Lois H. Gresh's Blog, page 13
November 28, 2011
THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION -- NICE INTERVIEW
I just learned about a very nice interview with me about THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION.
I've reproduced some excerpts from the interview below. To read the entire interview, please visit the wonderful people at HungerGamesMovie.Org!
What can we as readers expect from The Hunger Games Companion?
Lois: To open discussion among fans, THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION offers opinions about matters relating to the characters, their relationships, and the storylines. For example, THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION discusses why Katniss becomes suicidal and hooked on morphling in Mockingjay: does it make sense in the context of her personality in both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and if so, why?
As another example, the book suggests reasons why Katniss votes "yes" for a Capitol children's Hunger Games at the end of Mockingjay.
I even tell you if I think Katniss chose the right guy, and why…
And I speculate about how the post-apocalyptic world of the Hunger Games might have happened, whether it could happen in real life, and whether a Hunger Games mentality could take over and destroy our children's lives -- in the real world.
Also, readers will find plenty of information about subjects ranging from repressive regimes (like the Capitol) to dehumanization, the end of our privacy, the gladiators and the tributes of Panem, the use of hunger as a control freak mechanism, how muttations might be created, and much more.
In short, readers can expect interesting and thought-provoking discussions about "all things" Hunger Games: everything from tributes, muttations, the arenas, the psychopathic personalities of Presidents Snow and Coin, and of course, details about key characters such as Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Finnick, Rue, Primrose, and even Buttercup.
What aspect of The Hunger Games Companion do you think readers will be most excited about?
Lois: I suspect readers will be excited by a lot of the material in THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION. For those who want to know more about the Hunger Games characters, the Companion's analyses of their personalities, motivations, decisions, and relationships might prove most interesting. For readers fascinated by the muttations, THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION provides information about how the mutts might actually be created in real life. For readers interested in all the weird science in the Hunger Games books, I speculate how the science might (or actually does) work. For those who find Effie, Flickerman, and all the stylists interesting, THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION talks about how the Hunger Games reflects our modern obsession with fashion, style, hair, plastic surgery, self-indulgence, reality television.
You have written quite a few companions/guides. Which has been your favorite to work on and why?
Lois: I enjoyed working on THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION because I love the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The subjects in THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION fascinated me from the start of the project to when I finished writing the book.
I very much enjoyed writing THE SCIENCE OF SUPERHEROES, THE SCIENCE OF SUPERVILLAINS, and THE SCIENCE OF JAMES BOND with Bob Weinberg. All three of these books are among my favorites.
For example, THE SCIENCE OF JAMES BOND explains how all sorts of cool things might (or do) work: artificial fingerprints, voice box that imitates other people, Russian Lektor message decoder, U.S. Clipper Chip, hydrofoils, hovercrafts, multipurpose watches, Q's robot dog, GPS navigation, GoldenEye's EMP, the Gustav Graves DNA plastic surgery, the "You Only Live Twice" spaceship that gobbles other spaceships, the "radar invisible" Moonraker space station, Blofeld's gigantic rocket base inside a defunct Japanese volcano, and of course, invisible cars – to list just a few topics!
THE SCIENCE OF SUPERHEROES and THE SCIENCE OF SUPERVILLAINS gets into a lot of other really cool info, too, such as: Can a woman kill a man using her lipstick? Can a person turn himself into a lizard? Can a gorilla be a genius? Is it possible not to die? What is anti-matter? Can a man fly? Can a man have super strength? Can a man run faster than light? Can you download somebody's brain into a computer? Is it possible to have a skeletal body of adamantium? Is it possible for a person to breathe underwater? Can a man really have robotic arms? Is it really possible that there might be five dimensions?
As well as companions/ guides, you have written original novels. Are experiences in your novels based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Lois: I've written/published 28 books and close to 50 stories. All of my fiction is (drum roll…) fiction.
My current novel is Terror by Numbers, a crazy thriller to be published soon. I definitely understand my heroine and what makes her tick. I understand her environment, her surroundings, how she interacts with people. I've been to most of the places (the settings) in the book. I feel my heroine as if she's real. I've personally done some of the things my heroine does; she knows how to sail a certain type of boat, for example, and so do I; she gets off on weird technologies, and so do I; she loves to swim, loves the sea, loves the beach, and so do I.
