Interview with Author
E.M. Otero
1. When did you start writing?
When I was twenty or so. But didn't take it seriously until 2020, during the pandemic. I never stopped reading but I got really into it again, and I wanted sci-fi horror. Which there is a good amount of, but I also wanted Mecha. At the time, that didn't exist anywhere besides some self-published stories that read like a first draft. So that spawned my novel. Then I found that I really enjoy it, it broadened my writing into other forms of horror.
2. What was your journey towards becoming an author like?
I thought writing the book was going to be the hard part, but it wasn't. I settled on self-publishing, but wanted to make sure I didn't make the common mistake of publishing unedited work. So I saved and paid for editors, but also put it up chapter by chapter on Royal Road. I did end up getting some great feedback there, which helped me gain confidence, I also met Dan Shrader and he introduced me to Unveiling Nightmares.
My first ever published work, “Water mining,” was in their body horror anthology.
Since then, I have had other stories published in various areas, and have my novel plus two other novellas coming out through them.
3. What can you tell me about your latest book? (Feel free to include an excerpt.)
It is the culmination of everything I love. There are robots, monsters, cults, Lovecraftian entities, religious iconography, Reluctant protagonist and transhumanism.
Excerpt:
Lights flicked on as the group of three started walking up the corridor to the final gate. There were large fuel tanks on either side of the door after they walked through. Dan walked over to one, opened the cockpit and armed an explosive that was attached to one of the tanks. Laird noticed a series of explosives on both sides of the tunnels. A fall back plan to handle something so terrifying they didn’t want to risk it entering the Malebolge.
Don't. Run. Away. Those three words repeated in Laird’s mind over and over. His hands shook on the controls, and his leg bounced nervously. Don’t run away, don’t run away, don't run away.
"If I die, it's linked to me and it will blow. So if things start going to shit, make sure you get past the second door into the station. I would rather all three of us die, and render the exit impassable than let anything through. If that doesn’t work for whatever reason, a few shots at the tanks should have the same effect." Dan got back in the cockpit and the group started walking again silent except the thuds of large mechanical feet hitting the floor and echoing all around them.
"What happened to Steven?" The silence hung in the air like wet clothes. Laird regretted the question as soon as it left his mouth. It probably wasn't the right thing to ask just before they ventured to where he died, he thought.
“He vanished," Dan said thoughtfully. "Said something about lights and got too far and was just gone. No screams, no struggle. Nothing."
It sent a shiver down Laird’s spine. "How does that happen in a thirty foot death machine?"
"It was still there, the cockpit was open, no footprints in the snow or anything" Lee paused. "Just gone." His words lingered in Laird's mind.
We made it to the final steel gate, Dan turned a handle that was designed to be operated by a Combine. Motors hummed, locks and bolts clicked loudly.
"Where do you think these creatures came from? I never heard of this stuff before the cataclysm." Laird asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.
"Genetic weapons, I think, everyone hated the EUNF, wouldn't surprise me if one of the rebel groups, or another country created the monsters and let them loose." Dan said with confidence. “That’s not just a combat tactic but psychological warfare as well.”
"Pft what do you know, don't listen to this dumbass. When the asteroid hit, it had life on it, these creatures were on that asteroid and when it hit it seeded the planet with them." Lee responded.
Laird was comforted to see the return of their banter.
"Sure, how would they survive the impact when almost nothing else did." Dan replied with a lot of sarcasm.
The door opened slowly parting in the middle after the locks disengaged. The wind picked up and howled like an animal as the door opened. It was a wall of white, blinding, cold and unforgiving. White wispy tendrils of snow started to spread into the tunnel. Laird focused as they emerged and he felt his arms cling to the seat, his helmet linked to the head rest. Laird’s body was completely secure and then the monitors expanded and the cockpit melted away, until his body was one with the Combine and he felt himself standing there thirty feet tall.
"Shit, stay close, visibility is going to be damn near zero." Dan said as he raised the rifle the snow and wind whirled around us, it howled at our intrusion. The sound was eerie and reminded Laird of stories he heard of ghosts..
