Zilla Novikov's Blog, page 23
July 13, 2023
Wrong Genre Covers
July 11, 2023
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 : For fans of the question “What if?” we have Erin Lale here, contributing editor of a series of time-traveling anthologies. Erin, tell us more!
Erin: Cassandra’s Time Yarns is the first anthology in a series of three multi-author anthologies in the Time Yarns Universe shared world. As contributing editor, I not only selected the stories but also have at least one of my own stories in each book. The next two anthologies are Anarchy Zone Time Yarns, with a theme of anarchist and libertarian societies, and Cat’s Cradle Time Yarns, with a theme of cats. There is also a single author Time Yarns anthology of my stories, Universal Genius. Time Yarns is a universe in which time travel exists, and some of the stories are about time travel, some are about unsuccessful attempts to invent time travel with dire consequences, and some are about non time travelers who have to live in the world the time travelers messed up. Watch the Time Yarns trailer to get a flavor of it.
Sabitha : We love anarchists and cats in this house, so we’re very much on board with these anthologies! What inspired you to create the Time Yarns universe and fill it with stories?
Erin: I love time-travel stories. I’m also fascinated by the idea of non-time-traveling people who have to live in the world that time travelers generated, and I wanted more stories like that. There were also two novels in the Time Yarns Universe, Punch and Planet of the Magi. The anthologies were published under my own label, Time Yarns. The novels were both snapped up by publishers that then went out of business, so both are out of print. I’m hoping to find a new publisher for them.
Sabitha : We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?
Erin: The idea comes first. When I’m writing hard science fiction it’s always an idea that takes the standard hard science fiction form, “If x existed, how would it change society?” In the Time Yarns Universe, x is time travel technology, although there is often also an y and a z that also change things. I’m often inspired with dialogue when I first start writing a story. My published stories were a series of inspired scenes and dialogue which I then strung together in a logical order. After the experience of being Acquisitions Editor at Eternal Press and Damnation Books, I tried to change my process to start with a coherent outline and plot everything out in advance; I wrote a very long novel based on Norse mythology, which turned out to be an unpublishable mess, so I went back to seat-of-the-pants-style writing.
Sabitha : How did you choose the title?
Erin: Cassandra’s Time Yarns introduced the character Cassandra, also known as Aunt Cassie, who is one of the few characters who appears in multiple stories. In her introductory story she appears in her own time helping to solve a mystery, but in the other stories she is a mentor character to other time travelers. She pops into the story to tell a new time traveler how to do time traveling and to warn them about the antagonists. She is named after the prophetess Cassandra because characters often don’t believe her– until later, after they have had some adventures.
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?
Erin: You can find me at my website. The Time Yarns universe has a website too, and if you want to start reading from the beginning, Cassandra’s Time Yarns is here.
July 10, 2023
Join the Queer SFF mailing list and get four free ebooks (including mine)
Do you want queer speculative fiction books without, you know. Having to pay for them? And also be apprised of amazing new queer SFF books and goings on?
Free Books
If you join now you can get a free copy of my book, Cascade, and three others! Check it out.
July 6, 2023
Book Report Corner
by Lindsay Hobbs, Editor Extraordinaire
I don’t feel like it’s going out on a limb to say that you won’t have read a cookbook like this one before. It’s an instruction manual for feeding yourself when you are not up to much. I know that I’ve had plenty of these days in the past year (or ten). For anyone else who sometimes feels that the energy it takes to meal prep, grocery shop, and make a meal is just too much, The Sad Bastard Cookbook is here for you. Not only is it there for you in a practical sense, with meals and snacks that are manageable even when nothing else is, but it is there for you emotionally too, by reminding you that you are not alone, and that even in your darkest days, you deserve to eat.
Read Lindsay’s full review here.
July 4, 2023
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.
We have A.J. Calvin with us, to talk about her fantasy adventures. A.J., take us away!
A.J.: The Relics of War is an epic fantasy trilogy, Hunted is a standalone urban fantasy, and my upcoming fantasy series is called The Caein Legacy. My books are meant for an adult audience.
The Relics of War is a multi-POV series, whereas the others feature single POVs. They all feature magic or paranormal in some form, as well as fantastic/supernatural beings. And a lot of my books feature dragons. I have a thing for dragons.
Sabitha : Relatable. Dragons are extremely great. We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?
A.J.: I’m a plotter. I’ll come up with an idea, think about it for a while (sometimes years), make notes, define the cast, and then finally make an outline. It’s not the fastest process, but my worldbuilding takes time. Once the outline is complete, I’m ready to start the drafting process.
