Polaris Rising Discussion

Now that Polaris Rising has been out for a little bit, let’s talk about it! This is your chance to chat with fellow fans, post theories, and ask questions.

Do you have a burning question about something in the book? Ask it below and I’ll do my best to answer. I won’t spoil future books, so you may have to wait for your answer until the next book is out. And please be patient; I’m buried in work. I’ll post answers in batches rather than in real-time. :)

The comment thread will likely be full of spoilers. Avoid it if you haven’t read the book yet or aren’t done.

Once again, for those in the back: DANGER! SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS!

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Ok, discuss! :)

34 thoughts on “Polaris Rising Discussion”

  1. Hi- I really liked your book, what I read of it. Before I was halfway through the book all the pages started falling out to the point that I had to return it to Amazon, and am now afraid to order another one. I would suggest that you notify your publisher about that happening, and hopefully they can correct it in the future. I can’t be the only one this has happened to. I like your blog, it is similar to what Ilona Andrews does, and I am a big fan there. I also liked Queens Gambit, and am looking forward to future books from you. Just a point of information on Queens Gambit. You are charging a really high price for a novella of 156 pages. $7.99 is the cost of a full novel, and established authors like Ilona Andrews only charges from $2.99 to $4.99 for a novella. Good luck on your writing career. You really have a lot of talent.

    1. Oh, no, I’m so sorry you had trouble with PR! I’ll let my publisher know. I haven’t heard any other reports, so it might be a fluke, but I understand your hesitation.

      As for pricing, that’s a tricky thing. TQG is right at 40k words and many “full novels” are ~85k words, so costing half the price isn’t out of line.

      I can’t win a race to the bottom price-wise, because there are so many cheap and free options available, and I need to eat. But I also know that my readers need to eat, which is why I posted it for free first, and always encourage people to use their local libraries.

    2. As an update: I passed on your feedback to my publisher and they did a spot check of their current warehouse inventory and didn’t find any binding issues. I understand if you still don’t want to risk it. :)

  2. I can’t wait for Aurora Blazing and Bianca’s story!

    I’m also still so interested in Loch’s back story. Will we learn more about his past?

    *SPOILERSPOILER SPOILER*
    Also, knowing what we know about Loch’s strengths and abilities at the end of the book, how was he captured at the beginning?

    1. He was jumped by the entire merc squad. They got lucky in finding him and managed to subdue him with stunsticks and drugs, but they took a few casualties in the process.

      Edit: You’ll get a little more insight into Loch’s past in the future books. :) I’d like to do a novella at some point with more Loch and Ada, but we’ll see how the rest of the series shakes out.

  3. I’m just going to throw out that I’m guessing Ian was one of the guys from Loch’s unit! Can’t wait to read the next one to see if my theory is correct!

  4. I REALLY enjoyed this book and am already looking forward to the next one! Do you have a planned number of future books in this series? Will the next one(s) focus on other characters like Bianca and Ian (who, is perhaps another of the lost squadron??) or will Ada and Loch remain at the center?

    A question I had while reading is when Ada went to explore the pink goo facility, she left the guys with instructions to bring Polaris to her father if things went sideways. How would they be able to pilot it through deep-space without captain status? I was confused since Ada points out later that her Father’s scientists can’t take Polaris out far because they don’t have captain status.

    Thanks for the fun read!!

    1. Currently there are three books planned (because that’s what Voyager originally bought). I’d like to do a few more after that, but we’ll see how the winds of publishing blow. :) The future books will all be a different couple. Book two is Bianca and Ian, book three is under wraps for now.

      Ada made Loch and Rhys first officers without restrictions, which meant they could pilot (in case the captain had died, etc). She also made the scientists first officers, but she put a captain-level geofence on the ship that the first officers couldn’t override, so they had to stick close to Earth.

      1. Maybe the 3rd will be Scarlett and Benedict? I didn’t see any reference to him being married so that would be a reason to have introduced her. And flip the script a little bit with the merc/house male/female relationship.

        I also agree that Ian was in the Genesis project somehow. How fast he came up and took over and his acknowledgment of Loch when he was introduced.

        1. I am dying to tell Benedict’s story, but he’s too busy with the war for sexy times right now, so he has to wait until book four or five, if I’m lucky enough to get to write them. As for his heroine, you’ll just have to wait and see. :)

  5. So will each book focus on a new couple pairing?

    As why I’m not opposed to expanding my knowledge of characters in the verse, but I kinda of want more Loch too.

    @Leah – I’m with you, I suspect Ian was part of Loch’s unit too.

    1. Yep, each book is a new couple. I had originally been planning to continue the series with Ada and Loch, but the publisher wanted new couples each book (and I knew that before accepting the contract). Feel better soon!

  6. I love how well matched Ada and Loch are. At one point in the book each of them was a damsel or mister in distress with the other stepping up to save the one in trouble. I’m a huge fan of kick-ass heroines who hold their own and figure out how to get themselves or their loved ones out of danger. On the flip side, I love hero’s who appreciate, and want to be with strong women, and who can accept that sometimes they need help. Both Ada and Loch have these traits and reading their story unfold was just awesome!! Can’t wait to see how these two do in future. This is a great series and I can’t wait to read more of it.

