Diving into Fantasy: An Author Interview with SciFantasy Author Fay Abernethy

Step into the imaginative world of Fay Abernethy, the amazing author behind The Shantivira Trilogy. Discover the inspirations behind her work and get an exclusive peek at what’s coming next.

Title Of Book: First Contact, Second Chances
Series: The Shantivira Book 3
By: Fay Abernethy
Genre: Science Fantasy
Sub-Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate History, Dragons & Mythical Creatures, First Contact, Space Opera, Utopia
Release Date: May 4th 2025

About The Book:

Everyone deserves a second chance. Even humanity.

Ex-British Army officer Joe Llewellyn is captain of the Shantivira, the alien space station secretly protecting the Earth from invasion. After Joe reveals the Shantivira’s existence to the UN, everyone wants a piece of him. Except his mother. They’re no longer speaking after he introduced her to his shape-shifting space-demon wife.

But it’s not only Joe’s relationship with his mam which is in jeopardy. His alien bosses have given him an ultimatum: either he persuades Earth’s authorities to completely restructure the global economic system – to distribute resources fairly without exceeding ecological boundaries – or the space station will be reallocated to another, more deserving planet.

With cannibalistic Ranglatiri space pirates prowling the galaxy, brutally stripping and enslaving entire worlds for profit, Joe can’t afford to fail.

Trainee pilot Hanna Abebe is close to achieving her dream: a permanent job on the Shantivira. But with a boyfriend on trial for taking a vessel without permission and an extremely pregnant teenage sister, not every dream can come true . . .

Ex-NASA astronaut Dan Simpson and his alien girlfriend are on the Ranglatiri authorities’ Most Wanted list. But that won’t stop them from persevering with their dead friend’s secret mission. Unless, of course, they get caught . . .

What readers are saying about The Shantivira Series

“A promising new series that will delight fans of Becky Chambers.”
— Amazon FR reviewer, 5 stars

“One of the things I really adore about this series is that it goes places you simply don’t expect.”
— Amazon UK reviewer, 5 stars

“I’d absolutely recommend the Shantivira series to anyone who enjoys reading SF that’s about people, both human and alien, rather than political machinations.”
— Amazon UK reviewer, 5 stars

“A society where everyone has what they need – but not MORE than they need, where there’s efficient public transport and communal activities like bathing and singing, where people spend some time every year working in the fields… it all sounds like the kind of thing we should be doing, as humans. Sign me up!”
— Amazon UK reviewer, 5 stars

Interview With Fay

What is the significance of the title?
The book is a first contact story, from the perspective of the humans already working for the aliens who are funding the Shantivira space station – which secretly protects the Earth from invasion by less benevolent species. Set in 2016, it’s narrated from the points of view of the three main characters and, as it’s already the third book in the series, they’ve all been through plenty of adventures – enough for each of them to need a second chance.

What is the key theme and/or message in the book?

The key theme in my books is always the same: envisioning alternative ways of organizing our societies which would allow everyone to fulfil their potential and live good lives – despite living on a planet with finite resources – and not just a tiny elite. In this respect, “Second Chances” applies to humanity as a whole, as well as to my characters.

What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
Firstly, it should be a fun, mostly light-hearted read and an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Fans of the series say the characters stick with them long after finishing the books.

At the same time, I hope the ideas and concepts the story touches upon – along with the list of references at the end of the book – will help inform and inspire people to positive action in their own communities.

What is the future for the characters? Will there be a sequel?
The future for the characters? Well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? 😉

The Shantivira series will eventually have five books in it, so Book 3 is the halfway point.

Despite being fictional characters, Joe and Hanna are fully in charge their own destinies – I just type along behind them, trying to keep up. That’s the thrill of writing: I never know what’s in store for them until it appears on the page. On the other hand, making Dan’s life a misery is an illicit hobby of mine and things will be getting even worse for him in Book 4. Mwa hahaha! *Swirls cloak and laughs*

Who is your favorite character?
Well I LOVE Welsh Joe and his space demon wife Kitty; they’re such a comedy duo and they have this wonderful chemistry. But if I had to pick one, it’d probably be Dan, the square-jawed, former fullback, ex-NASA astronaut. He’s been on such a bumpy ride – more of a water chute than a roller coaster as there have been more downs than ups. And he makes so many mistakes and poor choices… But ultimately – spoiler alert – Earth’s future will depend on his bravery.

Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere. Books. Music. Nature. People I’ve worked with. Japanese bathing culture. Korean dramas. European cities and Art Nouveau architecture. Essoona, the capital city of my alien world, was inspired by a visit to Zurich, Switzerland.

Kitty and her sister Rowan came along after I read The Lord of the Rings as a teenager and felt disgruntled at the lack of 3D female characters. So I gave Sauron a couple of hybrid elf-demon daughters who, as you can imagine, ran rings round him. They lived in my head for decades until they broke free and mutated, landing on the pages of an entirely different story I’d started writing when my own teenagers were still babies. That story eventually became The Cleaner, the Cat and the Space Station.

What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
On the story side: Tolkien, obviously, Ursula le Guin, Douglas Adams and The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper, which kindled my fasciation for Welsh folklore along with Mary Stewart’s books about Merlin.

Researching Kitty’s origin story was a joy, leading me to discover the ancient delights of the Mabinogion for the first time, as well as Nennius’ Historia Brittonum, which dates from 833(!)

On the content side: I read a lot of non-fiction about ways to reimagine our economic system and create a fairer and happier society. For example:

Kate Raworth: Doughnut Economics, Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist
Stephanie Kelton: The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy
Jason Hickel: The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions
Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett: The Spirit Level, Why Equality is Better for Everyone
Tim Jackson: Prosperity Without Growth, Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow
Jon Alexander: Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us
Nick Hayes: Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You
Rutger Bregman: Humankind: A Hopeful History

These books are filled with inspiring insights and ideas, but they’re marketed at readers who are already looking for this stuff. I’ve made it my personal mission to communicate some of those ideas to a wider audience by repackaging them in an exciting fictional adventure story with compelling characters. I hope my aliens, the Syenitians, get more people thinking about the kind of world we want to live in. To visualize a society that works for people and the planet, based on proven concepts.

After all, as the scientist Buckminster Fuller once said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

What did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut, just like Dan. But this was back in the 1980s, when the typical route was via the military. As I don’t respond well to being told what to do, I soon realized that wasn’t an option for me. So I became an engineer instead and travelled the world with my work.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Reading! Also: spending time with my husband and kids, being in nature, walking, yoga, swimming, listening to music, audiobooks and podcasts, learning Welsh, discovering new corners in my local area and preparing and eating good food.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
Just search for “Fay Abernethy” in your local Amazon store, or visit my website – fayabernethy.com. That’s where you can sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive a free prequel novella, telling the story of how Joe came to join the Shantivira crew back in 1997.