Q: How did you decide where your book was going to take
place?
A: When conceiving The Sunrisers, the predecessor to The
Order of the Banshee, I was
approaching it partially from the perspective of wanting a
book with an easy sell. Killing Eve
was airing and was hugely popular at the time, and the idea
of “Killing Eve in Space” hit me.
One of the most formative works for me as a writer was the
cult-classic TV show, Firefly, so I
had a clear idea of what approach I wanted to take with the wide-open cosmos that would be my story’s backdrop.
Q: What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book, The Order
of the Banshee?
A: The thief and the soldier overcame their differences,
defeated their cruel enemies, and
together, lived happily ever after. What happens next?
Q: Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally
done?
A: Both. I try to edit as much as I can as I go, but there’s
always more to fix.
Q: Describe your writing space/office!
A: These days, I mainly write on the couch in my apartment ha ha. I don’t drive, and there are no coffee shops or libraries within walking distance, so it’s easier to just sit down than to take a bus ride for a more comfortable space.
Q: What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
A: I love foie gras. I loved it as a kid, I loved it when we served it at a restaurant I briefly worked at, and I could eat a whole plate of it right now.
Q: What’s your favorite genre to read?
A: Superheroes. Specifically, superhero comics. Extra
specifically, X-Men comics. I don’t have
much time for reading these days, but I’m a little obsessed
with the X-Men, so no matter how
overwhelmingly busy I am, I’m always checking out their new
comics every Wednesday. For
those who only watch superhero tv shows and/or movies, or
aren’t engaged with them at all,
these books are often artistic masterpieces, overflowing
with imaginative sci-fi and fantasy
concepts, with all the fun, ongoing drama of a proper soap
opera.
Q: What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly
recommend?
A: The best tv show or movie I’ve seen in the last several
years is the animated series, Arcane.
It’s my favorite animated series of all time, and there are actually a number of comparisons that can be drawn between it and The Sunrisers/The Order of the Banshee. Set in an original sci-fi world filled with colorful concepts and characters, it’s ultimately a tragic story about two sisters torn apart and made enemies by the cruel circumstances of life. The writing, animation, voice acting, and sound design are all top-class.
Q: What do you do when you have free time?
A: As I said, I love reading comic books, and my main reason for being on social media is to talk about them. I also write fanfiction (X-Men, of course), and watch Youtube videos. I’m hoping to start going out to the gym more in 2024.
Q: What are three words that describe your Main Characters?
A: Yael: Ingenious. Chaotic. Loyal. Molina: Insecure.
Ambitious. Lonely.
Q: What can readers expect from you next?
A: My comic book series, Final Gamble, will be coming back
with new issues in the near future!
Final Gamble is a horror/thriller based around the world of underground gambling, It deals with a lot of the same themes of class and discrimination as The Sunriers and The Order of the
Banshee, but with the stakes being built around increasingly
dangerous games of chance, and
with the protagonists being much, much bigger losers.
The Order of the Banshee
by Robyn Singer
GENRE: Sci Fi Space Opera
BLURB: It’s
been five years since Yael and Molina reunited. Yael is one of the richest and
most infamous thieves in the universe and a member of the Order of the Banshee.
She is rising through the ranks of the elite organization with her wife and her
ride-or-die best friends, Aarif and P’Ken, at her side, and she’s even running
her own school for thieves. Molina, former captain in the universe’s premiere
peacekeeping organization, the Sunrisers, is happily married to Yael and tells
herself that’s enough.
Their seemingly perfect lives are interrupted when
they receive news of the death of Molina’s father. When Molina returns home for
his funeral, she reunites with her former friend and now enemy: Kaybell, the
emperor of the Cykebian Empire. Kaybell, eager to mend the relationship,
informs Molina that her father was murdered and offers to help Molina find
those responsible and bring them to justice.
While Molina and Kaybell hunt the people responsible
for her father’s death, Yael is hunted by an invincible assassin – one with a
terrible secret. These two seemingly unrelated events are more connected than
Yael or Molina could possibly imagine.
Excerpt
Two:
“Yael, you must get up and shower,” P’Ken declared, standing
right over me, both hands on her stick.
“Seriously, you’re starting to stink pretty bad,” Aarif
followed, standing right next to her.
“Waaaaaaaah!” I cried, curled up in a ball in my bed. “I miss
my Moli!”
The past few days had been absolutely miserable. For
security reasons, I couldn’t contact Molina while she was on Cykeb, and living
in the school without her around was too weird. As much as I’d been staying in
bed, I couldn’t even sleep in such a big one without her. My only comforts had
come from my endless supply of beer, instant ramen, and gummies, the bottles,
cups, and bags they’d come in all over my bed and floor.
“She’ll be back soon. And then you can make up for lost
time.”
“For now, however, you promised Shun you’d spar with her
today, and a thief of your distinction shouldn’t be gaining a reputation as a
lying thief.”
“Come on, let’s get ready for the day.”
I groaned for an extended period, rubbing my temples.
“You’re not my parents.”
“Obviously not,” P’Ken rolled her eyes. “My child will never
be allowed to make their room a pigsty.”
Aarif plopped down next to me, shaking the mattress. “We may
not be your parents, but we are your family. We want to help you.”
I shook my head. “You can’t.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Robyn Singer is a lifelong New Yorker, and since she
was a kid playing with her action figures, all she’s wanted to do is tell
stories. She went to SUNY Purchase to get a degree in Playwriting &
Screenwriting with a minor in Film and has produced several comic books, but
she’s always had her eye on becoming a published novelist.
As an Autistic, bisexual trans woman, diversity and
inclusion in stories are vitally important to her, and she seeks to represent
as many groups as possible in her work. While she wants to show characters of
marginalized groups experiencing joy, she also draws inspiration from
real-world problems which bother her.
The Sunrisers (Cinnabar Moth Publishing, November
2022) is her debut novel. Order of the Banshee is book in the The Ricochet
Trilogy. Robyn was the author in residence for quester 1 of 20222 for Cinnabar
Moth Literary Collections. She writes novels and short stories of all genres
and for all ages, and she continues to produce comic books. Her ongoing series,
Final Gamble, began publiscation by Band of Bards in 2022.
See her ramble about her passions on Twitter
https://twitter.com/emmalsinger
Follow her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emmalsinger/
3 comments:
Thank you so much for featuring today's author.
The blurb sounds interesting.
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
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