An Interview with EDWARD COX

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Edward Cox?

I am a woefully undereducated village idiot, with gladness for blood and nothing but sunshine in my head. Every day I try – really hard – to be a cool and moody writer, but every day I fail. I have eternal faith in the human race, which some might say comes from naivety, but I do not care; I refuse to give up on us. Outside of my obsession for writing, I simply don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m always the last to understand what’s going on. I am also a husband and a father to two ladies who I love beyond measure.

However… If I ever do discover the secret to cool and moody, I will change my name to Thundermaster Volcanofists, and all shall fear me. 

I thought we’d start with your fiction: Your debut novel, The Relic Guild, will be published by Gollancz in September 2014. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

A balls out fantasy adventure! Or, to be more professional, I like to think of The Relic Guild as a story about people doing the right thing even when they’ve been given every reason not to. Also, I’ve been trying to refine a pitch for the book, and this is what I’m currently down to:

At the centre of a gigantic labyrinth, in a sprawling city trapped behind walls one hundred feet high, young Clara is about to become the unwitting participant in the machinations of higher magic. It falls to her to reunite the last of a secret band of magickers called the Relic Guild. Together they must find a way to save one million humans from an age old menace that is about to return.

Interview with ERIKA JOHANSEN & Giveaway!

Erika Johansen’s The Queen of the Tearling has been getting some great press ever since WFC 2013 (at least, that’s when I heard of it). The novel finally hits shelves in the UK today, and to celebrate its release, not only do I offer the interview that follows (organised by Transworld), but I also have one copy of the novel to give away to a UK reader! Details at the end. But first, the interview…

Can you give us a brief introduction to The Queen of the Tearling?

A 19 year-old girl, Kelsea Glynn, is the heir to the throne of a degenerate kingdom. Having been raised far from the capital city, she’s not prepared to be the Queen, but she will need to learn quickly. Both the neighboring ruler and Kelsea’s own uncle would like to see her dead. Her kingdom is a mess, drowning in corruption and inequality. All Kelsea has are a strong moral compass, a lot of courage, an unwieldy temper and two hereditary sapphires which may or may not be magical in her hands.

Who are the main characters of the book?

The main characters include Kelsea, the Queen; Mace, her Captain of Guard; the Red Queen, who rules the neighboring kingdom; Javel, a guard in the Tear castle; and Father Tyler, a priest in the Tearling’s central church. Please don’t ask me to explain in a nutshell how they intersect.

A Quick Chat with CARRIE PATEL

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Carrie Patel?

I’m an expatriate Texan living in California where I work as a narrative designer for Obsidian Entertainment. In my free time, I write books!

Your debut novel, The Buried Life, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in July 2014. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it part of a series?

It’s the first in a series about a stratified underground society that forms after a world-shaking catastrophe. The Buried Life follows two different characters – an inspector and a laundress – trying to unravel a series of murders surrounding the wealthy and powerful.

Q&A with ELIZABETH GILBERT

Recently, Penguin Books organised a Q&A with Elizabeth Gilbert, the mega-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love. With the recent publication of her latest book, the novel The Signature of Things, I’m sharing some excerpts from that long Q&A…

After the incredible dual successes of your memoirs Eat, Pray, Love and Committed, the safer, more obvious choice for you would have been to continue in nonfiction. What was it that prompted you to return to writing novels with THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS?

I needed to come home to my roots as a writer. Fiction is where I began my writing journey, and all I ever wanted to be was a pure novelist. Fate intervened and led me into the world of memoir (and believe me, I am grateful for my success there!) but the next thing I knew, a dozen years had passed since I’d written a word of fiction. I simply couldn’t let another year go by, so I embarked on this novel.

How difficult is it for you to shift gears between genres?

