Thumbnail Thursday with Amalia Dillin

      It's Thursday, and that means it's time for another interview, this time with Amalia Dillin, author of the recently released Forged by Fate. Read on to find out more about her and the sort of animals she'd like to have in her backyard some day. 

     What are you working on right now?

I’m currently in the middle of a couple of projects, including revisions for the second book in the Fate of the Gods series, a paranormal romance novella with Ullr, the Norse god of archery and skiing, and a novel about Pirithous, son of Zeus, and his escape from Hades into the modern world. I’m really not sure what I would do with myself if it weren’t for mythology!

      What's your pre-writing ritual?

Um. I guess I check my email, then twitter, then facebook, then dive in. Of course, I try really hard *not* to do this, too. I find that my most productive days are the days when I look at my word document first thing. It sets the tone for the rest of my writing day, and while I might break for research, it helps me to tune out the rest of the internet and all its amazing and wonderful distractions.

      What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

I recently learned a lot more than I ever wanted to know about fleas – I hadn’t realized there were specific fleas for specific animals, or how varied they were in size. I calculated how many fleas it would take to fill a wine bottle for that novella, but thankfully, I’ve blocked the most sordid of those details out of my mind since. If I ever have to look up fleas again it will be far, far too soon!

      Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

Ha! Well, so far, my favorite is definitely Forged by Fate, because it really is my book of ThorLove, and I’m so, so glad I’m getting to share it with the world. BUT, I also wrote a serial for my blog with my friend Mia Hayson, about Thor in Zombie Land which was truly a labor of love, and so, so much fun. It was kind of a story we wrote together just for the joy of writing ridiculous things, so I guess that project kind of gives Forged by Fate a run for its money in my heart. So often, it’s easy to forget about that kind of writing, but it’s the pure joy of it which started me on the path to authorhood, and it’d be a shame to lose touch with that.

      You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Robert A. Heinlein. No question. His vision was just… incredible. And he had so many amazing insights. We see that clearly in his work. Wait. I lied. I want to change my answer to Homer. I want to know what he actually knew about the epic stories he wrote down!

      What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently? 

Runemarks, by Joanne Harris. It was really an amazing and creative take on the idea of Ragnarok and what comes after. I really, really enjoyed exploring the world and the mythology she created!

      Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

Not enough, honestly. But I enjoy yoga, and more than that, I love romping around in the woods. I’m looking forward to getting a dog soon, and getting just a little bit lost out in our (awesomely large) backyard. The size of my yard may or may not be part of the reason I’d like to get goats – riding mowers are so much less fun than livestock!

***

Amalia Dillin began as a Biology major before taking Latin and falling in love with old heroes and older gods. After that, she couldn't stop writing about them, with the occasional break for more contemporary subjects. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, and dream of the day when they will own goats--to pull her chariot through the sky, of course! Links to all her work can be found on her website, www.amaliadillin.com – including the aforementioned Thor in Zombie Land, and more information about The Fate of the Gods trilogy!

Thumbnail Thursday with Katherine Sparrow

It's Thursday, and that means another interview, this time with the insighttful Katherine Sparrow. Read on to find out more about her and how she came to write a Nebula nominated story.

What are you working on right now?

A sequel to a book about cured mentally-ill kids with not-so-super powers. Thinking about and drafting a sequel is interesting and hard. There's the issue of working in back-story to orient readers who didn't read the first book, without boring the readers who did read the first book. Then there's working with characters who've already had a lot happen to them, and how to express the growing complexity of their lives. And, on top of that, this book is much more about sociology and groups of people told through the lens of a couple of characters, so I find that hard, hard, hard. My writing, it seems, always wants me to learn how to write things I don't know how to write. Which is why I love it and why it terrifies me and why I doubt I'll ever move out of a place of, as the Buddhist's say, of beginner's mind.

 What's your pre-writing ritual?

Grabbing a cup of coffee or green tea. Surfing the same four Internet places I always do until I get bored. Turning on Pandora (lately to the dubstep station which is way too industrial and grindy for my normal taste, but seems to work for writing.) Telling myself I can't take a break until I write X amount of words. Taking a deep breath and jumping into word-world.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

I love, love, love writing research. It's so different from academic or real-life research in that instead of looking for mastery of a subject, I'm looking for quirky details and vignettes, and those tidbits that open a whole imagined world.

Last year, for a story I was writing about a girl discovering San Francisco's secrets, I photographed over a hundred and fifty graffiti murals in the city, and let the images and hidden places seep into me and whisper their stories.

