I'm excited to announce a new addition to the Cadicle Universe: S.M. Hillman!
"Null and Void" is a military sci-fi series is set in the Taran outer colonies during the years following the Bakzen War, where the war-ravaged region is beginning to rebuild. A team of Tararian Guard soldiers is tasked with the clean-up efforts, but they soon discover that new conflicts are surfacing, and nothing is nearly as straightforward as the Guard's leadership would have them believe.
About the first book
The war is won, but the conflict is far from over.
As the Bakzen War came to an end, the crew and soldiers of the TGS Void experienced the savagery of battle. It left a bitter taste in their mouths and holes in their ranks.
Caertha and Parsht are assigned to replace the fallen soldiers of the Void and barely have enough time to get settled before a new enemy appears. Unsure of themselves, the crew of the Void must work out their differences as a new insurgency rises and unseen consequences of the previous war begin to be felt. Consequences that could rip away their scars and rob them of more than just victory.
A brief chat with the author
Below is a brief Q&A so you can start getting to know S.M. Hillman and some of his interests.
When did you first develop an interest in writing?
I was ten years old when I developed an interest in writing. I wanted to write a murder mystery, believe it or not. A Terminal Case of Murder never made it past Chapter 4, but my detective was a very cool dude.
Do you have any books already published?
I do not have any published yet, but this year should see my first novella, currently titled Brass Hats, which is a Sword n Sorcery style novel. Epic sword & sorcery. My first short story was accepted into an Urban Fantasy anthology earlier this year. I have self-published some game works as well and am a freelance RPG writer and reviewer.
What attracted you to the Cadicle universe?
Well, the author of the Cadicle Universe is good people and has been a great guest at JordanCon for years now. The universe itself reminds me a great deal of Dune in some of the details. The main stories are engaging but the universe itself is so big, I thought there might be stories I could tell in it.
What are some of your other fandoms and interests, books or otherwise?
I enjoy speculative fiction of any kind, recently adding Urban Fantasy as something I am reading (and writing, apparently). I love history, especially Military History and this lead to an interest in Military SF.
I have been playing role-playing games for almost forty years now and am a part-time designer and freelance writer. I enjoy being a convention volunteer and am looking forward to submitting guest applications to appear as a guest in conventions of the future.
My top five favorite books (right now) are The Stand, Red Storm Rising, Starship Troopers, The Left Hand of Darkness, and Bloodchild & Other Stories. Honorable mention to Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August. I think all of these books are must reads.
Please join me in welcoming S.M. Hillman to the Cadicle Universe!