Zilla Novikov's Blog, page 22

Behind the Screens: A Bonus Monday Author Interview!

As a treat, we offer this bonus Monday writer interview!

Sabitha: Every science fiction and fantasy author knows the importance of language. From Tolkien’s Elvish to the dialectic variations in The Expanse, language tells us about the world the characters live in and what they value. But how do you craft the perfect words for your story? CD Covington is here to tell us about her latest project, a Kickstarter-funded book designed to do exactly that.

CD: I’m a science fiction writer and a linguist, and I’m working on a writer’s guide to linguistic worldbuilding and funding it via kickstarter. Linguistic worldbuilding encompasses everything from what sounds exist in the language(s) in your setting to naming schemes to proverbs and cuss words. I’m going to teach you how to do it using both analysis of existing books that do it well and contemporary linguistics research.

Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?

CD: Around the time I was finishing my thesis, I had the idea to write about how language and linguistics are portrayed in science fiction and fantasy. It was 2019, the movie Arrival had recently come out, and Gretchen McCulloch’s Because Internet had hit the shelves. The first few seasons of The Expanse were out on SyFy. There was a lot to write about! So I pitched a column to tor.com. After I wrote a few columns, I noticed some patterns in them, and they boiled down to linguistic worldbuilding. I initially started it with a Patreon, which was a mistake, because I never got enough subscribers to let me focus on the linguistics stuff. But I have a draft of the first quarter or so of the book ready to go and an outline for the rest.

Sabitha : What book do you tell all your friends to read?

CD: I always recommend CJ Cherryh because I love her writing, and she also does amazing linguistic worldbuilding. She’s very good at making non-human cultures that aren’t just humans with pointy ears or fur, and she uses their languages to reflect their (non-human) psychology. Foreigner is about translation and intercultural communication (and how it can go wrong), and the main character is a linguist-diplomat, so it’s got a special place in my heart.

Sabitha :  What’s your next writing project?

CD: If this Kickstarter funds, I’ll be working on this book until it’s ready. But when that’s done, I’ll revise my asexual lesbian science fiction romance and decide whether I want to self publish or go down the query rabbit hole.

Sabitha: I am so excited for this project. Where do we find the Kickstarter? And where do we find you?

CD: You can find the Kickstarter here. You can find my work on Tor, or on my website. I’m on Mastodon, Twitter (rarely), Tumblr, Instagram (mostly random pictures), and Youtube.

Wrong Genre Covers

Gideon the Ninth as a math textbook was suggested by Chey. Have a funny idea for a Wrong Genre Cover? Email us at nightbeatseu@gmail.com, and if Rachel likes your suggestion, she’ll make it in a future issue. Or @ us on basically any of the socials.

Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha: Ready for something thrilling? David Kummer is here to talk about his suspenseful novel The Misery House. Take it away, David!

David: The Misery House is a psychological thriller with a family you’ll never forget.

Sometimes the quietest towns have the darkest secrets.

New Haven: This rural town has never seen a string of tragedies like this. A local store burns to the ground with two bodies inside. A newlywed couple goes missing, and all signs point to the abandoned house. With no answers, the townsfolk grow more and more worried.

The Woods family has lived here forever. But when their friends and their own children are put in danger, the threat hits home. This close-knit family must risk everything to find answers, but time is running out.

New Haven has secrets. And a haunted house like you’ve never seen before.

Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?

David: I have been writing thrillers and horror novels for about 8 years, ever since I was in high school. This book is the next step, because it’s part of a series. I wanted to take some of the classic horror tropes, such as the haunted house or the creepy little kid, but to put a twist on those tropes. Sometimes it’s the way they’re framed or what they represent, but everything has a twist. There’s a lot that will catch you off-guard emotionally.

Sabitha : What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

David: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is a book I recommend to everyone and it also got me started with this book. The description and the plot in that book are so amazing. Everything is very intricate, but by the end of the book it all seems so simple and impactful. Sarah Waters is really an incredible author, and I think of The Little Stranger as the perfect slow-burning thriller.

Sabitha : Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?

David: Yes, absolutely. I have a tendency to kill off the most likable characters… That’s something I’ve grappled with writing this book and Books 2 and 3 in the series. There are lots of chances for characters to die. The tricky part is determining what’s best for the story and for the character. I’m trying to find a balance there.

Sabitha : Do you have any suggestions to help people in our community become a better writers? If so, what are they?

David: I think it’s important to never be discouraged by a first draft. All the magic happens in editing and rewriting. The first draft is just the first step. Get it done, do your best, and then take a break. Come back with fresh eyes, and then the magic happens. (Also don’t be afraid to try new ideas or weird stuff. You can always cut it out in edits, but sometimes it works perfectly.)

Sabitha : What’s your next writing project? 

David: I’m working on Book 2 and Book 3 in this series. Once I finish those and the series is over, I’ve got another couple books begging me to write them. I’m also teaching full time now, so I have a lot going on outside of writing!

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

David: You can find The Misery House on Amazon. I’m on a few different social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads, but you can also connect with me at my website. There are links and info about all my books there. You can also sign up to my newsletter.

