"What core idea or what-if question sparked your current manuscript?"

To begin with, all of my science fiction novels so far are set in the same universe. Sky Knights, Chaos Company, Chaos Allies, and Chaos Escape take place either in the sky or on the ground of a perfect Earth-like world hundreds of light years from our Earth. Both humanity and an alien race that resembles the Gorgons of Greek mythology want this perfect world for themselves. Their warfare is brutal and horrible, similar to what's happening in the Middle East today. 

All of my stories are character-driven.  It's the people in my stories that matter. And I make them as human and driven as possible.

In Sky Nights, my pilots fly space fighters sporting advanced metals, force fields, plasma weapons, nuclear missiles in their bomb bays,  possess force fields, and Ai co-pilots. These Ais are very intelligent and ask their pilots deep questions such as what is death like?

(I began working on this novel before 9-1-1 happened.)

By the way, there are at least two different kinds of plasma in the world. One type is blood plasma, which first-responders sometimes carry in ambulances. The other type is a state of matter. Most of us know the first three states of matter: Solid, Liquid, and  Gas. The fourth state of matter is plasma, which combines all three of the other states. Examples of this plasma are lightning and fire.

And while I'm on this science subject, there were several things considered impossible until recently, such as flight, breaking the sound barrier, diving to  the deepest parts of the ocean, flying to the moon, and teleportation. In the last couple of years, scientists have successfully transported items out into space between the Earth and Moon. And other scientists are seriously considering warp drive.

There are more people with doctorates of science than there are jobs in the world. They have to do something.

My current novel is about the development of a superior spacecraft, about its crew, and about the historian who knows what to use it for.

My stories are about people. Some of the Ais and robots are also people. Any technology that seems impossible or out of place is an homage to the science fiction movies and books of the past.