Interview with MARC TURNER

May 14, 2015May 11, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Chronicles of the Exile, Dragon Hunters, Fantasy, Marc Turner, Most Anticipated 2015, Red Tide, There's a Devil Watching Over You, Titan Books, Tor Books, When the Heavens Fall

Let’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

April 29, 2015April 27, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Blog Tour, Fantasy, Lucy Hounsom, Most Anticipated 2015, Starborn, Tor UK, Worldmaker Series

Let’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 →

An Interview with STEPHANIE SAULTER

April 24, 2015January 31, 2021 Civilian Reader Interview Binary, Dystopia, Gemsigns, Jo Fletcher Books, Must Read 2014, Must Read 2015, Quercus US, Regeneration, Revolution Series, Sci-Fi, Stephanie Saulter

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Stephanie Saulter?

She’s Jamaican-born, American-educated, a Londoner by choice. A good cook and a bad singer. Possessor of a career that’s had at least as much to do with what could be learned as what could be earned. The person who never ends up seeing the films that everyone else is talking about, because she stayed home and read a book.

Your novel Binary is due to be published in the US by Quercus in May 2015. It’s the second in your ®Evolution series – how would you introduce the series to a new reader, and what can fans expect from book two?

The ®Evolution trilogy is set in a London of the near future, around a hundred years after a technologically-caused pandemic known as the Syndrome came close to wiping out the entire human species. Genetic engineering of embryos eventually provided immunity and prevented extinction, but with some babies it was taken further, creating a servant class of genetically modified humans known as gems. This continued for generations, until the indenture system was abolished and gems were acknowledged to have at least some of the rights of other humans. The first book, Gemsigns, takes place against the backdrop of the upheaval that follows this decision. The gemtechs are trying to overturn it and reclaim the people they think of as their property; those people are living in freedom for the first time, and fighting to preserve it; there are progressives who want to help them, and religious extremists who want to wipe them out; the norm majority are conflicted, fearful and easily manipulated. It’s an explosive mix. Events pivot around the gems’ charismatic leader, Aryel Morningstar – a woman whose origins and abilities are shrouded in mystery, and who is loved and feared in equal measure. Continue reading →

Interview with MICHAEL ALAN NELSON

April 21, 2015April 6, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Boom Studios, Comics, Hexed, Michael Alan Nelson, Pyr Books, Sisters of Witchdown, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Michael Alan Nelson?

I grew up in a small farming community in northern Indiana. Lots of corn and woods and swamp, but not much else. However, we lived about ninety minutes from downtown Chicago, so my parents would make sure to get me into the city now and again to remind me there was a larger world out beyond the seemingly endless cornfields. It was actually a nice place to be. I got to experience that stereotypical “small town” life (for all its good and ills) and yet still be exposed to a large, diverse world beyond my back yard. I would spend a Saturday helping my dad cut down trees and split wood (we heated our home with a wood burning stove) and then head into the city on Sunday to visit Adler Planetarium or the Field Museum–though, to be honest, I much preferred the museums to splitting wood.

I was also a bit of a kid-of-all-cliques when I was growing up. I was always shy so people never paid much attention to me. That allowed me to occupy this odd space that floated between several different social strata. I was in theater, competed on the speech team, but I was also a varsity wrestler. Of course, sometimes I would skip practice to play Dungeons&Dragons. When I was supposed to be working on takedowns, I’d be in the bed of a pick-up truck parked in some random cornfield rolling for initiative. Needless to say, I didn’t have a very promising wrestling career. Continue reading →

Interview with PETER NEWMAN

April 13, 2015March 23, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Debut 2015, Fantasy, Peter Newman, Vagrant, Voyager

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

Peter Newman lives in Somerset with his wife and son. Growing up in and around London, Peter studied Drama and Education at the Central School of Speech and Drama, going on to work as a secondary school drama teacher. He now works as a trainer and Firewalking Instructor. He sometimes pretends to be a butler for the Tea and Jeopardy podcast, which he co-writes, and which has been shortlisted for a Hugo Award.

Your debut novel, The Vagrant, is due to be published this year by Voyager Books. How would you introduce it to a new reader? And is it part of a planned series?

A quick description would be: A silent figure wanders a far-future, post-demonic apocalypse, carrying humanity’s last hope. It features singing swords, demon knights, a baby and a goat.

It has been described recently (to my great delight) as: “A bit like China Mieville writing post-apocalyptic angelic knights.” A quote I’m sharing at every available opportunity!

The sequel will be out next year. [Possibly called The Malice – TBC] Continue reading →

Interview with JAMES BENMORE

April 2, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Artful Dodger, Dickens, Dodger, Dodger of the Dials, Dodger of the Revolution, Heron, Historical, James Benmore, Oliver Twist, Quercus

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is James Benmore?

I’m the author of a trilogy of novels that further the adventures of Jack Dawkins from Oliver Twist – or the Artful Dodger as you and I might call him. The first of these books, Dodger, was released to a very warm reception last year and so it’s been a real pleasure to keep his story going for another two books.

Your next novel, Dodger of the Dials, is published in paperback this year by Heron. It’s your second novel about the Artful Dodger. How would you introduce the series to a new reader, and what can fans of the first expect?

So, Dodger picks up six years after the events of Oliver Twist. In that book, Jack was arrested for pickpocketing and was transported to an Australian penal colony. But now he’s back in London under mysterious circumstances with a task to locate a priceless jewel which is lost somewhere within the city. The story leads Jack back into some of the darker areas of his past and he finds out what has become of many of the other young orphans that once shared Fagin’s home with him. It’s a historical crime caper with one of literature’s most irreverent anti-heroes at its center.

