Communing with the Writing Gods

A while ago I decided I loved John Scalzi's books. First I read Old Man's War and it was awesome. Then I read Redshirts and that was awesome too. The kids and I were going on a driving holiday so I bought the audiobook of Agent to the Stars, read by Wil Wheaton, and you guessed it, it was awesome.

By the time I read his latest book, Lock In, it was just too much. I needed to speak to this man so I emailed him and we caught up on Skype, just like that.

John Scalzi is a great guy and an absolute dream to interview. Once he starts talking it's like a freight train of ideas blasting toward you. We discussed writing (obvs), world-building, feminism, awards, stormtroopers, redshirts and lightsaber cross-guards. If writing, world-building, feminism, awards, stormtroopers, redshirts or lightsabers interest you in any way at all, you do not want to miss the June and July issues of Aurealis.

Yes, that's right. This interview is so big it cannot be contained in one issue. So big in fact we had to split it into three, some of which may end up on the website just so we don't miss anything.

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Flies in the Soup: John Scalzi Part 2

Interview: John Scalzi Part 2 By Chris Large Interview first appeared in Aurealis #82. Welcome back John. At the moment your new book Lock In, [discussed in the last issue] is a standalone novel. Are you considering writing more in this world? Or is this it? No! I’d be happy to write more in this world if there was a desire from my publisher and from my audience. I don’t ever write anything but standalone novels. Old Man’s War was a standalone novel. I wrote that one book, right? And then it took off and my editor said, “You need to write another one,” and gave me some money. I said “Okay. I see how this works.” That’s how Old Man’s War became a series. Android’s Dream was supposed to be a series. I’d signed a contract for a second book but when I started writing it, it was terrible so I stopped doing that and wrote something else. So Lock In is currently a standalone book but if my publisher comes to me and says, “Yeah, I want you to write the second ...

Also -This CSFG Publishing Thing Happened...

CSFG Publishing provides Aussie spec fic writers with a semi-regular outlet for the expression of some pretty awesome ideas. Earlier this year I learned that one of my stories would be appearing in The Never Never Land - their latest anthology. They made me work for it though. And that's something I really appreciated about this process. A lot of publishers out there are happy to accept or reject your work, and a few will even offer a bit of free advice, but there aren't many who'll take the time to bring a slightly under-par story up to scratch. The reason for this is that working with authors can be difficult. We're a tricky bunch and some of us are protective of our babies. I'll be honest and come right out and say, I'm not. Frankly, I'll do anything to make a sale (within reason). Aside from writing something offensive, I will make any changes requested if a publisher shows even a skerrik of interest in my work. So that's the tale of my contrib...

Flies in the Soup: Thoraiya Dyer

Interview: Thoraiya Dyer By Chris Large Australian author Thoraiya Dyer spoke with me about her award-winning short story Wine, Women and Stars , her recent three book deal with Tor, the purpose of writing awards, and her no-holes-barred determination to put words to page. This interview first appeared in Aurealis #84. Welcome back to Aurealis Thoraiya, and a huge congratulations on winning your third Aurealis Award at the 2015 ceremony. You now have two awards for fantasy and a third for science fiction. In your own words you were ‘a bit weepy’ when you accepted the 2015 gong. What does it mean to you to win awards for your writing? I guess it depends on how confident you’re feeling in your skills at the time. I’ve been writing short fiction for a while now but also, in the background, I’ve been writing novels. The reason I was so weepy about that particular award was because last year my husband lost his job and the bank took our house, so we were fo...

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