  7. The galaxy is run by 3 families, and at the end it looks like war will break out between two of them, with the 3rd family either remaining neutral or aligning with one of the other two. Who were the super soldiers created to fight against? And how come the families were able to united to create (illegal) genetically modified humans, but the family bonds/threat of outsiders wasn’t strong enough for the sharing of the new spaceship drive?

    1. The current relationship between the three High Houses is less like family and more like competition. They have some interest in maintaining the status quo, but if one or two of the other High Houses fell, those remaining wouldn’t exactly weep while they were left in charge of everything.

      The soldiers were to be part of the RCDF which enforces the law and protects the Consortium (but mostly protects the High Houses from upstarts, rebels, etc). And, of course, each House had their own plans for the soldiers, too.

      The illegality is the reason the Houses worked together.

      If one House thought they could’ve created an army of super soldiers alone, they absolutely would’ve, but failure to maintain secrecy until that army was complete meant that not only would the public and other two Houses come after them, the RCDF would, too. The RCDF can field a much larger force than the private House armies.

      By being in it together, all three High Houses had a vested interest (RCDF protects the status quo) but also a vested interest in keeping it a secret because to expose one House was to expose them all.

      Faster FTL is not illegal and House Rockhurst isn’t breaking any laws, so they don’t have to worry about the RCDF coming after them. And because the RCDF stays out of inter-House conflict, they just have to quietly defeat House von Hasenberg on a trumped-up charge and nearly infinite wealth and power will be theirs.

      This sort of turned into a novel on its own, but I hope that helps clarify!

  8. Loved this book for so many reasons. But if I have one complaint it’s that the Rhys/Veronica pairing seemed …a little too quick and simple. I had trouble believing that a strong woman like Veronica, but especially a mother with responsibility for her son and her/his nanny, would leap into a romance like that.

    I also wanted just a little more about Lin. When they were in orbit scanning NAD Seven and Lin came onto the bridge, I was sure he was going to find something interesting about the planet. Maybe I was just channeling Wesley Crusher? I guess he’s a little young for that. Anyway, Lin and Imma seemed two dimensional, somewhere between plot device and accessories for Veronica, and I was left wanting more.

    Also, as one software engineer geek girl to another, I have to ask: was Ada named after Ada Lovelace?

    1. Rhys and Veronica are in the list of couples I would like to include in a future book. There are reasons for their actions, but PR was already far too long to include them. Not spoiling in case I do get to write them, but I know things seemed a bit too easy for them in PR. They weren’t, but Ada was too busy hieing off into danger to pick up on it.

      And, yes, Ada was named after Ada Lovelace. :)

      1. Yeah, that’s kinda what I thought- there was so much in this novel already it would’ve been hard to squeeze more subplot in. Loved it all the way through and am eagerly awaiting more. No pressure or anything ;)

        Re: Ada: YESSSS!!

  9. My question is how many of Loch’s unit will end up being female?

    I am wondering whether the series will track with Ada’s family or the members of Loch’s units.

    Polaris was good, consistent universe, no one so over-powered that fallibility became questionable, and your secondary characters had enough detail to be interesting. Thanks for a fun read!

  10. Aaah, I am super late to the party.
    I loved your book. The first chapters I already read as soon as you posted them here, so I skipped them this time around to get to the new bits faster. But now I can relax and go back for a leisurely reread. I have a feeling this is one of the books that holds up great for more than one read.

    Marcus and Ada had major chemistry from the get-go and I loved how you included lots of scences for fangirling. I nearly lost it a couple of times and laughed out loud (can get kinda awkward on a train ride :D ) – I just love how strong and competent your characters are in their respective field but still are vulnerable and believable.
    The ‘verse, consortium and high houses promise to be a very interesting basis for your future books and I am biting my nails waiting for Aurora Blazing to be released.*
    I saw above that there might be a novalla (YES!) in the future after you are done with the contracted books and I second some of the speculation from above.
    There are so many hints about the PR world that beg to be explored more deeply and make me wonder.
    Anyway, I think you got talent, so please (please, please) keep up the good work!

    *You have now officially been added to my little author countdown app so I am able to track when your book is sheduled to come out … down to the very last second. ;) Please feel honoured and not stalked

  11. I so enjoyed Polaris Rising in audiobook form that I sent it to a friend! I loved how the action grabbed me from the beginning and never seemed to let up. Looking forward to the next one.

    I do have a question though. Ada negotiated an agreement with her father to let them have her ship for a month only, but when she was banished from the planet she had to leave the ship. Will she be able to retrieve it eventually or will her father’s scientists be able to break the restrictions she set on the ship’s controls?

    thanks again for the fun read.

    1. Given enough time, her father’s scientists will get in. In the final negotiation she specifically gave herself recourse in the courts if her father breaks their contract and doesn’t turn over the ship at the end of the month.

      Either way, she won’t be able to retrieve it directly from Earth (at least not openly), but she could give one of her siblings her access codes and they could bring it to her.

      As for what actually happens, you’ll have to keep reading. :)

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