I thought it would be more difficult than it was. I feared I had lost the skill of fiction entirely (almost the way you can lose a foreign language if you don't practice it often) and so I was intimidated by the prospect of returning to the form of a novel. As a result of my fear, I over-prepared for this book ridiculously. I did ten times the research I actually needed, just to feel covered and safe. Up till the very day I put down the research and began actually writing the novel, I honestly wasn’t sure if I could do it. But as soon as I began, the moment Alma was born, I realized, “Oh! I was so wrong! Fiction isn’t a foreign language; it’s my mother tongue!” I had forgotten nothing, except the joy of it. It felt like a homecoming.

An Interview with RACHEL POLLACK

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Rachel Pollack?

I’m a 68 year old writer living in the Hudson Valley of New York, after 19 years living in Europe primarily Amsterdam. THE CHILD EATER is my 36th book, coming right on the heels of 35, a non-fiction guide to a new oracle card deck, called The Burning Serpent, conceived and developed with artist Robert M. Place. This is fitting, since my first novel, Golden Vanity, was published at the same time, summer of 1980 as my first Tarot book, 78 Degrees of Wisdom. Golden Vanity is available now from Gollancz as an e-book (along with all my previous SF books), but otherwise long out of print. 78 Degrees has never been out of print, and is sold all around the world. My novel Unquenchable Fire won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, while Godmother Night won the World Fantasy Award. Temporary Agency was short-listed for the Nebula. I’ve published seven novels, plus two collections of short stories, one of reprints and one of all-new stories. I’ve also had a chapbook of poetry published, and created a Tarot deck, The Shining Tribe, drawing all the cards myself. A few years ago I co-translated the ancient Greek play Oedipus Rex, working with a scholar of ancient languages named David Vine. Our version is called Tyrant Oidipous.

An Interview with ALISON GAYLIN

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Alison Gaylin?

Hmm, I’m still trying to figure that one out.  For the purposes of this blog, I am a suspense writer and reader of all sorts of things.

Your next novel, Stay With Me, the third in your Brenna Spector Trilogy, is due to be published in June by Harper. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? What can fans of the series expect?

STAY WITH ME is the third book in the Brenna Spector suspense series, and the culmination of what readers of the series would know as the “Clea Trilogy.” Brenna is a private investigator blessed – and cursed – with hyperthymesia (perfect autobiographical memory.) It makes her pretty great at her job, but it wreaks havoc on her relationships with others. (How can you forgive and forget when you can never forget?) She specializes in missing persons cases, but the one missing person she’s never been able to find is her older sister Clea, who got into a blue car 28 years ago when she was 17, never to appear again. That event triggered Brenna’s hyperthymesia at the age of 11 and has haunted her ever since. In STAY WITH ME, Brenna’s life is turned upside down when her 13-year-old daughter, Maya, disappears. Also in the book, the mystery of Clea – which plays a major role in the first two books, AND SHE WAS and INTO THE DARK – is finally solved.

An Interview with KENDRA LEIGHTON

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Kendra Leighton?

I’m a YA writer and chocolatier living in Cambridge. I run an organic chocolate company called Rawr Chocolate with my partner during the day, and the rest of the time I’m either reading or writing YA (usually whilst eating chocolate).

Your debut novel, Glimpse, is due to be published tomorrow by Much-In-Little. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

Glimpse is a YA paranormal novel inspired by Alfred Noyes’ classic poem “The Highwayman”. It isn’t a retelling, but relies on the events of the poem to tell a whole new story. The main character, Liz, is a seventeen year old girl with numerous problems, the biggest being the ability to see things that shouldn’t exist. When her grandfather dies, she inherits his home – the five-hundred year old Highwayman Inn – and moves there with her dad, hoping for a fresh start. Her problems only get worse…

An Interview with BEN PEEK

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Ben Peek?

I’m an author who lives in Sydney, Australia with my partner, Nikilyn Nevins, who is a photographer.

THE GODLESS – the first book in my Children Trilogy – is my fifth book. My previous books are Black Sheep, Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth, and Above/Below, with Stephanie Campisi. My collection, Dead Americans and Other Stories, was released earlier this year. In addition to that, I’ve done a few other things, such as a psychogeography pamphlet, an autobiographical comic, and lectured and taught at various places.

