Interview with Daniel P. Douglas, Author of Smuggler’s Rebellion

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Smuggler’s Rebellion: Dawn of Defiance (Wild Frontier Chronicles Book 1)?

The book’s dedication alludes to it. I reference my daughter, a soccer phenom. Watching her play soccer for the last 13 years inspired a love for the sport. I had this itch a few years back about wanting to write a sci-fi story with a soccer robot as a nod to my daughter and the “beautiful game.” So, the very first words I wrote for the book show up as the soccer match in Chapter 1, with Number 34 getting a red card and being tossed from a championship game. Now, Number 34 is a tough defender, and my daughter is a tough midfielder, but Addison definitely inspired the story’s beginnings. She’ll be playing college soccer in the fall. So proud of her!

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Smuggler’s Rebellion: Dawn of Defiance (Wild Frontier Chronicles Book 1), what would they be?

For Jake Jones, I’d choose “Desperado” by the Eagles, a song that takes us back to the western roots of the story. This classic captures Jake’s lone wolf nature and the emotional cost of his isolation. The lyrics warning about losing the ability to feel could describe his state at the story’s beginning, while the plea to “let somebody love you before it’s too late” mirrors his reconnection with Ella Kuhn and his growing bonds with Adara and Number 34. The song’s gentle prodding to come down from those fences matches the story’s theme of choosing connection over isolation. For Adara, “Uprising” by Muse feels right. The song’s powerful blend of orchestral elements with modern rock captures both her royal background and her revolutionary spirit.

Its lyrics about breaking free from oppression directly parallel her escape from the Ethnarch Kingdom and her fight for freedom. The song builds from controlled beginnings to explosive rebellion, much like Adara’s journey from diplomatic restraint to fierce resistance. And the line “They will not force us, they will stop degrading us” could be her personal anthem against the patriarchal system she’s fighting. For Number 34, I’d select “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. This might seem unconventional, but it captures her wild spirit and joy in the face of danger. The song’s energy matches her enthusiasm for soccer and combat alike. Lines like “I’m a shooting star leaping through the sky” could describe her self-injection into a space dogfight. The song’s celebration of being alive and free reflects her journey from programmed soccer player to self-aware individual choosing her own path. Plus, the British rock band fits her cockney personality so well!

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

I read science fiction, thrillers, suspense, westerns, all the same genres I write about. They’re all great genres to read and write. I really love reading stories, regardless of genre, with a noir style to them. Moral ambiguity, suspicion, and fatalism. I try to write some stories with a noir feel to them, too. There’s something about noir that strips away the lies we sometimes tell ourselves and forces characters to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and human nature.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

I recently started reading Reign of the Empire: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed. Huge Star Wars fan. Okay, okay, huge Star Wars nerd. Hey, I was 12 years old on May 25, 1977. Do you know what it’s like being a kid watching an Imperial Star Destroyer fly over your head on opening day? It felt so real, and had such an impact, to say the least! I’ve loved anything Star Wars ever since. Well, maybe not Jar Jar Binks. But everything else! Andor rocks! Both Andor (my favorite Star Wars series) and Reign of the Empire speak to our current times. Very relevant.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

So, it’s got to be the scene near the end when Andrasian’s bad guys try to seize our heroes aboard Lone Wolf, Jake’s ship. Number 34 fights back with her soccer talents by kicking a ball up a docking tube and knocking out the opposition. It’s a funny scene—I hope—and such a Number 34 way to contribute to the fight. What made this scene fun to write was achieving its balance between tension and humor. You have this life-or-death situation with armed enemy soldiers, and then Number 34 responds by doing what she does best—playing soccer. The absurdity of using a soccer ball as a weapon against military forces really captures her character.

She’s not a trained soldier or a martial artist, she’s a soccer player who refuses to let that limit her contribution to the team. Throughout the book, Number 34 struggles with whether she’s more than just a sports robot, and this moment proves that her soccer skills, which might seem useless in a military conflict, can save the day. It’s both an action sequence and a character triumph, in a moment that, I hope, makes readers laugh even as they’re gripping the book in suspense.

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

I do like to burn Piñon incense. It’s a New Mexico thing. Something about the scent helps me focus and relax. The scent resembles pine and juniper, with hints of sage and dried herbs, as if the southwest itself is distilled in the vapor. Piñon smoke feels clean and natural, as if you’re sitting beside a campfire in the mountains of New Mexico or Arizona. Love it. Give me a rainy day and Piñon incense, that’s the best!

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

Truth is mighty and will prevail. But here’s the rub. Truth may be mighty, but it often needs champions willing to fight for it. That’s exactly what good stories can do—champion truths about human nature, justice, and hope that might otherwise get buried under despair, deception, and oppression. When I create characters like Jake Jones, I’m exploring what it takes for ordinary people to become those champions of truth. Jake starts out believing that staying neutral keeps him safe, but he discovers that sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is nothing at all. In a galaxy where powerful empires spread lies to justify war and oppression, one smuggler’s choice to carry the truth instead of contraband becomes an act of revolution. That’s the power of truth—it transforms not just the world around us, but the people brave enough to carry it forward.

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

First, thank you for reading the book! But also, that choosing neutrality in the face of injustice is perhaps a dangerous choice. I want readers to remember Jake’s journey from someone who believed staying out of the fight kept him safe, to understanding that his indifference made him complicit in the very systems of oppression he claimed to despise. When Jake at last realizes that his “simple smuggler” routine was just an excuse to avoid moral responsibility, it’s a wake-up call I hope resonates with readers.

We all tell ourselves comfortable lies about why we can’t get involved, why it’s not our fight, why we’re too small to make a difference. But as Jake discovers through his relationships with Adara, Morgan, and Ella, sometimes the most radical thing you can do is simply choose to care about something beyond your own survival. In a world full of systems designed to keep us isolated and focused only on ourselves, forming genuine connections and standing up for others becomes a revolutionary act.

Daniel P. Douglas is the author of the new book Smuggler’s Rebellion: Dawn of Defiance (Wild Frontier Chronicles Book 1)

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