Interviews – Page 8 – Diabolical Plots

Like a Moth to Flame: Jordan Lapp

Jordan Lapp is a writer who has won the first prize of the prestigious Writers of the Future (WotF) contest.Â Only writers very early in their career are eligible:Â after a few publications you are disqualified.Â Don’t let the fact that the entrants are mostly unpublished lull you into thinking that winning is easy.Â Competition is fierce, and winning is a major event which can often act as a launching point for a writer’s career.Â Past winners have included Nina Kiriki Hoffman, David Wolverton, K.D. Wentworth, Eric Flint, Patrick Rothfuss, J. Kathleen Cheney, and countless others whose careers have all grown in leaps and bounds after winning.Â Keep your eye out for Jordan.

Besides winning the Writers of the Future contest, Jordan is also the editor of Every Day Fiction, which publishes a new flash fiction story,Â 1000 words or fewer, every day.

He has also recently attended the Clarion West writer’s workshop, which is an accomplishment in itself.ÂÂ Jordan has blogged about both Clarion West and the Writers of the Future workshop and awards ceremony on his site Without Really Trying.

David Steffen: In your own words, could you tell us a bit about “After the Final Sunset, Again”, your winning story?

Jordan Lapp: Certainly. The central character of “After the Final Sunset, Again” is a creature called the Phoenix, who is a kind of demi-god that exists to further humanity’s goals from the grandest scale right down to the personal level. Every morning a new Phoenix is birthed from the ashes of its predecessor, assembling a personality by copying and internalizing memories from surrounding humans, and is then sent into the world to accomplish specific goals. On this particular day, one of the humans who is “donating” memories dies at the moment of the Phoenix’s conception, thus giving her a sense of her own mortality, something no other Phoenix has ever had to confront. Thus, she eschews her “duties” in favour of finding a way to survive past sunset, thus setting the story in motion.

David: I always like to hear story origins.Â What triggered the idea for this particular story?

Jordan: Mortality is a recurring theme in my work. I’m fascinated by the tale of the ant and the grasshopper. In the fable, the ant works hard all summer storing away supplies for the winter, while the grasshopper spends the days dancing and playing on his fiddle. When winter arrives, the ant is safe in his home with plenty of food, while the grasshopper is left to starve in the cold. I always ask myself, what if the ant had died at the end of the summer? Would he have envied the grasshopper? In this particular tale, I asked “how exactly can we achieve true immortality”? To answer myself, I created a character with the shortest possible lifespan and had her wrestle with the question.

David: With this huge milestone reached, now what?Â What are your goals, hopes, dreams?

Jordan: I spoke a lot about this with the judges at Writers of the Future, all of whom are award-winning writers. Universally, their advice was to write a novel. Not a one suggested I keep writing shorts. I’ve now got enough credit to attract some attention, so I should capitalize on it by writing a novel, they said. When people like Rob Sawyer and Dave Wolverton tell you to write a novel, you pretty much have to do it.

David: The last winner, Patrick Lundrigan, submitted 21 times before winning.Â How many times did you submit before you won?Â How were your results–had you made semi-finalists and finalist before?

Jordan: My 1st place winner was my 7th entry to the contest. Previously, I had one non-placer, three Honorable Mentions, and two Semi-Finalists. Interestingly enough, KD Wentworth identified the same weakness in both of my Semi-Finalist critiques (unsympathetic protagonist). I worked on this aspect of my craft, and won not long after. I believe my non-placing entry was because I failed to follow one of the unspoken (and unwritten, unless you know where to look) rules of the contest: You must have speculative content on your first page or two.

David: When you dropped this story in the mailbox, could you tell that it was different than your previous entries, or did it feel the same?

Jordan: I actually made myself cry at the end of this story. And I still do every time I read it. This is what we call a Good Sign. I knew it was better than anything I’d written before by a fairly significant margin, but of course, I didn’t have any idea it would place. In fact, when I re-read it after Joni called me to tell me it was a finalist, all I could see were the flaws. Goes to show you that writers are their own worst critics.

David: Has winning opened new doors?Â Do you get more positive responses on short story submission?Â Have publishers or agents approached you?

Jordan: Yes and no. “After the Final Sunset, Again” was really a bit of a fluke in terms of story quality. Until recently, I wasn’t sure how to duplicate it. It took a stint at Clarion West to show me where I needed to shore up my craft. I’m only now turning out pieces that I feel equal it in quality.

Attending the workshop has opened more doors for me than the actual story. First, I’m discussing doing a graphic novel with Luke Eidenschink, the illustrator of Matt Rotundo’s story “Gone Black”. When his illustration was revealed, I commented that it was very true to the style you see in graphic novels. He confessed that he wanted to produce one, and he’d written a few stories, but he wasn’t enthusiastic about them. I mused that it would be nice if he could team up with a writer. He asked if I knew any, and the rest is history.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Steve Savile at the workshop, a previous winner. Steve has written 23 novels in the six years since he won, and offered to take a look at our novels once we’d written them. If he likes them, he’s offered to introduce us to a few editors. Many of the other judges made the same offer.

David: At what point in your life did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Jordan: I suppose I always knew I wanted to be a writer. When did I know I wanted to give it a serious go? About four years ago I met Andy LeBlanc, a friend of a friend, and a brilliant writer. At the time, I thought I was good. Andy showed me what good was supposed to be. I’ve spent the last four years trying to equal him. At this point, I still think I have a ways to go.

David: Do you think being the editor of Every Day Fiction gave you insight into how to improve your own writing?

Jordan: Yes and No. Yes, you learn what not to do from stories that you reject in the first paragraph. However, there comes a point where reading slush actually hurts you. For instance, there have been a few ideas that I would have liked to develop that I’ve shelved because I’ve seen similar work in the slush. If I hadn’t edited EDF, I wouldn’t even have known those stories existed and thus been free to develop those ideas on my own. Also, I’m a strong advocate of learning from writers who are better than you. If you don’t know any, read “Best-Of” Anthologies. As a slush editor, the vast majority of the submitted work is unpublishable, and therefore of little good to my development as a writer.

On the other hand, if you’ve never done it, I recommend reading slush. It shows you how you stack up as a writer, gives you an eye on the competition. It also shows you how common vampire stories really are, and that you should NEVER EVER WRITE ONE. My recommendation is to read slush for a year or two, learn all you can, then leave it behind.

David: Now that you’ve been through both the WotF workshop and the Clarion workshop, how has your writing changed?Â What’s the most significant difference?Â Attitude?Â Skill?

Jordan: I was the first writer ever to win Writers of the Future and THEN attend Clarion West. Usually it works the other way around. At the time, I knew that the Phoenix was a fluke and that there was a definite weakness in my writing, but I didn’t know what it was. Turns out my characterization was weak. “After the Final Sunset, Again” had won because the Phoenix was such a strong character. Since Clarion West, I’ve been turning out stories with very strong characters, and I think my writing has improved dramatically as a result.

David: How did you react when you found out you were a finalist?Â When you found out you’d won?

Jordan: I was on my honeymoon with my wife when I got Joni Labaqui’s message. I made a beeline for my hotel room and screamed my brains out. Apparently, those rooms aren’t soundproof.

I found out that I won while I was at work an interminable month later. I’d practically gone nuts figuring out my odds of placing (37.5%), and evaluating and re-evaluating my story. When Joni finally phoned, I screamed my brains out. Apparently, my office isn’t soundproof either.

David: You also attended Clarion West in the past month or two, an application-based writer’s workshop.Â Any advice for getting in?

Jordan: This is a fairly tough question. My application story was my Writers of the Future winning story, so that certainly didn’t hurt my application (though they didn’t know it had won when I submitted it). They also ask for an application essay, but admission is judged solely on the basis of that story.

What they’re looking for are writers that are at a place where they know the basics, but need a small push to send them over the edge. To that end, write a challenging story. Have a unique voice. Have something to say. Fantasy is the perpetually undiscovered country. Blaze a trail into the wilderness and stake a claim.

David: Are there any stories coming up in Every Day Fiction that you’re particularly looking forward to?

Jordan: To be honest, Camille Gooderham Campbell has taken over most of the day-to-day responsibilities at EDF. Between Clarion West and Writers of the Future I’ve been run off my feet with writerly responsibilities. My role has become more promotional. To that end, I’m working on a few ideas that I hope will really boost the magazine’s profile.

David: Is there anything you’d like to see more in the slush pile of Every Day Fiction?

