Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Kameron Hurley?

Honestly, I just got back from a book tour and am severely jetlagged, so I couldn’t really tell you. James S.A. Corey says I’m “one of the most important voices in the field”, though! That’s something. Always listen to the Coreys.

Your new book, Meet Me in the Future, will be published by Tachyon. It looks really interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?  

Meet Me in the Future is a collection of my best short fiction to date. It’s got everything: a body-hopping mercenary who avenge his pet elephant, an orphan who falls in love with a sentient starship, fighters who power a reality-bending engine, and a swamp-dwelling introvert who tries to save the world from her plague-casting former wife. And that’s just off the top of my head. I wrote many of these stories with the support of my Patreon backers, and these are the best gems of the lot.

How were you introduced to genre fiction?

I’ve always read some form of fantasy. I can remember reading Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series when I was nine or ten. I was always reading.

How do you like being a writer and working within the publishing industry?

It’s better than cleaning dog kennels or working a concession stand.

Do you have any specific working, writing, researching practices?

I’m a binge writer, which means I need to have several hours to write at a stretch. I also like to write earlier in the morning these days, because I’m more likely to get it done before my brain has time to find other distractions.

When did you realize you wanted to be an author, and what was your first foray into writing? Do you still look back on it fondly?

I probably decided I wanted to be a writer – and make a living at it – when I was twelve. I had been writing down stories of the pretend adventures I had roaming around outside, and really loved the idea that I could take all of these things going on in my head and translate them onto the page so others could see them too. It’s magical.

What’s your opinion of the genre today, and where do you see your work fitting into it?

The genre is really exploding with exceptional work right now. There’s so much great fiction that I can’t even keep up, and that’s a good thing. I’ve also found that having so much good stuff out there makes me challenge myself more. I’m always looking to improve my craft and create something that will stand out. That’s no small feat right now.

Do you have any other projects in the pipeline, and what are you working on at the moment?

The final volume in my Worldbreaker Saga will be out in January of 2020, so I’m working on copyedits for that book right now. I’m also writing my next novel, LOSING GRAVITY, a standalone SF thriller that’s Killing Eve-meets-Die Hard, in space.

What are you reading at the moment (fiction, non-fiction)?

I’m reading Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire and Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse.

If you could recommend only one novel or book to someone, what would it be?

That would depend entirely on the person and what their tastes were.

What’s something readers might be surprised to learn about you?

I often paint along with old Bob Ross episodes and I occasionally still create custom My Little Ponies.

What are you most looking forward to in the next twelve months?

Sleeping! I just came back from a book tour in Spain, so I’m still recovering from jet lag. Seriously, though, I look forward to writing and finishing my next novel.

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Kameron Hurley’s Meet Me in the Future is published by Tachyon Publications on August 20th, in North America and in the UK. The author’s most recent novel, The Light Brigade is out now, published by Saga Press (North America) and Angry Robot (UK).

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter