The SFFWRTCHT Interview: Author-Publisher Laura Kreitzer

February 20th, 2012

Laura Kreitzer is a published fiction author who hails from western Kentucky. She once worked 9-5  in a lab devoted to water dye-tracing investigations at Western Kentucky University, but her passion was always writing.

The author of eight books in the Timeless and Summer Chronicles series, she also is a publisher working with both Revolution Publishing and Obsidian Mountain Publishing. Based in Kentucky, Laura is a big supporter of new and fellow authors. She can be found online at http://laurakreitzer.com on Twitter as @laurakreitzer or on Facebook.

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SFFWRTCHT: Let’s start with the basics: Where did your interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy come from? 

Laura Kreitzer: From reading it. It’s always been my preferred genre in reading, movies, and TV. Writing is no different.

SFFWRTCHT: Who were some writers who inspired you as you discovered the genre?

LK: I’ve said this many times before, and it might seem silly or cliche, but J.K. Rowling has always been a huge inspiration for me. Not just her writing, but her life story. She is someone to look up to in more than one way.

SFFWRTCHT: It’s not silly. I’m sure lots of people admire her for her success and perserverance. When did you start writing seriously and how long until your first sale? 

LK: I started writing original fiction I planned to publish in late 2009. Shadow of the Sun was that book. It was released in February 2010.

SFFWRTCHT: Did you study creative writing at all in school? How’d you learn your craft?  Read the rest of this entry »

SFWA Announces 2012 Nebula Awards Nominees

February 20th, 2012

Congratulations to all the deserving Nebula Nominees from SFFWRTCHT!

Here’s the official SFWA release:

2011 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America is proud to announce the nominees for the 2011 Nebula Awards (presented 2012), the nominees for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the nominees for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Novel

  • Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
  • Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
  • Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
  • God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
  • Mechanique: A Taleof the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
  • The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella

  • “Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)
  • “Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WFSA Press; Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)
  • “The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2011)
  • “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)
  • “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (Panverse Three, Panverse Publishing)
  • “With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2011)

Novelette Read the rest of this entry »

Guest Post: How To Write A Novel

February 17th, 2012

by Patty Jansen

Great. Another how-to post. The internet is full of them. Judging by the popularity of books like Novel-writing for Dummies and 12 Things Not To Include in Your Novel’s First Chapter, people seem to love being told what to do. As if writing a book is a paint-by-numbers thing that guarantees success once you’ve ticked all the boxes.

For writing a novel, you’d better have some solid work practices or your work is doomed to fail. Ahem.

Let me describe my novel-writing process.

Stage 1: I write random crap into a file. Anything goes. It doesn’t have to follow the previous scene. I can be a rewrite of the previous scene. As soon as I hit a block, I press control-enter and start a new page. I set myself an arbitrary goal, usually 1000 words a day that I must add to the novel. Usually, I write a lot more than that, but I find that higher limits actually discourage production.

Stage 2: I sort out all these scenes and half-scenes into storyline order. This would be the stage at which I’d write a synopsis, if I needed one. I may end up having several goes and versions of the storyline, but in the end, I’ll have a file that has the scenes more or less in order, albeit sometimes written in the wrong POV character or in the wrong setting.

Stage 3: polish, polish, polish.

It’s chaotic, and in the middle I may not see the wood for the trees. Now, what is so unusual about this method?

Nothing. It’s chaotic. I has a let’s-throw-wet-spaghetti-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks element about it. It’s not particularly efficient, but it’s mine. It cannot be found in any how-to books, but it is how my process has developed in the course of writing many novels, and it works. I’m a pantser at heart, and rigid outlines written prior to the storytelling bore to death. I also recognise that at some stage, you need to bring structure into a novel, and adhere to it, or the novel will forever meander between directions you could possibly take with it. Say after me: there are a thousand different things I could still do with my novel, but does that mean I have to do them? Read the rest of this entry »