It used to take me a long time to write a book. Hunted took me the better part of 4 years. But as I’ve continued to write and create worlds, the writing itself has become easier. I’ve been averaging about 10 weeks from start to finish on my later books (not including revisions/editing, I’m just talking about the draft phase.) I usually let a draft sit for a while before I come back to it for revisions. Sometimes it’s a few months, sometimes longer, depending on what else I have going on. While it rests, I write new things, send earlier pieces off for editing/proofreading, and/or plan publication for finished works.
It leaves me with a fairly substantial backlog when it comes to publishing. I’m about to publish book #5 overall, but I’m currently writing #14, so I’ll have plenty more to come in the future.
Sabitha : That’s amazingly fast! Do you still have time to read? And what book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!
A.J.: I read a lot, and I’m not terribly picky about content, but I do love science fiction and fantasy the most. That being said, I read some books I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to some of my friends, because I know they wouldn’t enjoy them.
A few I’ve recommended frequently include Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Aestus by SZ Attwell, The Deverry Cycle by Katherine Kerr, and Dyrwolf by Kat Kinney.
Sabitha : Which character do you relate to the most and why?
A.J.: From my own books, it’s Andrew from The Caein Legacy. He’s the eldest sibling in his family (so am I), and is very protective of one of his younger brothers. When I started writing Exile, the first book in the series, I was 36, which is the same age he is at the start of the series. It was a fun experiment to write a character of the same age. According to a couple of my beta readers, Andrew also shares a couple of my personality quirks too. He was one of my favorite characters to write so far.
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?
A.J.: You can find me on Twitter or on Facebook. You can find my books on my website, my Amazon author page, or on Goodreads (though I’m not active on Goodreads)
July 3, 2023
Book Report Corner
by Zilla N.
There is a tendency for lonely, disconnected teenagers to fall too deeply into introspection. To observe their own life as they live it, playing both Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby, hurdling towards their destruction, their eyes open. I know this because I was this kind of teenager. The narrator of It Helps with the Blues knows this too.
I’m not old enough to know if manic-pixie-dream-girls existed before Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind gave them a name. But I know that all too often, lonely, disconnected teenagers are looking for an external saviour. This thing we feel when we find the person we think will save us, will give us meaning, will make us finally not alone–it’s not love. But it’s not exactly not love either. Only it’s too much to ask someone else to save you. Especially someone who needs saving just as much as we do. It’s not just unfair. It’s impossible. It ends in heartache. It ends in tragedy.
When I was in high school, I felt like my life was recursive, like I would be given the same choice over and over in different contexts until maybe–I hoped, if I made the right decision–I could escape the loop. Jules. Gabriel. Estelle. Joshua. The narrator is trapped in a Midwestern prison of suburbia and recriminations, doomed like Sisyphus to endlessly repeat and reexamine his mistakes.
It Helps with the Blues pours one out for the lonely kids. That was me. Maybe that was you, too.
It Helps with the Blues is available at all the usual online places, but for a limited time tRaum is selling book boxes where you can get a limited-edition locally printed palm-sized paperback plus press goodies! Or treat yourself and get all the tRaum books plus swag for days!
June 30, 2023
Sushi and Sea Lions with homemade sushi
Fiction To Sink Your Teeth Into, a feature from author and professional chef Rohan O’Duill!
Dany and Vin Vin share several meals in Sushi and Sea Lions, from accidentally undercooked chicken parmigiana to diner chicken wings to the titular sushi. While under pressure to do a chicken parmigiana, I left that surprise for the book. This is the perfect snack to keep in the fridge and pull out and enjoy with this great read. Enjoy.
Snack – serves 2/3
Ingredients:
300g sushi rice 2 tbsp rice white wine vinegar 4 sheets nori seaweed fillings: smoked salmon, cucumber and red pepper accompaniments: soya sauce, pickled ginger and wasabiUtensils
• Pot
• Bamboo sushi rollers
Directions:
Place the rice in a pot and add 600ml of water. Cook until the water reaches the level of the rice, then remove from heat, cover with a lid and allow to cook out for a further 10 minutes.Stir through the white wine vinegar and allow to cool.Place the nori sheet shiny side down on the bamboo rollers. Sprinkle with some water and cover with a thin layer of rice leaving a 1cm gap at top and bottom. Place the salmon on top of the rice and the cucumber and pepper slices along the centre.Take the bottom edge of the nori and tightly roll up. Wet the final edge to make sure it seals.Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours, before slicing with a sharp wet knife.Serve with the soya sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.Variations
You can make so many different types of sushi. I tend not to use raw fish as it is difficult guaranteeing freshness in the supermarkets here. You can also use cooked crab meat, cooked king prawns, ham, boiled egg. You can also use avocado, beetroot, carrot, radish, spring onion, chives and pretty much anything else you can think about sticking in there. Vinny is scared of raw fish, and even he would enjoy this meal!