Jordan: Original work. Lord, don’t send us another vampire story. You know, we never get enough genre work, or rather, what we do get is generally of poor quality. I suppose this is because, with the amount of space that must be devoted to setting, writing sympathetic characters becomes an exercise in word management. Because of this, a well-written horror, fantasy, or science fiction piece jumps off the page at us.

David: If you could only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Jordan: Find writers who are better than you are and learn from them. In person is better, but if you don’t know any and live someplace remote, study Best-Of anthologies. Finish everything you write, send your work out, and never give up.

David: What’s your favorite thing to do that’s not related to writing?

Jordan: Spending time with my wife. I was lucky enough to meet a loving, supportive woman who encourages me to pursue my passions. When I’m not writing, we’re generally bike riding, watching movies, renovating our house, and generally laughing our way through life.

David: If you could meet any fictional character in person, who would it be?

Jordan: I can’t think of a single one. The problem is that if a writer is doing a good job, what they’ve created on the page can never be equaled by a face to face meeting. On the page you have direct access to a character’s innermost thoughts and emotions. After that kind of experience, a direct meeting would feel so limiting.

David: What was the last book you read?

Jordan: I’m halfway through dozens of books, mostly by Clarion West instructors or Writers of the Future judges. Of course, the last book I’ve read–as of this interview–is Writers of the Future XXV itself. To be honest, I’ve read several previous volumes and always found a couple of stories that I flat out wouldn’t have picked to be in the anthology, but that’s not so this time. Of course, I’m probably biased, but this year is the strongest one I’ve read. My prediction is that at least one story will find its way into a Best-Of anthology.

David: Your favorite book?

Jordan: I’ve been reading a lot of shorts these days. Of those, “The Monkey” by Stephen King is the only story I’ve ever read that scared the daylights out of me. It was in the anthology “Dark Descent” edited by David G Hartwell which should be required reading for any writer of short fiction. In terms of novel length works, Lloyd Alexander’s “Taran Wanderer” will always hold a special place in my heart. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, Card’s Ender’s Game, and The Scar by China Mieville are all excellent for different reasons.

David: Who is your favorite author?

Jordan: I don’t really have “favourite authors” so much as favourite stories. I suppose the last writer to absolutely blow my mind was Stephen King with his Gunslinger novels. One of the greatest things about the first book in King’s opus was the opening line, “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger pursued.” That, perhaps, is the most powerful first line I’ve ever read. The whole novel is contained in that line.

David: What was the last movie you saw?

Jordan: Ugh. It was “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp. The movie was terrible in terms of both the writing and the cinematography. As far as good movies, it was “Once Upon a Time In the West”. Andy LeBlanc and I are making a study of classic films to see what made them work, and perhaps incorporate those qualities into our own writing. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Western influences in my upcoming work.

David: What is your favorite movie?

Jordan: I have several favourite movies. The Last Unicorn is amazing because I enjoyed it for the artwork and fantasy elements as a child, and now love it as an adult because of its incredible depth. The book, by Peter S. Beagle is an absolute masterpiece. I also liked TRON (I took up a career as a video game programmer because of this movie), The Prestige, The Sixth Sense, and Watership Downs (though the book is far, far better. Maybe the best ever written in the English language). Generally I love movies that are challenging in terms of theme, or that have excellent kung-fu. I suppose in that Venn Diagram, the Matrix lies squarely in the middle.

David: Do you have any works in progress that you’d like to tell us about?

Jordan: I’m currently adapting my winning Writers of the Future story into a novel (in the outlining stages). I’ve also placed work in the Time in a Bottle Anthology, and recently written the foreword of Michael Ehart’s excellent novel “Tears of Ishtar”. Michael is a good friend and excellent writer of Sword and Sorcery a la Howard or Moorcock, and I was flattered to receive the invitation to write the foreword.

David: Thank you for taking the time for the interview, Jordan.Â I can’t wait to read the new volume of Writers of the Future.

Also, thank you to Frank Dutkiewicz and Anthony Sullivan for your contributions to this interview.

Exploring Canvas Caverns: Joey Jordan

joey Joey Jordan is a freelance illustrator of fantasy and science fiction.Â For a glimpse at her work, just look at the top of this web page–that mad scientist is a Joey Jordan original. Her work has also been seen in Jim Baen’s Universe, The Drink Tank, and Renard’s Menagerie, among others.Â If you want to see more of her art, check out out her website here.Â In addition, she’s on Facebook, where she’s always interested in meeting new people, and there she runs the group called the Con-Goer’s Inn.

David Steffen: Thanks for joining us, Joey.

David: At what point in your life did you realize you were going to be an artist?Â Why not a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker?

Joey: When I was a real young child, prior to kindergarten. I had always seen myself as an artist and wanted to do it as a career till I was older and thought that it could only be a hobby. Then back in 2004 I decided that if I were to live a happy life I would have to do what I love, so I started to fiddle in art again. Then in 2007ÂI came into some “Luck money” and filled the studio that my husband made for me. He is really supportive and even sends me to my art room if I am drifting from a piece or allowing to many things to distract me.

David: What appeals to you about fantasy and science fiction illustrations, that you choose to focus on that aspect of art?

Joey: Even my earliest pictures were of fantasy and science fiction. I have always had an awesome imagination and found traditional art boring to me… except for a few landscapes here and there but I still always brainstormed the idea of turning them into a fantasy or sci-fi piece.

David: When you create a new piece of artwork, do you create a backstory for the image or does the image exist in isolation?

Joey: The piece tells me it’s story, it’s like it has it’s own life and being, I am only deciphering it. Well that is with the “flash images” the full ideas that I get in an instant flash, then I have partial ideas where I may only see a background or character then I have to find their perfect match. Back to the Q: Sometimes I have the full story, sometimes only the part of it the image wants me to know… so I never feel like I truly make it up, it’s more like it’s just there.

David: As an example, the black and white image on your home page really draws my eye.Â Can you tell us the story behind that one?

Joey: That was actually an experiment in contrast, the woman in the foreground is the only item in the picture to have true black and true white, everything else is 10% grey to 90% grey.ÂIt started with a partial idea, the woman, then I had to decide what the best backgroundÂwould beÂto express the idea. With this one it is one of those pieces where I myself can not read the full story from her, in some pictures I understand the full story behind it, this was only a partial idea. The main character has this ability or curse, where when she writes the name of a person on paper it becomes a death spell.Â I do not know why she does it or if she has to do it, I don’t think she is evil but I don’t know why she does not stop. She may be an assassin. On the paper pieces I wrote the name Kioki in Japanese, which means happy child if I did it right, though some of the pieces are ripped. When the girl reads her name the demon will take her. In a way it also felt like she was in the past and almost going back to kill herself before she goes on to become what she is.

David: I think your illustration for Diabolical plots (partial image at the top of the page, with the full image under the “Diabolical Art” tab) turned out really well.Â Do you have anything you’d like to tell us about that?

Joey: The Diabolical Plots project was a fun project. I had a lot of fun figuring out the lighting and adding in all of the little writer related details to the writer mad scientist. Like his tie which says #1 writer, the stack of writer help books, The top book is Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliott, Ph.D., and the word count machine attached to the computer on the right side.

I made a head set for the poor test reader, that forces their eyes open so they can read the unedited manuscripts and the brain reader cap reads their honest responses and finds flaws in the story so you crazy diabolical writers can take over the world with your perfect creation of speculative fiction and science fiction. You guys already work in mind control and subliminal wording right, because I am already addicted to your short stories!

David: When I write I go through about half a dozen drafting stages to help work out kinks in the writing.Â Do you use a drafting process with your art, or do you just know what you want it to look like right away?

Joey: If its a flash image in my head or an idea I do a real quick sketch and write down any key notes on color to trigger the image again at a later time. I have so many images in my head and have held some of them for years, though it’s great that I can still remember them years later, or trigger their memory with a sketch and note. It kind of feels like everything I look at gives me ideas. My husband thinks it’s funny when we pass a cliff and I mention the awesome brush strokes that would be if done in oil or how that would make an awesome picture with a character right there.

IÂdo pre sketches and laying out all of the problems that may arise so that I get it right the first time.

I also sketch everything out on the paper or canvas prior to putting down the detail and or color to make sure it is balanced.

David: What’s your favorite art medium?

Joey: Berol Prisma color pencils on Bristol, but I am moving to oil and liquin or oil and turpentine with linseed on masonite or artboard.

David: Can you tell us some of your goals for the future?Â (Such as trying a new and challenging type of medium or a goal to get published in a particular venue.)

