All Nick Ashton ever wanted to be was a good cop

Dominick Ashton is a rookie cop in the headquarters of Her Majesty's Imperial Police. Unfortunately, in an Empire full of corruption, treason, and upheaval, that's one of the most corrupt organizations of them all. But Ashton is a straight shooter. Can he do the job he's trained to do without perverting his honor, or will crooked cops take him out instead?

And what will happen when he's called upon to solve a case for the Empress herself?

AN INTERVIEW WITH STEPHANIE OSBORN

EMPIRE: Imperial Police runs parallel to EMPIRE: Usurper and EMPIRE: Tyrant?

Yes. Dominick Ashton has always dreamed of being a detective. He graduates the Imperial Police Academy late in the reign of Ilithyia I, only to find that IPD Headquarters is corrupt. The Imperial Police Trilogy parallels the first six main-plot EMPIRE books, and the end of the trilogy will lead into the next main-plot EMPIRE book.

This is another trilogy?

Yes. The EMPIRE series is all trilogies. It allows for more story development and more epic story arcs. In this case, it follows Nick Ashton through his entire career in the Imperial Police, with the changes in the Empire as backdrop to the story.

This is your second outing in one of Rich Weyand's universes. You seem to enjoy working with him.

He and I get along great. He's easy to work with, a great writer, and comes up with some really cool universes and characters. I like his writing in general, and the stories get me caught up in them. It's fun for me to write in them.

We both have science backgrounds, we're politically compatible, we both write fast, and we're both pantsers - we don't use outlines. So I don't have to give him an outline for approval. We plotstorm, where we come up with the basic plot concept for the story arc, then he turns me loose. I try to double-check with him before making any big decisions, though.

But the really cool thing is, HE LETS ME USE HIS MAIN CHARACTERS! A lot of authors don't let you do that if you're writing in their universe, but Rich does. That means these aren't just side stories, these are part of the big picture, just told from the parallel perspective of a different character. Nick Ashton is the protagonist of this trilogy, yes, but he does interact with the main characters of Rich's trilogies - Bobby, Dee, Amanda, and Saaret. That makes it even more special.

So Rich has a light editorial touch? He seems like the sort of person who might be more controlling.

Nah. He knows I recognize my responsibility in writing in his universe. I'm honored he trusts me with that responsibility. He doesn't interfere at all. Quite the opposite - every few days I'm bugging him about some idea that I've had, wanting to make sure I remember this or that correctly, or "where is X in the timeline/books?" I want to make sure I am as true to the universe and the characters and HIS vision as I can possibly be. He's drawn me maps from scratch based on what's in his head, hunted up photos to depict what something looks like, all kinds of stuff like that. And then he lets me write it as I see it happening.

How long did it take to write EMPIRE: Imperial Police?

This book is heavily intertwined with the previous books, particularly EMPIRE: Usurper & EMPIRE: Tyrant. I realized partway into it that I was thinking about the book wrong. It didn't have tension, didn't have drama, because I was thinking about what had come before -- so I had to go back and rethink it. I rewrote some stuff, and came at my plot concept from a different angle. And then it worked. So that added about a month extra, at least a week of which was just thinking. So all told, about three months.

Is there an EMPIRE trilogy after the Imperial Police trilogy?

Rich is writing The Legacy of Trajan trilogy. After that, he and I are talking about two more trilogies!