Character Interview with Chi-Ro Jin

General Chi-Ro Jin is a hero of the first and second Psychic Wars. He was born on the planet Talis, the son of Space Commodore Jin Lan. He is a master of Hatari Ikou - the Way of Matchless Power, an extremely ancient martial art developed by Mara Kai fighting monks. While a sentinel in the Imperial Court of His Majesty The Emperor Sakara Rey I, he was secretly assigned the role of shamira or protector of Prince Armon of the Blood and has been a key figure in the pivotal Battle of Miru. Chi-Ro is one of the most highly-decorated veterans of the Psychic Wars, having been awarded the Star of Ra, Star of Enki, Order of the Tordon Raptor, Verlaine Star, Sentinel of the Cosmic Sea, Distinguished Aerospace Service Medal, and Commander of the Order of the Eternal Warrior.

1. How did you first meet Wayne Gerard Trotman?

I am Chi-Ro, son of Jin. I first met Master Wayne, the writer of ‘Veterans of the Psychic Wars’ in a waking dream of my design.

2. Did you ever expect your adventures to be written in a book?

Certainly not in a Kian book, and my recent portrayal in Talisian opera is somewhat disconcerting. However, I have dedicated my life to the service of His Majesty The Emperor Sakara Rey I; and he has entrusted me with a most important task – the safety of his only son. As shamira to the prince, it seems, my life has become of interest to others. May the scribes record it.

3. What are your favourite scenes in Veterans of the Psychic Wars: dialogue, romance, action?

I am a warrior not an orator; and I fear that at the hour of succession, the Prince Armon may abdicate for love of his Kian consort. Romance leads to folly, and in times of war, folly leads to death. So I say to you, my favourite scenes involve action, for it is by action that we will bring the Psychic Wars to an end.

4. Did you have difficulty convincing Wayne Gerard Trotman to write any particular scenes for you?

At times, I sensed a great struggle in the mind of Master Wayne regarding whether some characters should live or die; then there were times when he displayed wanton recklessness regarding the lives of his characters. Often, we were left to wonder who would die when the page was turned. To compound matters, I soon discovered that Master Wayne is also exceptionally stubborn – I suspect he may be Talisian. But, with considerable effort, I was able to influence a few of his decisions.

5. Have you ever infiltrated Wayne Gerard Trotman’s dreams?

Verily, I am Chi-Ro son of Jin, master of Hatari Ikou, and a veteran of the Psychic Wars. Dream infiltration is but one of my skills. Have you not read the book?

6. What do you enjoy doing when not on active duty?

I enjoy playing my Sythenian wax wood flute.

7. Are you currently in a relationship?

No, my beloved consort is no longer in a plane of existence that is accessible to me; and I will love no other.

8. Are you pleased with the genre you have been placed in?

Verily, military science fiction is a noble genre.

9. What would you rewrite in Veterans of the Psychic Wars, if you could?

I would completely erase the Kian character known as Dr. Zachary Silverman. I found his frivolous attitude to be most irritating; but he is the loyal friend of Master Armon, and I must admit I gained a measure of enjoyment from sparring with him. Alas, in the end, his portrayal was particularly poignant.  So, in retrospect, perhaps I would not rewrite anything.

10. Do you like the way your epic adventure ended?

A most satisfactory conclusion; however, I sense that the story has not ended. I expect I will be called upon to wield my sok-bou again.

11. Would you be interested in a sequel written by Wayne Gerard Trotman?

Verily, even if it were not my sworn duty to serve the Talisian Empire, I would be most interested in the continuation of this epic. Rest assured, I have every confidence that my psychic projections will be successful. There will be a sequel. May the scribes record it.

12. Are you happy being portrayed in digital editions or would you rather be in paperback versions only?

A veteran of the Psychic Wars cannot be limited by formats - paperback books, eBooks… All formats are suitable. In fact, I believe I would even be quite suited to that archaic form of entertainment, which Kians refer to as ‘movies’. Verily, the Kian known as Jackie Chan would be most ideal for my portrayal. Perhaps I should infiltrate his dreams…

13. Were you able to contribute to the cover design for Veterans of the Psychic Wars?

Alas, I had been engaged in Imperial duties when the cover was conceived. You will note the conspicuous absence of my image from the book cover. Instead, Kiya Mankuria was granted that honour. It seems she has also been infiltrating Master Wayne’s dreams. I must remind him that beauty can be a deadly weapon; and this is especially true of the highly trained Kiya Mankuria.

14. What is the lamest characteristic attributed to you by Wayne Gerard Trotman?

You dare to suggest that the son of Jin is lame? Ahhh… Your thoughts are transparent. You refer to the most displeasing characteristic. Forgive my outburst, the Kian use of language is often imprecise and years of combat have left me prone to intolerance. On occasion, Master Wayne made the most unsettling suggestion that Chi-Ro Jin is capable of panic, especially with regards to the protection of the prince. I assure you, I have engaged in the dance of death countless times. Panic, however mild, is not something I am capable of.

15. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I suspect, by Kian standards, any well-trained veteran of the Psychic Wars would appear to be superhuman. Nevertheless, despite my attempts, the secret of astral projection continues to elude me.

