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Interview with Stephan Roux, Author of Me, Myself and AI

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Me, Myself & AI (Book 1 of 3)?

I wrote Me, Myself and AI because my life got so surreal, it had to be recorded. I was fighting two legal cases—on my own, from a corner booth in an East London pub—armed with evidence, a Yorkshire Terrier, and an AI. It was absurd, it was brutal, and somehow, it was real. But more than that, I wrote it to reclaim my voice. After years of being silenced—by systems, by people, by grief—I realised the only way forward was to tell the truth, and to tell it my way. Writing became my way of processing everything: the betrayal, the resilience, the madness of surviving something no one expected me to survive. The “AI” isn’t just tech—it’s a question of actual identity. Who are you when everything you built has been torn down? What’s left of a man once he’s been erased, humiliated, and underestimated? This book is my answer. It’s not just about survival—it’s about taking the narrative back, lighting it on fire, and walking through it with your head up. And maybe laughing along the way.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Me, Myself & AI (Book 1 of 3), what would they be?

I actually included a playlist in the book so readers could feel the emotional current behind each chapter—it’s meant to be read with headphones on. For me – Cooler by Mikey Mike. It’s raw, ironic, and quietly defiant—perfect for someone holding it together with duct tape and dry humour. – Let It Go. Not the Disney one—Otis Junior’s version. It’s soulful, gentle, and exactly has a kind of quiet wisdom about reclaiming your inner child, and the wisdom we lose. - Weight on me - The Jesse Lees - Almost totally unknown track I found buried in a rabbit hole on Spotify, it’s perfect for this book and the feeling at the end. For Lenny – Loaded by Primal Scream. Because he was. For Ms. Lai – Rich Girl by Hall & Oates. No further comment. The music is part of the story. It’s the subtext, the memory triggers, the mood. If you want the full experience—play it loud.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I read memoir, literary fiction, and strange, poetic hybrids that don’t fit a shelf. I write in the same vein—emotional nonfiction with a pulse. I’m drawn to voices that feel like they’re speaking straight to one person, not a crowd.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Abi Morgan’s This Is Not a Pity Memoir, Nina Stibbe’s Went to London, Took the Dog, and always Andrew Kaufman’s All My Friends Are Superheroes. Also need to reread the Midnight Library

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

My favourite scene takes place on Halloween. I’m sat alone in the corner booth of my local pub—the same place I’d fought most of my case from—surrounded by skeletons, fake cobwebs, and costumed drinkers. There’s a man dressed as a judge by the bar. A group of partygoers in full skeleton outfits raise their glasses toward me like comrades. Meanwhile, I’m tapping legal strategy into my AI: probabilities of strike-outs, indemnity costs, default judgments. It’s just so surreal, so absurd and summed up how I felt in that moment, indeed through most of the stroy—this quiet, personal war waged in the middle of a party. One man against the system, fuelled by a pint, a dog under the table, and an algorithm as his lawyer. The absurdity of it made the scene powerful to write. Everyone around me was playing dress-up. I wasn’t. The ghosts and ghouls were fake. The stakes? Very real.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I write early in the morning when it’s quiet, but most afternoons I end up in the same corner booth of an East London pub—the one that appears in Me, Myself and AI. In real life, we call it therapy corner. People drift in, share their stories, confess their heartbreaks to the most broken man in the room—me—and somehow, we all leave feeling a bit lighter. That booth’s become part writing desk, part confessional. It’s where I finished all four books, including Evil Ben and the Chicken of Reckoning. Apparently, it’s a good spot for endings, reckonings, and unexpected beginnings.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

A few, depending on the day. “Do the right thing, even when it’s hard.” “You are mighty.” And the one that gets me through the toughest decisions: “What’s the worst that can happen—and can you live with it?” If the answer’s yes, you move. If it’s no, you move anyway. Just slower, and with a dog.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That survival isn’t just about gritting your teeth and getting through it—it’s about reclaiming your voice, your dignity, and your place in the world. Me, Myself and AI is about what happens after everything falls apart: the quiet madness, the absurdity, the small victories no one sees. I didn’t write it to be inspiring—I wrote it to be true. If someone finishes the book and feels seen in their own chaos—feels like maybe they’re not broken, just becoming—then it’s done its job. Because the truth is, we all walk through fire. But not everyone finds the words for it. This was me finding mine, and maybe helping someone else find theirs too.

