Fran Wilde talks to us about Updraft, how she was inspired to create the bone city, and why she doesn't mind the young adult label but it doesn't always mean what people say it means.
We talk with Jason Greene and Alex Berg from Hardcore Game of Thrones, a show that tells the history of Westeros in the style of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History.
Sword and Laser is entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser.
Magician and TV star Andrew Mayne has managed to become a successful published author. How? Not magic. Well some magic. But magic isn’t required. Plus Tom loves his latest novel Station Breaker.
Wordfire Press Humble Bundle to raise money for the SFF Writers emergency fund and Challenger Center for science education.
Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings tells us about the inspiration for his worlds, his domain name, how translation has helped him as a writer, and why silkpunk is a thing (but probably not the thing you’re thinking).
We’re joined by Charlie Jane Anders to wrap up her book, All the Birds in the Sky. Did you know Kevin has a secret history? What anime inspired Ernesto? These things, as well as all the winners of all the awards on this episode.
Download episode here!
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Irish Car Fuse (Carolan's Creme and Jameson's)
Veronica: James Pepper 1776 Rye
QUICK BURNS
Ramez Naam's Apex Is The Winner Of The Philip K. Dick Award
Reminder: Hugo Award Nominations Close March 31st
WINNERS: 2015 Aurealis Awards
WINNERS: 2016 Ditmar Awards
WINNERS: 2015 BSFA Awards
Louie: Andy Weir wrote fan fiction* for Ready Player One, and it is now canon. You can read "Lacero" here. Although, spoilers for Ready Player One.
Joanna: The Warrior's Apprentice is being reprinted for its 30th anniversary. It came out June of 1986, which means that if you count from publish date, I'm only a week or so older. Considering that it's still my favorite all-time scifi series, this makes me happy.
This episode of Sword and Laser is brought to you by Scott Sigler and his new book ALIGHT, Book II of the Generations Trilogy. Listen to an excerpt of ALIVE, the first book in the series, and watch the book trailer!
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
BIG thanks to everybody who voted in the march madness tournament!
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
We'll kick them off in two weeks OR if you pledge $5 an episode at patreon.com/swordandlaser you can get the book briefing right now.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
ADDENDUMS
Tom has a book on Inkshares called Pilot X!
Our show is made possible by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks
Sometimes some people just want a story you can take your brain off and enjoy. If that's not you, keep your rain off my cotton candy. Also an awesome new effort to Kickstart an Ursula K. Leguin documentary and more great books becoming TV shows!
Download directly here!
QUICK BURNS
Paul: Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, author of "A Darker Shade of Magic" and the upcoming "Gathering of Shadows", among others, has announced that the TV rights for her "A Darker Shade of Magic" series have been acquired and she will be writing the pilot for it.
Stephen: Are you having a hard time keeping up with Hugo nominations as regards to Novelettes, short stories and the like, like me ? The good folks at Rocket stack rank have listed those they feel are the most worthy.
Aaron: There is a documentary of Ursula K. Le Guin's life on Kickstarter. 25 days left and already well above their target funds.
Sandra: Syfy announces that The Magicians will be renewed for a second season.
Trike: Bryan Fuller named showrunner of the new Star Trek TV series.
Rob: The script for the new Harry Potter plays will be released in book form.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Audible virgin looking for help
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
SoS: Why I like reading Junk Fiction (like SoS)
Special BONUS! Interview with James SA Cory from the "It's Spoilerin Time" show at cordkillers.com
ADDENDUMS
We'll be interviewing the first two authors in the Sword and Laser Inkshares collection coming out soon
Questions for J-F Dubeau author of The Life Engineered
Questions for Jim McDoniel author of An Unattractive Vampire
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.
We talk to three of the leaders in the Inkshares Sword and Laser collection contest. From animal people to lonely AI to epic flesh carvers have they got some stories for you!
Joseph Asphahani, The Animal in Man
An artifact of immense power puts Maxan in the middle of a secret war between mighty guilds. To overcome the resourceful and sinister masters who would use him, use everyone, as puppets, he must decide which nature defines him. Animal, or man?
Matt Sobin, The Last Machine in the Solar System
The story of The Last Machine in the Solar System is about a robotic artificial intelligence that has outlived human civilization by multiple billions of years. The machine has had an incomprehensible length of time to consider the demise of man and his own existence.