Laird followed him out with his rifle raised ready for anything, Lee followed behind. Laird’s Combine’s eyes glowed red for a moment sending out a lidar pulse to measure the surroundings. The snow was too thick and it mostly reflected back, not giving them much to work with. He felt his legs get heavy, he couldn’t move. No. I can't do that again. I can't freeze. I can’t run. He repeated the mantra to himself.
He took a step.
"I'll see if I can get a birds eye view on things." Laird said as he launched the aerial drone off the back of the Combine. Its small wings shot out and it took off with hiss of its propulsion out of sight. The aerial drone was capable of independent flight and Graham controlled it to leave Laird’s mind free of the additional chore. While the Zephyr is capable of transformable flight, the aerial drone has a small drive and sensors. The Sentinel Combines Dan and Lee piloted were strictly land combat, and while they can boost for short periods of time they are not capable of flight without an external flight unit.
The group swept the area with their rifles out ready. The snow was knee deep to the Combines which made walking slow and almost crippling. It clung to the legs making them heavier and cumbersome. Though this didn’t stick for long, the Combines emitted heat due to the miniature fusion reactor called the Icarus drive.
"See anything Graham?" Laird sent a laser signal burst up hoping to get through. Like his lidar, it was reflected and refracted in all directions. Then a thin cable shot down from the aerial drone and attached to his Combine’s shoulder.
"This direct connection is more reliable.” The situational awareness display appeared in Laird’s HUD. “ I am getting some heat signatures in the surrounding forest but it's hard to tell anything more. It does look like the storm will be blowing through soon." Laird relayed that info to the other two through laser communication. They had to stand close, for it to go through. Any further, the information would have been lost in the white out. Laird could almost feel the bite of the freezing wind, despite the chrysalism of being inside a climate controlled cockpit. Like a fetus protected in utero he was nestled warm and had the illusion of safety. He knew though that the feeling was dangerous, because of how inaccurate it was.
"I don't like this." Dan said and Lee grunted in agreement. They stood with their backs to the entrance, which would hardly be noticeable from any other angle. The gate was built right into a depression in the rocky hill. Laird bounced his focus from the surroundings to his SAD, where the thermal imaging was being fed. Everything else was a wall of white, and the only sounds were the moaning wind and the whirring of Lee's gatling gun barrel. He was ready to release a torrent of bullets in an instant.
The melted snow that made contact with the Combines started to freeze from the wind. It cracked and crumbled as they moved, if they didn’t move every so often to shake it off, a dangerous build up could occur. The sound of icy slush sliding off their machines at random intervals was nearly enough to get Laird to fire uncontrollably.
"What have you guys dealt with out here?" Laird asked, hoping to relieve the tension.
"All different types of creatures," Dan said, he shifted and a sheet of ice slid off the Combine and crashed to the ground.. “One time we saw a flier that was grounded, it was almost dead but huge..."
"That's why we think there are people out here, the thing was shot up," Lee said. "Never encountered any creature that used a gun."
The SAD began to light up, in the distance as they talked.
"Something is showing up about fifty feet away on your ten," Graham alerted Laird. He could see the small red dot start to grow bigger. He maintained contact communication with them both so they both saw it as he did. Before they had a moment to say anything, a large white mass of claws and fur launched from the snow drift.
4. What sort of methods do you use for book promotion?
Interviews, podcast, Facebook ads, and reaching out to authors to read the ARC
5. Where do you get your ideas for stories?
From everywhere; pictures I have taken, things I like, things I hate, things I find interesting. And of course, my own experiences in life.
A lot of my short stories deal with small towns, Feeling like an outcast, grief, and racism.
6. What are you working on right now?
Short stories, and marketing. I am sending stuff out to podcast, anthologies, and magazines. So far Creepy Pod, Mobius Blvd, Eeriecast, and Morbid Forest.
I will be pushing my novel, The Howling Between Worlds, which comes out August 29.
7. Any advice for other authors?
Don't give up, research publishers and editors; there are a lot of scams. Edit, edit, edit. I hate it, but it needs to be done.
ABOUT E.M.:
E.M. Otero is a Puerto Rican author and lover of all things weird. When he isn’t writing, he is busy being a husband and father.
While working outside or hiking, he loves to take pictures of plants, insects, and anything else he finds interesting or strange. He loves showing his daughter and wife the curious things in nature.
His writing is inspired by our weird world, robot anime, horror stories, and science.
My Socials:
