Angela Slatter's Blog, page 76

Flight – why is Kathleen Jennings so awesome?

Because the scarf the Giantess knits is a Doctor Who scarf. That is all.

Marianne de Pierres: Mythmaker

Following hot on the successful heels of Peacemaker, the delightful Marianne de Pierres is back with Mythmaker!

Virgin’s in a tight spot. A murder rap hangs over her head and isn’t likely to go away unless she agrees to work for an organisation called GJIC with Nate Sixkiller as her immediate boss. Being blackmailed is one thing, discovering that her mother is both alive and the President of GJIC is quite another. Then there’s the escalation of Mythos sightings, and the bounty on her head. Oddly, the strange and dangerous Hamish Burns is the only one she can rely on. Virgin’s life gets… untidy.

The book is out in October from Angry Robot Books.

What do readers need to know about Marianne De Pierres, and which story of yours would you recommend to a new reader?

I guess you would say that, for the most part, my stories are never predictable. Also, I write across genres: science fiction, fantasy, YA, children’s, and crime. So perhaps it’s me that’s unpredictable! A creature of whim with a passion for stories about female empowerment. I find it hard to recommend where to start with reading my books because they are quite different from each other. I’d suggest checking out the blurbs and being guided by what appeals to you.

Who were/are your literary heroes/influences?

SO many! But to narrow it down: D H Lawrence, Carlos Castaneda, A. C Clarke, Octavia Butler, T. H White, Anya Seton, Sigrid Undset, Ian Macdonald.

Where did the inspiration for the Peacemaker/Mythmaker series spring from?

I grew up on a diet of Zane Grey novels, so it was really just a matter of time before I wrote my own style of Western. Naturally it was going to have strong speculative elements. I couldn’t help myself. And setting it in Australia feels right. It was based on a short story I wrote a few years ago that was published by Cat Sparks, and later reprinted by Fablecroft.

You write across several different genres – what do you like most about each of them?

SFF is extremely liberating. I feel like I can let my imagination go wild when I’m writing it; whereas, contemporary crime is kind of soothing and fun. However, the more I write, the harder it gets to write without being dissatisfied. I’m always searching for the perfect expression of the idea. Nothing ever seems good enough.

Name five fictional characters you’d invite over for coffee and cake?

Nicole Wakefield (Rama series), Ash (Mary Gentle), Divine Endurance (the cat), Nxynissa (God’s War – Kameron Hurley), DI Steel (Stuart Macbride)

Twelfth Planet Press is bringing out your Tara Sharp series – how did that come about?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alisa before on my short story collection, Glitter Rose; so we’ve been keeping an eye out for another project. When Allen and Unwin passed on the next Tara Sharp book, I hoped it might fit with TPP’s new Deadlines imprint. They already publish Livia Day, and I thought Tara Sharp worked well with that. Fortunately, Alisa did too!

What first drew you to writing?

Reading. But also… I wanted to write since I was so young, it feels a little bit like it was in my DNA. My sister writes, so does my brother, so did my grandfather.

You’ve got an extremely active website community – how did you go about building that up?

Time and commitment.  It’s fun mostly, so that helps. I now have a group of great reviewers and bloggers who help me out. I couldn’t do it without them. We’re all committed to books and reading. They are very talented, but most of all they are consistent. It’s an important quality in a writer! 

What’s your favourite story – short or long form – ever and why?

Absolutely cannot answer that.

What’s next for Marianne De Pierres?

In the works is a SF thriller entitled PHARMAKON (part of my current university studies), book 4 of the Tara Sharp series, a picture book, and a SF screenplay. When I get a chance to create something new, I’m dying to work on a TV series.

Marianne de Pierres is the recipient of a 2014 Curtin University Distinguished Alumni award for significant and valuable contributions society. This award was given on the basis of her feminist science fiction. She is author of the award-winning Sentients of Orion and Peacemaker series. Her young adult Night Creatures trilogy was on the recommended reading lists for both the Stella Prize and the Victoria Premier’s Literary Award. Marianne also writes award-winning humorous crime under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt. She is a writing educator, a proponent of New Media, and has been involved in several successful creative partnerships.

Hello, Norma

And our hon mention in the Norma K. Hemming Award (for The Female Factory) arrived in yesterday’s mail. Now to find a spot for it.

KSP Writers’ Centre 2015 Young Writers Residency

The closing date for the KSP Writers’ Centre 2015 Young Writers paid 10-day Residency has been extended to 5pm Friday 28 August 2015. Three positions are available. Talented writers under 25 years should apply for this unique opportunity. More details and application form here.

Spread the word!!

Uncorrected proofs squeees!

Few things are nicer than coming home to find something as lovely as this in the mail: my uncorrected proof of Of Sorrow and Such!!

The real thing is out at the start of October – you can pre-order here, using the Amazon and Barnes and Noble outlets.

Thanks to the most excellent novella team at Tor.com!

To Russia with Love and translation!

http://darkermagazine.ru/page/otkuda-...

My first ever translation into Russian!

Darker Magazine, Russia’s biggest horror e-zine, has a translation of my tale “Rising, Not Dreaming”, which first appeared in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Innsmouth Free Press a few years back and was reprinted in Steve Jones’ Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth.

Go here!

Flight – colours!

And now we’re getting to the colouring things in part of the process! When I say “we’re”, I mean Kathleen is doing all the work and I’m sitting back saying “More green, less red; insufficient mauve!”

