Scott Seldon

Biography

Scott Seldon lives in Colorado with his wife and family in a house brimming with old and new computers. He is a student of technology, history, anthropology, languages, and cosmology. Each separate direction of study has enriched his imagination, but he credits the creative output of George Lucas and Isaac Asimov for the direction it has taken. He turned his creativity to science fiction in his teens and has never looked back.

In his writing, Scott strives to create rich worlds and characters. Although his stories take place in the future, he often looks to the past to give his stories a solid background. He’s is more likely to watch Captain Blood than Star Wars to find inspiration on the feel of a story. He reads the latest titles by Jack McDevitt followed by C. L. Moore’s stories of Northwest Smith written decades ago with Les Miserables and the Princess of Mars next on his reading list.

Smashwords Interview

What motivated you to become an indie author?
I think authors have to be true to the stories that they are inspired to write. The stories in my head that wanted to come out don't match what agents or publishing houses are looking for right now. That doesn't really affect their marketability, just who is interested. By going it as an indie, I omit the agents and publishers and their attempts to find the next big thing. Instead, I market directly to readers. My Ven Zaran and Galactic Confederation stories are just the sort of thing I have always enjoyed reading - character driven science fiction like Brian Daley and A.C. Crispin's respective Han Solo Trilogies, C.L. Moore's Northwest Smith stories, Asimov's Foundation traders, etc. There is a market out there, it is all a matter of finding it. After I realized that my books that were getting good reviews from people who read them, but just weren't selling to agents or publishers (and figuring out why), going indie seemed natural. With the publishing industry in flux, this seems to be the best place to be.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest novel, Interlude of Pain, probably evolved out of several things. Tragedy changes us, sometimes for the better, some times for the worse. My protagonist, Ven Zaran, has a drug problem and people relying on him. What if one of the things he holds most dear, his family, is taken away? When tried like this, how will it reforge him? I had those questions in my mind and a note on his personal history that his wife died. I don't know why I wrote that. It was before I had even given him the drug problem. I felt it was something that shaped both him, and his descendants, so I kept it and used it. What resulted is a complex story of his personal journey as character driven science fiction.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Scott Seldon online

Books

One Corner of the Sky (Zaran Journals, Book 5)
Series: Zaran Journals · Galactic Confederation. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 115,150. Language: English. Published: November 15, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera, Fiction » Science fiction » General
Ven Zaran contracts for a cargo that takes him to one of the few non-Confederation worlds. It is a danger he thinks he is ready for, but his ship is seized and half his crew arrested on minor charges. With corruption at everwhere, Ven has to resort to more drastic measures to free his ship and crew. He’s fought gangsters, pirates, but taking on a corrupt planet might be more than he bargained for.
Dust Between Stars (Zaran Journals, Book 4)
Series: Zaran Journals · Galactic Confederation, Book 6. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 115,520. Language: English. Published: November 5, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera, Fiction » Science fiction » General
Ven Zaran is wanted for an act of piracy he did not commit. He knows it, but all the evidence points to him. He goes on the run with the best inspector in the galaxy on his heels only to have a ghost from his past find him. He has to balance keeping secrets from this person from his past with his search for the real pirates while staying ahead of the inspector.
Interlude of Pain (Zaran Journals, Book 3)
Series: Zaran Journals · Galactic Confederation, Book 5. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 113,280. Language: English. Published: November 23, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera
Ven Zaran’s career crumbles in the wake of a tragedy that takes the lives of his wife and daughter. Leaving his ship docked for an upgrade, he undertakes a journey to find healing. His path crosses that of a grieving young woman, now in search of her father. Ven joins her search, only to find that the journey to find her father may also lead to his own salvation.
Pirates of I'ab (Zaran Journals, Book 2)
Series: Zaran Journals · Galactic Confederation, Book 4. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 114,130. Language: English. Published: August 30, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera
Ven Zaran steps in to help a fellow intergalactic trader finish a contract only to become the target of pirates. As he loses cargo after cargo, he gets more and more creative in avoiding them, but it only serves to draw the pirate leader’s full attention. The only escape is for Ven to lay his own trap for the pirate leader, but it will have deadly consequences.
Not Past Redemption
Series: Galactic Confederation, Book 3. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 16,710. Language: English. Published: August 2, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » General, Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera
(4.50 from 2 reviews)
Fired from her last starship piloting job, Seriala’s career seems over. In desperation she signs on with Crazy Mags on a mission to recover the logs of a derelict starship. It seems easy until they encounter salvagers looking to recover the same ship. Seriala must use every piloting trick she knows if they are going to get the job done and succeed.
Well of Dreams (Zaran Journals, Book 1)
Series: Zaran Journals · Galactic Confederation, Book 2. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 113,790. Language: English. Published: March 11, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera, Fiction » Science fiction » General
Ven Zaran’s successful intergalactic trade business is cut short when a brush with a crime syndicate results in his family being kidnapped and Ven forced to work for the gangsters. Unable to rescue them and unaware he has friends working to do just that, he caves to an old drug addiction. But events conspire to bring a showdown that will cost someone their life.
Edge of Hyperspace
Series: Galactic Confederation, Book 1. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 97,360. Language: English. Published: January 31, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Space opera, Fiction » Science fiction » General
(4.00 from 1 review)
Set amid a galaxy spanning society comprising multiple species, this collection of stories sparks with the adventures of space traders, customs agents, and those they associate with. Meet veteran trader captains Tramp Darvon, Hazdon Brenker, and Alluren Beldaras; adventure with customs agents Stormus Rolfel and Jimmed Albanis; and meet Ven Zaran, pilot, captain, and war hero.

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