 

Stephan Roux is the author of the new book Me, Myself & AI (Book 1 of 3)

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Interview with Colin Alexander, Author of The Case of the Princess and the Interstellar Bounty Hunter

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Case of the Princess and the Interstellar Bounty Hunter?

The story began, as all of my stories do, with the mental image of a character in a scene. In this case, it was a bounty hunter, the character who evolved into Sol, sitting in a bar and being asked to find a kidnapping victim. The setting was the Interstellar Reach of Humanity, a rather grim fictional universe that I first used for Complicated: The Interstellar Life and Times of Saoirse Kenneally, although that book is set about a century before this one. For me, working from the initial image is like solving a puzzle. What happened to cause that scene? Who are these people? What flows from the decisions they make? In this story, I found myself with characters who have been broken in different ways by their lives, have made compromises, and have sold off some bits of themselves over time. Often, it is the characters who dictate the direction of the story to me. In this case, it grew into a science fiction mystery with a touch of noir. Through the whole process, the theme that kept repeating itself to me was that things are not always what they appear to be. This ended up in the WS Gilbert epigraph at the beginning of the book and I hope you will agree.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Case of the Princess and the Interstellar Bounty Hunter, what would they be?

I have never thought about theme songs for characters, but I will now! For Martin, it would be “One Tin Soldier” by The Original Caste. For Sol, I will go with “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake. Finally, Claire would take “Army of One” by Bon Jovi. We could have fun with this.

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I read a lot of history, historical fiction, and science, but my favorite genre is science fiction and fantasy. I read across most of the sub-genres in this area, from high fantasy to hard science fiction. My favorite authors reflect this, going from older ones such as Robert Heinlein, JRR Tolkien, Poul Anderson, and CJ Cherryh to new writers such as Andy Weir, SL Huang, and Tamsyn Muir. My writing also falls into the field of science fiction and fantasy, primarily science fiction, although my first two books were actually mysteries.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

My TBR pile is too big to list here in its entirety. If I grab a bunch from the top, which means what I am likely to read sometime soon, I see: House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel, Here Be Dragons by Sharon Penman, The Last Tsar by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Justinian by Peter Sarris, and Supermassive by James Trefil and Shobita Satyapal. There are more. I need a new bookcase.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

Oh my God, I only get to pick one? I would have to say that I most enjoyed writing the last chapter, but I can’t say more about it because of spoilers. Since I have to leave that one alone, I would pick the opening scene where Martin meets Sol and we are introduced to the world and the purpose of the story, and then the scene where we meet Claire and learn what she is like. So, I managed to fit three into this one.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I write my first draft entirely in longhand using a special ballpoint pen my wife gave me. I have no idea what would happen if I lost that pen. I also seem to have standardized on fifty-sheet, white paper pads from Staples for writing that draft. Does this qualify as quirky?

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

The quote I like best is from Theodore Roosevelt. It comes from a speech he gave in 1910 called “Citizenship in a Republic” and it is often referred to as “The Man in the Arena.” The whole quote is too long to put here, but it tells you to do your best at a job worth doing, that you will make mistakes and may even fail, but making the effort to achieve a meaningful goal is what you need to do.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I would like readers to remember having fun with the read, being surprised, and that things are not always what they appear to be. See, I got three into this one also!

 

Colin Alexander is the author of the new book The Case of the Princess and the Interstellar Bounty Hunter

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Interview with Kevin Barry O'Connor, Author of Shake The Jar

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Shake the Jar?

