Advice from IR Approved Author Costi Gurgu: “Right now, there’s a fine balance in Nature that helps us live here. But that balance is precarious.”

Black Corrosion: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Costi Gurgu.

1. What is the name of the book and when was it published? “Black Corrosion,” published on August 1, 2025.
2. What’s the book’s first line? “The sky was pink like an old man’s brain, and as bitter and angry.”
3. What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”. Geo Woodman is the reigning prince of the Silkers kingdom, part of a world that the Black Rains have ravaged. (The Rains turned water into a gel that corroded the flesh of people now called Corrosives.) Geo hopes to bring the city of Torono, which is a veritable “carcass,” back to the flourishing place it once was. However, a more pressing issue is the threat posed by Han the Great, who leads a massive army aimed at Torono. Among his many soldiers are powerful shape-shifting beings—Dreams and the much more vicious Nightmares, which far outnumber the ones in the Silkers kingdom. Geo and others get a taste of the coming battle when invaders raid the city.
4. What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? I wrote this entire trilogy as a warning against our practices today. It is not about destroying the Earth. Earth will survive in one way or the other. We will not survive the changes to Earth. Right now, there’s a fine balance in Nature that helps us live here. But that balance is precarious. The slightest change in the chemistry and we will become extinct.
5. What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? I think that the main reason should be entertainment. This book should interest the reader and keep them entertained while reading it. And also a warning. This book could be read as a warning for what could happen if we’re not careful.
6. What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of? The main character is a study-inclined young man, a nerd, thrown into adventure against his better judgment. He’s not in his element, and he’s doing all the things a youth would dream of, but if put in front of them in reality, he’d choose to stay back home and keep dreaming. Yet, duty and necessity push him forward to keep living the adventurous life.
7. When did you first decide to become an author? I began writing in primary school, after watching Star Wars and after reading a most intriguing book by the French Science Fiction writer, Gerard Klein. It was “Warlords”. Time travel war. Anyway, I started producing fiction worth reading in high school, and sold my first short story in university.