Dodger of the Dials is set a year after that and now an even more emboldened Dawkins is establishing himself as one of London’s most ambitious criminals. He’s moved from pickpocketing and is now a burglar-on-demand, cracking great houses on behalf of dubious wealthy clients. He also runs a significantly large gang in the Seven Dials vicinity called ‘the Diallers’ but his success attracts unwanted attention from an even bigger career criminal called Weeping Billy Slade. We see the beginnings of what we now call organized crime but this prototype is a disaster for Jack. Before long he’s in a condemned cell awaiting his own execution like Fagin before him and with some desperate plans for escape. Continue reading →

Interview with DAVID WALTON

March 25, 2015March 11, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview David Walton, Pyr Books, Sci-Fi, Superposition, Supersymmetry

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is David Walton?

As well as a science fiction author, I’m an engineer, a Christian, and the father of seven children. My oldest child is fourteen, and my youngest is only one and a half, so my home is a riotous place, full of love, adventure, and chaos. During the day, I work for Lockheed Martin, a satisfying career that makes use of my interests in math and algorithms. On my blog, I’ve written about how my Christian faith interacts with my love for science and science fiction.

Your next novel, Superposition, will be published by Pyr in the US, in April 2015. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a new series?

As a quantum physics murder mystery! Superposition is a fast-paced thriller, with high-stakes danger and a race to the finish. It starts when a former colleague shows up at Jacob Kelley’s door full of unbelievable tales and fires a gun at Jacob’s wife. When the colleague shows up dead, Jacob is accused of murder. Soon he and his teenage daughter are on the run, pursued by the police and by a quantum intelligence unconstrained by the normal limits of space and matter. Father and daughter have to pick up the pieces, following multiple paths of possibility to get to the truth and put their lives back together again. Continue reading →

Interview with MARKUS HEITZ

March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Devastating Hate, Die Legenden der Albae, Dwarves, Elves, Fantasy, Gerechter Zorn, Jo Fletcher Books, Legends of the Älfar, Markus Heitz, Piper Verlag, Righteous Fury, Vernichtender Hass

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Markus Heitz?

An ex-RPGer, old Goth, who likes living and laughing and telling stories. Many stories in many different worlds. That’s the curse of being a roleplayer (p&p) for 16 years. Now I’m writing and it’s a kind of methadone. Oh, of course, I wear black. It calms people around you – did I mention, that I am 1.89m tall?

Your latest novel, Righteous Fury, is published by Jo Fletcher Books. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a series? Is it connected to your previous novels?

When I started the Dwarves, I knew that my evil elves – called the Älfar – must have their own series. The idea of changing the perspective was very seductive for me. And, like the Emperor in Star Wars, I wanted to say to readers: come to the Dark Side. Look, we even have art and paintings and culture. Okay, we use bones and blood and other parts of our enemies, but, well, art is art. Playing the devil’s advocate was the challenge. Continue reading →

Interview with RJURIK DAVIDSON

March 3, 2015March 2, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview Fantasy, New Weird, Rjurik Davidson, Stars Askew, Tor Books, Tor UK, Unwrapped Sky

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Rjurik Davidson?

That sounds like an existential question. The kind of thing that Jean Paul Sartre would spend his time contemplating. We are what we do, Sartre would have responded. As for me, I’ve always tried to live a varied life, and have done many jobs. One of my qualities is curiosity. I love learning new things. There’s too much to know in this world. My interests include from quantum physics, ancient history, political theory, psychology and psychoanalysis. I’ve lived around the world (Australia, the US, Europe), worked as a cook, clerk, lecturer, and builder. I speak French, though unevenly. I love to see things I’ve never seen before. I love to meet unusual people. I’m very loyal but don’t often forgive people who have treated me poorly.

Your debut, Unwrapped Sky, will be published in paperback by Tor in the UK, in March 2015. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader?

Unwrapped Sky sits somewhere between fantasy and science fiction, in a little subgenre sometimes called the New Weird. It’s set in the fantastic city of Caeli-Amur, which is something like an industrial version of Ancient Rome. Steam trams chug along the streets. A ruined forum lies close to a huge arena. Three dictatorial Houses rule the city. It’s filled with strange wonders. Ancient Minotaurs arrive for the traditional Festival of the Sun and New-Men bring wondrous technology from their homeland. Hideously disfigured Wastelanders stream into the city and strikes break out in the factory district. Continue reading →

Interview with MARSHALL RYAN MARESCA

February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 Civilian Reader Interview A Murder of Mages, DAW Books, Debut 2015, Fantasy, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Most Anticipated 2015, Thorn of Dentonhill

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Marshall Ryan Maresca?

I’m a fantasy and sci-fi writer living in Austin, TX, as well as an occasional playwright. I grew up in upstate New York, outside of Syracuse, but fled from lake-effect winters to hotter climates when I finished college.

Your debut, The Thorn of Dentonhill, will be published by DAW Books in the US, in February. How would you introduce the novel to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Thorn of Dentonhill follows Veranix Calbert, a magic-student by day, vigilante-by-night who fights his own personal war against a drug trafficking gang. It’s a fast-paced adventure, filled with action, magic and snappy dialogue. Is it part of a series? Short answer: yes. More complicated answer: Thorn is the first in a series following Veranix, but my next book — A Murder of Mages — is in the same setting, but following different characters. So there will be two separate series that cohabit the same space. Continue reading →