Trivia

All the starships are named after fish.

The working title of Artificial Absolutes was Astral Sea: The Pandora Project.

In the earliest version of Artificial Absolutes, Jane Colt was a painter instead of a composer, and Sarah DeHaven was an actress instead of a singer.

The Republic of Kydera is named after the starship from a story the author wrote as a teenager. The starship was the ASEA Nikhadakiera, better known as the Kiera.

The Seer was originally called the Professor.

The song Sarah DeHaven sings, "Story," was originally written for an urban fantasy rock opera.

Jane's favorite color is purple. Purple is also the favorite color of the author's younger sister.

There are numerous references to the book's beta readers. Nikolett Thean, President of the Republic of Kydera, is named for Nikki Thean. Juli, the Hellfire Queen, is named for Julianne Grasso. The Lithran system is named for Lalithra Fernando. The Anven system is named for Erik Anson. In addition, various numbers that show up in the book contain the beta readers' birthdays.

Betta units J, E, and S are named for Joanna Elizabeth Schnurman, the author's friend who performed vocals for the book's trailer

1. Jane took up kickboxing while at university to vent her rage after a bad breakup. She only stuck with it for a few months, though. Between attending classes, completing compositions for her music degree, and running rehearsals to get said compositions performed, she just didn’t have time.
2. Jane’s favorite flower is the Everlasting Rose, a rare plant from the remote Zim’ska Re system. These tiny purple flowers can bloom, dry up, and bloom again indefinitely if properly taken care of.
3. When Jane was little, she used to always follow her big brother, Devin, around. Her parents were worried that Devin would be a bad influence on her, so whenever she tried to hang out with him, they would call her away, usually to give her extra homework. That didn’t stop Jane, though. Since her room was right next to her brother’s, she found a way to climb out her window, walk along the roof, and climb in through his. Devin wasn’t amused, but didn’t have the heart to turn her away.
4. Jane is a fast runner, despite her dislike for exercise. She credits genetics—her mother was a champion runner while at school.
5. Jane always wanted to dye her hair purple, but didn’t want to upset her parents, who were very conservative when it came to fashion.
6. When she was sixteen, Jane dated the son of Melchior Ramos, who was President of the Republic of Kydera at the time. Despite familial encouragement (and pressure) to maintain the relationship, she dumped him after only a few months. Thus began her pattern of dating the charming, handsome sons of prominent families for short periods of time. By the time she reached her last year of university, she’d been through so many disappointing relationships, she gave up on love altogether.
7. Jane loves writing songs, but hates writing lyrics. She’ll only do it if she can’t find a suitable poem to fit her melody.
8. Jane has an extensive social network, but she barely keeps in touch with anyone except on a superficial level. While her friends make pleasant enough company, she’s not especially close with any of them.
9. Jane almost didn’t get her license to pilot starships. During her lightspeed test, she veered off course by accident and ended up having to dodge a group of supply ships. Luckily, her instructor was impressed by her fast instincts and passed her anyway.
10. Before going on the run with her fugitive brother, the most trouble Jane had gotten in was for punching a guy at a bar. The law sided with her when witnesses and security cameras confirmed her story: that the guy had been harassing her for hours and then threatened her, which earned him the punch.

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