Author Bio:

Wayne Gerard Trotman is a British writer, filmmaker, artist, photographer, composer and producer of electronic music. Born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Trotman immigrated to England in 1984, where he lives with his wife and two young sons.

A martial arts enthusiast, he wrote and directed 'Ashes to Ashes', Britain's first martial arts feature-film. He has a cosmopolitan and multi-cultural approach to all his artistic work, which has received recognition internationally. His epic science-fiction novel, 'Veterans of the Psychic Wars', is the first of a proposed 'Psychic Wars' series.

Synopsis:

In a distant galaxy known as the Cosmic Sea, Baron Seti Aljyk has caused the Second Psychic War by seizing Najura, the last of the ancient swords of power, and usurping the imperial throne from Sakara Rey, the True Emperor.

On Earth, young schoolteacher Roman Doyle remains unaware he is Prince Armon Sakara, heir apparent of the True Emperor. That is, until he encounters Chi-Ro Jin, a Veteran of the Psychic Wars. Chi-Ro’s mission is to return Roman to the True Emperor, but Roman believes that Chi-Ro is crazy. When Roman’s wife, Soraya, is abducted by the Baron’s assassins, Roman is forced to make the epic journey to the Cosmic Sea.

However he does not go alone. He is joined by his shamira Chi-Ro, Nuri Nemsys a beautiful secret agent, Anah Sadaka the mysterious captain of the Starglider Sanura and Roman’s friend, Zachary Silverman, a quantum physicist.

With his dormant psychic and astral abilities awakened by an alien drug and pursued by the Baron’s assassins, Roman, his friend, and the Veterans of the Psychic Wars face evil and danger in uncharted space and on alien worlds.

Roman must overcome his fears, master the martial art of Hatari Ikou, and learn the secrets of astral projection, in order to rescue his wife, retrieve the sword of power, and bring the Psychic Wars to an end.

Amazon links:
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk

Smashwords:

smashwords.com

Official site:

waynegerardtrotman.com

Interview with Robert J. Sawyer

Photo Credit: Christina Molendyk

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history to win all three of the science-fiction field’s top awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has published in Science (guest editorial), Nature (fiction), and Sky & Telescope, was a participant in the workshop “The Future of Intelligence in the Cosmos” sponsored jointly by the NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute, and is a contributor to DARPA’s “100 Year Starship Project.” His website is sfwriter.com.

1. During your childhood, was there a film, television show, comic or novel, which acted as a primary catalyst to your passion for science fiction?

All of those except for the comic.  On TV, it was Star Trek: The Original Series, on film it was 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as for novels, it was the wonderful book The Enormous Egg by Oliver P. Butterworth.

2. You have won over forty awards for fiction, including the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and several Aurora awards. What would you say is the key to your critical acclaim and phenomenal success?

Doing that one thing that hard science fiction is traditionally the least good at:  putting believable human characters in fantastic situations.  Most SF—especially hard SF—has cardboard characters; I labor hard to make mine live and breathe.

3. In the world of publishing, there seems to be ongoing tension between independents and the established, traditional publishers. What advice, or encouragement, can you give to independent authors and publishers? 

For independent authors, remember that quality does matter.  Hire yourself an editor, a copyeditor, a proofreader, and a real cover artist—all four of them.  You’re competing with those who are having those skills brought to their books by their traditional publishers, and each of those experts brings an enormous amount to the finished product.  At the moment, for most independent authors, you’re competing mostly on price, at least in the ebook arena: you’re cheaper than the ebooks from the traditional publishers.  But ebook prices from traditional publishers are bound to drop, and then you have to compete point-for-point with authors who have a solid professional team behind them.

For independent publishers, stop overstating things.  Print publishing isn’t dead, it’s not “legacy publishing,” and you haven’t yet taken over the world and perhaps never will.  For every reader you win over with hype, you turn one off.

4. Tell us about Triggers.

Well, Publishers Weekly calls it “a turbo-charged technothriller,” and that pleases me because it’s exactly what I was trying to produce.  It’s a slam-bang novel about an attempted assassination of the US president, and an experiment that goes awry, linking people’s memories—including letting some unknown person read the president’s memories, thereby posing a huge risk to national security.

5. Why did you write this book, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

In 2009-2010, ABC aired a wonderful TV series based on my novel FlashForward.  That novel, like most of my novels, was a thoughtful, philosophical tale, but ABC turned it into a conspiracy-theory thriller—with my approval and cooperation, I hasten to add: I wrote one of the episodes and consulted on all of them. I gained an enormous number of new readers because of that series, but they expected something like what they’d seen on TV—and so I decided to give it to them, while hopefully still serving up the philosophy and introspection my existing readership has come to expect from me.

6. You are a teacher of science fiction writing who has served as Writer-in-Residence for several prestigious institutions. You are also a highly respected authority and keynote speaker on technology and future genetics with an interest in palaeontology. Did your lifelong interest in science fiction inspire your study of science, and how has it influenced your writing?

I was a science fan first, ever since I was a little boy. When I was in public school, I wanted to be a palaeontologist, and I was also fascinated by astronomy.  It was definitely my interest in science that led me to science fiction, not the other way around.  For me, the most interesting questions in science are the speculative ones  why did the dinosaurs die out (which was a big mystery when I was a kid), what causes galaxies to have the shape they do (which is still a big mystery).  The speculation fascinated me, and when I found there was a field of literature devoted to asking such questions and positing entertaining and intriguing answers, I was hooked.

