Tag Archives: Speculative Fiction Interviews

Say hello to Laurie Boris! She responded to my call for speculative fiction interview participants last week after someone I follow on Twitter let her know about it. I hope you all enjoy reading her responses and getting to know her as much as I did. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. It was fascinating, and so different from the rest of the stories I was reading at the time. 

Who is your favourite author? Why?

That’s always such a difficult question. But in this area, I’d choose Margaret Atwood, not just for The Handmaid’s Tale but for her underrated and underappreciated treasures like Oryx and Crake. I love her imagination and foresight.

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

“What if?” is my usual starting point. The Kitchen Brigade began with a flash fiction story I wrote as a writing exercise for JD Mader’s 2-Minutes-Go, about a group of kitchen slaves plotting to poison their captors. Then that blended with a what-if mashup of Russia’s suspected role in cyberattacks against Crimea and how George Washington’s spies were able to transmit their intelligence. What if the US was attacked and had to live without the electronics and connectivity upon which we’d grown so dependent? And I went off from there.

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

I love it! I don’t know if that’s because I personally like blending and changing genres, but I like the creativity coming out of the cross-genre work, especially among indie authors.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

I try not to make my characters do things that aren’t organic to them. In my experience, forcing a character into anything almost always backfires and almost always results in the motivations sounding false.

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

I have absolutely no desire to visit the world of The Hunger Games. May the odds ever be in your favor.

What fictional world would you want to visit?

Dune. Just so I could see a sandworm. I read the original books while commuting on Boston’s Green Line, and the creaky subway cars coming out of their tunnels always made me think of sandworms.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

Ack! Warn me first! Seriously, you can’t stop people from talking or sharing, but if a book or movie has been out for a while, it’s on me if I see/hear a spoiler.

What is your favourite trope?

I’m fascinated by human nature and how we learn/don’t learn how to interact with people different from ourselves, and what results from that. I like to see a broken character seeking redemption in nearly any book I read or write, and this crosses over to my preferences in speculative and science fiction. I’m drawn to first contacts, countries occupied during wars, and how humans cope with losing their power or status. Like nearly all schoolchildren in America, I was introduced to Brave New World and 1984, and while the bleak ending of 1984 infuriated me (spoiler alert! ☺ ) I like the trope of the one meek person who figures out what’s going on then tries to destroy the system.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

Because others have done it so well (and I do like reading them), I’m not interested in writing about pandemics or post-nuclear apocalypses. Let them have at it!

About Laurie: Laurie Boris has been writing fiction for thirty years and is the award-winning author of eight novels. When she’s not hanging out with the imaginary people in her head, she enjoys baseball, reading, and avoiding housework.

You can learn more about her on Twitter, Facebook, her Amazon author page, and her website. 

Say hello to M.H.! She responded to my call for speculative fiction interview participants last week, and I’m excited to share her answers with you today. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge. I’m really showing my age here – must have been about six at the time. A year or two after that, my parents took me somewhere on the train without a ticket (in those days, under-5s travelled for free), but the ticket inspector caught me reading Alice in Wonderland.

Who is your favourite author? Why?

Oof, that’s a tough decision. I’d say Terry Pratchett overall since he wrote so many books, and I can pick one that matches my reading mood. I enjoy him not so much for his humour, but because of his insight into how people behave. All his people are believable people, as well as being vampires, trolls and so on. Roger Zelazny is also high on my fantasy author list. In contrast to Pratchett, it’s because his larger than life characters appeal to me.

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

I dip into various speculative genres – SF (on the soft side), alternate history, urban fantasy, low fantasy. There are common aspects to all of them. I like seeing the knock-on effects of whatever is different in that world taken to some logical conclusion. That is, “the different thing” isn’t just cosmetic – it affects the story.

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

It’s not always easy to place a book into a genre (I have this problem with my own writing). I like the idea of experimenting – a bit like fusion restaurants – but you’d need to try a specific combination before deciding if you liked it or not. Something to save for when you’re feeling adventurous, maybe. Given how many books are available, there’s scope for all tastes to be catered to, whether meat and two veg or a combination of eclectic ingredients from five continents. Ok, I’ll stop with the food comparisons now!

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

If I had a pet, I might call it Esme (Weatherwax). Why? So I could talk to it and imagine it giving me pithy, unsentimental advice on life in return.

