Read the first part of the interview here.

ReaWrite– How many drafts did For Duty take to complete? How long did it take you to write?

Matt– I’m not sure on the exact count – perhaps 6 drafts? In total, the novel took about half a year to write. The first draft took only 2 months. I was in a great place health-wise and had some large chunks of time off. Those 2 facts made all the difference! If I didn’t have to put food on the table, I could easily wite a novel every few months. Yup, that’s a guarantee!  :)

ReaWrite– When creating the three races that your story would be based around, how did you decide on their cultures and physical traits?

Matt– Well, I watch/read a ton of sci-fi. I even dabble in earthly science via internet research, the Science channel and close-to-real-life fiction. I’m a huge consumer of all data surrounding String and Holographic theory. I’m also a huge Firefly geek. Intelligent life equal to or above our own may be a few dozen light years away from us, or much more distant. Seeing as how close we are to really “scanning” nearby (less than 100 light years) planets for life and intelligent life, I’m a believer that there is either no intelligent life nearby or it’s of such a vastly different composure, we’re not close to detecting it.

ReaWrite– Which character in For Duty did you most enjoy writing?

Matt– I’ve listened to my wife and observed her interactions with her sister for many years now. I’m constantly amazed at how their family interacts and I was quite excited to write about Helena and her sisters. By far, the sisterly dialogs were most enjoyable. If you’ve read either of my books or any of my flash fiction, you’ll notice them laced with plenty of dialog. Writing the sisters’ dialog was pure joy throughout.

ReaWrite– Where are you planning to take the series next?

Matt– For Duty is actually the back story to a spontaneous story I told my wife one night, about 9 years ago. So, I have plenty of ideas to continue writing in this universe – and I plan to. The only problem is time. Fiction doesn’t pay the bills, so it’s usually sacrificed when push comes to shove. Currently, I’m working on the follow-up to Eden and I hope to continue The Antaran Legacy of books this year or next. I’m a huge fan of picking up right where the last story left off, so expect to follow Helena and her sisters as they attempt to rescue Terentia and save their refugee population. Of course, Connor is the wildcard in everything – what role does he have left to play in Helena’s heart?