Interview

Interview with CECILIA DART-THORNTON

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , ,

DartThorntonC-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Cecilia Dart-Thornton?

I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. I became a schoolteacher after leaving university. Over the years my hobbies have included painting in oils, tapestry, clay sculpting, performing in folk music bands, and growing heritage fruit. I am a keen supporter of animal rights and wilderness conservation.

I became a full-time writer in 2000 after my work was discovered on the Internet and published by Time Warner (New York). My books are published around the world and have been translated into several languages.

Your Bitterbynde Trilogy will be published by Open Road Media this month. It looks rather interesting: How would you introduce it to a potential reader?

The Bitterbynde is a fantasy trilogy that comprises The Ill-Made Mute, The Lady of the Sorrows, and The Battle of Evernight. The story opens with readers seeing through the eyes of a deformed mute with no memory. This foundling resolves to seek a cure for the deformities and the amnesia. Meanwhile a strange world unfolds on every side. The world is populated with — nay, teeming with — ‘eldritch wights’. These are supernatural creatures whose nature ranges from friendly (‘seelie’) to mischievous (‘tricksy’) to downright dangerous (‘unseelie’). They come in all shapes and sizes and may be monstrously ugly or spellbindingly beautiful. Their looks have no correlation with their inclinations. Continue reading →

Q&A with Stefan Spjut

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , , ,

SpjutS-AuthorPicWhat inspired you to write a book about the stallo people and how did the idea for Stallo originate?

I didn’t set out to write a book about the stallo people, I more or less stumbled across their mythological footprints when expanding my troll story geographically. What is a troll? It’s a makeshift denomination for an elusive, mischievous supernatural being, originating from the stories of our oral tradition, therefore pertaining a certain degree of authenticity. In the sami culture of old, such beings, roaming the borders of reality, were referred to as stallo, or stallú, which is a sami word of obscure origin. Maybe it means steel, maybe it doesn’t – the etymological obscurity contributes to the sense of mystery. So the troll and the stallo are essentially the same. It’s obviously part of my literary method to adumbrate a hidden connection like that. The idea popped up when I moved a lawn and happened to find out where or rather how the troll was hiding. All these long years it was hiding in our domestic fauna, under my very nose. Hidden, however, is not forgotten. Continue reading →

Interview with DAN WELLS

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , , ,

WellsD-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Dan Wells?

Hi! I’m Dan Wells, and I write books. I mostly play around in horror and science fiction, but I’ve dabbled in fantasy, steampunk, thriller, humor, historical, and one time I wrote a novella about a Mormon Pioneer superhero who fights zombies. So I kind of cover everything. I lived in Germany for the past couple of years, and am now back in the states, in Utah. I have 5.5 children, and collect board games with obsessive zeal. My favorite movie is Jaws, I have Darth Vader’s autograph, and I will eat ramen at literally any opportunity. Continue reading →

Interview with ROB BOFFARD

Civilian Reader Interview , , , ,

BoffardR-AuthorPicCropLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Rob Boffard?

A funny-looking South African with freakishly long arms, lots of tattoos, a really weird accent, and bad hair. I spent a decade as a journalist being paid specifically to not make stuff up, and now I’m getting paid to do the exact opposite.

Your debut novel, Tracer, will be published by Orbit Books in July 2015. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a planned series?

Tracer is about a courier on a city-sized space station. Her name is Riley, she loves going as fast as humanly possible, and she makes a point of never asking what she carries. Of course, when she accidentally finds out what’s in one particular shipment, things go very wrong, very fast.

It’s the first book in a trilogy, and if you like space stations, parkour, killer gadgets, edible insects, explosions, psychotic villains or any combination of the above, you’re going to love it. Continue reading →

Interview with MIKE BROOKS

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , , ,

BrooksM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Mike Brooks?

Starting with a hard one, eh?

I’m currently thirty-three, but I tend to change my age every year. I’m British. I enjoy a select few video games, a select few Games Workshop games, walking in the countryside, watching football (soccer), MMA and nature/science documentaries, and playing guitar and singing in a punk band called Interplanetary Trash Talk. I also DJ occasionally, usually at the request/tolerance of the Rock Society of Nottingham Trent University, from which I graduated in 2003. I am, as you might expect, a massive fan of fantasy and science-fiction in various media.

I’m politically left-leaning, and it’s arguable whether that’s cause or effect of me working with the homeless for over ten years. I have little fear of public speaking or performance, but can struggle to make conversation one-to-one. I have difficulty in recognising or recalling faces, and would be much more comfortable in the world if everyone walked around with their name floating next to their head. I’ve been married for eight years. I go out of my way to say hello to cats.

Your debut novel, Dark Run, will be published by Del Rey this week in the UK. How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

I would introduce it as a science-fiction adventure featuring interplanetary smugglers, intrigue, revenge and an awful lot of treachery. You don’t need a physics degree to understand the science, it’s not so grimdark that you can’t see the walls, but there’s a lot of action and hopefully a fair bit of humour. People keep describing it as ‘fun’, and I’ll take that.

It is indeed part of a series – or at least, that’s the plan. The sequel Dark Sky is coming out in November, and after that… well, I’ve got plans, but the best-laid plans of mice and men seldom coincide. We’ll see what the future brings (hopefully a contract for more books). Continue reading →

Interview with PETER ORULLIAN

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , ,

OrullianP-VoH1-UnrememberedUSCrop2

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Peter Orullian? 

