Angie Cavanaugh talks about her debut novel, Otherworlders

Today my guest is Angela Cavanaugh who, after debuting as a flash-fiction author, just launched her first science fiction novel, Otherworlders. Angela and I will both have a story in the forthcoming anthology The A.I. Chronicles, the next installment in Samuel Peralta's Future Chronicle series.

Welcome to the blog, Angela!

EEG: Tell us about the premise in Otherworlders and how you had the idea for it.

AC: Otherworlders began with the idea: What would happen if a large amount of people were sent to a parallel dimension at the same time?

Official description: When a virus threatens humanity with extinction, the desperate and dwindling number of uninfected seek refuge in a parallel universe. The technology is untested. The other universe is unprepared and one thing is made violently clear: they are not wanted.

As a weaponized, fatal virus mutates and threatens to kill all life forms on Earth, Special Agent Williams and the government conspires to send the healthy away. After space travel and going underground are ruled impossible, all that remains is the theoretical technology of an autistic savant: escaping to a parallel universe. But when they travel to the other dimension, their arrival is met with suspicion and hatred. To evade persecution, experimentation, and to save their lives, the Otherworlders must find a way to escape, survive, and outwit Agent Williams's murderous double.

EEG: What inspires your writing?

AC: There are many things that inspire my writing. Reading articles about new technologies, and imagining where they may someday lead. I also read a lot of fiction, and sometimes I'm inspired by a genre or a writing style. I'm inspired by the success and dedication of others. And I'm inspired by my fans. Knowing that someone enjoyed something that I created is one of the best feelings in the world.

EEG: What other projects are you currently working on?

AC: I just finished a short story for the up coming anthology: The A.I. Chronicles. I'll also be writing a story for The Z Chronicles. I've just sent my Kindle Worlds novella Silo Saga: Witness to beta readers. And I'm working on a series of short stories that explores what happens when the rich hibernate most of the year, and the poor work around the clock never sleeping. It's a semi-futuristic tale about addiction, society, and the limits people face.

EEG: You also write flash fiction: do you find it challenging to condense a full story into just a few words?

AC: I don't. My stories usually come out the right length on the first try. But I did have to learn how to do it. I think that flash fiction can build skills. It's great to have tight writing, and having a word limit lets you think critically about what can be cut and what needs to stay. Which is something that I think can be applied to works without limits.

EEG: What's your favorite place in the world?

AC: I haven't had the opportunity to see much of the world. And I know from experience that even the best places can be miserable if you're there alone. So I guess, for me for now, my favorite place in the world is anywhere that the people I care about are.

Thanks so much for chatting with us today, Angie.

Find out more about Angie's books by visiting her website at angelacavanaugh.com . You can also subscribe to her newsletter here.