About five years ago I did researched South Africa, and more specifically the history of the anti-apartheid movement and what it's like to live in Soweto for Xhosa and Zulu teenaged girls. I got to interview some really wonderful and vibrant teenagers, who were hilariously like teenagers everywhere, and also very specifically south African and passionate about the struggles and joys of living in Johannesburg. I also got to read many testimonials about a movement I personally find inspiring and heartbreaking. It was wonderful.

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

Well, a lot of my stories start out of a rage at some injustice or other. When I wrote "The Migratory Patterns of Dancers", I was really pissed off about the ways patriarchy and capitalism co-mingle to mess up men's lives just as much as women's, a lot of the time. Like the way men are supposed to be the workers and providers, and aren't allowed other roles in their lives. I was also angry at feminists who didn't seem interested in those injustices, and would rather personally profit off them.

So, of course that led to a story about a future without birds, and men who bike around to national parks and perform extinct-bird dances. Somehow, it got a Nebula nomination in 2011 which I am still thrilled about.

 You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

George Orwell. I love him so much as a writer who told complex truths, and I just want to breathe his air and be his friend and talk to him about "Homage to Catalonia", "Down and Out in London and Paris", and how his chickens are doing (Not a metaphor, he was obsessed with his chickens.)

 What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

"Five Ways to Fall in Love on Planet Porcelain,” a short story from Cat Rambo's science fiction anthology, "Near and Far." It was one of those stories that is both strange and incredibly real. It broke my heart. I read it months ago and I still think about it all the time. (http://www.kittywumpus.net/blog/2012/12/24/five-ways-to-fall-in-love-on-planet-porcelain/)

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

Writing is so sedentary, and it often hurts my back if I sit around too long. Add to that that I rarely get ideas when I'm pounding the keyboard, and I end up spending a lot of my time walking. I live in a city that is full of mossy staircases, pocket parks, and strange micro-neighborhood. I love exploring new routes and watching the seasons change.

***

All things Katherine Sparrow can be found at katherinesparrow.net. Also, for some free stories go to: http://www.freesfonline.de/authors/Katherine_Sparrow.html

Thumbnail Thursday with Erica Hildebrand

It's Thursday, and that means another interview! Today I'd like to welcome Erica Hildebrand. Not only has she written some of my favorite stories, but she's also an excellent artist. Read on to find out more about her!

What are you working on right now?

I'm trying to revise this convoluted story about a family that gets visited (and subsequently badgered) by their immortal ancestor.  Elsewhere, I'm working on a script for a graphic novel about werewolves and superheroes.  And for the hat trick, I'm writing a new science fiction story.  It's about space rabbits. 

What's your pre-writing ritual?

I'm not sure I have one.  Hydration, maybe?  This answer used to be a resounding "coffee," but I'm off coffee right now.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

I once wrote a story about a female gladiator in ancient Rome.  Part of my research involved digging into the Roman calendar of festivals; I had mentioned the goddess Minerva, and I wanted to make sure I had the correct event so I knew what month to place the story in.  It was a full day's research for maybe five words of prose. 

The part that surprised me was just how many festivals, holidays, and celebrations they had in Rome.  I knew they had a lot, but I didn't think it was that much.  And it drilled the lesson into me that if I ever create a fictional society that is both religious and loves to party, I need to give them a full calendar of holidays. 

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

Oh man, tough to choose!  I'd say the ones with protagonists worth rooting for are the ones that tend to stick with me.  I have a story forthcoming from Kaleidotrope called "Jack Magic," which is an adventure fantasy born out of the old superstition that ship's cats are good omens to sailors.  It's about a guy down on his luck who is just trying to make things right.  I'm still rooting for him, and I hope readers will too.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Can it be a group date?  I'd love to sit down with Rudyard Kipling and make him tell me anecdotes, and find out which adaptation of The Jungle Book is his favorite (mine is Chuck Jones').  But I'd also like Edna St. Vincent Millay to come too, because she enjoys a good time, and after lunch we could paint the town red.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

I just read "Wool - Part One" by Hugh Howey, an introduction to his science fiction series of the same name.  The story begins with a character climbing an iron staircase.  Before you know anything about the guy, you're getting only glimpses of the strange setting that serves as backdrop, very minimalist brush strokes.  But it's pretty compelling!  I see why this series has generated a lot of buzz.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I'm a fan of resistance training.  It's a great alternative to cardio.  I'd love to try lifting exercises sometime, and my basement is earmarked to become a home gym at some point.  I'm also a fan of taking walks.  As for staying healthy, I'd say switching to a more natural, plant-based diet is one of the best things I've done.

