Jon Frater is a multi‑faceted creative mind: an academic librarian by profession and a prolific science-fiction author by passion. His work spans several genres—from space opera and military sci-fi to darkly humorous thrillers.
In this interview, Jon Frater shares the inspiration behind Battle Ring Earth and Crisis of Command. He explains that both series stem from his long-standing love of science fiction and military strategy, heavily influenced by classic space operas and real-world geopolitical conflicts.
As both an academic librarian and a longtime gamer, you bring a unique blend of precision and play to your storytelling. How do research and RPG design inform each other in your creative process, and where do they most noticeably collide in your fiction?
I like to write from a framework that I understand, and RPG writing taught me how to build that type of environment. I need to know how things work before I put pen to paper—how the spaceships work, what the weapons will do, what kind of environment my characters will inhabit, the history, the politics, and so on. The reader should never need to know any of those things but to make the world-building worth their time, I must. And I hate writing myself into corners that I can’t write a path around. So, I write rules to help manage the mechanics. My current WIP is taking place in a setting created fully by my co-author, and part of the creative process is just figuring out what I’m allowed to do in her setting. She tells me that I raised some great questions that she needed to think about to answer (she even expanded her world bible!), so everyone goes through this process one way or another.
In both of your series, there’s a heavy focus on command structure, discipline, and the psychological toll of leadership. What drew you to explore that dynamic?
Leadership is often expressed in terms of service to others. In my experience a big part of service has more to do with the actual choices that are made under difficult circumstances than grand ideals. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers is a favorite of mine because it deep dives into the theory and practice of accountability. The Federation military works because every soldier is accountable to himself, his CO, and his fellow soldiers. “Everybody drops, and everybody fights.” And only those who survived that experience get to play a role as a leader when they return to civilian life, by way of their voting rights. Real life obviously doesn’t always work out that way. But that’s where the interesting stories come from…the failures.
You’ve written screenplays, audio fiction, and RPGs. How do those different storytelling modes shape the way you write novels? Are there habits or techniques you carry over from gaming or screenwriting into your prose?
I spent years learning how to write cinematically, and screenplays (and to a lesser extend radio plays) are all about imagery and pacing and emotional beats. I find that if I’m explaining too much, I’m probably not doing a good job of story-telling and I go back to re-think. An RPG is a little different because the players can do anything they want as long as they stay within the game rules. I use those standards to build the world around the characters, then figure out how to show the characters leveling up throughout the story.
Your military fiction doesn’t shy away from the moral gray zones—especially in moments of command failure or ethical compromise. Is that a theme you consciously set out to explore, or did it emerge naturally from the stories?
I try to keep the conflicts as organic as I can and manage the situations as the characters work their ways through the issues. But in the case of a civil war, or a lapse in judgment, or an ethical compromise for the sake of a quick resolution, there just aren’t that many ways to fight your way through the story. People fail in real life, so why shouldn’t they fail in fiction, too?
What’s a moment—either from Battle Ring Earth or Crisis of Command—where a character surprised you with a choice or reaction that you hadn’t initially planned for?
I was not prepared for Brooks and Binil to grate against each other as much as they did. I knew there would be this tension between them but wow, Brooks actually assaults her in Dominion, which I wasn’t ready for. I considered deleting that section for weeks, and I’m glad I didn’t. I realized it made the resolution between them in that much more satisfying. I hope readers share that opinion. Brooks, Binil, and Dance Reagan have a dynamic all their own.
Are there specific real-world battles, historical events, or military figures that inspired any of your main characters or plot arcs?
I’m kind of obsessed with the Battle of Midway. The U.S could have come out of that particular battle so much worse off if things had happened differently on either side. But history is often like that…luck plays a huge role in great events, and sometimes individual choices really can dictate the outcome of a grand conflict. I never let myself forget that.
For longtime fans, are there any cross-series Easter eggs, connections, or shared universe threads they should be watching for?
Hornet Squadron in its various incarnations will be a real binding factor on the turmoil running through the Sleer Empire and the Movi Kingdom. They have a way of pulling disparate events and characters together.
What can readers expect next? Are there any upcoming characters or conflicts you’re especially excited to unleash?
Brooks never really had the chance to deal with his father’s death, the Movi civil war is still unresolved, and the Skreesh are still on their way to Earth. I’ll be resolving all those threads in the next series.
Get Frater’s amazing series, Battle Ring Earth, available on Amazon
The ends justify the means…
Technical Specialist Simon Brooks was no soldier. More suited for the academy than combat, his assignment to a rear echelon support squadron seemed a good fit. Everything changed when the Sleer attacked Earth’s newly salvaged spacecraft, UEF Ascension. In a flash, Brooks goes from fleeing a burning transport plane to piloting a broken mech and learning the habits of a fighter pilot from Lt Sara Rosenski, the terror of Nightmare Squadron.
But his rising star takes a hit when he learns to talk to the Sleer AI, Genukh…and suddenly the UEF doesn’t know whose side he’s on.
Now Brooks and Rosenski are stuck aboard Earth’s Sleer weapon—the Battle Ring–and they may be all that stands between Earth and its induction into the Sleer Empire…
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