Craig Munro, The Bones of the Past
Life twisting magic, demonic possession and immortals who have outlived many of the gods themselves come together in this epic fantasy inspired by the likes of Glen Cook and Steven Erikson.
Go order a book at the Inksahres contest!
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.
Author Chuck Gannon joins us on the show this week to talk about his most recent work in the Caine Riordan series (Raising Caine), as well as helping the government figure out the future as part of SIGMA. This is one busy guy, let me tell you.
We interview Mallory O'Meara, producer and screenwriter for Dark Dunes Productions, about Yamasong: March of the Hallows, a movie about an automated girl and tortoise warrior, with puppets, Nathon Fillion’s voice and more. We also discuss her love of horror fiction, and how weird it is that her grandparents have a torture shack in the woods!
At Con-Volution 2015 we sat down with author/podcaster/publicist Jaym Gates and talked about her unique perspective on publishing from within and without.
We have a delightful conversation with Catherynne M. Valente about decopunk, book awards, and why she fears spoiling herself about her own stories while she’s writing them.
Her decopunk book Radiance is out now!
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks/. Download this episode directly here!
This weekend at DragonCon 2015 in Atlanta, we had the great fortune of chatting with Cherie Priest for an hour in front a live audience of Sword & Laser enthusiasts! Listen in to hear Cherie's rise from goth to glorious, the proper way to distinguish steampunk from goth, and why Lizzie Borden is not who you thought.
We chat with J-F Dubeau, author of The Life Engineered about why we should keep calm and build more robots. Also the good news of more Game of Thrones coming to TV thrilled the live audience at Nerdtacular 2015 as did our surprise host-swap! And thanks to Matt Avery of The Tadpool for the album art inspiration, and Greg Skinner for the original photo!
Recorded before a live studio of nerds, and thanks to Jeff Cannata of We Have Concerns for joining in! Download link here.
QUICK BURNS
Sandra: Game of Thrones news HBO Planning Eight seasons now, and maybe a prequel season?
Paul: Didn't want to start a whole thread for this but I took my wife to
Barnes and Noble for fan girl Friday and they were giving away free
copies of Drive...the Expanse prequel short story to advertise the
upcoming TV show. If your interested its worth it to add to your collection check if they have it at your local store.
Interview
J-F Dubeau author of Life Engineered
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Next Month: Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Uprooted by Naomi Novik official site
Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series The Vault of Heaven, get the scoop on his all-time favorite music, and hear why Peter believes there is no such thing as writer's block.
Peter Orullian wears many hats. He is an author, musician, and has worked for many years at Microsoft on the XBox team. Today we talk about his series The Vault of Heaven, get the scoop on his all-time favorite music, and hear why Peter believes there is no such thing as writer's block.
We talk with Rachel Aaron about why she doesn't worry about genre anymore and how she had to fight the siren song of Warcraft to become a professional writer.
Rucksack Universe Author and Pratchett Enthusiast, Anthony St. Clair joins us to wrap up our reading of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters. Is Granny Weatherwax a conduit for Pratchett's righteous anger? Does Tom live next to Nanny Ogg? All these mysteries and more revealed.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: The Dalmore 12 year old
Veronica: Bulleit Bourbon
Anthony: A delicious coffee stout of some description.
QUICK BURNS
Joanna: It looks like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is going to come out soon. 7-part miniseries
Clyde: A passage which was cut from A Wrinkle in Time has been found by Madeleine L'Engle's granddaughter and published by the Wall Street Journal.
Tamahome: Don't know if you covered the Arthur C. Clarke award nominees. It's a juried award, different from the Hugo's, and different from Arthur C. Clarke novels as well.
Dara: Gollancz acquires sequel to Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s A Meeting with Medusa, written by Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter
Dara: Cover reveal for Charlie Jane Anders's debut novel All the Birds in the Sky was posted on Tor. Coming Feb. 2, 2016
Sky: Mark Lawrence (Empire of Thorns, Red Queen's War) has a new 3 book deal from Harper Collins for "Red Sister", this one featuring a female protagonist.
BARE YOUR SWORD
Hi Tom and Veronica,
Just wanted to drop a note quick and say that Tom I immediately thought oh man this is like Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy for fantasy too as I got into this book. It really has that same vibe and I also had no idea Pratchett's work was like that. Fun stuff.
