Interview with Nathaniel Koszer, author of scifi biotech novel Latency
Sera is a LO-EC, a human who gained superpowers as an unintended side effect of a biotechnological breakthrough. Her unique abilities allowed her to survive while others like her, including her parents, were exterminated by a world government fearful of their potential.
After decades of hiding, she meets Naren, another superpowered survivor who has infiltrated the ranks of the military. Together, they form a plan to unite with other surviving LO-ECs, claim vengeance against the forces who murdered their families, and ultimately stoke a worldwide rebellion against the government that wanted them dead.
The entirety of 26th century Earth’s armed forces stand in their way: Soldiers equipped with terrifying weaponry, armies with electromagnetic cannons, merciless bloodthirsty androids, and Spidre, the World Leader with unnatural abilities of his own. The world brought Sera and the other LO-ECs pain and loss, and they’re determined to return it in kind.
Excerpt from Latency
In the basement of a skyscraper hundreds of stories high, a constant shaking and groaning accompanied the cacophony of breaking glass and falling bricks from the street above. A man and a woman had spent the night here, fearing those sounds meant their building was on the verge of collapse. Finally, the sun rose and the sounds gave way to stillness. The death of the noises gave life to new fears, in that now the man and woman had to take action.
“Are there any sort of supplies on the cycles?” the man asked. He was bleary-eyed, his face was flush, and even the simple task of standing up seemed to be a struggle.
“I doubt it,” the woman replied, her expression as beleaguered as his. “And you’re sure there was nothing in these boxes?” she continued, glancing around the small storage room.
The man shook his head. “Just lots of cleaning supplies. And we can’t risk going back upstairs,” he replied. “I can’t even hear the big one lumbering around, that has to mean they’re searching another building. We need to move now. We’ll worry about supplies after we get out of New Orleans, and after it feels safe.”
The woman nodded and walked over to one smaller pile of boxes. She pulled them away and the room lit up in an orange glow. The boxes had been covering a young girl, no more than six years old, whose skin had trails of orange light swirling across her arms, legs, and face.
“We need to leave, sweetie. We’re going to find our cycles in the garage, Ok?”
The little girl nodded.
“Do you remember that woman? Alison?” she asked the girl. “Do you remember where she and her friends live?”
The little girl nodded slowly, while the man’s face furrowed with skepticism.
“If anything happens to us, you go straight to her. Do you understand?”
“She can’t go to them!” the man exclaimed in an elevated whisper. “They’re a bunch of fanatics!”
“They are, but they will keep her safe!” the woman responded
Interview with Nathaniel Koszer
-What inspired you to become a writer?
As a lifetime consumer of science-fiction, there were ideas and directions I noticed that were never picked up by the universes that inspired them. I eventually got so frustrated with those story ideas never being used that I wrote them instead.
-If you could visit your book’s world for a day, what’s one thing would you do?
Ask one of the characters who can fly for a quick joyride. Of the various superpowers that characters in my book have, the power of flight is the one I am most jealous of. I’d love get taken for a spin!
-It’s two in the morning. What does your protagonist reveal in confidence? (Don’t worry, we won’t tell.)
Latency has six protagonists, so this answer could get a bit convoluted. The most introverted of the six characters is Victor, who spent most of his life alone hiding in the forest. At two in the morning, when his emotional defenses are down, he would probably reveal that his favorite person and best friend is Sera, the de-facto main character of the story. She has a much more bubbly personality with very high empathy, and helps Victor process his feelings in crucial situations.
-Which of your characters would you go out for drinks with?
About midway through the book, readers will meet a character named May. She is sweet, fun, and intensely smart, a great drinking companion. She also happens to be named after my wife, my in-real-life favorite drinking partner.
-You’re in a tavern, and a dwarf challenges you to a duel. What do you do?
Probably offer to buy him a round of drinks and some appetizers instead. I write badass powerful superheroes precisely because I am not a fighter myself. I’d much rather party with a dwarf than fight one.
-Is there a genre you could never write? Which and why?
I am amazed by romance writer’s consistent and widespread ability to write character driven storylines and paint such deep emotional pictures with their words. I don’t know that will ever have the writing chops to focus only on characters and their interactions and relatively little plot.
About Nathaniel Koszer
Nate grew up in Brooklyn NY, but now calls the Bronx home along with his wife and their sons. Nate grew up on all things sci-fi. Partly due to his chronic illness, Nate always had a special place in his heart for the X-Men, and especially the invulnerable Wolverine. This was heavy inspiration for his first novel, Latency a superhero sci-fi story to be released March 5, 2024.
Giveaway
Nathaniel Koszer will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
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Thank you so much for hosting and featuring today’s author.
This looks like a good read. Thanks for hosting this tour.
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Sounds really good. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds like an interesting read.