Transcript: SFFWRTCHT 2/15/12 With Kevin James Breaux

February 15th, 2012

BryanThomasS: Future Guests 2/22 @Myke Cole 2/29 @jenniferpelland/Apex 3/7 Grail Quest Books 3/14 Worldbuilding w/ @JulietteWade 3/21@mforbeck #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 01:58:39 +0000 2012)

sffwrtcht: Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer´s Chat. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:00:12 +0000 2012)
BryanThomasS: Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer´s Chat. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:00:13 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: Our goal is to talk w/ writers, editors, & others abt the craft of writing, specifically related to writing speculative fiction. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:00:22 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: Our format is round table discussion. Please restrict ?s to writing craft, business of writing & the specific works of the guest. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:00:29 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: Please wait until your question gets answered to ask another & use the hashtag #sffwrtcht for all questions and comments. (Thu Feb 16 02:00:35 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: We may hold questions at times to allow our guest to answer and catch up. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:00:44 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: Kevin James Breaux is an award-winning artist and author who grew up in PA, but moved to OR in 2009. #sffwrtcht @KevinBreaux (Thu Feb 16 02:00:55 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: His final year at Temple University, he turned to writing and in 2007 his first short story sold. He joined HWA right after. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:01:06 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: His first novel, SOUL BORN, an epic fantasy, was published in 2010 and won 1st place in the P&E Reader´s Poll for SFF. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:01:16 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: The sequel BLOOD DIVIDED came out in 2011. He hangs out online athttp://t.co/AB7ULFqS on twitter and on Facebook. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:01:26 +0000 2012)
sffwrtcht: Welcome to sffwrtcht @KevinBreaux! (Thu Feb 16 02:01:41 +0000 2012)
RaymondFMasters: RT @KevinBreaux: #agents … my twitter chat with #sffwrtcht begins in a few minutes. Just saying. #joinme (Thu Feb 16 02:01:45 +0000 2012)
KevinBreaux: Hello all. It´s an honor to be a guest on #sffwrtcht I very much enjoy the organization and professionalism of @BryanThomasS (Thu Feb 16 02:01:53 +0000 2012)
BryanThomasS: @KevinBreaux Thanks, man. I’ve enjoyed our conversation. Let’s start at the beginning, where´d your interest in SFF come from? #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:02:25 +0000 2012)
KevinBreaux: You know, it´s hard to nail down. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:02:49 +0000 2012)
RaymondFMasters: RT @KevinBreaux: Hello all. It´s an honor to be a guest on #sffwrtcht I very much enjoy the organization and professionalism of @BryanTh … (Thu Feb 16 02:03:00 +0000 2012)
followthelede: @KevinBreaux looking forward to peppering you with questions. ;-) #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:03:02 +0000 2012)
KevinBreaux: When I was super young like first grade my friend a few years older than me bought be a bunch of D&D books for my b-day. #sffwrtcht #dnd (Thu Feb 16 02:03:18 +0000 2012)
KevinBreaux: I was attracted to the fantasy art in the books. Next thing I knew my parents got be the old Lego Castle. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 16 02:03:44 +0000 2012)

Read the rest of this entry »

YA Report: “Fair Coin” by E. C. Myers

February 14th, 2012
Review by Michelle Ristuccia
In “Fair Coin” by E. C. Myers, Ephraim’s world is shattered when he comes home to find his mother has tried to kill herself. Mysteriously, the suicide attempt was prompted by a case of mistaken identity — there seem to be two Ephraims, and one of them was hit by a bus and killed earlier that day. Yet, having a doppelganger hardly seems to matter when Ephraim finds a magic coin that grants his wishes, for better or for worse.

The bold beginning told me every thing I needed to know about why I was going to like this book. Myers quickly immerses us in the characters, who in turn usher us through an increasingly complex and fast-paced plot. We learn soon enough that the so-called magic coin is actually a device created to transport its users through the multiverse of “Fair Coin,” meaning that each alternate reality that Ephraim has seen has remained behind him in his selfish quest for a more perfect life. This revelation plunges us into a cold sea of consequences, where problems cannot be wished away, death is still permanent, and the mere flip of a coin may be the difference between reparation and destruction.

“Fair Coin” reminds me why it is that I have a soft spot for multiverses. Rather than just a convenient plot device, the multiverse concept in “Fair Coin” explores its characters and their choices by contrasting each character against other versions of themselves. These foils within foils bring out a nature versus nurture issue with a slight focus on the nurture aspect. “Fair Coin” shows how a hard life changes people, yet at the same time, each character has that thread of personality in common with all their selves to round out the nature side of the equation. The result is that each character, rather than being diminished by the existence of endless copies of themselves, is instead held to a higher standard of uniqueness. It is, after all, their divergent choices which separate each from his or her other selves.

I recommend this book to any one interested in a character-driven science fiction young adult novel. The science is not overly technical because Myers does an excellent job explaining the Many Worlds Interpretation, which I was pleased to see included universes where time is slower or faster than in our own, as well as a hint of worlds even more divergent. The plot also will not disappoint. Taking advantage of the endless landscape of a multiverse, “Fair Coin” will make you feel like you are following the white rabbit to a particularly dangerous game of croquet.