***

Erica Hildebrand works on illustrated projects in addition to her writing. She has a soft spot in her heart for superheroes, dinosaurs, and the conquerors of antiquity. A graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop, her fiction has appeared in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and a half dozen other places. Her comics have appeared in Space Squid and Kaleidotrope.  She lives with her wife in Pennsylvania, and her tweet handle is @Hildebabble.  Come say hi.

The Big Five Zero

This marks my 50th blog post. Hurrah! It would have taken me quite some time to get here if I hadn't started digging in other people's dirt interviewing people. It's been an interesting endeavor, and I'll continue as long as people are willing to spill their guts I can find people to interview. I decided on sending people the same set of questions (although a couple have changed some around to suit what they're working on, which is fine... I see it as a fluid process, not some rigid thing) because I've got too much going on right now. Otherwise, I'd love to craft questions that are specific to each person.

The answers have made me smile (and sometimes laugh out loud) and made me think, and most of all, they've reiterated what I already know, and that is that the writers I hang out with (in real life and on the  interwebz) are all-around wonderful people--brilliant, witty, and generous--and they're all filled with amazing stories. I feel quite fortunate to belong to such a group.

My most popular interview to date was from Alex Shvartsman. He also had the dubious honor of being my first victim. I think his wit and charm come through in the interview. My most popular non-interview post was the one in which I talked about the Shards of History launch party where I learned you should always bribe your readers with food.

Moving towards the 100th post, I'll continue to post about my writing process and whatever else piques my interest that particular week. I just finished putting together the major scenes from the novel I'm about to start writing. The blue cards belong to the main character. The yellow are scenes from the antagonist's POV. The pink cards belong to the love story. I can glance at the board and see where I might need to add more pink or yellow (or less), and I can rearrange the scenes before I even start writing. I've dabbled with them enough, and now I'm ready to start writing. Heck, I might get to the end of the first row and throw out all the rest because I discovered some really cool storyline that will work better.

At any rate, I used it as an excuse to procrastinate a bit while preparing myself mentally to write this particular story. Plus, any excuse to shop at the office supply store and bring home cute things.

Thumbnail Thursday with Anaea Lay

Welcome to another edition of Thumbnail Thursday! Today I'd like to welcome Anaea Lay, who is quite charming and pleasant, unless you're her enemy. Or a baby.

What are you working on right now?

Right now I'm revising a semi-post-apocalyptic urban fantasy examination of Romeo and Juliet where a modern plague has forced previously secret societies into the open.  It's full of all kinds of fun mayhem.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

I don't have much of a pre-writing ritual.  I write whenever I feel like it and have the time, so as long as I've got a computer with a keyboard, I dive right in and go.  Usually I've got some sort of music blaring, too. 

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

My favorite story I've ever written, even, is one coming out from Nightmare later this year: They Called Him Monster.  The story mugged me while I was wandering around Parc Guëll in Barcelona.  I couldn't actually sit down to write it until several days later, and it was very cross with me about that.  But it came out beautifully and I've loved it unconditionally ever since.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Robert Heinlein.  I found him at just the right time, and read just about everything he wrote.  I'd really love the chance to talk to him about the post-internet world.  But I'd want a late-50's Heinlein, before Stranger In a Strange Land became a big thing.  I suspect he became less interesting later.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

I've been recommending N. K. Jemison's The Killing Moon to everybody everywhere.  I've been a big fan of hers since The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and was really worried about a sophomore slump when she went to a new series.  Instead I wound up loving the new duology to bits.  She does character and world building fantastically, with a healthy topping of mood and luciously crafted prose, which is pretty much everything I ask for from my fiction.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I eat babies for their health benefits and spend evenings flogging my enemies in my basement.  It's great stress relief.

***

Anaea Lay lives in Madison, Wisconsin where she sells Real Estate under a different name, writes, cooks, plays board games, spoils her cat, runs the Strange Horizons podcast, and plots to take over the world. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Apex, Penumbra, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons and Nightmare. She makes her internet home at anaealay.com where you can find her blogging about most anything.

Thumbnail Thursday with Matt Mikalatos

It's Thursday again, and that means I get to welcome Matt Mikalatos to the blog! Read on to find out more about Matt and his middle grade fantasy novel The Sword of Six Worlds, just released this past December.

