Interview with MARIANNE DE PIERRES

October 10, 2015September 22, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Angry Robot Books, Dystopia, Marianne de Pierres, Marianne Delacourt, Mythmaker, Night Creatures, Parrish Plessis, Peacemaker, Sci-Fi, Sentients of Orion, Tara Sharp

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Marianne de Pierres?

I’m an Aussie speculative fiction writer with about 17 published novels. A couple of my series have been released in the US, but mostly they are available in Australia and the Commonwealth countries. My websites tell more about me than I can coherently explain and not bore you to death, so go and check them out: main, Burn Bright and Tara Sharp Series. I tend to write across genres.

Your next novel, Mythmaker, will be published by Angry Robot. It’s the latest in your Peacemaker series: How would you introduce it to a potential new reader, and what can fans of the series expect?

It’s a real genre mashup. Think classic Western pulp fiction with a female protagonist, set in Australia, but paranormal! At heart it’s an old school Western adventure, a conservation novel, and a story about dislocated communities. Continue reading →

Interview with M.C. PLANCK

October 9, 2015September 8, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Fantasy, Gold Throne In Shadow, Kassa Gambit, MC Planck, Pyr Books, Sword of the Bright Lady, Tor Books, World of Prime Series

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is M.C. Planck?

Like M. C. Hawking, except for literature rather than physics-derived rap lyrics. Also, my name. Not a pseudonym, despite the rumors.

Your latest novel, Gold Throne In Shadow, the second in your World of Prime series, is due to be published by Pyr Books in October. What can fans of the first novel expect from this sequel, and how would you introduce the series it to a potential reader?

The frame of the story is a classic: a person from our world crosses over to a world of sword and sorcery. What makes it different is the world he has travelled to: on the surface, it seems like any old pseudo-medieval fantasy kingdom, until you get to the bit about how magic is fuelled by eating people’s brains. The other difference is that our hero is not a young farm boy with a divine destiny, but a middle-aged engineer with bad manners.

Christopher Sinclair, like any sensible person, does not want to wander around waving a sword until a dragon eats him or a wizard turns him into a newt. Adventuring is only fun for the insane and the desperate; all he wants is to go home. Along the way he has some interesting, and ultimately disturbing, experiences. Continue reading →

Interview with ZEN CHO

October 6, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Ace Books, Fantasy, Magic, Regency England, Sorcerer Royal Trilogy, Sorcerer to the Crown, Tor UK, Zen Cho

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Zen Cho?

I’m a lawyer and writer from Malaysia, living in the UK. My short story collection Spirits Abroad was published by Malaysian press Buku Fixi in 2014 and was a joint winner of the Crawford Fantasy Award. I’ve edited an anthology called Cyberpunk: Malaysia, also published by Fixi, which came out this year.

Your debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, will be published in September by Tor Books. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader, and is it part of a planned series?

Sorcerer to the Crown is a historical fantasy set in Regency London, about England’s first African Sorcerer Royal, Zacharias Wythe. Zacharias is trying to reverse the decline in England’s magic when his plans are hijacked by ambitious runaway orphan and female magical prodigy, Prunella Gentleman.

The book is the first in a trilogy, but while the books will be linked, the plan is for each book to focus on different characters. The hope is that people will be able to read them as standalones. Continue reading →

Interview with CHRISTOPHER FOWLER

September 24, 2015September 23, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Bryant & May, Burning Man, Christopher Fowler, City Jitters, Fiction, Horror, Nyctophobia, Roofworld, Sand Men, Solaris, Thriller

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Christopher Fowler?

If you want the official version, Christopher Fowler is the award-winning author of over 40 novels and short story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries, recording the adventures of two Golden Age detectives in modern-day London. His most recent books were the haunted house thriller Nyctophobia and The Burning Man. Other work includes screenplays, videogames, graphic novels and audio plays. He won the CWA Dagger In The Library this year for outstanding work and has a weekly column in The Independent On Sunday. He lives in King’s Cross, London and Barcelona and daily updates his fairly unusual blog.

Your latest novel, The Sand Men, is published by Solaris. I finished it recently, and enjoyed it. How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

I like thrillers that ask awkward questions about our world. It’s about what happens when old and new cultures clash, in this case, Dubai’s fast-forward rush into the future, and the damage it inflicts on people. Continue reading →

Quick Catch-Up with M.D. LACHLAN

September 22, 2015September 20, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Fantasy, Fenrir, Historical, Horror, Lord of Slaughter, Mark Alder, MD Lachlan, Son of the Morning, Son of the Night, Valkyrie's Song, Vikings, Werewolves, Wolfsangel

The Valkyrie’s Song is the fourth novel in your Wolfsangel Cycle series. How does it feel to have it got this far? Are there more books to come?

Amazing, really. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the Norse world — or at least my version of it. There are more novels to come but there may be a big leap in time period for the next one. I’m thinking of setting it in WWII.

What drew you to the werewolf myth, and the particular periods of history you’ve chosen for your novels?

I don’t know — it just hopped out of me fully formed on the page. I like the werewolf because of the lack of control, the idea of the ancient animal heart beating beneath the civilised surface, ready to run amok in our lives. Big teeth, too — everyone loves big teeth. Continue reading →

Interview with SETH DICKINSON

September 20, 2015September 14, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Epic, Fantasy, Seth Dickinson, Tor Books, Traitor, Traitor Baru Cormorant

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Seth Dickinson?