Visit E. C. Myers’ website at http://ecmyers.net/ to find out more about “Fair Coin,” the upcoming sequel Quantum Coin, and his impressive array of published short fiction. You can also find him on twitter @ecmyers . Star Trek fans should check out his OS re-watch reviews at http://www.theviewscreen.com/

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Michelle writes short fiction of all speculative fiction genres in between chasing her toddler from tree to tree. The shorter the work, the better, because 200 words looks very long on her cellphone and that keypad is very, very small. You can find out more about her rabid love of Star Trek, podcasting, and raising future geeklings at her blog, wakingdreamsblog.blogspot.com

Transcript: The SFFWRTCHT Roundtable: Heroes & Heroines 2/08/12

February 8th, 2012

BryanThomasS: Upcoming #sffwrtcht guests: 2./15 @KevinBreaux 2/22 @MykeCole 2/29 @jenniferpelland 3/07 Grail Quest Books 3/14 The SFFWRTCHT Round Table (Thu Feb 09 02:01:16 +0000 2012)

BryanThomasS: I am having laptop issues so I will be in and out #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 09 02:02:39 +0000 2012)
shadowflame1974: @HowardAndrewJon hey there ready for this? #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 09 02:03:03 +0000 2012)
shadowflame1974: So first question: What makes a person a hero? #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 09 02:03:29 +0000 2012)
HowardAndrewJon: #sffwrtcht Someone willing to risk life/limb/personal standing to do the right thing even when no one is watching. (Thu Feb 09 02:04:24 +0000 2012)
PrinceJvstin: Hello @HowardAndrewJon #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 09 02:04:40 +0000 2012)
followthelede: @shadowflame1974 Is this a free-for-all or do BTS’s rules or order still apply? #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 09 02:04:50 +0000 2012)

Read the rest of this entry »

Review: 5 Stars for Saladin Ahmed’s “Throne Of The Crescent Moon”

February 5th, 2012

Hardcover, 288 pages
Expected publication: February 7th 2012 by DAW
ISBN 0756407117 (ISBN13: 9780756407117)
Throne Of The Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

Reviewed by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

An amazing debut with fun, well drawn characters, strong plotting and well written action sequences, good use of culture and invention. A delightful read, but not one of those fantasies that’s so long or involved anyone would hesitate to make the investment.

The story of a ghul hunter, his dervish apprentice and their friends taking on a gruesome magical threat to the Crescent Moon kingdoms, this is tightly, concisely written with a good flow and very enjoyable as a gateway to a new writer or into sword and sorcery or Arabic fantasy for anyone new to it.

The magical elements and themes fit well within the Arabic cultural fantasy world, Ahmed weaves together seemlessly with a blend of fact and fiction. His switches POV characters flawlessly as well for such a short novel and therefore develops all of his major characters more richly and deeply than many other novelists might even for such a short book.

His transitions between chapters and characters are seamless and they often provide just the right insight to keep the story moving forward in both pace, plot and character arc.

Recommended highly.

 

 

Transcript: SFFWRTCHT With Saladin Ahmed

February 1st, 2012

BryanThomasS: Upcoming Guests 2/08 Heroes roundtable 2/15 @Kevin Breaux 2/22 @Myke Cole 2/28 @jenniferpelland 3/7 Grail Quest Books #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 02 01:59:30 +0000 2012)

sffwrtcht: Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer´s Chat. #sffwrtcht (Thu Feb 02 02:00:20 +0000 2012)
saladinahmed: Hello, #sffwrtcht! Is this thing on? (Thu Feb 02 02:00:29 +0000 2012)

Read the rest of this entry »

YA Report: “Thief’s Covenant” by Ari Marmell

January 30th, 2012
Review by Michelle Ristuccia

“Thief’s Covenant (A Widdershins Adventure)” by Ari Marmell is a YA fantasy with a twinge of horror. The book follows self-made thief Widdershins as she unravels the mystery of who — or what — is out to kill her and those she loves. The book begins with the horrific murder of Widdershins’ fellow worshipers of an unnamed god, and from there spills the details of her past and present in a non-linear progression that will have you connecting the dots when Ari Marmell wants you to, and not before.