7. What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?

Feedback from readers.  My readers have been hugely supportive over the years, and many have become friends.  It’s so gratifying to know that they’re enjoying my work.  I write for them.

8. What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?

Keeping up my own level of interest during the year-long process of creating a book.  Around about the halfway mark, when I’ve finished all the research and am well into the manuscript, I start to get antsy for moving on to my next project. Fortunately, I know other writers, including the wonderful horror writer Edo van Belkom, who have the exact same problem. They talk me through my crisis, and I talk them through theirs.  It’s always worked—so far!

9. Rationalism versus mysticism and the intersection between science and religion is often explored in your work. Do you come from a religious family background, do you have strong religious views, and would you argue that there is a place for religion in science fiction?

Exactly the opposite.  I come from a secular background.  My father is a non-practicing Anglican and my mother is a Unitarian—and I’m an atheist.  But unlike most atheists, I don’t disparage those who have beliefs.  I’ve met too many thoughtful, questioning, intelligent people who believe in God to dismiss them.  I don’t have any patience with fundamentalists, but those are only the fringe, fortunately.  And given that science fiction is indeed the literature of ideas, there are no more interesting ideas to explore than whether there are intellects greater than our own that might have had a hand in how we got here, and what might become of us after we die.  I explore the former in Calculating God and the latter in The Terminal Experiment, and I think it’s only in science fiction, with its tradition of grand thought experiments, that you really can grapple with such issues.

10. In a genre where many writers opt for dystopia, disaster and nihilism, your work is often refreshingly optimistic particularly regarding the future of humanity. Tell us why you believe the future of the human race is bright.

Simple:  the central skill of the science fiction writer is the extrapolation of trends, and the world has been consistently improving over time.  The smallest percentage of the population ever is currently involved in armed combat, the highest number are literate, and so on.  We also are more compassionate than we’ve ever been, according the rights of personhood to a larger proportion of the human race than ever before.  If you don’t believe me, read the excellent non-fiction books The Evolution of God by Robert Wright and The Better Angels of our Nature by Steven Pinker.

11. My wife is Armenian and the cosmopolitan approach to science fiction pioneered by the original Star Trek is very close to my heart. With prominent characters such as Karen Bessarian in Mindscan, and Professor Ranjip Singh in Triggers, can we deduce that the inclusion of diverse races and cultures is important to your work? And if so, why?

Absolutely. I grew up watching the original Star Trek, and that inclusiveness just seemed so natural to me.  Plus, I grew up in Toronto, which the UN officially recognized as the most multicultural city on the planet.  The future belongs to the whole human race; I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t reflect that in my fiction.

12. Tell us about FlashForward.

It’s a novel about everyone on Earth blacking out for two minutes, and those who survived waking up with overlapping visions of what, it seems, the future is actually going to hold.  My novel came out in 1999, and it was adapted for television by ABC Studios in 2009. 

13. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the screen adaptation of your original books?

I loved the FlashForward TV series, and I’d very much like to see other works of mine adapted for the big or small screen.  I have no problem with liberal adaptations; after all, my books, with my specific visions, will always still exist.

14. Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.

Julian Comstock: A Novel of 22nd Century America, by Hugo Award-winner Robert Charles Wilson.  It takes on religious fundamentalism in the US, and, with some of the current debates going on, it could not be more timely.  Plus, it’s a joy to read.

15. What new developments, in the world of science fact, excite you?

Exo-planets!  I love that we finally are discovering strange new worlds—and that so many of them are so strange is just fabulous.

16. Tell us about your other interests.

I love palaeontology, I used to captain a pub-league trivia team, I enjoy reading, and I love to travel.

Links:

Website: http://sfwriter.com
Blog: http://sfwriter.com/blog
Dedicated website for my WWW trilogy: http://wakewatchwonder.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/RobertJSawyer
Facebook: http://facebook.com/robertjsawyer

Interview with Susan Bischoff

Susan in her own words:

I’m just a girl who wants superhero romance! Is that so much to ask? Why must it always be a tragedy? Why does Angel walk away? Why does Spike—what did happen to Spike? Why did Wonder Woman go back home after the end of season 1 and WWII, then come back, work with Steve Trevor’s grandson, and still not hook up? Seriously! And let’s not even talk about Superman Returns, OK? Let’s. Just. Not.

1. Tell us about the ‘Talent Chronicles’.

The Talents are mostly teens that have been born with supernatural abilities. No one knows (yet) why this started happening, but as the kids started to exhibit powers and some of them got out of hand, people got scared. The government set up an agency to “deal with the issue,” and of course gave them too much power and free reign. So now, when the evil government agency finds out about these kids, they remove them from their families and put them in special research facilities where they can be studied and taught to control their abilities. Or turned into human killing machines for the government. Potato, potahto, right? Anyway, the kids naturally want to keep their abilities secret to avoid prison, so a lot of the Chronicles is about their attempts to do that.

2. Why are you writing this series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

Right now I’m kind of into gas and groceries. These days, being able to afford those things feels like an achievement, right?