OrullianP-AuthorPicMy rote answer is that I have two abiding passions in life: writing, and music. In addition to my fiction, I’m also a musician. I spent many years in classical voice training. And I love almost all kinds of music: jazz, Broadway, classical, etc., in addition to rock and metal.

By day, I work for Xbox, which is good, since I’m a gamer. But I’m also a dad. Kids are awesome.

Your next novel, Trial of Intentions, was recently published by Tor. It’s the second in your Vault of Heaven series. How would you introduce the series to a potential reader? And what can fans expect from the new novel?

When I started my series, The Vault of Heaven, I had this idea: Write a series that uses some of the familiar elements of the genre to gently lead readers to someplace new. Someplace my own. That idea begins to kick in with the first book. Then, with Trial of Intentions, it kicks into high gear. Things aren’t what readers are expecting. And a few of my early readers have said they’ve loved having me violate their expectations. Continue reading →

An Interview with SUE TINGEY

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , , , , ,

TingeyS-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Sue Tingey?

Hi Stefan, thank you for inviting me to be interviewed.

Who is Sue Tingey? That is actually rather a deep question and I’m probably the last person you should ask, but I’ll have a go at giving a sensible and possibly truthful reply:

I’m a book and animal lover. Married with no pets at the moment except for some Koi carp. I’m slightly obsessive about things that matter and couldn’t really give a damn about things that don’t (though this has taken years to perfect – I used to be a natural born worrier). I love horror films but only if viewed from behind a cushion or, if no cushion available, from between my fingers. I hate animal films because I spend the whole hour and a half sobbing. I put it down to being traumatised by Disney’s Old Yella when I was a child. As for Marley and Me – don’t even go there.

Your debut novel, Marked, will be published by Jo Fletcher Books. It looks rather fabulous: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

Thank you kind sir. Marked is the first book of the Soulseer Chronicles and is about Lucky de Salle, a young woman who, for as long as she can remember, has been able to converse with the dead. Even her best – and only – friend Kayla is a ghost. The book starts when Lucky reluctantly returns to her old school, from which she was expelled fifteen years earlier, to help with a haunting brought about by three boarders playing with a Ouija board. As it happens her instincts are correct: ghosts are the least of her worries – the schoolgirls have called up a daemon and he has a message for Kayla. From this point on Lucky finds that no one she meets is who they say they are and even her best friend has been keeping secrets. Soon she’s caught up in the political intrigues of a world she never knew existed, and her already weird life gets weirder by the moment. Continue reading →

Video: Kim Stanley Robinson talks AURORA

Civilian Reader Guest Post, Interview, Video , , , ,

RobinsonKS-AuroraAurora, the next novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, is one of my most-anticipated of the year. Luckily, I have an ARC, so I’ll be reading it very soon. Above is a video in which the author discusses his new novel, which is published in July by Orbit Books in the US and UK. Here’s the synopsis:

A major new novel from one of SF’s most powerful voices, telling the incredible story of mankind’s first voyage beyond the solar system in search of a new home

Our voyage from Earth began generations ago. 

Now, we approach our destination. 

A new home. 

Aurora.

Interview with MARC TURNER

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , , , , ,

TurnerM-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Marc Turner?

Marc Turner is the dashing and debonair (and sometimes delusional) author of the forthcoming epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of the Exile. He was born in Canada, but grew up in England, and currently lives in Durham with his wife and son.

And he’s as confused as everyone else as to why he’s started talking about himself in the third person.

Your debut, When The Heavens Fall, is due to be published this year by Tor Books. How would you introduce it to a new reader? Is it the beginning of a new series?

When The Heavens Fall tells the story of a mage who steals an artefact, the Book of Lost Souls, that gives him power over the dead. He uses it to resurrect an ancient civilization in order to challenge Shroud, the Lord of the Dead, for control of the underworld, and Shroud responds by sending his most formidable servants to seize the Book. But the god is not the only one interested in the Book, and a host of other forces converge, drawn by the magic that has been unleashed.

I spent a long time trying to think of a tag line that captures the book, and I came up with “The Lord of the Rings meets World War Z“. I should note, WTHF is not a zombie apocalypse story, but if you read the book (if? When!) you’ll understand the reference. Continue reading →

An Interview with LUCY HOUNSOM

Civilian Reader Interview , , , , , ,

HounsomL-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Lucy Hounsom? 

I am a hopeless dreamer who spends half her time in other worlds and the other half inside her own head… which is pretty much the same thing. I used to get told off at school for not listening except when we studied English or wrote poems/ stories. You know that loner you saw squandering their lunch break in the library reading Dragonlance? Yeah – that was me. Before then, I was training to be an actress and a dancer at theatre school and I worked a fair bit in the industry. I can’t imagine being an actress now, but that’s what might have happened had I not discovered how much I loved telling stories. Today I live in East Devon on the shores of the Jurassic Coast, dividing my time between writing and bookselling. And occasionally playing the piano.

Your debut novel, STARBORN, was recently published by Tor Books in the UK. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a planned series?

Starborn is the first book in a trilogy called Worldmaker, a traditional fantasy with the flavour of Eddings and Canavan. It’s the story of a young woman called Kyndra who discovers that she (and indeed the world as she knows it) might not be all they appear. After a disastrous coming of age ceremony, she finds herself fleeing her home in the company of two strangers, who take her halfway across the world to a hidden subterranean citadel – the home of the fabled Wielders, who can draw upon the energy of the sun and moon. It’s here she begins to uncover a truth long forgotten by everyone except a fanatical sect living in the depths of the citadel and their mysterious leader – a truth inextricably bound up with her own destiny. Continue reading →