Welcome to A Guest at the Armchair, where we pull up a second chair for an author we admire and talk about one of their books. This time the signal’s coming through from A.M. Scott, beaming in to tell us about herself and Lightwave: Nexus Station.
Greetings, Gentle Beings!
I’m AM Scott, author of the Folding Space Universe (start with Lightwave: Clocker) sci-fi series and urban fantasy. Many thanks to Jeannette and Rene for giving me a seat in this very comfortable armchair.
I’ve been a voracious reader since third grade, when my Dad introduced me to sci-fi and fantasy by Robert Heinlein, Andre Norton, EE “Doc” Smith, Anne McCaffrey, and many others. I was one of those kids who’d rather read a book than do just about anything else, and I’ve been devouring books ever since.
Becoming a writer, though, never crossed my mind. After graduating college, I became a US Air Force Space Operations Officer and served for 20 years. I “flew” GPS satellites, tracked all the junk in space, ran an experimental missile program and the high altitude balloon program for the AF Research Lab, and taught fighter pilots how to use space assets. The rest of my career was mostly administrative, but I learned a lot about politics and the military-industrial complex. Reading was always my number one way to relax, with hiking and other outdoor sports second.
After I retired, my husband and I moved to the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana. Because my last tour was extremely stressful (too much politics), I mostly spent the next three years reading. Because I broke both wrists in 2009, I got my first Kindle. After a while, I had a hard time finding anything I wanted to read. One day, I read another mediocre book, and I thought, “I can write better than this,” so I started typing.
News flash—I couldn’t. My first book was dreadful. But I kept writing, studying, and making author friends online. I was also really fortunate that my sister, Julia Huni, gave me great feedback. (Read her books; they’re fabulous fun!)
In 2016, I read a NASA tweet about developing a deep-space atomic clock, giving deep-space probes a GPS-type capability. My brain started spinning a million miles an hour, and I came up with the concept behind Lightwave: Clocker, which is loosely based on how GPS works. It took me about four months to write, then I spent a year revising it, while drafting the next three books and a prequel.
I published Lightwave: Clocker on May 19th, 2018, and the next three in the series quickly after that. Then I slowed slightly, because I became a better writer, but kept chugging along. By the way, I am not a plotter—I’m a discovery writer, aka pantser, as in writing by the seat-of-my-pants. I rarely know where a book is going—often, it’s more like my fingers are writing, rather than my brain.
Right after I published Book 7, Lightwave: Longshot, COVID hit.
Many writers increased their output, but not me. In 2014, I joined Team Rubicon Disaster Response, a veteran-led organization that cleans up after fires, floods, tornados, and other kinds of disasters. I became a volunteer leader right after my first operation and then a chainsaw instructor. COVID was an entirely new kind of disaster for us.
I spent months online, trying to help tribal nations organize their medical response under the national disaster framework. I also organized volunteers for local vaccination clinics and to clean old hotels for medical isolation units. It was challenging, and my writing slowed. I started Quantum Fold, a dark YA spin-off series.
A few years later, just as my writing was speeding ahead, one of my brothers suffered a medical emergency. That derailed everything, including my writing. Living in Las Vegas as a caregiver led me to write an urban fantasy and publish it as a free serial on my website. Later, I revised it and published Working Class Vegas Vamp in 2025.
But now I’m back to writing sci-fi! I’m almost done drafting Folding Space Series 9, Temporal Transits. It’s over 100k words, and it will require a lot of revisions, but it will be amazing!
Reviewers compare my writing style to the classic space opera writers of the 60s and 70s, which is certainly flattering. Not sure that’s for you? Read the prequel, Lightwave: Nexus Station on most ebook platforms for free! If you like my writing style, start the series with Lightwave: Clocker, or if you prefer YA, try Quantum Fold: Lift Off, book 1 of the four-book spin-off series. My books are available from most retailers and my Payhip site in ebook and paperback. Urban Fantasy fans will be happy to know I intend to continue the Las Vegas Underground series, too.
Trouble in all the wrong places…
Katryn of Cygnus knocks Tyron Phazeer off his feet—literally and figuratively. She’s got the net security skills Lightwave Fold Transport needs, she’s killer in a fight, and as a bonus, she’s beautiful.
Katryn’s been burned more than once—is Tyron and his job offer too good to be true? And does she really want to work and live in space? But her choices disappear when her past catches up to her.
Trying to escape the mercenary troop chasing Katryn through Nexus station, she slips in a hidden corridor used only by station maintenance personnel. Tyron knows those passages are controlled by a shady group known only as Nexus Below, and now, Katryn’s got trouble above and below.
Can Tyron help Katryn escape her enemies? Can Katryn learn to trust Tyron? Find out in Lightwave: Nexus Station, a Folding Space Series prequel.
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