In a more writerly sense, there are a lot of reasons I wanted to write the series. I love superheroes, and I longed for more super-powered stories with an emphasis on romance—not to mention with some Happily Ever Afters. I wanted to try my hand at writing something with a lot of characters and threads, where people’s lives kept intersecting—like in a soap opera. The characters have these cool abilities, the kind that makes you think, ooh, I could totally use that. But for these guys, it brings them a lot of grief. And both the ability and keeping the secret go far in shaping each character. For some reason that really speaks to me.

3. Is there an underlying message in ‘Hush Money’?

I think there are, like, fifty underlying messages in Hush Money. And that’s part of the fun for me in reading what other people get out of it is that I can go: Yes! You totally got that!

If I had to pick out just one to mention, it would be this idea that what makes you a freak is the thing that makes you awesome. The series is YA and I think that’s something I’d like kids to understand. There’s so much pressure to fit into categories and to be like everyone else, or at least a subset of everyone else, and if you’ve got something about you that makes you stick out somehow, it can be really uncomfortable. But if you can take that thing, own it, make something out of it, be who you are, there’s freedom in that. And maybe more.

4. You have more than a passing interest in computer games. Has this influenced your writing, and if so, how?

Computer games are kind of a new obsession for me, but because I always like to make connections I am seeing lessons as far as the kind of video game stories that appeal to me. For those interested, I’ve talked about that on my blog in a post called Zelda, Dragon Age, and the Power ofChoice.

5. Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?

It’s a lame answer, but I love all the characters. Every one of them contains some facet of my personality and my experience. I’ve spent a lot of time now writing as Joss and Dylan, so I’m very attached to them, but I have others who are dear to me I have yet to introduce.

6. How is writing superhero stories different from writing other genres?

At the end of the day, it’s probably not. We all have our rules. Sometimes I get jealous because I’ve restricted the superpowers in my world to things I can sort of wrap my brain around. So I don’t have some of the super-creative and how does that even happen?? Stuff like you’d see in X-Men. And I can’t just whip out some new kind of magic, magic object, or whatever to make a scene more interesting or get me out of a tight spot like writer friends in other genres. But they’re probably just making it look easy.

7. Why do you think romances, within the superhero genre, often end in tragedy?

One explanation, perhaps, is the serial nature of a lot of superhero fic. If you’ve got a guy wandering around battling evil issue after issue, it might be inconvenient for him to have a family in tow. I guess there’s probably some basic belief that the life—and “with great power comes great responsibility” to lead that life—is incompatible with a relationship.

There’s also something terribly romantic about that lonely hero thing. It’s just that in romance we like that to be the beginning of the story, not the end.

8. What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?

All the surprises. Like the things that just come out unexpectedly and totally work. Or going back and reading something I’ve written and having that feeling of, “Holy crap, I wrote that?”

9. What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?

Getting out of my own way. Getting over myself and all my insecurities to just sit down and do the work. I’m still working on this one, but having a designated ass-kicker does help.

10. What have you done to promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?

Start here: Kindle Rank: Unknown to top 1K in 8 Weeks

And then keep clicking for the next post.

11. Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal reader?

I usually think of my readers as people like me. We spend a lot of time daydreaming to change the course of relationships in our favourite TV shows because things just didn’t end right. We don’t understand why “a slayer is always alone.” We were horrified by deadbeat dad Superman in Returns. Those of us who are my age probably watched Steve Trevor’s admiration for Wonder Woman and Diana’s obvious interest in him and desperately wanted to see that go somewhere, only to be disappointed. And then there was Batman and Catwoman…

12. What advice would you give to help others build the confidence required to write their first book?

Just write it for yourself. Because if you’re the only one who’s ever going to see it, it doesn’t so much matter what you do. Making it “perfect,” releasing it, finding readers… That’s all stuff that can come later. But you have to write it first.

13. Would you like to see your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations, or reservations, regarding this?

I would love to see a Talent Chronicles TV series. Not something that follows the books, but something based on the idea, maybe with a new set of characters. And of course I’d love Joss Whedon to show up for that.

14. What are you doing now?

I’ve just released the second novel in the series, Heroes ’Til Curfew, so I’m trying to get the word out about that. I’m deep in the planning phase for the third book, Heroes Under Siege. And, having decided to keep Talent Chronicles and independent endeavour, at least for now, I’m trying to come up with an idea for something new to share with my agent and New York.

15. Describe the ‘Talent Chronicles’ in one sentence.

If Buffy led the X-Men—it’s teen angst drama, action, and romance; kids with super powers trying to become the people they were meant to be—without getting caught.

16. Where can we find you and your books?

Hush Money, the first novel, is available in eBook and paperback pretty much everywhere you’d expect.

Impulse Control, is a short story available for free on Smashwords or as part of an eBook anthology called Kiss Me, Kill Me, where you can get it with the works of several other awesome authors for a great price and good cause.

Heroes ’Til Curfew, the second novel, is currently available in eBook at select retailers with a paperback in the works and coming in the next few weeks.

Visit my website for more information on any of these titles.

Links: 

Official Website

Twitter

Facebook

Goodreads

 

Interview with Gary Tonge

 

Gary Tonge is a Conceptual Art Director and Visionary Artist who lives in Warwickshire England. He currently works for Codemasters in the UK and has worked for many other publishers, development companies, and magazines in his 23 years as a professional artist.