I also may, or may not, be listening to the Velvet Underground as I reply to this.

Your next novel, The Godless, is published in July by Tor UK and St. Martin’s Press in the US. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

The book is the first in a fantasy trilogy, and takes place in a world where, fifteen thousand years ago, a war between the gods took place. In its aftermath, the sun was broken into three, the ocean turned black with blood and rose, and the bodies of the gods fell to the ground, where they lay in a state best described as both dead and dying. In the centuries that followed, their powers seeped into the world, altering it, and altering some of the people who lived there.

Interview with GRAEME SHIMMIN

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Graeme Shimmin?

I’m spy thriller novelist, and the author of the award-winning novel A Kill in the Morning. I also run a website where I review spy thrillers and advise aspiring authors about writing and getting published.

Your debut novel, A Kill in the Morning, is due to be published in June by Transworld. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

A Kill in the Morning is an action-packed, fun spy thriller that has been compared to Robert Harris’s Fatherland and Ian Fleming’s Thunderball – if you like classic spy thrillers, you’ll love it.

An Interview with CRAIG CORMICK

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Craig Cormick?

To misquote Miley Cyrus, “I’m just a guy.” Well, my kids think I’m just a guy, but they don’t know that I actually live a secret life creating wild new worlds, and sword-fighting evil villains and saving them from catastrophic harm.

Otherwise, I’m an author and science communicator. I’ve published over 20 books and over 100 short stories and about 20 academic journal papers and I love playing with genres, mixing fiction and non-fiction, playing with history and creating new things out of it.

I have several different lives and I know some people have Googled me and then asked, “Hey do you know this other Craig Cormick guy who has been to Antarctica/writes about biotechnology/is a social scientist/won this prize/etc.?” They are all me.

Your novel, The Shadow Master, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in July 2014. How would you introduce the novel to a prospective reader? Is it part of a series?

I’d tell them that it’s a kick-arse tale of alternative history, love and conflict, madness and magic.

Yes, it is going to be part of a series, and I’m just completing book two right now.

For a bit more info on the book, imagine a city something like Florence. A walled city, to protect it from the plague that is ravaging the countryside. Then imagine two warring houses, the Medicis and the Lorraines. Both are battling for control of the city. And next imagine each House has in its employ a learned man – Galileo and Leonardo, who are versed in the arcane arts of science, that can control time and space and the very laws of nature. So science works like magic in this world.

An Interview with JAMES A. MOORE

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is James A. Moore?

I’ve been a professional writer for a little over 20 years. I started in comic books worked my way over to role playing games and then decided to try my luck with horror fiction. I’ve also written some science fiction and a few fantasy pieces. I’m currently working on a weird western, a fantasy series, a crime novel and a few other projects, including a science fiction apocalyptic piece.

Your next novel, The Blasted Land, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in July 2014. It is the sequel to Seven Forges. How would you introduce the series to a new reader, and what can fans of the first expect?

Good question. I’d like to say it’s something different, and maybe that’s true but I imagine almost everyone makes that claim. It’s a sword and sorcery series. But one where I’ve set aside the legends and creatures I’ve read about before to come up with new dangers and, hopefully, a unique setting. I like to think of the series as a clash of cultures and a clash of theologies. Ultimately, however, it’s a story about an aging empire facing a threat that seems absolutely relentless and unstoppable.

I have always believed that every book should be able to stand alone. That said, I love a good cliffhanger. So the story starts off in this case EXACTLY where Seven Forges left off. I fill in the gaps, but I also try to do that without burying the previous readers in older details. It’s a bit of an interesting challenge as I haven’t really worked on a direct series before though I’ve had a few occasions where the characters I’ve written about in the past have shown up in new adventures.

What I’m working in, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to explore it in greater depth, is the differences between the two cultures and the dangers of dealing with a tide of fanatical warriors on a holy quest.

An Interview with STEPHEN HUNT

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Stephen Hunt?