Thief’s Covenant was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the world and I appreciated the cleverness of the scene layout, yet I was left wishing that I could take the characters more seriously. The tone was a mixture of humor and horror that, for me, threatened to mask the complexity of the characters under a veil of witty dialogue. It wasn’t until nearly half way through the book that I was completely satisfied with the main character’s motivations and human qualities. After I saw Widdershins commit a monumental selfless act, I could more fully enjoy the author’s colorful descriptions and quips. Until then, I felt that the premise of the book teetered on the edge of believability. Perhaps this is because I’m used to reading books where the rags-to-riches story is the focal point, described in detail near the beginning of the text. Here the reader comes in after the fact and we are expected to take it at face value for much of the book. But, I did appreciate how this worked towards a clever release of information and a number of surprises at the end that would have been far too easy to guess with a straight forward linear progression.

The only other thing that dampened my enjoyment of the book were one or two descriptions that I felt were anachronistic. The setting of the book appears to be a standard fantasy backdrop, so except where certain religions and magics are defined otherwise, I expect the world to conform to the standard. I do not expect the characters to understand, say, details of physiology that speak to a more advanced science than medieval times. So, while these were clever and funny, they took me out of the book for a moment, and I’d rather stay in it.

Perhaps I am not the target audience for Ari’s novel. I’m not as much a lover of humor, even dry humor, as I am of the dramas of interpersonal and internal conflict. Give me a sappy emo anti-hero over a ninja assassin superstar any day. However, If you enjoy plot-driven stories, this one will engage you with plenty of How questions, some of which you can get a taste of in the back over blurb. The scene layout and flashbacks are structured to showcase plot, setting us up with interesting mysteries from page one. It certainly kept me reading.

Ari Marmell has some thoughtful blog posts that you’ll love if you’re a speculative fiction geek. Hope on over to http://mouseferatu.com/ and, who knows, you might find that Thief’s Covenant is more your style than it was mine. Marmell has posted links to other review of his book here.

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Michelle writes short fiction of all speculative fiction genres in between chasing her toddler from tree to tree. The shorter the work, the better, because 200 words looks very long on her cellphone and that keypad is very, very small. You can find out more about her rabid love of Star Trek, podcasting, and raising future geeklings at her blog, wakingdreamsblog.blogspot.com

Transcript: SFFWRTCHT 1/25/12 With John R. Fultz

January 26th, 2012

NOTE: Due to technical glitches with Twitter itself, we lost our guest half way through so I finished the interview with audience’s questions and my own via email. Hence, the transcript has been culled into a neater format than normal for purposes of clarity and transitions between the two formats. The full context of the chat is here with the exception of a few side comments irrelevant to the discussion (i.e. chitchat) and all questions are attributed to a group moniker instead of individual attendees.

SFFWRTCHT: Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer´s Chat. Our guest John R. Fultz teaches kids to love heavy metal by day and tells stories by night. His stories have appeared in anthologies like Way Of The Wizard and Cthulhu´s Reign and zines like Black Gate, Weird Tales and Lightspeed. His debut novel, book 1 of the Shaper Trilogy, Seven Princes, is out from Orbit this month. His comic, Primordia, was published by Archaia Comics in three issues in 2007-2008.

John R. Fultz: Ha! Actually, I teach them to love the English language and all its powerful spells and powers…

SFFWRTCHT: Where´d your interest in SFF come from?

JRF: My interest in SFF probably came from comics–as a kid I was reading them before I could read…making up stories about the pics. Also, an early book of faerie tales that my uncle Johnny gave me…that was one of the first books I ever read and re-read.. That book had Jack the Giant-Killer and tons of other stories–illustrated n the old school style. That lead me to discovering The Hobbit when I was in third grade, which led me to LOTR right around the time of Bakshi’s movie. Yes, fairie tales have always fascinated me…but there’s more of that influence in PRIMORDIA (my comic) than in SEVEN PRINCES. I’ve called PRIMORDIA a “stone-age fairie tale”…

SFFWRTCHT: Who were some of your favorite authors/books growing up?

JRF: Faves when growing up: Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Clark Ashton Smith rocked my world when I was 10 or 11… Other early faves: Moorcock (ELRIC), Lovecraft, some Lin Carter (LOST WORLDS is his best work), etc. It wasn’t until college that I discovered Lord Dunsany’s work, which redefined fantasy fiction for me–”A Dreamer’s Tales” — Also in college: Tanith Lee’s work captivated me, Darrell Schweitzer’s short stories blew my mind (still do), & Robert Silverberg. Read the rest of this entry »