My name is Miller Brinkman and I am—or rather, I was—a private investigator. That message was recovered in March of 1948, from a former top-secret area known as Location 2208-C. Two years have since passed, but part of me is forever stuck in that case, analyzing my actions and second-guessing myself. Could I have done anything differently to change the outcome?
Jane Emmett’s story began in Ashley Falls and ended some four thousand miles away.
-- David Hulegaard, Icarus
For those who like their noir with a dash of sci-fi, you are in luck: David Hulegaard has published his Noble Trilogy. Think Sam Spade meets the Men in Black. High-octane with a lot of heart, this genre-blending series delivers on both mystery and thrills, and it all starts with Icarus. Comparisons include Philip K. Dick and Stranger Things.
Be still my heart.
Check out David's website here, because The Noble Trilogy is not his only rodeo. He has not one, but two podcasts, one where he interviews authors (hey, just like me!) and the newly launched Nerdz of a Feather, where he and his wife discuss all things pop culture. He has also written a book with Tony Healey, a YA space opera, Planet of Ice, in the Broken Stars series.
Can't keep up with him? Whew, join the club! But we can try: here's David's Facebook page, Twitter handle, and Instagram. And if you're interested in the Oregon Ghost Conference he mentioned, next one up is in March 2018.
As always, if you'd rather read than listen, the transcript is below. Enjoy!
-- Laura
Transcript of Interview with David Hulegaard
Laura Brennan: My guest today is an genre-bending author who blends classic noir with science fiction and a healthy dose of the paranormal. In his Noble Trilogy, David Hulegaard pits a small town private eye against a powerful and corrupt former mentor -- and an even more powerful mastermind, with humanity’s future in the balance.
David, thank you for joining me.
David Hulegaard: Thank you so much for having me.
LB: So, The Noble Trilogy is your first foray into fiction writing?
DH: Yes. I began the project about six years ago. It took me many, many years to finally get it completed. But this was my year. I determined it had waited long enough, I was going to get it done one way or another.
LB: It's not just the year for your first novel, you've actually published the entire trilogy this year.
DH: Yes. I've been working on them in kind of bits and pieces, here and there, wherever I could find time and it really had been my goal for a long time to dedicate more time exclusively to writing. And after some changes last year, I made some much-needed changes to my schedule so that I could free up that time to write, and I got very serious about publishing it, I want to say it was August of last year. And I really was just working on this trilogy nonstop for months and months. And then I would get one of them out the door and immediately pick up where I left off on the next one. Until finally I had all three completed.
LB: Did you work them out together?
DH: Yes. When I first started, I didn't know it was going to be a trilogy. I really thought maybe I had one story, and then I already had my next book idea lined up. It wasn't until a friend of mine who was doing some beta reading for me on the first book, Icarus, he came back to me with a bunch of questions. And they weren't the kind of questions I expected to get. You know, sometimes you figure people will have questions about what happened in the story, or maybe just something didn't quite work the way I had planned, but it was questions about what happened next. That surprised me, and when he started asking me these questions, then I started thinking about what happens next. And from there it opened up this whole treasure trove of ideas of things that I hadn't really considered to where it ...