Author Interview: Andrew Dobell

I have had an opportunity to interview Andrew Dobell, author of THE NEW PROMETHEUS cyberpunk adventure series. It is a series that I've personally read and enjoyed as well as an excellent example of indie authors marketing themselves. Here's what he had to say to our questions here at Epic Indie.

What is the premise of THE NEW PROMETHEUS?

Hi Charles. Thanks for having me. The premise of The New Prometheus can be boiled down to this. In the lawless undercity, woman is shot by a cyber gang and left for dead. But she’s saved by a back alley cyber doc who transplants her brain into a cyborg body. When she wakes up in his lab, it’s attacked by Corporation forces who were hunting the fugitive doctor. He’s captured, but Frankie escapes and goes on the run. We then follow her as she run, and decides what to do as a wanted woman.

What separates TNP from other cyberpunk fiction?

TNP was created as a homage to the cyberpunk movies and fiction that I love, and I created it to intentionally include all the things I loved about Cyberpunk. The mega-cities, the corporations, the rampant capitalism, the cybernetics and future tech, hacking, mechs, androids, VR etc etc. So, I guess you could say, that, what separates it from some cyberpunk fiction is that it doesn’t try to mess with the formula. It dives head first into the formula, and revels in it. Also, it’s action packed, especially book one which is basically one long chase.

What can you tell us about Frankie?

Frankie was my homage to Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. I wanted the main character to be almost entirely cybernetic, apart from her brain, so I could explore that common cyberpunk trope of, what it means to be human, and because I thought it was cool. Also, fun fact, her name, and the name of the first book and series, is a homage to Frankenstein, which has the subtitle of The Modern Prometheus.

Who are your favorite secondary characters from the series?

I have several. The Doctor, Xenox, is cool. I like the mystery that surrounds him in the first few books, mainly around, why he did what he did. Hellion is also a favorite.

What sort of antagonists do they face?

The main antagonist is a corporation known as Psytech, Doctor Xenox’s former employer. He was their top cyber doc, and he ran with valuable tech and knowledge, which he used to create Frankie’s new body. And that’s why she’s a wanted woman. Psytech is your typical faceless, uncaring mega corp, a monolithic enemy that might be impossible to truly defeat… maybe…

What makes a book cyberpunk in your opinion?

Aaaah, this thorny question. Everyone has an opinion about this, but for me, Cyberpunk is basically Blade Runner or Ghost in the shell. A near future dystopia, on earth, with advanced cybernetics that are used by most people. Oh, and hacking.   😊  

How have your experiences as an indie author been?

Positive. I love the control I have over my books, and I love interacting with the indie author community and how friendly and helpful everyone is. It’s very much a community.

What sort of advice do you have as an indie author for those hoping to get into it?

Just do it. Write, write, and write some more. Write every day, and publish something. Just dive in and do it.

How has response been for THE NEW PROMETHEUS?

I originally released the series back in 2017, and it was a bestseller. The response was amazing. I’ve been through some revisions, and has been republished a couple of times, but only because when I read back through my old stuff, I always find stuff I could do better now. But I love these books, and I’m very grateful that other seems to have enjoyed them too.

What can we expect from you in the future?

Well, book 5 of the series releases in February, and I plan on writing at least one more in this series. I also have an Urban Fantasy Universe that I have several series set in, and I’m writing more stuff in that too.

You can find out more about my work at my website, www.andrewdobellauthor.com.

Thank you.