What are you working on right now?

I'm in the middle of a YA novel about super hero kids, which I wrote as a Christmas present for my daughters. Now it's getting the first draft clean up, and then we'll get to work on structural issues, a lot of which have to do with themes that didn't come out clearly enough (or that I didn't know about when I was writing the first draft). Basically, this is me wishing I wrote comic books.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

Hiding. I usually need to hide somewhere to get some writing time, unless I make the big pronouncement to the family, "Dad is now working on a novel and even though the laptop is open and his eyes are open, let's all pretend that he is somewhere far away." Sometimes I turn of the Internet on my computer, or my "research" takes me on strange rabbit trails that prevent writing.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

I was doing some research into omega point cosmology (essentially the exact point/moment/place where the universe can no longer become more complex or evolve further… depending on who you talk to about it), and was surprised to discover that the concept originated with a Jesuit priest. It's pretty amazing, because the concept has since been picked up, transformed, altered and used by everyone from pot heads to transhumanists to science fiction authors. It's fascinating to me that it was originally part of a system designed to be part of Christian apologetics.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Probably John Steinbeck. His novel, "East of Eden" is my favorite novel of all time, and I admire the way he talked about justice and doing the right thing in the context of every day life, and in the middle of hugely entertaining novels. Word is, however, that he was a bit cranky, so my second choice would Endo Shusaku, the famous Japanese novelist, whose work is staggeringly good. Or Gene Wolfe. Or Michael Connelly. Maybe we could have lunch at one of those big buffet tables.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

I'm in the middle of "The Passage" by Justin Cronin right now, which I'm enjoying a lot. Not too long ago my kids and I read "Super" and "Powerless" by Matthew Cody. We all enjoyed those and assume/hope another book is coming in that series.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I'll run a few times a week when I'm doing well on this topic, or, when I'm doing poorly, I'll run once every few weeks. I strongly suggest the former if you can stay disciplined. Once you get out of the habit it's increasingly difficult to get back in. I find that the quiet and space often give me a chance to work through things in my stories and novels when I run, actually, so it's helpful on the artistic front as well.

 What other writing projects have you been involved in this year?

I have a story in the UFO (Unidentified Funny Objects) anthology, about a vampire who hunts vampire hunters (or, as he calls himself, a vampire "vampire hunter" hunter). My middle grade fantasy novel, The Sword of Six Worlds, released in December, which has been an enormous amount of fun. I really like the tag line for that book: Validus Smith has three goals. Stay alive. Save the World. Finish her homework.

***

Matt Mikalatos lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife and three daughters. You can find more about his books on his blog at http://www.mikalatos.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/mattmikalatos .

Thumbnail Thursday with Abby Goldsmith

Today I'd like to welcome Abby Goldsmith to the blog. Read on to find out why you might want to take her up an offer to go to lunch, particularly if you're in Maine.

What are you working on right now?

The fifth novel in my epic science fantasy series (visit http://abbygoldsmith.com/torth/ for information). Is it foolish to write an entire linear series before getting the first book published? Many people tell me so.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

Turn on the fireplace. Make sure the dog is fed. Sit down in recliner with netbook, and write.

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

My favorite is the first story I ever got published, in 2002. Unfortunately, the magazine went defunct and I've been unable to get the story reprinted. I might sell it in an ebook anthology or put it on my website for free. Anyway, the story is a modified excerpt from a half-completed novel that takes place in a far-future spinoff of my epic series. I may never complete that old trunk novel, but the story stands on its own, and I think it showcases my skill with characters.  I've seen it copied on a couple of random blogs, which is a form of flattery, although it never got officially reviewed.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Let's see. I've already had lunch with Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin, two of my biggest influences. I'd love to do that again with either of them. Stephen King is my earliest major influence, and I haven't had lunch with him yet. That would be grand.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

I've enjoyed some nonfiction books recently, including Stealing God's Thunder (about Benjamin Franklin), Over the Edge of the World (about Magellan), and Catherine the Great.  I also just read the final book in Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of time series, which was satisfying.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

My dog helps me by requiring a 30 – 60 minute walk every day. I live in a neighborhood with steep hills.

***

Visit http://abbygoldsmith.com/online.html for links to Abby's published fiction and articles. She's a freelance animator, and her extensive website includes her art gallery and an FAQ.