1. You are an award-winning painter and conceptual artist, known internationally for your science fiction and fantasy art. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with your work, tell us about your career and the work you create.

Ok then. I started out as a computer graphic artist in 1987 (I had just turned 17 at the time) working on games and over the years I progressed from the little single colour graphics of the old 8-bit machines through the enormous technological advances of computers and the software written for them. I have worked in high-end 3D modelling, rendering, and animation in my time, and also on many platforms. About 1999 – in between projects – I thought I would spend some time doodling in Photoshop, just for fun. I ended up painting a number of space and sci-fi landscape pieces and, with the advent of the Internet sweeping the world, decided it might be nice to put the pieces online. My website was set up as a gallery for my personal art but I have added some sections over the years to show some of my art I create in my day job as a conceptual Art Director and Illustrator. I am at my most happy these days painting conceptual art and my Vision Afar works when I have the time.

Race

2. Why did you choose to produce conceptual art, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

I think I have ended up working conceptually because the time it takes to produce state-of-the-art 3D work these days is just so long. I prefer the faster and more dynamic way of visualising “what could be” illustration-ally. I always try and find new and unique ways of portraying ideas, which tends to be invaluable to the art teams I work with in my day job and interesting to anybody who comes across my work online.

3. Is there an underlying theme or message in your work?

My personal art is my attempt to express that there is much more to life and the universe than many of us might think- that there is a greater reality out there, in the infinity of space and beyond our current understanding. I guess I like to try and get people to “think bigger” with my art.

Geo

4. Straight out of school, you started work at a computer games company called Elite Systems. How did this help the quality of your work, and what impact did it have on your choice of career?

Hmmm… Good question. I think working professionally in the games industry certainly made me have to work hard at my skill set – and I learned a great deal from being around the other creative people who worked there. And I still do from everybody I work with. I cannot imagine my life without art in it anymore and trying to look back at those formative years I do remember I truly wanted to be an artist!

Outer Rim

 

5. Of the artwork you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?

I really like the works I have created based on The Urantia Book and I really want to have the time to create as many more of these as I can. I also quite like “Nimbus” still (it is odd in general for me to like my art once I finish it – I tend to be bored of it quickly after it is finished!)

Master Universe Map

 

6. How is creating science fiction or fantasy art different from creating other genres?

Well, working on my personal art is a more emancipating experience for me as I am literally working on something I have seen in my imagination and trying to bring it to life. Working with real or near-real art means I have to take into account a little more of a cohesive goal for the finished piece – rather than the more emotive end result in my personal art.

7. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process?
   

I just love creating to be honest. I love being part of a creative mechanism when working with a team of artists or designers and I also love expressing my own artistic ideas too.

8. What do you find most challenging in the creative process, and how did you overcome it?

When I first started out as an artist I used to become very nervous about people seeing anything I was working on before I felt I had nearly completed it. But, as I have grown, I have overcome this fear and now I am happy to literally doodle in front of other people while discussing the ideas we are trying to bring to life.

9. Tell us about ‘Bold Visions: The Digital Painting Bible’ and what inspired it.

A number of years ago, I had been asked to do some writing for a couple of art publications as a featured artist or an expert in a specific field of art. I was contacted by F&W / David and Charles Publishing after they had read some of my articles and they wanted me to create an entire book about how I create my art. I spent some time with my publishing editor, Freya Dangerfield and designers working up some ideas on what I could write about. The aim of the book was to give some instructional ideas to new, aspiring and adept artists while also showing off some of my work in the process. It came out quite well, I think.

10. Evolution is an inherent facet of science fiction art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in this genre?

Wow...  That is a deep question. But one thing I have noticed recently is the architectural flamboyance on this planet has come on leaps and bounds in the last 15 years or so. There are buildings being erected and already built that challenge my own structures I have created previously in my art. Now that is an impressive leap in development!

Dungeon Down

11. You have produced work for the biggest names in computer gaming. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding your art being applied to film or television?

I would like to work on some feature films in the future, but I think the right project needs to come along.  I am willing to work on those sorts of projects and I have a great deal of interest in seeing what film and TV art is up to.

12. What advice would you give to artists considering a career in art?

If you really feel inspired to be creative as a profession, I can say that it is a very rewarding and invigorating experience. It can be challenging and stressful at times also, but to be honest these things only make the payoff for great art even bigger.

13. Tell us a little about any good science fiction or fantasy art you’ve seen recently.

I see amazing art everyday, to be honest. Whenever I have a little spare time or want some inspiration I will check in on some online galleries to see if there are any new and interesting images. I love seeing other people’s artistic efforts.

The Sky Opens

14. What are you doing now?

At work, I cannot say as it is a secret – but it is great. At home, I have just finished my second book – due out at the end of the year. Which, at the moment, looks like it is going to be called 'Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques'.

15. Describe your art in one sentence.

Visionary (hopefully!) – wait that is two words...

16. Where can we find you and your art?

All over the Internet, to be honest; but mostly my art can be found at:

www.visionafar.com

Interview with Kevin J. Anderson

 

Kevin J. Anderson goes to work every day in several different universes, from his own Seven Suns or Terra Incognita universes, to Dune, or Star Wars.  He is a #1 international bestselling author of more than 100 novels, 48 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists; he has over 20 million books in print in 30 languages. He has won or been nominated for the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, and New York Times Notable Book.

