by Robert Reed
He shut his mouth obediently, and then he pulled Leneé into his arms and kissed her. "Marry me," he said, finding his voice.
"Of course."
He laughed. "This is so great! You have no idea how good it feels to just be with a regular, human woman again."
Leneé smiled, trailing a warm finger along the line of his jaw. "Sweetheart," she said. "We need to talk."
© 2015 by Brynn MacNab
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Brynn MacNab has been reading speculative fiction since before she knew there was any other kind, and writing it for almost as long. She has had stories published by Penumbra eMag, Daily Science Fiction, and Flash Fiction Online, among others. You can find links to more of her work at brynnmacnab.blogspot.com. When not writing, Brynn enjoys such varied delights as crochet, yoga, and data entry. Wait, no. That last one is just her day job. She lives in eastern Pennsylvania with a cornucopia of housemates and no pets, much to her chagrin.
Interview with Award Winning Author Robert Reed
Robert Reed was born in Omaha, Nebraska and he received a B.S. in Biology in 1978 from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. He worked several jobs, but since 1987 he has been prolific enough to make his living as a full-time science fiction writer. Bob has had twelve novels published, starting with The Leeshore in 1987 and most recently with The Memory of Sky in 2014. Since winning the first annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest in 1986 (under the pen name Robert Touzalin) and being a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1987, he has had over 200 shorter works published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. Eleven of those stories were published in his critically-acclaimed first collection, The Dragons of Springplace, in 1999. Twelve more stories appear in his second collection, The Cuckoo's Boys [2005]. In addition to his success in the U.S., Reed has also been published in the U.K., Russia, Japan, Spain and in France, where a second (French-language) collection of nine of his shorter works, Chrysalide, was released in 2002. Bob has had stories appear in at least one of the annual "Year's Best" anthologies in every year since 1992. He has received nominations for both the Nebula Award (nominated and voted upon by genre authors) and the Hugo Award (nominated and voted upon by fans), as well as numerous other literary awards. In 2007, he won his first Hugo Award for the 2006 novella "A Billion Eves". Robert continues to live in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his wife, Leslie, and daughter, Jessie.
Q&A
Iulian: Dear Robert, your earliest work dates back to 1986 when your story "Mudpuppies" won the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. Since that time, your writing career has exploded—to date I can count 11 novels and 200+ short stories. Tell us a few words about the time before the fame: How did you grow up, any particular influences in your life, and, of course, what jobs have you had before going full-time writer? Since writing, have you ever considered any other career?
Robert: The "time before the fame" is pretty much my entire life. As a kid, I watched Gilligan's Island and The Big Valley after school, and in the glow of the black-and-white TV, I tinkered with bloody stories involving superdinosaurs and the like. Very little has changed. I watch different shows and I write what catches my interest, as always. Most pieces sell, and maybe I'll read reviews. Maybe several times a week I get appreciative emails. Maybe. This is a very subtle fame. The money made as a full-time writer has been minimal. My writing went full-time because that was the only way to get enough work done. I managed the trick because Lincoln is a cheap town and I was able to survive just above the poverty line. I worked in a local factory for years, sometimes full-time and sometimes half-days. I did some mentoring for gifted students, and I married well. My wife has always been employed, and her paychecks have never bounced, and I am daycare for my daughter, except now she's a teenager and mostly I just bother her enough to make sure she isn't doing something too wicked for words.
How did you start writing? Was it an Eureka moment for you, or was it built over time? The world is filled with people who wake up every day saying: "one day I will be a writer." You actually did it. Is there a secret to that success?
My Eureka moments are constant. I endure them every day, sometimes several times a day. I've learned to ignore most of them. I can't stop myself from figuring out a hard story, though the next Eureka might wipe away that solution—so I don't get attached to these moments of false brilliance.
In part, I wanted to be a writer because I thought I would be a good writer. A bigger part is that I couldn't imagine myself being successful at much else. I like science, but I hate labs. I can teach, but I rarely want to stand in front of people and tell them what to think. I can be a writer because it means too much to me. I love playing story-games in my head. Signing autographs is a neutral event. Seeing my books in Barnes and Noble is a good reason to move to a different department.
What would you call the defining moment in your writing career, the moment when you knew you turned pro? What story, market, or anthology had a part in that? Was there anyone who helped you along the way, or was an internal struggle?
One of my favorite writer moments was at the end of BLACK MILK, my third novel. I had a tense situation involving a treehouse and armed stand-off. I didn't know what would happen next. But then several parents to the main characters walked off to get a ladder, which is what older, wiser souls would do. Those characters knew more than the writer, and the writer wasn't too proud to deny them that chance. Ever since, I listen to my characters, and probably to a fault.
People have advised me along the way. Good advice, bad advice. But always honest, and in most cases, I try to forget what they say.
Let's talk about editors for a little bit. Without naming names, unless you want to, do you find working with editors difficult, helpful, annoying, etc? Any bad or enlightening experiences you'd like to mention? How important is the editor?