Joey Jordan: Here in a month or so I am going to submit to Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. When I have a kick *** portfolio in oil I want to hit up Baen books for a cover, Tor, Spectrum, Analog, DAW, Wizards of the Coast…

David: What is your ideal working environment?Â For example, music or not, amount of uninterrupted time, etc.

Joey: Music adds a lot to the feel of my work. If I find a song or sound that fits the feel of the piece then I continue to play it while I work on the piece. I try toÂpush the music into the piece. I work best uninterrupted and though I am a people person and have a great attitude, when I am working on a piece and am totally into my “art mood” I sometime feel like I come off as if I am cold and uncaring at the time, I only want to be left alone to work on my picture. Everything else is a distraction that prevents me from finishing the piece and the longer I am held back from making that piece the more painful it seems.

David: How long does one piece of art typically take from conception to completion?

Joey: If I work it without too many distractions then mostly 3 days with larger works going up to one week.

David: If you could give one piece of advice to an illustrator trying to break into the market, what would it be?

Joey: Enter Illustrators of the Future!

David: If you could give one piece of advice to a beginner artist, what would it be?

Joey: Practice working your chosen medium until you feel you truly control it… Though now I will veer back toward the Illustrator style… tell a story with your images… make the viewer feel what you feel.

David: I know you enter your art in the Illustrators of the Future contest.Â What do you do to prepare an entry?Â Do you work on pieces specifically for the contest?

Joey: I do work on pieces specifically for the contest, but then the wonderful thing about that is you can use an illustration over and over. First I enter it, then when the time is up I can submit the image to markets as a stand alone piece, use it in my portfolio, and sell the original. You get so many uses out of the one piece, why not start its journey as an entry into a contest with a ton of wonderful benefits.

David: You regularly attend conventions, and have been the guest of honor at one convention.Â Do you have any advice for those of us who’ve never been to one?

Joey: Go! It’s wonderful, you get to hang out with lots of fans of the genre in one place, authors, illustrators, publishers, actors. I wish I hadn’t put it off so long… On face book my husband and I have a group called The Con-Goer’s Inn where we have lists of conventions in the discussion section and links to other con info.

David: Who’s your favorite illustrator?

Joey: IÂdon’t think I would say IÂhave one particular favorite,ÂthereÂare alot of truely wonderful pieces out thereÂthough I am able toÂtell quite a few artists by their style. I guess if I were to narrow it downÂa bit I wouldÂpitch Todd Lockwood, Dan Dos Santos, Donato Giancola, John Picacio and the late Keith Parkinson.Â(In high school I loved “Rift’s” and Keith did alot of my favorite covers)Â But I will add that their are so many wonderful works out there that I mostly look at the individual piece.

David: What’s your favorite illustration (done by someone else) that you remember?

Joey: The piece that pops into my mind right now is one by Dan Dos Santos, I don’t know the name of it, but it is a piece with a young lady dead on the ground, dry snow covering the stones a bit and she is wearing a green shirt and holding a green new growth. Another woman is above her in a white cloak touching the dead girls forehead.

David: What was your favorite vacation and why?

Joey: I tie art into my ideal vacation ideas too, It’s more of a, “that will be an awesome place to get reference photos” I want to go toÂTiahuanaco, Bolivia for reference photos for my alternate prehistory paintings. So I can come up with my own ideas of what the place was in the past and to have accurate layout photos to alter and try and paint how I thought it hadÂlooked in the past.

On the norm, we go camping alot, go to the westcoast beaches (went to Virginia Beach once too), and check out little cafe’s and shops in artsy towns here in WA. Though If we are going anywhere that may have a great reference photo, I’m on it!

David: What’s your favorite outdoor activity?

Joey: It’s hard to narrow down to single activities, horseback riding, hiking and exploring waterfalls and caves (There is a freaking awesome one hidden in Cinebar WA bordered both sides by private land… knew one of the people till they sold… It was 100′, two sections of about 50 feet with a pool in the middle and at the base. There was a boulder I would climb onto near the middle and the force of the water would blow may hair back behind me. I had long hair back then.) and aggressive skating…

David: What’s your favorite indoor activity?

Joey: Painting! And drooling over DickBlick’s art catalogue… imaging the damage I could do with some of those art supplies… I also love Cirque du Soleil and live acts with a similar feel.

David: What was the last book you read?

Joey: TheÂactual last book I read was Chariots of the Gods, though Shaun my husband has started me on a few to read by a fewÂauthors that I have met at cons. I don’t really make alot of time to read though, except when I get projects and that he thoughtÂwere good, includingÂThe NameÂofÂthe Wind by PatrickÂRothfuss, I hope to pick up a few tradeÂpaperbacks get to read a story to illustrate before others have read it, except the editor of course, kind of a cool feeling.

David: Your favorite book?

Joey: P.C. HodgellsÂÂ Dark of the MoonÂÂÂ TheÂfantasy by P.C. not the sci-fi one that was turned into a movie. Though the sci-fi had a good idea with the Bermuda triangle being a teleport area to a triangle on the dark side of the moon.

My favorite series is the Death Gate Novels Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

David: Who is your favorite author?

Joey: Why David, you of course.Â Kind of likeÂthe favoriteÂillustrator, I don’t really feel I have one exact author, it’s to each work.Â Again though I will name off a few, Patrick Rothfuss, Mark J. Ferrari, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Anne McCaffery (I grew up on her Pern, even named a pet mouse Jaxom), Kevin J. Anderson, David Farland, see you evil man, I can’t really narrow it down to one,ÂI could keep going but for the sake of the readers I am going to stop now.

David: What was the last movie you saw?

Joey: Dragon Ball Z resurrection and right before that the Watchmen …. on demand. The last movie in theatre IÂsaw was The Day theÂ Earth StoodÂStill. Though I don’t watch alot of movies, I mostly spend my time looking up art references and sketching ideas out. Hey it’s fun time for artists…

David: What is your favorite movie?

Joey: For fun I have always like Labyrinth with David Bowie… Loved the new Star Trek restart movie.

David: Do you have any upcoming shows, cons, publications we should check out?

Joey: Joey: I decided to work on some of the oil tips I have received so that I can put on a high level focused show, so I will not be attending any cons till OryCon, RadCon and Norwescon. I also plan on doing WorldCon when it’s in Nevada in 2011.

I intend to go to FoolsCap in WA Saturday only. I will probably be on the Mythical Botony panel, maybe another one or two.Â (I have to contact programming)

David: Can you tell us a little bit about your next big work in progress?

Joey: I am starting a series of oil paintings with an ancient Minoan and Atlantian theme, I want to pitch the idea as a coffee table book of art and stories of alternate prehistory ideas that I have gotten from dreams, flash images, and ideas from ancient times. Alot of Ancient Astronaut themes.

I also have been asked to work children’s book illustrations for 2 different authors and I believe I shall do it.

David: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions, Joey.Â I’m always eager to check out the next Joey Jordan original!

Cower, minions! It’s K. D. Wentworth!

K. D. Wentworth has reached an almost divine state in the eyes of many aspirants; especially those who participate in the quarterly Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest. K. D. is editor of the anthology, and first-reader for the writing portion of the contest. She reads, or at least starts to read, every entry that comes through the doors of Author Services, Inc; a colossal task that she completes not once but four times per year.

Thankfully, unlike the varied recognized deities of Earth’s many cultures, K. D. is very approachable and friendly. While she is known to smite overwrought prose wherever she sees it, she would never pulverize a well meaning aspirant. Her kindness shows in the many ways she strives to help struggling writers achieve the elusive goal of publication.

Above all else K. D. is an author. She has several books and dozens of short stories in print. You can find her work in virtually every mentionable genre publication currently in print and many who aren’t. You can learn more about K. D. and her writing at her website, http://www.kdwentworth.com.

K. D., thank you for the opportunity to give this interview.

Anthony Sullivan: Three-time Nebula finalist, winning the Writers of the Future contest, Teacher’s writers award, tons of novels in publication; is it true are you really HG Wells reincarnated?

K. D. Wentworth: Actually, I’m a four-time Nebula finalist, but after you’ve lost three times, people mercifully stop counting.Â As for me and H.G., have you ever seen us in the same room together?Â Just a little food for speculative thought.

Anthony: As we all know, the speculative fiction genre lost an icon in Algis Budrys last year. How close were you to Mr. Budrys and how has he affected your craft over the many years you worked together?

KD: I adored Algis Budrys.Â He bought my first story and gave me invaluable advice at the Writers of the Future Workshop.Â We kept in contact over the years and it was a delight to see him every time our paths crossed.Â I still use what he taught me about writing every single day when I sit down to write.