Book Report Corner

by Zilla N.

Eat Me(at) by L.M. Cole reminds me that, as a woman, I am a collection of parts to be enjoyed. That what is kindest to to my body may not be what is best to consume. That the flesh bruises and moistons. That what is craved is uniformity, purity, tenderness. That there are ways to achieve this.

The point of blackout poetry is that what is removed enlargens what is left, so the final poem surpasses the space of the original textbook, if only in the mind. If only in the memory of a good meal.

Get your copy from kith books, an indie press takes no prisoners in poetry.

And in the Before Times when our childhood characters had yet not been tainted, I feel in love with a poem which seems in conversation with L.M.’s book. So I link it here, either printed or spoken.

Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha: We love a good paranormal romance, and Elle Ire is here with just the thing! Elle, can you tell us about Harsh Reality!

Elle: Cali McCade is happy being the only female sheriff in the West until evil destroys her town of Oblivion and everyone in it. But when a magical creature sends her forward in time, Cali gets a chance for justice—and to stop history from repeating itself.

Now, on the set of Harsh Reality, a television show that challenges average people to survive in historical settings, Cali isn’t just the sheriff of Oblivion—she also plays herself on TV. It isn’t easy to find her path in this new world, but at least she knows what her “character” would do… even if it’s a little strange to be navigating a blooming romance with the woman playing Arlene, her long-lost love.

When the elementals show up to destroy Oblivion all over again, can Cali find a way to defeat the demons, keep her cover, and still ride off into the sunset?

Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?

Elle: Harsh Reality is what happens when I go to a late showing of the movie Cowboys and Aliens and eat a big meal before bedtime. My subconscious brain swaps in women who love women for all the major roles and then takes the story on a crazy roller coaster ride into modern day.

Sabitha : That’s a great way to get the spark of an idea! Once you’ve got that, what’s your writing process?

Elle: Actually, this pretty much sums it up—cram my brain with sci-fi and/or Sapphic film content, actiony instrumental music, and whatever speculative fiction or Sapphic romance novel I’m reading, and then go to bed. My subconscious is much better at all this creative business than I am while awake. Often, I’ll wake up with an entire novel plot ready to go, complete with characters, their names, and sometimes even large swaths of dialogue. Then I start writing. I’m a plantser, meaning I plan ahead about three chapters, then write those, and then plan three more. I tend to revise/edit as I go, so the first draft generally ends up being the final draft.

Sabitha : What book do you tell all your friends to read? 

Elle: The book by someone else that I tell everyone to read is One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Amazing story, wonderful, diverse characters, some crazy contemporary fantasy, and a lovely, heartfelt romance. It’s so unique, and I wish I’d thought of it.

Sabitha :  If you could pick any author to read your book, who would you want to read it? Why them?

Elle: If I could pick any author to read Harsh Reality, it would be Casey McQuiston or Tamsyn Muir, the author of Gideon the Ninth (which I also recommend all the time for completely different reasons). These are very different writers, but I loved their work so much, and I have so much respect for them.

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Elle: You can find Harsh Reality (along with my other novels) here. And you can find me on Twitter. Thanks for letting me chat with you all!

Steamed Mantu with the Kite Runner

Fiction To Sink Your Teeth Into, a feature from author and professional chef Rohan O’Duill!

Steamed mantu was one of the scents Amir remembered during the Kite Tournament. The Kite Runner is a beautiful book with a stark reminder of how things can change drastically at any moment.

Steamed mantu is a wonderful Afghan dish, which I have made a bit easier with a few cheats. This is a vegetarian version but you can make a more traditional version by using minced lamb or beef instead of the sweet potato and peas.

Ingredients:

500g finely diced sweet potato300g peas300g finely diced onions1 tsp chilli1 tsp salt1 tsp of ground coriander1 tsp of ground cumin1 tsp of black pepperWonton pastry wrapsYoghurtTomato hot sauce

Equipment
• Frying pan
• Steamer

Directions:

The traditional recipe has a lot of parts to it, so I simplified a bit.

Saute the diced sweet potato, onion and garlic in a pan. Add in the spices and cook off until golden brown. Add the peas and remove from the heat.Place a spoon of mix in the centre of a wonton sheet. Wet the corners of the sheets with some water and bring them together and apply some pressure to hold the parcel together.Repeat until you have used up the mix.Place the mantu in the steamer. Steam for 10 minutes.Place the cooked mantu on a platter. Sprinkle over the yoghurt and the tomato hot sauce.Put your feet up with The Kite Runner and enjoy!

Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha : We’ve got something a bit different today! Mike Oswald joins us to talk about his nonfiction—useful guides to the US National Parks. Mike, what inspired you to write these books?

Mike: After getting mugged and cut (oddly, just the pinky fingers, nothing too serious), I found myself at a crossroads: return to doing someone else’s work or try to chart my own path. I chose the latter. While exploring Acadia National Park, I flipped over a copy of Nat Geo’s U.S. National Parks Guide and read “Our #1 selling title.” I thought, “I think I can make something better.”

