Year: 2013 (page 55 of 66)

And now here, mighty Mister Jernigan would like to talk about his new novel, No Return, which features ghosts and gods and space magic. Behold: ten answers to ten questions…

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?

The hell who I am is Zachary Jernigan! I’m the author of the aggressively science-fantastical novel, No Return, and some dozen or so published short stories that all fall within the sff genre.

I live in Arizona, which is a wonderful place to be weather-wise and a horrible place to be if you’re a greenie and a socialist, which I am. I’m also an outspoken critic of religion—a fact that causes a degree of tension in my life, as many of the people I most love and admire in life are religious folk.

I use a lot of exclamation points in my personal correspondence, but very few in my fiction.

GIVE US THE 140-CHARACTER STORY PITCH:

No Return is a violent, erotic novel of religious war featuring metal men, fighters in skintight battle suits, and alchemical astronauts.

WHERE DOES THIS STORY COME FROM?

A decade and a half of reading—and being obsessed with—authors such as Roger Zelazny, Cordwainer Smith, Alice Sheldon, Samuel Delany, Sean Stewart, Phyllis Gotlieb, Steven Brust, Iain M. Banks, and Joanna Russ.

Oh, and a greasy heap of jealousy sprinkled with depression and spite!

HOW IS THIS A STORY ONLY YOU COULD’VE WRITTEN?

Ooh, that’s good question, difficult to answer.

I think the reason this story could’ve only come from me is that only I’m obsessed with this kind of stuff, in this particular way, in the first place.

A little explanation might be required.

You see, I was raised Mormon. Though I decided I was no longer a member at around the age of 20, I still have these conflicted feelings as a result of my upbringing (which, by the way, was very enjoyable, full of love and support). Mostly, I feel guilty about relatively small things reason says I shouldn’t feel guilty about. My character, Vedas, has similarly conflicted feelings about the way he’s conducted himself, though I’d like to think his guilt is a little more justified. Other characters struggle with such feelings, too. Moral quandaries are a big part of No Return.

Also, thanks to years of religious conditioning, I’m rather obsessed with the idea of immortality and perfection. I feel sad that I won’t live forever or reach a state of physical perfection and changelessness. I long for such a state, though I know it’d be healthier not to. Adrash, the character in whose perspective the book opens and closes, basically represents this longing.

I’ve told people before that No Return was kind of an exorcism for me, and this continues to ring true.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING NO RETURN?

Oh, good grief. My standard answer is everything, but that seems like a copout, so…

The first draft.

No, seriously. The editing was cake compared to that first go. Every day of writing was torture that I avoided like, well, torture.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN WRITING NO RETURN?

I’m not as weak or as unmotivated as I thought I was.

Honestly, I never thought I could write a novel. When I first started reading sff literature in my teens, I remember thinking that if someone destroyed the second half of whatever book I was reading and asked me to write the rest, it would be literally impossible to even approach an ending that made sense.

Even after I wrote an outline and told everyone I was going to write No Return (some 15 years later), I still had no confidence I’d actually do it. In fact, I tried to justify quitting every day for the first month or so, and then at least weekly for the next couple months. Only when I reached the halfway point did I really think I might finish it.

I’m glad I’m not as weak or as unmotivated as I feared. Still, the most important fact for me to understand about accomplishment is this: it’s never just me. I wouldn’t have completed anything without the support of others—family and friends who understood this cantankerous guy and wouldn’t let him fall into (too much) despair.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT NO RETURN?

The fact that it’s basically a collection of (hopefully mature) character studies that still manages to include all the spacey, super-powered, violent, sexy stuff that originally drew me into the genre.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?

I’d hire a ghostwriter. John Scalzi, maybe.

GIVE US YOUR FAVORITE PARAGRAPH FROM THE STORY:

It was said a man could stand at the edge of the highest step and stare down at the glass-smooth face of the cliff, counting the geological layers of the world. It was also said a man must be careful at the edge, for sudden gusts could take hold of him and carry him far out over the ocean. Capricious, the demon winds sometimes returned him unharmed, but most often spun him in the sky, toying with him as a child does a rag doll. Bored, eventually the wind dropped him into the ocean or dashed his body against the wall.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AS A STORYTELLER?

Well, one of these days I’d like to get started on the sequel to No Return. A second volume isn’t strictly necessary—the first is a pretty self-enclosed narrative, I think—but it would do a lot to answer questions I hope readers are curious enough to ask.

I also have another novel in the works, an intensely violent, post-steampunk, Joanna-Russ-on-steroids story. (Y’know, one of those.)

Anyway, thanks so much, Chuck! I appreciate you hosting me on terribleminds!

Zachary Jernigan: Website

No Return: Amazon / B&N / Indiebound

@JerniganZachary

Be advised, Internets: Emma Newman is going to rule the world someday. She’s going to rule it from a comfy chair in a lovely library inside her sinister volcano lair. She’s the real deal, and you should be paying a lot of attention. Her new book, Between Two Thorns, is out with Angry Robot Books, and now it’s time to be fixed to the earth with her stare as she tells you about it.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?