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

Arrakis. Doesn’t seem like a friendly place at all!

What fictional world would you want to visit?

Assuming personal safety wasn’t an issue, I’d like to explore the world of Alan Dean Foster’s Journeys of the Catechist series. It wasn’t the most interesting story I’ve ever read (and I’m sure it’s horribly dated by now), but my curiosity was sparked by the different locations the adventurers pass through.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

I don’t share spoilers since 1. it annoys some people, 2. it feels like there’s little point in talking about a book if your conversation partner hasn’t read it already and 3. I know very few people in real life with similar reading interests to mine. However, I’m not bothered by overhearing spoilers. This might be partly because I only read: I don’t watch TV or films, and it feels like books prompt less discussion in general.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

I don’t think any of my story ideas have had unusual sources of inspiration. Random generators are pretty helpful – cards and lists that you might use in RPGs or collaborative storytelling.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

I love it when my characters start wanting to do their own thing, but I still tell them I’m in charge. It’s not always that easy! There was one specific incident when I was writing A Quiet Rebellion: Posterity. It’s the final book in my trilogy, so I knew the characters pretty well by that point. One character woke me up and told me she was going to kidnap another character. It complicated the plot wonderfully, and (I hope) got me out of a mid-story slump.

What is your favourite trope?

Not exactly a trope, but I love dramatic irony and my characters (most of whom are supposed to be on the same side) getting in each other’s way, with the best of intentions.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

I’m not terribly keen on grand, pre-ordained fates or saving the world. My characters might want to save their little part of the world, but their concerns are largely personal.

About M.H.: M. H. Thaung is a pathologist working in a laboratory in London, UK. It’s been over ten years since she cut up a dead body. She started writing for fun about four years ago, and since then it’s turned into an obsession—er, major hobby. She recently released A Quiet Rebellion: Posterity, the final book in her SF adventure/mannerpunk trilogy.

Website.

Twitter. 

Terry Pratchett fans may be particularly interested in M.H.’s interview with Stephen Briggs. 

Say hello to Chris! she’s someone I’ve known on Twitter for ages, so it was wonderful to receive her submission for my speculative fiction interview series. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

Tetful by Eric

A graphic novel about a werewolf: Tetfol, by the Belgian artist Eric. I was six years old and marked as a paranormal horror fan for life. 

Who is your favourite author? Why?

I don’t really have one. When a story strikes a chord with me, it doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of that author’s work does, too. If ‘favourite’ means ‘most read’, it would be Terry Pratchett, but Michael Crichton, M.N. Seeley, R.H. Hale and Laura Purcell are other authors I greatly admire and whose work I love to read.

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

The darkness within ourselves. I’m not interested in monsters roaming the forest/sea/house when they only exist to scare the main characters. I much prefer the ambiguity of psychological horror and the surrealistic imagery when that is mixed with supernatural elements.

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

I’m a fan, both as a reader and as a writer. Genre conventions exist, but in and of themselves, there is only so much you can do with them. Cross-genre stories can mix those conventions to create fresh twists and tweaks that keep the audience captivated.

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Captain Flint. The pirate, not the parrot! In Treasure Island, Flint is a terrifying shadow whose reach extends beyond the grave, never seen but always present. As a kid, I found that influence more fascinating than Jim Hawkins’ treasure hunt. Then Starz’ TV series Black Sails, which tells the story behind that famed treasure, made Captain Flint one of the most complex, well-rounded and realistic characters ever to appear on screen. 

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

I’d say the future as Orwell’s 1984 describes it, but we’re already in the middle of that…

What fictional world would you want to visit?

Discworld! I feel I’d fit in better there than I do in our society.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

Personally, I don’t mind spoilers. I try not to share any because I know many people hate them, but to me, a spoiler can convince me to give that story a go. The premise alone may not interest me, but when I already know the plot twist (or even the ending), I get curious to learn how the writer(s) structured the plot and the characters towards that end.

Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?

Several people have told me my Kalbrandt Institute Archives series would make a good TV show, haha! But in all seriousness, the first story that immediately came to mind as great TV series is the graphic novel Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. Luckily, more people thought so, and it is currently in production. 

Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

I’d love to read the novelization of Black Sails! That would be a Game of Thrones-sized series, given that the show has the same intricacy and complexity as an epic novel. Few series have that, so for the most part I’m not a fan of adapting written-for-screen stories to page.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

When I create a story, I collect elements that this story needs to tell itself (events, setting, characters, style) and slot them together like a jigsaw puzzle. Most of those jigsaw pieces result from serendipity or plain old research, but some of the more surreal ideas were inspired by psychotic episodes.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

When it does, it means you’ve done a good job with this character and gave them a unique personality that develops as the story does. A side-effect of this is that you may find that the character’s most likely response to a given situation no longer fits the original plot you devised. So, improvise! 

I hold consistency in high regard, so when a character wants to go left instead of right, I adapt the plot accordingly. This often only requires a brief sidestep before they naturally get back with the program, but sometimes their choices influence the entire main plot. That is why I only set the beginning and the end of a book before I start writing: to make room for the unforeseen developments that spice up a story.

What is your favourite trope?

Brooding, tormented male characters searching for redemption. Not for the purpose of redeeming them, but because recreating the blood, hallucinations and anguish that come with drowning in your own nightmares is a big part of the reason I started writing in the first place. 

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

Romantic subplots. I often find those distracting. My characters aren’t virgins and they do have crushes or longterm relationships, but don’t expect them to fall madly in love with each other. They’ve got bigger fish to fry!

About Chris:

Inspired by first-hand experiences, Chris H. Chelser writes supernatural horror about ghosts, history, and the human soul. She lives in the Netherlands with her family, where the demons under the bed keep her company while she works. Her books include Kalbrandt Institute Archives series, her novel The Devourer, various short stories and the upcoming surrealistic novel The Ship That Tried To Sink Itself.

You can find her on www.chchelser.com and on Twitter: @chrischelser. 

Say hello to Leah!  She responded to my call for speculative fiction interview participants a few weeks ago. I hope you all enjoy reading her answers to these questions as much as I did. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

I clearly remember going to my elementary school library and checking out Stephen Cosgrove’s story books. They were standalone stories featuring talking animals like cats, birds, and rabbits, but Cosgrove also wrote about dragons, unicorns, and winged horses.

Who is your favourite author? Why?

Can I cheat and mention more than one? Neil Gaiman, because of his worlds and his championing of writing of all sorts. Laini Taylor for her skill with words and her imagination. Peter S. Beagle, because he wrote the story that turned into a movie that made me fall in love with fantasy.

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

The possibility. There is so much possibility to be found in speculative fiction it makes my head spin. A friend of mine told me he has no patience for fiction because it’s all made up, and while that is true, there’s much more that goes into it: world building, creating the characters, research, For me, it’s like reading someone’s dream.

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

I think it’s great! When an author can successfully blend genres together, creating something you never considered before, that’s an admirable skill. It’s also a good way to find new readers.

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

I’ve grown up with cats so I have cat names. Bagheera from The Jungle Book is one I want to use one day. I heard about a cat called Mister Kindly in a popular series. I’m keeping that name in mind as well. Growing up, sister and I had a cat called Dinah, inspired from Alice in Wonderland. I named my parents’ cat Pouncequick, after a character from Tailchaser’s Song by Tad Williams.

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

Panem from The Hunger Games series. I wouldn’t last one day.

What fictional world would you want to visit?

There are so many! I was reading through one of the past interviews and the person said they would not want to go to any high-fantasy worlds, and I want to visit those ones the most. Narnia. Middle-Earth. The Night Bazaar from The Star-Touched Queen.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

I love spoilers, but I do understand that announcing a major plot point ruins the fun of finding it out for yourself. I don’t reveal unless someone asks.

Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?

Holly Black’s Modern Faerie Tales would be a feast for the eyes if it were ever to be adapted for the screen. Libba Bray’s The Diviners series would be atmospheric, and it with its large cast of characters, would make an excellent TV show.

Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

I’d like to see Penny Dreadful as a series of books. That was a dark, engaging show.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

I’d say the novel I’m working on now. It’s a retelling of a children’s story and a central event that happens to several characters. The idea came to me from a comment someone made on a blog post I wrote. That got me thinking, and it brought back the feelings I had about it as a kid. I started writing it in November of last year and finished the first draft this past April. I’m working on the second draft right now.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

I let it happen. I’m a combination planner/panster in my writing. I have the bones for the idea, and if other things reveal themselves while I’m writing, including a character doing something I didn’t think they would, I write it out.

