Superversive Spotlight: Karl K. Gallagher

Welcome to the Superversive Spotlight, where we chat with a Superversive author that you really should be reading. Today we welcome Superversive author Karl K. Gallagher:

How long have you been writing?

Little bits since I was in high school . . . so more than thirty years. I started blogging around 2002. Sold a dozen articles to some role-playing game sites a few years later. Then in 2013 I realized, “Hey, this Kindle stuff means I could write a novel and *not* have it vanish into the abyss of agents and publishing houses.” I wrote one, published it in 2015 (after letting one house take a glance at it), and wrote a couple more to turn it into a trilogy. I’ve kept going since then.

Which writers inspire you?

Robert Heinlein is my biggest influence. I grew up reading the SF collection I inherited from my father. He had most of Heinlein’s work. After RAH, Lois Bujold is my favorite. She has a gift for making a new technology drive the character-based decisions that form the best stories.

What have you written?

The Torchship Trilogy focuses on the crew of a tramp freighter as a major war breaks out, examining the dangers of artificial intelligence, societal impacts of a permanent underclass, and slide-rules’ immunity to hacking.

The Lost War and The War Revealed tackle the questions “What would happen to historical reenactors flung into a fantasy world?” and “What would make orcs more scary?”

I’ve just released Storm Between the Stars, a space opera where an isolated outpost rejoins the rest of humanity to find it’s been taken over by an empire that has erased history.

There’s also ten short stories published in various anthologies and websites, and a few more rotating among slush piles.

What draws you to Superversive writing?

The desire to build on what’s come before. For all the complaining about imminent doom and massive problems we have much better lives than our ancestors did a century or a millennium ago. I want to be part of making something better.

What are you currently working on?

I’m editing the sequel to Storm Between the Stars, which is Book Two in the Fall of the Censor series. I’m also working on Book Three, which is currently a bunch of somewhat related scenes and a partial outline. When I’m blocked on that or am seized by inspiration I write short stories.

Do you read much and who are your favorite authors?

Lots. I have thousands of books in the house, now gathering dust as the Kindle app on my phone has won out with lighter weight and larger fonts. I’m pretty much always reading when sitting. As mentioned above Heinlein and Bujold are my favorites. Other writers I love are Ringo, Weber, Stephenson, Hoyt, Correia, Spencer, Williams, and Vinge. I’ve been enjoying my fellow indie authors such as Declan Finn, MCA Hogarth, Julie Frost, Hans Schantz, Jeff Duntemann, Rob Hobart, Travis Corcoran, Robert Kroese, JA Sutherland, and our humble interviewer. If I’m stressed I may take a break with one of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances.

Where can we find out more about you and your books?

I post releases at www.kelthavenpress.com . . . which is also copied to my Goodreads and Amazon pages. I also post links and the occasional snark on Twitter at @karlkgallagher.