I’m a writer, a role-player, a gamer, a dyed-in-the-wool geek and I love making clothes and costumes. I am also scared of everything. Everything. Apart from tea. I can handle that.

GIVE US THE 140-CHARACTER STORY PITCH:

Urban fantasy – and a dash of noir – with feuding dynastic families, supernatural patrons, mad sorcerers, evil faeries and nice cups of tea.

WHERE DOES THIS STORY COME FROM?

It grew from a flash fiction I wrote three years ago about the shopkeeper of “The Emporium of Things in Between and Besides” having to deal with an innocent woman accidentally receiving delivery of a faerie in a bell jar. That turned into a weekly flash fiction serial which I wrote for several months before I realised I was actually building the world for a series of novels.

The Shopkeeper and the Emporium survived from the original stories and both feature in “Between Two Thorns.”

Like every single thing I’ve ever written – and I would imagine all other authors – it’s the latest batch of mushrooms that have grown out of the compost. That’s made up of all the experiences I’ve had and the stories I’ve read, dreamed, watched, hoped for and loved. Actually, I hate mushrooms, but hopefully you get the idea.

HOW IS THIS A STORY ONLY YOU COULD’VE WRITTEN?

Well, it certainly couldn’t have been written by someone who loves cute fairies and Tinkerbell and that kind of thing. The Fae in the Split Worlds stories are forces of nature and scary as hell.

I think this is a story I could only have written at this time in my life too. I’ve got angry about a lot of things over the past few years and some of that rage went into this world and the stories bound within it.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING BETWEEN TWO THORNS?

Lots of things were challenging, but balancing power between the different factions was one of the hardest. I put a great deal of time and thought into working out how the sorcerers do their thing and how Fae magic – and the Charms derived from their magic – works. The Split Worlds have several powerful groups of people controlling differing aspects and therefore have a direct impact upon the main characters in the novel. Making people who are incredibly powerful able to be plausibly threatened by each other and have their power checked and balanced by their opposition was a critical thing to figure out for the whole series.

There are hierarchies of power within these factions too, of course. I needed to make sure my primary characters could be plausibly threatened but not implausibly hopeless in a world where they have access to magic and sorcerous artefacts.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN WRITING THE BOOK?

I learned a lot about writing a lead female character and how difficult it is to strike a balance between having her fall foul of powerful forces yet maintain agency throughout the novel. There are people actively manipulating her life, restricting her freedom and causing her a great deal of stress and misery. I wanted her to be strong in the face of adversity but I didn’t want to shy away from having her be vulnerable. I also didn’t want to just give her a weapon and have her be tough in a traditionally masculine way – not that it would have worked in the setting anyway! I guess what I’m saying here is that writing Cathy made me think a lot about plausible strong characters, whether they are female or not.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE BOOK?

I was going to say the Fae, because they are just so deliciously horrible. But I think it’s the characters. I’ve spent a huge amount of time with them in my head and I still want to know what’s going to happen to them. I worry about them. I feel bad for them. I’m also a bit insane, evidently.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?

I wouldn’t commit to writing a short story every week for a year and a day whilst writing, editing and now promoting the series!

Saying that, I’m so glad I have. Now it’s coming to the end of that year and a day, with over fifty stories set in the Split Worlds I feel like I’ve created a lot of world for people to enjoy. That’s what it’s all about for me, as a writer and as a GM.

As for anything I’d do differently with the book itself… you know what? I’m happy that I’ve written the best book I could. No doubt I could edit it *again* if I looked at it in a month or two but I think that’s our curse as writers.

GIVE US YOUR FAVORITE PARAGRAPH FROM THE STORY:

As the paragraph is dialogue, I’m going to put in the line before to give it a little bit of context. Lord Poppy is the Fae patron of Cathy’s family and has just found her years after she ran away from a life of privilege and immortality to live in Mundanus – the normal world we live in.

“I’m so glad you understand, Lord Poppy,” she managed a smile.

“As am I! I arrived with a heavy heart, convinced that I was going to have to turn your tongue into a tethered wasp and then enslave you for eternity for having been so disloyal to your family.” He paused as the colour sank away from her lips. “But now I don’t have to, because I understand that it was love that drove you, and how can I deny love? And it really is such a relief, as it would have been so inconvenient, everything has been arranged for so long I was struggling to imagine how I would recover.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AS A STORYTELLER?

I’m currently beating the rough lump that is the third book of the series into something more like steel than pig iron. After that I have a stand-alone novel that is completely different to the Split Worlds banging on the inside of my skull. That needs to be written, and there’s another project I have to be annoying and mysterious about. Sorry about that. Once those are out of the way I have ideas for two more series’ of books, so I think I’m going to be busy for a while yet.