Anthony: What was the most helpful or perhaps most profound piece of advice Algis gave you?

KD: There was so much, but one of his sayings was that “Remember that the story is not the words.”Â It was his theory that the story exists inside the writer’s head where it is perfect.Â The words we use to try and tell it on paper (or the screen) are imperfect vehicles for what we want to say.Â They will never be as good as what’s inside our heads.Â Lots of different words can be used to tell the same story.Â Just look at how many different versions of “Cinderella” exist.Â We have to make the words as smooth and descriptive and professional as we can, but should not get hung up on the fact that they aren’t as good as what’s inside our heads or else we’ll never stop revising.

Anthony: What, if any, formal training have you had? (i.e. MFA, etc)

KD: I have a degree in English, Liberal Arts, from the University of Tulsa, in addition to certification as an elementary teacher, fifteen hours of Computer Programming, and fifteen hours of Education graduate school classes.

Anthony: This year is the 25th anniversary of the Writers of the Future contest and its popularity seems to be growing still. Is the quality of submissions trending upwards or down? Does this make your job easier or more difficult?

KD: The quality of submissions is improving all the time.Â It makes it more difficult, but I love the increasing quality. There are so many talented writers out there who only need to be given a chance.

Anthony: As the contest continues to grow, many new writers are getting the courage to finally submit. What advice can you offer them as they pen their entries?

KD: Don’t reject your own story.Â A writer really never knows how good her story is until someone else reads it.Â Take a chance and send it in!

Then write something else!

Anthony: You’ve always kept the exact number of entries close to your vest but we know for sure that the number is large and that you read, at least the beginning of every story. Do you ever tire of the process? What keeps you going? Do you have any help?

KD: I only work about an hour at a time on the first-reading so that my eye stays fresh.Â I don’t have any help, but that’s the way I want it right now.Â It’s a lot of work, but I value being entrusted with this responsibility.

Anthony: What are a few things that are sure to send a story into the ‘Thanks for trying’ box?

KD: Passive characters.Â Weak endings that just fizzle out.Â Idiot plots (where someone has to do something stupid or there is no plot).Â Overused ideas without something new to entice the reader.Â Overdone language.Â Over the top metaphors and similes.Â On-stage sex.Â Pointless and gruesome violence.Â Anything that sounds like Star Wars, Buffy, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight, etc.

Anthony: About what percentage of stories do you actually make it all the way through?

KD: I’m just guessing, but I would say fifteen to twenty percent.

Anthony: What is the most memorable story you have ever sent up to the judges?

KD: That’s like being asked to pick your favorite child!ÂÂ Here are a few favorites: “Blackberry Witch” by Scott M. Roberts, “Last Dance at the Sergeant Majors’Â Ball” by Cat Sparks, “Schroedinger’s Hummingbird” by Diana Rowland, “Numbers” by Joel Best, and “Sleep Sweetly, Junie Carter” by Joy Remy.

Anthony: Dave Farland once mentioned that he received a submission written in crayon. What is the most bizarre entry you’ve seen in your time with WotF?

KD: I keep getting poetry, scripts, hand-drawn illustrations, and high school and college theme papers about things like the evils of okra and how misunderstood pit bulls are.

Anthony: Do you feel like your affiliation with the Writers of the Future contest is a lifelong one?

KD: I certainly hope so.Â I love getting to pay back some of the help that was once given to me.

Anthony: In 1988 you won the Writers of the Future contest with your story Daddy’s Girls. How important was this in the success of your career?

KD: It was an amazing moment in my life.Â I’d never sold anything up until that point.Â Winning meant that I wasn’t wasting my time writing and that it was possible I could have a writing career.

Anthony: How hard was the wait until your second publication, Dust, two years later?

KD: It was a year after winning the Contest before I sold “Dust” and the waiting was very hard because my expectations had been raised.Â I just had to have faith in myself and keep writing.

Anthony: Most of your stories and books seem to be fantasy and urban fantasy. Do you have a penchant for those sub-genres?

KD: I like and write everything, from high fantasy and a bit of horror to hard sf.Â All but one of my books have actually been sf.Â I especially like to write about aliens, the way their minds work, and how they see the universe.

Anthony: Your novel with Eric Flint, Course of Empire, has received a good deal of praise. So few authors are able to collaborate well. How are you and Mr. Flint able to balance the responsibility of such a project?

KD: Eric writes the outline and an extensive background.Â I write the book.Â Then Eric adds material, in some places up to an entire chapter.Â He’s a very generous collaborator and I enjoy working with him.Â I think our strengths braid well together.

Anthony: What can you tell us about your upcoming novel project?

KD: The next book out is Crucible of Empire, a sequel to The Course of Empire.Â It deals with a trip to a distant nebula where a human/Jao crewed ship encounters not only the Ekhat again, but another species long thought by the Jao to be extinct.ÂÂ There’s lots of fighting and space battles and I got to bring back two of my favorite characters from the first book.

Anthony: Do you have any short fiction releasing anytime soon?

KD: I just had “Hex Education” published in Witch Way to the Mall.Â Upcoming I have “Special Needs” in Strip-Mauled, “Owl Court” in Sword and Sorceress XXIV, “Miss White-Hands’ Class Goes Shopping” in a yet untitled humorous suburban vampire anthology, and “The Embians” in Destination Future.

Anthony: Some say that short form fiction is being revitalized by the internet. What changes do you see on the horizon for short fiction and the publications, both print and electronic, that publish it?

KD: The SF/fantasy field is blessed with still having a vigorous market for short fiction.Â I just wish that everyone who is trying to sell short fiction would subscribe to at least two magazines and help support them.Â These are tough times and we just lost Baen’s Universe, a wonderful market, due to lack of revenue.Â Online venues are good showcases, but most of them do not pay very well.

Anthony: You have written some stories in the alternate history genre. Do you see this as viable market or a fad? Would a AH story stand a chance in the WOTF contest?

KD: Alternate History is always fun, both to write and read, and it seems to be here to stay.Â It will always have a chance in the Contest as long as 1) it’s well researched and 2) you make it clear where the point of departure from the real timeline is.

Anthony: K. D., thanks so much for your time. I hope our readers will take your advice and run out and subscribe to a genre pub to support short fiction.

Also, thanks to Frank Dutkiewicz, Dan Gaidin, David Steffen, Brad Torgersen,Â Laurie Unas and Jennifer Wendorf for their submitted questions.

Photo used by permission from Author Services, Inc.

Dan Gaidin

Found in Translation: Juliette Wade

JulietteHeadshot Juliette Wade is a writer of speculative fiction whose story Let the Word Take Me was published in the July/August 2008 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.Â Her second published story, Cold Words, will also appear in Analog, in the October issue, on newsstands at the time of this interview.

Her stories are unique in that they draw heavily on her background in anthropology and linguistics.Â So many science fiction stories avoid the topic of linguistics entirely, either by ignoring it, or by hand-waving with gadgets like universal translators.Â Juliette’s two Analog stories are centered around establishing communications with alien cultures.

Besides her successful fiction career, she also maintains a blog focused on discussions of linguistics and anthropology of both the real world and fictional locations.Â Her blog is particularly interesting because she makes it so interactive.Â You can raise questions there and she also periodically runs worldbuilding workshops, about which I’ve heard very good things.Â Check out her blog at www.talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com

Juliette, thanks for agreeing to this interview.

David Steffen: In your own words, could you tell us a little bit about Cold Words to pique our interest?

Juliette Wade: The thing I love most about Cold Words is that it takes what seems like a pretty simple spaceport deal and turns it into something really exciting by putting it in the point of view of a 6’4” drug-addicted wolflike alien with ulterior motives. ÂBoy, did that add stakes and complications!

David: Cold Words is told from the point of view of a character who is not human.Â What particular challenges did this provide?Â Any advice for writers who would like to write from a non-human point of view?

Juliette: Creating Rulii and his voice was the biggest single investment of time and effort that went into the creation of the story. ÂI actually started with the characteristics of his language, picked a species that would match well with status language issues, then designed the sounds and structure of his language. ÂAfter that I figured out how I was going to reflect the structure of his language in English, and developed the prose. ÂThe step that followed was figuring out what kinds of metaphors he would use to describe his life, and the details of how he would live in the environment of his planet. ÂI kept finding new places, like architecture, where the Aurrel species and their environment would require unique details. ÂMy advice to writers who want to write from a non-human point of view is to be systematic, and make sure you’re grounded in what the character knows based on his or her environment and experience, so you can use only those things to express the character’s judgment of people and events. ÂOtherwise the human viewpoint will start to intrude.