Him? He’s me, he is! Professionally, I was usually found knocking around the publishing world (albeit with side-ventures into pharmaceuticals, banking and the computing industry at Apple). I set up one of the first websites for a magazine, Nature.com, back when nobody apart from scientists knew what the Web was. I worked for the Financial Times as an editor and publisher and ran a swathe of their online operations for a while. Now, I guess I’m just the geek with seven genre novels behind him.

Your next novel, In Dark Service, is due to be published by Gollancz in May 2014. It’s the first in a new series, no? How would you introduce the series to new readers?

The new series is called The Far-Called Sequence. The first novel, In Dark Service, has at its heart the tale of two families – the Carnehans and Landors – stuck in the nub-end of a backward, rural kingdom. Slavers attack the town they live in and carry away all the youngsters to sell. The town mounts a rescue expedition, hampered by the fact that the world, Pellas, is an amazingly large one, and their lost people could be anywhere in it. Those taken have to survive as slaves in a hellish environment. Those in the rescue expedition face their own kind of hell as they struggle to track down their missing loved ones.

Charles Cumming’s A COLDER WAR Mole Hunt

So, Harper Collins are running a special competition to celebrate the release of Charles Cumming’s latest international spy thriller, A COLDER WAR. For those of you who don’t know who he is or haven’t read his work (shame on you!), he is an absolutely fantastic author, and one of my favourites (of any genre).

The competition involves a mole hunt. The name of the mole has been hidden amongst blog posts around the internet (see the banner, right).

In each post, there are a couple of questions (mine are below). The first letter in each answer is in the name of the mole. Collect all the answers, and email your answer to killerreads[at]harpercollins.com. The winner gets a Kindle!

*

So, let us get on. Here are the two videos, and their corresponding questions…

1. Who does America have a so-called “Special Relationship” with?

2. What is Charles’ favourite thing about the writing process?

I have some catching up to do, still, but I loved Typhoon and The Trinity Six. On Friday, I started reading A Foreign Country, the first novel to feature A Colder War’s protagonist (Thomas Kell), and will be starting in on the new novel imminently (if I haven’t already)!

Charles Cumming is the author of: A Spy By Nature, The Spanish Game, Typhoon, The Trinity Six, The Hidden Man, A Foreign Country, and A Colder War

An Interview with MARIANNE DE PIERRES

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Marianne de Pierres?

I’m an Australian speculative fiction author who loves cake, sport and good stories. That’s the short version! But if you check out my websites you’ll find out a whole lot more!

www.mariannedepierres.com
www.burnbright.com.au
www.tarasharp.com.au

Your debut novel, Peacemaker, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in May. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it part of a series?

Peacemaker is a genre blend Urban Fantasy, SF, Western set in Australia. The intimate story is about a woman (Virgin Jackson) who will do anything to save the last natural habitat in the world. The deeper level story is about the power of mythology in human social architecture. At the moment, I’m working on the sequel, but I’m hoping there might be more books after that.

Joël Dicker introduces THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIRS (Penguin US, MacLehose Press UK)

Last week, I published my review of Joël Dicker’s debut novel and international sensation, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HARRY QUEBERT AFFAIR. A thoroughly enjoyable read, the novel was provided for review by Dicker’s UK publisher, MacLehose Press (an imprint of Quercus). This week, I have a video interview with the author to share, provided by his American publisher, Penguin:

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is published in the UK on April 30th, 2014, and in the US on May 27th, 2014.

US & UK Covers

Interview with JAY POSEY

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Jay Posey?

I’m pretty much a professional typist. Sometimes I like to tell people I work with my hands, which I guess is technically true. I’m author of the Legends of the Duskwalker series from Angry Robot Books, and I’m also a Senior Narrative Designer at Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment. I’ve spent almost a decade contributing to Tom Clancy’s award-winning Ghost Recon franchise as a writer and game designer.

Your next novel, Morningside Fall, is due to be published by Angry Robot Books in April 2014. It is the sequel to Three. How would you introduce the series to a new reader, and what can fans of the first book expect here?