Fablecroft’s Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction

Fablecroft have released the ToC for their Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction and I’m happy to say that “St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls” is getting another outing, and in very good company too!

St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls by Angela Slatter

Wine, Women and Stars by Thoraiya Dyer

Vanilla by Dirk Flinthart

The Legend Trap by Sean Williams

The Seventh Relic by Cat Sparks

Death’s Door Café by Kaaron Warren

The Ghost of Hephaestus by Charlotte Nash

The Executioner Goes Home by Deborah Biancotti

Signature by Faith Mudge

Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Shadows of the Lonely Dead by Alan Baxter

It will be available in September in e-booky formats.

Cate Gardner and The Bureau of Them

Cate Gardner is a British horror and fantastical author with over a hundred short stories published. Several of those stories appear in her collection Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits (Strange Publications 2010). She is also the author of  five novellas: Theatre of Curious Acts (Hadley Rille Books, 2011), Barbed Wire Hearts (Delirium Books, 2011), In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair (Alchemy Press, 2013), This Foolish & Harmful Delight (Egaeus Press, 2013) and The Bureau of Them (Spectral Press, 2015).

Her chapbooks Nowhere Hall (Spectral Press 2011) and The Sour Aftertaste of Olive Lemon (Bucket ‘O’ Guts Press 2009) have now sold out, and she is currently working on a novel.

Her forthcoming novella, The Bureau of Them, is stunning and devastating and terrifying and haunting. I should know: I wrote the Introduction. I said stuff like “The Bureau of Them is Pure Horror in the best sense: it arouses fear, dread, sometimes disgust and shock … but, driven as it is by Cate’s beautiful prose and precise vision leavened with black humour, you find you don’t want to turn away. You are frequently seized and held captive by dread anticipation, but you never turn away. This novella is all the more terrifying because it feels real, possible, because the landscape is populated by the sad, the angry, the pitiful, the vengeful, the impatient … the recognisable.”

Today, Miz Cate answers a few questions about The Bureau of Them in particular and writing in general.

What do new readers need to know about Cate Gardner?

Despite what you are about to read, she doesn’t like to talk about herself, at least not in a serious sense.

What was the inspiration for The Bureau of Them?

A couple of things. There’s an old abandoned building near the waterfront, which I used to pass by on my way home from work. It’s coated in layers of dust and is very unspectacular. We have so many beautiful buildings in Liverpool and the fact that this ugly grey thing isn’t striking actually drew me to it. People have written in the dust on the windows and that set my mind to wondering if they left messages for people inside. Which they don’t of course. At least, I hope they don’t. I’m glad I don’t walk that way home anymore. The other half of my inspiration was my other half. The fear of losing him.

How did you connect with Spectral Press for this novella?

Fluke. I posted something on Facebook about having finished a novella and Simon Marshall-Jones said to send it along for him to read and that was pretty much that. A bit like cheating really.

When did you first start writing and what made you want to do so?

Forever ago or in human terms about twenty-three years. As a teenager, my friends and I wrote really bad songs and I played really bad tunes on a guitar (I’m tone deaf). Then, in my early twenties, when my friends had all disappeared into relationships, I started to write really bad poetry. There’s a theme here. Then, about twenty-three years ago (which I consider the start of my life as a writer) I switched from poetry to short stories. I’m not certain what made me want to start writing, but I know that loneliness had a little to do with it. I am so full of angst.

In general, who and/or what are your writing influences?

Hitchcock, for the suspense. Lemony Snicket, for the madness. Enid Blyton and her Faraway Tree books for their tales of wonder and strangeness. Joss Whedon for the dark humour and for Spike. And, at the moment, Adam Nevill for his efforts to turn my hair white.

What’s your favourite horror story ever?

Oh, this is a toughie. Goes away and thinks about it. I want to say Westlake Soul by Rio Youers because that is my favourite book but it’s not really a horror story, I suppose. Goes away again. I will have to plump for a new one (to me) “Sredni Vashtar” by Saki, which I have only heard (told by the wonderful Tom Baker) rather than read. It’s quietly brilliant and very ghastly.

How does The Bureau of Them differ from your previous work?

It’s the first time (that I recall) that I have set a story in my home city, Liverpool. Parts of a previous novella where set in places I knew, but they are never officially named. I’d also say there isn’t any humour, which I often try to inject into stories. Mostly, this story differs because it is set very much in our world. I’d also say it’s the beginning of my ‘grief period’.

Who is your favourite villain in fiction?

I’ve mentioned him before. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Such a fabulous character. Everybody loves Spike.

Who is your favourite heroine/hero in fiction?

Windsor Horne Lockwood III. He’s more of an anti-hero but is totally kick ass. He appears in Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar books.

What is next for Cate Gardner?

I have a novelette forthcoming in the next issue of Black Static. Very excited about that. Like The Bureau of Them it deals with grief. I’m also exploring the same theme (and want done with it after this next project) in a novel that I’ve just started. This is going to be a toughie to write as I will be drawing a lot on personal experience.

 

 

Pulp Fiction’s 20th Birthday Celebration Sale!

My fave bookshop anywhere in the world is Pulp Fiction – and the store is celebrating its 20th Birthday with a sale.

There’s 20% of all stock, some lucky draws AND cake. So, go on in and support the finest independent bookstore in the land! And spread the word! If you’ve a birthday coming up, tell your family where they should go in the nicest possible way.

They’re in their nice new digs at Shop 4, Level 1 Blocksidge & Ferguson Building Arcade, 144 Adelaide St, Brisbane QLD 4000.