David:Â You managed to get your very first fiction publication in Analog–which is on the top of many speculative writers’ “wish list”.Â Can you tell us a little bit about how this transpired?Â How long had you been writing before this sale?

Juliette: The Analog connection was very fortuitous, really the result of networking. ÂI’d met Deborah J. Ross when we shared a panel at BayCon in Spring 2007, and having heard about my interest in Linguistics, she introduced me to Sheila Finch, author of The Guild of Xenolinguists, at Westercon a month later. ÂSheila was the one who told me that Analog’s editor, Dr. Stanley Schmidt, enjoyed stories about linguistics. ÂBecause of Analog’s known interest in hard science fiction, I’d never before considered sending anything to them, but after her recommendation I gave it a try. ÂAnd it worked!

David: What was your first reaction when you first heard of the story’s acceptance?Â How did you celebrate?

Juliette: I got the letter as I was running out the door to take my kids to gym, and could barely drive. ÂWhen I opened it I found the first words were “I like ‘Let the Word Take Me’.” ÂMy heart was pounding. ÂIt was actually a conditional acceptance, because Dr. Schmidt wanted me to change some of the harder science aspects of the story, like whether the gecko aliens could stick to walls (they were too large to do so, according to the laws of physics). ÂI knew this was my chance, so I changed those aspects of the story and sent it back. ÂI agonized until I got confirmation that the story would be published. ÂThen I did a happy dance!

David: How did your reaction to the second sale differ from the first?

Juliette: I was thrilled, actually, because this time it wasn’t a conditional acceptance, and Dr. Schmidt said very nice things about the story. ÂAlso, on some level, I was really relieved because I could now be sure the first acceptance hadn’t been a fluke. Â ÂThe first one was an idea I’d had for a long time and it happened to land, but Cold Words I designed expressly for Analog.

David: Has being published in Analog helped her with other pro markets? Sales? Personal rejections?

Juliette: I couldn’t say. ÂI don’t think so; I’d been getting personal rejections for some time before the Analog sale. ÂAlso, since I designed Cold Words for them, I never sent it anywhere else. ÂMy other current stories are fantasy, so I don’t really think there’s much cross-influence.

David: Can you explain a little bit about how your world-building workshops work?Â Who is eligible to join?Â How do people join?

Juliette: Sure! ÂThe workshops are pretty informal and unscheduled. ÂWhen I think I’ll have time to hold one, I post a poll on the blog asking for expressions of interest, and if I get enough, I schedule one. ÂI get people to submit 500-word excerpts from the start of a story, and I pick five participants based on how helpful I think I can be to them. ÂAnyone can submit – there’s no requirement that the story be *about* linguistics or anthropology issues – but because of my interests I particularly enjoy working with people who care about the worlds they’re building and take interest in strengthening those aspects of their stories. ÂIn the last few months I’ve been too busy to propose a workshop, but I hope to have time for a third one later this year.

David: If we found intelligent extraterrestrial life, how difficult do you think it would be to establish communication?Â Would it even be possible?

Juliette: In fact, I think it would be extremely difficult and maybe impossible, particularly if we were trying to accomplish it at a distance with no context of alien physiology or environment. ÂThere are Earthly scripts we still can’t decipher, and we certainly have difficulty with the more complex communications systems of animals on Earth, like dolphins and whales, for example. ÂLanguages are fitted to the transmission and reception systems possessed by their speakers, and we could find some things out there that would be beyond our ability to perceive, much less decipher.

David: With your background in linguistics, do you have trouble enjoying SF stories that avoid the issue of language barriers?

Juliette: Actually, no, though I always enjoy the ones that try to take language on. ÂThe classic solutions, universal translators or language-deciphering AI’s, are so prevalent that I generally consider them to be an element of premise, i.e. I just have to accept that the method works, somehow. ÂThat’s not too difficult to ignore, and then I can get onto enjoying what the story is really about.

David: Do you write novels, as well as short stories?Â If yes, do you prefer to write one or the other?Â Which comes easier to you?

Juliette: Yes, I write novels. ÂI started writing them first, in fact, but I enjoy writing both. ÂI found that starting to write short stories really helped me grasp some of the larger structural aspects of directing a story, so they’ve helped my novels a lot, indirectly.

David: What’s your favorite way to spend your time, besides reading and writing?

Juliette: Being with my family. ÂGoing out to the children’s museum, or ice skating with them, or just reading books, maybe helping my kids learn to use the computer. ÂAlso, talking with my husband is one of my favorite things to do. ÂSometimes we discuss my writing, and other times his work or events in the world.

David: If you could give only one piece of advice to aspiring writers trying to secure their first fiction sale, what would it be?

Juliette: Be dogged, both in improving your writing and in finding ways to connect to the community of writers. ÂIf you believe in it, just keep going.

David: More specifically, since you’ve had repeated sales to Analog, what is your advice to writers who wish to break into that particular market?

Juliette: It’s hard to say. ÂI was lucky, in some sense, that linguistics is what I do and Dr. Schmidt happens to like it. ÂBut I do have two pieces of advice: Âdon’t *not* submit just because you think Analog is a hard market to break into. ÂLet the editor decide if your story is appropriate for them. ÂThe other is, keep in mind that Analog stories are very principled. ÂFollow the guidelines as far as making science (linguistic or otherwise) integral to your plot, and be maniacal about keeping scientific grounding and consistency. ÂThis is not to say that you need to explain all the relevant science, just that it needs to serve as a rock-solid foundation for the story to succeed.

David: What was the last book you read?

Juliette: Ship of Dreams, a pirate historical romance written by my friend, Elaine LeClaire. ÂActually the first romance novel I’ve ever read, so it was fun and a change of pace. ÂVery well written, too, with terrific historical detail – I heartily recommend her work.

David: Your favorite book?

Juliette: Hands down, my favorite book is The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. ÂIt was the inspiration for my writing philosophy.

David: Who is your favorite author?

Juliette: In science fiction, Ursula K. LeGuin, for the depth and realism of her worlds and their people. ÂIn fantasy, I’d say Patricia McKillip, for her sense of story and her poetic use of language.

David: What was the last movie you saw?

Juliette: In the theater, it would have to be WALL-E. ÂA bleak vision of the future, but a wonderful story – and a testament to how effective body language can be in communication.

David: What is your favorite movie?

Juliette: I’m not sure. ÂThe Lord of the Rings series is certainly high on my list.

David: Are you currently working on any writing that you’d like to give a sneak peek at?

Juliette: I’m designing a new story for Analog, tentatively titled “At Cross Purposes,” where some human terraformers run into trouble with spacefaring aliens who have an unusual view of technology. ÂAlmost finished with a novel of linguistic fantasy, “Through This Gate,” involving a magic book that contains a world literally made from the delusional writings of a Japanese madwoman who has lived inside it since the 11th century.

David: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions, Juliette.Â I look forward to picking up a copy of Analog to see your new story in print.

Also, thank you to Brad R. Torgerson for his contributions to this interview.

Onward and upward: Cat Rambo

My guest today is Cat Rambo, fantasy and science fiction writer and editor of Fantasy Magazine, a market recognized as being professional by SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). Check out her website at http://www.kittywumpus.net and check out Fantasy Magazine’s website at http://www.fantasy-magazine.com

David Steffen: Cat, thanks for coming. I really appreciate you taking the time for this interview.

Cat, what plots or types of stories are you tired of seeing?

Cat Rambo: I am tired of seeing retold fairy tales that don’t do anything new with the fairy tale, where they just kind of say, okay I’m going to retell Cinderella but it’s going to be a shopping sale at the mall and don’t do anything new with that.

I have a great fondness for sword and sorcery. I grew up reading sword and sorcery. I read Fritz Lieber and C.L. Moore and a lot of Michael Moorcock, but I think there again you have to do something new for me to be interested. I get a lot of stories that are sort of Conan the Barbarian revisited but they’re not as good as Robert E. Howard. Unless you are as good as Robert E. Howard it’s probably best for writers to steer their way away from that.

David: Do you prefer certain subgenres of fantasy such as urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy, high fantasy, etc?

Cat: I love urban fantasy. Paradoxically enough, given how much of it is out there, I don’t get a lot of good urban fantasy. I like stories that tend to work on more than one level. We have, for example, a story that was very popular with our readers last year, Elena Gleason’s Erased, which I was just looking at again. That story on one level is about someone’s boyfriend who is invisible and what do you do when you’re confronted with an invisible boyfriend. But on the other hand, at a deeper level, it’s about what do you do in a relationship when the other person is vanishing. So I like the stories that work on more than one level. The stories where you go away and you find yourself thinking about later and think “Oh, yeah, okay, it works like this too.”

