P.A. Vasey is a brilliant science fiction writer, whose work has resonated with readers since the first book in the ‘Trinity Trilogy’ dropped, so much so his books have consistently hit the bestseller list. His ability to weave stories that are compelling, plot driven and include intriguing characters has earned him a fierce readership that have devoured his books in epic time.
Why? It’s simple, the ‘Trinity Trilogy’ takes readers on a fast-paced journey in which humanity encounters an ancient alien species for the very first time. In the world Vasey created adventure is on full throttle – and high tech, drama and thrilling twists are the order of the day. If you are looking for a science fiction book that will take you out of your day-to-day life and infuse your world with adventure then the ‘Trinity Trilogy’ is the right match for you.
P.A. Vasey recently sat down with us so we could learn more about this talented author.
The ‘Trinity Trilogy’ has lit up the Science Fiction world and causing quite a stir among readers and reviewers. There are so many amazing scenes in your books, which scene is your favorite and why?
That’s not a fair question because I would need to put up a ‘spoiler alert’! However, if I think about the first book in the series, there are many scenes where Adam and Kate are on the run – on a kind of road trip – and getting to know each other. Given who Adam is (again, no spoiler here), I enjoyed the slow burn of revealing his origins, and his back history, to Kate. Their dialogue and interactions were always good to write. With respect to the ‘action’ scenes, I did enjoy writing about Adam’s superhuman abilities. Finally, there is one scene which transports the reader to a different galaxy, indicating where the second (and particularly the third) books will go.
You are both a bestselling author and an oncologist. How have the things you’ve learned as a doctor helped you in your writing career?
I guess I would say that cancer medicine is a discipline that rewards an evidence-based approach to problem solving, and a reliance on the scientific method. I went into academia after specializing in oncology, and being able to separate bogus from real results is a key skill you need to acquire. In writing science fiction the same applies to a degree. Writers in this genre are trying to make predictions about the future by using what we know about the world around us today. The future is of course predicated on what’s happened in the past, meaning that it’s important to learn from the past, from both our mistakes and our successes. In essence the Trinity Trilogy is concerned with the consequences of humanity’s past, and whether we can (or indeed, should) survive our mistakes.
You are gifted at creating compelling characters; do you have a favorite character in your book that resonates closest to you? If so which one is it, and why are they your favorite?
Thanks for saying that! I think Kate Morgan, the protagonist, is my favorite character. She’s a medical doctor and so I was able to base a lot of her knowledge and attitudes on my experience. Hopefully this added a realism to her background and the way in which she related to events as they unfolded. Also, the fact that she was female made me think about how I should best portray her emotions and motives from a feminine perspective. That doesn’t mean I wanted her to appear weaker or less effective – in fact just the opposite. Another reason why she’s my favorite is that I’ve always wanted to explore what ‘first contact’ would be like from the perspective of an individual. In this story, Kate is the key to everything that happens, and without her, the arc would have turned out very differently. Finally, I chose to write Kate not only as a mother of a daughter, but a bereaved mother. I tried to explore how I would have felt if one of my own daughters would have died at an early age from violence. How would this have molded Kate’s personality, her attitudes, plans for her future, etc.? And to add the incredible events she had to experience on top of that…
If one of your books was turned into a film, who would you like to see play Kate Morgan and Adam Benedict – and why?
Great question! I did find it important to visualize the characters as I wrote the scenes. Jessica Chastain was the look I was aiming for Kate Morgan, although at the beginning I couldn’t stop seeing her as Jennifer Lawrence, but perhaps that is because I was a huge fan of Jennifer! Adam Benedict was harder to visualize because he was very tall and while toned from being a professional athlete he wasn’t meant to look like an over muscled superhero. As the novel progressed I remember watching the remake of ‘The Man from Uncle’ and thought that Armie Hammer was close to what I was visualizing for this character. Given his recent personal issues, I’m not sure Armie’d be my choice to play Adam now, but visually he would be close.
If you could have anyone living or dead read your book and give you a review who would it be and why?
Could you send the book to Ted Sarandos, the Netflix co-CEO who’s also their Chief Content Officer?! I’m sure the Trinity Trilogy would make a great mini-series! In terms of my favourite authors, I would love Alastair Reynolds to read and [hopefully] enjoy the books. Of all the modern Sci-Fi giants, it was his ‘Revelation Space’ trilogy that reinvigorated my love of space opera, and drove me to write the arc of the Vu-Hak war starting Earth-bound and proceeding Space-ward in the course of the three books. Reynolds, being an astrophysicist, used to be a space scientist and then a full time writer, although for a time, like me, his two careers were running in parallel! Otherwise, and I guess it’s a cliché to say this, but my mother and father never lived to see me write books so their reviews would be nice. Although my mother, being a retired schoolteacher, would almost certainly be correcting my grammar and picking me up on the (occasional) profanity that sneaks in!
For more information about P.A. Vasey and the ‘Trinity Trilogy’ you can visit his website.