June 29, 2023
Zilla’s Dragonfly Article
Zilla Novikov published a blog post about activism, querying, and and her novella Query on the Dragonfly site. Dragonfly.eco is a platform which explores all kinds of eco-fiction. Mary Woodbury introduces Zilla’s article by saying:
“[Zilla’s] novel Query is a unique, witty perspective on an author’s activist-through-art frustrations in getting her book noticed and published. While recognizing these frustrations, I, as a reader, also innately understood the satire, and laughed often while reading, even though I recognized the madness one feels in the constant repetition of our activists’ voices. When chatting with Zilla recently, I was reminded of a quote from a novel I read during college: “We all feel that our generation didn’t get a chance to make any positive political contributions because we were totally occupied with just trying to stop the madness.” The book was Hot Flashes, by Barbara Raskin, published in 1987. Generations later, we are still trying to stop the madness (continued climate, political, economic, and social imbalances), and sometimes we get stuck in this rut of protest when we just want to move forward, past the same-old, same-old. Balancing ecological concern, style, humor, publishing woes, and still telling a solid story, Query is a must-read for this age.”
Read the article on Dragonfly!
June 28, 2023
Make worse choices with Zilla Novikov
Strap up friends and strangers. It’s time to make bad choices … together
I wrote a novella called Query where I mash up publishing under late-stage capitalism with climate change activism and trauma-dumping on strangers. It’s also a queer love story and it’s been called “pants-wettingly funny.” Rysz published the regular version with a SFW cover but he also sold a book box with a special edition cover which I literally have to censor if people are at work, link here if you’re not at work or you work in a very chill workplace.
We sold out of the first run of Query book boxes, which a) was fully incredible and b) what the heck guys, do you want to make a grown woman cry from happiness? Because I’ll do it.
So Rysz and I bought another round of mostly different, equally deranged swag to put in print run two for another round of Query book boxes.
Rysz was like, “wow people like book boxes huh” so he’s put on a sale so you can get any or all of the books from his press in the SAME BOX. I have read every book he’s published and I love all of them, but hot DAMN Corrupted Vessels has a good cover so I plan on getting that one myself.
You also have the option of getting ALL THE BOOKS Rysz publishes AT THE SAME TIME. Open your heart and your bookshelves. Let something in. I can’t promise this is a good choice, but it’s a choice. Ask yourself, what could go wrong? Then do it anyway.
June 27, 2023
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 : Today’s story is a bit off-the-wall—maybe literally! Rose Green is going to tell us about the wacky science fiction novel, Mind Over Antimatter !
Rose: I’m Rose Green, author and illustrator, and my latest work is Mind Over Antimatter, a middle grade science fiction novel.
Thirteen-year-old Cole Uribe can’t believe his luck when an invention contest wins him top security clearance. His mission: pose as the grandson of inventor Nicolás Araya and find Araya’s plans for the micro-black-hole-powered storage device—before Alzheimer’s erases Araya’s mind for good. Except…Cole’s not the only kid claiming to be Marcelo Araya. And one of them is telling the truth.
Can a real grandson, a fake grandson, a nosy neighbor girl, and the greatest mind ever to lose brain cells be a match for a top-secret, most ruthless organization?
Sabitha : What inspired you to write this book?
Rose: Mix a little Nicola Tesla, a little Terry Pratchett, and an unusual landscape in Idaho and you end up with this book.
Sabitha : Sounds wild! We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?
Rose: I like to be hands-on when I write. I want to really know what the characters are experiencing. While I could not play with black holes, I did crawl through some lava caves. Location is always important to me in writing, so a lot of my process is me going out and experiencing something there, and then coming home to write about it.
Sabitha : What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!
Rose: Some favorite middle grade books include Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatraz series, Frank Cottrell Boyce’s book Cosmic, and books by Kenneth Oppel.
Sabitha : When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?
Rose: That smart kid in your life who reads a lot, thinks a lot of complex thoughts, and maybe hasn’t quite figured out how to fit into the world yet. Underneath, though, they are really cool (and hopefully will someday recognize that).
Sabitha : Does the location the story takes place mean something to you or to the work?
Rose: Definitely! Idaho is such a little known state—people think potatoes, and that’s it. But it’s got this interesting farmer-scholar combo going; people value education greatly but also love the wild. A lot of people speak more than one language there. And you can go to Yellowstone in the morning and catch a nice string quartet visiting your local university from New York in the evening. The first town in the US to run on nuclear power is in southern Idaho. Television as we know it was developed by someone from Idaho. I wanted to capture all of that.
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?
Rose: You can catch up on my writing and illustrating on my website. Meanwhile, Mind Over Antimatter is available in print and ebook form from a variety of sources; see this link for more information.