Anderson has co-authored 11 books in the Dune saga with Brian Herbert. Anderson's popular epic SF series, The Saga of Seven Suns, is his most ambitious work, and he is currently at work on a sweeping fantasy trilogy, Terra Incognita, about sailing ships, sea monsters, and the crusades. As an innovative companion project to Terra Incognita, Anderson co-wrote and produced the lyrics for two ambitious rock CDs based on the novels, with his frequent co-author, Rebecca Moesta, with whom he has been married for 20 years.

His novel Enemies & Allies chronicles the first meeting of Batman and Superman in the 1950s; Anderson also wrote The Last Days of Krypton. He has written numerous Star Wars projects, including the Jedi Academy trilogy, the Young Jedi Knights series (with Moesta), and Tales of the Jedi comics from Dark Horse. Fans might also know him from his X-Files novels or Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son. Anderson is also a publisher at wordfirepress.com, teaches writing seminars, climbs mountains, and he cooks, too.

1. When did you first read The War of the Worlds, and what effect did it have on you?

I was only 5 years old when I saw the George Pal movie, and it blew me away. I didn’t sleep at all that night - I was so obsessively fascinated about the heat ray, the ruined cities, the feeling of hopelessness; and then that crawling 3-fingered hand covered with leprous splotches, dying because of our germs.  Amazing!

So, when I was 9 years old, I read the H. G. Wells novel, the second adult novel I ever read (the first was The Time Machine). I’ve since read a great many of Wells’s novels, read biographies, and even wrote a novel with H. G. Wells as a main character (The Martian War).  Yeah, it had a pretty big effect.

2. Since 1993, 48 of your novels have been on bestseller lists; and you have over 23 million books in print worldwide. What would you say is the key to your phenomenal success?

I write a lot, I read a lot, and I’m a die-hard fan at heart. I’m fortunate that I happen to have broad, commercial tastes so that what I like to read, and write, also matches what a lot of other fans like to read. I work very hard, have numerous projects in the works at once, and I never stop thinking about my characters and stories.

3. In the world of publishing, there seems to be ongoing tension between independents and the established, traditional publishers. Many of your titles are available in eBook form at wordfirepress.com. What advice, or encouragement, can you give to independent authors and publishers?

I work in both worlds, and intend to keep doing so (as long as the big traditional publishers will have me); I think they serve two different purposes. At wordfirepress.com, we’ve put up a great many of my hard-to-find backlist books, dozens of my novels and short stories that have been out of print, but are no longer economically viable for a major publisher to reprint and distribute. Nevertheless, I want them available for all of the fans. I can post something there, maybe a side story, a novella, a different type of writing, that wouldn’t fit with my big publishers. On the other hand, I don’t think ambitious new writers should just dive into self-publishing without going through the hard work of competing against other aspiring authors, rising to the top of the heap, getting revision requests, detailed editing, major distribution. It’s not supposed to be easy - it’s like making a major-league baseball team. I think too many new authors turn too quickly to self-publishing because they see it as a quick and easy way to get published. Work hard and earn your chops.

4. Tell us about The Saga of Seven Suns. Why did you write this series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

The Saga of Seven Suns is my love-letter to the genre of science fiction, a big epic that I spent about eight years writing (and now I’m just about to start a new trilogy set in the same universe, twenty years after The Ashes Of Worlds). It has a huge cast of characters, hundreds of planets, a war among races on a galactic scale (not to mention alien races, monsters, space battles, ancient abandoned cities, killer robots, exploding planets and stars). What more could you want? I plotted the epic from start to finish, all seven volumes, and delivered the volumes on time, every single year. It’s really a huge scope, and I loved living there. I think it shows the scale of what science fiction can be.

5. You have studied physics, and you have worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for twelve years. Did your lifelong interest in science fiction inspire your study of science, and how has it influenced your writing?

I grew up watching and reading SF, so by the time I got to high school, I was also reading Astronomy Magazine, had my own telescope, and was interested in the science behind the science fiction. I needed to know about quasars, black holes, supernovas, etc. before I could write them. The more I learned about how the real universe worked, the more story ideas came to me (some of the ideas didn’t work, because the science precluded it, but that’s OK). Working for so many years, at a very large government research lab, allowed me to see how real scientists work and interact (believe me, it’s not the way you see it in the movies).

6. What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?

I love building the stories, painting the worlds, and constructing the plotlines like an intricate puzzle.  Also, while I’m writing, I use a digital recorder and go out for hours on the forest or mountain trails here in Colorado. I get to go hiking and do writing at the same time - the best of both worlds.

7. What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?

I work on a lot of different projects at once, and balancing the priorities is often challenging. A lot of people and deadlines are all pulling at my time, so the only solution is to do it all.

8. What advice would you give to other authors regarding marketing and promoting their books?

Writing a brilliant book doesn’t do any good if nobody knows about it and nobody reads it.  You have to get out and talk about your book, meet people, write blogs, go on Facebook or Twitter - but don’t just be a monotonous “buy my book!” commercial; be interesting, and then readers will think your book is interesting.