Thumbnail Thursday with Barbara A. Barnett

I'd like to welcome fellow Odyssey grad Barbara A. Barnett to the blog today! She is one of the wittiest, loveliest people I know. Read on to find out more about her!

What are you working on right now?

I've been working on a particularly slow-going round of revisions on a tricksy little beastie of a short story involving a violin, a magical military chaplain, and things that go boom. I've also got me a shiny new flash story to tweak and polish.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

I don't have one. I just apply butt to chair and start writing. Actually, even the butt-to-chair part doesn't always happen. I've been doing a lot more writing while standing recently.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

One of my favorites was learning about the town of Longyearbyen, which is part of Norway's Svalbard Islands. You're not allowed to die in Longyearbyen. Because of the climate, bodies buried there won't decompose, hence the no-death policy. I found that fascinating. Now if I could just sell the story that research spawned . . .

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

It's tough to pick, but at present I'd have to go with "Mortis Persona," which was published in Fantasy Magazine and reprinted in Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction. The story was inspired by a panel I attended at World Fantasy Convention. One of the panelists mentioned the ancient Roman funereal practice of actors wearing death masks to represent ancestors of the deceased. My brain immediately went, "Dude, what if the actors actually became the ancestors when they wore the masks?" The story was challenging to write, but I fell in love with the world and the characters, and getting to see several readers fall in love with them too resulted in many warm fuzzy feelings.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Peter Beagle, because I absolutely adore The Last Unicorn. It's one of the few books I've read multiple times. I tend to be a super-slow reader, so that's saying a lot. 

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

Sadly, I haven't been able to do much fiction reading lately because of grad school and my raging case of slow-reader-itis. One book I did manage to read recently was The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I love the voice and style with which she writes.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I'm lucky in that I have a day job that frequently keeps me on my feet carrying around large folders full of orchestral music. As I mentioned before, I've also taken to standing while I write, which helps. And I find that regular exercise helps me both physically and mentally, especially walks and yoga—two things I've unfortunately been slacking on lately.

***

Barbara A. Barnett is an avid rejection letter collector (aka writer), musician, Odyssey Writing Workshop graduate, SFWA member, coffee addict, wine lover, bad movie mocker, and all-around geek. Her short fiction has appeared in or is forthcoming in publications such as Fantasy Magazine, Shimmer, Daily Science Fiction, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Flash Fiction Online and Wilde Stories 2011: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction. In addition to writing, she works in an orchestra library and is currently pursuing a master's degree in library and information science at Rutgers University. Barbara lives with her husband in southern New Jersey, frequently bursts into song, and can be found online at www.babarnett.com.

Thumbnail Thursday with Jake Kerr

Today I'd like to welcome Jake Kerr to the blog. Read on to find out more about him and how researching for a story can bring greater understanding.

What are you working on right now?

I’m working on my first novel. It’s a contemplation of memory and how people’s memories are such powerful and yet inconstant things. What if a good memory is a false representation of a moment that was actually bad? Does one’s memory of the best moment of his or her life actually deserve that designation?  By having my characters experience these things directly via an SF mechanism, I hope to address these and similar questions.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

You know, this is something that I would love to have. I love the calming power of ritual, and even something as simple as making tea, arranging a desk, and then closing my eyes for 60 seconds before writing would be a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, with the chaos in my life, I tend to just open the laptop and start typing. Even finding a quiet location is often a challenge. So my ritual is that I don’t have a ritual. I open the laptop, read the previous few pages I wrote before, and then continue.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

It was perhaps not surprising so much as powerful and illuminating. I was researching a novel that would feature an emotionally abused woman, and as I read books on emotional abuse I saw things that were familiar in friends and learned the profoundly sad nature of women trapped in such a relationship. It was so painful that I ended up scrapping the novel. I just couldn’t do the character justice.

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

My favorite story is probably the one that Lightspeed just purchased. It will be released in March. It’s titled “Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince,” and it was inspired by a story in a contest that I read. That story partially used an indirect story-telling method—a eulogy—to illustrate a character. I loved the idea of indirectly telling a story and doing it on both the personal level and the global level. In short, could I tell a story about a person’s life without any straight narrative really involving him at all, and—at the same time—tell the story of a global catastrophe that never actually addresses the catastrophe? In short, we are being given external fragments of a person’s life, and it is entirely about HIM, but by learning about him we learn about this global catastrophe. I’m very happy with the result.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

I don’t know why, but I find this question really hard to answer. My first thought was Charles Dickens. I absolutely loved his characters and his novels are still some of my favorites. Then I thought Ray Bradbury, because I really aspire to be the writer he was. Then I considered maybe Cormac McCarthy, because I am in awe of his ability to carve a novel down to its essence. But wait! What about Stephen King? Or Edgar Rice Burroughs? So, in the end, I have to just say that I can’t answer this question as there are so many writers I would love to spend time with, I can’t just pick one.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

I am in awe of both “A Visit From the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan and “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. Both of which I’ve read in the past month.

