Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 39

What makes a scifi world seem real?

My husband doesn't like fantasy. When we were dating he always told me he liked his science fiction real, with convincing science and logic holding its strange new worlds together - be they ours or alien planets in the future. So why does he love Game of Thrones? I think it's because the social science is so convincingly portrayed. The history hangs together. The characters act according to their nature, or else reveal their nature convincingly through action.

And what makes me enjoy science f...

How do you build the world you already live in?

The first time I met the term "World-building" I wondered what it meant. I play lots of board games with my sons, so perhaps world-building meant the art of setting up rules so a game wouldn't be too easily lost or won. I watched my sons play lots of computer games and wondered if world-building was the writing of long lines of computer code to model the buildings, hills and roads. I read a lot of science fiction too. Is world-building the task of adding science to imagination so a new world...

When is a book just for kids?

As a child, I hated fairy tales. I'm not sure why. I loved my brothers' books of adventure stories. I even volunteered to clean my older brother's room so I could read his classics while dusting his bookshelf. But offer me the Snow Queen and I'd run a mile. Alice just felt wrong. Snow White might as well have been Red, but she certainly wouldn't be read by me.

As a young teen, I hated hearing the Hobbit read aloud to class. I therefore refused to read Lord of the Rings. I cleaned my parents' b...

Where do books go when they die?

Ah, the scent of the used book store. Charing Cross Road in London is filled with noise, people, traffic... and books. There's the famous Foyles for the bright and new, a reminder that books are alive and vibrant and fun. Then there are the used book stores, with their peculiar, wonderful scent, and their peculiarly wonderful assortment of fascinating literature. Used, perhaps; rejected even; but these books most surely aren't dead.

Closer to home, Oregon has  Powells, where new and old b...

What do you do when you're asked to review?

I've read and reviewed books by A. J. York before. I know roughly how long they'll be. I know I'll enjoy the storylines, and I know A. J. York's very English voice will appeal to my English heritage. When I receive an email from her asking for another review, it's not hard to say yes. After all, this will be a quick, short, thoroughly enjoyable read, and I'll fit it in between my other commitments... eventually. Ms York is always very willing to wait, which helps a lot, since my other commitm...

What books would you take on vacation?

I went to England to spend time with family, and, of course, I carried some books in my case. I did also take a tablet computer pre-loaded with kindle and kobo reads (plus a few pdfs), but I'm still neurotic about running out of battery power in the middle of nowhere. Real books, though heavy, do have the advantage that they don't need to plugged in on the plane. So... what did I take?

I didn't take I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes because it's too big and heavy, but I did read it during my tr...

One day you might hear him!

It really doesn't seem so long since I wrote a blogpost about "The Best Singer you might never hear," Liam was a finalist in Britain's Got Talent, and his soprano voice was just incredible. Then he became an alto with an amazing range, and still his voice changed. Record producers didn't want to know - they just told him to come back when his voice had broken. But Liam breaks records. His voice never broke and he's always been able to sing. Now, aged 19, he's an amazing tenor, studying at a p...

Do you prefer long books, split books, or short books?

I was searching the bookstore for something to read on a journey. Not too long, I thought, as it would be a pain to carry. (Yeah I know, I could have taken a kindle, but the battery might have run out.) Not too short, or I'd finish it too soon. And not one of those unfinished, wait-for-the-sequel type books or I'd just get annoyed. So what would you choose? And why was the bookstore suddenly full of delightfully huge and enticing tomes that wouldn't possibly fit in my handbag?

So what did I re...

Would you read romantic suspense with dragons?

My brother used to ask why anyone would read science fiction. It's about people and worlds that don't exist and probably never will. Why should anyone care?

For myself, I used to wonder why anyone read romance. It's about repeated misunderstandings and you always know she'll end up getting the man. Why should anyone care?

Then we grew up. Big brother doesn't read any fiction if he can help it. I guess as a historian he learned that even historical fiction's mostly unreal too. Meanwhile I read p...

Do you need a round tuit to write a non-fiction book ?

I want to write a non-fiction book. Shortly after Christmas I was all excited, knew what it was about, and even had a plan to build it up, chapter by chapter, idea by idea. I'd written myself a nice little schedule, detailing how soon I'd have just enough planned and tested, on all those wonderful beta-testing reading who must surely be out there, eagerly awaiting my next inspiring thought. Then...

I'm honestly not sure what happened then. Time ran off without me perhaps. I slipped into a time...