9. Tell us about your Guinness World Record for "Largest Single Author Signing".

Hours and hours and hours - thousands of books signed, two bands playing, an entire street in Hollywood blocked off, free banana splits. I would run a pen into the ground and then toss it out to the audience like a rock drummer tossing a drumstick. I set the Guinness Record - I’m pretty sure someone has broken it since, but I’ve got the nice certificate on my wall.

10. You have collaborated with other authors including Brian Herbert, Dean Koontz, Doug Beason and your wife, Rebecca Moesta. Tell us about your writing process when collaborating.

I love to brainstorm with other writers; Brian and I meet together and spend a few days just hashing out a new Dune or Hellhole novel; we write up the outline together, break down the chapters, and then we hash out who is going to write what chapters. Then we write the draft chapters, each edit them, and then combine them for more start-to-finish editing. Brian and I have each written our chapters in Hellhole Awakening, and now I’m working through the first edit. When I’m done, I’ll send it to Brian, and he’ll do the same. It goes back and forth until it’s done.

11. Your deal with Bantam Books was the largest single science fiction contract in publishing history. Tell us about your Dune novels and the major new film currently in development by Paramount.

Dune has always been my favorite SF novel ever, so I am very pleased to be working with Frank Herbert’s son Brian on the new novels. We’ve now been working on big books together for twelve years. When we sold our first three Dune books: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino, that contract was the largest single SF contract in publishing history, and those books outsold Bantam’s projections by three times, according to our editor. Because Dune is such an incredible classic, there has always been Hollywood interest in remaking the original film and possibly some of the other novels, but right now there’s nothing in production. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

12. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the screen adaptation of your original books?

I would love to see film adaptations of some of my books, because it exposes a much larger audience to my work. Films are a different art form to books. I’d like to take a crack at doing a screenplay adaptation, but I’m primarily a novelist. Of course, we’ve all seen crappy adaptations of great novels more often than great adaptations, but even films like The Postman and Starship Troopers sold many hundreds of thousands of copies of the original novels. I see it as a good thing, regardless.

13. Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.

I am halfway through reading Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb and really enjoying it. I always like Robin Hobb’s work and I’m glad to revisit her universe. Next up is The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton, one of my favorite big SF writers.

14. What new developments, in the world of science fact, excite you?

Good news, bad news: I was saddened to see the landing of the last space shuttle flight, the end of our shuttle program. Imagine a science fiction writer in the 1960s who wrote a future history novel about a space program that put a man on the Moon several times, then stopped due to lack of interest, then created a space shuttle program that went on for years of incredible breakthroughs, and then stopped without any successor program ready… That author would have been a laughing stock! But I was also glad to see the new launch of the Juno probe to Jupiter, even though it’ll take five years to get there, I can’t wait to see the pics.

Mt Guyot - 13,370 feet

15. Tell us about your interest in mountain climbing.

I love being on the summit, meeting the challenge of scaling a slope, working my way along the rocks, usually alone, often racing gathering thunderstorms. I have checklists of peaks and knock off as many as I can every summer.

    Links: 

eBooks 

Official Site

Seminars

Dune

Interview with Linda Nagata

 

Linda Nagata grew up in a rented beach house on the north shore of Oahu. She graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in zoology and worked for a time at Haleakala National Park on the island of Maui. She has been a writer, a mom, a programmer of database-driven websites, and lately a publisher and book designer. She is the author of eight novels including The Bohr Maker, winner of the Locus Award for best first novel, and the novella "Goddesses," the first online publication to receive a Nebula award. She lives with her husband in their long-time home on the island of Maui.

1. Tell us about your science fiction books.

I love adventure stories. I always have. This is a big reason that I gravitated to science fiction: it’s the perfect genre for telling tales of great adventures, and that’s what I’ve tried to do in my novels. The first four books take place in the same story world, sharing a future drenched in nanotechnology, in which it sometimes seems like all things are possible, but in which things can, and do, go very wrong. The next book, Limit of Vision, is a near-future thriller that explores the escape and evolution of an artificial life form, while touching on the theme of how the future always unfolds in unexpected, and unforeseeable ways. My last traditionally published book, Memory, goes in a different direction. It’s a far-future, hard SF tale that feels like fantasy—a coming of age adventure set on a world where the underlying technology has begun running out of control. Oh, and I should also mention my young adult novel, Skye Object 3270a. It’s a far future, hard science fiction adventure aimed at advanced middle school readers.

2. Why did you choose hard science, and what do you hope to achieve with your writing?

I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, so my first goal as a writer was to write the sort of stories that I desperately wanted to read. I’ve also always been deeply interested in science, in particular biology. I was raised in a household where science shows were always on the TV and science books were always on the shelf, so it was natural to combine my interests by writing hard science fiction. But I also like the challenge of the genre, the idea of working within a fairly strict rule set.  

3. Is there an underlying message in your science fiction books?

I didn’t set out to include one, but most of my work is interested in the evolution of people, culture, and technology, and the idea that if it can be done, someone, somewhere, is likely to try it. Also, that what we might find reprehensible today, particularly in fields like genetic engineering, could very well be seen as perfectly normal a little further down the timeline. 

