Newsletter: In the Deep Midwinter
Frosty authors moan
Bargain Books
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Reflections On Hope, And Our Common Humanity
I wrote a short piece on that topic recently. Here’s a quote from it:
“Being at the darkest point does not mean it will be that way forever. Let us hope that, as a species, we can return to the light, and learn to live at peace with one another and everything else we share this beautiful planet with.
As above, so below. As within, so without.”
An Interview (Part Two)
Here’s the second part of an interview I did during the summer.
“Can you share a bit about your writing process? Do you have any rituals or habits that help you get into the sci-fi writing zone?”
I research. A lot. Then I plan, creating a satisfying outline. But I leave enough gaps that I can surprise myself (and the reader) as I write.
“What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are trying to get their first book published?”
Don’t be in a rush. It’s better to rework it until it is amazing. Then you have options to try and tempt an agent/publisher, or go the independent route. The latter is more work, but often more satisfying and financially rewarding. It depends on whether you prefer someone else to invest in you, or if you will invest in your own career. I’m writing a book about this at the moment: From Idea To Item.
“If you could live in any sci-fi universe (besides your own), which one would it be and why?”
John Carpenter’s They Live. Because we already live in that universe without realising it, but then at least there’s a hope that we could expose those who control our lives with lies and propaganda.
“Which classic sci-fi book or movie would you love to see reimagined, and how would you envision it?”
1984. Do an update: 2024. Endless tracking and spying, authoritarianism, destruction of democracy, government-backed genocides, torture, public enforced emotion, endless war. It’s all there already. It’s why I’m standing as an MP: not because I want to be one, but at least to try and protest against the dystopia we are being dragged into.
“Imagine you’re building a crew for a spaceship from scratch. Which three fictional characters (from any universe) would you recruit, and what roles would they play?”
Kai, The last of the Brunnen-G from Lexx. He’d be my head of security. He’s an undead assassin with no emotions, with a brilliant battle song to chant.
Marion Wheeler, SCP Foundation agent, from the brilliant and mind-bending There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm (Sam Hughes). Because when you might face inconceivably alien intelligences, you want the smartest and most forward-looking brain to help you comprehend them.
Zev Bellringer, also from Lexx. Do I need to give a reason? She’s amazing! Warrior, funny, powerful, half-human. (Narrowly beating Rachael Tyrell from Blade Runner, the Nexus-7 replicant; easter egg alert, the AI in Lost Solace is a Level 7 …)
May your days be warm and peaceful,
Karl