Sabitha : It sounds pretty serious! So you self-published your passion project?

Mike: I made a book in InDesign and rather than pitch it, I thought, “Why can’t I find a printer and distributor to work with?” It’s taken some time (and trial and error), but now I feel like I’ve forged some great distributor/printer relationships.

Sabitha : And you started your working life as an engineer?

Mike: Yeah, I don’t know how this happened either, but I’m pretty sure a lot of readers think about writing at some point.

Sabitha : So you’re a reader as well as a writer! What book do you tell all your friends to read?

Mike: Probably The Death and Life of the Great Lakes.

Sabitha : When you took up writing, was there any music that inspired you?

Mike: Unfortunately they’re no longer together, but Jared and the Mill made a bunch

of songs that have kept me going through the years.

Sabitha :  If you could pick any author to read your books, who would you want to read it?

Mike: Oh my gosh, it would be torture, so I better keep this answer to myself.

Sabitha : From authors to readers—who is your ideal reader?

Mike: Inquisitive, curious, anyone who wants to make their time and money count while exploring the U.S. National Parks.

Sabitha : There’s a saying that we’re, “Loving the parks to death.” Are we doing that?

Mike: Well, we are and we aren’t. Humans never step foot on the vast majority of park land. The National Park Service protects about 85 million acres of land and something like 0.015% of that is developed as trails. Roads are probably a similarly tiny fraction of total park land. So, there’s plenty of public land in the United Sates, especially if you add in Forest Service land (193 million acres) and Bureau of Land Management land (245 million acres). The problem is, a handful of parks receive more visitors than they can comfortably accommodate a few months each year. Arches, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain national parks instituted timed-entry permit requirements to limit visitation, and, by most accounts, it’s made overall visitor experiences better, but, as you can imagine, it also upsets others. I guess the bottom line is, if you’re thinking about going to any of the “flagship” National Parks, you should do a little planning. Whether that’s purchasing a guidebook or scrolling the internet, that’s up to you

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your books and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your books?

Mike: You can find Your Guide to the National Parks, National Park Maps, and The Dayhiker’s Guide to the National Parks on Amazon. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sabitha: I have one last special request. In addition to all your human fans, I’ve heard you count two horses among your biggest supporters. Could you show us some photos of them reviewing their books?

Mike: Very happy to complete that assignment, Sabitha!

Summer Swoons!

It’s the time of year for some spicy summer reads. Can’t pick a book? We gotcha. Check out this list of beach reads. Still can’t decide? Rachel Corsini narrows the list to the 5 most swoon-worthy romances here.

Behind the Screens: Tuesday Author Interview

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Sabitha : We have Terry Bartley with us, to talk about his queer fantasy adventures, Tyranny of the Fey . Terry, tell us about your stories of elves, goblins, and orcs!

Terry: A famed Elven researcher is worried about her home. When she discovers a new realm with massive magic potential, she believes she has found the answer. Will the Seasonal Fey Courts allow her to continue her research without interference, or do they have more nefarious plans?

An Elven princess runs away from her arranged marriage to a parallel world. Will she be able to find the adventure she seeks? While she is in search of battles with dragons and quests to obtain sacred artifacts, she finds that what she was looking for may have been a true connection with someone that understands her.

Two childhood friends, an orc and a goblin, have long dreamed of adventure. When a magic school dropout stumbles into their lives, they jump at the chance to realize their ambitions. This found family realizes the world of Galevyn is a much bigger place than the jungle they grew up in.

Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?

Terry: I started writing seriously about four years ago. I started writing once a week, every week. This is what turned into my novel. I started trying to edit the novel in 2020, but I didn’t know where to start, and, if I’m being honest, I was so stressed out about everything else going on that I didn’t feel up to it. The following year, I set a goal to write 100 short stories in a year. I wrote short stories featuring characters other than my novel’s MCs. This was a really fun process, and I enjoyed building out my fantasy world through the characters that lived in it.

Sabitha : When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?

Terry: Whenever I write, I very much try to write the book that I would want to read. What that means to me is a fantasy book with a good amount of action and cute queer love stories. So my ideal reader is probably someone that likes Marvel movies, is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and has always felt like they didn’t quite fit in where they grew up. 

Sabitha : Does the location the story takes place mean something to you or to the work?

Terry: My setting is written as a magical allegory for the world we live in. I like to think the primary setting of Anglachel is what America would be if it was colonized by elves rather than various European nations. It means something to me because I feel like there are people that just can’t see the harm things like colonialism and institutional racism have caused. I’m hoping that if I’m more overt about it in my fantasy, that maybe some of these people can see it more clearly.

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Terry: You can find me on my website, and you can buy Tyranny of the Fey here.

Book Report Corner

by JoeAnn Hart

JoeAnn Hart at EcoLit Books reviews Query.

Query, a Novel, is snack-sized, but it took me a while to read because I kept laughing coffee out of my nose and onto the page, the best recommendation I can give for a book.

Read the full review here!