And really, who can relate to that person who never has anything go wrong or faces brutal realities? As for craft techniques-again, that ruthlessness is vital: avoid wordy dissertations on life and go for the Cliff’s Notes of facts for action scenes, say it with me, “Fragments are our friends.” and last, treat backstory like a good spice that’s best consumed in light, flavorful applications. If life is going to pummel me, I’m not going to go easy on my characters. Don’t bubble-wrap them! Let life hit them, and hard. *cue evil laugh* Suspense and depth comes out of not protecting my characters. RK: Keyword that pretty much answers both questions-ruthlessness. SP: Wow, sounds exciting! How do you manage to make your books so suspenseful and deep? What craft techniques would you recommend to other writers wanting to make their books more fast-paced?

I’ve always dubbed it Firefly meets Dune … and warned people that while this series falls solidly into the Science Fiction genre, it’s a Space opera, light on science (Ronie doesn’t “science” and liberal with the melodrama and romance for an epic adventure across Quadrants. RK: I’ve spent the last dozen years writing to my brand-Rapid-Fire Fiction-but I finally found a publishing home for my much-beloved series, The Droseran Saga. Word on the street is you’re an incredible writer and your books have mind-blowing twists! Tell us all a little bit about your series.

SP: Hi Ronie! We’re so excited to have you here on the Spinning Pen! We’ve heard in the YA sphere everyone loves your Droseran saga.

Shadow of honor ronie kendig