long enough to save humanity from enslavement?

About the book

What is the book about?

It’s action/adventure meets soft science fiction. It’s feel-good dystopian. It’s character-driven escapism. And not a pandemic in sight!

Earth, 2094 – and the charismatic, volatile Aiden is part of the underground resistance against the alien Xirfell takeover. His ambition riles the rebel leadership, and he triumphs in freeing ‘the Creature’, only to be confronted by betrayal after betrayal – some going back years.  Given a crucial mission, he and his two friends are targeted by a turncoat, boarded mid-space, neurologically attacked, confronted with treason – only to be disbelieved. There’s a crisis of identity, an uprising and two plot twists, but by the end of the book Aiden has become the leader he always longed to be.

When did you start writing the book?

2017. The reason it’s taken so long is because several top agents asked for the full manuscript – only to turn it down in the end. So I chose a medium-sized Indie (UK’s Unbound). They publish about fifty books a year. They originally scheduled it for July 2020 – but had to put their summer titles into the autumn, when the lock-down closed down half the distributors. Continuing issues, including Brexit, has put publication date back again, to February 2021. So, a long wait!

How long did it take you to write it?

One year to write, another to edit and alter.

Where did you get the idea from?

To be honest, I was pretty shocked even to realise that I’d conceived a science fiction book. My first two books (published by Orion) were contemporary fiction. Science fiction was right out of my comfort-zone. But Aiden – the narrator – came to me while I was trying to meditate – I’m too restless to find this easy – and just wouldn’t let me go.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

I struggled everywhere. It was non-stop struggle – hardest book I’ve ever written. How much psychology could I sneak into a thrillerish book? To flashback or not to flashback? The pacing drove me mad. And the tense! – I wanted present tense because I wanted that grip, that immediacy.  But my editor persuaded me past tense worked better – and she was right. I’m hoping that readers will never guess all the angst this book cost me!

What came easily?

Aiden. And his friend Bully – it morphs into a buddy film halfway through. Bully grounded me (grounded Aiden and me both!)

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

I always borrow, like most writers – but not whole people. Snippets of him, a touch of her… the usual.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

In this genre, I trend pretty traditional. Gaiman, Ishiguro, Atwood… Tolkien, but not the fantasy elements. The quest-type elements.

Do you have a target reader?

I’m hoping for male as well as female, for this one. Could appeal to New Adult market (Aiden is thirty.) But time will tell.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I write best in the morning.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I never outline and I never have a clue what’s coming next. But, quite often, I’ll wake in the night and suddenly KNOW. Then I have to scribble it down before I forget!

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

When the writing falters, I head back and edit. Better than plowing on while writing badly. Anything’s better than that.

Did you hire a professional editor?

No, but my publisher, Unbound, has the most fantastic editors. I actually work as a London book editor, so I like to imagine that I don’t need editors as much as most. (Dream on! – especially in a new genre.)

Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

I’m a professional cellist and my favourite writing music is Bach, the cantatas especially. But I’m very fond of very early music too: Byrd, for example. I find it calming. It produces an almost trancelike state, where the writing flows like the music.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Yes. To about sixty. But it was in the present tense – NOT right for the book – and there were loads of other stupid newbie errors in it at that point. I’m not surprised, now, that they all eventually – one very famous guy took over a YEAR – passed on it.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

I had to get it out there, after all that. I’d have self-published had all the Indies passed.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

Are you kidding me? I couldn’t draw a stickman! Not a really convincing stickman, anyway.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

I’m putting a lot of time and energy into the marketing. Unbound hasn’t got loads of money for advertising. Have also bought a Kirkus book review – haven’t got it yet! A bit nervous about that. With Orion I had lots of support and money – Indie publishing demands more effort, and some money too.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Don’t assume it’ll be easy. Everything about books – traditional or Indie or (as I understand it) self-published is hard work. Finishing the first draft is just the beginning of the hard work.

I also have a grave suspicion that outlining is a cool idea. I keep trying it – but it’s just temperamentally wrong for me. ☹

About You

Where did you grow up?

I was born in South Korea, to American diplomats. Was living in Asia until I was a teen, living in Myanmar, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul. Then my parents were transferred to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., where I had my first nervous breakdown. Imagine it: happy diplomatic brat in an International School with only 100 pupils suddenly shoved into a terrifying American high school with 440 sociopaths per year group.

Utterly miserable, I fell – with an audible thud – for the cello, and the cello saved me. I got into Juilliard but attended Jacobs School of Music at Indiana (the world’s largest famous conservatory). Then I came to London to study cello with Jacqueline du Pre and almost immediately fell in love and got married – and so I stayed. Have lived in London ever since.

I played cello professionally for over fifteen years with London orchestras. While writing, of course. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I wrote rubbish for my sister at four, appalling poetry at six and completed my first novel at 13. Which was also really, really bad. If Orion hadn’t dumped me (after two books) – which destroyed my confidence for a while – I’d have written hundreds of books by now!

Where do you live now?

In outer London, and sometimes in Crete. We have a second house by the sea. (I know, I know, lucky bunnies.)

What would you like readers to know about you?

I don’t know. Is the author that important? It’s really all about the books, right?

What are you working on now?

A bit of historical fiction. And a sequel to this one too. With a little luck and the wind behind me…

End of Interview:

For more from Spaulding Taylor, visit their website.

Get your copy of Last Star Standing from Amazon US or Amazon UK.