Archive for September, 2007
September 20th 2007
You Say “Sci-Fi,” I Say SF: Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off…
Tuesday night I taught the introduction class of my science fiction writing class at the Loft. We had our usual discussion of the definitions of SF and F, and I alluded to the fact that the term “sci-fi” is considered derogatory by some science fiction fans and writers. At the time, of course, I couldn’t put […]
September 18th 2007
The Meddlesome Muse
One of the most common questions that authors are asked is: where do you get your ideas from? The usual answers range from ‘everywhere’ to ‘anything that’s not nailed down.’ Occasionally the ‘M’ word is used. The Muse.
Now I’m a person who’s lived and written quite happily for years without the aid of divine whispers. […]
September 18th 2007
Ticking of the clock
Sarah Prineas posted on promotion a week ago, and it’s a topic I’d like to explore a little further.
It’s hard enough getting published in the first place, but when a new book hits the shelves just about every author can hear a little clock ticking away in the background. This is the countdown to the […]
September 17th 2007
Why that book?
A perennial, obsessive question for many novelists is, why did you, reader and customer of novels, choose that book? Did you read a great review? Did you like the cover? Did someone tell you about it? Had you read everything else on the shelf and were just desperate for something new? […]
September 16th 2007
Respecting history
I recently came across Guy Gavriel Kay’s essay “Home and Away,” which addresses the complex relationship between fantasy and history, both in the sense of historical fantasy, and fantasy which models itself on (without directly representing) history.
It provoked two major trains of thought for me. The first had to do with this notion:
It was […]
September 15th 2007
Why I like Jane Austen and E.E. “Doc” Smith.
I do. I like ‘em both. For different reasons, of course. I like Austen for her humor and her insight and the way she makes the most everyday events affecting and important. I love her characters’ wit, and laugh at the way Elizabeth falls into her own trap of loving Darcy every time I read […]
September 14th 2007
Science in My Science Fiction: Come to the Dark Side
I’m a scientist, a professional astronomer, who writes hard science fiction. I wish it weren’t called “hard” because that makes it sound difficult, when it’s more fun and understandable than most people think. The “hard” really refers to the notion that results in the physical sciences are reliable, that they are calculated, quantitative, not about […]
September 13th 2007
The Solitary Act
There’s a myth that writing is a solitary act. Sure, sitting down and putting words on a page is something we do alone, but the influences of other people on my writing are legion.
I was recently asked my opinion on fan fic. Specifically, the interviewer wanted to know if I worried that my writing of […]
September 12th 2007
How to Write a Good Book
Over my vacation on Lake Ontario last week I read Italo Calvino’s Six Memos for the Next Millenium. I figured, when Mr. Calvino talks about how to write a good book, I’d better sit up and listen. And the thing is, Calvino has so much authorial credit with me that it took me a long […]
September 11th 2007
Home again…
Just returned from a whirlwind whistle-stop tour of Japan, following the World Science Fiction Convention which was in Yokohama this year. There were plenty of factors which went into my decision to go to the event - lots of my friends and colleagues whom I would otherwise have been sure of seeing in the hallways […]
Author Information
Lyda Morehouse
Lyda Morehouse is the author of the science fiction AngeLINK series. She's won the Shamus and the Philip K. Dick Special Citation for Excellence (aka 2nd place). Her books have also been nominated for the Romantic Times Critics' Choice and preliminary Nebula ballot. She lives in the deep-freeze of Saint Paul, MN with her partner of twenty-odd years, their son, and lots and lots of cats (and fish!) Visit site.
Chris Dolley
Chris DolleyChris Dolley is an English author of SF mysteries, a pioneer computer games designer, and the man who convinced the UK media that Cornwall had risen up and declared independence. His novel Resonance (2005, Baen) was the first book to be plucked from Baen’s electronic slush pile. His second novel Shift (2007, Baen) has just come out. He now lives in France with his wife, a dolmen, and a frightening collection of animals. Visit site.
Simon Haynes
Simon is the author of the Hal Spacejock series, featuring intergalactic loser Hal and his junky sidekick, Clunk. His website contains a number of articles on writing and publishing, and he's also the programmer of several freeware apps including yBook, BookDB and yWriter. In his spare time(!) he helps to run Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Visit site.
Diana Pharaoh Francis
Diana Pharaoh Francis has written the fantasy novel trilogy that includes Path of Fate, Path of Honor and Path of Blood. Path of Fate was nominated for the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award. Recently released was The Cipher, first of The Crosspointe Chronicles, which will be followed by The Black Ship in November 2008. Diana teaches in the English Department at the University of Montana Western, and is an avid lover of all things chocolate. Visit site.
Marie Brennan
Marie Brennan is the author of several fantasy novels and short stories, including the upcoming Elizabethan faerie spy fantasy Midnight Never Come. Visit site.
S.C. Butler
Butler is the author of The Stoneways Trilogy from Tor Books: Reiffen's Choice, Queen Ferris, and The Magician's Daughter. Find out what Reiffen does with magic, and what magic does with him... Visit site.
Mike Brotherton
Professional astronomer, science fiction novelist (Star Dragon, Spider Star). Visit site.
Lyda Morehouse
Lyda Morehouse is the author of the science fiction AngeLINK series. She's won the Shamus and the Philip K. Dick Special Citation for Excellence (aka 2nd place). Her books have also been nominated for the Romantic Times Critics' Choice and preliminary Nebula ballot. She lives in the deep-freeze of Saint Paul, MN with her partner of twenty-odd years, their son, and lots and lots of cats (and fish!) Visit site.
Catherynne Valente
Alma Alexander
Alma Alexander is a Pacific Northwest novelist whose new YA trilogy, "Worldweavers", debuted with "Gift of the Unmage" in March 2007 ("Spellspam" follows in 2008, and "Cybermage" in 2009). Her other books include the internationally acclaimed "The Secrets of Jin Shei". Visit site.
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