I love some editors. Well, no. Let's rewrite the line. I adore some people who happen to be editors, and I respect what editors can accomplish. Don't I want a better product? Of course, if it is genuinely improved. But good editors are not as common as some might believe. One old stallion of the business warned me that he was an exceptional editor, far better than the gal I had before him. He got me ready for a heavily marked-up manuscript. For months, I was waiting for hundreds of pages of difficult choices. The book was pushed back because of delays, and then finally, Fed-Ex delivered it. But I was under a strict timetable, what with problems beyond his control. (He had a life full of problems, and usually someone else's fault.) And here's the thing: The manuscript was heavily worked, but usually only for ten or twenty pages at a shot. Then, nothing. For thirty pages, nothing. Then a new pen and more good help. And it was good help, don't doubt that. But his voice came and went, and that pattern was repeated for years. Looking back, I assume that the fellow was attention-deficit, or more likely, an attention-deficit pothead. Not that all dopers are vague and manipulative users incapable of meeting deadlines. But that's what he was, and despite some very successful work together, I have a hard time conjuring reasons to miss him.
If you were to choose one favorite novel and one favorite short story from your own works, which one would it be? Related to that, for people who haven't read your works yet (e.g. those stacks of people living under rocks)—what would be the best place to start getting to know your world?
MARROW is the novel for those who like big space-opera work. It's also my most successful work, in terms of financial rewards. BLACK MILK has just been reprinted in e-pub form, from Diversion Books. That might be a good read for a more personal, character-driven work.
As for a favorite story: Try "Truth". The novella was a runner-up for the Hugo, and it's being made into a movie right now. In Canada, on a tight budget. Google PRISONER X. From what I understand, the movie makers are keeping my story intact. Which is the biggest thrill.
What is your writing process, and how do you manage to juggle so many things? Do you have clear goals set ahead of time, or are
you more of a spur of the moment kind of writer?
I juggle. I set goals. I spur of the moment, yes. Every year, I make a list of working stories, but lists are meant as guidelines only. If I sign a contract, I focus hard, and I don't know if I've ever been more than a couple days late on a manuscript, and it's usually in good shape.
Other people think of me as being disciplined. I'm more of the mind that the rest of humanity is undisciplined, and if I ever did achieve order in my life...well, then stand back.
As of the time of this interview, "The Memory of the Sky" is your most recent novel, published in the beginning of 2014. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
MEMORY is three novels in one world-sized volume. The first story was written several years ago, and it went hunting for a publisher. Prime Books eventually took it and wanted two more in a series, and Barnes and Noble wanted a single volume. That's how things get made. Dark matter, baryonic matter. What is the universe built on? Silly crap, mostly.
MEMORY is a Great Ship book. That's the same universe as MARROW. Both volumes are part of an ongoing saga that I won't finish in this life, but I will try to.
How do you feel about the alternative publishing platforms? For example, our magazine is an online venue and e-book publisher. Self-publishing and indie-publishing are growing every year. I feel like the writers today have a lot more choices than what you had available back in '86, but is that a good thing or might it lead to a lot or lower quality content out there? How do you think these movements are affecting the publishing field?
I love the idea of being able to publish what I want, when I want. I hate not having qualified editors to help. I love the ease of finding an audience waiting for me. But most writers don't have that advantage...an advantage built for me on years of ordinary publishing. I also fear that all of these markets and this extraordinary focus on "social" networks crushes every chance we have to earn a fair-shake in the world. The system has never been noisier, and the only people who think the system is successful are the ones who won the lottery.
What is your advice for the young writers of today? Is there a secret handshake we should learn about?
An anecdote: Last year, I met a young writer who just a sold a story to a market where I sold a story. He didn't like his work and wanted to pull it. I cautioned him not to. "Believe me," I said, "in twenty years, you'll hate everything you wrote today."
He didn't act all that pleased with my advice.
If you were able to have a conversation with any writer, alive or dead, and try to convince them to co-write a book with you, who would that be?
My younger self. I would go back and we would write one monster book, and then he'd never speak to me again.
I am a runner and I see that you are a runner too. What does running do for you and are there any other activities you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
I am a runner, if I heal. My right arch has some kind of tear in it, and that happened a month ago, and I'm 58 and see no point in doctors for what needs rest, not surgery. Except I'm 58 and who knows how long before I can run without pain?
So I use an elliptical. In warm weather, I sort of garden. I ride a bike. But running is my love, and it does nothing for me but keep me sane and heading in the right directions.
What's next for you? Is there anything else you'd like to add?
I do work part-time for Bungie, helping them with their chaotic Destiny game. Mostly, I play with voices they invented and their universe. Very small stuff. They say that they'll hire me back. And after playing their game for several months, two hours a day, I think I have some stories to tell.
Robert, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us. I can't wait to read the new installments in your series!