David: Are there any big changes on the horizon for Fantasy Magazine?

Cat: Oh, onward and upward for Fantasy Magazine. We have a web comic that will be appearing soon. We have been reorganizing and getting a lot of people in to drive individual areas like TV or books, and comics. So there’s going to be a lot. We’re hoping to up the amount of content to put out something interesting at least two or three times a day.

David: Can you elaborate about the web comic?

Cat: It’s a fantasy comic based on a setting that will be familiar to a lot of our readers, which is inside a fantasy role-playing game.

David: Are there any features coming up in Fantasy Magazine that you’re particularly looking forward to?

Cat: Right now we’re running a series called “Game-mastering NPCs”. The first of the five part series was just posted last week, talking about the importance of NPCs (non-player characters) to a roleplaying game campaign. Also, I’m particularly looking forward to some articles by Genevieve Valentine.

David: Which were you first, a writer or an editor?

Cat: First and foremost, always a writer.

David: Do you think that being an editor has changed the way you write?

Cat: Not really. It’s one more thing nibbling at my writing time. I think every writer experiences that in some form or another.

David: Has being an editor provided you with extra skills that have been useful as a writer?

Cat: Yes. One thing about reading slush is that it gives you greater confidence in your own writing. It has really driven home the importance of making the first paragraphs of a story draw the reader in.

David: Has the economic crisis impacted the magazine at all?

Cat: Not really. Previously we hadn’t been drawing in as much advertising revenue as we could have. We’re making an effort to do better in that respect, so we may actually be doing better now than before.

David: SFWA added Fantasy Magazine to their list of professional markets earlier this year. Has this sparked any change in submissions, either quantity or quality?

Cat: Yes, in both respects. We’re getting 500-600 submissions a month now, as well as seeing submissions from some pro writers we hadn’t seen before. It’s been a good thing we have the new online submission process, which speeds things up significantly.

David: I have noticed in my submissions a large reduction in turnaround time since the new online submissions system was set up. How exactly does that system make things faster?

Cat: We were just using Gmail before, so every couple weeks we had to check the junk folder just to make sure that things weren’t getting lost there. And there was stuff bouncing every once in a while. Someone’s spam filter would eat our stuff. So it just makes it a lot easier to track what’s going on and you’ve got a system also where we can see which slushreader is reading and who is slacking and go prod them. *laughs*

David: What are your personal pet peeves when reading stories?

Cat: Personal pet peeves? In terms of the stories or in terms of the way they’re presented?

David: Like little grammar mistakes that you see too often, things like that.

Cat: Oh, “its” and “it’s” drives me nuts. I taught composition a few times and I always tell students that is the one error that will get under my skin. Its/it’s and they’re/their/there. Nowadays we have spellchecker, so there’s really no excuse for having too many actual misspellings but we still see alot of the it’s/its.

David: How about other things that bother you. For instance, some editors really dislike reading stories that begin with the character waking up.

Cat: I don’t like the beginnings that start out with kind of two heads talking in space where there’s no sense of location and you don’t know what’s going on. I don’t like beginnings that aren’t well-grounded and give us a sense of the story world.

I don’t like the endings, not so much the beginnings, where someone wakes up as the endings and is “Oh my God it was all a dream.” And it’s like “Oh, come on!”

David: It sort of makes you wonder “Why did I spend my time reading this?”

Cat: That’s it, it insults the reader: “Ha ha I tricked you and you wasted all your time.” I don’t like stories that take the “I’m cleverer than you approach” to the reader.

David: I’ve heard that some editors like a little humor, but so many people have different views on what’s funny. How do you judge a humorous piece in submission to Fantasy or do you generally steer clear of humor pieces?

Cat: I like humor. I love a good funny story. I love, for example, the Terry Pratchett books which I think are just wonderful, or the Jasper Ford Tuesday Next stories. I like humorous pieces that don’t depend on cliches. If it’s a joke that’s been told before, I’ve heard it before, so I don’t really want those. Good humor is very hard to write and it’s far too scarce in the submission pile.

David: What was the last book you read?

Cat: It was a really cool Japanese murder-myster that Ann Vandermeer turned me onto. I just did a workshop with her and she recommended it. It’s titled “Out”, written by Natsuo Kirino.

David: Your favorite book?

Cat: I will go with a classic and say Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte D’Arthur which is one of my desert island books.

David: Who is your favorite author?

Cat: I will be slightly pretentious and say James Joyce because I do love what James Joyce does with language.

David: What was the last movie you saw?

Cat: We went and saw The Hangover which I thought was a lot of fun. We love Zach Galifianakis. We’d seen him in a documentary called the Comedians of Comedy and he was so hysterical in that.

David: I saw that last week as well. There are a few moments in that movie that are sure to be nominated for the MTV Movie Awards’ WTF award.

Cat: *laughs*. It just had so many moments like that where you were just like “Oh my god where are they going to go with this”

I kind of want to go so Land of the Lost simply because I loved it when I was a kid. I like Will Ferrell but I”m just not sure the combination is going to work. I like Will Ferrell. I have liked him in a great many things, and then I have seen him in many things where I’ve said “Well okay that’s not as interesting as it could be.”

David: What is your favorite movie?

Cat: I really love the Wizard of Oz.

David: I just wrote a story specifically for a Wizard of Oz horror anthology called Shadows of the Emerald City.

Cat: Oh cool, what a neat idea. I had just been reading John Kessel’s The Baum Plan for Financial Independence. Which I think kind of pokes gentle fun at the economics of Oz which is kind of a funny way to do it.

Who’s putting out the horror anthology?

David: Horror writer JW Schnarr: http://jwschnarr.webs.com/submissions.htm

David: Do you have any upcoming publications that you’d like to tell us about?

Cat: Indeed I do. I have a collection coming out with Paper Golem Press. The title is “Eyes like Sky and Coal and Moonlight.”

David: That’s a catchy title.

Cat Rambo: That’s the title story.

David: Is it a collection of reprinted stories or all-new writing?

Cat: I think It’s about half and half, there is about 50 percent new stuff, and a couple Strange Horizons stories, and the Weird
Tales stories. Kind of the best stuff that’s appeared in publication. I’m really happy about that, because somethings appears in small magazines then sort of vanishes like a leaf on the wind. It’s nice to get a chance to put stories I’m really pleased with out in front of folks.

David: If you could give only one piece of advice to aspiring writers trying to get published, what would it be?

Cat: Be persistent. More than anything else you have to cultivate the hide of a rhinoceros, put your head down and keep plugging away.

David: Do you have any works in progress you’d like to tell us about?

Cat: I am finishing up a young adult novel called Phat Fairy. It is my reaction in some ways to reading the Twilight series.

David: What did you think of the Twilight series?

Cat: I thought that they were decently written but I thought they were just an appalling message for young women. You have this utterly passive heroine whose main motivation is nailing her man. I really didn’t think they were a good message for young women at all. I have a goddaughter who will at some point be reading YA fiction, so I wanted to make sure there was at least one book out there with a healthier message. Though I am not trying to write a message-driven book either.

David: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions, Cat, and letting us get a glimpse into Cat’s world of writing and editing. Also, thanks to Frank Dutkiewicz, Brad Torgerson, and Gary Cuba for your contributions to this interview.

Stay tuned for more interviews! I’ve got a full schedule, at two interviews a month, lined up through mid-October!

Princess of Prose: Alethea Kontis

My guest today is New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis. She co-wrote the Dark Hunter Companion with fellow New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple professional publications, such as Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Realms of Fantasy. Not only that, but she’s published a children’s book titled AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First, with a sequel upcoming. Besides her fiction, her essays can be seen at several professional magazines and have been collected in book form, the first volume of which is called Beauty & Dynamite.

Check out her website at http://www.aletheakontis.com

David Steffen: I’m sure you answer this question all the time, but I have to ask: your name is so unique. Is there a story behind it?

Alethea Kontis: “Alethea” is the Greek word for “truth.” As all Greeks know, words have power. My name is as much of a curse as it is a blessing, especially when my grandmother continually reminds me to lie to her friends about my age. (Sorry, Nana!)

My mother discovered the name as the family settled down to watch “Kung-Fu” on March 15, 1973 — my older brother’s 9th birthday. (West is currently a 4th-degree black belt in Taekwondo.) In that particular episode, Jodie Foster played a precocious girl named Alethea Patricia Ingram.