Yet with all that said, the heroine of Terror by Numbers most definitely is not me. For example, unlike my heroine, I'm not an undercover operative in a spy organization.
I should also add that I understand my bad guys and what makes them tick, too, but that's a whole other story.
My most current short story is in Horror for the Holidays to be published within a few weeks. Trust me, the main characters in my story, Cthulhu Mhy'os, are totally fictional, as are the events of the tale.
ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS is my current 2011 collection of 26 weird science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror stories. In ELDRITCH EVOLUTIONS, I talk a bit about what inspired me to write each story, so you might find that book interesting to read.
What are your inspirations for writing?
Lois: I do want readers to think about basic human emotions, such as kindness, evil, greed, jealousy, the struggle most of us share to try and become better people. But I also want to entertain readers -- that's very important! In short, I want to tell a good story that also makes readers think about what it means to be human.
I constantly observe people: motivations, mannerisms, behaviors, interactions, expressions, actions. I constantly wonder what makes people tick -- why bullies are mean, for example, or why someone in great physical pain can ignore it sufficiently to function. How do different people handle emotions and conflicts? I also read an enormous amount of both fiction and nonfiction, and many subjects fascinate me.
To write fiction, bits and pieces from all of these observations, experiences, and thoughts somehow gurgle up from the back of my brain and coalesce into something new. Ideas spring out of nowhere, but they're based on tidbits merging like a puzzle into a new form.
Read the entire interview here at HungerGamesMovie.Org!
November 14, 2011
Hunger Games Contest Running Now through Mid-December! Free Copies!
Head over to iTunes and listen to Nightlock Podcast's Episode 9: Now or Never, which features an interview with me. The interview will also appear on their two websites (see below).
Kira and Matt of Nightlock (shown below in their Hunger Games Booth) are running a contest starting NOW through mid-December.
Two winners will receive signed copies of THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION!
You can learn about the contest on their two websites:
http://hungergamesmovie.org
www.hggirlonfire.com
Here's a copy of the awesome ad on their websites for The Hunger Games Companion!
November 9, 2011
THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION: Released Yesterday
Okay, the wait is over: THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION is now available! It was released yesterday, November 8.THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION will be the November Featured Book for UK Simon & Schuster's young adult line. I did an extensive interview with Simon & Schuster last week, and I'll post the url here as soon as I have it.
HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS
I'm pleased to be in a new anthology, HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS, from editor Scott David Aniolowski who plans to release the book in time for Xmas this year.Table of ContentsIntroduction by Scott David AniolowskiTALES OF ROSH CHODESHThe Tomb of Oscar Wilde by W.H. PugmireTALES OF VALENTINE'S DAYLove and Darkness by Oscar RiosBe Mine by Brian SammonsTALES OF PASSOVERCthulhu Mhy'os by Lois H. GreshTALES OF EASTERAnd the Angels Sing by Cody GoodfellowThe Last Communion of Allyn Hill by Pete RawlikMrs. Spriggs' Easter Attire by Joseph S. Pulver Jr. and Tara VanFlowerSeasons of Sacrifice and Resurrection by Adrian TchaikovskyTALES OF MOTHER'S DAYMother's Night by Ann K. SchwaderTALES OF THE FOURTH OF JULYFree Fireworks by T.E. GrauDoc Corman's Haunted Palace One Fourth of July by Don WebbTALES OF VJ DAYTranslator by James Robert SmithTALES OF HALLOWEENHallowe'en in a Suburb by H.P. LovecraftMoonday by Will MurrayThe Trick by Ramsey CampbellTALES OF THE DAY OF THE DEADEl Dia De Los Muertos by Kevin RossTALES OF GUY FAWKES NIGHTTreason and Plot by William MeikleTALES OF REMEMBERANCE DAYThe Dreaming Dead by Joshua ReynoldsTALES OF THANKSGIVINGEntrée by Donald R. BurlesonTALES OF YULEKeeping Festival by Mollie BurlesonWassail by Tom LynchTALES OF CHRISTMASKrampusnacht by Joshua ReynoldsThe Christmas Eve of Aunt Elise by Thomas LigottiLetters to Santa by Scott David AniolowskiKeeping Christmas by Michael G. SzymanskiThe Nativity of the Avatar by Robert M. Price
October 14, 2011
Roots of the Hunger Games Companion: Posted on TOR.COM
Once kids are in the Hunger Games arena, they fight to the death, and anything goes. The same is true in the second book of the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire.
