Posts Tagged ‘Eating Authors’

For the last 20 years or so, I’ve always gotten a bit anxious in the days leading up to Independence Day (those of you living outside the USA, be advised I’m referring to the American event known locally as “the 4th of July”). As you may know, I live in the greater Philadelphia area, considered by some as the birthplace of the nation (we’ve got this bell, see…). Every year as this holiday draws nigh, I find myself thinking that if I wanted to make an anti-American statement, it would happen on this date and in this city, and then I start wondering where I should be spending the weekend, far far from here.

Of course, I’m setting up this week’s entry a bit in advance of the holiday, so if you’re reading this and something dire has come to pass, well, damn. Sorry. On the other hand, if this is just another Monday as usual, then great. Let’s proceed to the main event here at EATING AUTHORS and this week’s guest, Marshall Ryan Maresca.

I first met Marshall back in February when we were both snowed in at attending Boskone. His first novel, The Thorn of Dentonhill, had just been published and it was great fun to spend a portion of the convention just introducing him to lots and lots of people. But the life of a new author is not all panels and barconning, oh no. Marshall has been busy. The second book in his Maradaine Constabulary series, A Murder of Mages, comes out tomorrow! Hmm… we could be looking at a long-running series here!

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And lo, we’ve nearly reached the end of the month, roughly the halfway point of 2015. Looking back over the past six months, I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the year so far, and looking forward I see even more exciting adventures on the horizon. Hoping you are the same.

Meanwhile, it’s another Monday, and one of my favorite ways to start the week is by telling you about an author that may be new to you but shouldn’t be. Michael Hodges has been writing short fiction for years, publishing in venues such as Penumbra Magazine and Perihelion SF.

Michael recently saw his first novel, The Puller, released by the fine folk at Severed Press. On a related note, the book’s already been optioned for a film, so run off and read it quickly before the movie comes out.

Michael dwells in the greater Chicago area, but his soul haunts the Northern Rockies.

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This week’s EATING AUTHORS guest is the kind of person I like to describe as a three-sided coin. Mike Allen may be known to you as one of the top speculative poets in the business, which probably goes a long way to explaining his three Rhysling Awards. Then there’s his skills as an editor, having created the poetry journal Mythic Delirium as well as the Clockwork Phoenix: Tales of Beauty and Strangeness anthology series. Somewhere in there he’s also found the time to write some prose. He’s been previously nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Short Story (and his recent collection, Unseaming, a Shirley Jackson Award finalist, makes that point very clear) and he’s no stranger to longer lengths, (e.g., his novel The Black Fire Concerto).

Like most three-side coins, odd things happen when you flip him. But don’t take my word for it, after you’ve read his account below why don’t you go and check out some of his work and see for yourself?

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I saw my first firefly of the year a couple evenings ago, which for me marks the real start of summer (forget Memorial Day or the solstice, I’m here to tell you, it’s all about the fireflies). Signs. Signs and portents. Which is about as good as I’m going to be able to manage for a segue to introduce you to Stephanie Feldman, my guest this week here at EATING AUTHORS, whose first novel, The Angel of Losses won the William L. Crawford Fantasy Award earlier this year. And, if that’s not enough for you, it was also a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, as well as landing on the Washington Post’s Five Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Books of 2014.

Stephanie continues the glorious tradition of awesome authors living in the greater Philadelphia area (seriously, there must be something in the water here). For reasons that I cannot begin to comprehend, I’ve not seen a lot of buzz about this book, and so please believe me when I tell you that it is nothing short of incredible and seriously, why haven’t you clicked the cover image below and already ordered a copy? By the way, the paperback version of her book comes out a week from tomorrow, so you’re really running out of excuses.

Oh, and one final plug (in case you’re live in or plan to be in Philadelphia), in celebration of the paperback release, Stephanie will be appearing at a local Barnes & Noble (1805 Walnut Street, Philadelphia) alongside novelists Daniel Torday and Cecily Wong. It’s all taking place on Wednesday, June 24th, starting at 7pm. The word on the street is that Geekadelphia will be there running a trivia quiz. Expect readings, prizes, and possibly even (gasp!) cupcakes.