On the short story side, “The Waves” by Ken Liu is extraordinary. It was in the December Asimov’s, and there are so many things going on in that story. At a high level, his ability to use science fiction to examine the nature of creation and the nature of God is breathtaking, but then you look at what he actually DID in a novelette, and it shouldn’t really be possible. To take a personal story about a woman and her family and then extend that out to the distant distant future on a cosmic scale, and he pulls it off in a short story. Beyond that: The way he plays with point-of-view. It’s something a reader may not even notice, but his characters speak via a telepathic type device, and as a result the points-of-view move from character to character. Everyone is in everyone else’s head. But then when the protagonist decides to isolate herself, her interactions with everyone else are all from her point-of-view. It’s that rare story that is truly epic and yet thoroughly personal and executed with genius. Go out and read it.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

Unfortunately, this is something I need to work on. About the most exercise I get is walking my dogs, which, while certainly not to be laughed at, is a far cry from a three mile jog.

***

You can find out more about Jake here.

Thumbnail Thursday with David Walton

I'd like to welcome David Walton to the blog. Read on to find out why I'm convinced he must have a time machine or a clone stashed somewhere in order to accomplish so much.

What are you working on right now?

My second novel, Quintessence, is coming out from Tor this March.  I'm about 70% through writing the sequel, which is provisionally titled Quintessence Star.  I’m pleased by the way it’s coming together.  I think fans of Quintessence will find it enough like the original to feel like they’re returning to the same world, but there are a lot of new mysteries and plot elements that make it a fresh new book, not just a reboot of the first one.  I’ve also recently finished a new science fiction novel called Superposition, a quantum physics murder mystery with a lot of fun plot twists along the lines of movies like Inception and The Prestige.

What's your pre-writing ritual?

Besides a full-time job writing software, I have six children and a seventh on the way.  I don't have time for ritual!  My writing opportunities come in small increments, and I never know when they'll be interrupted by a crying baby, a young child who needs help getting a snack, or an older child asking about homework.  I've learned to take what I can get and make the most use of the time available for putting words to the page.  Before I had kids, I had a LOT of time to write, but I was much less productive with it.  Now I have less time, but I feel like I'm a better writer.

 What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

I discovered that, contrary to popular myth, few people in Columbus's day actually thought the Earth was flat.  In Quintessence, therefore, I turned the truth upside-down: in the novel, although the traditional belief is in a round Earth, the Earth is truly flat, and it is quite possible to sail off the end of it.  At the very edge of this flat Earth, where the sky reaches so low to nearly touch the ground, the influence of the stars is so great that the normal rules of nature no longer apply...

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

I tend to be most pleased with what I've written recently.  Those stories are, after all, inspired by my most recent thoughts and experiences.  I've published around 20 short stories, but it's been a few years since I've written any, since I've been focusing on novels.  So I'd have to say my favorite of my published stories is Quintessence (at least, it's very nearly published).  Quintessence was partly born from my own struggles reconciling my religious upbringing with my love of science.  The characters in the novel live in the sixteenth century, when religion was still a central part of life and culture, but an experimental approach to science was just beginning.  They encounter a very different science than exists in our world, but the challenges to their core beliefs are just as unsettling.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Orson Scott Card.  He's still alive, so it's possible, right?  His writing was one of the first reasons I became a writer myself, and I've benefitted greatly from his books on writing.  He was a judge in a contest that led to my first professionally-published story ("All The Rage This Year", on which the world of my first novel, Terminal Mind, was based).  I only met him once, briefly, at a book signing.  I still enjoy his fiction; I'm currently reading Ruins.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

Children of the Sky, by Vernor Vinge, and its predecessor, The Fire in the Deep, which include one of the most fascinating alien species I've ever encountered.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

Not as much as I probably should.  My day job is a sedentary one, too, which makes it worse.  We do like taking five mile walks as a family, when the weather is nice, but in the winter, we get very little exercise.