By the time we get to the third book, Mockingjay, as Nicole Sperling of Entertainment Weekly says, "Collins has kicked the brutal violence up a notch."
When I first read the books, I was stunned that they were young adult novels. Only a year or two earlier, romantic vampire novels such as Twilight dominated the genre. And before Twilight, we had Gossip Girls, which combined Mean Girls with Sex in the City and tossed in plenty of high fashion, boozing, and partying.
All of a sudden, the young adult genre took a 180-degree twist into the realms of dark science fiction and brutal horror. Fans everywhere went wild. It didn't matter how young or old you were; when the Hunger Games series came out, you were hooked.
Read more... Hop over to TOR.COM to read the whole story.
October 12, 2011
TERROR BY NUMBERS
This book is the first release from the new thriller, horror, and mystery imprint called Ravenous Shadows. I'm delighted to be part of the Ravenous Shadows launch and grateful to Lori Perkins, my agent of 16 years and a partial owner of the imprint.
Magnificent artist Allan Penn created a beautiful cover for the book, which I'll post here within the next few days. I've seen Allan's draft, and it's amazing . I can't wait to show it to you!
Also within the next few days, Executive Editor John Skipp and head honcho Holly Schmidt will create the Amazon.com page for TERROR BY NUMBERS. As soon as the Amazon page goes live, I'll post the link here! (Can you tell I'm excited?)
In the meantime, here's something to wet your appetite:
In the tradition of James Bond comes a kick-ass female agent : Sasha Avantis, a quirky genius who works for an undercover CIA unit, a Special Ops force so secret that only the top-ranking members of the CIA know it exists. Sasha and her charm-boy partner, Boyd Raisor, must stop the most dangerous terrorists in the world, who are murdering stock market executives and government leaders, never leaving a clue. Battling a team of very strange assassins, Sasha must untangle a complex web of death fueled by Wall Street and enforced by a new type of terrorism called GORE, the Global Organization to Render Equality. With her mother dead after murdering Sasha's best friend and with her grandmother still in an institute for the criminally insane, Sasha fears the family insanity will catch up to her, too. Are assassins really after her, or is it all in her head? When GORE kills her friend, Nikos, Sasha vows revenge. Little does she know that GORE wants her dead for very personal reasons.
A high-speed adrenaline-fueled thrill ride!
Praise for Books by Lois H. Gresh
"A package of pure fun from first page to last!"
--Dean Koontz, New York Times Best-Selling Author
"A fine, dark thriller for the coming millennium."
--Joe R. Lansdale, multiple award-winning author
"An extravagant gift…devastating genius."
-- Adam-Troy Castro, SCI FI, official magazine of the SYFY TV channel
"One step removed from Tom Clancy, one step closer than William Gibson."
-- Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times Best-Selling Author
"A frightening and exhilarating tale that rips along - a fun, fun read!"
-- F. Paul Wilson, New York Times Best-Selling Author
"Near-future nightmare with nonstop action, realistic characters of a type you don't often find in thrillers, and writing that never distracts us. Definitely worth reading."
--The New York Review of Science Fiction
"A fast-moving jolt of pure cyber-adrenaline."
--Nancy Kress, multiple Nebula-winning author
"What a treasure house is this book! Tremendous fun!"
--Peter Straub
"Lois Gresh always surprises me. She's one of the cleverest writers out there."
-- Nancy Kilpatrick, editor of Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead
"Riveting stories with mind-bending ideas - intensely creative!"
-- Catherine Asaro, Nebula-winning author
"An intelligent book, refreshing and frightening."