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In the US, it’s Memorial Day, considered by many to be the “official” start of summer. In the FSF community it’s also the end of arguably the busiest convention weekend on the calendar. I was only able to sneak away to one day of a convention on Saturday, owing in large part to my heading up to Book Expo America & Bookcon in a couple days, and the Nebula Awards shortly after that. Coast to coast, I hope to catch my breath by the second week of June.

Meanwhile though, here at EATING AUTHORS, we interrupt this year’s series of meals from Campbell Nominees to bring you a visit from editor-turned-novelist Lou Anders. He appears to have always been drawn to words, having worked as a playwright, a journalist, a screenwriter, and an editorial director and art director in publishing (winning both the Hugo and Chesley awards for that last one).

You might have heard the old joke that many actors really want to direct. I suspect that a corollary to that is that many editors really want to write. And so I’m pleased to tell you that the paperback edition of Frostborn, Lou’s first novel, comes out tomorrow. And in less than two months you’ll be able to pick up a copy of the sequel, Nightborn as well.

Before that though, let’s find out about his most memorable meal.

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The EATING AUTHORS blog feature has been running for about three and a half years now. Sometimes, when I reach out to an author everything falls instantly into place. Other times — and this is far and away the more typical situation — the author’s schedule is jammed with commitments, deadlines, travel, and other obligations such that we may spend months playing email tag. And then, once I have the author’s most memorable meal in the can (so to speak), it can be quite the ordeal to find a spot in the calendar to actually post it.

I mention these behind-the-scenes issues because this week’s guest, Sherwood Smith, very graciously provided the following meal back in early February and I’m only getting to sharing it with you now. That’s on me, and I am heartily embarrassed that it’s taken so long to fit it into the schedule. But Sherwood’s a pro, and she understands that despite the best intentions, stuff happens.

And I think you’ll agree that it’s been worth the wait, because Sherwood’s been a finalist for the Nebula Award, as well as the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. She’s co-written books with Andre Norton, written several new books in the tradition and world of Frank Baum’s Oz, published work under three pseudonyms, tried her hand at media tie-in novels, and best of all blown away readers with the many volumes she’s set on the world of Sartorias-deles. If you’re not already familiar with her work, click any of the covers below to immediately correct this oversight!

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And lo, it is May. The trees around my home are in full flower, the air full of pollen. I’m still feeling a bit worn out from the events of a convention that’s now more than a week in the past, and trying to prepare for a cross-country trip that’s coming up all too fast. In writing news, the ARCs of Barsk have landed, so in due course I’ll begin making myself anxious about reviews, but in the meantime I’ve gone through the MS line by line and sent in my corrections. For the next day or so I get to feel virtuous.

Meanwhile, it’s another Monday, and visiting EATING AUTHORS this week is Stephanie Saulter. Stephanie was born in Jamaica, completed her schooling in the US, and currently resides in the UK. Probably through no coincidence, her ®Evolution trilogy is set in a near-future London. Book two is entitled Binary, and comes out tomorrow in the US. The third book, Regeneration will be available in the UK this summer.

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As you read this on Monday morning, I’ve just returned from a long weekend as a special GOH of a convention. It was great fun, but thoroughly exhausting. So, it’s kind of wonderful to come back home and pause here to introduce this week’s EATING AUTHORS guest, M. Darusha Wehm, particularly as her first novel, Children of Arkadia, described as a political space station epic, comes out tomorrow from Bundoran Press.

I confess, I don’t know Darusha well. She’s from Canada, but currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand (and yes, there’s been a lot of NZ here in recent weeks), after spending the past several years traveling at sea on her sailboat. She’s a three-time Parsec Award finalist, and in 2012 she was shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award.

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