***

David is the author of the Philip K. Dick award-winning novel Terminal Mind.  He lives near Philadelphia with his wife and six children, where he works as a software engineer for Lockheed Martin.  He also plays jazz piano and invents puzzles and brain teasers. If you want to know more, you can visit his website at http://www.davidwaltonfiction.com .

Thumbnail Thursday with Catherine Schaff-Stump

I'd like to welcome Catherine Schaff-Stump to the blog! Read on to find out more about her and one of her characters, a gnome inspired by her mechanics' shop.

What are you working on right now? 

I am finishing up a Gothic Werewolf novella set in Southern Iowa. I have just finished a middle-grade book about young monster hunters called Abigail Rath Versus Blood-Sucking Fiends. I have just begun researching and writing a book about demon binders in the 1840s, which requires a lot of research.

What's your pre-writing ritual? 

I’m afraid like many writers, I goof around on the Internet. I usually do a little research, and then I open up Scrivener, and I start in.

What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

Just this weekend, I discovered that Venice was part of Austria for a long time.  This means I have to rethink Venice during the time my characters visit.

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

So far, my favorite published story is a piece called The Love Song of Oliver Toddle.  My husband and I use these wonderful mechanics who have a shop that is constantly humming. It’s a shop that is a chain, however, and they keep it clean and neat. I thought, how might that happen? Oliver Toddle became the house gnome character who lived in the garage and cleaned it. In order to pass the time, because gnomes never leave their home, he reads poetry on the Internet. And then he and a female mechanic start leaving poems for each other. They become love poems.  And the story goes from there.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

I would really like to sit down with Alexandre Dumas. I know he was a colorful story teller, and I would like to ask him not only about his elaborate plotting skills, but also about his vivid characterizations and integration of history.  I also know he was very good at planning elaborate entertainments, so I couldn’t lose.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

This is a hard choice, but recently the best novel I’ve finished is Beth Bernobich’s Passion Play, which is a story about loss and redemption, love and the past. It’s very good.

Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

That’s an excellent question! I have just recently developed osteoarthritis from an old running injury, so my diet is undergoing a complete makeover. I would say I could support a small family garden now given the amount of produce I eat. I walk mostly, and I do tai chi. I am hoping for more yoga and weight training as my knee becomes better at adapting to its new condition.

***

To find out more about Catherine, what she's written, and what she does when she's not writing, visit her website.

Thumbnail Thursday with CL Holland

Welcome to another edition of Thumbnail Thursday. Today I'd like to introduce CL Holland. Read on to find out a little bit more about her.


 What are you working on right now?

At the moment I'm writing poetry, which I do to give my mind a rest from fiction, and some fantasy stories. I'm participating in Write 1 Sub 1 this year, so I need to write at least a short story or a couple of flash stories each month.

 What's your pre-writing ritual?

There has to be a cup of coffee ready for when I start, and I have to know where my fingerless gloves are in case it gets cold. If I'm writing by hand, my notebooks have to be attractive, and at the moment I've got a thing for sunny-coloured inks.

 What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

Some of my stories have involved historical research, which I always find interesting. But the most bizarre thing was when I looked into numbers stations for "The Noise" - the trigger at Kazka Press was the Russian station UZB-76.  They broadcast seemingly random things like numbers and strings of words, and are very odd indeed.

Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

It would probably have to be "The Reflection of Memory", which was published in Writers of the Future Volume 25. Not only was it my first major sale, but two of the characters, Yaphen and Kestrin, had been waiting for years to be written. I don't remember where they came from, but the story came from the moment I realised they actually belonged in the same story. I had Kestrin find a stranger in the snow and waited to see what happened.

You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

Probably Tim Powers. I had lunch with him once at Writers of the Future, but I was so overwhelmed and jetlagged that I don't really remember much. Plus he knows where to get the best hamburgers in Hollywood.

What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

The best novel I've read recently is Patricia McKillip's The Bards of Bone Plain. I love the worlds she creates, the language she uses, and the way she doesn't feel the need to explain every little thing. Sometimes things just are, but they always make sense within the rules of the novel.

The best short story was "Blue Lace Agate" by Sarah Monette, at Lightspeed magazine. I loved her previous stories about Jamie Keller and Mick Sharpton at the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, so to get something new about them was a fantastic surprise.

 Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I have an office job four days a week, and I try to fit in a walk at lunchtimes if the weather's not too bad. Since we get 260 days of rain a year it's sometimes difficult to fit in.

