We’re celebrating the launch of CROOKED V.3 by spotlighting the authors who have contributed stories!
Peter got locked in a bookstore as a child and has been reading his way to freedom ever since. As a blue-collar sci-fi author, Peter tells gritty and personal stories that resonate with readers and provide much-needed escapism. Peter’s first tales developed from Dungeons & Dragons campaigns that went unplayed and watching Babylon 5 on repeat. After having several dozen short stories published through various publishers, Peter has decided to try longer forms. True to his Atlantic Canadian roots, many regional landmarks, businesses, and personalities are sprinkled within Peter’s works.
Website: peterjfoote.com
Tell us a bit about your story, “Second Breath”
“Second Breath” is the origin story of how Liam & Rosario first meet on Mars and the budding romance that grew from it. In my “Jupiter’s Eye” universe (forthcoming titles), humanity is confined within Sol system and under the thumb of the Mega-corps that dictate profits over people. Rosario is a Martian cop who is hunting down oxygen thieves, and Liam is the maintenance tech who is trying to help the refugees get to freedom before they’re sentenced to a short walk out an airlock.
What was the inspiration behind this story?
In my forthcoming books in this universe, I have Rosario & Liam already married and flying their ship Caissa throughout Sol system delivering packages and working to undermine the corporate tyrants who see humanity as an expendable resource. But like all great couples, Wash & Zoe from Firefly as an example, they all started out on a bumpy road. “Second Breath” is Liam & Rosario’s bumpy road!
If you could travel to any science fictional world, where would you go and what would you do?
I would probably go to John Scalzi’s universe of Old Man’s War and sign myself up for one of those superhuman cloned bodies, if for no other reason, so that I wouldn’t have as much knee pain!
What are some of your favorite sci-fi crime books or stories?
It’s thanks to Jessie’s Bulari Saga that I convinced myself that not all criminals are the “bad guys”, and that the shades of gray between what is illegal and right is quite broad. I’m also a fan of When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger, and Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan.
What authors have inspired your writing?
Well, that’s a loaded question if I’ve ever seen one! lol. Joking aside, I think every author I’ve had the privilege to read has inspired me in some way. That’s what’s so amazing about our books, each one is as unique as the author who wrote it, telling their stories from their own perspective of pain, love and loss. Each one has inspired me to dig deep with my own writing.
What are you working on next?
I’m currently plotting Encrypted Starpath (WIP title) which is book 1 of my Jupiter’s Eye series. In this book, we see Liam & Rosario having been married for several years and comfortably at home aboard their converted survey ship the Caissa, when they receive a plea from a scientist, who has knowledge that could upset the balance of power in Sol system. Pursued by the law, corporate assassins, and a criminal organization, Rosario & Liam have nothing but their unarmed ship, a glitchy AI sidekick and their devotion to each other to get them through the other side.
CROOKED V.3
