Welcome back to our Boskone 56 Mini Interview series! Happy Monday! And to those of you who are from New Englands, I want to extend an EXTRA Happy Monday to all of you 😉 Let’s start this week of with some interviews with William Hayashi, Sarah Smith and Jeffrey A. Carver!
William Hayashi
William Hayashi is an author, award-winning screenwriter, film producer, and host of the Genesis Science Fiction Radio Show. He has published a number of novels and short stories, and his first four movie scripts were made into films. His seminal work was The Darkside Trilogy, telling the story of what happens in the U.S. when African Americans are discovered secretly living on the backside of the moon since before Neil Armstrong arrived. His followup to Darkside is The Archangel-X Trilogy which continues the story of Darkside several years later.
Visit William on his Facebook, Twitter, and Website!
With many conventions to choose from and limited time in your schedule, what attracts you to Boskone?
The first feature of this convention that resonates especially with me is the comprehensive program that the committee manages to put together year after year.
If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”
Thinking back so many years and thousands of books ago I think it was reading Frank Herbert’s Dune for the first time. The scope of the store, the futuristic aspects, the complexity of the plot, and the incorporation of political intrigue was something I had not found in any other book, let alone a series, before.
What is your favorite memory of a fan interaction at a convention? It could be you as a pro interacting with one of your fans or you as a fan meeting someone you admire.
I was in conversation with several people at Boskone 54 and heard someone call out my name behind me. It was a woman I did not know who wanted to compliment me on the moderation I did at Boskone and WorldCon for the AfroFuturism panels at both conventions. She stated that whatever panels I was on, she was going to be sure to attend.
Can you share some details about upcoming projects or what you’re working on now? Do you have releases in 2019 that readers should look for?
I am in the last stages of completing a second series, The Archangel-X Trilogy, consisting of volumes Quarantine, Enmity, and Enlightenment, to be released all at once in the first or second quarter of 2019. I also have a Young Adult novel that will follow, hopefully, by the Labor Day holiday. In July, two literary organizations in Portland, Oregon are putting together a weekend’s worth of programs with me as the headliner. I will be discussing my work, world building, character construction, and several aspects of crafting compelling stories.
Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith writes things, including an Edwardian mystery series. She’s working on a fantasy set in an alternate 19C Brazil. For fun she fixes Victorian things, IRL she works in online education. For fun, virtual chocolate, and short stories, visit www.sarahsmith.com, FB and Twitter sarahwriter
Visit Sarah on her Facebook, Twitter, Website, Pinterest, and Instagram!
In 10 words or less, how would you recommend Boskone to a friend or fan?
SF in the snow–pros, programming, fine art, friends.
If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”
The very first book I consciously fell in love with was T.H. White’s MISTRESS MASHAM’S REPOSE. I was at my aunt’s, the only child at a party, and found it on her bookshelves. I fell entirely into the book–that strange, postwar-Victorian world of Malplaquet; Maria, doughty heroine in her boots and glasses; the villainous Vicar and Mrs. Brown; the Professor; Mrs. Nokes, riding her bicycle down the halls of the gigantic house; the dog, Captain; and, of course, the Lilliputians. All of them beautifully brought to life, with grownup jokes and adventure and perfect illustrations by Fritz Eichenberg.
I wouldn’t go home until she let me borrow it. (She gave it to me, wise woman. I still have it.)
So the book I’m always looking for is the one that’s better written than it needs to be; where the characters are in trouble, yearning for something better, something just and fair and kind; a book set in a strange world that feels like home. Usually that book is fantasy or historical fiction. It’s not always a kind world but it’s unique, and the characters are passionate people fighting for high stakes. Jo Walton’s FARTHING, THE HUNGER GAMES, Harry Potter, Ysabeau Wilce’s FLORA SEGUNDA, any Miles Vorkosigan book–I think the first one I read was was “The Mountains of Mourning”–Brian Selznick’s THE ADVENTURES OF HUGO CABRET (and the movie too), Malka Older’s Centenal books, Barbara Hambly’s DRAGONSBANE and the Benjamin January books, anything by Angela Carter. Mikhail Bulgakov’s THE MASTER AND MARGARITA….So many books to love. Most recently Robin Sloan’s MR PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE.
