Ask the Author: Thom Tate
Answered Questions (2)
Thom Tate
One Hundred Percent. I first saw the weapon on an episode of Future Weapons. It was invented in Australia, and I was fascinated with it. So much so, it became the central idea behind the book Spear Garden, which kicked off my writing career. Nearly all the tech in my books is based on real-life science.
Thom Tate
I’ve always been drawn to settings that sit off the main map—the B‑side of countries. Cities and regions most people have never heard of, where the environment itself adds pressure to the story.
For Beyond All Measure, I needed a place defined by seclusion and aloneness—somewhere so remote it becomes unsettling. The kind of isolation that isn’t just physical, but psychological.
An area near the North Pole gave me that. The vast emptiness, the silence, the sense that help is impossibly far away—it creates a feeling that’s almost maddening. In a place like that, every decision carries more weight, and every mistake feels permanent.
That atmosphere wasn’t just a backdrop. It became part of the tension of the story itself.
For Beyond All Measure, I needed a place defined by seclusion and aloneness—somewhere so remote it becomes unsettling. The kind of isolation that isn’t just physical, but psychological.
An area near the North Pole gave me that. The vast emptiness, the silence, the sense that help is impossibly far away—it creates a feeling that’s almost maddening. In a place like that, every decision carries more weight, and every mistake feels permanent.
That atmosphere wasn’t just a backdrop. It became part of the tension of the story itself.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more