What is your favourite trope?

Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorites. The characters have to be fleshed out for it to work for me, and if there’s snappy banter involved as well, I’m sold.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

Instalove, since I’m on the subject of romance. I don’t like reading it, so I’m not going to write it. Also, fridging. That’s when a character the protagonist is connected to is killed off to motivate them into action. I think it’s a little lazy.

About Leah:

Leah has always been a bibliophile. An avid fantasy fan, she has been countless hours dreaming of magical worlds. An aspiring author of standalone fantasies, she enjoys traveling, photography, movies, and good chocolate. She lives in California. 

Leah is one of the bloggers at Quite the Novel Idea, She can also be found on Goodreads. 

Welcome, Richard! He was the most recent person to my speculative fiction interview post, and I’m looking forward to sharing his answers with all of you today. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. It was one of the first ‘real’ books I read as a child. Even at that age, I could tell at that point, H.G. didn’t think much of mankind. Even today as I read the news, who could blame him.

Who is your favourite author? Why?

This is the kind of question that will get you a different answer every time you ask me. I have favorite authors for different reasons. So it’s difficult for me to rank one above another. I’ve often mentioned Christopher Moore and Ray Bradbury, but today I think I’ll give a vote for Richard Russo. Whenever I read his books, I experience that common mixture of awe and envy.

He manages to squeeze humor out of everyday people in both subtle and slapstick aspects. That isn’t easy. His books are definitely worth reading for any author looking for examples where character drives humor. And, now that I think of it – I guess they’re not quite under the heading of speculative fiction. Sorry about that.

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

I tend to read fantasy, SciFi, humor, and mystery, especially where the last two are mixed with the first two. I like it when my brain is stimulated, whether it be by challenging my imagination and preconceived notions, or by a clever plot with plausible twists and turns. My selection in entertainment always leans towards escapism. I can be strongly moved by real-life stories, but escapist fare allows me to relax and let down my guards. My mind is more apt to wander along the possibilities of what if?

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

Love it! As I mentioned, mix humor and/or mystery into a SciFi or Fantasy, then lead me to the cash register. I think it’s apt to call it a trend, or better yet a growing trend, since cross-genre stories have been around for quite some time. I immediately think of Isaac Asimov’s Robot Trilogy which featured a human detective learning to work with a robot partner – classic SciFi reflecting on human societal structures. I mentioned Christopher Moore earlier. He can take a mythology, shake it upside down and have you laughing all the way through.

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

I had a cat I named Merlin when I live in Brooklyn. I wasn’t allowed to have pets in our tiny apartment, and I found him when he was a little less than one month old (his mother was hit by a car). So I fed him and gave him a safe place in our small yard. As he grew, he’d have this habit of vanishing for a day or two only to suddenly show up right behind me, much to my surprise and my friends. One of them remarked, I see he’s done his disappearing act again, and so I started calling him Merlin. Two years after, we moved to a house New Jersey and I was allowed to add him to our family. He still did the vanishing thing, and I had to reassure my parents he’d quietly be back in a couple of days.

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

Definitely not Westeros, (Easteros or any of the os’s). Way too violent, filthy and oppressive, which is to say, a legitimately and lovingly crafted Medieval world.

What fictional world would you want to visit?

Tough one, but I think I’ll go with Perelandra. CS Lewis’ version of Eden on Venus. If not there, Asimov’s Solaria (The Naked Sun), as I do enjoy solitude and unpopulated spaces.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

I’m not a fan of sharing spoilers (at the very least don’t make it the headline). However, there is an unknown point when you wonder, is it okay for me to discuss details now? I personally avoid writing them whenever possible, which means I have to spend more time constructing a review that can provide enough information without giving away key elements.

Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?

I wouldn’t want to restrict it to series. One substantial book could make a decent season or even two (e.g. The Handmaid’s Tale). Although in the opposite direction, they squeezed the Earthsea books down into one animation. A good animation, but I wasn’t happy. I would have voted for that. It goes without saying “if done correctly”, but I would love to see Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, or even better, Zelazny’s Nine Princes in Amber. By the way, I heard rumor that his Lord of Light has been optioned.

Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

Ooh. The problem with good series is that they don’t often age well during their run. My mind first jumped to Lost, but then I thought, “Well, maybe the first season.”  So then, let’s go with Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, but with an ending that isn’t rushed by sideswiping notice of cancellation.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

There are two predominant ways ideas come to mind. The first is, I start with a broad concept which will bounce around in my brain for days without details. If enough bits of ideas (notably, plot elements) attach to it, I start to think about it more carefully. For instance, the other day I was thinking, “The most popular superhero stories are in an illustrated format: comic books, graphic novels. I wonder what it would be like to write a straight-up superhero novel.” I know there are quite a number out there, so if I also think of an interesting hook for it, I’m going to put it on my “to write” list. The currently book I’m writing falls into this category. I was thinking about one of my favorite Greek Myths and realized it hasn’t, to my knowledge, been done true to the original tale. I then considered if I could write it as a comedy as well, and off I went.

The second way ideas come about, strangely enough, is a bit of dialog pops into my head. Sometimes it’s a few humorous lines, others a discussion on a deep topic (My Dinner with Atilla the Hun?). I then start to think about the characters and circumstances surrounding this, which leads me to explore those characters more. If I like the complexity of characters (a.k.a. dolls, action-figures) I’m developing, I begin to consider setting and potential plots. It’s definitely a bottom-up process, and is the way I wrote my first book.

Gif description: black and white image of a lightbulb turning on. Black lines appear around it to symbolize the light.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

They know better. It’s their story, so who am I to argue.  Kidding aside, I feel when this happens, it’s your subconscious mind making connections and play-acting on a nonverbal (right-brain?) level, that percolates up to your conscious mind where you realize it does make more sense to go that route.

What is your favourite trope?

The anti-hero. More specifically, the Trickster archetype. Give me a golden-age Bugs Bunny cartoon any day. I’m drawn to Tricksters and love writing their dialog. The best thing, plot-wise, is that they can cause change like the gentle puff of air on a house of cards, or with all the subtlety of a boulder dropped into a koi pond.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

The twist for the sake of a twist. If I’m going to kill off a main character, or a beloved side character, it had better be for a good reason from a storytelling point of view; not as a cheap ploy to shock (yank) the reader. I think Ned Stark in Game of Thrones is a good example of the former. He’s put in the foreground as a main character, but his death both causes a chain of critical events and moves other characters to the foreground.

About Richard

Richard L Pastore is the author of the comedy-fantasy, The Devil and the Wolf (available on Amazon). His newest project is tentatively titled: Perseus Kills His Grandfather.

Born in Brooklyn New York on a sweltering summer’s day. Richard studied Cognitive Psychology in grad school, which led to a career in User Interface Design. He later switched careers to become a Business Analyst. Although having traveled across the U.S. quite a bit, he feels most at home along the eastern shore of these United States, currently residing in New Jersey.

Be forewarned, should you choose to engage him in a conversation regarding anything food-related – whether it be the history of, growing of, or cooking of – he won’t shut up.

Say hello to Patrick Prescott ! He responded to my speculative fiction interview post shortly after it was published, and I’m so pleased to share his answers with you today. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

It was an anthology by Isaac Asimov called Nine Tomorrows. I was thirteen.

Who is your favourite author? Why?

Just one? Harlan Ellison, JRR Tolkien, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, James A. Michener, Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Suzanne, Anne McCaffery, Colleen McCullagh, Tony Roberts, Tom Clancy, Joseph Badal, I could go on ad infinitum. Why, because they caught my interest and held it. All of them have influenced me and my writing.  

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

I’m eclectic reading all genres. I avoid mad slasher, bloody gory horror, but enjoy ghost stories and stories of suspense. When I get tired of action adventure, I’ll turn to historical romance or love stories, then move on to something else that looks like a good story.

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

The more the merrier. Harlan Ellison wrote in so many genres, yet he was fascinating in all of them. Asimov wrote some of the best historical textbooks out there. He has books that explain science in a lay person vocabulary. McCullagh is known for The Thorn Birds, but her First Man in Rome series greatly influenced my first novel Optimus: Praetorian Guard. Tony Roberts writes the Casca books but has two fantasy series of books that are some of the best ever written, and I’m waiting impatiently for the next book in those series, he also has a contemporary series on a female rock star.

