Andrew Beery is one of the most distinctive voices in science fiction today. A frequent Top 100 Amazon Sci-Fi author, he combines his expertise in technology, science, and theology to bring depth and authenticity to his work. With more than 25 years in IT research and development and as an ordained Presbyterian pastor, Dr. Beery offers a rare blend of analytical precision and spiritual insight in everything he writes.
In this interview, he discusses his creative process behind Exodus Earth, sharing his thoughts on writing, worldbuilding, and the balance between faith, technology, and the human experience.
Admiral Deborah Allen Riker—”Admiral Dare”—is a character who’s been forged in war and loss, yet still carries a strong moral compass. From exile and solitude to being thrust back into command, how has her journey in Exodus Earth challenged or surprised you as her creator?
Exodus Earth is the final saga in a story that has covered many centuries. Exodus Earth is the only part of the Saga published by Aethon. The complete series was written over the course of a decade and including Exodus Earth totals nine books. Exodus Earth was intended to wrap things up and close all the loose ends. That’s not where things ended up because as it turns out, I saved the best for last.
Over the course of the three trilogies all the main characters have been called Admiral Riker. In this final (?) trilogy in the series Admiral Riker (nicknamed DARe because of her initials) is unique in that she is the only who wasn’t an actual Admiral when we are introduced to her. The Admiral monicker was a jab at her more famous ancestors and in some ways a jealous acknowledgment by her detractors that she was a natural leader. She embraced the nickname reluctantly, not out of pride but because in doing so she took charge of her reputation rather than becoming a victim of it.
Like all the Rikers, she has a strong sense of right and wrong that defines the choices she makes. She also has a strong maternal instinct reflected in her emotional bonding with her AI and their shared love of soap operas.
What surprised me most as I was writing her was the witty, sometimes funny way she was self-depreciating — a reflection of her humility. She is a capable, even brilliant leader and yet she remains grounded. This is not how I intended to write her. I had thought to make her a broken person and evolve her self-appreciation over the course of the book. In the end, I simply was having too much fun writing her as she is to do that.
Many heroes embrace risk because they have nothing to lose. Dare takes risks because she has so much she refuses to lose. How did that dynamic shape her choices in Exodus Earth?
In my mind, Dare had an epiphany early in her life. When at last she went to the great beyond she wanted to do so acknowledging a seldom appreciated question about our lives. Will we regret more what we didn’t get or what we didn’t do? In some ways this is echoed in the famous saying, “The brave die but once. The coward dies a thousand deaths.”
Beyond that, her character development was meant to reflect my personal religious bias. I’m an ordained pastor with a doctorate in ministry. I recognize that many of my readers will never darken the door of a church. The reality is nothing I likely can say or write will ever change that. What I can do is share some of the values that are an integral part of my faith without browbeating my readers with my faith.
Dare’s willingness to embrace risk for the greater good is a reflection of that. Greater love hath no one but that they should lay down their live for another.
From individual duels to galaxy-spanning threats, the Exodus Earth universe is dangerous on every scale. How do you balance the intimate, character-driven moments with the large-scale military and political conflicts?
I don’t. They happen organically. My chapters are typically five pages long and deliberately end with some type of cliffhanger. Nothing pleases me more than having a reader gripe about not getting any sleep because they can’t put the book down. If I can piss off a reader doing that, I’ve been successful!
What this means is I have an opportunity every five pages or so to switch things up a little.
The other piece to all of this is my books tend to be a reflection of me. I often write from the first-person perspective because what I write is often reflection of the little voices in my own head. They say there’s medication for that now, but I like the conversations too much to want to put a stop to them. What can I say? I’m a glutton for self-amusement.
One of the hooks of the first book is the disappearance of one of humanity’s last great Arks. What drew you to make this mystery the entry point for the series?
I’ve always been intrigued by the “What really happened to… you fill-in the blank” question. The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Amelia Earhart, Flight MH370, D.B. Cooper and my personal favorite: Graham Cracker flavored Life cereal.
Get Beery’s amazing series, Exodus Earth, available on Amazon
Earth is a frozen wasteland… The victim of a war we hadn’t realized we were fighting.
Opportunities there are few and far between… that is unless you’re willing to put on a uniform. For ace-pilot Deborah Allen Riker (a.k.a “Admiral Dare”), life had never been easy. She’s defended Earth against countless enemies, both alien and human alike.
Now a civilian and academic living on the fringes of civilized space, she has committed herself to a life of solitude and studying a race of long-dead aliens. Everything was great… until she finds herself dragged into a new conflict. A conflict she never saw coming.
One of the great Arks built to carry the last vestiges of humanity into the deepest reaches of space goes missing. And she’s just the gal to find it.
Don’t miss the start of a Military Sci-Fi Series from Amazon Bestseller Andrew Beery. It’s perfect for fans of Rick Partlow, Christopher G. Nuttall, and Mark Wayne McGinnis.
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