Emma Newman: Website

Between Two Thorns: Amazon US / Amazon UK / B&N / Book Depository / Angry Robot

@EmApocalyptic

I’ll be heading down to America’s dangling land-wang — AKA “Florida” — soon to do some research. (No dates yet but assume in the next 60 days.) My goal is to hit up Miami and the Keys and surrounding environs (as a goodly portion of the next Miriam Black book will be set there.)

That said, a question:

I’ve been noodling doing a book signing down there but it doesn’t quite look like that’ll work out in terms of timing with the various bookstore options (all of whom were very nice in dealing with me)– but, I did wonder if I arranged some kind of Ninja Book Signing / Hangout / Kaffeeklatsch / Boozefest / Q&A, if there’d be any interest at all from folks in that region.

So, I’m asking:

Any interest?

This is a petition.

It asks the White House to take a position on how consumers get to interact with their e-books. This is in response to the White House coming out in favor of allowing consumers the ability to unlock their own mobile devices. The petition does not demand or incur some kind of an automagic fix. It merely asks that the White House will take a favorable position on the issue.

This is the text of the petition:

The White House recently came out in favor of allowing consumers to unlock their own cellular telephones. We are asking the White House to apply the same laws and provisions to ebooks.

The purchase of a book, whether online or not, is a purchase, not a license. Digital books should be legal to read on any device that supports standard text files. Legally purchased digital books should not self-destruct, expire or disapper [sic], except under conditions of damage or obsalescence [sic]. Within reasonable limits, book purchasers have the right to lend or give books to friends, charitable organizations and libraries. Finally, libraries should be permitted to lend ebooks under the same rules as physical books.

We ask the Obama Administration to champion the rights of readers to own their ebooks.

I am not a fan of DRM.

It restricts competition in the e-book space. It throttles readers. It helps ensure that readers never own their content but rather, license, or in a sense “rent” it. Imagine buying a physical book and being told you can only read it in a certain room or at a certain point of day and that any point the bookstore owner can come tromping into your house and make changes to the book or snatch it out of your hands and return it to the store without even explaining himself.

DRM by itself is not a great evil, but its implementation is often a terrible thing. (On the software side, look no further than yesterday’s release of Simcity, whose DRM is so inept it’s making it hard for users to even play the game they just bought in a flurry of release-day excitement. Many professional reviewers have had to lower their originally glowing reviews, and now the game is getting savaged in the open marketplace by pissed-off users.)

I saw a comment on Facebook that said this would just make it easier for pirates.

Here’s the thing: pirates aren’t particularly hampered by DRM.

They know how to get rid of it.

Its very existence is an excuse for them to try.

Further, this means that if you or I want to simply crack the DRM and use the e-book as we’d like to, it means we’re going to be labeled as pirates. Which is not particularly endearing.

DRM encourages piracy.

As I’ve said in the past, DRM is the Empire’s tool. And I’m Leia telling Tarkin, “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”

DRM: The Devil’s Restrictive Manacles. Or something. Shut up.

Let’s allow readers the freedom to control their content. It needs a shitload of signatures in the span of a single month, and the only way that happens is if we fling it about wildly and widely.

Please sign and spread the petition.

I don’t know that it’ll change shit, but you never really know until it’s done.

(Thanks to @nvbinder for setting up the petition.)

So, here’s the deal.

Fireside Magazine, Year Two has a Kickstarter.

It’s almost over.

And it’s not funded.

Now, I’ll admit right now — I’m a selfish jerk. If it gets funded, I get to write a 12-part serial I’m calling The Forever Endeavor about a guy who gets a button he can push that will take him ten minutes back in time. It’s about regret. And warring with yourself. And making mistakes by fixing mistakes. It’ll be funny and fucked up and sad and weird and —

And I’m probably not going to get to write it.

Nor will I get the benefit of reading short stories by such awesome authors as Lilith Saintcrow, Delilah Dawson, Karina Cooper, Ken Liu.

Because it doesn’t look like it’s going to fund.

That breaks my heart. First because — WAAAAAH I WANNA WRITE THAT STORY AND READ THOSE OTHER STORIES. But also because Brian White has created a magazine that actually gives a huuuuuge fuck about its authors. It pays its authors above the standard professional rate, a rate that is itself rather rare among magazines both in print and online. Fireside fails here, you probably won’t see it again (or so I’m guessing).

And that’s a mighty big goddamn shame.

So, I’ll ask you: if this is something you dig, please spread the word first and foremost. And maybe consider contributing a couple-few bucks. Or robbing a liquor store WHATEVER MAN I DON’T CARE JUST GET IT DONE.

Ahem.

We’re not in the dark yet.

But the clock is ticking.

Great editor. Great magazine. Killer art. Awesome authors. (And somehow, they let me in the door, but don’t hold that against them.) I ask you one more time? Are you in?

Then click on over and check it out.