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

I have a fifteen-year-old cat named Pippin after Peregrine Took. I rescued him when the Lord of the Rings movies first came out. He is a “Fool of a Took!”

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

Halloween, Friday the 13^th, Whatever world Steven King creates.

What fictional world would you want to visit?

Pern. I want a fire lizard.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

There should be a law, punishable by being lashed with a wet noodle for writing anything about the latest episode of GOT until one week has expired from its airing!

Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?

Dragon Riders of Pern. It’s inexplicable to me that it hasn’t been done. Casca the Eternal Mercenary, now at 50 books. It would great on the History Channel or Sci Fi network. 

Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

Nothing comes to mind since most movies based off of a script are turned into a book after the fact. Asimov wrote the book Fantastic Voyage after the movie came out. Fan fiction took off with Star Wars and Star Trek.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

My novel Vander’s Magic Carpet came from a friend who was a physics professor at UNM. He was giving a speech on cold fusion and super conductivity. He asked me to edit the speech, he speculated that super conductors could be used to make flying cars and cold fusion would be cheap means of fuel. I used his idea on making a flying car, discarded cold fusion and focused on how to market flying vehicles after the fall of the Twin Towers in 2001.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

Each character has its own stream of consciousness. Go with the flow as the creativity comes. Sometimes the characters can get out of hand and later you have to clean up the mess, but that’s better than an empty page.

What is your favourite trope?

In Human Sacrifices I tried to explain the how belief in God follows two paths. Same god, but the choice between a god of death and destruction of a god of forgiveness and love. Ayn Rand used the same trope in Atlas Shrugged only as a philosophy of life or death.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

A character that is pure evil.

About Patrick: I’m a retired English/History educator. When I started writing Optimus: Praetorian Guard I could write over summer breaks but stalled during the school year. It took me ten years. I struck out trying to get a publisher until I found out about Print On Demand. Optimus was published in 2006 using P.M. Prescott. Cost me a fortune buying books and selling them at different bookstores.

I retired a few years later after 27 years of teaching and discovered e-books. I bought the publishing rights and converted Optimus into e-book and started writing full time. I dabbled in adult fiction under the name Javan Tenebrae. Got that out of my system and went to more mainstream as Patrick Prescott: Vander’s Magic Carpet, Human Sacrifices, Fletcher Family Battle Trilogy, Fan Plan Trilogy, Apple of Success, and Cloisonné Heart.

All of the e-books are available on Amazon for free if you have Amazon Unlimited or .99.

In adult e-books Corrupt or Convert was ranked 38^th for a week. In mainstream Vander’s Magic Carpet sold more in the UK market than US for some reason. Optimus has been a consistent seller.

Back then e-readers were new and demand for e-books was high, but now there’s a glut on the market of writers and less demand. Many writers are e-publishing a book a week or month. I’m not that prolific.

Welcome, Berthold! He was the third person to respond to my speculative fiction interview post, and I’m thrilled to share his answers with you today. 

What was the first speculative story you ever remember reading?

A children’s adaptation of a science fiction story called “The Legion of Space.” The original story (which I’ve never read) is by Jack Williamson, and the children’s adaptation is called “Unleashed in Space” by Alexander Steele.

Who is your favourite author? Why?

Oh, that’s hard! There are too many to choose from. I suppose for an all-time great example of speculative fiction, I’d say George Orwell, for 1984 and Animal Farm. I love both because he found such interesting ways of using fiction to comment on human nature and society as he saw it. For current authors, I’m a big fan of Audrey Driscoll’s reimaginings of Lovecraftian ideas. But there are so many great authors out there, I could never list them all.

What do you like most about the genre(s) you read?

Well, I read so many, this could be a long list. I love horror that hints at mysterious forces beyond humanity’s conception, and I love science fiction that examines human behavior and examines how societies are shaped. I also enjoy a good mystery where the big twist is that the cause of the trouble is something supernatural or alien. 

More and more authors seem to be writing cross-genre stories these days. How do you feel about this trend?

I love it. Blending genres creates some great concepts. A good example of this is cyberpunk–it began as a hybrid of two genres, hard-boiled noir detective stories and science fiction, that turned into a new genre of its own. 

