Interview

Interview with LAWRENCE M. SCHOEN

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SchoenLM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Lawrence M. Schoen?

What? I thought you knew? Isn’t that why you invited me here? Hmm… this is why they give me those little table tents with my name at conventions, right?

Okay, more seriously I’m yet another overeducated, middle-aged, heterosexual, nearsighted, overweight, bearded, bespectacled, egocentric white male. You know, like usual.

Your new novel, Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, has been published by Tor Books. It looks rather fantastic: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

I made up postcards to describe the novel in under 20 words. Ready?

Prophecy. Intolerance. Loyalty. Conspiracy. Friendship.

A Drug for Speaking to the Dead.

Also Elephants, in Space. Continue reading →

Interview with SUSAN PHILPOTT

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PhilpottS-AuthorPic2How would you introduce your new book Dark Territory to a potential reader?

Signy Shepherd is a kick-ass young conductor on a modern Underground Railroad that helps shuttle women in peril, away from danger. After triumphing over a brutal assassin in her first solo assignment, Signy’s newfound confidence is tested when she begins to suspect that the young mother she is rescuing in her latest case may not be the victim she claims to be.

Dark Territory is an old-fashioned railroad term meaning a section of tracks without functioning signal lights, and I think it perfectly describes Signy’s dilemma as she quickly loses control over the entire operation and finds herself isolated, and in the dark. Relying on nothing but her instincts, and with the cops hot on her tail, Signy is forced to make a choice that not only risks her own life but also those of the people she loves. Continue reading →

Catch-Up Interview with EDWARD COX

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CoxEd-AuthorPic2015Your second novel, The Cathedral of Known Things, is out now, published by Gollancz. What can fans of The Relic Guild expect from the second novel?

The boundaries that were set up in the first book are broken down, and the universe is expanded. We see the Houses of the Aelfir for the first time, along with the Genii War. More of the secrets that were kept from the agents of the Relic Guild, and those they had to keep from each other, are revealed. There are some new characters, some new weapons, and one or two surprises along the way. All mixed in with the usual monsters, magic and mayhem, of course.

How did you find the writing process the second time around? Any particular challenges?

The old challenges were still there. The Relic Guild is a single story told over three books. It’s divided into two timeframes, separated by forty years. Planning the past and the present across three books could be hideously complicated at times. Having now finished the third book, The Watcher of Dead Time, I can honestly say that The Cathedral of Known Things was the hardest to write. Continue reading →

Interview with GUY HALEY

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HaleyG-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Guy Haley?

I am British, from Yorkshire to be precise. I have a kid, a big dog, a fierce wife and lots of brothers. I’m fine, how are you?

Your new novella, The Emperor’s Railroad, will be published by Tor.com in April 2016. It looks really cool: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

Global war devastated the environment, a plague of the living dead wiped out much of humanity, and civilization as we once understood it came to a standstill. That was a thousand years ago, and the world is now a very different place. Conflict between city states is constant, the dead are an ever-present danger. Superstition is rife, and machine relics, mutant creatures and resurrected prehistoric beasts trouble the land. Watching over all are the silent Dreaming Cities. Homes of the angels, bastion outposts of heaven on Earth. Or so the church claims. Very few go in, and nobody ever comes out. Until now…

That’s the blurb. It’s an SF/fantasy/horror/western hybrid, where advanced technology, primitive cities and strange creatures exist alongside knights in armour, and there are zombies. Did I mention the zombies? Sounds complicated? It’s not, actually. I have an underlying history for the whole thing, and it’s sweet as a nut, if I say so myself. The protagonist is a knight of the angels named Quinn, he’s got a gun, two swords, a quest, and a whole lot of secrets besides. Continue reading →

Interview with PETER McLEAN

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McLeanP-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Peter McLean?

I’m a married man and grandfather in my 40s, who has been writing for over twenty years, and actually taking it seriously for perhaps the last five years or so. Over the years I’ve also been a kung fu teacher, a Wiccan priest, a Unix technician and a chaos magician, and I am now an IT account manager at a multinational outsourcing corporation.

Your debut novel, Drake, will be published by Angry Robot. It looks pretty cool: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Thank you! I guess I’d describe it as “a Guy Ritchie movie with demons in it” – Drake is set in the ganglands of South London, but instead of a cheap gangster my central character is a cheap magician, a hitman who uses his magical abilities and the power of an enslaved Archdemon to summon demons and set them on people. Of course it all goes horribly wrong for him in fairly short order, and that’s when things start to get interesting. Continue reading →

Interview with MICHAEL LIVINGSTON

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LivingstonM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Michael Livingston?

