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The action-packed sci-fi trilogy, The Loop, is hastily reaching it's climax ...

We wanted to close off the series by having a chat with it's adored author Ben Oliver, and finding out more about everything involved in writing The Loop series! If you're looking for your next dystopian read, or you just want to find out more about what it takes to be a sci-fi author, keep reading, as Ben Oliver dishes up the latest in dystopian writing ...

Describe The Arc in three words?

In my opinion, The Arc is brutal, emotional, and thrilling.

What was your favourite scene to write (without too many spoilers!)?

This is a tough question to answer without giving away any twists or plot points… There’s a scene involving a returning character and an unexpected death. I can’t say much more than that, but it comes out of nowhere and (hopefully) it’s heart-breaking! It’s was a sad scene to write, but when the idea came to me, I knew it was going to be really impactful. The feedback I’ve had from people who have read the book so far have all said that moment hit them really hard. So, although it was an unhappy moment in the story, it was still fun to write because I knew it was powerful.

How do you feel now that this fan-favourite trilogy has come to a close?

Everyone told me I’d be really sad when I finished the last book, but I wasn’t! It’s strange, when you’re writing a book that is going to be published there are so many “final moments” you finish a first draft, then your editor gives you notes and you write a second draft, then a third. A proof reader will go through it and you make changes, then a final polish, then you get to see the cover design and the foreign editions. It was hard to know when to feel like it was all over, but then just last week I received a printed copy of The Arc and it hit me that it was officially over and I felt a bit rocked by it all. The Loop was my first published novel and it has been an incredible, life changing experience, so it’s really sad that the series is finished.

What is one piece of advice you would give to any passionate sci-fi writers out there?

Keep writing! That’s the main thing. I always wish I had some magical piece of advice to give to aspiring writers, but I don’t. There are only three things that you need to get published: hard work; the ability to learn and grow as a writer; and a ridiculous amount of luck. The right people need to read your manuscript at the right time in order to be traditionally published, and the odds against that are high, but if you don’t write and learn and improve and submit your work to agents and publishers the odds become infinitely higher, so keep writing and keep trying.

What is a fun fact about you that readers would love to know?

A few magazines and online publications have asked me to send in a photograph of my “writing area”, I always just take a picture of my wife’s office and send that in because I don’t have a writing area, I write anywhere. I actually like to get out of the house to write, I’m one of those people you see in Starbucks taking up too much space with my notepads and laptop.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARC

LEARN MORE ABOUT BEN OLIVER