***

C.L. Holland is a British fantasy writer and sometimes poet. She was a winner of Writers of the Future in 2008 and her story "The Reflection of Memory" is now available as an eBook. Many of her works can be found online: a full bibliography and links can be found on her website Conversations with Dragons. When she is finally able to give up the day job she intends to dye her hair purple to celebrate.

Thumbnail Thursday with Alex Shvartsman

It's the very first installment of Thumbnail Thursday! I'm happy to welcome Alex Shvartsman to the blog.

1)   What are you working on right now?

I’m in the process of writing a steampunk story set in 1886 St. Petersburg, where a British secret agent H.G. Wells teams up with Anton Chekhov to foil an assassination plot against Prince Nicholas Romanov.

2)   What's your pre-writing ritual?

Medium French Vanilla. Skim milk. One sugar.

Seriously, coffee should get a co-writing credit on most of my stories.  I never used to drink much coffee before I began to write. Now it’s fuel necessary, for producing new words.

3)   What is one of the most surprising/interesting things you've discovered while doing research for a story?

Truth is stranger than fiction. Almost every time I set out to hunt down some minor fact I need for a story, I tumble down the rabbit hole of links upon links of fascinating material. My favorite gem was when I needed a very old and venerable European bank for a sub-plot I was working on, and discovered this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Hoare_%26_Co

There are several stories worth of plots on that page alone, for anything from action/adventure to historical fantasy to humor. And that’s before you click through to any of the links!

4)   Tell me about your favorite story that you've published. What inspired it, and what does it mean to you?

Isn’t that a bit like choosing a favorite child? My favorite story is always the one I’m writing at that time. I think that’s probably true of most writers.

And if I absolutely had to choose from among the stories that have already been published, I’d have to go with “A Shard Glows in Brooklyn.”  It’s an urban fantasy/noir/humor mashup which introduces Conrad Brent, a character I am continuing to write stories about. The second Brent story is forthcoming at Mike Resnick’s Galaxy’s Edge magazine in a few months.

I don’t know that “Shard” is my best published story, but it is exactly the sort of thing I want to write and be known for – a fun, action-packed read with an incredibly sarcastic protagonist.

5)   You can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be, and why?

It’d have to be Mikhail Bulgakov, my favorite Russian-language author. His body of work isn’t very well-known in the West, except for “The Master and Margarita,” but Bulgakov, who died young in 1940, was a writer far ahead of his time.

Bulgakov was writing magical realism nearly twenty years before the term came to be defined. His “Heard of a Dog” is a grittier version of “Flowers for Algernon,” written two years before Daniel Keyes was born.  His works, usually written as scathing satirical indictments of the early Soviet Union, nevertheless manage to remain relevant and interesting today, long after the regime he despised had fallen.

6)   What's one of the best novels and/or short stories you've read recently?

“The Waves” by Ken Liu is my favorite piece of fiction read this year. It’s a novelette that was published in Asimov’s recently and I hope it gets some award consideration.

7)   Writing is a sedentary endeavor. What do you do to stay healthy and active?

I don’t drink or smoke, and my eating habits are reasonably healthy, but I’m absolutely terrible at the whole exercise thing. I’d make a New Year’s resolution to change that, but unless somebody builds a gym in my living room, that’s not likely to happen.

8)   What other writing projects have you been involved in this year?

I edited and published Unidentified Funny Objects, an anthology of humorous science fiction and fantasy. It was a time-consuming project, but it taught me a lot about the world of publishing and offered me an opportunity to work with writers whom I greatly admire, such as Mike Resnick and Sergey Lukyanenko.

UFO features 29 stories and is the only speculative humor anthology I’m aware of to be published in recent years. Please consider picking up a physical copy or an e-book for your favorite type of e-reader here:  http://www.ufopub.com/buy-our-books/

I’m hoping to make this an annual anthology, but need to sell enough copies to justify moving forward with UFO 2 in 2013.

***

Alex Shvartsman is a writer and game designer. He traveled to over 30 countries, played a card game for a living, and built a successful business. Alex resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and son.

Alex is a member of SFWA, Codex Writers, and a graduate of Viable Paradise workshop. He had nearly 40 original short stories published since 2010. His stories appeared in Nature Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Penumbra, Buzzy Magazine and many other venues. He is the editor of Unidentified Funny Objects, a collection of humorous SF/F short stories.

Alex’s short stories are linked from his blog at www.alexshvartsman.com