Conversations with K.B. Wagers

Today we’d like to introduce you to K.B. Wagers

Hi K.B., can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well to start, I am a science fiction author. I tell stories about life, the universe, and everything. I write space operas about family – blood and found. I imagine worlds that are still difficult and messy but hopeful and kind. I dream up characters who embody as wide a scope of our experiences as I can manage. A lot of it is political, a lot of it is queer. And all of it helps people understand themselves and each other just a little better.

I grew up on a farm on the eastern plains of the state of Colorado, my very curious father and former English teacher mother instilled in me a love of reading, of exploration, and of asking questions. I wanted to be a writer from a very young age but also grew up in a family where “practical” pursuits were encouraged. *laughs* Though to be honest I skirted that as best as I could getting a degree in Russian Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. I went the practical route of office work while writing thirteen novels before I finally got an agent and then sold my first trilogy – The Indranan War, about a princess turned gunrunner who’s dragged home to save her empire.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly nothing about the publishing industry is smooth. It’s not a business for the faint of heart. You face rejection after rejection, from agents, from editors, from other authors, and from readers. As the landscape shifts and changes and terrible things like LLM steal work and regurgitate it into subpar echoes of stories, it can be a difficult road if you’re not prepared mentally. (To say nothing of the financial aspects of trying to make it as a full-time author!)

You’ll face editors leaving mid-project, changing business relationships, things like global pandemics (or other major world events) dampening your book releases. The only thing a person can do is pick themselves up and keep writing. I write because I love writing, the fact that I sort of get to make a living off of it is a bonus that I’m very thankful for.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I mentioned above I write space operas. My focus is primarily on character-driven stories that teach people about the human experience. I like making readers laugh and cry, boo the villains (sometimes even while understanding where they’re coming from), cheer for the heroes (while sometimes questioning their choices), and maybe even learn something about themselves along the way. I think what I do best is create believable characters who exist outside of the story they are telling, which in turn makes readers empathize and connect with them very deeply.

I’m really most proud of the fact that I managed to write 9 books in about 8 years even though it’s a pace I don’t recommend and I certainly wouldn’t do it again. I’m also proud of the emails and messages I’ve gotten from readers who thank me for helping them relate to their queer family members better, or even figuring out some things about themselves they’d never really understood before. It’s a blessing to get to share the human experience like this.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
My most recent book about the Near-Earth Orbital Guard (a space Coast Guard organization that keeps humanity safe in the solar system and also at the far-flung system of Trappist-1) just released in November 2024. And the Mighty Will Fall is a standalone novel set in the same world as the other NeoG books and is Die Hard in space! Commander Maxine Carmichael finds herself trapped on the Mars Orbital Station when bad guys take over and it’s a mad scramble to keep herself and the others alive while her team on the ground tries to find a way to resolve the hostage situation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kbwagers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwaybrawler/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkbwagers
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/kbwagers.com

Image Credits
Author photo credit: Donald S. Branum