BALTIMORE - Marylandian -- Originally published by @Kindle_Library on Instagram and at christianhurst.substack.com.

@Kindle_Library: Lily Starling's story feels deeply personal. Which aspects of your own journey inspired her character the most?

Hurst: I grew up in a very religious environment where I never quite fit in—not in a rebellious way, just in the sense that I always felt like an outsider looking in. And I'm not resentful of that. In fact, I'm proud of being a misfit. But that feeling of being different can be incredibly isolating. It sticks with you. It's lonely.

I wanted Lily Starling to speak to anyone who's ever felt that way—especially younger people. The loneliness doesn't last forever. There is a place for you. There are people who will understand you. That message was really important for me to thread into her journey.

@Kindle_Library: You mention being a lifelong Star Trek fan. How did that influence the world-building and themes in Lily Starling and the Voyage of the Salamander?

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Hurst: Star Trek baked into my DNA at this point. I've been a fan my whole life. It's one of the franchises that practically reinvented the genre. It's definitely a big influence on Lily Starling—a futuristic fleet and a diverse crew trying to navigate ethical dilemmas in space.

I try to keep it original beyond that. But, what I do borrow is the idea that sci-fi gives you permission to tell morality plays dressed up as space adventures. One chapter can be a mystery, the next an action piece, there's room for romance, comedy, and a little silliness. Space opera lets you stretch all those muscles. If you think about it, my story, like a lot of space opera, isn't really about space at all. It's character driven. Space is a setting that allows all these fantastical stories to happen.

@Kindle_Library: Identity and belonging are central themes in your novel. Why were these ideas so important for you to explore through science fiction?

Hurst: Because identity is messy. It's not a one-and-done discovery—it's defining yourself, letting go of the past, trying to figure out who you are in a world that keeps telling you who you should be. Especially if you've spent your life feeling like an outsider… (Continued)

Full Interview:
https://open.substack.com/pub/christianhurst/p/interview-with-kindle_library

More Information:
https://www.churstpublishing.com