Core Miner was born out of pure escapism.
While struggling to wrap up Society Risen and feeling creatively drained after five books of Heroes of the Realm — a series I still love — I hit a plateau. I didn’t know where I was going next. I didn’t know what I wanted to say. But somehow, without even planning for it, I found myself halfway through a brand new story.
This book reignited my passion for writing.
It might only be the first in a new series, but writing Core Miner has been the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I never felt stuck, never tired. I just wanted to keep going, to see what Rovik Miller would do next, what corners of the city he’d uncover, and what choices he’d be forced to make.
Unlike Heroes of the Realm, which started more organically and became a series later, Core Miner was built from the beginning to be a long-form saga. I poured more into the worldbuilding here than I ever have before. It’s not Tolkien-level, but for me, it’s the deepest, richest setting I’ve created so far.
As for my favorite chapter?
It has to be the sparring session. I’ve been watching a lot of MMA lately, and I really wanted to capture that energy — that technical, grounded brutality — and translate it into a fight scene that felt sharp and real.