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 - 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!

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...

Author interviews are a dime a dozen, so how many of them are worthy of your time, and how many are just white noise? I'm not saying some aren't worthwhile. There can be something to be gained by reading even an average author interview, but with every hipster and their blow-dried poodle running some kind of author interview/latte appreciation blog, there's just so much emailed-in, beige-carpet dross around, it can be a real splash of ice-water to the face to read a smack-down between two people who genuinely care about their topic of discussion. Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice I've been interviewing authors for a couple of years now (you won't find my interviews here, but in magazines and elsewhere on the inter-webz. I gave up writing for free a while back) and I've learned some really important lessons I'd like to share. The fact is, the difference between a could-find-this-crap-anywhere interview, and a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a really i...