The Third Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author Panel – “The Others”
Welcome to the third Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author panel. Once again, we asked some of the leading lights of SF and Fantasy to give us their thoughts on a specific issue that affects them all as both writers and fans – and they said they would! Third time around, here’s what we asked our authors to ruminate on:
Both the science fiction and fantasy genres have a traditional reliance on ‘others’ – from extra-terrestrials and elves to angels and demons, these non-human protagonists are often central to the story. How do you set out to create plausible ‘others’ (do they even need to be plausible?), and make sure that readers relate to them in the ways that you want?
Meet the Panel
| Alex Bell
Alex Bell was born in 1986. She always wanted to be a writer but had several different back-up plans to ensure she didn’t end up in the poor house first. These didn’t work, so she started writing, and her second book got her an agent, while her third, written during her first summer holidays off from university, found a home with Gollancz. The Ninth Circle came out in April 2008. Now she happily dwells in an entirely make-believe world of blood, death, madness, murder and mayhem. The doctors have advised that it is best not to disturb her, for she appears to be happy there. |
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| Michael Cobley
Mike Cobley was born in Leicester, 1959, went to school in Clydebank, then attended the University of Strathclyde, to study engineering. He began to write with a serious intention in 1986 and is thus far the author of three novels, the Shadowkings Trilogy, and one short story collection, Iron Mosaic. His new space opera novel, Seeds Of Earth, is published in March 2009 by Orbit Books. Mike is an unreconstructed heavy metal fan, and finds FPS video games an inspiring way to justify procrastination. |
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| Kate Elliott
Kate Elliott lives in Pennsylvania, USA. In addition to the Crown of Stars series, she is co-author of The Golden Key. Her nineteenth novel, Traitors’ Gate, Book Three of the Crossroads Trilogy, will be published in Autumn 2009 by Tor Books (USA) and Orbit UK; book two, Shadow Gate, was recently reviewed on Bookgeeks. |
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| Jaine Fenn
Jaine Fenn studied Linguistics and Astronomy at university. She has had a number of short stories published, and has an active blog at www.jainefenn.com. Principles of Angels is her first novel, and a second set in the same universe, Consorts of Heaven, will be published in May 2009. |
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| P.C. Hodgell
P. C. Hodgell is the author of the God Stalker series currently being reissued by Baen: God Stalk and Dark of the Moon in the omnibus The God-Stalker Chronicles; Seeker’s Mask and To Ride a Rathorn (to be released in July 2009) in Seeker’s Bane. The fifth in the series, Bound in Blood, was recently turned in in manuscript. Pat lives, teaches, knits, and falls off horses in Wisconsin. |
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The Second Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author Panel – Science and Magic
Welcome to the second Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author panel. Once again, we asked some of the leading lights of SF and Fantasy to give us their thoughts on a specific issue that affects them all as both writers and fans – and they said they would! Second time around, here’s what we asked our authors to ruminate on:
It was of course Arthur C. Clarke who said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- How much do you think the technology of SF and the magic of fantasy have in common?
- How do you develop your system of future technology / magic?
- How important are the rules and underlying principles, and how far are you willing to deviate from them (rewrite the rules, if you like) to accommodate the plot.
Meet the Panel
| Stephen Baxter |
Pamela Freeman |
 Stephen Baxter was born in Liverpool, England, and now livea in Northumberland. Since 1987 he has published somewhere over forty books, mostly science fiction novels, and over a hundred short stories. Having worked in teaching and engineering, Stephen has been a full-time author since 1995.
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 Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for both adults and children. Most of her work is fantasy but she has also written science fiction, mystery stories, family dramas and non-fiction. Her first adult series, the Castings Trilogy (Blood Ties, Deep Water and Full Circle) is being published globally by Orbit Books. Blood Ties came out earlier this year and Deep Water, out in Australia and the UK, appeared in the US in November.
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| Sean Williams |
Patrick Rothfuss |
 New York Times-bestselling speculative fiction author Sean Williams lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is the author of over sixty published short stories and twenty-two novels, including the Books of the Cataclysm and The Resurrected Man, and is a multiple recipient of both the Ditmar & Aurealis Awards. As well as his original work, he has written several novels in the Star Wars universe. For a change of pace, he likes to DJ and cook curries.
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 Patrick Rothfuss was born in Madison Wisconsin, blessed with parents who allowed him to make his own mistakes. Pat began college intending to study chemical engineering, only to graduate nine years later with a degree in English and minors in history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and writing.Pat currently lives in central Wisconsin where he occasionally teaches at the local university. In his free time he writes satirical humor, practices civil disobedience, and dabbles in alchemy. He loves words, laughs often, and refuses to dance. The Name of the Wind is his first novel. There will be more.
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The First Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author Panel – Maps and Visualisation
Welcome to the first Bookgeeks SF and Fantasy Author panel. We asked some of the leading lights of SF and Fantasy to give us their thoughts on a specific issue that affects them all as both writers and fans – and they said they would! Prompted by the plentiful interest in our recent post on Discworld illustrations, here’s what we asked them to ruminate on:
SF and Fantasy has a long tradition of supporting maps and visuals. Tell us…
- How did you (or would you) decide whether or not you wanted maps included with your work?
- How do you feel about cover art which explicitly portrays characters, vehicles or settings from your work? Do you think it enhances the reader’s experience?
- Would you ever like to see visualised versions of your work – graphic novels, illustrated editions, computer games, etc. – and if so what do you think would work best?
Meet the Panel
| Alastair Reynolds | Jeff Somers |
 Alastair Reynolds was born in Barry, South Wales, in 1966. He studied at Newcastle and St Andrews Universities and has a Ph.D. in astronomy. He gave up working as an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency to become a full-time writer. Revelation Space and Pushing Ice were shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award; Revelation Space, Absolution Gap and Century Rain were shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Award, and Chasm City won the BSFA, and Diamond Dogs was shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award. His latest novel is House of Suns. |
 Jeff Somers was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. As a child he imagined he would be a brain surgeon, until a spirit-crushing experience convinced him that in order to be a brain surgeon he would have to actually attend school, work hard, and master basic mathematics. After a severe head trauma, he chose instead to write stories and learn the high art of cocktail mixing, and spent the next twenty years in a pleasant haze of fiction and booze. His latest book is The Digital Plague, which is a sequel to his SF debut The Electric Church. |
| Brian Ruckley | Jaine Fenn |
 Brian Ruckley lives in Edinburgh. After having a couple of short stories published in the 1990s, he took the start of the 21st century as a sign that the time had come to get serious about building up a bigger page count. His latest novel is Bloodheir, the sequel to Winterbirth. You can find out more about him and his work at www.brianruckley.com. |
 Jaine Fenn studied Linguistics and Astronomy at university. She has had a number of short stories published, and has an active blog at www.jainefenn.com. Principles of Angels is her first novel, and she has just completed a second set in the same universe.
Photo credit: James Cooke |
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