4. Tell us about your science background and how it has helped you to create your work.

I majored in biology, with an emphasis on ecology, evolution, cellular structures, and biochemistry. I managed to not learn much physics until after I graduated, when I needed to figure things out for the books. Also, lots of reading of layman’s books on many subjects. I simply could not have written the books without this background. Not that the books are about science. Very few of my characters are professional scientists. I’m just interested in constructing a story world that’s in some sense an extrapolation of known science and technology.

5. Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?

Oh, I’m very fond of all of them! I think an author has to be, to stick with the same characters throughout an entire novel. But since he managed to put in an appearance in three different books, I’ll have to name Nikko, from The Bohr Maker, as one of my favourites. He’s an unapologetic, genetically engineered, radical technologist, and I put him through hell.

6. How is writing hard science fiction different from writing other genres?

I think all genres have their rules. Hard science fiction just has a different set of rules, and that rule set varies with the writer. For example, none of my stories use faster-than-light travel. I’ve also been very cautious about including aliens, though many hard SF writers freely include both. Many fantasy novels, historical novels, thrillers, etc. require just as much research to get right.

7. What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?

For me the pleasure comes in those moments when I know I’m finding the right words to tell the story I wanted to tell. This usually takes place during the revision, when the story starts to come together and the words begin to feel graceful instead of awkward. But of course there’s a lot to be said for that moment when someone first tells me they loved the book.

8. What do you find most challenging, and how do you overcome it?

Focusing on the work and writing everyday; keeping the faith that what I’m doing is worth the time and anxiety. I’ve written nine novels, but on many days I still find it very hard to give in mentally, embrace the challenge, and do the work. It’s ever so much easier to go work on one of the websites I look after, or to prep another eBook, or work on a cover or layout. Right now, for example, I’m supposed to be revising my latest novel, but I’m doing this interview! And I’m late with it too. How do I meet the challenge of working consistently? Simply by returning to the work, whether I want to or not. Aiming for a daily word count helps. 2011 has been my year of writing with a new level of determination. I’ve written and published one novel so far, and I have finished the draft of a second novel. So it can be done.

9. Tell us about your decision to strike out on your own.

Despite awards, some very nice reviews and support from other writers, my career was caught in the infamous “death spiral” in which each book is printed in smaller quantities than the one before; and so each sells less than the one before. It was very frustrating, and the couple of books that I tried to sell after Memory didn’t find buyers. So I decided that if somebody was going to fail at selling my books, it might as well be me! Realistically, the field is changing so fast that the idea of signing a traditional contract scares me. I’ve come to enjoy having full control over my work. Right now it’s not something I’m willing to give up.

10. What have you done to promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?

Don’t look to me for advice on promotion! I’m terrible at it. This was a weak point in my traditional career, and it’s a weak point now. Mostly, like everyone else, I try to be active on social networks, in particular Twitter (@LindaNagata), and increasingly, Google+. I also have my blog; but this is a puzzle I’m still working on.

11. You have also written a fantasy book entitled ‘The Dread Hammer’ under the pen name, Trey Shiels. Tell us about this book, and why you decided to use a pen name.

I love this book, for itself, and because it got me seriously writing again. It has a “medieval-ish” setting and involves a rather violent young man - well, he’s not quite human - who finds himself unexpectedly in love. The Dread Hammer is a bit outrageous. It’s a fast-paced, violent, sexy short novel that touches on marriage, family, and self-determination. People seem to like it.

Why the pen name? First, because hard experience has shown that the name “Linda Nagata” doesn’t sell many books. Second, because the readers who do know my name expect a different sort of story from me, and I don’t want to mislead anyone. It seemed like a worthwhile experiment to publish in a new genre under a new name.

12. Would you like to see any of your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations, or reservations, regarding this?

I almost answered this question with “Who wouldn’t?” but I suppose there are writers who would hesitate. For myself, I’d love to see it happen. Most of my books would be very hard to do, given the level of special effects required and the complexity of the stories, but I’ve actually written a treatment for my novel Limit of Vision. That didn’t go anywhere, but it was an interesting experience. Now that you mention it, maybe I should do something with The Dread Hammer. That’s a story that could work nicely as a screenplay.

13. Tell us a little about a good science fiction or fantasy book you’ve read recently.

I haven’t been reading nearly as much as I want to, but my latest “Book Rave” on the blog was over Martha Wells’ The Cloud Roads, a fantasy novel set in a huge, complex, wild world, following the adventures of a man named Moon, a classic outsider looking for his place in life. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

14. Describe your Nebula award-winning novella ‘Goddesses’, in one sentence.

A near-future tale of how simple actions can make the world a better place; also, the first online fiction to win a Nebula award.

15. As an ambitious science fiction author, I would love to have my novel considered for a Nebula award. What advice could you give to independent authors regarding this?

I haven’t looked into the process in years! Awards are great to mention when you’re trying to interest people in your books, but a lot of great books have never won awards. Awards and readers don’t necessarily go together, and while the awards are fun, I’d rather have the readers.

16. Where can we find you and your books?

My books are getting easier to find. Most are available worldwide via Book View Café, in both mobi and epub formats. You can also find them at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amazon UK, and at the UK online store, Wizards Tower. I’ve also been at work republishing some of the books in print editions. Look for them at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble. Hopefully they’ll also be showing up soon at some Australian online bookstores.

You can find me at all the usual haunts. Here’s a quick list, depending on your preference:

Blog

Website

Twitter

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