They say you can find hints of creators in their work. Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. most closely resembles you? Why?
(Insert standard “They’re all me” here.) Like Alexander von Reisden, I had a very difficult relationship with my family of origin. Like Perdita Halley, I have/had a disability: she’s legally blind, I had a severe speech defect. Like Joe Roper, I was a graduate student on a working-class budget. But the one that most closely resembles me? Law Walker in THE OTHER SIDE OF DARK. Not because I’m a rich mixed-race teenager, or because his father is a bully (though I’ve been there). He and I are both huge fans of old architecture.
There’s a moment when Law looks into the chimney closet of an eighteenth-century house and realizes that the other wall of the closet is the fireplace of another room; the whole house turns inside out for him, he understands how it works, the house in its garden; he stands at the center of it and his understanding radiates out, and he knows he’s never going to be bored again. Me. I did that first.
It’s not as though characters *are* you; rather, something in their experience is like something in your experience, and it starts up a whole conversation between you and them about how they feel and how it affects them because of who they are.
Do you have a favorite photo from a book event or literary convention? If so, when and where was it taken? What do you enjoy most about this photo?
Books are never done till readers read them. I love to hear from readers and talk with them. This was taken at Malice Domestic in 2010. I was talking with a reader/fan about a book of mine, which was up for an award. It got it, and she was even happier than I was!
Can you share some details about upcoming projects or what you’re working on now? Do you have releases in 2019 that readers should look for?
Three big projects: The Titanic book has a title, CRIMES AND SURVIVORS. My agent and I are working on various schemes for publishing it and republishing the 3 other Reisden-Perdita novels. There are some interesting nibbles, but if nothing comes of them, we’ll do Kindle Direct.
I’m working on a big fat fantasy, working title ICARU, set in a fantasticated Brazil.
Finally, a group of the Future Boston writers and others are collaborating on a shared-universe project, which may lead to more Future Boston.stories. Meanwhile FUTURE BOSTON, SLOW LIGHTNING, and IN THE CUBE are going to be republished, together with a new novel, Jon Burrowes’ VUBRE THE GREAT.
Who is your favorite literary character of all time? What is it about this character that you admire?
No points for originality here: Terry Pratchett’s Death, especially in HOGFATHER. But usually my favorite literary characters are the ones in the book(s) I’m working on.
Jeffrey A. Carver
Jeffrey A. Carver was a Nebula Award finalist for his novel Eternity’s End. He also authored Battlestar Galactica, a novelization of the critically acclaimed television miniseries. His novels combine thought-provoking characters with engaging storytelling, and range from the adventures of the Star Rigger universe (Star Rigger’s Way, Dragons in the Stars, and others) to the ongoing, character-driven hard SF of The Chaos Chronicles—which begins with Neptune Crossing and continues with Strange Attractors, The Infinite Sea, Sunborn, and the forthcoming The Reefs of Time. A native of Huron, Ohio, Carver lives with his family in the Boston area. He has taught writing in a variety of settings, from educational television to conferences for young writers to MIT, as well as his Ultimate Science Fiction Workshop with Craig Shaw Gardner. He has created a free web site for aspiring authors of all ages at writesf.com. Learn more about the author and his work at starrigger.net.
Visit Jeffrey on his Facebook, Website, and Blog!
With many conventions to choose from and limited time in your schedule, what attracts you to Boskone?
It’s in my home town! Plus it’s very welcoming, and I always enjoy it.
If you could relive your first experience with any book or film, which one would you pick? What is it about this book or film that you want to experience again for the “first time?”
