FLY SOUP

With twenty three novels under her belt, including the recently released The Lyre Thief , Jennifer Fallon is one of Australia’s best-loved fantasy authors. After moving to New Zealand one might be forgiven for thinking she’d switched to the slow-lane. Nothing could be further from the truth. Between her day job as an IT consultant to Antarctica New Zealand, her writing, the Christchurch earthquakes, and working on her porn name, Jennifer’s life has been anything dull. I had a few questions jotted down for her, but before I could even open my mouth she destroyed that idea completely…   I used to write full time you know. You used to write full-time? Yeah, but the GFC came along and that was the end of that! The GFC has significantly affected the amount of money you earn from your writing? Oh absolutely! I’ve lost probably fifty to sixty percent of my income. I was earning a comfortable wage, then the GFC came along and all the bookshops clo...

Aurealis #99 is out and it features a discussion between a geologist and a geographer (aka yours truly and the incredible Russell Kirkpatrick) about maps in fantasy novels. I really enjoyed writing this article with Russell for several reasons: first, I love maps and used do produce them as part of my job. Second, I like Russell and respect his work, and third, it's a super-interesting topic What I didn't realise when I first spoke to Russell about doing a piece together, was the depth of Russell's understanding of the politics and social infrastructure behind the act of creating a map. My experience of mapmaking has been limited to: 1) reproducing my favourite faux-medieval maps from movies and/or books via a combination of pain-staking precision and ad-hoc half-assery; and 2) the production of geological, geophysical and geochemical maps designed to aid in the discovery of economically viable mineral deposits. The two don't naturally go hand-in-ha...

Aurealis - The Magazine of Australian Fantasy and Science Fiction is celebrating its 100th issue in May with a one-time return to print! But that's not the only nod to its roots. Editors Dirk Strasser, Stephen Higgins and Michael Pryor have solicited new fiction from authors appearing in the very first issue, released back in 1990. And then there's my interview with Dirk about the evolution of the magazine over the 27 years since its modest launch, plus great editorials and reviews. So whether you're new to Aussie speculative fiction, a long-time fan hankering for a stroll down memory lane, or just someone wanting to get their hands on some great genre material, you can pre-order your copy here. Get to it!

An Interview with Ann Leckie By Chris Large (First Appeared in Aurealis #86) Ann Leckie has worked as a waitress, a receptionist, a lunch lady and a recording engineer. She also happens to be the author of a little book called Ancillary Justice, which won not only a Hugo, but a Nebula and an Arthur C. Clarke Award as well. In 2014, her second book, Ancillary Sword was met with equal praise. Now, with the release of the third instalment in her Imperial Radch series, Ancillary Mercy, Ann speaks with Chris Large about perspective, the value of a good cup of tea, and most importantly of all, those pesky Presger and why we don’t see more of them. Hello Ann, and welcome to Aurealis. It’s great to have you here. Thanks! I'm glad to be here! As a thought exercise, the lack of gender cues in your Imperial Radch series can be a difficult concept to deal with at first. How have you found reader’s reactions to this device? I have been really surprised at some reactions...

One thing I've really enjoyed about 2015 has been talking with a bunch of writers at the top of their game. I genuinely get a kick out of chatting with guys as talented, engaging and passionate about what they do as the likes of Shane Abbess and John Scalzi. Most recently I had a chat with Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C.Clarke award winning author Ann Leckie. It was just prior to the release of her new book Ancillary Mercy and I think I was almost as excited for the book's release as she was. Ann can be unexpectedly hilarious though, and we took  a couple of winding diversions in the interview which really surprised me. I think sometimes interviewees get sick of answering the same questions over and over, so if something a bit different pops up they really run with it. You can find the full interview in Aurealis #86 . Also, not sure I fully pimped my interview with Thoraiya Dyer. I think of it as her origin story, since it's a tale of the heartbreaking setbacks that have...

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...

The amazing and talented Dan Allen has just put up my Imperial Imprecision  post at the  Aurealis  Xpress website. It begins thus: Imperial Imprecision It’s long been known that Star Wars: A New Hope contains examples of some of the worst marksmanship in the history of cinema, particularly with respect to the Emperor’s ‘elite’ forces. But how bad were they really? Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a statistical measure of exactly how astonishingly bad imperial stormtroopers were at hitting their mark?  Click here to read more... Because reading more makes you supercool...

Aurealis #74 is a great read, and of course, contains some thoughts from me on The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark . The blurb reads thus:  In this issue we feature Imogen Cassidy’s ‘Soul Partner’, an urban fantasy gumshoe pastiche with some original touches, and Leife Shallcross’ creepy and engrossing ‘Music for an Ivory Violin’. Chris Large brings some thoughtful silliness* with his ‘When a Jedi Should Think Twice About Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight’ , and Stephen Higgins continues his SF’s Sacred Cows with Asimov's Foundation. *Read: awesomeness!  BUY IT.