If you could name a pet after one character, which character would you choose? Why?

I actually own a cat named “Mighty Cthulhu.” I named him this because my father found him as small kitten, and I thought it was funny to name him after a famous supernatural monster.

What fictional world would you never want to visit?

Oh, most of them, really. I’d certainly never want to go to Fantasy-type worlds–Middle-Earth, Westeros, etc. are out for sure. 

What fictional world would you want to visit?

This is tough. Most fictional worlds have some obvious problems/dangers–they have to, because that is what makes for a compelling story, but it also means you’d have to be very brave to go there. But I think I have one book-world I’d like to live in: Sheila Hurst’s Ocean Echoes. I’m not sure if it counts  since it largely takes place in the real world, but with some science-fiction and fantasy elements. It’s a tough book to categorize, but I’ve seen it referred to as “Magical Realism,” and I think that’s a great description. Hurst’s prose is so dream-like and evocative that when I read it, I feel like I’m transported onto the research ship where most of the story takes place.

Sharing spoilers with people who haven’t read the book or seen the film/show is a hot topic on Twitter and across many fandoms. How do you feel about sharing or overhearing spoilers?

I grapple with this issue often, because I write reviews of lots of things on my blog. I find I can’t write a satisfyingly informative review without discussing every aspect of a story, which typically means spoiling it. I warn readers up front that I’m going to be giving plot spoilers, and then warn them again right before I do. Part of this stems from my own frustration in the past at wanting to find spoilers for a movie, and being unable to because all the reviews were spoiler-free. This is particularly important to me in the case of films/books etc. that contain disturbing content. I recently reviewed a horror film with some very disturbing scenes that were also key to the narrative. I felt like I had to spoil it–with appropriate warnings, of course–just in the interest of making sure people who might be sensitive to such things would be forewarned.

Which series do you think should be made into a TV show or film next?

It’s not a series, but I’d love to see someone try to do an adaptation of the short story “The Repairer of Reputations” by Robert Chambers. Although it would be next to impossible to film it… The “Bobiverse” series, by Dennis Taylor, would also be interesting to see on screen, though I’ve only read the first one so far. Oh, and Carrie Rubin’s books–I’d love to see a film of The Seneca Scourge, for example. And also–okay, I’ll stop; this could get out of hand.

Which TV show or film do you think should be turned into a book?

Oooh, that’s a good one. People rarely think about adaptations going from screen to page. Now that you say it, though; that horror film I mentioned in question 8 (called The Wind) might honestly work better as a book than as a film. So much of it involves what’s going on in the characters’ minds. I admit, so many of the movies I’ve seen are based on books, I’m struggling to come up with more ideas.

Bonus Questions

What is the most unusual or interesting way you’ve come up with an idea for one of your creative works?

Well, maybe the most interesting was the time it felt like I didn’t come up with the idea. For most of my books, the ideas came together very gradually. I would have in mind a hazy, vague concept of what I wanted to do, and then gradually refined it. Usually, it started with “I’d like to do a science fiction adventure, or a conspiracy thriller,” and then slowly built from there. But there was one story that came to me one day, as if by magic, 90% done. Characters, plot structure, everything was just ready to go. In mythology, you’ll sometimes read that people believed Gods or spirits would whisper ideas to them–this felt kind of like that.

Sometimes characters don’t do what their creators want them to do. If this has ever happened to you, how did you deal with it?

Usually when this happens, the character is right. I try to revise the story to accommodate what the character is doing. (Although, I sometimes don’t realize my characters are getting out of control until beta readers point it out to me.)

What is your favourite trope?

Unreliable narrators. To me, there is nothing cooler than gradually realizing I can’t trust everything I’ve been reading/seeing. I love it.

What tropes do you try to avoid in your stories?

There are a lot of tropes related to the portrayal of female characters that I find sexist. These range from the ancient “helpless damsel,” to the “wicked step-mother” archetype for villains, to putting female characters in peril as a cheap hook for a plot. (Most revenge stories do this.) I try to avoid these kinds of tropes in my stories; one, because they annoy me when I see them in other fiction, and two, as a male writing about female characters, I try to make sure I don’t get lazy and fall back on tired cliches.  

About: Berthold Gambrel is an author and blogger. You can find his blog here: https://ruinedchapel.com.