Hey all, and thanks for coming by to spend some time with us! Today on Genre Talk here on The Novel Approach Reviews, we’ve got DSP Publications author Aidan Wayne who’s brought along their spanking-new Science Fiction release, Rule of Thirds. So, let’s have a peek at what we have to look forward to.
A traumatic past doesn’t have to mean not having a future.
When Jason Diovardi, military elite, is removed from active duty after failing too many psych evals, he has only one goal in mind: get back into the field. It’s all he knows and all he thinks he’s good for, which is why he grudgingly accepts two live-in AI Companions to help him begin to recover from his severe PTSD. Chase and Shade are a matched pair, and Jason hopes they’ll keep each other distracted enough to leave him alone so he can go through the motions and be cleared for fieldwork.
Jason doesn’t expect to actually get better, and the progress he makes with his patient and caring Companions sneaks up on him—and so do unexpected feelings between the three of them. Now Jason might even be able to admit to being happy. But has he healed enough to allow himself to accept what Chase and Shade are offering?
Hope. Love. A reason to live.
Where to buy Rule of Thirds: DSP Publications, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes
Carole: So, AI. Intriguing! And a respected staple of sci-fi. So give us an idea of how Rule of Thirds fits with the genre.
Aidan: I would call it “soft sci-fi.” It’s a fairly contemporary novel but there are science fiction elements–primarily the fact that artificial intelligence technology has reached the point where AI (now classified as ‘Acting Individuals’) are common in society. I grew up with (and greatly enjoy) a lot of media with this element and wanted to try my hand at it.
Carole: Well, no one better to write geek stuff than a lifelong geek. ;) So tell us more about Rule of Thirds. What do you want us to know we might not get from the blurb?
Aidan: Rule of Thirds, above all else, is about a person recovering from PTSD. Most importantly (in my opinion), it’s less about the suffering and more about the healing of said suffering. Jason (human) and Shade (AI) both have trauma they will always have to battle. But with time and care and patience, that trauma doesn’t have to rule their lives.
Carole: You’re dealing with not only a nonheteronormative relationship in this, but also someone with emotional issues, so just from the description we can see it’s fairly diverse. Tell us more about how you define “diversity” in your writing, and how you explored it in this book.
Aidan: For me, diversity is representation of individuals who don’t get enough media time. That means characters who are nonheteronormative, neurodivergent, disabled, racially and religiously diverse. And (this is important) I want to write positive stories. I’ve personally had enough of the aroace person ending up alone instead of surrounded by friends or the wheelchair user bemoaning her wheels instead of celebrating her independence.
In Rule of Thirds, Jason is a man with PTSD. In this particular book, I really wanted to represent a type of psychological trauma and how that can still result in a positive outlook even though that trauma will never really go “away.” He also happens to be queer, and this aspect is explored too. He’s multi-faceted. People tend to be.
Carole: At least the interesting ones. :) So, Rule of Thirdsis being published through DSP Publications, Dreamspinner Press’s imprint for genre novels that don’t necessarily focus on or even contain romance. Tell us about the relationship in Rule of Thirds and why it doesn’t fit the accepted definition of Romance in the M/M genre.
Aidan: Well, Rule of Thirds does contain the evolution of a romantic relationship between Jason, Chase, and Shade, the three main characters, but that is just a piece of Jason’s story. Jason starts out completely distanced from society and other people—living for missions where he can be “useful” and barely leaving his apartment during his downtime. Through stops, starts, and a lot of hard work, he begins to be able to open up again, and this allows him to feel comfortable enough to enter into a relationship. The overall story is about the recovery—though romance is a part of that (along with, of course, a happy ending). I’d be very interested to know what readers thought of it in terms of genre.
Carole: While this is your first published sci-fi, it’s not your first publication—you’ve been putting out books for a few years now. How has your writing changed since you published your first book?
Aidan: My writing has changed so much since I published my first book. Since I published my most recent book! I am always growing and learning, and hope I will continue to do so, especially since I write a lot of minority characters. I definitely am more careful in how I write. Looking back on my first book ever, I did not do a very good job representing a culture, even if it was a fictional one. I don’t want a repeat performance of that. In a purely cosmetic sense, I’ve learned to edit down different types of punctuations and to keep a very critical eye on how often I use “that” and “just.” And, well, my novella Loud and Clear, which was my second ever published book—I love it a lot but oh man, is there an overuse of italics. So many italics.
