Lawrence M. Schoen

Back in March, I traveled to Seattle to attend Norwescon (my first time at that convention). I did a reading of Barsk and afterwards stood in the hallway outside the room chatting with one of the folks who had attended, an agent I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for a few years. As we leaned against the wall talking, a man hovered nearby, listening in and waiting for an opportune time to insert himself into the conversation. That man turned out to be this week’s guest, Ben Reeder. And make no mistake, he was a welcome addition to the conversation. The three of us ended up abandoning the hallway and finding a small table where we could sit and continue our chat for the better part of an hour.

Ben’s probably best known for his Demon Apprentice series and Zompoc Survivor series, each currently holding steady at three books but given the demand of his readers I don’t doubt he’ll return to one or both of them in time. More recently though he’s been breaking new ground, trading in the undead for nephillim, so he may need a while before going back. It’s a win for us either way!

I should also note that Ben’s appearance here marks a change in policy for EATING AUTHORS. He’s the first of what I’m sure will be many other Indie authors dropping by to share their meals.

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Just a couple months ago I was in Dallas for a convention and I found myself on a panel with this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, Rhonda Eudaly, a longtime author with Selina Rosen’s Yard Dog Press, one of the first small presses I ever encountered back in the day. Rhonda was fun and witty and eloquent, and after the panel I asked her if she’d come share a meal with the readers.

Before she does so, I should give you a little background. Although she’s branched out into novel writing with last summer’s Tarbox Station, you’re more apt to recognize her name from her long list of short fiction sales that have spanned an array of markets and anthologies, as well as several compilations. Perhaps most significantly though, she’s one of the The Four Redheads of the Apocalypse, and nothing I add could ever top that.

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Welcome to the first Monday in April, which means that the Nebula voting is all over and now a small group of authors can only sit and wait for the results (well, sure, we can write too, and we should, but you know what I mean). I hate waiting, but in a show of solidarity (or something or other), this week’s guest is Fonda Lee, whose debut novel Zeroboxer put her on the short list for the Norton Award (alongside past EATING AUTHORS visitors like Fran Wilde and Tina Connolly). Presumably, she’s waiting too.

Fonda is a transplanted Canadian who now resides in Portland, OR. She’s following up on the promise of her first novel with a second (still unnamed) YA book in which a teenaged, bio-enhanced soldier attempts to save the world, all while combatting an extremist group striving to overthrow the alien regime governing Earth. You know, as one does. It’s already been acquired by Scholastic; mark it on your calendar to get a copy in 2017.

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I’m writing this the weekend before it posts because I’m out in the Pacific Northwest attending Norwescon, and come Monday while I will no longer be in Seattle, I’ll still be out west, having moved some three hours or so south to Portland where I’m doing a book event at Powell’s. We’ll see if I get to sign the sacred pillar (and cross off another square on my author bingo card).

In the meantime, let me tell you about this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, Kevin Hearne. I’ve actually been attempting to lure Kevin to this blog for a while now, but it never fit his schedule. Then he went off and read Barsk and began posting very flattering remarks about it to social media. Being no fool, I took advantage of his sudden infatuation to recruit him, and his most memorable meal appears below.

But what else to tell you about Kevin? You surely are already familiar with his Iron Druid Chronicles (number eight in the series, Staked, was released just two months ago), and about this time last year, he also released a well received Star Wars novel, Heir to the Jedi.

I’m pretty certain that Kevin and I have never met. We keep just missing one another as we both bounce around the country for promotional purposes, but if there’s anything to the notion of regression toward the mean it’s only a matter of time until we smack into each other in person. Until that time, here’s his meal.

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More and more it seems to me that, as I write the introductions for each week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, I’m doing so from the road. That impression is particularly strong today because I recently had dinner with Patrice Sarath a few week’s ago when I was in Dallas, Texas, and because I’m writing this from a hotel room in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Then again, it could all be a side effect of a bit of altitude sickness. Who can say?

But let’s shift focus to more important things, and talk about Patrice. In addition to being a delightful dining companion, she’s the author of the Books of Gordath (Gordath Wood, Red Gold Bridge, and The Crow God’s Girl) trilogy, with a fourth book planned.

Her most recent novel, The Unexpected Miss Bennet, is a solid jump away from the fantasy elements of Gordath and into the romance genre. It’s a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Taking on such a classic is a pretty daring thing, which probably tells you more about Patrice than I ever could.

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The middle of March is a strange time. Locally, we seem to be grappling with a daily question of whether spring has arrived early (as in 80 degree weather this past Friday) or winter is hanging in there (40 degree low Saturday night). If you’re a basketball fan (and I’m not), there’s the whole March Madness coming up. And if you’re a science fiction author, then you’re painfully aware that we’re midway through both voting for the Nebula Awards and submitting nominations for the Hugos. Speaking as someone who’s been nominated for the former and is hoping that translates into a nomination for the latter too, March is a time of no small anxiety.

Fortunately, EATING AUTHORS is here to provide some much needed distraction, and so let me introduce you to this week’s guest, Kelly Swails, a writer who last January transformed from the writer of a couple dozen short stories into a novelist with the release of This May Go on Your Permanent Record from Silence in the Library Publishing. The premise is a premiere novel’s dream, including computer hacking, super smart youth, and plans for world domination. Best of all, it’s only the first in a promised series!

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Every now and then, several of the things that push my buttons come together, such as showcasing an author here on the occasion of their first novel, or highlighting another author who’s an alum of the Taos Toolbox Master Class, or pointing at a book from a small press. This week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, Larry Hodges, hits the trifecta. He climbed the mountain in New Mexico years ahead of me, and his first novel releases tomorrow from World Weaver Press.

As you’ll discover shortly from his recounting of his most memorable meal, Larry has a level of notoriety that few can claim; he is a major figure (if not the major figure) in the world of American Table Tennis. Not content to simply be a champion at the sport, he’s literally written the book (actually, several of them) on the topic. In addition he’s penned more than 1500 articles and another 1000+ blog entires, coached Olympic players, founded a national organization, and edited a nationwide magazine. And while I’ve not had the privilege of watching him in action, rumor is he has a killer serve and a wicked backhand.

He’s also got a pretty good sense of humor too.

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