The title is inspired by a story often attributed to Mark Twain called “Who Shook the Jar?” As it goes, red ants and black ants live together in peaceful co-existence inside a jar. But when someone shakes the jar, they turn on each other, believing the other is the enemy. They never stop to ask, “Who shook the jar?” Shake the Jar is the third book in the series. The search for ancestral identity drives our heroine on a quest to uncover her origin story—she is a descendant of African slaves taken to Jamaica. Her journey takes her from Jamaica to Chile and Thailand, unaware that she’s stepping into a geopolitical firestorm. Shake the Jar is a genre-bender, blending a deeply personal search with history, science, and global turmoil.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Shake the Jar, what would they be?

For Arin Murphy: Bon Jovi’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.” For Key Murphy: Van Morrison’s “Moondance.”

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

I write thrillers laced with science, history, and travel. I read science and history—both fiction and nonfiction—with a healthy dose of espionage, fantasy, and science fiction thrown in.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Cryptography Apocalypse (for book 4 research), Daniel Silva’s The Messenger, and Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The opening chapter, because it was also the hardest. For returning readers, I needed to create a sense of continuity—as if they’d just closed book 2. For new readers starting with Shake, I had to draw them into the world of Key and Arin Murphy, making them want to run alongside them as they sprint down a beautiful Jamaican beach—just before everything goes to hell.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

No, but maybe I should adopt some. I do have a ritual before starting a book: I spend a couple of days alone at a New Jersey beach and just begin. It tells my brain it’s time to focus and prepare for a wild ride.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I published my first book on my 70th birthday. I spent 12 years on stage performing comedy theatre, traveled to 95 countries—and counting. My philosophy: “There’s time to be boring when you’re dead. For now, make some noise.”

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Ask the questions that hurt your brain—the hard ones. The ones that make you think, feel, and search.

 

Kevin Barry O’Connor is the author of the new book Shake the Jar

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Interview with Donell Jackson, Author of 2075: Branded

What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write 2075 : Branded?

Just wanted to create something different, not all dinosaur stories have to end in us destroying them or then killing us. So, I decided to create a story where human and dinosaur could coexist.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of 2075 : Branded, what would they be?

What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Fantasy, but I enjoy writing different genres.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Game of Thrones

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The Battle Scene

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Like to have R&B low in the background, or go out to have breakfast and do some writing while I eat.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

You're the only one who can make your come true.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Your reality is what you believe it to be.

 

Donell Jackson is the author of the new book 2075 : Branded

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New Mystery and Thriller Books to Read | April 29

Hold on to the edge of your seat as we hunt for clues and solve the case with these exciting new mystery and thriller books for the week! There are so many bestselling authors with new novels for you to dive into this week including Jane Hinchey, Kevin Barry O'Connor, Carmen Amato, and more. Enjoy your new mystery, thriller, and suspense novels. Happy reading!



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New Books to Read in Literary Fiction | April 29

Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Ronald Pressley, Jennifer Weiner, Ido Peleg, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading!



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New Science Fiction and Fantasy Books | April 29

Set off on an adventure to new worlds this week! This selection of new science fiction and fantasy books will surely please! Science Fiction fans should be excited about the latest from bestselling authors Donell Jackson, Colin Alexander, S.A. Barnes, and more. If Fantasy is what your library needs, you’ll be able to pick up the latest from Frank P. Ryan, Reynold Starnes, Shawn Wilson, and more. Enjoy your new science fiction and fantasy books. Happy reading!


Fantasy


Science Fiction


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New Young Adult Books to Read | April 29

Are you an avid reader of Young Adult books? This week you are in luck! With all of these new novels, you’re bound to find a new favorite book to add to your reading list. This week includes new novels from bestselling authors David Horn, Maxym M. Martineau, Jenni Howell, and more. Enjoy your new young adult books. Happy reading!



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New Biography and Memoir Books to Read | April 29

Looking for some new biography and memoir books for your library? There are so many new releases this week that you’re bound to find a new favorite. You can pick up new books from Stephan Roux, Virginia Deluca, Dave Landau, and more. Enjoy your new biography and memoir books. Happy reading!



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