The Legends of the Duskwalker series is a mid-future post-apocalyptic sci-fi with cyberpunk elements and heavy Western influence. The first book, Three, tells the story of a lone gunslinger who reluctantly agrees to escort a woman and her young son across an urban wasteland to a distant oasis in hopes of finding the boy’s father.

Morningside Fall picks up about a year or so after the events of Three, and continues the story of two of the first book’s main characters. Fans of the first book will get to see more of what the world looks like from inside one of the few remaining great cities, several new characters, lots of action and suspense, a few big surprises, and more about who and what the Awakened are.

Interview with MARK SMYLIE

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Mark Smylie?

Let’s see. I was born in Florida; my mother was Japanese, she had come to the States to study piano at Julliard, and my father is a Presbyterian minister who worked for the Church’s national body as their liaison to the United Nations (now long retired). I grew up in New Jersey and have lived there on and off for most of my adult life (with stints in New York and California). I’ve worked mostly in comics publishing, both as a writer/artist and as a publisher (I founded a company called Archaia that is now an imprint at BOOM! Studios).

Your debut novel, The Barrow, was published by Pyr Books last month in the US and this week in the UK. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader? Is it the first in a series?

The novel was written as a stand-alone but Pyr has agreed to publish two sequels so, yes, for better or for worse I’m afraid it’s yet another fantasy trilogy. The novel is part epic fantasy, part horror story, and I guess what could be termed part undercover detective story. At first glance it’s about a group of criminals and adventurers of few if any scruples that are following a map to find a fabled lost sword, but nothing is quite as it seems.

Interview with JEN WILLIAMS

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Jen Williams?

I’m a writer from south-east London. I wear odd socks and live with my partner and our cat. I have a Lego fixation and I own too many notebooks. I don’t get as much sleep as I would like, but then I like to sleep a lot. I think those are the important things covered.

Your debut novel, The Copper Promise, is out now through Headline. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

I like to describe it as epic sword and sorcery, so you still get a fat book that could conceivably be used as a blunt weapon, but the story moves at a tremendous pace. Two sell-swords of dubious morals are employed by a mysterious lord to explore the haunted Citadel of Creos, only to find that not only does their employer have a destructive agenda of his own, but that the Citadel is forbidden for very good reasons. A terrible force is unleashed on the world, and our heroes have to deal with it, even though it looks like they won’t actually get paid.

Interview with ALISON LITTLEWOOD

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Alison Littlewood?

Ah, the hardest question of all... I’m a probably slightly odd person who writes probably slightly odd books! I’ve been writing dark fantasy and horror for several years now, and was lucky enough a while back to get a three-book deal from Jo Fletcher Books at Quercus. A Cold Season was picked for the Richard and Judy book club, and it went from there.

Your next novel, The Unquiet House, is due to be published by Jo Fletcher Books in April 2014. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

It’s a ghost story set in a rather dour Yorkshire house, following the fates of different generations of the same family. There are sections set in the present day as well as the seventies and the thirties, which each shed light on each other. It’s probably the oddest of my odd books, and in a way it’s perhaps best to read it knowing nothing at all, so I will leave it at that…!

Interview with SARAH LOTZ

Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Sarah Lotz?

I’m a genre-crossing pulp-fiction writer based in South Africa. I’m addicted to coffee and collaborating, and write horror novels with author Louis Greenberg under the name S.L Grey; a ‘choose-your-own’ erotica series with authors Helen Moffett and Paige Nick (as Helena S. Paige), and a YA series co-written with my daughter under the name Lily Herne.

Your next novel, The Three, is due to be published by Hodder in May. How would you introduce the novel to a new reader?

I’m tempted to say it’s about plane crashes and (possibly) evil children – but I hope there is more to it than that! Here’s a brief description:

Four devastating plane crashes. Three child survivors. A fanatic who insists the survivors are possessed by the harbingers of the apocalypse. What if he’s right?

I’m fascinated by how quickly fear and paranoia can spread throughout society – especially during the aftermath of a devastating event – and the novel attempts to explore how this could potentially influence the political landscape.