Posts Tagged ‘Eating Authors’

Welcome to the first post-Sandy episode of EATING AUTHORS. For those of you who experienced the effects of the storm first hand, you have my deepest condolences. So many people lost so much property, or had large chunks of their lives destroyed or disrupted. Meanwhile the rest of the nation (and beyond) watched helplessly as horrific images danced on their television screens each evening. Yeah, don’t get me started on the Global Warming naysayers. Sigh. As for me and mine, we emerged unscathed, not that I needed further reason to feel blessed.

But let’s put all that behind us. The sun has come out. It’s a new day and we have a great new author with us. I’m referring to Kameron Hurley whose novel God’s War totally blew me away earlier this year. Seriously, I rarely post reviews, but this book was so amazing that I had to make an exception. You can check it out here if you hadn’t already seen it.

Kameron’s work has attracted the attention of much smarter and better read people than me. She’s received nominations for a slew of shiny trophies including the Nebula Award, the British SF Association Award, the James Tiptree Memorial Award, the Locus Award, and others. Last month she published Rapture, the third book in her Bel Dame Apocrypha. Remember that title; you’re going to be seeing it on a lot of award ballots in the coming year.

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Welcome to a soggy Monday morning, as Philadelphia, PA (and much of the US Atlantic Coast) is caught in the grip of the meteorological conflagration that the media has dubbed the FrankenStorm: the juxtaposition of Hurricane Sandy and one or more lower pressure areas coming in from the west. Personally, I’m agog that the sensationalists on television and radio haven’t trotted out their preferred sobriquet and called it the Storm of the Century.

Meanwhile, here at my blog we don’t need hyperbole and fancy graphics to catch your attention because we have the genuine article, a new installment of EATING AUTHORS, none the worse weather. Our guest today is Julie E. Czerneda who won me over when I first encountered her Species Imperative trilogy ( Survival, Migration, and Regeneration). You know how it is when you stumble across a new author and become hooked? That was me a few years ago. I devoured Julie’s work in a nonstop binge that took me through her Stratification trilogy (Reap the Wild Wind, Riders of the Storm, and Rift in the Sky), and then back through her earlier fiction.

In addition to her breathtaking work as a novelist, Julie has edited numerous anthologies and has earned a reputation for her work in developing scientific literacy using science fiction. Coming early in 2013, she’ll be breaking new ground with a Fantasy novel, A Turn of Light, the first volume of the forthcoming Night’s Edge trilogy.

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Hello, and welcome to another episode of EATING AUTHORS. I’m a bit tired, having just returned from a weekend visit to my graduate alma mater, Kansas State University, my first trip back there in twenty-four years. Wow. Talk about changes! But that’s not why you’re here, though it does provide a nice segue for introducing today’s featured author, none other than Kij Johnson.

I first met Kij in Lawrence, Kansas, when I was a participant in James Gunn’s two-week writers’ workshop. One of the highlights of that time was a wonderful dinner in the KU Faculty Club with Jim, Kij, Chris McKitterick, Frederik Pohl, and Betty Hull. I had pheasant-under-glass (because, you know, it was on the menu and I’d always wondered…).

Back in the day, I knew Kij for her enjoyable adaptations of Japanese mythology. More recently she’s overwhelmed the Science Fiction and Fantasy scene with one brilliant award-winning story after another. “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” won the 2008 World Fantasy Award and was a finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, and Sturgeon (Kij withdrew from this last, because she’s one of the jurors), “Spar” won the 2009 Nebula Award, and was a finalist for the Hugo, Locus, and Sturgeon (and again, Kij withdrew), “Ponies” tied for the 2010 Nebula Award, and most recently “The Man Who Bridged The Mist” won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012 for Best Novella.

Her latest book, out just last month, is At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, which reprints all those award-winning stories, and more. Go get a copy, right now!

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I spent the weekend at Capclave, a very enjoyable convention with a special place in its heart for small press publishing. Good people, good panels, good parties. It really seems a shame for it to end, but Monday has dawned and I’m back home. Of course one thing that makes the transition a bit easier is the weekly installment of EATING AUTHORS.

Our guest today is Steve Bein, whose first novel, Daughter of the Sword, came out less than two weeks ago.