Interview with Author Erica Satifka
Erica Satifka's short fiction has also appeared or is forthcoming in Shimmer, Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, and Ideomancer. She lives in beautiful Portland, Oregon with her writer husband Rob and too many cats. A bike rider, sporadic blogger, sometimes zinester, and former Pittsburgher, Erica delights in telling stories about terrible worlds and the slightly-less-terrible characters that inhabit them. She is currently working on a novel about the evil that lurks inside big-box megastores and a zine about her cross-country move.
Q&A
Iulian: Tell us something about Erica Satifka. How/where did you grow up, what was your upbringing and were there any particular influences in your life?
Erica: I grew up in Western Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh, in an area already gutted by the loss of the coal and steel industries years before I was born. This is clearly reflected by how many of my stories, including "Hand of God," take place in isolated crappy towns. (Or dilapidated exoplanet colonies. Or broken spaceships. Ruins everywhere!) My parents aren't really readers and sometimes I think they're baffled by my choice of career, but I was not to be swayed. I sought out what books I could, wrote all kinds of stuff, and was basically drawn to reading/writing like a moth to flame. I wanted to leave my small town ever since I could remember, and that shows up in my stories too, in characters yearning to escape their circumstances.
My other main influence is my politics. Outside Pittsburgh, Western PA is really conservative. In my first year of college, I started getting into zines, which opened up my eyes to feminism, socialism/anarchism, etc., things I'd never encountered in my working-class, 95% white, Appalachian town. This doesn't often come out in my stories explicitly, but I like to think it's there bubbling beneath the surface.
How did you get involved into writing? Give us a summary of your path.
I've always written stories, even in elementary school. Even though I had almost no exposure to SF as a child outside of a few TV shows (Twilight Zone, Outer Limits), almost everything I wrote was speculative in nature, including the first story I ever wrote, which was about a sad uplifted ape. Until I got to college I was limited to the poor selection of books available at my high school library, which included only a few SF short fiction anthologies in between the classics and "teens in crisis" books. I was still writing weird SFish stories, but had no idea that getting them published was even possible (this was in the nineties, before online magazines but after the paper SF magazines had ceased being available in drugstores and whatnot). Late in college I discovered Dick and Le Guin, plus the new online magazines coming out like Strange Horizons and Ideomancer, and I knew there had to be a place for the kinds of things that I wrote. But even after I moved to the "big city" of Pittsburgh, I wasn't writing consistently: maybe one short story every six or seven months, plus the first iteration of my novel. I eventually sold everything I wrote back then except the novel, but I wasn't truly serious about it in those days. It was a hobby, not a passion.
Between 2008-2011 I barely wrote anything at all (one single finished short story, which will soon be reprinted in Escape Pod!), for a number of reasons I won't get into. But I felt a hole in my life that nothing else seemed to fill quite right, so I started again, and turned up the productivity dial from two to maybe seven or eight. Seriously, I wrote more stories in 2013 than in all other years combined, and my 2015 production will hopefully be higher than that. I've sold almost twenty stories and reprints since the "break," and at this point I won't stop until I'm dead.
I need to also mention that the Codex Writers Group (which I discovered post-break) has been an invaluable resource to me. I've learned so much about being a working writer from the people there, and there's a wonderful sense of camaraderie.
You also teach writing, specifically science fiction/fantasy writing. How did you get involved in that and how do you enjoy it? What is your general approach to teaching these difficult subjects?
When I moved to Portland, I immediately started hitting the ground looking for work: part-time work, "gig" work, something to supplement the writing. One of my friends here teaches writing classes at Portland Community College and said I should look into it, so I did! I finished the f
irst four-week cycle of adult education classes in February, and I think it went well. Each of the classes has a specific focus: plotting, worldbuilding, character/voice, and a class critique session. The class exercises are all geared toward writing potentially publishable finished stories, which the students really seemed to appreciate. I also give a short talk about how to submit your work. It's a fun class, and hopefully an enlightening one.
What do you consider to be the defining moment in your writing career? Was there an epiphany and if so, how did you feel?
Probably my first "pro" acceptance from Clarkesworld, in 2006. I didn't know much about publishing short fiction back then. My undergraduate classes didn't really cover submitting to markets, maybe because they were more literary-focused. I only found out about the submission call by chance. So when I got in, and later learned in retrospect how difficult it was to get into that magazine, especially with the then-current assistant editor, it was like some kind of sign that maybe I'm good at this.
Everyone in my writing group hated this story, by the way. Always trust your instincts!
You also provide editing services for authors. Tell us a bit about your process and what makes you different from other editors.
I provide comprehensive edits, looking at not just grammar and spelling mistakes but also pacing, point-of-view shifts, and continuity errors. I think self-publishing is great (although I don't do it myself, yet) but so much of what gets released doesn't go through even one round of editing. Even if you have confidence in yourself as a storyteller, you always need another pair of eyes, and I'm happy to be that pair of eyes and give an unbiased take on your story or novel.
You've published several stories in professional magazines, including Clarkesworld and Daily Science Fiction. Describe your writing and submission process. Do you write for a magazine specifically?