Carole: What goes into naming characters? Do the names have significance?
Aidan: This is probably going to sound really silly, but I sometimes get stuck on letters. I was in a ‘J’ stage when I was writing Rule of Thirds. I have two other published books where an MC has a ‘J’ name, as well as at least one WIP. I’m currently struggling with a ‘P’ pattern.
That being said, if I’m representing a POC or other minority, I try my best to give them a name that reflects that. My Jewish characters are Naomi, or Shira, or Reuven. My Indian characters are Urvash or Ojal. Names are often the first introduction a reader gets to a character and they help paint a picture too, so I feel this is important.
I also might have, at one point, written a story about a male mermaid named Douglas because ‘dug’ means ‘fish’ in Hebrew, but that’s because I’m a total loser.
Carole: OMG, that’s so awesome and not loserish at all! I love it! Thanks so much for being here with us today, Aidan. I had so much fun, and I hope you did too.
And thank you, Awesome Readers. We hope you had as much fun as we did. Aidan’s buy links are below, but before you scroll away, please enjoy the following excerpt from Rule of Thirds.
EXCERPT
Jason was on his one hundred and seventeenth push-up, and he was pretty sure he was freaking out. He had strangers in his home, and while he wasn’t worried about them stealing anything, he had strangers in his home. The only people he ever allowed in were people he trained, and those were already agency approved.
But Chase and Shade were agency approved too. So they weren’t a threat.
But they were also civilians. And easily damaged, even if androids could be repaired slightly easier than humans could. If Jason had an episode, or a flashback, or god forbid they tried to touch him and he wasn’t expecting it…. And that was the problem, wasn’t it? His touch aversion was making him too twitchy in his downtime. He could work fine, but he wasn’t—safe outside of it. That was the whole point of a Companion, according to his job.
Two of them, which probably wasn’t approved, especially not Shade, who was obviously recovering from a forced Hound protocol, and that added another variable that Jason had to worry about, possibly overstepping or saying the wrong thing, triggering something. He stopped, breathed, managed another eleven push-ups. Kept going until he hit one-fifty. Fell onto his stomach, then rolled onto his back. Leg lifts next. Keep his body busy, help his mind settle. He’d save the bag for later, when they’d powered down for the night maybe. It wasn’t like he’d be sleeping much.
But he had to show his face, at least try for his brand of normal. Let Chase try to do his job, hopefully have him see that there was nothing he could do. With luck they’d both stay but leave him alone until this whole Companion thing blew over. A couple of AI roommates. That was all. Probably they’d be neat, at least. Not that the barracks weren’t.
He did leg lifts until his muscles gave out on him, then dragged himself into the attached bathroom to shower. The mat room had been the apartment’s master bedroom, and converting it had been the best decision Jason had ever made.
He’d shower, emerge slightly more human, and at least his reflexes would be slower now that he’d exhausted himself (ha, not with adrenaline, not with fight-or-die engraved into his brain). He’d tried, anyway.
Jason shed his clothes and turned on the hot water, stepping into the shower. He knew he was a danger to others. That’s why he didn’t interact with others. But he’d try his best, if only so he could say he did. He just needed to get put on active duty again. A mission meant stress and pain and fear, but at least it also meant busy. Occupied.
Useful.
About the Author
Aidan Wayne has been a jeweler, paralegal, neurofeedback technician, and martial arts instructor, and that’s not even the whole list. They’ve been in constant motion since before they were born (pity Aidan’s mom)—and being born didn’t change anything. When not moving, Aidan is usually writing, so things tend to balance out. They primarily write character-driven stories with happy endings, because, dammit, queer people deserve happy endings too.
Aidan lives with altogether too many houseplants on the seventh floor of an apartment building. The building has an elevator, but Aidan refuses to acknowledge its existence.
Aidan Wayne: Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Where to buy Rule of Thirds: DSP Publications, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes
That’s it for us this week. Thanks for joining us, everyone! If you’d like to keep tabs on Genre Talk and never miss a post, hop on over and like our Facebook page, join our Facebook group, and check out our web page.
On behalf of me and Co-pilot Extraordinaire Elizabeth Noble, thanks for spending some time with us, and have a great week!
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