Also I am listening to the audio version and it appears to be an older recording so I could see why that has put some off but I am kind of enjoying the old school vibe.
Thanks,
Drew R.
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Study guide
io9 Guide to Discworld
Next month: Sword of Rhiannon by Leigh Brackett - discussion on how to obtain it in Goodreads.
Audiobook
Used copies
EBook (Under the name Sea-Kings of Mars)
Wikipedia article
ADDENDUMS
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons at patreon.com/swordandlaser Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks
We talk with Peter V. Brett about his new book, cool tattoos and the last enjoyable book he read. The Skull Throne, 4th in the Demon Cycle series, comes out March 31, 2015.
Sarah Monette, a.k.a. Katherine Addison, tells us why you’re all right about the Goblin Emperor, why the wizards in the book are so stubborn about using magic, and shares tips for inventing a language.
Gary Whitta is an award-winning screenwriter who wrote The Book of Eli and worked on the first Star Wars standalone film. So when he had an idea for a dark historical fantasy story he wrote a book. Why? We ask him that, about successfully crowdfunding his novel, and much more on this episode!
Oh, and yes. We ask him about Star Wars too.
Recently we were introduced to author Nalo Hopkinson, who was kind enough to answer some questions for us here on the blog. Two of her books, The Salt Roads and short story collection Skin Folk, are being published as e-books for the first time through Open Road Media. Editor Betsy Mitchell tells us, "I had the pleasure of introducing Nalo's wondrously imaginative work to the world when her Brown Girl in the Ring won the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. It's a delight to be able to bring out the first-ever ebook editions of The Salt Roads and Skin Folk.”
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, Nalo! When did you start writing?
NH: You're most welcome. Thanks for asking me. I believe I began writing in my mid-30s. But I'd been an avid reader since I was three years old. Author Samuel R. Delany has said that one learns more about how to write by reading a lot and internalizing models for good writing. I agree. I always have a book or seven on the go. I also watch a lot of fantasy and science fiction media, and read comics, graphic novels, and literary criticism in science fiction and fantasy.
Was fantasy always a genre you were interested in writing in? Who were some early favorites for you?
NH: Yes, fantasy and science fiction about equally. Early favourites (I'm Jamaican-Canadian; I use British spelling conventions) include Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon, Terri Windling, Emma Bull.
Tell us about your book, The Salt Roads! What are some of the themes you explore? How would you classify the novel?
NH: In some ways, it's a time travel novel. It's written in four voices in three different times and locations and one timeless place. In some ways, it's the coming-of-age story of an Afro-Caribbean goddess. An exploration of the challenges faced by mixed race Black women throughout history. An honouring of women and men who do sex work, whether by choice or through lack of it. A thank you to the queers and transfolk of colour who fought for freedom during Stonewall. A praise song to Black people's survival despite, oh, everything.
It's really refreshing to hear about something outside the box of typical fantasy. Do you feel like genre fiction is beginning to move away from the Eurocentric, male point of view?
NH: I don't. And it needn't. I lurves me some Neil Gaiman, some China Mieville, some Ian Macdonald. Orson Scott Card should by all means keep writing fiction about smart, misunderstood white boys. He writes them well. (Though I fervently wish he would stop writing irrational and inaccurate hate screeds against queer folk. It's both bad science and a poor way to profess love for one's neighbour.) I don't want fewer white, male voices in the genre. I do want more centrisms, greater inclusion, a larger world view. Fantasy and science fiction are full of good stories. I want more.
Another book of yours coming out on ebook via Open Road is Skin Folk. What are some of your personal favorite short stories from this collection?
NH: You know how many parents don't like to tell you which is their favourite amongst their children? That's how I feel about my stories.
Hah, fair enough! What are you working on these days?
NH: Working on a new novel that my agent is currently shopping around. Collaborating on a short story with Nisi Shawl. If all goes well, it'll appear in a tribute anthology for Samuel R. Delany. Making Black mermaids, boudoir and fantasy dolls in various media: stuffed and painted fabric; plaster; and fabric design. Trying to perfect my skills at macaron-making and baking gluten-free bread. Teaching Creative Writing at the University of California Riverside, which has perhaps the most lovable student body in the world.
Where can people follow you online?
NH: I'm most frequently on Twitter, where my handle is nalo_hopkinson. My website is nalohopkinson.com.
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