Milton Lesser’s Stadium Beyond the Stars. I read this book at least a dozen times when I was a kid. I loved the unabashed sense of wonder at the exploration of the galaxy, first contact with cool aliens (the Rollers), and the coming together of worlds in the galactic Olympics. I loved that the hero, Steve, put humanity’s first interaction with another race above his own ambitions as an Olympics athlete. (His field was spacesuit racing.) Truth is, I loved all the Winston Juveniles with the rocket on the spine that I encountered at that age. I recently discovered that many of them are available at very low cost as ebooks, and I’ve dipped back into them. “Stadium” isn’t nearly as exciting as I remember it, so I see now how much of *me* and my own aspirations were wrapped up in my reading of it, and books like it.
They say you can find hints of creators in their work. Looking back at your work, which character, piece of art, song, poem, article, etc. most closely resembles you? Why?
Depends on my stage of life. I have been told that Gev Carlyle of Star Rigger’s Way seems like me. The whole notion of a star rigger (pilot) crafting fantastic landscapes in the net to enable navigation through the tricksy currents of the interstellar Flux seems a lot like a young writer crafting visions of wondrous worlds and navigating stories through them. Or so I was told; I didn’t think of it that way at all as I was writing it. But yeah.
On the other hand, at a slightly later date, I channeled a good deal of Panglor Balef, who was more than a little crazy and pretty unhappy with his lot in life.
On the other other hand, Ed the virtual cyberparrot in the dragon books really bounced off the virtual walls in a way that some part of me wanted to.
Shall I go on? Can you share some details about upcoming projects or what you’re working on now? Do you have releases in 2019 that readers should look for?
I have FINALLY, after more than ten years, completed the next volume(s) of The Chaos Chronicles, entitled The Reefs of Time! It’s getting its finishing touches put on right now. Nothing definite about a publication date, but I’ll let the world know as soon as I know.
Who is your favorite literary character of all time? What is it about this character that you admire?
Gandalf, hands down. Do I really need to say more?
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S L Huang
Yes, I have two upcoming releases that I’m very excited about! Yoon Ha Lee, Rivers Solomon, Becky Chambers and I have a collaborative series coming out very soon from Serial Box. It’s called The Vela, and it’s a space opera adventure that also digs into some deep themes. You can read more about it here: https://www.serialbox.com/serials/vela
Brendan DuBois
Gerald L. Coleman is a Philosopher, Theologian, Poet, and Author residing in Atlanta. Born in Lexington, he did his undergraduate work in Philosophy and English at the University of Kentucky. He followed that by completing a degree in Religious Studies, concluding with a Master’s degree in Theology at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. His most recent poetry appears in, Pluck! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts & Culture, Drawn To Marvel: Poems From The Comic Books, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel Vol. 18, Black Bone Anthology, the 10th Anniversary Issue of Diode Poetry Journal, and About Place Journal. He is a speculative fiction author with short stories published in these Anthologies: The Science Fiction, Cyberfunk Anthology: The City, the Rococoa Anthology by Roaring Lion, Terminus Urban Fantasy Anthology, and the Dark Universe: Bright Empire. He is the author of the Epic Fantasy novel saga, The Three Gifts, which currently includes When Night Falls (Book One) and A Plague of Shadows (Book Two). He has been a Guest Author and Attending Professional at DragonCon, Boskone, Blacktasticon, JordanCon, Atlanta Science Fiction & Fantasy Expo, The Outer Dark Symposium, World Horror Con, and Imaginarium. He has recently joined the staff of WorldCon Dublin as its Programme Content Consultant, and Multiverse Con as a Director in programming. He is a co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets and has released three collections of poetry entitled the road is long, falling to earth, and microphone check.
In 2015 I was Toastmaster at Malice Domestic, and it was truly one of the best weekends of my professional life. This picture shows me with the giant teacup which is given to toastmasters, which now lives in glory on my mantel, and me with my family. For us, conventions are a family affair: this is my daughter Maggie, me, my daughter Valerie, and my husband Steve. (The rogue hand on the left is my agent, Joshua Bilmes, adding to the gaiety.) There are better pictures of the four of us all dressed up, but this one is a perfect illustration of how we roll.
Daniel M. Kimmel
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