About the Book

Book: Guardian

Author: Cathy McCrumb

Genre: Science Fiction

Release Date: February 20, 2024

The Recorder’s fate has been sealed, but the Consortium is not the only enemy.

Labeled an aberration by the Consortium, the Recorder is not yet free. Time is running out as an engineered bioweapon wreaks havoc on friend and foe alike.

Stopping both the biological agent and the people who created it is no easy task, especially since the Recorder and her friends are trapped on a research station infested with behemoth insects. Without Consortium technology, the probability of neutralizing the threat falls to nothing. In order to save her allies, the Recorder must activate a drone, but her success might destroy any hope for freedom, a future, and a name.

Click here to get your copy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions given are my own and not an endorsement of all author’s opinions.

Author Interview

1.What/Who inspired you to write on the main themes found in the book?
We live in a fallen world that doesn’t value people, and yet as Christians, we are called to love each other. There is lip-service to love without much lovingkindness. What if the world kept going in that direction? How would a person find love and acceptance if everywhere she turned, she faced rejection?

2. What did your research process look like for this book?
I spent a lot of time reading historical essays about the Soviet Union and even more time on NASA’s websites and NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information). That sounds more dry than it is. I find science fascinating. Finding the story inside the history and science is a treasure hunt. I will not, however tell you more than, yes, I spent scores of hours studying insects. Studying cats, however, was much more fun. There are cats in the novels, so yes, I say that the cat videos were totally research. In fact, I’m completely convinced that people will still be watching cat videos hundreds of years in the future.

3.What made you choose the setting/time period for this book?
The setting chose me. That sounds tongue in cheek but really, this started with a dream I’d had.
More seriously, I had been searching for solid science fiction that didn’t denigrate God, human life, and faith. This probably is one of the things that drew me to writing in this genre. That dream became the foundation for what is now chapter two in Recorder.

4. Do you have a favorite drink or snack for when you’re writing?
I love apples and cheese. Lately that’s been my snack. Almonds are dangerous because when I am focused on writing, I’m not always aware of mindless eating. Coffee and I have a volatile relationship, but Egyptian licorice tea has been a source of comfort. (I drank a lot of tea while writing this series. It’s the Recorder’s favorite drink.)

5.What message do you hope readers take away from your book?
This is by far my favorite question.
It is my hope that readers come away knowing that they are each valuable and unique. They each matter. They are never alone, either, for the God that made the universe is working upstream. There is only one of you. What an amazing and precious thought!

About the Author

Cathy McCrumb graduated from Biola University with a degree in English Literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things to do, she also enjoys reading, long hikes and long naps, gluten-free brownies and raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family.

More from Cathy

Someone asked me recently why I wrote Guardian. My answer was that the whole Children of the Consortium trilogy is my love song to people who feel left out.

In the first novel, the Recorder—a young woman with no name, no family, and no friends—doesn’t see her life as valuable. As she discovers friendship and love, however, she realizes that every person in the system is unique, and this by definition must include her, too.

How often do we doubt our own value and that of the people around us? In a world that prioritizes youth, beauty, health, and success, many people are on the outside, looking in. I suspect that deep down, a lot of us wrestle with who we are and how we fall short of this external measuring tape.

The truth, however, is very, very different from the lie of worthlessness. While we have names (and don’t usually encounter two-meter insects, for which I am extremely thankful), we frequently forget that as humans, even though we are fallen, we are made in God’s image. Furthermore, as Christians, we have been both called and adopted.

Zephaniah 3:17 says that the Lord is with us. He takes “great delight” in us and rejoices over us. What an amazing, beautiful, and comforting image. The One who formed the stars, who breathed life into every human on the planet rejoices over YOU.

My prayer is that you find hope and joy in the midst of darkness, whether or not you find friends in the pages of these novels. Look to the Lord and hold fast to the fact that you are unique and valuable. Because even when you feel like you’re on the outside looking in, you are never alone.