How would you describe the current world of Animus Proxy in one sentence?
The current world of Animus Proxy is one where corporations dominate, the human population declines, and synthetic replacements quietly fill the gap.
What are the major themes you’re expanding on now compared to the original novel?
One of the major things I want to do — both in the ancillary works and the continuing series — is to explore the world more broadly.
I would also like to introduce more light-hearted, fun elements where possible — maybe brighten things up a bit, introduce different locales, and touch on themes you might not usually see in traditional cyberpunk novels.
How is the transition from Shintoh to Halcyon in Animus Proxy: Halcyon impacting your world-building?
Halcyon will be a completely different work in terms of tone and style.
I intend to adopt a brighter, lighter approach to the environment — after all, it’s set in Miami, a tropical luxury location.
Some of the themes will reflect that — overall, I hope it will feel more like an adventure than a thriller or mystery.
What excites you most about the Miami/Halcyon setting?
Imagining the city of Miami in a cyberpunk future — with high technology and a really dense population — is one of those things that just lights me up.
Miami today is a center for architecture and style, and it’s trying to establish itself as a cosmopolitan world hub — alongside Paris, Dubai, New York City, and Tokyo.
I want to explore a future where that ambition fully succeeded — where experimental architecture scales to a whole city, a megalopolis built on artificial islands, stretching right out into the Atlantic off the Florida coast.
How is Halcyon different culturally and visually from Shintoh?
One of the largest differences between Shintoh and Halcyon will be cultural influence.
Miami’s culture is heavily shaped by Latin America — food, language, style — and that will show in Halcyon’s cyberpunk aesthetic.
It’ll have a Latin American flavor instead of the East Asian influence that permeates the main novel.
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Which characters from the original story are you bringing into Halcyon?
That remains to be determined.
So far, Halcyon has an entirely new slate of characters — but with recurring companies, themes, and structures from the original world.
One character who could appear — given how central she is — is Yse, who might feature in some way.
What are the biggest creative challenges you’re facing now?
Right now, time is the biggest constraint.
Balancing writing with everything else has been tough — I’ve been heavily involved in the Quantitative Management program for the past two years, which has consumed a lot of my time and energy and pulled me away from creative work.
What are you focusing on more in Halcyon — character arcs, world politics, AI evolution?
In Halcyon, the major focus will be the characters themselves and the world they live in.
It’s much more character-driven than the global-scale politics and AI evolution that framed the first book.
Will we get more backstory in Halcyon?
Yes.
My intention is to delve a lot more into backstory in Halcyon — to give readers a larger glimpse of the world, whether they’ve read the first book or not.
Because of Halcyon’s different structure and tone, I can allow for more experimentation, too — like including excerpts from online articles, letters, and news clips within the story.
Are you planning any major reveals in Halcyon that tie back to hidden clues from Animus Proxy?
Yes, absolutely.
There will be lots of hidden ties and reveals that connect Halcyon back to Animus Proxy.
I plan to weave the themes of the two books together very intricately.
💬 Thanks for following along as Animus Proxy expands into the future!
Which part of Halcyon are you most excited to see — the new city, the new characters, or the hidden connections to the original story? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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The future is just getting started.