I discovered the details of this event only a few years ago…after I had already been a buyer at Ingram Book Company for over six years. Oh, yes. Words have power, my friend.

David: You’ve written so many essays, and I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read. They flow so naturally that they’re effortless to read, yet at the same time are very focused on each particular topic. Do essay ideas just slap you across the face, demanding to be written or does it take a more concerted effort? How does essay-writing compare to fiction-writing?

Alethea: I was raised in a family of storytellers. And when I say that, I mean that we put most voice actors and stand-up comedians to shame. You only have as much time as everyone plans on sitting around the dinner table, and you only have the floor for as long as your voice carries over everyone else’s…so whatever you choose to impart to the group, it better be GOOD. Every time I sit down to write an essay, I imagine myself around that table. As long as I have the floor I’ve got to have a great beginning, I’ve got to keep my audience engaged, and I can’t take forever to get to the point.

Someone asked me once if one needed a diverse and interesting background to be a writer. I think everyone has a diverse and interesting background; writers just exploit theirs. Everyone has stories to tell; you step in them like puddles every single day. For whatever reason I seem to have this abnormally remarkable life — these are just the stories I step in.

David: Do you prefer to write by yourself or with another writer (like the Dark Hunter Companion). What sort of unique challenges or benefits arise when working together?

Alethea: The Dark-Hunter Companion is the only collaboration I’ve done to date. Sherri and I had a unique arrangement with the Companion that could have been as much a disaster as it was a triumph. I started out with a stack of novels, a notebook, a glorified outline, and an anticipated word count. I re-read the whole series (many for the 3rd or 4th time), took notes, and then wrote the entire encyclopedia as if I was just another smart-mouthed character in the Dark-Hunter universe. I handed the manuscript over to Sherri, who then pulled out some spoilers, put in some teasers, and altered a few things that could only be altered by She Who Keeps Entire Worlds in her Head.

When I got the manuscript back for copyedits, our writing style blended so perfectly I honestly couldn’t tell where my words left off and hers began. Everyone was pleased with the end result — the fans most of all. It was a fascinating experience.

David: What do you think has been the most significant event to advance your career?

Alethea: My life suddenly flashes before my eyes: My parents telling me I couldn’t major in English. My English teacher telling me no child would want to read my fairy tales. My friend Gail telling me to just write my picture book idea “so you can read it.” Orson Scott Card telling me to just write the novel. Tom Piccirilli taking me to task when he found out I hadn’t submitted a finished manuscript. Kevin J. Anderson slapping me in the face when I denigrated my own writing.

If I had to pick only one event, it would be the Baen dinner in the fall of 2003, where David Drake found out I lived only a couple of miles from Andre Norton and ordered me to go visit her. “She has no idea what she means to this industry,” he told me, and he was right. My correspondence and friendship with Miss Andre is something I’ll treasure forever.

David: What is your favorite thing about writing?

Alethea: Making my mother cry.

When I wrote stories as a kid, making my mother cry was a mark of excellence — I knew then that I had something powerful. My mother was always my first reader and (“get a real job” major aside) my biggest advocate — up to and including calling a particular university and bullying them to accept my application essay despite the fact that I was a few hundred words over the limit. (I was accepted to said particular university, but ultimately could not afford to attend.)

While at Boot Camp in 2003, I called Mom from the campus of UNCG and yelled into the phone, “ORSON SCOTT CARD SAID I’M A GREAT WRITER!!!” I could not have offended her more. There was silence on the other end, and then a very cold, “Alethea, we’ve been telling you that for years. So now you’re going to believe some guy just because he’s some big fat best-seller?” It was then that I officially realized my mother hadn’t actually been spoon-feeding me a load of crap, as most mothers are wont to do.

She forgave me. Six years later, she’s still my first reader. And she still tells me every time I make her cry.

David: Do you have a particular writing process you go through for every story, from story conception to drafting?

Alethea: Because I was raised a storyteller, I’m what they call an “Athena writer” — the stories all but spring fully-formed from my head. I mentally work through my plot points and dialogue and edit as I write. The words need to be in order, and they need to be the right words.

As a result, when writing fiction I average only about 500 words an hour and only a few thousand a day at my most productive. But I rarely go back and rewrite, and my first drafts are very, very clean drafts.

David: If you could only give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Alethea: Do the thing that scares you.

David: What’s the last book you read? Your favorite book? Your favorite author?

The last book I read (all the way through): The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, by Leanna Renee Hieber. (For the record, I loved it.) Favorite book and author — ha! I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the sky.

David: What was the last movie you saw?

Alethea: Last movie I saw: UP. I think I only cried more after seeing Big Fish.

David: I know you’re very active on the convention circuit. What upcoming convention appearances do you have planned?

Alethea: I’ve just finished six weeks of the heaviest schedule I’ve ever had (including Penguicon, Mo*Con, Hypericon, and BEA). The rest of 2009 is fairly light — I’ll be at Necon in July and, of course, Dragon*Con on Labor Day weekend.

David: What do you like best about conventions? Do you suffer from stage fright–if so, how do you get up there in front of all those people?

Alethea: I’m a raging introvert, but I have no problem with stage fright. My Aunt Ernestine (actress Ernestine Mercer) taught me how to say “TA-DA!” when I was a baby — a feat I had turned into a lucrative acting career by he time I was eight. I was on stage all through high school…which trickled down to only helping out on student films in college…and then after I graduated, the hermit took over and I slipped into borderline agoraphobia.

All it took was one panic attack in the grocery store for me to say, “NONE OF THIS NONSENSE, PLEASE!” From that point on, I concentrated on consciously participating in a healthy amount of social activity and pulling myself back out of my shell. I am definitely not the mealy-mouthed frump I was five years ago. Five years from now, people will have to put on sunglasses just to look at me.

David: Any convention stories to share? Strange people you’ve met?

Alethea: Ha! Plenty. There are…um…more than ten in Beauty & Dynamite alone. My very first convention was Dragon*Con in 1996. From the minute I showed up on the front steps, it felt like I had come home. And all those misfits I’ve met? They’re all as close as family now. I love every single one of them. Some of them even dubbed me their Princess, an honor I have accepted with all the appropriate grace and aplomb. I now have a collection of tiaras…but that I blame on Jill Conner Browne.

David: Do you have any newly published stories or soon-to-be-published stories that we should watch out for? If so, what can you tell us about them?

Alethea: This year, keep an eye out for “The Giant and the Unicorn” in Shimmer Magazine’s steampunk Clockwork Jungle issue. I’ve got “The Witch of Black Mountain” coming out in Apex’s Harlan County Horrors anthology and “The God of Last Moments” in Maurice Broaddus’s Mo*Con anthology. I’m also working on a piece for Doug Warrick and Kyle Johnson’s Nick Cave anthology…which I really need to get home and finish. And, as always, keep watching the blog for the next humorous installment in the Adventures of Lee.

David: Any exciting works-in-progress in the pipeline right now? What can you tell us about them? Can you give us any sneak peeks at any of them to pique our interest.

Alethea: I’ve just finished the unabridged, novel version of “Sunday”, my fairytale novelette that appeared in Realms of Fantasy in October 2006. If you’d like a sneak peek, the story is available on the Anthology Builder website.

David: I’m keeping a running “wish list” of guests for interviews. Is
there anyone in the speculative fiction industry you would love to see
interviewed?

Alethea: Ha! I’ve been interviewing folks for the Ingram Genre Chicks column for over five years now, so every time I think of the answer to that question, I just hunt down the prospective victim and interview them. Neil Gaiman? Charles Vess? Anne McCaffrey? Easy-peasy. What I love best are the interviews that surprise me. I go back and re-read Naomi Neale’s (aka Vance Briceland) or Joe Hill’s answers whenever I need a pick-me-up. Heck, Edmund Shubert’s still makes me laugh so hard I cry. I know I’ll never look at penguins the same way again.

Good times.

David: Alethea, thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions. It’s been fun. I’ve been meaning to make it to some cons this year. If I end up making it to Dragon*Con I’ll be sure to look you up on the event list. I would love to meet you in person!

A Dozen Story Ideas a Day: David Farland

I’m delighted to introduce David Farland (aka David Wolverton), New York Times bestselling author who has published nearly fifty science fiction and fantasy novels, including the Runelords series (which I highly recommend). In addition to that, he’s served as the coordinating judge for the Writers of the Future Contest.