Steve’s publicist has had him on a blog tour since then, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already seen the highlights of his C.V., but for those among you who haven’t let me just say that he holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and teaches Asian philosophy and Asian history, as well as the occasional course in science fiction. He dabbles in various martial arts (more than twenty, or so I’ve heard), enjoys rock climbing, scuba diving, skiing, and apparently most outdoorsy activities. He’s probably been up for hours doing something athletic before this post even appeared on the blog (whereas I am sleeping in, and blaming it on a weekend of convention over-indulgence).

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Welcome back to another Monday session of Eating Authors, the blog segment that tempts your tummy even as it appeals to your need to read… or something like that. Our guest today is author and editor Nick Mamatas who in just a few days will be showing up as a GoH at Capclave, a convention that I plan on attending as well.

Nick’s edited several anthologies, both on his own and accompanied by such folk as Jay Lake and Ellen Datlow. He also put in two years as the editor at the online magazine Clarkesworld (full disclosure: I submitted to that magazine during his tenure there. Nick did not buy my story).

Switching hats, he’s also authored of two collections and three novels, including the recently released Bullettime. And then there are the essays that Nick is famous for, ranging from his discussion of his experiences writing term papers for college students to his book of advice for would-be writers, Starve Better.

He’s also known throughout the internet for his strong and well articulate opinions on the full range of controversial and hot-button topics that keep the web hopping. I find that even when I don’t agree with Nick’s view on something, I can’t help but respect his conviction. So, it’s only natural that I’d want to find out what his most memorable meal was.

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Hello and welcome not only to this blog post, but also to the start of a new week and a new month! I don’t know about you, but I love October; there’s a freshness to the air, the promise of autumnal breezes, the panoply of leaves transforming in such dazzling displays as to make the colorblind weep with incomprehension. And, in the spirit of such portentous starts, today’s Eating Authors segment allows me to introduce you to Tina Connolly who just so happens to have her first novel, Ironskin, coming out tomorrow!

Tina is a graduate of Clarion West. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and when she’s not busy writing (the sequel to her forthcoming book is already scheduled for 2013), she works as a face painter at fairs and local festivals and fairs. She’s also busy with podcasting. You’ve probably heard her voice more than once, as she’s a regular narrator for such classic podcasts as EscapePod and PodCastle. Oh, and she just picked up a Parsec Award for her own flash podcast project, Toasted Cake.

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Regardless of what’s been happening outside your door, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere (and I do) then this past weekend marked the autumnal equinox and the start of a new season. So, welcome to the first Fall installment of Eating Authors, 2012 edition.

Our author today is Gregory A. Wilson, an English Professor in New York City, bravely attempting to teach creative writing and literature at the undergraduate level. In addition to his genre fiction he’s also been known to pen plays and academic texts, but as both of those are a bit outside the scope of this particular blog, I’m going to point you toward his first novel instead, a book entitled The Third Sign.

When not writing novels, Gregory is working the other side of the street as co-host of the popular podcast Speculate! – the Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans (along with fellow author Bradley P. Beaulieu who recalled a meal with us back on May 7th of this year). Maybe after you read about Gregory’s fondly remembered meal you’ll give a click and a listen, or run out and get his book. Because, you won’t just be supporting him, you’ll be helping New York freshmen learn to write!

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And lo, another Monday has dawned, and you’ve found your way back to this blog, and the weekly Eating Author feature. Because what could be a better way to start your week than getting a peek into an author’s gustatory memories? Seriously, if I knew the answer to that, this would be a very different blog.

Our dining companion this week is Jason S. Ridler, who strikes me as the sort of person I wish I’d had teaching the various history classes that I ended up sleeping through back in my youth. In addition to his Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, Dr. Ridler — oh, heck, let’s just call him Jay — has also put in time keeping the grounds at a cemetery, and making his way in the world as a punk rock musician. All these experiences have shaped the author inside the man. But don’t take my word for it. You can sample his short fiction in the collection Knockouts: Ten Tales of Fantasy and Noir, as well as some of his longer work such as his ongoing series of “Spar Battersea Thrillers” that include Con Job, Death Match, and Dice Roll, the last of which was just release this past weekend.

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