Halo Scot the Brave
Hello!
The day I launched this website, I asked people for independent artist and author recommendations to feature and I am thrilled to say that I am blown away by the response I’ve received! Thank you to everyone who has reached out and please keep the recommendations coming! I do read every single inquiry and you will get a response back; I promise. I respond in the order in which they are received, so please, be patient with me. I’m a full-time mother that has recently been promoted to full-time teacher for the rest of the school year during this time of quarantine. This isn’t my job per say. I don’t get paid for any of this. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. This is a hobby that I love. This is my way to honor those who have helped me by paying it forward to indie artists of all kinds because we all depend on the kindness of others to succeed. I firmly believe every voice is worth listening to because we all have different paths, and different ways we experience the world. In order to understand others, it’s essential to build skills in empathy and reading is a tool to exercise our minds with. Writers don’t always receive the credit they so desperately deserve.
Which leads me to today’s topic—Meet Halo Scot! This person was the very first person who ever agreed to do an interview with me with no knowledge as to how this would turn out, because this is the very first interview I’ve ever done. It takes a certain amount of faith and trust to agree to do something like this, so I can’t thank you, Halo Scot, enough for volunteering as tribute. Seriously, no amount of words will ever convey how much I’ve appreciated your giant leap of faith, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your gracious and kind attitude made working with you that much more of a pleasure.
Living in isolation these last few weeks has given a lot of us the freedom of time to explore new things, try new things, or learn new things. This gift of time has been a life-changing growth for my family in particular. I’m not saying we’re untouched by all the suffering in the world (my own daughter is a severe asthmatic and this virus is very possibly life threatening and fills me with so much anxiety) but we carry on and keep our home as happy and peaceful as possible to keep this time as fun and memorable as much as we can without turning this into a childhood trauma. This moment in history will be the time our children refer back to when their future children complain about being bored. Anyway, while I’ve experimented with some questionable cocktails, I’ve also dabbled with delectable recipes, played hide and seek with the littles, and I had the opportunity to read more, though not nearly as much as I’d like to. Not like Halo Scot, who’s taken full advantage of the extra gift of solitude to actually read those books we buy and then forget about.
During our conversation, I learned that Scot is a web developer by day and that’s something to be truly grateful for. The privilege to work from home truly is a treasure when so many people are considered “nonessential.” We both hope you’re all hanging in there, Scot in particular, whose been crazy busy. When the whole world shuts down, web developers become such an important pillar in our society that many don’t recognize. As much as doctors and nurses need our love and support, so do our web developers. They’ve been working harder than ever and working longer hours, some with children at home that they’re responsible for educating. Everyone is working so hard and sacrificing so much to make our society function in different ways, ways many of us haven’t even considered. Halo Scot not only works to keep things on the web up and running, this multifaceted delight also entertains us with sci-fi fantasy, and you get to see a small fragment of that work on the cover of the book and at this website, which you should absolutely visit.
While keeping an attitude of gratitude, we can still grieve the loss of certain things. Scot is missing restaurants in general and who doesn’t? Honestly! The only thing worse than missing delicious well-prepared food are the friendships, another thing Scot and I have in common. Facetime, Whatsapp, and Zoom meetings are great alternatives, but nothing compares to the real experience of being with the people you love and care about the most. If I can’t see my friends, I’m at least happy to have made a new one. So, I asked my new friend, “What makes you stand out as a writer? What makes you stand out from all the rest?”
The response:
I am super shy and modest, so I don’t know how to answer this question! I guess I can say that it is raw, irreverent, and fairly rowdy…oh, and there’s an exorbitant amount of swearing LOL. If you like dark and raunchy, then I hope you would like my book.
I loved this response, because not only is it accurate, it reveals so much about the modest personality behind the pen. The chapters that I’ve read so far cut right to the point. Nothing was killed with excessive detail, yet the year is set in 7009! It’s so far into the future after we’ve almost completely annihilated the planet, but as you read it you can see it without the wordy details deterring from the storyline. For me, the wordy details usually keep me away from sci-fi, but in this case, I found myself reading more–even when my kids were pointing out their lack of dinner well passed their regular dinnertime. Everything is pretty much laid out there in this response. This book is not for the faint hearted and the protagonist does a lot of shady things. People have the ability to get down and dirty living through the main character and Kyder, the main character, doesn’t sugarcoat anything making this book so respectable and enjoyable.
With all this futuristic fantasy and radioactivity, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of fierce animals would appear later in this series, right?!? I was SO hoping for radioactive dinosaurs, but Scot assured me that this isn’t something you should hold your breath for. Scot explained that animals of that caliber can’t be done justice, so there’s no mention of them…dang it. Despite the lack of radioactive dinosaurs, the characters are thrilling enough. They’re all so dysfunctional, which again, makes the emotions hit close to home and makes this futuristic fantasy relatable. Nothing is more entertaining than the reality of raw emotion. With a protagonist like Kyder, hated by his own autistic mother, what else can you ask for in an emotionally crippling book? Even if you hate someone as seemingly sadistic as Kyder, you can’t help but wonder how he gets through from one chapter to the next. Sometimes you find yourself rooting for him, other times you wish someone would put him in his place (which sometimes happens).
All drama aside, one thing that I love to ask authors is who they hired to do their graphics. As if Halo Scot wasn’t talented enough, the book cover and graphics for the website were created by none other than the AUTHOR (like myself!#selfmade)!!! This multifaceted person is someone worth respecting, and taking the time to get to know through their writing. I have never been more curious, or captivated through someones writing. This is not my usual taste in literature but I loved everything about this, even the parts I didn’t agree with. It was thought provoking, action packed, and emotional. Honestly, I read the first four chapters because that’s what’s available on amazon for free, but I can’t wait to see how this story unfolds. Kyder is such a broken soul, but he’s also kind of an asshole, and that’s exactly what I love! Where is the line drawn between good and bad? Is Kyder justified in his experiences? I’m not sure… That’s the appeal!
I can’t wait to see what will happen beyond Edge of the Breach, as this is only the first book in the Rift Cycle. I want to believe that Kyder is someone worth believing in, but there’s another character worth rooting for, named Sira. Though, she seems curious as to what’s what, you can’t help but cheer for this young naive girl. There’s plenty of reasons to keep reading beyond the personal struggles of the characters. What happens with the rift, for example? I have so many questions that can only be answered by reading the whole thing and I can’t wait to find those answers!
Thank you again, Halo Scot, for taking the time to answer my questions. You’ve been so gracious and patient with everything and I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done. It’s been a joy to get to know you and I wish you all the best! Make your quarantine experience more thrilling by getting your copy of Edge of the Breach by clicking here. To learn more about Halo Scot, check out this interview!
Goodbye!