--Dr. Howard Frank, former Director, Information Technology Office, DARPA
October 6, 2011
Mourning Steve Jobs - a personal perspective
Steve Jobs, who died yesterday from cancer, was one of my few heroes throughout my twenties. (right up there with George Lucas) I remember when Jobs bought Pixar from Lucas. I remember when Apple bought NeXT & Jobs returned to give the world the iPod, iTunes, iPhone. Jobs was a brilliant visionary.
Being the type of person who's most happy writing or puttering with technology and science, I haven't spent much of my life following the careers of business people. In fact, I can't think of anyone else other than Steve Jobs whose career has fascinated me over the years.
I was crushed when he had to leave Apple in 1986 due to a corporate power struggle. For me and many others, Apple was synonymous with Steve Jobs.
I was a professional programmer starting at 17. While managing a writing, training, and systems analysis department, I also turned to engineering in my twenties.
There were plenty of women doing all the peripheral work involved with launching computer products, but very few of us were allowed or able to gravitate to circuitry and low-level code. Back then, if you were fascinated by circuitry, hex, bdos commands, C, machine code, Assembly, and so forth, well, it was a man's world.
In the 90s, I shifted heavily into virtual reality, animation, and the more creative aspects of programming.
But in those early days, my heroes were all men. A few guys with whom I worked. And Steve Jobs. Visionaries. People I admired and respected, right up there with George Lucas.
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." - Steve Jobs
His advice also applies to writers. Don't settle. Be true to yourselves, write what you believe and what matters to you. Never lose faith.
October 4, 2011
Why I Wrote The Hunger Games Companion
I just wrote an email to somebody about the importance of Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games trilogy. Here's an excerpt:
Orwell's 1984 talks about repressive totalitarian regimes of the future with the aim of warning people about the present. When I first read the Hunger Games trilogy, I was struck by the fact that Collins' books also address the important political and social issues that we should all be thinking about now -- before it's too late.
The novels are beautifully written, as I note in various ways throughout The Companion - these are great works of fiction. As a novelist and short story author myself, I admire Suzanne Collins' work a great deal.But the Hunger Games trilogy goes far beyond fiction, which is exactly why the books are so important.
They challenge readers to think about truth, about what's right and what's wrong. They challenge us to think about superficial attitudes versus getting up and doing something about what's wrong in our world. And there's an awful lot wrong in the world today.
I wrote The Hunger Games Companion to stimulate intellectual discussions about Suzanne Collins' brilliant trilogy. Hence, not only do I analyze characters and story, I include topics that are not covered elsewhere.
September 29, 2011
CHAPTER 1 POSTED ON TOR.COM!
What a twitter-crazed night. Thanks to some fans (can't thank 'em enough), I learned about some odd (incorrect) excerpts going viral in the middle of the night via twitter DMs. I have a wonderful editor - quick on his feet - who magically got the the correct excerpt posted on TOR.COM today.
Many THANKS to TOR.COM!
Chapter 1 of The Hunger Games Companion is here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/09/the-hunger-games-companion-excerpt#
I'll post more excerpts HERE on my blog after the book is released on NOVEMBER 8, 2011!
September 28, 2011
The Hunger Games Companion - table of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Hunger Games Companion:
Chapter 1. The Hunger Games Trilogy:
Surviving the End of the World
Chapter 2. Repressive Regimes and Rebellions:
Could The Hunger Games Really Happen?
Chapter 3. Hunger: Starving in the Districts
Chapter 4. Tributes: Gladiators in the Arena
Chapter 5. Weapons: How Tributes Survive
Chapter 6. Torture and Execution: What a Way to Go
Chapter 7. The Nature of Evil: President Snow and His Cronies
Chapter 8. Killer Kids: How Responsible are They?
Chapter 9. Hype Over Substance: A Mirror of Modern Times
Chapter 10. Theseus and the Minotaur: Parallels
Chapter 11. Survival Instincts and Strategies:
Does Katniss Know What She's Doing?
Chapter 12. Medicines and Poisons: Simple and Complex
Chapter 13. Muttations and Other Hybrids:
Birds, Beasts, and Roses
Chapter 14. More Weird Science: A Brief Roundup
Appendix A End-of-the-World Scenarios
Appendix B Apocalyptic and Dystoptian Post-Apocalyptic Fiction:
Further Reading
