FLY SOUP

Hi All, I'm back! With interviews! I've decided that rather than letting my interviews languish on my hard drive once they're out of contract, I'll put them up here. So you can expect to see a few of them popping up here from time to time. I've mostly interviewed Aussies, but there's a healthy sprinkling of others in the mix as well. So without further ado, feast your eyes upon my first ever interview with Aussie writer and filmmaker, Shane Abbess, which first appeared last year in Aurealis #79. Interview: Shane Abbess By Chris Large It’s no secret that Australian films struggle to gain traction internationally – particularly in with respect to fantasy and science fiction – but that seems likely to change sooner rather than later.  Australian writer and director, Shane Abbess, has spoken frankly on what is being done to improve both the appeal of Aussie film and its global reputation. Shane is best known to audienc...

Hey, the unstoppable David McDonald interviewed me for the 2016 Spec Fic snapshot. Read about that, and plenty more HERE . But be warned: once you start reading these snapshots it's difficult to stop.

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...

Aurealis #87 , the first to contain a story from a non-Aussie author, is out and it's a fantastic first issue for 2016. Just ask Tangent's Christos Antonaros , who raved about each and every story. This latest issue is packed with stuff you won't find anywhere else. Stuff like: "The Root Bridges" by Sean Monaghan "Elven Blades" by Ian Bell "Across the White Desert" by Deborah Sheldon I was lucky enough to interview bestselling Aussie fantasy author Trudi Canavan for this one and she has some great insights into world-building and working with chronic pain. Gillian Polack examines the work of Nevil Shute (and it's awesome), and there's more Secret History of Australia and book reviews. The bar has never been higher for Australia's oldest and best SF/F/H magazine. Whether you're a reader or a writer you need to be a part of it. Get it here .

I wrote the following post for Aurealis Xpress last year. With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens  imminent, I thought I'd re-post it here. So excited! 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? Well, fortunately, there is. In the United States, where police forces undergo rigorous (well, at least annual ) firearms training, statistics are kept, and made available for, exactly the type of public scrutiny in which we are about to indulge. But first to the question of “How can we calculate the number of shots fired and hits scored by stormtroopers in Star Wars in order to make a valid comparison with real-world figures?” The answer is s...

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...

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...