You might also know him from his email blog “Daily Kick in the Pants”, through which he gives motivational tips, insights on writing, and helps us see the ins and outs of the writing business from the point of view of a highly successful author.

You can check out his website at http://www.runelords.com/

David, thanks for stopping by.

David Steffen: You always seem to have the answers on how to establish yourself as a successful writer. Was there ever a time when you found yourself ready to hang up the typewriter? How did you handle it and get back on track?

David Farland: I’ve never felt in despair about my career. I love to write, nd I’ve always thought that if there was anything else in the world that I wanted to do, I’d just do it, too. For example, when I was young I went to school to study medicine. I thought that it would be fun to be a genetic researcher or a pediatric physician, then write my novels on the side. Unfortunately, I would have needed an endowment of stamina to do it. (For those of you who have read The Runelords, you’ll get the joke!)

Seriously though, I did go through a fit of depression a few years ago, and went through my “midlife crisis.” I found out that Prozac doesn’t help most men, but Welbutrin does.

David Steffen: You’ve given aspiring writers endless tips to help get their careers started. If you could only give a single piece of advice, what would it be?

David Farland: Be persistent. It’s your career. If you really want to be a writer, make time to practice, to hone your craft, and just do it.

David Steffen: Where do your story ideas come from? Do you see stories everywhere you look and you just have to pluck the ones that appeal the most? Or do you have to sit down and actively say “I’m going to think of something new to write today”?

David Farland: Ideas come to those who look for them sometimes, but other times they just hit you. A twist of a phrase, a powerful image, a news story, an insight from a child–anything can set you off. I have at least a dozen story ideas per day, I suppose. I can’t write even a hundredth of them. So I just siphon.

Yet even with all of that, I find that I sometimes have to go searching for good ideas to fit a particular story. In short, you never get to rest.

David Steffen: In particular, what was the first idea that came to you for the Runelords series? A character? An idea for the magic system? The world itself?

David Farland: With the Runelords, I knew that I just wanted to write a big fantasy at first. I wanted my series to appeal to medieval fantasy readers–the Tolkien crowd–but I also wanted it to be different from any other story. So I had a basic idea for the world. I knew that it was going to be medieval, and that it would have plenty of large animals and monsters. In short, it is covered with megafauna, much as the United States was twelve thousand years ago when dozens of breeds of mammoths and mastodons roamed here, along with cave bears and sabertooths and dire wolves and all of those other cool animals. So I knew that I wanted to make my world similar to other fantasy worlds, but there are no glorious elves in it, no dwarves or orcs. I wanted my own creatures.

But what really set me off was the magic system. I wanted to create a new kind of magic for my world, and I knew that it had to be different and mind-blowing. I spent months looking at various magic systems used throughout history, and then one day the whole concept of wizards drawing attributes from vassals–glamour, brawn, wit, grace, sight, hearing, etc.–just literally seemed to fall right out of the sky.

David Steffen: I find the endowment system in the Runelords series particularly interesting, where a donor or “Dedicate” can permanently grant an attribute to a recipient or “Runelord”, and that link lasts as long as they both live. Where did the idea for this system come from?

David Farland: Well, when I was researching magic systems, I knew that I wanted to write about one that had something of an economic base. There needed to be a price for the magic.

But you know, you can’t really tell where these things come from. I mean, I didn’t base it upon anything that I’ve seen. I pondered dozens of magic systems, and then one day it hit me. I think that I might have had an inkling of it when I was watching a show where a calf got branded. My mind went, “You know, they used to brand slaves like that, too.” And I thought at the time, I wonder if it would be interesting to write a fantasy novel where people got branded as part of a magic system.”

It was just a fleeting thought. I was in Scotland a few months later, traveling down a road past Innessfree, when a friend asked, “Could you imagine what this must have looked like 2000 years ago?” I recall reading from a Roman historian who complained that on one night, some 40 men were dragged from their beds and eaten by wolves. He said, “The only thing worse than the wolves are the wild Scotsmen themselves!” I was thinking about that, and suddenly my subconscious said, “Hey, I’ve got your magic system!” and the whole complex system–along with the first novel in the series–just popped into my head at once.

David Steffen: Do you have any guesses who the next big up-and-coming big name writers will be, from your recreational reading and from your role judging stories for the Writers of the Future contest?

David Farland: Well, in fantasy it will be Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss. I know some excellent new writers who are coming along, but they’ll have to get their books written and sold first.

David Steffen: What was the last book you read? Your favorite book? Your favorite author?

David Farland: I just listed my two favorite new authors. I don’t want to choose between them, since I like them both. I know I should have done it years ago, but I’m reading Eragon right now. My favorite living author right now is still Orson Scott Card, overall.

David Steffen: How about the last movie you saw? Your favorite movie?

David Farland: I saw the latest Terminator last night, but it wasn’t nearly as good as Star Trek. I need to go see Angels and Demons this week. There are a lot of good movies coming out this summer.

David Steffen: How did your writing career get started?

David Farland: Actually, I began writing heavily in college, and my career took off after I started winning writing contests. I entered my first short story in a little contest and won third place. When I was done, I thought, “Wow, I spent ten hours on this story, and I won $50. That’s $5 an hour. Maybe if I worked a little harder, I could win first place in a contest.”

So I spent some time thinking about how to win writing contests, and then wrote several short stories. I entered six different contests, and won first place in each of them, including the Writers of The Future. When we went to New York for the awards ceremony, a number of the judges had already gushed to various editors about how good I was (Thank you Robert Silverberg, Orson Scott Card, Algis Budrys, and Roger Zelazny). Half a dozen editors approached me, asking if I was interested in submitting novels. Not only was I interested, I’d packed a novel proposal in my suitcase! Within a week, I had a three-novel contract with Bantam Books.

David Steffen: What was the single most significant step you took to advance your career?

David Farland: You know, I realized after I’d written my second book that my real last name, Wolverton, always put my books on the bottom shelf at the end of the rack. That was terrible placement. So I decided to begin writing under a pseudonym. That was tough to do, given that I was hitting at the top of the bestseller lists for science fiction. But when I moved to fantasy, my publisher allowed me to do it. I think it was a smart move.

David Steffen: What convention appearances do you have planned?

David Farland: I’m trying to decide whether to go to DragonCon in August. I believe I’ll be at World Fantasy Con in San Diego in October, and then I’ll probably go to Life, the Universe, and Everything at Brigham Young University in February.

David Steffen: What’s your next publication that we should watch out for?

David Farland: My next novels are Freaky Fly Day, Book three of my Ravenspell series, which comes out in September from Covenant Books. I also have a historical fiction novel that deals with the Willie Handcart Company, in which Mormon pioneers crossed the prairie in 1856, facing tremendous hardships. Here’s a link for that one: http://davidfarland.zenfront.com/books/in-the-company-of-angels.html. I also have the eighth book in the Runelords series coming out in October, called Berserker Lord. You can see the cover in the art section at www.runelords.com, and you can order a signed/numbered copy of the book by emailing davidfarland@xmission.com.

David Steffen: What are you currently working on? Can you give us a sneak peek?

David Farland: Yes, I’m actually reading galleys for Berserker Lord, and you can read the first couple of chapters on www.runelords.com. I’m going to put up a new feature on my site that I’m thinking about calling “Over my shoulder,” where you will be able to read what I’ve written recently, and I’ll explain why I made the choices that I’ve made.

David Steffen: How did you react to rejections when you started writing? How has that changed over the years?

David Farland: My reaction has always been the same. I try to figure out why I got rejected, and then I rewrite and try harder!

David Steffen: Do you tend to write in a certain environment? For instance, some people say they write better with particular kinds of music, or can only write if they have an hour or more of uninterrupted time, or like me, they tend to do their best in the morning just after they get up.

David Farland: I find that I do my best writing in the morning. It’s important to be comfortable, so I write with a laptop while sitting in an easy chair. I tend to like it to be perfectly quiet, but sometimes I write with music playing softly–instrumental soundtracks from movies like Lord of the Rings, or possibly some classical music. To tell the truth, that’s always difficult. I like to rock out.

But I write best if I have long blocks of time to focus. For that reason, I usually take writing retreats a couple of times a year. I like going to Mexico, but with all of the problems there lately, I’m thinking about heading off to Alaska in a couple of weeks.

David Steffen: David, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule for this interview. Now I need to catch up reading on the rest of the Runelords series so that I can be ready for the new release.

Also, thanks to everyone who assisted me in the interview process, including A.W. Sullivan, Jordan Lapp, and Joey Jordan.