Wow, right to the eternal questions! I’m a writer and a lapsed social scientist. I’ve worked on chocolate statistics, cancer biology, the science of rumor, and the social neuroscience of racial bias in police shootings.

I’ve written more than a dozen short stories, a lot of the fiction and lore for Bungie Studios’ smash hit Destiny, and an embarrassing amount of fanfiction about Lego bricks.

I grew up in the Vermont hills, where we had an icy six-stage sledding track worthy of legends. Two brave children would race down first in a big sled, and then everyone else pursued them in one-person sleds and tried to tear them from their mount.

I liked to draw targeting crosshairs on my goggles so I could pretend to be a cyborg.

Your debut novel, The Traitor, will be published in September by Tor Books. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader, and is it part of a planned series?

The Traitor is an epic geopolitical fantasy about a young woman’s mission to crush a colonial empire from the inside. Think Game of Thrones meets Guns, Germs, and Steel meets Code Name Verity. Continue reading →

Quick Q&A with FRAN WILDE

September 14, 2015September 2, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Fantasy, Fran Wilde, Tor Books, Updraft

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Fran Wilde?

Fran Wilde (that’s me!) can program robot minions, set gemstones, tie a sailor’s knot board, and harmonize perfectly when alone in my car.

Your debut novel, Updraft, was published by Tor Books at the beginning of September. It looks really cool. How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Updraft is about wind and wings, secrets and betrayal, songs and silence. It is a high-flying adventure in a city of bone towers that rises above the clouds. Updraft can be read as a stand-alone book; there will be another, Cloudbound, coming from Tor in fall 2016. Continue reading →

Interview with RAJAN KHANNA

September 10, 2015September 8, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Falling Sky, Post-Apocalypse, Pyr Books, Rajan Khanna, Rising Tide, Sci-Fi

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Rajan Khanna?

What a difficult question. I suppose it’s redundant to say I’m a writer, so I’ll also say that I’m also a blogger, a reviewer and a narrator. I live in Brooklyn, New York. I have a passion for writing and books. Also for music and beer and airships and the creatures that live in the depths of the ocean.

Your next novel, Rising Tide, will be published by Pyr in October 2015. It’s the second in your dystopian series. How would you introduce the series to a new reader, and what can fans of Falling Sky expect from book two?

My simple explanation for the series is that it’s post-apocalyptic with airships. It’s a fast-paced series of adventures about an airship captain trying not just to survive in the post-apocalypse, but to find a greater purpose.

Readers who read Falling Sky will know that Ben ended that book in a precarious situation. Things only get worse in Rising Tide for both Ben and Miranda. It’s still a fast-paced book, but the stakes are higher in this one.

Continue reading →

An Interview with ANDY REMIC

August 28, 2015August 28, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Andy Remic, Angry Robot Books, Blood Dragon Empire, Dragon Engine, Fantasy, Twilight of the Dragons

Let’s start with an introduction, for those who may not be familiar with your work: Who is Andy Remic?

Andy Remic is an alien blob entity who’s been trapped in a bubble of gelatinous goo and forced to write hardcore fast-paced thrillers, SF and fantasy, sometimes mixing up all the genres in one big whisky barrel, whilst being prodded by an electrified titanium rod. Sometimes he shape-shifts into different types of aliens and appears in movies, and occasionally he is allowed to take human form for photo opportunities and signings. Mainly though, he likes being a blob.

Your new novel, The Dragon Engine, will be published by Angry Robot in September. How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Dragon Engine is a fast-paced dark fantasy novel. It’s about a group of Vagandrak heroes who get drunk and sign a contract to go on a treasure hunt in some ancient, abandoned dwarf mines. The adventurers believe there are jewels hidden there which give everlasting life. Only when they arrive, the mines are far from abandoned, and our heroes learn of three huge dragons held in captivity, enslaved by the dwarves, particularly Skalg, First Cardinal of the Church of Hate… things go downhill fast for everybody. This is the first of a two-part series – at the moment! Continue reading →

An Interview with JASON M. HOUGH

August 26, 2015August 24, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Darwin Elevator, Del Rey, Dire Earth Cycle, Exodus Tower, Jason M Hough, Plague Forge, Sci-Fi, Titan Books, Zero World

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Jason M. Hough?

He’s me. I’m him. Oh! I see what you mean. Let’s see… These days I’m a full-time author. Perhaps more accurately I’m a full-time author and a full-time father, since I’m always doing both to some extent. Before that I designed video games, did 3D animation, made mobile software that utilized machine learning and contextual awareness, and other things not quite as interesting.

Your next novel, Zero World, is published by Titan Books (UK) and Del Rey (US). It looks pretty excellent: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a planned series?

Thanks! The quick intro is that it’s a bit like “James Bond meets Total Recall”, though of course such things are always lacking. So let’s say it’s a futuristic spy thriller featuring a assassin who, upon completing his missions, has his memories reset to the pre-mission state. He’s sort of embraced this “feature” about himself, and lives his life to give himself the best chance of success when he’s out doing… whatever it is he does. Continue reading →