I’m someone who wears a lot of hats.

In my day job, I wear the hat of being a professor of English at The Citadel in Charleston, SC. I teach courses mostly in medieval literature — Beowulf, Chaucer, and such — but I publish far more widely in literature and history. Most of my colleagues refer to me as a cultural historian specializing in the Middle Ages, and that fits well enough — except that I also publish a fair amount on the works of Tolkien and other modern fantasists.

And now, thanks to The Shards of Heaven, I get to add the Hat of Novel Writerness, much to my great astonishment and glee!

Your debut novel, The Shards of Heaven, will be published by Tor this month. It looks rather fabulous: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Shards of Heaven is the first novel in a trilogy of the same name. It’s the story of fantasy and history colliding at the rise of the Roman Empire, as the children of Caesar fight to find and control the legendary artifacts of gods both old and new, and a new myth is born in the struggle. Continue reading →

Interview with MICHAEL R. UNDERWOOD

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UnderwoodMR-AuthorPic2Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Michael R. Underwood?

I’m a geek-turned-professional – sales & marketing manager by day (for Angry Robot) and author by night (or really, whenever I can scrape together some spare time), writing books from geeky Urban Fantasy (Geekomancy) to weird fantasy supers (Shield and Crocus) and more. I keep up with my geekdom by reading comics, gaming, and following as many cool TV shows as time permits.

Your next book, Genrenauts: The Absconded Ambassador, will be published by Tor.com. How would you introduce it and the Genrenauts series to a potential reader?

Genreauts is like Leverage-meets-Jasper Fforde – the titular Genrenauts are interdimensional travelers – each world they visit is the home of a narrative genre – Romance, Science Fiction, Western, and so on. They find and fix broken stories in order to protect their own world. If they fail, the dissonance ripples back to their home world and causes disasters. I’m writing the series in novellas – with six episodes per season a la TV. The Absconded Ambassador is the second episode in the series, so I’d suggest readers start with The Shootout Solution. Continue reading →

Interview with TOM TONER

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TonerT-PromiseOfTheChildUKLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Tom Toner?

Hello! Tom Toner is a 29 year-old debut novelist from Somerset with a very patchy beard. Thanks very much for having me.

Your debut novel, The Promise of the Child, is published by Gollancz. It’s already generating quite a bit of attention and praise: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Promise of the Child is the first of a six part series called the Amaranthine Spectrum. It’s set in the closing years of the 147th century, over twelve and half thousand years from now, and I suppose you could call it an epic blend of space opera and fantasy. The book has a huge cast of characters, very few of them human in the traditional sense: on the Old World giants live in paper fortresses and singing sea monsters haunt the coasts, while up in the stars of the magisterial Firmament the remains of immortal mankind are slowly going mad. The Promise of the Child has a lived-in, antiquated feel: pure fantasy on one hand and the most ridiculous and frenetic of space operas on the other. Continue reading →

Interview with PAUL STARKEY

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StarkeyP-LazarusConundrumLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Paul Starkey?

Who is Paul Starkey? I’m just a regular guy with a very irregular imagination. Aside from three years at University in Wales I’ve spent my whole life in the East Midlands. I was born in Derby, I live in Nottingham and I work in Leicester. I’m still amazed people like reading the words I put down on paper, but I’m even more amazed that I have the dedication to write entire novels given how lazy and easily distracted I am!

Your latest novel, The Lazarus Conundrum, will be published by Abaddon. It looks pretty cool: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The premise of most zombie fiction is ‘what would happen if the dead started coming back to life?’. For my story the flipside is the hook, ‘what would happen if the dead stopped coming back to life?’ Its set in a near future Britain where zombies are a fact of life and the NHS has never been so well funded, when a young woman named Trinity Brown is murdered and doesn’t come back it has the potential to cause chaos and the story follows Detective Inspector Helen Ogilvy as she tries to work out who murdered Trinity, and why she didn’t come back. It’s part of a series only insofar as it’s one of the Tomes of the Dead, otherwise it’s a completely standalone story. Continue reading →

Quick Q&A with NATHAN GARRISON

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GarrisonN-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Nathan Garrison?

I am a father, husband, musician, chef, soldier, dreamer, and geek. Oh, and I write stuff too!

Your debut novel, Veiled Empire, is published by Voyager. It looks pretty interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

I’d say it’s got a decent blend of classic and modern styles, both in tone and content, and is packed with action. It is part of a (forthcoming) series, but it can also be read as a standalone. Continue reading →