THE RUSH’S ECHO by Ginger Smith (COVER REVEAL AND INTERVIEW)
Today, we’re thrilled to welcome Ginger Smith back to the Hive.
She’s here to share with us the cover of her upcoming sequel to her debut sci-fi novel The Rush’s Edge, THE RUSH’S ECHO.
As ever, before we check out the cover and have a chat with Ginger, let’s find out more about the book:
TY, HAL, VIVI, AND BERYL JOIN THE OPPOSITION TO PUSH THE COALITION OUT OF THE EDGE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
In this sequel to The Rush’s Edge, the crew of the Loshad return from a lukewarm meeting with the Mudar to an Edge on the verge of war. A vat operative has used every genetically engineered talent and programmed skill she has to infiltrate the heart of the Opposition forces and disrupt their resistance to the Coalition.
In a desperate attempt to stop their enemies, Vivi must confront the specter of her past as the crew petitions the shadowy hacker group Echo to succeed. When the mission goes awry, and they are forced to leave a crewmember behind, the team wonders if their victory against the Coalition will come at all, and if so, at what cost?
Intrigued? Now let’s see that cover!
Cover design by Karen Deem of Deem Loureiro Incorporated
Welcome back to The Hive, Ginger! Firstly, tell us all about your exciting sequel, The Rush’s Echo. What can readers expect?
Hi! I’m thrilled to be back! The Rush’s Echo will complete the story from The Rush’s Edge. In the new book, we see the crew of the Loshad reach the Mudar, then return to an Edge of the verge of war. They become entwined with the conflict by going on a mission to infiltrate an ACAS base in the heart of the Spiral. To be successful, Vivi has to confront a face from her past; her abusive ex was involved in the hacker group Echo, and the Loshad’s crew need their skills to break into the base. (You can imagine Hal’s reaction to that!)
The mission doesn’t go to plan and someone gets left behind. I can’t go into any more than that because of spoilers…but I think it will be a fun ride, with all the space opera action that The Rush’s Edge contained.
Let’s discuss your characters! Did you find it easy progressing Halvor Cullen and Vivi Valjean’s story arcs in this sequel or were there any parts you found particularly tricky?
I think I always knew how it would go with Hal and Vivi. Their relationship started out in such an innocent way in The Rush’s Edge. Vats don’t understand being in a relationship; there’s nothing in their training that prepares them for it, so in essence it was Hal’s very first time building a romantic connection with someone. That’s what drew me to them from the very beginning. In this sequel, the challenge was to show how their relationship has matured.
They each have their own journey to go through, as well. I think in this novel, Hal has to confront what the ACAS did to him and the other vats in a very real way. I mean he always knew that their treatment was bad, but he’s forced to confront that in Echo and grapple with who he really is without the rush. He’s not a nat, but now, without the rush, he’s not quite a vat, so he’s really struggling to find out where he fits.
Vivi’s journey has always been from a wide-eyed insider to a confident Edger who can handle what comes her way. Her skills are tested, and this time, she’s forced to face one of her worst fears. I think how she comes through that completes her character development in a way that was very satisfying for me and hopefully for my readers as well.
Which of your side characters did you enjoy writing the most this time around?
Oh, that has to be Kat Neval. She is a new character, a vat who has been sent into the heart of the Al-Kimian Opposition with a mission – to infiltrate the higher ups and take them out. She has not been as lucky as Hal. Instead of having a supportive commanding officer to bring out her best, she is forced to serve under a sadistic commander who wants to distinguish himself in the ACAS by striking a blow against Al-Kimia. He has programmed her with all the skills she needs to be a successful assassin.
However, when Kat burrows her way into the Opposition ranks, she finds it’s not quite so simple. She’s swayed by their honourable cause and struggles against her programmed objectives.
How involved were you in the process of your cover design? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped the artist would portray?
Angry Robot really allowed me to have a say in the cover that became The Rush’s Edge. The first time I saw it, I was in love. I’ll always be thankful to them for being such a supportive publisher, so naturally, when it came time to design Echo’s cover, I wanted something that would honour and harmonise with the first. Karen Deem of Deem Loureiro Incorporated did an amazing job of creating a design that would integrate and look fabulous with the first book while also standing on its own.
And lastly, what’s next for you, Ginger?
I’m focused on traditionally publishing again. I’ve gotten two books completed since Echo, so I plan to be querying once more in the new year. One book is sort of a horror-themed supernatural novel that concerns a bookseller whose murdered boss thrusts her into a world of an new age cult leader intent on calling forth an ancient evil nature god to remake the world in its image. The other is an urban fantasy featuring a comic book store manager who goes to appraise a comic book collection and stumbles upon a magical item. It puts her in a dangerous place between two magicians who will do anything to possess it.
You can pre-order The Rush’s Echo HERE
Currently, only pre-orders of the ebook are available. The paperback version will be available on 1/10/23. This book will only be available from Amazon.